As Jesus and the disciples were leaving the temple, one of them said to Him, “Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”
The temple building then was not the one for which King David provided the beautiful stones (1 Chron. 29:2), but it was built on the same site with very large stones. It had porches with high pillars, and no doubt it was a beautiful building.
But even the disciples did not seem to understand that those great stones and all inside were not meant simply to be admired. Its purpose was to teach all who looked at the temple that the Lord of all the earth was to be honored there. The stones taught of His wisdom and power, for He had created them.
God’s Meeting Place
But most of all, God had said He would meet with His people there and speak with them. They could come there in sorrow or joy and pray to Him. Even a stranger, one of another nation, could come there to pray, or if the people were in trouble in a faraway land, they were to pray with their faces toward the temple (2 Chron. 6:5, 29, 32, 38; Dan. 6:10).
It was there that the scrolls of the Scriptures were kept and copied and read to the people, and where they praised God with music.
Sacrifices of animals could be offered in no other place, and all the men of the nation were to go there three times a year to feasts (Deut. 12:13-14; 16:16).
So no matter how far away people of Israel lived, the temple, or house of God in Jerusalem, was the most important place on earth to them. And we can understand the sorrow of the disciples when Jesus said to them, “Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
The Reason to Destroy the Temple
When God sent His Son Jesus to that nation, as the prophets had said, He came to the temple (Mal. 3:1) and must have been there many times. He told them God’s words and that He was from God, and He proved by His wisdom and miracles that He was the promised Messiah. Yet the leaders would not believe Him and were soon to have Him put to death.
That was why the great temple would be broken down. The Lord Jesus fulfilled in His death all the sacrifices, and those who trust Him come to God by Him (Heb. 9:14).
It is not written that Jesus told the disciples when the temple would be destroyed — only that it surely would take place. After His return to heaven, the disciples went to the temple to speak to people. The last mention of the building was when Paul was there (Acts 21:30). But from history by men, we know that temple was entirely broken down in battle in 70 A.D., and many people were made slaves. That was about 35 years after Jesus said those words.
The Jewish people have never since had a temple in Jerusalem. The building now on that hill is in honor of a false prophet and called the Mosque of Omar.
Further Meditation
1. What kind of access do we have to God’s presence today?
2. For more on worship today, consider Five Letters on Worship and Ministry in the Spirit by W. Trotter.
3. You will find a fascinating historical account of these times in Josephus: The Essential Writings.