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Saturday 6 November 2021

John 2:17,18 - What sign can you show us?

2:17

The quote comes from Ps 69:9. It isn’t clear whether the disciples remembered there and then, or some time late when looking back on events. Given the slowness of the disciples, the latter seems the more likely. It is noteworthy that the tense changes from present in the Psalm, to future in the quote here. Jesus was committed to seeing God’s temple treated properly, and fulfilling its proper purpose. We are all temples of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus is zealous that we are holy places, that our lives fulfil their proper purpose.


2:18

Asking for a sign was something the religious leaders were forever doing, they demanded that Jesus give them a sign to show that He had authority to do what He was doing. It is interesting that they did not question the actions themselves, they did not rise up with indignation. It seems that they knew they were not running the temple properly. They seemed to think that they had the right to run the temple how they wanted.  In fact, their question seems to imply that they recognised that Jesus did actually have authority. If they thought He was just a fool or a scoundrel they would have dealt with things quite differently.


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