The Jews thought Jesus meant the literal temple when he said, ““Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” What he was actually referring to was the temple of his body.
Shane is a regular contributor to our Christian internet radio station, HopeStreamRadio through his program entitled “Wisdom for Fools”. Shane Johnson has been commended from Bethel-Park Bible Chapel since 1999. He resides in Brantford, Ontario with his wife Shelly and his five children. He has his Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in History. His passions are teaching children, inspiring young people, writing, music and playing soccer.
Destroy The Temple And I’ll Reconstruct It
“Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:19
In answer to the Jews’ question, “What sign do you show to us, since you do these things?” Jesus pointed them to the resurrection. The resurrection would be the sign above all signs. It would be the sign of His authority, the seal of His claims, and the vindication of His righteous character.
At first they did not understand His words. Like usual, they understood His words in the literal, physical realm. Nicodemus thought He was talking about being literally born again from your mother’s womb. The woman at the well thought He was talking about literal water, and wondered where His bucket was.
But the Jews were the most incredulous. The Jews took His words to refer to the literal Temple, to which they replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” On unbelievers, His meaning was lost. Afterwards, His disciples understood He was referring to the Temple of His body (John 2:22).
The Temple Of His Body
Like the Temple of Solomon, which was completely destroyed by the Babylonians, the Lord Jesus, too, allowed Himself to be destroyed. That Nebuchadnezzer and his uncircumcised army were allowed to desecrate the Holy of Holies is shocking enough, but to allow the Jews to pummel their own Messiah with their fists and spit in His face is quite another. The Lord is longsuffering indeed.
Later the Romans would demolish the Temple of Herod, not leaving one stone unturned, as a penalty for the Jews’ rebellion against their authority. It was this temple that took “forty-six” years to build. The Jews must have watched in horror as the filthy hands of the Romans defiled the inner shrines of the Temple and carried away all its treasure.
But nothing can compare with the horror and desecration the Lord Jesus must have felt when they trampled upon the Temple of His body. For six long hours they laid siege against the tabernacle He dwelt in, which was His body. With whips, and thorns, and insults they besieged the Temple. Eventually the walls broke down, His body failed, and the Lord Jesus died. What God’s people suffered collectively, God in the person of Jesus suffered personally as a demonstration of His great love.
Such was the destruction of His temple. If the crucifixion does not win our hearts, nothing will. Now let us turn our thoughts towards the miraculous three-day-reconstruction of the Temple.
The Temple Was Reconstructed!
The Tabernacle in the wilderness was a picture of His incarnation. Never was the Tabernacle intended to be a permanent structure. It was only a precursor. It was only meant to be temporary. Solomon’s Temple was the more permanent plan, never to be removed from the city of Jerusalem.
As the temporary, moveable and original Tabernacle in the wilderness gave way to the more permanent, costly and majestic Temple of Solomon’s time, so too, the earthly temple of the Lord Jesus, His humble and weak body, gave way to the permanent and eternal body of His resurrection.
Perfect and complete, the Temple was constructed in three days, big enough for all to enter, open to all who believe, Jew and Gentile, and its Builder and Maker was God. No human hand had part in its construction. The work was entirely His. God has always said He does not dwell in temples made with human hands. In His eyes, the eternal Temple was always His endgame, all other temples being templates and miniature models of Him.
Christ Will Be The Temple
It is no wonder then, that in heaven Christ will be the Temple. Looking around the streets of heaven John had this to say, “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev.21:22). Not in a building, not even in a beautiful cathedral, but around the resurrected body of the Lord Jesus all the saints will meet. The resurrected body of the Lord Jesus Christ will forever feature and proclaim for all eternity the redemptive work of God, and “in His Temple everyone says, ‘Glory!’ (Ps.29:9)
To Him will be gathered all the nations. In Him we meet with the eternal God. Through Him we offer spiritual sacrifices, made acceptable God through Jesus Christ. Forever He is our sacrifice, priest and Temple, all in one!
No Blood, No Altar Now
Shane Johnson
You can listen to podcasts from Shane Johnson’s show, “Wisdom for Fools” here
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