19 Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. (John 2:19–22, NKJV)
The Jewish rulers challenged Jesus when He drove out the merchandisers from the temple during the Passover. They asked, “What sign do you show to us, since you do these things?” (John 2:13-18). Jesus replied that the resurrection of His body from the dead would be the evidence they sought. They completely misunderstood His answer, supposing He was talking about the Jerusalem temple. It was the temple of His body of which He spoke. Scripture had foretold the Messiah’s resurrection (Psa. 16:8-11; Acts 2:24-31; Lk. 24:44-47). The word of Jesus proclaimed it (Matt. 12:38-40; 16:21). After He was raised and He appeared to His apostles, they believed “the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said” (John 2:22). You and I haven’t seen the resurrected Christ. But, the evidence for our faith is the same. Jesus rose from the dead, fulfilling Scripture and confirming His word. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). The question is, do you believe the Scripture and the word of Jesus that He is the risen Christ, the Son of God?
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