John 2:20

The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou raise it up, in three days?

At this point, it is possible to check the historicity of John's Gospel; and it is no surprise to find it exactly accurate. Herod the Great began building the temple in 20-19 B.C.[19] Adding 46 years to that date brings the time of this first cleansing to 27-28 A.D. and adds strong evidence for the early date of this cleansing. Of course, the Jews construed Jesus' words in the most literal fashion possible, and with such a lack of perception that they naturally considered his claim ridiculous. At the time of the trials before his crucifixion, Jesus' enemies presented a garbled version of his words here as "evidence"! It is clear enough why those men could not understand Jesus, but it is disconcerting that some Christians cannot seem to understand him.