Jesus answered and said unto them,
Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
All Commentaries on John 2:19 Go To John 2
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
Jesus answered, &c. Appositely does He prove His authority over the Temple by His power of rebuilding the Temple.
This Temple, viz, His body, which Christ pointed out by moving His hand to His breast. Observe: the Body of Christ is called a temple because in It dwelt the fulness of the Deity, not merely by grace as it dwells in us, but corporeally and personally (Col. ii9). So S. Cyril. As though He said, "You, 0 ye incredulous Jews, ask of Me a sign, or a miracle; lo, I give you one, even My resurrection from the dead. This thing is now indeed dark unto you, because ye are unbelieving. But after a little while ye will understand it, or at least ye might easily understand, when ye shall see that I am risen on the third day. For then ye shall understand who I Amos , and how great I was, that I was in truth the Lord of My own Body, that of My own will I gave Myself to die, and rose to life again. Thus, in consequence, ye may understand that much more am I the Lord of this Temple, which is only a type and shadow of My Body; and therefore that I have power to cast out of it the buyers and sellers." So Bede.
Moreover, Christ calls his Body a temple rather than anything else because this contention took place in the Temple and about the Temple. As though He said, That ye may know, 0 ye Jews, that I am Lord of the Temple, loose ye, that Isaiah , I permit you to destroy the temple of My Body, which ye will do when ye kill and crucify Me, and I rise again by My own power on the third day. "Destroy ye," not as inciting them to His destruction; but predicting in figurative language what He knew they were about to do. So Euthymius.
