Destroy This Temple and In Three Days I Will Raise It Up - John 2:19

John the apostle shared how Jesus turned water into wine, and he wrote how Jesus, “went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting. And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables. And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things from here; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of your house has eaten me up. Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign show you unto us, seeing that you do these things?”, and in chapter two and verse nineteen of his book, John shared how Jesus answers, “destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” where we read:

Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

The verse reads, “Jesus answered and said unto them, ...” John began with the words, “Jesus answered” which means “Jesus the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate whose name means Jehovah is salvation responded and began to speak” “and said unto them” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed to the people who were desiring a sign from Him”. John shared how Jesus began to respond to the people desiring a “sign” to prove His authority to drive the animals and money changers out of the temple.

The verse continues, “... Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John added the words, “Destroy this temple” which means “dissolve, break up and demolish the sacred worship place”, “and in three days” or “and within three sunrises to sunsets”, “I will raise it up” which means “I, Jesus, will construct, erect and produce the temple from destruction”. John shared how Jesus told those “seeking a sign” that if they “demolished” the “temple”, He would “construct or rebuild” it within “three days time”.

When we meditate upon John's words in this verse, we learn how Jesus responded to the people seeking a “sign” to prove His authority to drive the animals and money changers out of the “temple”. Jesus told them if they “broke up or destroyed” the “temple”, He would rebuild it within “three days”. We can imagine the reaction of these “sign seekers” as they heard Jesus' words, and we shall discover what He meant in our next few verses. In the mean time, we should keep in mind this is the “Creator” of the Universe who stands before them, and He could easily do as He said. Jesus' passion was to bring “salvation” to mankind for their sins which keeps them separated from a relationship with God. He alone is able to provide “forgiveness” of sins and eternal life with His Father God, and those who are wise will carefully examine every word He proclaimed.

Next time John shares how the Jews say, “forty and six years was this temple in building”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".