John 2:21
John 2:21
But he spake of the temple of his body.
A number of times in the gospels, Jesus refers to spiritual matters that are misinterpreted in a physical sense. In verses 18 and 19, Jesus is challenged to perform a miracle. In response, Jesus said He could rebuild "this temple" within three days. Initially, the people thought that He meant the brick-and-mortar sanctuary. Instead, Jesus was predicting His death and resurrection in the near future. How foolish these religious leaders were and how slow of heart they were to accept all that the prophets had spoken. The Lord was not referring to the temple that was built by human hands; He was referring to the temple of His own body, which was made of human flesh. Jesus sacrificed His life to pay for the world's sins as a ransom. Jesus Christ lived and died for the purpose of redeeming mankind from sin, death, and eternal separation from our heavenly Father. As He announced, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up again in three days", the Jews were so focused on earthly matters that they did not realize He was addressing the temple of His body. Let us set our minds on things above rather than things below.
1 Corinthians 6:19
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1 Corinthians 6:15
Know ye not that your bodies are the members of [the Lord]? shall I then take the members of [the Lord], and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.