Jesus Predicts The Destruction Of Jerusalem Series

-Tuesday-

Mount of Olives

Matthew 24:1-3(Focal Passage), Mark 13:1-4, Luke 21:5-7

PART 2: Jesus Predicts The Destruction Of Jerusalem

Matthew 24:1-3

1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.

2 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.”

3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

1 Then Jesus left the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.

Alternate Translation (NLT): Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.

As the Lord Jesus was leaving the temple area for the last time before His death, some of His disciples tried to arouse His enthusiasm concerning the magnificence of the temple and the surrounding architecture. Under Herod, the Temple had been reconstructed, enlarged, and beautified, so that many referred to it as Herod’s Temple. It was one of the wonders of the world; no cost was spared, no art left untried, to make it magnificent. Although it came short of Solomon’s temple, and it was small in the beginning, it was increased in size and beauty by this time. It was richly furnished with gifts and offerings, which were added to, almost daily. They showed Christ these things, and wanted him to take notice of them.

As they followed Jesus, they talked about the architectural triumphs involved in erecting the enormous structure. But, their interest in the attractive stones and buildings did not arise from aesthetic appreciation only. We can see here that many of Christ’s own disciples are apt to idolize things that look great, and at the same time are considered sacred. They had heard Christ complain of those who had made the temple a den of thieves; and yet, when he drove out the moneychangers and those who sold animals, they believed he was as much in love as they were with the stately structure and all the beautiful things adorning it.

That afternoon’s events included a significant statement the Lord made just prior to their exit from the Temple: “Behold your house is left unto you desolate.” Jesus words were prophetic, since by leaving the Temple, he not only went out of the temple; He left it, and then, immediately he made a prediction of its destruction. Note: That house (the Temple) and any other house is certainly left desolate, when Christ leaves. “Woe unto them when I depart” (Hos. 9:12; Jer. 6:8). Three days after this, the veil of the temple was torn in two. When Christ left it, everything in the Temple became common and unclean; but Christ did not depart until they drove him away; he did not reject them, until they first rejected him. It reminds us of Ezekiel’s description of the glory departing from the temple—“Then the glory of the God of Israel rose up from between the cherubim, where it had rested, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. And the Lord called to the man dressed in linen who was carrying the writer’s case. Then the glory of the Lord rose up from above the cherubim and went over to the door of the Temple. The Temple was filled with this cloud of glory, and the Temple courtyard glowed brightly with the glory of the Lord. Then the glory of the Lord went up from the city and stopped above the mountain to the east” (Ezek. 9:3; 10:4; 11:23—NLT). The cloud Shekinah glory (the presence of God) went from the Temple and stopped over the same spot where Jesus was headed after leaving the Temple.

When we speak of the temple, we should talk about the presence of God in it, and of the ordinances of God administered in it, and the communion that his people have there with him. It is unfortunate that when we speak of the church, that our conversation dwells upon its pageantry and ceremonies, and the important people who are its officers and pastors.

2 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.”

Alternate Translation (NLT): 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.”