John 2:19-22
"Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 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."
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world from the Father, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, did wonderful miracles, and loved people. Nevertheless He was crucified for our sins, and on the third day He was raised from the dead, never to die again. Forty days later He ascended to the right hand of the Father, and intercedes for us there, reigning until He puts all His and our enemies under His feet. He has all authority in heaven and earth, He will never die again, He has the keys of death and hell in his hands.
So what’s the Easter implication of all that for us, especially in our suffering here on earth today?
Part of the answer is found in John 2:18-20. After Jesus had purged the temple the people who were there questioned His authority to do this. He had called the temple His Father’s dwelling (verse 16) and the Jews wanted some evidence: “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” (verse 18). Then comes the answer in verse 19: “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’”
Jesus had just purged the temple in Jerusalem with a whip. He had called it his Father's house. The disciples had recalled Psalm 69:9, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Now Jesus was saying that they would destroy it altogether, and then He would raise it up in three days!
We know that they will not only destroy the temple, their meeting place with their God, but they would bring the entire sacrificial system of the Old Testament, centred in the temple, to an end. They would bring the entire Old Testament priesthood ministering in the temple to an end.
When they rejected Jesus, the Messiah, and put him to death, they did all of that. The final sacrifice was made. The sacrifice of Jesus ended all sacrifices. The final High Priest offered himself for the sin of his people. The priesthood came to an end. The temple was no longer needed. So what does Jesus mean when He says that He will raise it up again?
John comments on this in verse 21: “But He was speaking of the temple of His body.” Three days after the rejection of Christ, a new Temple would rise up. From that point on Jesus would be the temple. No building and no place will ever be the focus again of where and how to meet God. He will be the place where we go to meet God. He is the Sacrifice needed to cover sin. He is the High Priest, the only Mediator between God and man.
It is in Jesus’ death, in his destruction, and in his resurrection three days later, that Jesus meets our needs and reconciles us to God, becoming the temple, the supreme meeting-place between God and sinners.
Through Christ’s resurrection our sins are forgiven. Paul says that if He were not raised, we would still be in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). That means that since He rose, our sins are forgiven. God didn’t just require the death of Jesus; He also required the resurrection of the Anointed One. The resurrection vindicates His death. Easter means that the promises of God for me, to help me and forgive me, are secured because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
That’s not the only significance of the resurrection. Philippians 3:20-21 says God will give me a body like His glorious body. Christ’s resurrection is a foretaste of our glorious resurrection. Romans 8:21-22 says that when the freedom of the glory of the children of God comes to pass and they are raised from the dead and given glorified bodies “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
The implications of Easter are simply staggering. They are personally precious for everyday life of struggle, because my personal sins have been forgiven, and they are globally precious because the resurrection guarantees that this whole created order is going to be made new.
So the day after Easter, the significance doesn’t stop. You don’t stop thinking about it, because it is so gloriously precious to you. We look forward to our resurrection, and looking forward we ‘groan inwardly’ with longing. We have a guarantee that it will happen. Only a guarantee, though. It hasn’t happened yet, and that can be painful (Romans 8:22). There are struggles in this life, and they will continue right on through Easter weekend and into the next week. They’re to be expected. This is the way God has set it up.
So don’t forget Good Friday and Easter. Fix your heart on the fact that, whether I feel it or not, and whether the evidence around me convinces me of it or not, the cross and the empty tomb means I am loved. Easter means that love is victorious and He will not stop loving me because the highest cost has been made to obtain it for me.
He really is with us, whether we feel it or not. He said so in Matthew 28:20: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” So believe that. He’s with you because He’s risen from the dead, and He’s alive to help you where you are in whatever situation you are.
Savour and meditate on the final great revelation of what happened. Think often about your reward, your resurrection. Think about the fact that we’re going to get a new body someday, that we won’t sin someday, that we wont have pain and depression someday. If that’s real to you, you will be able to rejoice right in the middle of your struggles.
