Destroy This Temple

Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up

JOHN 2 BIBLE STUDY ◄
John 2:14-17 Jesus Cleanses the Temple

John 2:18-25 Destroy This Temple

JOHN 2:18-19 18 Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign can You show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

What’s peculiar about what the Jews said in verse 18?
They actually are not saying that what Jesus did - cleansing the temple - was wrong. They are simply asking Him to prove his authority to have done it.

How did Jesus respond?
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19).

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

What do the Jews think Jesus meant by “Destroy this temple”?
Destroy the second temple of Jerusalem, which King Herod commissioned to be built to replace the first temple that had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.

JOHN 2:21-22 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 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 that Jesus had said.

What had Jesus meant by “Destroy this temple”?
Crucify Me, and in three days I will rise from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection will prove His authority, as well as His identity. The ultimate proof of Jesus’ deity is His resurrection, without which Christianity would be a big waste of time: And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is pointless and your faith is also pointless... If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 32)

JOHN 2:23-25 23 Now when He was in Jerusalem during the Passover feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them because He knew all men, 25 and had no need that anyone should testify about man, for He knew what was in man.

From this passage, did Jesus do some miracles after all at this feast?
Yes, as per John 2:23, but at the time and place of His choosing.

Why didn’t Jesus commit Himself to them if they believed in His name?
They believed in His name as that of someone who heals and does other miracles, but they didn’t see those miracles as signs of His deity. Jesus knew that those who desire and believe in just the miracles will not truly believe in Him for who He is.

How is that different today?
It isn’t. Jesus doesn’t want people who are after a wish-granting genie. True followers of Jesus are those who desire a deeply personal relationship with Him for who He is - our Creator - and love Him for what He already did for us two thousand years ago.

What draws you to or drives your curiosity about Jesus?