Regarding John 2:19-21

John 2:19-21 (NASU)

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 20 The Jews
then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"
21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

In the book, The Lion and the Lamb, (2012) on page 42, Andreas Köstenberger and his co-
authors have this to say about John 2:20:

This chronology fits nicely with another important clue that appears in John 2:20. During
Jesus’ first Passover in Jerusalem after the beginning of his ministry, Jesus’ Jewish
opponents provided an important reference that is helpful for establishing dates for Jesus’
ministry by mentioning the construction of Herod’s temple. Unfortunately, most of the major
English translations of the Bible probably misconstrue the actual meaning of the Greek text.
The translations of John 2:20 in NIV, HCSB, and NRSV imply that the conversation took
place 46 years after the construction of the temple began and that the temple was still under
construction. However, the Greek grammar and extrabiblical references to the construction of
the temple seem to imply that the conversation took place 46 years after the construction of
the temple had been completed. Hence the translation “This sanctuary took 46 years to build”
(HCSB). Although the construction of the entire temple complex (hieron) would continue
until AD 64, Josephus noted that the inner sanctuary (naos) of the temple was completed by
the priests in only 18 months. Thus when the Jews referred to the temple (naos) in John 2:20,
they were speaking of the inner sanctuary that had been completed in 18/17 BC. The
Passover 46 years after the completion of the sanctuary would fall in the spring of AD 30.
This date would confirm that Jesus began his ministry in the summer or fall of AD 29.

In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (1992), edited by Joel B. Green, et al, page 119, in
which Harold W. Hoehner covers of the topic Chronology. He includes the following section on
John 2:20 and its biblical and historic context:

2.3 First Passover of Jesus’ Ministry. The first recorded visit of Jesus to Jerusalem after his
baptism* is found in John 2:13-3:21. John records that on that occasion the Jews spoke of the
Herodian Temple having been constructed forty-six years ago (Jn 2:20). Josephus states that
Temple construction began in Herod’s eighteenth year (Josephus Ant. 15.11.1 § 380), which
coincides with the arrival of Augustus in Syria (Josephus Ant. 15.10.3 § 354), and according
to Dio Cassius this occurred in the spring or summer of 20 B.C. (Dio Cassius 54.7.4-6).
Herod’s eighteenth year would have been from Nisan 1, 20 B.C. to Nisan 1.19 B.C. There
were two stages in building the Temple: the first was the inner sanctuary, called the naos,
located within the priests’ court. This sanctuary was completed by the priests (see Priest and
Priesthood [also in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels]) in one year and six months
(Josephus Ant. 215.11.6 § 421).