Seeking Jesus First Jan. 14, 2026
Destroy This Temple
“So the Jews answered and said to Him, ‘What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’” (John 2:18–19, NKJV)
After Jesus cleansed the temple, the religious leaders did not deny that corruption was taking place. They did not defend the buying and selling. Instead, they questioned authority. “What sign do You show to us?” In other words, Who gave You the right to act like this?
This question reveals something important. They recognized that Jesus’ actions carried weight, but they were unwilling to submit to Him. Authority, in their minds, had to come through institution, position, or approval—not through sonship. So they demanded a sign.
Jesus’ response is striking. He does not perform a miracle to satisfy them. He does not explain Himself. Instead, He speaks a prophetic word that reaches far beyond the moment: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
They immediately misunderstand Him. Looking at the massive stone structure that had taken decades to build, they respond, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” Their thinking is entirely natural, historical, and physical. They defend the building—but they do not recognize the fulfillment standing in front of them.
John gives us the clarification: “But He was speaking of the temple of His body.”
To understand the weight of this moment, we must remember why the temple mattered so deeply. Long before this building stood, King David was living in a house of cedar while the presence of God rested in a tent. Moved by love and reverence, David desired to build God a house worthy of His glory. Though God did not allow David to build it—because he was a man of war—He received David’s heart. David prepared everything in devotion: the gold, the silver, the timber, and the plans. And God responded not just with permission, but with covenant—promising an eternal kingdom through David’s lineage.
That temple was born from worship. It stood as a testimony of covenant love and obedience. When it was later destroyed because of disobedience, its rebuilding marked repentance and return to God. This was not just architecture; it was sacred history.
Now Jesus stands in that place and says, in effect: Everything this temple represented is now fulfilled in Me.
He does not dishonor the temple. He fulfills it. The dwelling place of God is no longer confined to stone and space. As John has already told us, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” God’s presence has moved from a building to a Person.
John adds one final insight: it was only after the resurrection that the disciples fully understood. “When He had risen from the dead, they remembered… and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.” Some truths cannot be grasped in the moment. Faith often matures with time and revelation.
Today, this devotion invites us to look honestly at our own hearts. The religious leaders clung to the shadow while rejecting the substance. Jesus invites us to see that God’s dwelling place is no longer something we visit—it is Someone we know.
The temple devotion that began in David’s heart finds its fulfillment in Christ. And through Him, God now dwells not in buildings made with hands, but with and in His people.