The Lord Jesus and His disciples were exiting Herod’s Temple for the last time. As He was leaving, He said to the Pharisees, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” Then at some point, while looking back “one of this disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!” – Mark 13:1. I’m sure that whoever this was, he didn’t disbelieve what the Lord had said, but perhaps he was disappointed and was trying to change His mind. Then he went on, or perhaps it was one of the others who pointed out “how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts” – Luke 21:5. At that point the omniscient Son of God categorically stated that the temple would soon be destroyed – to the point that not one stone would be left upon another.
As we shall see, this is the beginning of a long discourse on Eschatology – future events which were to fall upon the nation of Israel. This, and the next, can be very confusing chapters – partially because some of the things which were future in Jesus’ day are history for us today. But blended into those completed prophesies are prophesies yet to come. This chapter is much like the bowl into which Mom has blended all the ingredients for a cake. Perhaps a chemist might be able to separate those ingredients, but to us, all we see is a bowl of dough ready to go into the oven. Some scholars have worked themselves to death trying to separate the past events from the future, and to some degree that has merit. But perhaps more important is keeping it all together and to look at it from the perspective of Jesus and the disciples at that moment. Another thing of which I will try to remind you throughout the next couple of weeks – is that this is primarily prophesy about Israel, and not about you and me – it is not about the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. If these two things are kept in view, our problems with this chapter will diminish – not disappear, but diminish.
But all of that is moot as far as this morning’s message is concerned. What is said in verses 1 and 2 are pretty straight forward. Furthermore, there is no question, but that THIS prophesy has been fulfilled, so interpretation and hermeneutics shouldn’t be a problem. And yet the question remains – in what way should this conversation be applied to you and me? What are the lessons of these few words? In and attempt to answer that, let me outline my thoughts for you – we will note – The instability of earthly grandeur, the inevitability of God’s judgment, and the indisputable proof of Biblical prophesy.
First, consider the instability of earthly grandeur.
Herod’s temple was, without a doubt, one of the most magnificent buildings in the world at that time. The writings of the Jews declare that the temple was exceedingly beautiful. Someone declared, “He that hath not seen the Temple of Herod has never known what beauty is.” Of course, you’d expect the Jews to say that – they were highly prejudiced in that area. But that is the declaration of many secular writers as well. Some declared that this temple exceeded the temple built by Solomon. But then, of course, none of those men had seen Solomon’s Temple, so could they really be sure? On the other hand, a thousand years had passed since Solomon, and who knows how much development there had been in architecture, building techniques, and opinions about beauty generally? It is said that the huge stones of the Temple were made of white marble with flecks of green throughout. The Temple mount was on a hill within Jerusalem, and the sun could highlight the Temple twice a day like a divinely generated spot light. And then there was so much gold involved that it is said that the army of Titus tore the place apart, thinking that there was gold between the great stones, and that might have been the case. Everyone’s taste in art and architecture is different, but I have no doubt that most of us would stand in awe at the magnificence of the building to which those disciples pointed that day. “Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!” – see “how it (is) adorned with goodly stones and gifts.” “I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
What are the greatest and grandest things in this world? I have been told by people I respect that the buildings found in Washington DC are spectacular, but I’m sure that others are more impressed with the skyscrapers of New York or Chicago. What are the greatest objects in this world or in this country? Millions of people have marveled at the skill and artistry of Mount Rushmore. But aren’t Mt. Rainier, Mt. Hood and some of our other coastal volcano’s more spectacular? Or how about whole ranges of mountains here and there around the world? What are the greatest objects in the world? Are they man-made, or God-made? How about the Pacific Ocean crashing with power onto the beaches and rocks of Oregon? Or what about Crater Lake down there in Oregon, or any of a number of other high-mountain lakes? Far more often, my breath has been taken way by the Tetons or Bighorn mountains than by anything which man has been able to put together. For some people the greatest and grandest things in this world aren’t seen with the eye, but with the mind. Or maybe I should say with the imagination – Labron James, Richard Sherman, Payton Manning? Shakespeare; Tchaikovsky; Yo yo Ma; Byron, Keats, Rembrandt; Michelangelo? What about Ron Paul, George Washington, or the latest Hollywood star or starlet? “I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Nebuchadnezzar walked across the roof of his palace and said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” Didn’t the ancient Athenians, followed by the Romans, say the same sort of thing? There may be cities with those names today, but they are not the glorious places they once were.
