Mark 14 58

Mark 14:58 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.

Mark 14:58 nkjv

"We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.' "

Mark 14:58 niv

"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.'?"

Mark 14:58 esv

"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.'"

Mark 14:58 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.'"

Mark 14 verses

Mark 14 58 Meaning

Mark 14:58 presents a false accusation made by witnesses against Jesus during His trial before the Sanhedrin. The accusers misrepresent and distort Jesus' previous words concerning the Temple in Jerusalem. They claim He threatened to "destroy this temple made with human hands" and boasted He would "build another, not made with human hands, in three days." While Jesus did speak of the Temple's destruction and rebuilding, His true meaning referred to the spiritual temple of His own body (His death and resurrection) and the new covenant reality, not the literal physical structure. This accusation aimed to portray Jesus as a revolutionary and a threat to Jewish religious authority.

Mark 14 58 Context

Mark 14:58 occurs during Jesus' hurried, illegal, and chaotic night trial before the Jewish high priestly court, the Sanhedrin, immediately following His arrest in Gethsemane. The High Priest Caiaphas presides. The primary goal of the trial is to find a legal justification to condemn Jesus to death. Jewish law required two or three consistent witnesses for a capital offense. Many false witnesses came forward, but their testimonies contradicted each other (Mark 14:56-59). The charge regarding the Temple was particularly volatile as the Jerusalem Temple was central to Jewish identity, worship, and national pride. Any threat to it could be perceived as blasphemy or sedition against God and Israel. The verse sets the stage for Jesus' eventual direct confession of His identity, which is then declared blasphemy.

Mark 14 58 Word analysis

• We heard him say (ἠκούσαμεν αὐτοῦ λέγοντος - ēkousamen autou legontos): The phrase implies direct, personal testimony. However, coupled with Mark 14:56 and 59, it highlights the unreliable nature of these specific witnesses. The Greek indicates the active sense of having heard something from him directly.
• I will destroy (Καταλύσω - Katalysō): Future active indicative of katalyō, meaning "to tear down, dissolve, destroy, demolish." It conveys active intent and power. Jesus did speak of the Temple's physical destruction (e.g., Mk 13:2), but the charge here implies malicious intent.
• this temple (τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον - ton naon touton): Naos refers specifically to the inner sanctuary, the sacred core where God was believed to dwell, distinguishing it from hieron, the entire temple complex. This emphasizes the spiritual gravitas of the perceived threat. The demonstrative "this" points directly to Herod's magnificent Jerusalem Temple, a symbol of Jewish faith and national identity.
• made with human hands (χειροποίητον - cheiropoiēton): This significant Greek adjective, literally "hand-made," emphasizes the material, earthly, and therefore finite nature of the Temple. In Jewish thought, "hand-made" can often denote idolatry or things that are imperfect, created, and not divine. Its inclusion in the accusation underlines the accusers' focus on the physical structure.
• and in three days (καὶ διὰ τριῶν ἡμερῶν - kai dia triōn hēmerōn): This precise timeframe points to the exact period of Jesus' resurrection. The accusers unknowingly echoed a key prophetic element of Jesus' own teachings regarding His death and triumph over it. "Dia" with genitive can mean "after" or "through" a period, indicating completion within or at the end of three days.
• will build another (ἄλλον οἰκοδομήσω - allon oikodomēsō): "Another" (allon) implies a distinct temple but still of the "temple" category, emphasizing the substitution. Oikodomēsō means "I will build or rebuild." Jesus was to establish a new dwelling for God.
• not made with human hands (ἀχειροποίητον - acheiropoiēton): This adjective is the direct antithesis to cheiropoiēton. It denotes divine origin, uncreated, spiritual, heavenly, and imperishable nature. This phrase points profoundly to Jesus' body (resurrection) and the spiritual community (the Church) as the true, divinely instituted temple where God genuinely dwells, surpassing the physical Temple's limitations. It emphasizes a divine, non-earthly, spiritual reality.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "We heard him say, 'I will destroy...'": This phrase attempts to lend credibility to the accusation by citing direct evidence, but Mark immediately counters this by noting the inconsistency of their testimonies. It's an attempt to manufacture valid legal ground where none truly existed.
• "'I will destroy this temple made with human hands and... build another, not made with human hands.'": This constitutes a central antithetical parallelism. It contrasts the temporary, earthly, and human-constructed (the Jerusalem Temple) with the eternal, divine, and spiritually-constructed (Christ's resurrected body and the Church). The accusation twists Jesus' profound spiritual truth into a destructive, blasphemous threat against the most sacred Jewish institution. The contrast between "made with hands" and "not made with hands" is key to understanding Jesus' actual spiritual message versus the literal, earthly understanding of His accusers.

Mark 14 58 Bonus section

The very inconsistency of the witnesses regarding this specific charge (Mark 14:59) is significant. It reveals the hurried and illegitimate nature of the trial, where no genuinely consistent evidence could be found against Jesus for a capital crime, despite intense effort to procure it. This accusation about the Temple, distorted as it was, likely stemmed from Jesus' cleansing of the Temple (Mark 11:15-19) and possibly His words in John 2:19-21. It highlighted the spiritual and institutional threat Jesus posed to the old religious order. His claim to replace or destroy the physical Temple for something "not made with hands" challenged the very foundation of Jewish religious practice centered on the literal building and its sacrificial system. This charge also indirectly sets up the dramatic moment on the cross when the temple veil tears, symbolizing the opening of direct access to God and the obsolescence of the old temple system.

Mark 14 58 Commentary

Mark 14:58 encapsulates the misunderstanding and deliberate distortion of Jesus' true message. The accusers heard Him speak of the Temple, but their carnal understanding could not grasp His spiritual meaning. For them, "temple" could only mean the massive stone structure in Jerusalem. Jesus, however, spoke of "the temple of his body" (Jn 2:21). His declaration, correctly understood, foretold His crucifixion, the destruction of His body (the Temple in which God's full presence dwelt), and His resurrection in three days, establishing a new, spiritual reality—the resurrected Christ and, subsequently, His Church, as the true dwelling place of God.

The Sanhedrin's witnesses, though inconsistent, managed to capture a distorted echo of truth: the physical Temple, with its ceremonial law, was indeed superseded by Christ. His coming inaugurated the new covenant, where access to God is no longer mediated by a physical building but through Christ's perfect sacrifice. The "temple not made with human hands" ultimately refers to the reality of God dwelling in humanity through Christ's incarnate presence and His Spirit indwelling believers collectively (the Church) and individually. Thus, what the accusers intended as damning proof of blasphemy was, in fact, an unwitting foreshadowing of Christ's triumph and the radical transformation of worship under the New Covenant.