What sign do You show to us?

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

- John 2:13-25

In yesterday's reading, we read of the water turned to wine at the wedding in Cana. This was Jesus' first miracle or sign of the seven in the Gospel of John. (See The Good Wine.) In today's reading, Jesus goes to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover.

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!" Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." My study bible notes on this passage: "By transferring this incident from Holy Week (where it is related in the synoptic Gospels) to the beginning of Jesus' ministry, John emphasizes that Jesus' ministry is not, like that of the prophets, merely to renew faith under the Old Covenant. Rather, He is instituting a new kind of worship altogether. Interestingly, St. John Chrysostom believes Jesus cleansed the temple twice, at the beginning and again at the end of His public ministry. The Passover: Jesus performs His miracles during the major Jewish feasts (5:1; 6:4; 11:55), demonstrating that the Old Law is fulfilled in Jesus Himself." It's interesting to note the points made here in my study bible. We will observe how, in John's Gospel, so much of Jesus' interaction with the crowds takes place at different festivals, and how His words and teaching link with the events we know ceremonially took place there - and also with the original events the festivals commemorate. John's Gospel displays for us an intimate understanding of Jewish spiritual life, and just how Jesus' Person, His teaching and preaching have so much to do with this context, and are interwoven in with the themes of Jewish religious worship.

Another note makes an important point about this cleansing of the temple: "By this cleansing, Jesus vigorously protects the purity of worship against commercialism. Likewise, He zealously desires His Church to be a holy, pure house of prayer." The animals were sold for sacrifice - the better animals, the better the sacrifice, and the more expensive they were. The poor, therefore, were penalized in this system. Their sacrifice was not equal to that of those who could afford better. The money changers were those who exchanged common currency (Roman coins) for temple currency. The Roman coins had the image of Caesar on them. The quotation in verse 17 is from Psalm 69:9.

So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." My study bible notes: "What sign do You show to us? The question concerns Jesus' authority in cleansing the temple. He answers in a hidden way: the ultimate sign will be His death and Resurrection." They want a sign that He is Messiah, that He has authority to do what He is doing. But what we learn here in the immediacy of this act at the beginning of John's Gospel, is that Jesus does nothing to prove His authority. His signs are for the faithful, to strengthen the belief in the hearts of those who are willing to see in the first place. Even this allusion to the temple will only be understood by His followers.

Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body. Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. My study bible notes on verse 20 that, "The Jews misunderstand Jesus' words as referring to the temple which Herod the Great began to rebuild in 20 B.C." The temple itself was an enormous and extraordinary construction. Herod the Great had many impressive construction projects, but the temple was his grandest. It was extremely large and consisted of many porticoes and courts. Some of its stones measured over 40 feet and weighed hundreds of tons. It was to be destroyed in 70 A.D. Jesus' words, as noted above, are really for His disciples, the believers who will know and understand His Resurrection.

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. My study bible notes that, "Unlike the other Gospels, John reports three Passover feasts during Jesus' ministry (see 6:4; 11:55), which scholars believe is historically accurate."

But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. "In his divine foreknowledge," my study bible notes, "Jesus knew many were misreading His signs." In the Greek, the word for "commit" here is the same as the word we translate as belief - it literally means to "entrust." So, once again (as noted in all the readings and commentary on John's Gospel so far) we are in the realm of relationship and relatedness. Our belief and faith are trust, and we see here that John teaches us that Jesus Himself gives back that trust - or not.

Jesus puts His faith in us, His followers. What kind of investment is this? He takes our faith and He places it back within us, with His own trust in us. In this sense we can understand something of what it is to be "chosen" (as in the phrase Jesus will use, "Many are called, but few are chosen"). This trust is linked, once again as we have noted previously, with knowing. (See Follow Me.) How do we know a person? How do we understand? Here, Jesus takes that earlier notion as expressed through the choosing of his followers in John's Gospel, and turns it into a broader perspective and a bigger question. Who will understand His signs? An even more significant question arises here - who will understand His parables? These questions come to us as we begin to understand how He teaches, and also that His signs are not designed to prove anything to those who demand proof. He chooses to prove nothing to those whose hearts are not open enough to Him in the first place to understand, to know something of Him, to put trust in Him. How do you find His signs? What do they point to for you? What trust in your heart do they magnify? The signs also point to a great Mystery, that draws us in as we go further on our journey of faith. They are there to cement a relationship, that will take us further and deeper. Allow yourself to find where they lead you today, and the trust that you need for faith. What do they say to your heart?