Contemplative Bible Reading

John 2:19-20 (New Living Translation)

19 “All right,” Jesus replied. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

20 “What!” they exclaimed. “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you can rebuild it in three days?”

Some very important persons were upset with how Jesus was behaving in the temple—something about telling crooks to stop being crooked. These VIPs did what most VIPs of the day did, they demanded Jesus do something miraculous.

Jesus’ response was, “Okay, you do something, and I will do a miracle.”

The VIPs response was, “Ha! You can’t do that!”

Pause a moment to reflect. Jesus told the VIPs to do something first. The VIPs, however, skipped their step and jumped to what they wanted Jesus to do. How could they skip their step?

Jesus asked them to destroy the temple. They couldn’t do that. Note, it wasn’t that they wouldn’t destroy the temple, it was that they didn’t have the ability to do it. They didn’t have the dynamite or the bulldozers or the manpower.

Instead of discussing their shortcomings, they jumped over those and attacked Jesus.

Hmmm, consider that one for a moment. Hey, uh, God, let’s not consider my failings. Let’s, uh, jump to what I want from you. How often do I say the same? What’s wrong with me. Can’t I learn from their example here in John’s Gospel. God, please help me in my unbelief.