John 2:18-22, He gave them a sign...

Psalm 16:8 “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”

Introduction...

i was blessed to preach a message and titled it, A witness to a empty tomb...

yes the disciples saw the actually tomb where Jesus was laid after He was taking off the cross

but i also am a witness to that same empty tomb....no i have not ever been to the Holy Land but I know that my Saviour lives...

how do i know, when I rose this morning and saw that bright sun shine...TALK, PREACH.......

Christ has manifested himself to us in so many ways, i do not know how someone could truly not believe that He is alive and well and pleading our case to the Father...

but i love what He told Thomas, old doubting Thomas, John 20:29 “Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””

TALK, PREACH.......

and as we celebrate this Easter weekend and now resurrection day, we need to truly understand that just like He did to the Jews He has done the same for us, He has given us a sign that He is the true messiah, the true son of God, the atonement for our sins...TALK, PREACH......

and as we will see those same Jews that knew the scriptures and the prophecies, really didn’t know the scripture and the prophecies because they were blinded by the world...

but we can’t be too hard on them because in 2025, there are still those that are blinded by this world even though He has given us sign after sign....

Let’s walk into the text....

Story....

so here we have Passover and thousands of Jews have come to Jerusalem to celebrate. if you remember Jesus went to Jerusalem for the last time during Passover before He was crucified.

so here we are in 2025, during Passover week...refresh on Passover....TALK, PREACH......

a time of celebration....we should be celebrating but today people only worry about taking off work...TALK, PREACH.......

but here is Jesus coming to the church, the synagoge, the temple and he doesn’t worship or prayer or meditation, He founds a flea market...John 2:14 “And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.”

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible Chapter 2

Those now make God’s house a house of merchandise, whose minds are filled with cares about worldly business when attending religious exercises, or who perform Divine offices for love of gain

now we can’t be mad at them because even today, people have turned the place of worship into something else...TALK, PREACH......

Jesus drives them out and makes this bold statement, John 2:16 “And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!””

Exalting Jesus in John The Passion of Jesus (John 2:13–17)

Jesus is angry because the Jews have desecrated his Father’s house (v. 16). When the first temple was dedicated to God, the builder, King Solomon, called it “an exalted temple for [him], a place for [God’s] dwelling forever” (

this a house of worship, a place for the true church to gather and praise Him and to be with other true believers, to lift each other up...this is not a show...TALK, PREACH......

i like how He drives them out look at verse 15...John 2:15 “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.”

When Jesus drove those doing business out of the temple courts, He did not do it in a flash of anger. He carefully took the time to make a whip of cords, and thought carefully about what He would do.

another point we can look at for His anger,

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Two: Learning about Jesus (John 2)

The condition of the temple was a vivid indication of the spiritual condition of the nation. Their religion was a dull routine, presided over by worldly minded men whose main desire was to exercise authority and get rich. Not only had the wine run out at the wedding feast but the glory had departed from the temple...

and another aspect of it especially being Passover, cleansing was part of the Passover celebration. Removing every speck of anything leavened (made with yeast) from the home was a symbol, a picture, of cleansing from sin....he had to cleanse the temple...TALK, PREACH.....

Jesus walked and talked with authority...so here now the Jews want to know, you doing all of this, on what whose authority, you haven’t shown us anything....v18....

This wasn’t necessarily a bad question. Anyone who drove the merchants out from the temple courts claimed the authority to do it. The Jews wanted to know if Jesus really had this authority. The problem is that they demanded a sign from Jesus to prove it.

you want a sign, here it is, v19...John 2:19 “Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.””

but before we dive into the topic let’s finish this story.....

John E. The Master and His Meaning (2:17–22)

Taken by surprise with the answer in verse 19, the Jews could only apply it in their limited understanding to the temple beside which they were standing at that moment. But the Lord spoke of his resurrection. The building was not the issue, but his body. Sometimes in such language the contrast is with the temple and the literal body of Jesus.

v20...John 2:20 “Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?””

once again they are still looking at the situation will worldly eyes...

we still get it confused today...

John E. The Master and His Meaning (2:17–22)

we must make this distinction between a church facility and the people of God who use it.

this a place of worship, this is not the church...i am looking at the church....TALK, PREACH....

next we see John explain it in v 21 and 22....John 2:21–22 “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.”

 It was only after the death and resurrection of Jesus that His disciples understood and believed both the Scriptures and the specific promises of Jesus.

all of that was new to the disciples but everything that Christ had done, they truly should have known, He was the Messiah...

He gave sign after sign all the way to the cross....

but let’s look at our key verse v19...

Points...

John 2:19 “Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.””

we see in this text the phophecy of the sign...

the promise of the sign....

and the power of this sign....

Let’s walk....

the phophecy of the sign..

the foretelling of the coming messiah and His death and resurrection was foretold in the Old Testament...

the religious leaders of the Jews should have known that but once again, Jesus went in there and messed up they money...

but they had the scripture and should have believed upon the scripture....

John E. The Master and His Meaning (2:17–22)

what Scripture

John E. The Master and His Meaning (2:17–22)

It may perhaps be

the promise of the sign.

this text within itself is Jesus giving them a promise...

Jesus was making a strong statement at this moment, he was making a promise to them....destroy it and I will rebuild it in 3 days...

Jesus knew His purpose and He knew He had the authority...

He has given us as true followers, true disciples to walk and talk on His behalf, so we need that same boldness that He showed as we tell someone about the promise of the sign...TALK, PREACH.......

finally,

the power of this sign

No mere man could make the claim to raise himself from the dead, even if one had confidence that God would raise him. The claim of Jesus is remarkable, audacious, and evidence of His self-awareness of Deity....TALK, PREACH......

The Teacher’s Bible Commentary The Beginning of Signs (John 2:1–25)

That supreme act of his divine nature, his resurrection was full proof of his authority over God’s Temple. He was God...

if we just look around we see the power of the sign everyday....

if we did have a risen saviour, we would not have any peace...TALK, PREACH........

Conclusion....

The asked for a sign and Jesus gave them one. But i pray we be like the disciples, because like v22 says that after the resurrection the remembered and they believed...

we know what the true temple is....this building will one day fade away...

we know the prophecy, the promise and the power of the sign....

it was all fulfilled right there in Jerusalem...

TALK, PREACH, CLOSE...