John 2:18-25

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.  When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.  But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people  and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

John 2:18-25

Jesus drives them all out of the temple saying “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade”.  In response to this, the Jews ask him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”.  Apparently, they weren't quick to write him off as someone crazy.  Instead, they gave him a chance to explain himself.  Actually, it's kinda weird putting it that way.  How could mere men dare give God himself a chance to explain himself?  That itself sounds crazy.  In any case, Jesus' response is, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up”.  To which, the Jews were confused, thinking it impossible to destroy the temple that had taken 46 years to build.  However, they had misunderstood Jesus.  Jesus was talking about the temple of his body.  Jesus' sign to them is that his body will be destroyed and raised in three days.

I heard a sermon a while back about this passage and the pastor said something very interesting.  He spoke about the clear understanding of how Jesus was referring to the temple of his body.  However, the pastor also related it to the temple building as well.  Though Jesus was talking about the temple of his body, he was also referring to the temple building.  They had made the temple into a house of trade and were using their religion as a means of material gain.  Instead of a house of worship, it had become something else.  As a result, they had destroyed the temple and it's original purpose.  This would grow into a hostility toward Jesus and eventually lead to his death on a cross in a way.  And so, Jesus would not only raise up the temple of his body, but also the temple building and all that it stood for.  Anyway, I thought that was really cool.

We read that what Jesus says here is remembered by his disciples.  Perhaps the purpose (or one of the purposes) of him saying these things was so that his disciples would remember afterward.  It says "When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken".

This chapter ends with many believing in his name.  However, John writes that "Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them".  We read the reason for this, which is "because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man".  Though a reason is given, I still find it a bit weird.  Perhaps he didn't entrust himself to their acceptance of him because he knew in the end they would crucify him.  Maybe they wanted to make him king like we read about in another chapter and this is how he did not entrust himself to them.  I'm not too sure...