John 2:18
in John 2On account of this, the Jews demanded, “What sign can You show us to prove Your authority to do these things?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The Jews therefore answered and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
KJV
Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
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This verse in John 2
Commentary
17 notes on this verseThe multitude of the Jews are startled at the unwonted authority, and they who are over the temple are extremely vexed, deprived of their not easily counted gains. And they cannot convict Him of not having spoken most rightly in commanding them not to exhibit the Divine Temple as a house of merchandise. But they devise delays to the flight of the merchants, excusing themselves that they ought not to submit to Him off-hand, nor without investigation to receive as Son of God Him Who was witnessed to by no sign.
This site's exposition
What sign can You show us
on John 2:18-19
The Jews demanded a sign to prove His authority to clear the courts. He answered with a riddle: destroy this temple and He will raise it in three days, and His hearers heard a boast about Herod's building. His own followers understood it after the resurrection.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
"The Jews said unto Him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?" And the Lord answered, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and dost thou say, In three days I will rear it up?" Flesh they were, fleshly things they minded; but He was speaking spiritually. But who could understand of what temple He spoke? But yet we have not far to seek; He has discovered it to us through the evangelist, he has told us of what temple He said it. "But He spake," saith the evangelist, "of the temple of His body." And it is manifest that, being slain, the Lord did rise again after three days. This is known to us all now: and if from the Jews it is concealed, it is because they stand without; yet to us it is open, because we know in whom we believe.
And what say they? "What sign showest Thou unto us, seeing that Thou doest these things?" Alas for their utter madness! Was there need of a sign before they could cease their evil doings, and free the house of God from such dishonor? and was it not the greatest sign of His Excellence that He had gotten such zeal for that House? In fact, the well-disposed were distinguished by this very thing. At one time then He said, that the Temple was made by them "a den of thieves," showing that what they sold was gotten by theft, and rapine, and covetousness, and that they were rich through other men's calamities; at another, "a house of merchandise," pointing to their shameless traffickings. "But wherefore did He this?" Since he was about to heal on the Sabbath day, and to do many such things which were thought by them transgressions of the Law in order that He might not seem to do this as though He had come to be some rival God and opponent of His Father, He takes occasion hence to correct any such suspicion of theirs.
Wherefore He will not give them a sign; and before, when they came and asked Him, He made them the same answer, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas." Only then the answer was clear, now it is more ambiguous. This He doth on account of their extreme insensibility; for He who prevented them without their asking, and gave them signs, would never when they asked have turned away from them, had He not seen that their minds were wicked and false, and their intention treacherous. Think how full of wickedness the question itself was at the outset. When they ought to have applauded Him for His earnestness and zeal, when they ought to have been astonished that He cared so greatly for the House, they reproach Him, saying, that it was lawful to traffic, and unlawful for any to stop their traffic, except he should show them a sign. What saith Christ? "Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Many such sayings He utters which were not intelligible to His immediate hearers, but which were to be so to those that should come after. And wherefore doth He this? In order that when the accomplishment of His prediction should have come to pass, He might be seen to have foreknown from the beginning what was to follow; which indeed was the case with this prophecy.
But the Jews having perceived how he was shadowing forth to them the cessation of the Jewish dispensation, questioned him, saying: What sign showest thou that thou dost these things? But taking appropriate advantage of the question, he promised them that he would do something …
The Medieval Church1 voice
The Jews seeing Jesus thus acting with power, and having heard Him say, Make not My Father's house an house of merchandize, ask of Him a sign; Then answered the Jews and said unto Him, What sign shewest Thou unto us, seeing that Thou doest these things?
10 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church4 voices
The Jews answered etc. The Lord manifested himself by the sign of authority: here he manifests himself by the sign of power, not exhibited, but requested and promised. And this sign was the wondrous raising of himself, and it proceeds in this order. In this …
For inasmuch as they sought a sign from our Lord of His right to eject the customary merchandize from the temple, He replied, that that temple signified the temple of His Body, in which was no spot of sin; as if He said, As by My power I purify your inanimate temple from your merchandize and wickedness; so the temple of My Body, of which that is the figure, destroyed by your hands, on the third day I will raise again.
Having set forth the occasion for showing the sign, the Evangelist then states the sign which would be given. First, he gives the sign. Secondly, he mentions the fruit of the signs Christ performed (v 23). As to the first he does three things. First, …
When the Jews saw that the Lord was doing this with great authority and saying "do not make My Father's house a marketplace," they said: "Convince us by some miracle that You are the Son of God and that You were sent by Him. For …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him,....
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
What sign showest thou - See on Mat 12:38 (note); Mat 16:1 (note). When Moses came to deliver Israel, he gave signs, or miracles, that he acted under a Divine commission. What miracle dost thou work to show us that thou art vested with similar authority?
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
The second miracle which our Lord is recorded to have wrought demands our attention in these verses. Like the first miracle at Cana, it is eminently typical and significant of things yet to come. To attend a marriage feast, and cleanse the temple from profanation were among the first acts of our Lord's ministry at His first coming. To purify the whole visible Church, and hold a marriage supper, will be among His first acts, when He comes again. We see, for one thing, in this passage, how much Christ disapproves all irreverent behavior in the house of God .
