17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. 23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. (John 2:17-25 – English Standard Version)
After Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, there were 2 kinds of reaction recorded in the Bible. First kind of reaction was from Jesus’ disciples. They recalled what was written in the Scripture and saw Jesus’ act as the fulfillment of prophesy. Another kind of reaction was from the Jews. They did not remember what was written in the Scripture, which they should be familiar with, but questioned about the authority of Jesus to cleanse the temple. Jesus always gives the best and He wants us to have the best. He needs to involve in our lives to give us the best. Sometimes, we may see His involvement as a disturbance or intrusion. We may question about His authority in entering our lives. We may ask/say, “Why can’t I live a life free of worries and challenges?” “I don’t want to grow, can’t you just leave me alone?” “I don’t want any changes and I am satisfied with my life right now.” Our lives need to be cleansed to obtain the best from God. The cleansing process may create discomfort and frustration. It is definitely not easy and life isn’t easy anyways. If we do believe in God’s promise of giving us the best, we need to rely on Him to persevere in difficult times.