John 2:18-21 (ESV)

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

“Who do you think you are?” was the attitude of the Jewish leaders after Jesus had driven the money changers and merchants out of the Temple. Jesus gave them both a prophetic as well as a metaphorical answer. These highly learned men missed both of them. He was mainly referring to the temple of his body, which he himself would raise from death and the grave, but one could also look forward 70-years to the literal destruction of the Temple Mount by the Romans—a destruction that the LORD would not reverse.

How well do you understand Jesus’ teachings?

The great J.C. Ryle said, “For one thing we must remark, it was a leading principle in our Lord’s dealings with men, not to force conviction on them, but to speak to them according to what He saw was the state of their hearts. He answered fools according to their folly. (Proverbs 26:5.) If He had given the Jews a more direct reply, He knew that it would have brought His ministry to an abrupt end and would have led to His being cut off before the time.” Unbelievers often misunderstand and/or misapply scripture. They read into it what they will based on the condition of their hearts. The actual spiritual truths are hidden from them (1 Cor. 2:15). Not so for the Believer, for we have the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth (Jn. 16:13).

The Jews were not expecting the suffering servant clearly prophesied in Isaiah 53, but preferred a conquering hero like King David who would vanquish Rome and establish his eternal throne on the Temple Mount. They were more concerned with power than salvation. They were self-righteous rather than humble. They were fools who thought they were wise. Such are most people today. Paul exhorts young Timothy to “show yourself to God as one approved…rightly handling the word of truth,” and he is calling on us to do the very same thing. The lost people in your life will still struggle to accept it’s spiritual truths, but your proper understanding of Jesus’ teachings, unlike that of the Jewish leaders, will lead to manifold blessings.

How well do YOU understand Jesus’ teachings?