John 2:13-22 A Reflection on Resurrection with Some Personal Additions

John 2:19  “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

John recorded Jesus’ cleansing of the temple in chapter two as a way of emphasizing at the beginning of his Gospel the message that Jesus was the Messiah, and he had total authority over the temple which he exercised by ridding the courts of cattle, sheep, pigeons and money changers. The officials were running an illicit business by extorting large sums from the people who had come to the temple for Passover worship. As Messiah he demonstrated his zeal for God’s house and his authority over it.

Jesus was challenged by the religious leaders to give a sign that would show his authority for this dramatic demonstration. (18) It is unlikely that any of them could have imagined the answer he would give: “destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (19) Lacking spiritual insight they took his words to mean that he would build the Temple in the way Herod had worked on it for decades with stone and mortar. 

Not even the disciples of Jesus fully understood his prediction at the time of the temple cleansing. Jesus knew that the temple would be destroyed (Mark 13:2), but Jesus had no interest in the temple’s destruction even though he was accused of plotting its fall. (Mark 14:58) The temple would be destroyed, not by Jesus, but by the Romans in 70 A.D. Jesus did not want destruction. He came to give life.

At the temple cleansing Jesus predicted his resurrection from the dead. He predicted the building of a temple--his body--and his church--which could never be destroyed. After his crucifixion his words came back to the disciples, and they understood what he had meant. (John 2:22) 

No matter how much or how large the buildings that we construct, and no matter how seemingly significant the accomplishments we make, nothing we do will last. We are dust and to dust we return. (Genesis 3:19) Only one can bring eternal life from death. He is the Messiah. He is the Lord. He is Jesus.

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The Persecuted Church. I love the church, and I pray daily for the churches in which I have preached or led a seminar or churches in which I have been a member or churches in which I have family or friends. Also, daily I pray with the help of Barnabas Fund for the Persecuted Church which gives witness around the world. See their website and ministry for prayer guides and information on ways to help.

Movies. Rarely do I recommend movies, but this one I do: McFarland. It is a sports drama produced by Walt Disney Pictures based on the true story of a 1987 cross country team from a predominantly Mexican-American high school. I was inspired. I laughed. I teared up, too. No movie is perfect, but when I left the theater after this one I felt that I had learned something important that made me want to be a better person.