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Jesus Cleanses the Temple
…19Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”20“Thistemple tookforty-sixyearsto build,”theJewsreplied,“andYouare going to raise it upinthreedays?”21But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body.…

Treasury of Scripture

Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and will you raise it up in three days?

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BuildBuildingFortyForty-SixJewsRaiseRearRebuildSanctuarySixTempleThreeWiltBuildBuildingFortyForty-SixJewsRaiseRearRebuildSanctuarySixTempleThreeWilt1.Jesus turns water into wine;
12.departs into Capernaum,
13.and to Jerusalem,
14.where he purges the temple of buyers and sellers.
18.He foretells his death and resurrection.
23.Many believe because of his miracles, but he will not trust himself with them.

“This temple took forty-six years to build,”
The Jews are referring to the Second Temple, which was originally constructed under Zerubbabel after the Babylonian exile and later extensively renovated by Herod the Great. Herod began the renovation around 20-19 BC, and the construction continued long after his death. The forty-six years mentioned here likely refer to the time elapsed since Herod's renovation began. This statement reflects the pride and significance the Jewish people placed on the temple as the center of their religious life and identity. The temple was not only a place of worship but also a symbol of national pride and God's presence among His people.

the Jews replied,
The term "the Jews" in the Gospel of John often refers to the Jewish leaders or authorities, rather than the Jewish people as a whole. In this context, it likely refers to the religious leaders who were questioning Jesus' authority. This interaction highlights the tension between Jesus and the Jewish authorities, a recurring theme in the Gospel of John. The leaders were often skeptical of Jesus' claims and sought to challenge Him, as they were concerned about maintaining their religious and social order.

“and You are going to raise it up in three days?”
Jesus' statement about raising the temple in three days is a prophetic reference to His resurrection. While the Jewish leaders interpreted His words literally, Jesus was speaking metaphorically about His body as the true temple. This misunderstanding underscores the spiritual blindness of the religious leaders and their inability to grasp the deeper truths Jesus was revealing. The resurrection of Jesus is a pivotal event in Christian theology, signifying victory over sin and death and affirming Jesus' divine authority. This statement also connects to other scriptural references where Jesus speaks of His death and resurrection, such as inMatthew 12:40 andMark 8:31. The concept of Jesus as the temple is further explored in the New Testament, where believers are described as the body of Christ, the new temple indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

1.Jesus Christ
Central figure in the passage, who speaks of raising the temple in three days, referring to His resurrection.

2.The Jews
The religious leaders or people questioning Jesus, misunderstanding His reference to the temple.

3.The Temple in Jerusalem
The physical structure that took forty-six years to build, representing the center of Jewish worship.

4.Herod the Great
The ruler who initiated the renovation of the Second Temple, which is the temple being referred to.

5.The Resurrection
The event Jesus alludes to, symbolizing His power over death and the fulfillment of His mission.Understanding Jesus' Words
Jesus often spoke in metaphors and parables. It's crucial to seek spiritual understanding beyond the literal interpretation.

The Significance of the Resurrection
The resurrection is central to Christian faith, demonstrating Jesus' victory over sin and death.

The True Temple
Jesus Himself is the true temple, the meeting place between God and humanity. Believers are called to be living temples, housing the Holy Spirit.

Misunderstanding and Faith
The Jews' misunderstanding of Jesus' words highlights the importance of faith and spiritual insight in comprehending God's plans.

God's Timing and Plans
The Jews focused on the time it took to build the physical temple, but God's plans often transcend human timelines and understanding.1.What is the meaning of John 2:20?

2.How does John 2:20 demonstrate the Jews' misunderstanding of Jesus' mission?

3.What does the "forty-six years" reveal about the temple's historical significance?

4.How can John 2:20 deepen our understanding of Jesus as the true temple?

5.Connect John 2:20 with 1 Corinthians 3:16 about believers as God's temple.

6.How can we ensure our focus remains on Jesus rather than physical structures?

7.How could the temple be rebuilt in three days as stated in John 2:20?

8.What does John 2:20 reveal about Jesus' understanding of time and prophecy?

9.How does John 2:20 challenge the historical accuracy of the temple's construction timeline?

10.What are the top 10 Lessons from John 2?

11.Is Herod's temple considered the third temple?

12.In what year did Jesus die?

13.What did Jesus mean by "Destroy this temple"?

