A Study of John's Gospel

John 2:18-22: Destroy This Temple And In 3 Days I Will Raise It Up

"Destroy This Temple And In 3 Days I Will Raise It Up"

A study of John 2:18-22

"So the Jews said to him, "What sign do you show us for doing these things?" 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. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken."

‭‭John‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬-‭22‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-Jews: "Ioudaios", "Ἰουδαῖος"; adjective - The apostle John, in his day looked upon the Jews as a body of men hostile to Christianity, with whom he had come to see that both he and all true Christians had nothing in common as respects religious matters. Those who opposed his divine Master and his Master's cause, especially the rulers, priests, members of the Sanhedrin, Pharisees. The hatred of these leaders exhibited the hatred of the whole nation (John 1:11) toward Jesus.

-Sign: "sēmeion,", "σημεῖον"; neuter noun - of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God's.

-Do You Show: "deikynō", "δεικνύω"; verb - bring to pass, produce what can be seen.

-Destroy: "lyō", "λύω"; verb - to loose what is compacted together, to break up, demolish, destroy.

-Temple: "naos", "ναός"; masculine noun - ναός is used of the sacred temple of Jerusalem but only of the sanctuary itself containing the Holy place and the Holy of holies, also called "δόμος (dōmos), σηκός (oikos)," which is to be distinguished from the "τό ἱερόν (hieron)" meaning the whole temple and all its enclosures and courts.

-Days: "hēmera", "ἡμέρα"; feminine noun - of the civil day, or the space of 24 hours.

-I Will Raise: "egeirō", "ἐγείρω"; verb - of buildings, to raise, construct, erect.

-To Build: "oikodomeō", "οἰκοδομέω"; verb - to build up from the foundation.

-Body: "sōma", "σῶμα"; neuter noun - the living body.

-The Dead: "nekros", "νεκρός"; adjective - destitute of life, without life, deceased.

-Remembered: "mimnēskomai", "μιμνῄσκομαι"; verb - to recall to mind; remember for good.

-They Believed: "pisteuō", "πιστεύω"; verb - the creedence given to God's messengers and their words.

-Scripture: "graphē", "γραφή"; feminine noun - the Scripture, used to denote either the book itself or its contents; a certain portion or section of the Holy Scripture.

-Word: "logos," "λόγος"; masculine noun - what someone has said, a saying.

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

After driving out the money changers and merchants who had turned the outer court of the temple, a place of worship, into a marketplace where greed abounded with a whip made of rope, the leading Jews asked Jesus for a miraculous sign to confirm His authority to have done so. Jesus responded by telling them to destroy "this temple" and He would raise it back up in three days. They were incredulous because the temple of Jerusalem they stood in had taken 46 years to build. But they did not understand Jesus was talking about His physical body. In the future His disciples would remember He said this as they came to understand He was talking about His death and resurrection 3 days later.