The Light Shines in the DarknessNäide

Destroying the temple

“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.’” (John 2:18-19)

When Jesus drove the merchants out of the temple, this did cause quite a stir. People wondered whether He had the right to do such things. They wanted a sign of his special authority.

Jesus’ answer made them wonder even more. He seemed to say that He could rebuild that enormous temple building in only three days. Not only did this sound absurd, it almost counted as blasphemy. Having no respect for the temple implied having no respect for God, which was taken very seriously. When Jesus was arrested a few years later, this statement was even mentioned as a reason to sentence Him to death.

But Jesus was not speaking about the temple building. He spoke about “the temple of his body”. Whereas the temple in Jerusalem was God’s dwelling place on earth, Jesus was God Himself dwelling among the people!

When King Solomon had completed the temple, he wondered: “Will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!” (2 Chronicles 6:18). He was right. But Jesus was greater than the temple (Matthew 12:6). He was Immanuel, “God with us”.

Thank you, God, that you want to dwell among sinful humans!