Commentary on the Gospel of John

                                 Chapter Two

                                                                                                                                         Verses 18-22

Some of the Jews who were the enemies of Jesus demanded that Jesus give them some kind of sign that He was sent from God. Jesus' answer to them in verse 19 had a double meaning as many other scriptures do. John, and Jesus' other disciples, believed that Jesus prophesied about His resurrection, but only after His resurrection. At that time, Jesus' perfect body contained all of the Holy Spirit so He was the Temple of the Lord. The Holy Spirit would raise Jesus from the dead. John 3:34; I Peter 3:18.

Since the enemies of Jesus Christ could never destroy His perfect body, then Jesus had to have meant by His phrase in verse 19, "Destroy this Temple" that the Jews would in part be responsible for the destruction of their Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. The Jews who rebelled against the Romans in 70 A.D. went against God's Will because God had allowed their nation to be occupied by the Romans. God's purpose in this was to humble the Jews to Him because they tended to be so proud of their own righteousness and to make possible the proclamation of His gospel by believers to the whole world.

Under the influence of the Devil, two witnesses lied about Jesus at His trial and claimed that He said that He would destroy the Temple, but Jesus clearly meant that the Jews themselves would take part in the destruction of their own Temple. Matthew 26:59-61. Jesus did say that He would raise the Temple in three days by which He meant both the Temple of His body and the actual third Temple in Jerusalem. The Jews will not rebuild the third Temple. Jesus Himself will. Several prophecies in the Old Testament attest to the fact that Jesus will rebuild the third Temple in Jerusalem. Zechariah 6:9-13; Amos 9:11.