14.What does the Bible say about rebuilding the Temple?“This temple took forty-six years to build,”

- The speakers are referencing the massive renovation project begun by Herod the Great around 20–19 BC. Even though daily sacrifices continued, full completion extended decades—demonstrating just how impressive and time-consuming the earthly structure was (cf.Ezra 6:15;Mark 13:1–2).

- Their appeal to forty-six years underlines human effort and grandeur. By stressing the length of construction, they assume anything sacred must be measured by visible scale and labor (1 Kings 8:27).

- This mindset reveals a heart fixed on the material, missing the deeper reality Jesus often highlighted (Matthew 12:6;Acts 7:48).

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“the Jews replied,”

- The response comes from the religious leaders present, representing institutional Judaism of the time (John 1:19; 7:32).

- Their reply is not genuine inquiry but skepticism—consistent with earlier demands for a sign (John 2:18; 6:30).

- Throughout John’s Gospel, this group frequently misunderstands Jesus’ statements because they interpret them only at a physical level (John 3:4; 6:52).

- Their attitude foreshadows future conflict leading to His trial (John 11:47–53), showing how unbelief can harden despite miracles and teaching.

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“and You are going to raise it up in three days?”

- They take Jesus’ words (John 2:19) literally in the sense of construction, missing His reference to His own body (John 2:21).

- The contrast is stark: forty-six years of human labor versus three days by divine power (Romans 1:4;1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

- Jesus is implicitly proclaiming His resurrection, the ultimate sign validating His authority (Matthew 12:40;Acts 2:24).

- This statement later becomes a key charge at His trial (Matthew 26:61), yet its fulfillment becomes irrefutable proof to His disciples (John 20:8–9).

- By predicting resurrection in “three days,” Jesus points to victory over death, establishing a new, living temple—the gathered people of God (Ephesians 2:21–22;1 Peter 2:5).

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summary

John 2:20 exposes the limitations of a faith tied solely to what human eyes can see and hands can build. While the leaders boast of nearly half a century of construction, Jesus reveals a greater reality: His own body, the true temple, would be destroyed and raised in three days. Their skepticism underscores humanity’s struggle to grasp spiritual truth, yet His resurrection would ultimately validate every word He spoke.

(20) They profess to seek a sign for evidence; they use it for cavil.

Forty and six years was this temple in building.--It is implied that it was not then finished. The date of the completion is given by Josephus (Ant. xx. 9, ? 7) as A.D. 64. The same author gives the eighteenth year of the reign of Herod the Great (Nisan 734--Nisan 735, A.U.100) as the commencement of the renewal of the Temple of Zerubbabel (Ant. xv. 11, ? 1). This would give A.U.C. 781-782,i.e., A.D. 28-29, as the date of the cleansing. In another passage Josephus gives the month Kislev A.U.C. 734, as the date of the festival connected with the building of the Temple (Ant. xiv. 16, ? 4). This would fix our present date as the Passover of A.U.C. 781,i.e., A.D. 28. St. Luke furnishes us with an independent date for the commencement of the ministry of John the Baptist. If we count the "fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius (comp. Note onLuke 3:1) from the commencement of his first reign with Augustus (A.U.C. 765,i.e., A.D. 12), this date will be A.U.C. 780,i.e., A.D. 27. The present Passover was in the following year,i.e., as before, A.D. 28. The sole reign of Tiberius commenced two years later (A.D. 14), so that while we have certainly no discrepancy between these independent dates, we have probably a very striking coincidence. Its bearing upon the authenticity of the present Gospel is evident.

Rear it up represents the same Greek word as "raise up," in the previous verse; but the word fits the double meaning. It is the regular term for raising from the dead; but it is also used of rearing up a building, as,e.g., in 3 Ezra 5:44;Ecclesiasticus 49:11.

