EP,
In this most famous prophecy, Jesus announced that while dead, he would resurrect his own body from the dead.
So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. - John 2
Did Jesus lie?
Saying scriptures are "symbolic" is the same as ripping out parts of the bible that don't agree with certain viewpoints. It is an easy way to try and get the scriptures to agree while holding on to cherished assumptions.
It takes effort to dig out the truth that allows the scriptures to speak for themselves in harmony. "Spiritualizing" verses is similar to "hand waving" in argumentation. It has pagued Christianity since the first century gnostics became interested in Christianity.
One of the things that astonished me in my journey after getting saved was just how many things in the bible were literal and not symbolic, figurative, or metaphorical.
Anyway, I don't expect you to give up all your symbolic interpretation of scripture in just one discussion. Just know that this is a major topic of discussion in the bible as Paul shows in Corinthians and each generation of Christians therefter has had to deal with - literal vs. symbolic interpretation, especially in new believers.
Here is a fuller discussion on why the bodily resurrection of Jesus is so important.