In I Corinthians 7:31 Paul makes a simple statement – “The fashion of this world passeth away.” That simple, obvious statement is interesting in a couple of ways. James Strong tells us that the word “fashion” means “the habitus, as comprising everything in a person which strikes the senses, the figure, bearing, discourse, actions, manner of life etc.” That is – all things, including the most striking and beautiful things of the world all pass away. And Robertson tells us that the words “pass away” speak of a panorama, or perhaps a moving picture. We are all extras in a Hollywood epic movie which shows in the theaters for a little while and then is stored away and forgotten. As I John 2 16 tells us “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof.” However, in contrast to such things – “he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” The great and grandiose things of this world are all temporary. There shall not remain one stone left upon another.
Isn’t that because of the inevitability of God’s judgment?
It was Jesus’ disciple, John, who said, “he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” That man was there with Christ Jesus as the disciples passed from Matthew 23 into Matthew 24. John heard Jesus say, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” And didn’t the departure of the Son of God virtually guarantee the destruction of Herod’s Temple? “He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
As Matthew 23 reminds us, the leaders of Israel had joined their fathers in rejecting the will of the Lord. Historical Israel had slaughtered God’s prophets by the dozens, if not the hundreds. And even though this current generation enjoyed garnishing the tombs of those prophets, they still had hearts of stone toward Jehovah – and they poured out their hatred of God upon the Son of God. The Temple of Herod was a beautiful shell of a building, but within was “dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” It was a like an Easter egg that had not been hard boiled first – time has turned the insides into rottenness, while the outside was a work of art. God will not put up with this rebellion and unbelief very long.
Most of Matthew 24 is a private conversation between Christ and His disciples. But it could have been that others heard the words of Jesus here in these two verses. Probably some of the disciples and surely most of anyone else who heard these words, were thinking that the literal physical destruction of this building would be impossible. Look at the size of the building stones. I have no idea if these figures are correct, but I have read that many of the blocks of marble were massive. Some of the foundation stones were 45 cubits long, 5 cubits high and 6 cubits wide. In other words, they were about 75 feet long, by 7 or 8 feet high and nearly ten feet across. If those dimensions are accurate, they were longer than our building is wide, and taller and wider than any man here with his arms stretched over his head. These were massive blocks of marble, and today it would take immense cranes and other equipment to put them into place or remove them. The Romans didn’t have that equipment or explosives powerful enough to budge these massive stones. Nevertheless, they used what tools they had to rip apart every stone – thousands of them – until as Jesus said, not one was left upon another. In just one human generation – about 35 years, Jerusalem and its temple would be destroyed.
And the destruction of Jerusalem is indisputable proof of the accuracy of Biblical prophecy.
Throughout the Old Testament there are prophecies of God’s judgment on His chosen nation – Israel. Some of these speak of the fall of Israel to the Assyrians and the fall of Judah to the Babylonians. Some of them are related to the Greeks and Antiochus Epiphanes during the days of the Maccabees, before the coming of Christ. As we shall see later in this chapter, some of them involve the Anti-Christ and the days of Israel’s Great Tribulation. But some of those Old Testament scriptures relate directly to what the Romans did to Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Please return to the scripture which we read earlier from Daniel 9. There isn’t time to get into the dates which are implied here. I’ll just go on record once again as saying that there is more than ample reason to say that Daniel clearly prophesied the coming of the Messiah at precisely the time of Jesus birth and the incarnation of the Son of God. Let’s begin reading at verse 25 – “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” I believe that verse 27 is yet to be fulfilled, but that it could come about in as little as seven years. But verses 25 and 26 are now history. “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” Christ was crucified during the days of the Roman Empire and under the authority of a Roman governor. Then as the Jews continued to pester and rebel against Rome, Caesar finally grew tired. In the year 70, he sent in his General Titus, and Jerusalem was destroyed. Christ told His disciples that this was coming.
As early as the days of Moses, God had been telling Israel that their sin would bring about national judgment. Deuteronomy 28:49-52 – “The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young: And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.”
This sort of judgment was prophesied sometimes specifically but more often generally. When we listen to Micah chapter 3, it’s almost like hearing an Old Testament version of Jesus. “And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment? Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron. Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings. Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him. Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God. But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us. Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.” Listen again to that last verse – “Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.” By the time Titus was finished with David’s great city and Herod’s great temple, a farmer with a team of oxen could have run a plow over it.
And what is my point? “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” The wages of sin is judgment from God, and “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Those prophecies of the destruction of Jerusalem, were no more sacred and sure as the prophecies against sinners in general – those prophesies against you and me.
Let me conclude this morning by returning to I John 2 16 – “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” What is the will of God? Initially it can be explained in no better way than “repent” and “trust the Lord Jesus Christ.” The great and grand things of earth all pass away, including you and me. But “he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” If you would like to abide for ever, I implore you to come to God through the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and faith.