New Temple

Matthew 24:1-3 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; each one will be thrown down. 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
 
MANY consider Matthew 24 in the same category with Revelation regarding prophecies of the end of the age. But the prophecies point to God’s judgment over Jerusalem. These verses begin the “Olivet Discourse”, so named because Jesus, leaving a time of hard preaching (Matthew 23) in Jerusalem, discoursed (spoke with) his disciples on the Mount of Olives.
   The conversation began when the disciples marveled at the beautiful Temple Mount. Their vantage point gave them a stunning view of the temple and the great plaza or mount that supported it. Some of the temple’s stones were as large as semi-trailers, weighing 100 tons! The structure was a beautiful tribute to man’s creative genius. National and religious pride filled the disciples’ hearts. But then Jesus quickly dampened their wonder with his prophecy, “Each (stone) will be thrown down.” Those surprising, unexpected words prompted two anxious questions from the disciples: “When will this happen?” And “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”    
   The first question we can understand. We always want to know, “When?” don’t we? Jesus’ answer is written in Luke 21:20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.” This is a very specific response. Jesus is not speaking spiritual matters. He is plainly telling the disciples the temple and all will be destroyed. This prophecy became reality in 70 A.D. when Rome turned Jerusalem’s grandeur into rubble.
   Regarding the second question: How does the temple’s destruction point to Jesus’ coming at the end of the age? The answer is that all Jews were taught that the temple would stand until the Messiah would come to restore the earth to God’s perfection. Jesus’ prophecy of the temple’s end prompted the disciples to think he also spoke of his eternal rule being established on the earth. return.
   Jerusalem’s destruction is key to understanding the Olivet Discourse. God did destroy the temple as judgment on his people who rejected the Son. This tells us the physical temple is not relevant to the Kingdom of God. The Spirit-quickened temple – your soul saved in faith to know Jesus as Lord is the Living Temple prepared for Messiah’s reign. We’ll see in the next scripture Jesus answer was to direct the disciples to their mission.