John 2:21

Translations

Modern

But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body.

Traditional

But he spake of the temple of his body.

Literal

But He was speaking about the temple of His body.

Latin

Ille autem dicebat de templo corporis sui.

Interlinear

Greek

English

But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body.

Notes

John 2:19–21

Destroy this temple: Herod the Great started rebuilding the temple's grand structure in 20 BC. The work continued until AD 64. This is why Jesus amazed his audience when he claimed he could destroy and rebuild it in a few days.

However, Jesus was speaking figuratively (using a word picture) about his own body. He described his body as the true temple, the place where God was present (see 1:14, 51).

His body would be destroyed. Three days later, God would raise him from the dead. Through his resurrection, Jesus showed that he himself was now the true place where people meet God. Because of this, the Jerusalem Temple and its sacrifices were no longer necessary.

Later, during the trial of Jesus, some people misunderstood his words. They used his statement about destroying the temple as evidence against him. They accused him of blasphemy (Mark 14:58).

John 2:1–25

In this section, Jesus appeared at two symbolic Jewish ceremonies. At a wedding in Cana (2:1–12), he replaced the ritual cleansing water with his own superior wine. Later, around Passover, he cleansed the temple (2:13–25).

Theme notes and profiles

Temple Worship The Central Sanctuary The Church as God’s Temple The Resurrection of Jesus

Events

First Passover and Temple Cleansingc. AD 27

Related verses

1 Corinthians 6:19
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
Colossians 1:19
For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,
Colossians 2:9
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
Ephesians 2:20–22
…built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
Hebrews 8:2
…and who ministers in the sanctuary and true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.
2 Corinthians 6:16
What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
1 Peter 2:4–5
As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight,

John 2:21

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