Matthew 24:1-2, Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

1 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Comments

This begins the fifth and last of the great discourses of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew. Its theme is the future repercussions of his ministry, and the ultimate consummation of the kingdom of heaven. Central to this passage is the theme of judgment: judgment on Jerusalem (24:1-35), judgment associated with his second coming (25:1-30), and the scene of the final judgment (25:31-46).

Jesus’ public teaching is over. Chapters 24 and 25 are private teachings to the disciples. Chapter 24 poses great interpretive problems. It begins with the looming destruction of the temple, which was destroyed in AD 70 by the Romans, but by the end of the chapter Jesus seems to have moved on the parousia, the second and final coming of Jesus.

Jesus’ leaving of the temple symbolized its end in the purposes of God. Micah and Jeremiah predicted the destruction of Solomon’s temple, which occurred in 587 BC. Jesus went against contemporary Jewish belief that this temple was indestructible. In saying one stone will not remain upon another, Jesus rejected Jewish nationalism and her leaders whose power was focused on the temple and its rituals.

Prayer

O Almighty God, who pours out on all who desire it the spirit of grace and of supplication: Deliver us, when we draw near to you, from coldness of heart and wanderings of mind, that with steadfast thoughts and kindled affections we may worship you in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(BCP, p. 833)