“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.” (Matthew 24:1–2 (ESV)
After His scathing denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 23:13-36), and His prophecy against Jerusalem (23:37-39), Jesus began leaving the temple mount area. At this time, His disciples came and pointed out to Him the magnificent buildings of the temple area. Mark 13:1-8 indicates it was one unidentified disciple who made the comment about the buildings.
Dr. John MacArthur provides great insight into the scale and scope of the temple area at this time.
“This temple was begun by Herod the Great in 20 B.C. (see Matt. 2:1) and was still under construction when the Romans destroyed it in A.D. 70. At the time of Jesus’ ministry, the temple was one of the most impressive structures in the world, made of massive blocks of stone bedecked with gold ornamentation. Some of the stones in the temple complex measured 40x12x12 feet and were expertly quarried to fit perfectly against one another. The temple buildings were made of gleaming white marble, and the whole eastern wall of the large main structure was covered with gold plates that reflected the morning sun, making a spectacle that was visible for miles. The entire temple mount had been enlarged by Herod’s engineers, by means of large retaining walls and vaulted chambers on the south side and southeast corner. By this means the large courtyard area atop the temple mount was effectively doubled. The whole temple complex was magnificent by any standard. The disciples’ conversation here may have been prompted by Jesus’ words in 23:38. They were undoubtedly wondering how a site so spectacular could be left “desolate.”
However, Jesus answer was not encouraging, but pessimistic. He said, ““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.” Jesus predicted the impending doom the Romans would bring in A.D. 70. They would devastate and destroy not only the temple, but also the city.
“Some Greek philosophers were unimpressed with magnificent structures, but Jesus’ response goes far beyond this attitude—he speaks of judgment. Some other Jewish groups (including the Qumran sect) also expected the temple to be judged; but most Jews, regardless of their other differences, found in the temple a symbol of their Jewish unity and would have been appalled to think that God would allow it to be destroyed (as in Jer. 7:4–15). Some stones were left on others (e.g., part of one wall still stands), but this fact does not weaken the force of the hyperbole: the temple was almost entirely demolished in a.d. 70,” states commentator Craig Keener.
“These words were literally fulfilled in A.D. 70. Titus, the Roman general, built large wooden scaffolds around the walls of the temple buildings, piled them high with wood and other flammable items, and set them ablaze. The heat from the fires was so intense that the stones crumbled. The rubble was then sifted to retrieve the melted gold, and the remaining ruins were “thrown down” into the Kidron Valley,” explains Dr. MacArthur.
As we shall see, the disciples would be shocked and curious about the temple’s future of destruction. They wanted to know when this would happen. Jesus would provide them, and believers in Christ today, a cryptic answer.
Soli deo Gloria!
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