Then answered the Jews and said unto Him, What sign shewest Thou unto us, seeing that Thou doest these things? John 2:18
Our text follows a most remarkable event, in which Jesus clears the temple of the livestock and the money tables. You would think that the lads conducting their business in the temple would have raised a howl, and the people who had sanctioned their presence there would have done the same. Jesus’ actions have disrupted the entire temple community. And they could not refute His statement that the merchandising was inconsistent with the nature of the place. His claim that he was defending the honour of His Father’s house had them stumped. What did this mean? This is God’s house, and if this Stranger is claiming that it is His Father’s house, then the Stranger has to be claiming to be the Son of God. So they demand proof of His identity. As if they hadn’t already seen it! The Lord Jesus always defends that which is His.
There was so much wrong with what was going on in the temple that we would not have been surprised to see Jesus turn His back on it and dismiss it as irrelevant. But He didn’t. He declared it to be His Father’s house, and He purged it of the merchandisers. Sometimes, we see things going wrong in our Assemblies, or in other Assemblies, and we wonder when God is going to cut them off. He may not. Instead, He may – and often does – do His own housecleaning. He often removes offending brothers or sisters, and removes or alters situations that cause trouble with the testimony. In doing so, God proves His love for that which is His, and demonstrates His authority to do so.
We might well ask the Jews who challenged Jesus who they thought they were. They were the ones making a mockery of God’s house. With His words, Jesus had placed them clearly in the wrong. Those who would cause damage to God’s house today are also clearly in the wrong. God’s Assembly is not theirs, or ours, and we have no right to defile it or conduct business other than that which is prescribed by Scripture. The mocking world today would look for a sign. All they see is a tiny company acting very old-fashioned and out of date. When the Gospel condemns them, they look for a sign, asking who do we think we are to tell them they are sinners. All we can do is be faithful with the Gospel and allow the Word of God to do its work.
If Jesus’ great display of authority in clearing the temple could not convince the Jews, we should not be surprised if our efforts to preach the Gospel and to preserve God’s Assembly are met with ridicule and doubt. But Jesus will preserve His own. -Jim MacIntosh