John 2:19 – Verse of the Day 3/30/13

In the Gospel of John, this verse appears in the midst of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple. Moreover, John places this story at the very beginning of his recounting of Jesus’ earthly ministry. For John, this symbolic replacement of the temple by Jesus himself is the key to understanding his entire ministry. The old covenant is passing away and is being replaced by a new covenant. As the book of Hebrews teaches, the sacrifices of the old covenant could never permanently take away sin, but the perfect sacrifice of Jesus eradicated sin once and for all.

As you reflect on the forgiveness available as a result of the tremendous sacrifice of Jesus, give thanks to God for saving you. It is truly amazing that Jesus would die for us when we were sinners who had willfully rejected him!