D. A. Carson on the Powerlessness and Power of Christ on the Cross

From the book, Scandalous, by D. A. Carson:

"...Jesus' demonstration of power is displayed precisely in the weakness of the cross. Because we read John's Gospel, especially John 2, we know what Jesus actually said on this subject: 'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days' (2:19). According to John, Jesus' opponents did not have a clue what he meant; indeed, Jesus' own disciples had no idea, at the time, what he meant. But after Jesus was raised from the dead, John says, the disciples remembered his words; they believed the Scripture and the words Jesus had spoken. They knew he was talking about his body (vv. 20-22). The point is that under the terms of the old covenant, the temple was the great meeting place between a holy God and his sinful people. This was the place of sacrifice, the place of atonement for sin. But this side of the cross, where Jesus by his sacrifice pays for our sin, Jesus himself becomes the great meeting place between a holy God and his sinful people; thus he becomes the temple, the meeting place between God and his people. It is not as if Jesus in his incarnation adequately serves as the temple of God. That is a huge mistake. Jesus says, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' It is in Jesus' death, in his destruction, and in his resurrection three days later, that Jesus meets our needs and reconciles us to God, becoming the temple, the supreme meeting place between God and sinners. To use Paul's language, we do not simply preach Christ; rather we preach Christ crucified.
Here is the glory, the paradox, the irony; here, once again, there are two levels of irony. The mockers think they are witty and funny as they mock Jesus' pretensions and laugh at his utter weakness after he has claimed he could destroy the temple and raise it in three days. But the apostles know, and the readers know, and God knows, that there is a deeper irony: it is precisely by staying on the cross in abject powerlessness that Jesus establishes himself as the temple and comes to the resurrection in fullness of power. The only way Jesus will save himself, and save his people, is by hanging on that wretched cross, in utter powerlessness. The words the mockers use to hurl insults and condescending sneers actually describe what is bringing about the salvation of the Lord. 
The man who is utterly powerless--is powerful." 
D. A. Carson, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus