John 2:19-21
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Jesus artfully plays on the double meaning of "temple," referring not to the physical building but to His own body. This profound statement is a veiled prophecy of His death and resurrection, a "sign" that would be incomprehensible at the time but deeply significant to His followers later.
After Jesus drives the merchants out of the Temple, the Jewish authorities demand a sign to prove His authority. Jesus responds with an enigmatic statement about destroying and raising a temple in three days, which His followers only understood after His resurrection. This cryptic reply directly addresses their demand for a sign by pointing to His ultimate authority over His own body, the true temple.
When Jesus said, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,' the crowd heard a threat against the physical building. But Jesus was pointing to something far greater.
A Deliberate Enigma
Jesus often spoke in ways that required deeper thought, and this statement is a prime example. The Jews were demanding a sign to validate His authority for cleansing the Temple. Instead of performing a visible miracle on the spot, Jesus offered an 'enigma' – a puzzle that would only make sense later.
The True Temple
The key to understanding Jesus' words lies in the double meaning of 'temple.' The Jews thought of the magnificent building of stone and wood. Jesus, however, was referring to the 'temple of His body.' This wasn't a dismissal of the physical temple, but a profound statement about His own identity as the true dwelling place of God.
A Future Revelation
This sign wasn't for the skeptical crowd standing before Him; it was for His disciples. They wouldn't fully grasp its meaning until after His resurrection, when His word would be fulfilled and His authority confirmed in the most powerful way.
When Jesus declared, 'in three days I will raise it up,' He wasn't just predicting an event; He was asserting His own divine power over life and death.
Claiming His Power
The resurrection of Jesus is central to Christian faith. While Scripture elsewhere attributes the resurrection to the Father (Romans 8:11), here Jesus speaks of it as His own act. This isn't a contradiction but a demonstration of His divinity and unity with the Father. He has the power to lay down His life and the power to take it again (John 10:17-18).
An Allegorical Imperative
The use of the imperative 'Destroy' is not a command or permission for the Jews to harm Him. Instead, it's a prophetic statement, an allegorical way of saying 'You will destroy,' or 'If you destroy.' Jesus foretells their actions with a foreknowledge that shows His command over the situation, even in His impending suffering.
Understand the original words
naos · Greek Noun
The dwelling place of God’s presence on earth, originally the tabernacle and later the temple, which symbolizes God’s communion with His people; in the New Covenant, it refers to Christ’s body and subsequently the Church.
lyo · Greek Verb
The act of physically or metaphorically breaking down, causing to come to an end, or ruining something established.
egeiro · Greek Verb
To bring back to life or to lift up from a prostrate or fallen state, specifically used in the New Testament to describe the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
naos · Greek Noun
A building or place dedicated to the service or worship of a deity; in the New Testament, it represents the dwelling place of God’s presence, ultimately fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ and His Church.
Jesus' seemingly cryptic statement about the temple wasn't just a theological riddle; it was a profound prophecy rooted in the ongoing reconstruction of Herod's Temple, highlighting the stark contrast between the magnificent stone structure and the divine presence within His own physical body, which would be destroyed and raised in a far shorter, yet infinitely more significant, span of time.
c. 20 BC - AD 63
Herod's Temple Reconstruction
King Herod the Great began a massive, ambitious renovation and expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The project took decades, with the main sanctuary completed around 10 years, but ongoing work continuing for over 60 years.
c. AD 27-30— this verse
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
Jesus disrupts the commerce in the Temple courts, driving out money changers and animal sellers. This act challenges the religious authorities and leads to a demand for a sign of His authority.
c. AD 30-33
Jesus' Crucifixion
Jesus is arrested, tried, and crucified by Roman authorities, following opposition from Jewish leaders. His body is placed in a tomb.
c. AD 30-33
Jesus' Resurrection
On the third day after His crucifixion, Jesus is raised from the dead, fulfilling His prophecy and validating His divine authority.
This passage echoes Jesus' concept of a 'temple,' but applies it to believers as the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, highlighting the body's sacredness in both Jesus' life and the lives of His followers.
Matthew 12:40This verse presents the 'sign of Jonah' as the only sign Jesus will give, directly paralleling the prophecy of His death and resurrection in three days, just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish.
1 Corinthians 6:19Similar to the concept of the body as a temple, this verse instructs believers that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, emphasizing the sanctity of the physical person, just as Jesus' body was the temple of God.
Acts 2:22-24This passage speaks of God raising Jesus from the dead, underscoring the divine power behind the resurrection that Jesus Himself prophesied when He spoke of raising the 'temple' of His body.
John 10:17-18Jesus here explicitly states His authority over His own life, saying He lays it down and takes it up again, which deeply illuminates His statement in John 2:19 about raising the temple.
ellicottJohn 2:19: "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
(19) Here, as in Matthew 12:38 , a sign is given referring to His resurrection. The sign is in its nature an enigma, meaningless to him who does not seek to understand it, but full of meaning for him who earnestly examines into the thing signified, and in such a form as impresses itself on the memory and educates the moral powers. We have had an example of this enigmatic teaching in John 1…
calvinJohn 2:18-22: "Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?"
- The Jews then answered and said to him, What sign [51] showest thou to us, that thou doest these things? 19. Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days. 20. The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple in building; and wilt thou raise it up in three days? 21. But he spoke of the temple of his body. 22.…
Jesus artfully plays on the double meaning of "temple," referring not to the physical building but to His own body. This profound statement is a veiled prophecy of His death and resurrection, a "sign" that would be incomprehensible at the time but deeply significant to His followers later.
After Jesus drives the merchants out of the Temple, the Jewish authorities demand a sign to prove His authority. Jesus responds with an enigmatic statement about destroying and raising a temple in three days, which His followers only understood after His resurrection. This cryptic reply directly addresses their demand for a sign by pointing to His ultimate authority over His own body, the true temple.
After Jesus drives the merchants out of the Temple, the Jewish authorities demand a sign to prove His authority. Jesus responds with an enigmatic statement about destroying and raising a temple in three days, which His followers only understood after His resurrection. This cryptic reply directly addresses their demand for a sign by pointing to His ultimate authority over His own body, the true temple.
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Seeding Future Faith
This enigmatic statement, like many of Jesus' teachings, was planted like a seed. It wouldn't be understood by the immediate audience but would later bloom in the memory of His disciples after His resurrection. This highlights how God's truth often unfolds over time, requiring faith and remembrance.
c. AD 30-33
Disciples Remember Jesus' Words
After Jesus' resurrection, His followers recall His enigmatic statement about destroying and rebuilding a temple in three days, finally understanding it referred to His body.
c. AD 30-34
Temple Saying Used Against Jesus
During Jesus' trial, false witnesses twist His words about the temple, accusing Him of claiming He could destroy and rebuild the physical temple in three days.
"Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his…" — Jesus artfully plays on the double meaning of "temple," referring not to the physical building but to His own body. This profound statement is a veiled prophecy of His death and resurrection, a "sign…