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?--Though the act and the words of Christ, taken together, were sign enough, they were unconvinced: yet they were awed, and though at His very next appearance at Jerusalem they "sought to kill Him" for speaking of "His Father" just as He did now (Joh 5:18), they, at this early stage, only ask a sign.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)
proposed
The second miracle which our Lord is recorded to have wrought demands our attention in these verses. Like the first miracle at Cana, it is eminently typical and significant of things yet to come. To attend a marriage feast, and cleanse the temple from profanation were among the first acts of our Lord's ministry at His first coming. To purify the whole visible Church, and hold a marriage supper, will be among His first acts, when He comes again. We see, for one thing, in this passage, how much Christ disapproves all irreverent behavior in the house of God . We are told that He drove out of the temple those whom He found selling oxen and sheep and doves within its walls—that He poured out the changers' money and overthrew their tables—and that He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away from here! Do not make my Father’s house a marketplace!" On no occasion in our Lord's earthly ministry do we find Him acting so energetically, and exhibiting such righteous indignation, as on the occasion now before us. Nothing seems to have called from Him such a marked display of holy wrath as the gross irreverence which the priests permitted in the temple, notwithstanding all their boasted zeal for God's law. Twice, it will be remembered, He discovered the same profanation of His Father's house going on, within three years, once at the beginning of His ministry and once at the end. Twice we see Him expressing his displeasure in the strongest terms. "The thing is doubled" in order to impress a lesson more strongly on our minds. The passage is one that ought to raise deep searchings of heart in many quarters. Are there none who profess and call themselves Christians, behaving every Sunday just as badly as these Jews? Are there none who secretly bring into the house of God their money, their lands, their houses, their cattle, and a whole train of worldly affairs?
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
What sign ... - What “miracle” dost thou work? He assumed the character of a prophet. He was reforming, by his “authority,” the temple. It was natural to ask by what authority this was done; and as they had been accustomed to miracles in the life of Moses, and Elijah, and the other prophets, so they demanded evidence that he had authority thus to cleanse the house of God. Seeing that thou doest - Rather “by what title or authority thou doest these things.” Our translation is ambiguous. They wished to know “by what miracle” he had shown, or could show, his right to do those things.
How the passage was read
On John 2:13-25On John 2:13-25
Why there were money-changers in the Temple
It was Passover, one of the three feasts when the Law brought all Israel to Jerusalem, and the courts were a marketplace by design: pilgrims needed animals guaranteed fit for sacrifice, and the Temple tax could not be paid in Roman coins bearing the emperor's image, so approved silver had to be exchanged. The Mishnah records the system plainly: from the 25th of the month Adar, the money-changers' tables were set up IN THE TEMPLE itself (Shekalim 1:3).
So Jesus is not objecting to a black market that snuck in; He is overturning licensed furniture, in the outer court, the one court open to the nations, and calling the whole arrangement what it had made His Father's house.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Shekalim 1:3 (the tables in the Temple) · Exodus 30:13 (the half-shekel the changers served)
The words behind it
14 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀπεκρίθησαν | apekrithesan | Answered | G611 → | 231 times |
| οὖν | oun | therefore | G3767 → | 497 times |
| οἱ | hoi | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἰουδαῖοι | ioudaioi | Jews | G2453 → | 192 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| εἶπαν | eipan | said | G2036 → | 925 times |
| αὐτῷ· | auto | to Him; | G846 → | 5565 times |
| τί | ti | What | G5101 → | 563 times |
| σημεῖον | semeion | sign | G4592 → | 75 times |
| δεικνύεις | deiknueis | show You | G1166 → | 33 times |
| ἡμῖν | hemin | to us | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| ταῦτα | tauta | these things | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| ποιεῖς;¶ | poieis | You do? | G4160 → | 569 times |
ἀπεκρίθησανAnswered
apekrithesanG611 →231 times
οὖνtherefore
ounG3767 →497 times
οἱthe
hoiG3588 →19766 times
ἸουδαῖοιJews
ioudaioiG2453 →192 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
εἶπανsaid
eipanG2036 →925 times
αὐτῷ·to Him;
autoG846 →5565 times
τίWhat
tiG5101 →563 times
σημεῖονsign
semeionG4592 →75 times
δεικνύειςshow You
deiknueisG1166 →33 times
ἡμῖνto us
heminG3165 →1936 times
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
ταῦταthese things
tautaG3778 →1381 times
ποιεῖς;¶You do?
poieisG4160 →569 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Mark 8:11Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, testing Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven.
it leads to
- Luke 11:16
And others tested Him by demanding a sign from heaven.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 12:38
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:9
We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.
- John 4:48
Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.”
- Luke 12:54–57
Then Jesus said to the crowds, “As soon as you see a cloud rising in the west, you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and that is what happens.
- Luke 11:16
Through
Luke 11:29As the crowds were increasing, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 1:22
Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 1:22
Through
Matthew 21:23When Jesus returned to the temple courts and began to teach, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to Him. “By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And…
it leads to
- Acts 4:7
They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
- Mark 11:27–33
After their return to Jerusalem, Jesus was walking in the temple courts, and the chief priests, scribes, and elders came up to Him.
- Acts 4:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies17
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About John
This page draws on 16 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on John 10; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bonaventure, Commentary on John, Chapter 2; Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 3; Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 2; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of John 23; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on John and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John.