"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19).
Once Jesus had cleared the temple of its “thieves” and “robbers,” the temple authorities confronted Him. Jesus acted as a reformer and evoked the name of God as His authority. The religious leaders wanted to know what sign He would give to prove He was truly acting in God’s name.
The request stemmed from an erroneous understanding of the Scriptures. Had they carefully read passages concerning the Messiah, they would have known that the clearing of the temple was itself a sign of the Messiah: “The LORD whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple … He will purify the sons of Levi” (Mal. 3:1–3). But they refused to recognize the Lord before them. They acted wickedly because they refused to admit their guilt. Their response to Jesus should have been confession and a plea for mercy, not an interrogation. Had they been filled with right knowledge concerning the Scriptures and had they been humble before God, they would have thanked Him for cleansing the temple and revealing their sin.
Instead of proving His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy from Malachi, Jesus said, “Break down this sanctuary and in three days I will raise it up.” This statement is called a mashal, a veiled saying. The Jews wanted to know whether He had the authority to cleanse the temple; Jesus responds by saying He had even more authority than they realized. This physical temple that He had just cleansed would one day be destroyed, but only by the destruction of His own body of which the physical temple was a type.
Ironically, by participating in Jesus’ death the Jewish leaders also destroyed the physical temple. The veil was ripped in two, and all that had prefigured Christ in the ceremonial system was fulfilled. And forty years later, before the generation then living passed away, the Jerusalem temple was completely destroyed by Roman armies.
The Jewish leaders did destroy the temple of Christ’s body. But in three days He rose again and sent forth His Spirit in the establishment of the new temple, His church. Not even the disciples understood what Jesus meant, at least not until the Resurrection. Then their faith was strengthened as they bore witness to the authority, power, and glory of Christ.
The priests could not see past the physical elements of their own religious system. Read Psalm 40:6–7 and Jeremiah 3:16–17. What clues did the priests have in the Scriptures that the ceremonial systems were types that would one day end? What does this teach you about your own approach to interpreting prophecy?