John 2:19
John 2:1919Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”
Jehovah's Witnesses interpret "destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" as figurative language that was fulfilled when Jehovah raised Jesus from the dead. The Watchtower teaches that Jesus' physical body was dissolved or disposed of in the tomb and that he was raised as a spirit creature — Michael the Archangel returning to spirit form. JWs argue that Jesus could not have raised himself because he was dead, and therefore the "I" in "I will raise it up" must refer to Jehovah acting through Jesus' authority or in his name.
is central to both the bodily resurrection and the Trinitarian identity of Christ. Jesus says "Tear down this temple, and in three days I will raise it up," and explains: "he was talking about the temple of his body." Jesus puts himself as the grammatical subject of the resurrection verb — "I will raise it up." This is part of the Trinitarian resurrection pattern: the Father raised Jesus (), Jesus raised himself (), the Spirit raised Jesus (), and God raised Jesus (). Four agents, one event, one God. If Jesus raised his own body, he cannot be a mere creature — no created being has authority over death itself. The passage also refutes the Watchtower's teaching that Jesus' body was dissolved: Jesus specifically said "this temple" — referring to the body standing before them — would be raised, not replaced by a spirit form.