What is the meaning of Matthew 27 39-40?

Answer 1

When Jesus was crucified, some who passed by him while he was on the cross mocked him by referring to an earlier statement Jesus had made about the "temple." In John 2:18-21, Jesus was asked by the Jews about a "sign" he would give them to show them when he cleansed the temple of the money changers. He said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." They responded with "this temple took 46 years to build. You think you can build it in three days?" Then verse 21 says, "But he spake of the temple of his body." Those mocking him were referring to this rumor that Jesus thought he could build the temple in three days. Taunting him for another sign, these people wanted him to save himself and come down from the cross. What Jesus did was exactly what he said he would do: raise up the "temple" of his body in 3 days by being resurrected. The deeper insult thrown at him was the statement, "If thou be the Son of God...come down from the cross." Even until his last moments, many did not believe in his divine Sonship. This final statement reminds me of The Temptations Satan threw at Jesus early in his life, when 3 times he tempted him, and each time he started the temptation by trying to get Jesus to deny his Sonship, and consequently his mission, by using the words, "If thou be the Son of God,..." Jesus withstood their doubting minds and simply carried out his mission even to the end.