But He was speaking about the temple of His body.
Parallel translations
- WEB But he spoke of the temple of his body.
- KJV But he spake of the temple of his body.
- BSB But Jesus was speaking about the temple of His body.
- NKJV But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
- NLT But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
John explains that Jesus was speaking of the temple of His body. The true meaning of Jesus' words points to His resurrection.
Overview
The Evangelist clarifies that the 'temple' Jesus referred to was His own body, which would die and rise. This interpretation, understood fully only after the resurrection (v. 22), reveals Jesus Himself as the place where God meets humanity. He is the true temple, fulfilling and surpassing the building made with hands.
Cross-references & the web
Theme
- The Temple & God's Presence"He was speaking about the temple of his body."
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Cor 6:19Or don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
- 1 Cor 3:16Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
- Heb 8:2a servant of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
- Col 2:9For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
- Col 1:19For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him;
- Eph 2:20–22being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone;
- 2 Cor 6:16What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
- John 1:14The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
- 1 Pet 2:4–5coming to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious.
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 2:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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