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“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that was made by hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.’ ”
Mark 14:58 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’”
  • KJV We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.
  • BSB “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days I will build another that is made without hands.’”
  • NKJV “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’ ”
  • NLT “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another, made without human hands.’”

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

They twist Jesus' saying about destroying and rebuilding the temple. His words about his resurrection body are misrepresented.

Overview

John 2 shows Jesus spoke of the temple of his body, raised in three days, but the witnesses distort this into a threat against the building. The charge mishandles a profound truth about his death and resurrection. Ironically, their false accusation touches the very heart of the gospel they reject.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • John 2:19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
  • Heb 9:11But Christ having come as a high priest of the coming good things, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation,
  • 2 Cor 5:1For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.
  • Heb 9:24For Christ hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
  • Acts 7:48However, the Most High doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says,
  • Mark 15:29Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days,
  • Dan 2:34You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
  • Dan 2:45Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall happen hereafter: and the dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 14:58YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

How Mark 14:58 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.