John 2:18-22
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
After the Lord Jesus cleansed the temple, those who witnessed His actions must have been astonished. The Jewish leaders asked Him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” (v.18) In other words, they were questioning Him: “Where does Your authority to cleanse the temple come from? Unless You perform a miracle to prove it, we will not believe.”
We shouldn’t be too quick to criticize the Jewish leaders for their approach of relying only on what they could see and for wanting to maintain religious rituals in worship. They placed the outward aspects of worship like offering of animals and monetary profits above the true worship of God. But aren’t we similar? We often think that, to be a Christian, it’s enough to perform the outward acts like reading the Bible, praying, meditating, attending Sunday services, tithing, participating in small groups, or serving in ministries. However, we neglect the importance of worshiping God in spirit and truth.
Faith in God is not built on outward acts or miracles which we can observe. When the Jewish leaders demanded that Jesus perform a sign to prove His authority, He refused to give in to their demand but instead gave a perplexing prophecy: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (v.19). This statement relates to the Old Testament promise of the Messiah rebuilding the temple. The Jews believed that even if the temple were destroyed, the Messiah would rebuild it when He came again. However, when Jesus said, “I will raise it up in three days,” He was not referring to a physical temple, but rather His body as the temple. He was giving an obvious hint of His identity as the Messiah. Verse 22 tells us, “When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”.
The disciples’ journey from hearing to understanding was bridged by the central event of Jesus’ resurrection. Because of Christ’s resurrection, all the things that pointed to Him were fulfilled, and the disciples believed when they remembered what He had said. The disciples’ slowness in understanding Jesus’ words and will is actually very similar to us. We often fail to understand His words and His will. We complain about the challenges we face in life, thinking that God no longer cares about us. In reality, we fail to take into account the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the core of the Christian faith and the ultimate expression of God’s love for humanity. The Creator knows our needs and what is best for us better than we do. When we are in the midst of suffering, we may think that God no longer loves us, that He doesn’t care, or that He is no longer with us. But this is because we’ve forgotten to meditate on the resurrection of Jesus. He loves us, and He was even willing to lay down His life for us. He rose from the dead and became the victorious King. We believe that not only does He give us eternal life, but more importantly, He allows us to experience victory in our daily lives and to live a life of hope and joy even now.
Reflection:
When was the last time I remembered God’s words and truly believed them?
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, help me to always keep Your words in my heart, knowing that Your love for me never changes. May Your words always be the light in my life, for we pray in your precious name. Amen!
After the Lord Jesus cleansed the temple, those who witnessed His actions must have been astonished. The Jewish leaders asked Him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” (v.18) In other words, they were questioning Him: “Where does Your authority to cleanse the temple come from? Unless You perform a miracle to prove it, we will not believe.”
We shouldn’t be too quick to criticize the Jewish leaders for their approach of relying only on what they could see and for wanting to maintain religious rituals in worship. They placed the outward aspects of worship like offering of animals and monetary profits above the true worship of God. But aren’t we similar? We often think that, to be a Christian, it’s enough to perform the outward acts like reading the Bible, praying, meditating, attending Sunday services, tithing, participating in small groups, or serving in ministries. However, we neglect the importance of worshiping God in spirit and truth.
Faith in God is not built on outward acts or miracles which we can observe. When the Jewish leaders demanded that Jesus perform a sign to prove His authority, He refused to give in to their demand but instead gave a perplexing prophecy: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (v.19). This statement relates to the Old Testament promise of the Messiah rebuilding the temple. The Jews believed that even if the temple were destroyed, the Messiah would rebuild it when He came again. However, when Jesus said, “I will raise it up in three days,” He was not referring to a physical temple, but rather His body as the temple. He was giving an obvious hint of His identity as the Messiah. Verse 22 tells us, “When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”.
The disciples’ journey from hearing to understanding was bridged by the central event of Jesus’ resurrection. Because of Christ’s resurrection, all the things that pointed to Him were fulfilled, and the disciples believed when they remembered what He had said. The disciples’ slowness in understanding Jesus’ words and will is actually very similar to us. We often fail to understand His words and His will. We complain about the challenges we face in life, thinking that God no longer cares about us. In reality, we fail to take into account the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the core of the Christian faith and the ultimate expression of God’s love for humanity. The Creator knows our needs and what is best for us better than we do. When we are in the midst of suffering, we may think that God no longer loves us, that He doesn’t care, or that He is no longer with us. But this is because we’ve forgotten to meditate on the resurrection of Jesus. He loves us, and He was even willing to lay down His life for us. He rose from the dead and became the victorious King. We believe that not only does He give us eternal life, but more importantly, He allows us to experience victory in our daily lives and to live a life of hope and joy even now.
Reflection:
When was the last time I remembered God’s words and truly believed them?
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, help me to always keep Your words in my heart, knowing that Your love for me never changes. May Your words always be the light in my life, for we pray in your precious name. Amen!
