Rebuilding the Temple in 3 Days

Mark 15:29
And those passing by were blaspheming Him, shaking their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple sanctuary and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself by coming down from the cross!”

Golgotha, (Latin calvariae locus, “Place of the Skull") was most likely located outside the old city walls, near a major road or intersection. Some have speculated that it might have been just to the west of the city, near the major road that led to Damascus, some 150 miles or two weeks’ walk to the north. The Romans often crucified criminals where they would be visible to those passing by to heighten the victim’s humiliation and to present a visible warning to others.

The insult about the temple was based on something Jesus had said, perhaps more than once during His ministry: “Destroy this temple-sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews had challenged Him, “It took forty-six years to build this temple-sanctuary, and yet You will raise it up in three days?” But Jesus was speaking about the temple-sanctuary of His body (John 2:19).

In the Greek language, the temple precinct (hieron) included the sanctuary, courts, and the other buildings, on the temple mount, covering as space of about 30 football fields. The word was used elsewhere in the New Testament for temples to other gods or goddesses (Acts 19:27).

 
In these passages, that was not the word Jesus used in referring to Himself.
Neither was it the word used by those insulting Him.

 
The sacred edifice (or sanctuary) of the temple consisting of the Holy place and the Holy of Holies was referred to as the “naos.”  In classical Greek, it was used specifically to refer to the sanctuary or cell of the temple, where the image of the god was placed. In Ephesus, a man named Demetrius had a lucrative business making little silver “shrines” (naos) of Artemis for sale to pilgrims visiting the city (Acts 19:24). That was the word Jesus used metaphorically to refer to Himself. It was the most prominent building of the temple precinct and the one those insulting Him remembered.

It was where the image of the god was placed.

The very last place that the ancients would have thought to encounter a god was hanging from a wooden pole, bleeding, naked and humiliated. For the Jews the very idea was abhorrent: “Cursed is he who hangs on a tree” (Deuteronomy 21:23).

 
And yet the writer of Hebrews states that this Jesus, who willingly submitted to the shame of false accusations, who was cheated, tortured, humiliated and insulted, is “The radiance of [God’s] glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Hebrews 1:2). He is the one upon whom we should “fix our eyes” as we run the race of faith (Hebrews 12:1,2). His mindset of emptying and humbling Himself is the attitude we should embrace for ourselves as His followers (Philippians 2:5-8).

Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the place where the image of God has been placed (1 Corinthians 6:19,20).
Let us therefore glorify Him with our bodies and our lives.