John 2:18-20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
18 At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?”(A) 19 Jesus answered and said to them,[a](B) “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,[b] and you will raise it up in three days?”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2:19 This saying about the destruction of the temple occurs in various forms (Mt 24:2; 27:40; Mk 13:2; 15:29; Lk 21:6; cf. Acts 6:14). Mt 26:61 has: “I can destroy the temple of God…”; see note there. In Mk 14:58, there is a metaphorical contrast with a new temple: “I will destroy this temple made with hands and within three days I will build another not made with hands.” Here it is symbolic of Jesus’ resurrection and the resulting community (see Jn 2:21 and Rev 21:2). In three days: an Old Testament expression for a short, indefinite period of time; cf. Hos 6:2.
- 2:20 Forty-six years: based on references in Josephus (Jewish Wars 1:401; Antiquities 15:380), possibly the spring of A.D. 28. Cf. note on Lk 3:1.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.