Mark 14:58

“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days I will build another that is made without hands.’”

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — False witnesses before the Sanhedrin claim to have heard Jesus declare He will tear down the man-made temple and raise another without hands in three days. They speak this accusation during the nighttime hearing described in Mark 14:57.

The words — καταλῦσω (katalusō) literally means "will destroy" or "tear down," and the phrase ἄχειροποιήτου translates to "made without hands." The witnesses use these terms to allege a future replacement of the Jerusalem temple.

The thread — This allegation directly recalls Jesus’ own words in John 2:19 about destroying the temple and raising it in three days. The motif of a divine, non-man-made dwelling also appears in the eternal house described in 2 Corinthians 5:1 and the heavenly tabernacle in Hebrews 9:11.

Why it lands — The text reports a false charge that misrepresents Jesus’ teaching about His body as the true temple. A reader must separate the witnesses’ fabricated accusation from the factual claim that Christ’s resurrection establishes a permanent, divine dwelling.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

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.

Cross-references

John 2:19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”
2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
Hebrews 9:11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation.
Mark 15:29 And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
Acts 7:48 However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.
Daniel 2:34 As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.
Daniel 2:45 And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”