“(13) The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (14) And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. (15) And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; (16) and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business." (17) His disciples remembered that it was written, "ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME." (18) The Jews then said to Him, "What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?" (19) Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (20) The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" (21) But He was speaking of the temple of His body. (22) So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.” (John 2:13-22 NASB)
When Jesus walked this earth as the perfect God-man, fully God and fully man, His purpose was to die for the sins of His people. Yet, that was not all He came to do. First, when the Jews heard Jesus saying that He would “destroy this temple, and in three days” raise it up, they completely misunderstood what He was talking about. He was not talking about Herod’s temple at all—that destruction came in A.D. 70—but was speaking of His own body. He made it clear that He would die and in three days rise from the dead.
We are indeed faced with an empty tomb! This is great news! However, evangelicals have put a lot of emphasis on the penal substitutionary sacrifice that Christ made on behalf of sinners to such an extent, that I sometimes think they have forgotten about the resurrection. Then, once a year at Easter, they are reminded of the resurrection and then all over the world, pastors preach on the resurrection. A week later they are back to normal, with the normal scheduled communion Sundays when they once again commemorate the death of Christ in the Lord’s supper. Once again, the resurrection becomes like a faraway family member that we visit once a year.
