Matthew 24:1-2 Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple
“Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Wikipedia gives this information: The Second Temple … was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem, in use between c. 516 BCE and its destruction in 70 CE. In its last phase it was enhanced by Herod the Great, the result being later called Herod’s Temple. Defining the Second Temple period, it stood as a pivotal symbol of Jewish identity and was central to Second Temple Judaism; it was the chief place of worship, ritual sacrifice (korban), and communal gathering for Jews. As such, it attracted Jewish pilgrims from distant lands during the Three Pilgrimage Festivals: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot.
Construction on the Second Temple began in the aftermath of the Persian conquest of Babylon; the Second Temple’s predecessor, known as Solomon’s Temple, had been destroyed alongside the Kingdom of Judah as a whole by the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem around 587 BCE. After the Neo-Babylonian Empire was annexed by the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Cyrus the Great issued the so-called Edict of Cyrus, which is described in the Hebrew Bible as having authorized and encouraged the return to Zion—a biblical event in which the Jewish people returned to the former Kingdom of Judah…
The completion of the Second Temple at the time of the Persian king Darius I signified a period of renewed Jewish hope and religious revival. According to biblical sources, the Second Temple was originally a relatively modest structure built under the authority of the Persian-appointed Jewish governor Zerubbabel, the grandson of Jeconiah, the penultimate king of Judah.
In the 1st century BCE, the Second Temple was refurbished and expanded under the reign of Herod the Great, hence the alternative eponymous name for the structure. Herod’s transformation efforts resulted in a grand and imposing structure and courtyard, including the large edifices and façades shown in modern models, such as the Holyland Model of Jerusalem in the Israel Museum. The Temple Mount, where both Solomon’s Temple and the Second Temple stood, was also significantly expanded, doubling in size to become the ancient world’s largest religious sanctuary.”
Unless you know how large Herod’s temple in Jerusalem was, you might not understand why the disciples were giving Jesus a guided tour. Here are the dimensions: The façade of Herod’s Temple was 100 cubits by 100 cubits, which is about 172 feet by 52.5 meters. Herod’s Temple was 172 feet tall, which is one and a half times taller than the Dome of the Rock, which is 115 feet tall. Herod’s plan was to turn the entire Temple Mount into a giant square platform that was 1,600 feet wide by 900 feet broad by 9 stories high. However, the Temple Mount was never finished. The Temple Mount is a trapezium-shaped platform with a total area of approximately 150,000 square meters, or 37 acres.
Little wonder that the disciples are in awe of that temple and want to show it off. The original temple was built by Solomon and then later destroyed. No matter what failings Herod has, he has rebuilt the second temple into a monument to be proud of.
“And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” About this time, the disciples must have been thinking, “Awe, Jesus, why’d you have to go say that? Now we’re really going to be in trouble with the authorities!” Nothing is worse than a boss who’s a prophet, because you never know what he’s going to say publicly. Some of the disciples must have been looking around at one another, “Okay, who’s the wise guy who thought showing Jesus the temple was a great idea?”
It’s great being a disciple when your leader talks about love and forgiveness, but what happens if he comes out with something unpopular? In many respects, King Herod was a horrible man, but the engineering feats accomplished during his reign were amazing. Not only did Herod refurbish the temple but he also led the construction of the Port of Caesarea on the coast, as well as palaces at Masada and Jericho, and the Herodian in sight of Jerusalem.
Why did Jesus prophesy about the coming destruction of the temple in Jerusalem? For many Jews, the temple had become such a source of pride that they were trusting in structures more than in God. As Messiah, Jesus was always fulfilling his roles as prophet, priest, and king. Here he was speaking prophetically. Wikipedia tells us, “In 70 CE, at the height of the First Jewish–Roman War, the Second Temple was destroyed by the Roman siege of Jerusalem, marking a cataclysmic and transformative point in Jewish history. The loss of the Second Temple prompted the development of Rabbinic Judaism, which remains the mainstream form of Jewish religious practices globally.”
The question for us as disciples is this: do we shy away from hard truths that Jesus taught and try to ignore them? If God calls on us to speak the truth in love, are we trying to avoid anything controversial because we want to remain popular and avoid criticism?
We live in a day when Biblical values are under attack. Looking back, we realize that things in America began to deteriorate when prayer was removed from schools and the churches only gave token opposition. While it’s tempting to criticize others, will we do any better? During the 19th century, James Russell Lowell was one of the leading opponents of slavery in the United States. Lowell wrote the following hymn, whose words remain valid today.
1 Once to every man and nation
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood,
For the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God’s new Messiah,
Offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever
Twixt that darkness and that light.
2 Then to side with truth is noble,
When we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit,
And ’tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses
While the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue
Of the faith they had denied.
3 By the light of burning martyrs,
Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track,
Toiling up new Calvaries ever
With the cross that turns not back;
New occasions teach new duties,
Time makes ancient good uncouth;
They must upward still and onward,
Who would keep abreast of truth.
4 Though the cause of evil prosper,
Yet ’tis truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold,
And upon the throne be wrong:
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow
Keeping watch above His own.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to stand firm when You call us to speak out for righteousness’ sake. Help us not to waver, even in the face of opposition. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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