Matthew 27:63

27:63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’

John 2:19-21

2:19 Jesus replied, ¹  “Destroy ²  this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” 2:20 Then the Jewish leaders ³  said to him, “This temple has been under construction ⁴  for forty-six years, ⁵  and are you going to raise it up in three days?” 2:21 But Jesus ⁶  was speaking about the temple of his body. ⁷ 

Acts 2:23-32

2:23 this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed ⁸  by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles. ⁹  2:24 But God raised him up, ¹⁰  having released ¹¹  him from the pains ¹²  of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power. ¹³  2:25 For David says about him,

‘I saw the Lord always in front of me, ¹⁴ 

for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.

2:26 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced;

my body ¹⁵  also will live in hope,

2:27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades, ¹⁶ 

nor permit your Holy One to experience ¹⁷  decay.

2:28 You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will make me full of joy with your presence.’ ¹⁸ 

2:29 “Brothers, ¹⁹  I can speak confidently ²⁰  to you about our forefather ²¹  David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 2:30 So then, because ²²  he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants ²³  on his throne, ²⁴  2:31 David by foreseeing this ²⁵  spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, ²⁶  that he was neither abandoned to Hades, ²⁷  nor did his body ²⁸  experience ²⁹  decay. ³⁰  2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. ³¹ 

[2:19]  ¹ tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

[2:19]  ² 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]  ³ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 18.

[2:20]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.

[2:23]  ⁸ tn Or “you killed.”

[2:23]  ⁹ tn Grk “at the hands of lawless men.” At this point the term ἄνομος (anomo") refers to non-Jews who live outside the Jewish (Mosaic) law, rather than people who broke any or all laws including secular laws. Specifically it is a reference to the Roman soldiers who carried out Jesus’ crucifixion.

[2:24]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Whom God raised up.”

[2:24]  ¹¹ tn Or “having freed.”

[2:24]  ¹² sn The term translated pains is frequently used to describe pains associated with giving birth (see Rev 12:2). So there is irony here in the mixed metaphor.

[2:24]  ¹³ tn Or “for him to be held by it” (in either case, “it” refers to death’s power).

[2:25]  ¹⁴ tn Or “always before me.”

[2:26]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “my flesh.”

[2:27]  ¹⁶ tn Or “will not abandon my soul to Hades.” Often “Hades” is the equivalent of the Hebrew term Sheol, the place of the dead.

[2:27]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “to see,” but the literal translation of the phrase “to see decay” could be misunderstood to mean simply “to look at decay,” while here “see decay” is really figurative for “experience decay.”

[2:28]  ¹⁸ sn A quotation from Ps 16:8-11.

[2:29]  ¹⁹ tn Since this represents a continuation of the address beginning in v.14 and continued in v. 22, “brothers” has been used here rather than a generic expression like “brothers and sisters.”

[2:29]  ²⁰ sn Peter’s certainty is based on well-known facts.

[2:29]  ²¹ tn Or “about our noted ancestor,” “about the patriarch.”

[2:30]  ²² tn The participles ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) and εἰδώς (eidw") are translated as causal adverbial participles.

[2:30]  ²³ tn Grk “one from the fruit of his loins.” “Loins” is the traditional translation of ὀσφῦς (osfu"), referring to the male genital organs. A literal rendering like “one who came from his genital organs” would be regarded as too specific and perhaps even vulgar by many contemporary readers. Most modern translations thus render the phrase “one of his descendants.”

[2:30]  ²⁴ sn An allusion to Ps 132:11 and 2 Sam 7:12-13, the promise in the Davidic covenant.

[2:31]  ²⁵ tn Grk “David foreseeing spoke.” The participle προϊδών (proidwn) is taken as indicating means. It could also be translated as a participle of attendant circumstance: “David foresaw [this] and spoke.” The word “this” is supplied in either case as an understood direct object (direct objects in Greek were often omitted, but must be supplied for the modern English reader).

[2:31]  ²⁶ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[2:31]  ²⁷ tn Or “abandoned in the world of the dead.” The translation “world of the dead” for Hades is suggested by L&N 1.19. The phrase is an allusion to Ps 16:10.

[2:31]  ²⁸ tn Grk “flesh.” See vv. 26b-27. The reference to “body” in this verse picks up the reference to “body” in v. 26. The Greek term σάρξ (sarx) in both verses literally means “flesh”; however, the translation “body” stresses the lack of decay of his physical body. The point of the verse is not merely the lack of decay of his flesh alone, but the resurrection of his entire person, as indicated by the previous parallel line “he was not abandoned to Hades.”

[2:31]  ²⁹ tn Grk “see,” but the literal translation of the phrase “see decay” could be misunderstood to mean simply “look at decay,” while here “see decay” is really figurative for “experience decay.”

[2:31]  ³⁰ sn An allusion to Ps 16:10.

[2:32]  ³¹ tn Or “of him”; Grk “of which [or whom] we are all witnesses” (Acts 1:8).