“Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?”
The full verse · John 2:20 · KJV
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Asked by
Jews: "the Jews" of John 2:20, the same temple authorities who had demanded a sign (John 2:18)
Asked to
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, named Jesus because he would save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21); who had just said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19)
The Scene
After Jesus clears the temple, the leaders demand a sign, and He answers, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:18-19).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe leaders heard Jesus' words as an impossible boast about the building in front of them. Their question sets forty-six years of construction against three days to show how absurd His claim sounded. Barnes says they took Him to mean the temple at Jerusalem, "either from the ambiguity of his language, or more probably from a design to cavil," that is, to find fault. Gill similarly says they understood Him "either ignorantly or wilfully." Matthew Henry captures their tone: "Temple work was always slow work, and canst thou make such quick work of it?"
The Response
What Scripture recordsJohn records no reply from Jesus to this question. Instead, John answers it for the reader: "But he spake of the temple of his body" (John 2:21). Even the disciples did not understand at the time. "When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said" (John 2:22).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe temple standing in Jesus' day was the second temple, built after the return from Babylon and greatly rebuilt by Herod the Great. Barnes, citing the Jewish historian Josephus, says Herod began this work "in the eighteenth year of his reign." Gill adds that the work was still not finished when the leaders spoke, so the words may be rendered "forty six years has this temple been building." Gill also notes that Solomon's temple had taken only seven years.
The word for "temple" here is naos, which Thayer's lexicon defines as the sanctuary itself, the holy place and most holy place, rather than the whole complex of courts. That is the same word Jesus used for His body (John 2:19, 21).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThe leaders could only think of stones, but Jesus was speaking of Himself as the true dwelling place of God. The building had taken decades and was still unfinished. The temple of His body would be destroyed and raised in three days.
This misunderstanding did not go away. At His trial, witnesses twisted these words: "I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days" (Matthew 26:61). At the cross, people mocked Him with them (Matthew 27:40). Yet the resurrection proved the words true, and it was then that His disciples finally understood and believed (John 2:22).
Look Closer
Why did the leaders mention forty-six years?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord Jesus, the leaders could only see stones when You spoke of Yourself; what am I missing because I am looking at the wrong thing?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- The leaders measured Jesus' words by what seemed possible to them. Where do you tend to limit what God can do by what you can imagine?
- The disciples understood Jesus' words only after the resurrection. Tell about a time something in Scripture made sense to you only later.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Not everything Jesus says will make sense right away. Even His disciples did not understand this saying until after the resurrection (John 2:22). That is not failure; it is how faith often grows.
When a word of Scripture puzzles you, do not dismiss it the way the leaders did. Hold on to it, keep reading, and let the rest of God's story shed light on it. The disciples "remembered" and then "believed" (John 2:22).
This does not mean every hard question will be answered quickly. Some answers come only as God's plan unfolds. But the resurrection shows that Jesus keeps His word, even when it sounds impossible.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources