This question was prompted by these verses surrounding Jesus' cleansing of the temple of the money-changers:
John 2:18-19 (NKJV):
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.”
On what basis could Jews demand a sign from someone?
They demanded it on the basis of biblical precedence, likely predicated on the assumption that Jesus may be either prophetic or Messianic.
If we look back to the Torah, we see that a key test to determine if a prophet was false was whether a sign or wonder they predicted would come true.
Additionally, there was likely an expectation that had been set by the prophets who preceded them, who performed signs that authenticated their message.
Jesus had just flipped tables and called the temple his "Father's house." What plausible justification could there be? I would say a sign was a most appropriate demand to validate such a bold assertion and wild act of zeal.
In the Hebrew Bible, God often gave signs to demonstrate the authority of a prophet and bolster his support among the people. This goes all the way back to Moses:
Exodus 4
8 If they do not believe you or pay attention to the message of the first sign, they should believe the message of the second sign. 9 And if they do not believe even these two signs and do not listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry land. The water you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry land.
As Moses was about to die, he promised that God would send another like him later on:
Deut. 18
15 A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you from among your own kindred; that is the one to whom you shall listen.
This was one of the primary messianic prophecies widely known to Jews of Jesus' day. Since God used signs to support Moses, the people naturally believed that God would do the same when the "prophet like me" would arise. If Jesus had the authority to reform the temple in such a dramatic fashion, which certainly risked condemnation by both Roman and Jewish rulers, the people believed that God would provide signs of approval for Jesus' actions. This is especially so in the case of John's gospel, where Jesus had not yet performed any miracles except at a private wedding at Cana. This chapter of John ends with an implication that Jesus went on to perform signs as demanded:
23 While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing.
Interestingly, while the Old Testament is filled with signs and wonders, the religious landscape shifted after the 400 Years of Silence during the Intertestamental Period. By the time of Jesus, the Pharisees had become the dominant group. Rather than promoting signs, they focused on moral and legal instruction - emphasizing ritual purity, strict Sabbath observance, and a form of legalistic righteousness. Jesus frequently rebuked these behaviors in several of His teachings:
Matthew 15:1-9 (NIV)
1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’”
Jesus rebuked them for elevating their human traditions above the divine commandments.
Matthew 12:1-8 (NIV)
1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
3 He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests. 5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus rebuked the Parisees for turning the Sabbath into a legalistic burden, placing strict rules above God's will. He taught that the Sabbath was intended to express God's mercy and to serve human need, not mere ritual.
Matthew 23:23-28 (NIV)
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
In this passage, Jesus condemns their obsession with minor rules while neglecting the weightier matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness - which are the heart of God's will.
Not really. While many recognized that Jesus spoke with authority, the Pharisees' request for a sign was not a sincere search for truth - it was a tactic to undermine Him rather than confirm His divinity.
After 400 Years of Silence, the Scriptures were often misinterpreted and corrupted by the teachers of the laws - whom Jesus repeatedly called hypocrites. These leaders were skeptical of signs. Even when they witnessed Jesus perform miracles, they accused Him of operating by demonic power (Matthew 12:15-21, Mark 3:20-30, Luke 11:15-23).
Notably, Jesus often healed without being asked - but when someone demanded a sign, He refused - revealing that His priority was faith and mercy, not spectacle.
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