Mark 14:58

14:58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands and in three days build another not made with hands.’”

Genesis 37:19-20

37:19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams! ¹  37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild ²  animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” ³ 

Matthew 26:61

26:61 and declared, “This man ⁴  said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

John 2:18-22

2:18 So then the Jewish leaders ⁵  responded, ⁶  “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” ⁷  2:19 Jesus replied, ⁸  “Destroy ⁹  this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” 2:20 Then the Jewish leaders ¹⁰  said to him, “This temple has been under construction ¹¹  for forty-six years, ¹²  and are you going to raise it up in three days?” 2:21 But Jesus ¹³  was speaking about the temple of his body. ¹⁴  2:22 So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture ¹⁵  and the saying ¹⁶  that Jesus had spoken.

[37:19]  ¹ tn Heb “Look, this master of dreams is coming.” The brothers’ words have a sarcastic note and indicate that they resent his dreams.

[37:20]  ² tn The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.

[37:20]  ³ tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”

[26:61]  ⁴ tn Grk “This one.”

[2:18]  ⁵ tn Or “the Jewish authorities”; Grk “the Jews.” In NT usage the term ᾿Ιουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) may refer to the entire Jewish people, the residents of Jerusalem and surrounding territory, the authorities in Jerusalem, or merely those who were hostile to Jesus. Here the author refers to the authorities or leaders in Jerusalem. (For further information see R. G. Bratcher, “‘The Jews’ in the Gospel of John,” BT 26 [1975]: 401-9.)

[2:18]  ⁶ tn Grk “answered and said to him.”

[2:18]  ⁷ sn The request “What sign can you show us” by Jesus’ adversaries was a request for a defense of his actions – a mark of divine authentication. Whether this was a request for a miracle is not entirely clear. Jesus never obliged such a request. Yet, ironically, the only sign the Jewish leadership will get is that predicted by Jesus in 2:19 – his crucifixion and resurrection. Cf. the “sign of Jonah” in the synoptics (Matt 12:39, 40; Luke 11:29-32).

[2:19]  ⁸ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[2:19]  ⁹ tn The imperative here is really more than a simple conditional imperative (= “if you destroy”); its semantic force here is more like the ironical imperative found in the prophets (Amos 4:4, Isa 8:9) = “Go ahead and do this and see what happens.”

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 18.

[2:20]  ¹¹ tn A close parallel to the aorist οἰκοδομήθη (oikodomhqh) can be found in Ezra 5:16 (LXX), where it is clear from the following verb that the construction had not yet been completed. Thus the phrase has been translated “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years.” Some, however, see the term ναός (naos) here as referring only to the sanctuary and the aorist verb as consummative, so that the meaning would be “this temple was built forty-six years ago” (so ExSyn 560-61). Ultimately in context the logic of the authorities’ reply appears to fit more naturally if it compares length of time for original construction with length of time to reconstruct it.

[2:20]  ¹² sn According to Josephus (Ant. 15.11.1 [15.380]), work on this temple was begun in the 18th year of Herod the Great’s reign, which would have been ca. 19 b.c. (The reference in the Ant. is probably more accurate than the date given in J. W. 1.21.1 [1.401]). Forty-six years later would be around the Passover of a.d. 27/28.

[2:21]  ¹³ tn Grk “that one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. This Greek term is frequently used as a way of referring to Jesus in the Johannine letters (cf. 1 John 2:6; 3:3, 5, 7, 16; 4:17).

[2:21]  ¹⁴ tn The genitive “of his body” (τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, tou swmato" autou) is a genitive of apposition, clarifying which temple Jesus was referring to. Thus, Jesus not only was referring to his physical resurrection, but also to his participation in the resurrection process. The New Testament thus records the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as all performing the miracle of Christ's resurrection.

[2:22]  ¹⁵ sn They believed the scripture is probably an anaphoric reference to Ps 69:9 (69:10 LXX), quoted in John 2:17 above. Presumably the disciples did not remember Ps 69:9 on the spot, but it was a later insight.

[2:22]  ¹⁶ tn Or “statement”; Grk “word.”