1 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! 2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? (Mark 13:1-4 KJV)
Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple
We may here see how prone many of Christ’s own disciples are to idolize things that appear grand and have long been regarded as sacred. They had heard Christ criticize those who had turned the temple into a den of thieves, and yet, when he left it because of the sin that still defiled it, they urged him to admire its impressive construction. One of them said to him, “Look, Teacher, what massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” (Mark 13:1).
Christ, however, showed how little he values outward splendor where there is no true holiness. “Do you see all these great buildings?” he said. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down” (Mark 13:2). The grandeur of the structure would offer no protection, nor would it move the Lord Jesus to pity. He grieves over the ruin of souls, for they are of great worth to him, but he does not express any sorrow over the destruction of a grand building when sin has driven him out of it. He says, without emotion, that not one stone will be left on another. Much of the temple’s strength lay in the size of its stones, and if even these are thrown down, no trace or memory of it will remain. While some part remains standing, there may be hope of repair, but what hope is there when not one stone remains?
It is natural for us to want to know the future, especially the timing of future events; we are often more curious about that than about our present duties. The disciples couldn’t grasp the idea of the temple being destroyed. They had imagined it would be their Master’s royal palace and expected to gain high positions there. They were troubled by this prophecy and waited until they were alone with him to ask for more explanation. As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, where he could see it clearly, four of them—Peter, James, John, and Andrew—asked him privately what he meant by the destruction of the temple, just as they hadn’t understood his predictions of his own death. Probably, though these four asked the question, Jesus’ answer was heard by the rest of the disciples, though apart from the crowds.
Their question was, “When will these things happen?” They did not question whether it would happen—because their Master had said it would—but hoped it would be far in the future. They did not ask for the exact day or year, but said, “Tell us, what will be the sign that they are about to be fulfilled?” (Mark 13:4). What signs will indicate these things are near, and how can we recognize them?