The following devotion was written by Origen who was born in Alexandria around 185. His father, a Biblical scholar and teacher, was executed by the state when Origen was still a youth for refusing to renounce Christ, and the family's entire property was confiscated.  He continued his Biblical studies and Greek philosophy in Alexandria and later opened his own school in Caesarea. A prolific writer, he wrote numerous Scripture commentaries and nearly 2000 treatises on theology and prayer.  Origen was imprisoned in 250 during the Diocletian persecution and later died from his injuries, a martyr for Christ.

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The Jews in this episode were angry at his expulsion of the people who were turning his Father's house into a market.  So they asked for a sign to justify their actions, a sign that would show that the Word of God, whom they refused to accept, was acting rightly. The Savior's reply combines a statement about the Temple with a prophecy about his own body, for in answer to their question, “What sign can you give to justify your conduct?”, he says: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”