Verses 20, 21. - The immediate reference of the words to the building before them was only one of a thousand misapplications of the words of Jesus. The seeds of truth which his words contain would take root in after days. Meanwhilethe Jews answered and said - taking the obvious and literal sense of the words, and treating them with an ill-concealed irony, if not scoff, to which our Lord made no reply -In forty and six years was this temple built as we see it today. This is one of the most important chronological data for the life of our Lord. Herod the Great, according to Josephus ('Ant.,' 15:11 1), commenced the rebuilding of the second temple in the autumn of the eighteenth year of his reign. We find that his first year reckoned from Nisan, A.U.C. 717-718. Consequently, the eighteenth year must have commenced between Nisan, A.U.C. 734-735 and 735-736. The forty-sixth year after this would make the. Passover at which this speech was delivered - the spring of A.U.C. 781 (Wieseler, 'Chronicles Synopsis of the Four Gospels,' translation; and Herzog, 'Encyc.,' 21:546. The fact that Josephus, in his 'Bell. Jud.,' 1:21, gives the fifteenth year of Herod's reign instead of the eighteenth, is shown by Wieseler to be an error of the transcriber, see p. 152, note), which, if we compare with the other hints, is a fixed point from which to reckon the birth year and death year of our Lord. The "about thirty years old" of the Lord at his baptism throws us to about A.U.C. 751,B.C. 2, for the year of his birth, andif there be only one Passover mentioned in John's Gospel between this and the last Passover, it gives A.U.C. 783 for the year of his death. This date is at least coincident with the date derived from the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, as that of the commencement of the mission of John (see my examination of these dates in appendix to 'John the Baptist'). The temple which Herod began to repair in the eighteenth year of his reign was not completed until A.D. , under Herod Agrippa II., a very short period before its utter destruction. The irony and scorn are manifest:Wilt thou raise it up in three days? John shows, in ver. 21, that, in the deep sense in which our Lord used the words, he abundantly justified his promise.But he -ἐκεῖνος, the Lord, not the people, not the disciples -spake of the temple of his body. This is the reflection which was made upon the word of Jesus by the evangelists in after days. Even Mark (Mark 14:58) reveals the presence of a spiritual interpretation of the words by some of his unsympathetic listeners. It must not be forgotten that, in the synoptists, we find the presence of the idea that his service was a temple service, and that he was greater than the temple (Matthew 12:6; cf. alsoHebrews 3:6;1 Corinthians 12:12, 27;1 Corinthians 6:15;Romans 12:5;Ephesians 4:12;Ephesians 1:22, 23; with Ephesians 2:19-22). Nor must it be forgotten that the Logos itself was, in the figurative language of Philo, spoken of as the house, or temple, of God. Later rabbinical representations also describe "the body of man as the temple in which the Shechinah operates" (Wunsche). A difficulty arises from the Lord's having claimed in these words to be on the point of raising himself from the dead, whereas elsewhere his resurrection is referred to the mighty power of God, as in ver. 22;Acts 2:24;Acts 3:15;Acts 4:10;Romans 4:24;Romans 8:11;Galatians 1:1;Ephesians 1:20, etc. Without doubt, God and the Father, the Supreme Power, was thus seen in living activity; but the Divine nature of Christ not infrequently so steps forward into hisconsciousness that he can say, "I and the Father are one;" and (ch. 10:17, 18) "I will lay down my life that I may take it again" (cf.Ephesians 4:8-10).

Parallel Commentaries ...


“This
οὗτος(houtos)
Demonstrative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3778:This; he, she, it.

temple {took}
ναὸς(naos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3485:A temple, a shrine, that part of the temple where God himself resides. From a primary naio; a fane, shrine, temple.

forty-six
Τεσσεράκοντα(Tesserakonta)
Adjective - Dative Neuter Plural
Strong's 5062:Forty. The decade of tessares; forty.

years
ἔτεσιν(etesin)
Noun - Dative Neuter Plural
Strong's 2094:A year. Apparently a primary word; a year.

to build,”
οἰκοδομήθη(oikodomēthē)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3618:From the same as oikodome; to be a house-builder, i.e. Construct or confirm.

the
οἱ(hoi)
Article - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Jews
Ἰουδαῖοι(Ioudaioi)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2453:Jewish. From Iouda; Judaean, i.e. Belonging to Jehudah.

replied,
Εἶπαν(Eipan)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 2036:Answer, bid, bring word, command. A primary verb; to speak or say.

“and
καὶ(kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532:And, even, also, namely.

You
σὺ(sy)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771:You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

are going to raise it up
ἐγερεῖς(egereis)
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 1453:(a) I wake, arouse, (b) I raise up. Probably akin to the base of agora; to waken, i.e. Rouse.

in
ἐν(en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722:In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

three
τρισὶν(trisin)
Adjective - Dative Feminine Plural
Strong's 5140:Three. Or neuter tria a primary number; 'three'.

days?”
ἡμέραις(hēmerais)
Noun - Dative Feminine Plural
Strong's 2250:A day, the period from sunrise to sunset.


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NT Gospels: John 2:20 The Jews therefore said Forty-six years was (Jhn Jo Jn)