John 2:19 – Verse of the Day 8/2/14

Can you imagine how shocked Jesus’s listeners must have been when they heard him speak the words of this verse? The temple had taken years and years to build, and now Jesus claimed that if they destroyed it he would raise it back up. When the Jewish leaders heard this they were angry and did not understand.

It is extremely important to understand Jesus though, because in the Gospel of John this symbolic replacement of the temple by Jesus himself is the key to understanding his entire ministry. The old covenant and its temple sacrifices 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!