Look forward to the day when our groaning will end, and the entire universe will be restored. We may suffer now, but it will soon all end. John 16:21-22:
Related Posts:
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world from the Father, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, did wonderful miracles, and loved people. Nevertheless He was crucified for our sins, and on the third day He was raised from the dead, never to die again. Forty days later He ascended to the right hand of the Father, and intercedes for us there, reigning until He puts all His and our enemies under His feet. He has all authority in heaven and earth, He will never die again, He has the keys of death and hell in his hands.
So what’s the Easter implication of all that for us, especially in our suffering here on earth today?
Part of the answer is found in John 2:18-20. After Jesus had purged the temple the people who were there questioned His authority to do this. He had called the temple His Father’s dwelling (verse 16) and the Jews wanted some evidence: “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?” (verse 18). Then comes the answer in verse 19: “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’”
Jesus had just purged the temple in Jerusalem with a whip. He had called it his Father's house. The disciples had recalled Psalm 69:9, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Now Jesus was saying that they would destroy it altogether, and then He would raise it up in three days!
We know that they will not only destroy the temple, their meeting place with their God, but they would bring the entire sacrificial system of the Old Testament, centred in the temple, to an end. They would bring the entire Old Testament priesthood ministering in the temple to an end.
When they rejected Jesus, the Messiah, and put him to death, they did all of that. The final sacrifice was made. The sacrifice of Jesus ended all sacrifices. The final High Priest offered himself for the sin of his people. The priesthood came to an end. The temple was no longer needed. So what does Jesus mean when He says that He will raise it up again?
John comments on this in verse 21: “But He was speaking of the temple of His body.” Three days after the rejection of Christ, a new Temple would rise up. From that point on Jesus would be the temple. No building and no place will ever be the focus again of where and how to meet God. He will be the place where we go to meet God. He is the Sacrifice needed to cover sin. He is the High Priest, the only Mediator between God and man.
It is in Jesus’ death, in his destruction, and in his resurrection three days later, that Jesus meets our needs and reconciles us to God, becoming the temple, the supreme meeting-place between God and sinners.
Through Christ’s resurrection our sins are forgiven. Paul says that if He were not raised, we would still be in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). That means that since He rose, our sins are forgiven. God didn’t just require the death of Jesus; He also required the resurrection of the Anointed One. The resurrection vindicates His death. Easter means that the promises of God for me, to help me and forgive me, are secured because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
That’s not the only significance of the resurrection. Philippians 3:20-21 says God will give me a body like His glorious body. Christ’s resurrection is a foretaste of our glorious resurrection. Romans 8:21-22 says that when the freedom of the glory of the children of God comes to pass and they are raised from the dead and given glorified bodies “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”
The implications of Easter are simply staggering. They are personally precious for everyday life of struggle, because my personal sins have been forgiven, and they are globally precious because the resurrection guarantees that this whole created order is going to be made new.
So the day after Easter, the significance doesn’t stop. You don’t stop thinking about it, because it is so gloriously precious to you. We look forward to our resurrection, and looking forward we ‘groan inwardly’ with longing. We have a guarantee that it will happen. Only a guarantee, though. It hasn’t happened yet, and that can be painful (Romans 8:22). There are struggles in this life, and they will continue right on through Easter weekend and into the next week. They’re to be expected. This is the way God has set it up.
So don’t forget Good Friday and Easter. Fix your heart on the fact that, whether I feel it or not, and whether the evidence around me convinces me of it or not, the cross and the empty tomb means I am loved. Easter means that love is victorious and He will not stop loving me because the highest cost has been made to obtain it for me.
He really is with us, whether we feel it or not. He said so in Matthew 28:20: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” So believe that. He’s with you because He’s risen from the dead, and He’s alive to help you where you are in whatever situation you are.
Savour and meditate on the final great revelation of what happened. Think often about your reward, your resurrection. Think about the fact that we’re going to get a new body someday, that we won’t sin someday, that we wont have pain and depression someday. If that’s real to you, you will be able to rejoice right in the middle of your struggles.
Look forward to the day when our groaning will end, and the entire universe will be restored. We may suffer now, but it will soon all end. John 16:21-22:
Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
No comments:
Post a Comment