Mark 13:1-2 (NIV): As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
As Jesus left the temple for the day with His disciples, they were struck afresh by the grandeur and beauty of the temple complex. Even though the original structure of the temple, built after the return from captivity in Babylon, was much less impressive than the one built by Solomon and torn down by the invading Babylonians, the building was still impressive. It had huge stones that made many wonder how they had ever been hoisted into position.
The kings of the Herodian Dynasty had also left their imprint on the temple grounds. Herod the Great, the king who tried to execute the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:13-17), had redone much of the temple and the surrounding courtyards and buildings, a work carried on by his son, Herod Antipas, and still going on in Jesus’ day.
The temple was beautiful, breathtaking even, and the sight of it gladdened the heart of every pilgrim who came within its precincts. But Jesus squashed the disciples’ enthusiasm immediately with His terse statement: “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
Jesus was looking ahead four decades to AD 70, the year that the Romans, led by General Titus, would besiege and conquer Jerusalem, tearing and burning down all of the principal buildings, including the temple itself. The massive stones, fit together with such great skill, were torn apart, huge levers prying each layer off the one below it, until literally one stone was not left on another.
It wasn’t that Jesus didn’t appreciate the architecture and workmanship of this place. But He clearly could see that all of this beauty and majesty would soon be cast down to earth by mere men. No matter how sublime its original purpose, the temple was earthly, temporary, and able to be destroyed. Jesus had come, not to give credibility to what was temporary, but to establish that which will never be shaken or destroyed. He had come to initiate the kingdom of God, a kingdom with no geographical limits, but composed of people from every nation, tribe, people, and language (Revelation 7:9) who have entered through faith in Him. He came to establish the capital of this new kingdom, the New Jerusalem, a city not built by human hands or of earthy materials, but built by God Himself of heavenly, non-perishable stuff. By that one statement, as harsh to our ears as it was to those first disciples, Jesus was turning the disciples’ attention away from that which would ultimately fall, so that their eyes could be turned to focus on that which was even then being created, which would last forever.
Father, we still get overly impressed by things built with human hands, and in the process we lose sight of Your kingdom, which will last forever, and which is grander by far than anything the mind of man can conceive. Lord, give us heavenly eyes that can see Your kingdom clearly, so that the things of this world, no matter how grand and beautiful they are, will never gain a foothold in our hearts. Amen.