1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. (Matthew 24:1-2 KJV)
Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple
Christ left the temple; not only did he leave the temple, but he also left his public work there. Once, while Jesus was lamenting over Jerusalem (Mt 23:37-39), he said, “Your house is left to you desolate” (Matthew 23:38), and now he fulfilled his words by departing from the temple, never to return. Immediately after leaving the temple, he predicted its ruin. Three days later, the temple veil was torn (Matthew 27:51), signifying that when Christ left, it lost its sanctity. Yet, he did not depart until they first rejected him.
Though he left the temple, he did not leave his disciples, who were the seed of the gospel church. They followed him, seeking private instruction after his public teaching had ended. They came to show him the temple’s buildings, a magnificent structure, one of the wonders of the world, richly adorned with gifts and offerings. Either they admired its grandeur and expected Christ to do the same, or they grieved at its impending desolation, hoping he might reverse the sentence.
They forgot that Solomon’s temple had been destroyed before (2 Chronicles 7:21-22), proving that God did not value outward splendor when the people were wicked. Christ had wept over lost souls (Luke 19:41), but his disciples were focused on grand buildings.
Jesus foretold the temple’s utter destruction: “Not one stone here will be left on another” (Matthew 24:2). He warned them against overvaluing worldly glory, for all such things would soon be reduced to ruins.
This prophecy was fulfilled forty years later when the Romans destroyed the city and burned the temple. Thought, Titus the Roman emperor tried to preserve the temple, his general Turnus Rufus and his soldiers destroyed it completely and even plowed up its foundations, fulfilling the words of Jeremiah: “Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble” (Jeremiah 26:18; Micah 3:12). God is as faithful in carrying out his judgments as he is in fulfilling his promises.
In Julian the Apostate’s time, the Jews attempted to rebuild the temple, but fire erupted from the ground, stopping the effort. This final and irreparable ruin of the temple marked the end of the Levitical priesthood and the ceremonial law.
Sin brings ruin to cities and kingdoms just as it does to individuals. No place is strong enough to withstand God’s judgment when wickedness abounds. God’s warnings must be taken seriously, for no earthly power can prevent their fulfillment. He had warned Jerusalem of destruction, and no amount of strength or grandeur could protect it.
Though worldly glory captivates human eyes, it holds no value for Christ when sin has defiled it. Even the temple, the most magnificent structure of its time, meant nothing to him once its worshippers had corrupted it. Jesus declared, “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2).