Ch. Mar 13:1-13<\/span>. Prophecies of the Destruction of Jerusalem<\/p>\n 1<\/strong>. And as he went<\/em> ] Leaving the Temple, He passed with His Apostles down the eastern steps toward the valley of the Kidron. As they were passing on,<\/p>\n one of his disciples<\/em> ] invited His attention to the marvellous structure they were quitting, to the enormous size of its marble blocks, the grandeur of its buildings, and the gorgeous gifts with which, though still unfinished, it had been endowed (Luk 21:5<\/span>). Josephus tells us that while some of the stones were forty-five feet, most were thirty-seven and a half feet long, twelve feet high, and eighteen broad. Jos. Bell. Jud<\/em>. v. 6. 6; Ant<\/em>. xv. 11. 3.<\/p>\n What manner of stones – <\/B>The stones here referred to were those used in the building of the temple, and the walls on the sides of Mount Moriah, on which the temple stood. The temple was constructed of white marble, and the blocks were of a prodigious size. Josephus says that these stones were, some of them, 50 feet long, 24 feet broad, and 16 feet in thickness.<\/P> <\/p>\n Mar 13:1-2<\/span><\/p>\n Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Men admiring doomed things<\/strong><\/p>\n What manner of stones, and what buildings are here! An outburst of admiration this. The stones were indeed beautiful. That sacred building was constructed of prodigious blocks of white marble, some of which seem to have been upwards of thirty feet long, eighteen broad, and sixteen thick. They did not view the temple in the light in which Christ viewed it. It is worthy of note that Christ, in His discourse, speaks in a very different spirit of doomed things <\/em>to what He does of doomed people. Mind was infinitely more interesting to Him than masonry. When He refers to the temple He says, As for these things with an air of comparative indifference; but when He refers to doomed people He weeps, and says, O Jerusalem, etc. The language of Christ and His disciples here will apply-<\/p>\n I. <\/strong>To secular interests, which are doomed things. Markets, governments, navies, and armies are doomed.<\/p>\n II. <\/strong>To artistic productions, which are doomed things.<\/p>\n III. <\/strong>To social distinctions, which are doomed things.<\/p>\n IV. <\/strong>To religious systems, which are doomed things.<\/p>\n V. <\/strong>To the world itself, which is a doomed thing. Why set your hearts on doomed things? <\/em>(D. Thomas, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The destruction of Jerusalem<\/strong><\/p>\n It is interesting to mark the site and trace the history of edifices built for God, some of which have been signally honoured by Him. The temple at Jerusalem was one of these. It stood contemporary with great events, and was the scene, for four hundred years, of the perpetual sacrifices, those august national solemnities, the divinely appointed services that distinguished the worship of the God of Israel. But that which piety erects, sin often lays in ruins. This temple accomplished its service and shared in the national fall, when the people by whom it had been profaned were carried to their seventy years captivity. The second temple was designated to still higher distinction, inasmuch as it was that which Messiahs feet trod, and within whose walls He joined as a worshipper. What have been the bearings of the destruction of Jerusalem, upon Christianity on the one hand, and Judaism on the other?<\/p>\n I. <\/strong>This event furnished a most striking proof of the truth of our Lords predictions and consequently of His Divine mission and authority.<\/p>\n II. <\/strong>The destruction of Jerusalem served a most important purpose in reference to Christianity, by liberalising the minds of the believers and particularly by emancipating the Jewish converts from the authority of the Mosaic ritual.<\/p>\n III. <\/strong>The destruction of Jerusalem, by weaning the believing Hebrews from their national attachments, and scattering them abroad in the earth, contributed essentially to the diffusion of the knowledge and influence of the gospel. But what are its bearings upon Judaism?<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Whether the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews is not to be regarded as an act of righteous judgment upon the nation, incurred by the dreadful crime of rejecting the promised Messiah?<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>I ask whether the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple was not a clear intimation of the final abolition of the Mosaic economy? Here only could the sacrifices be offered, so that when it was destroyed, the institution itself was abolished. (H. Gray, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The discipline of destruction<\/strong><\/p>\n For as a physician, by breaking the cup, prevents his patient from indulging his appetite in a hurtful draught, so God withheld them from their sacrifices by destroying the city itself, and making the place inaccessible to all of them. (Warburton<\/em>s Julian.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The ruins of the earthly Jerusalem<\/strong><\/p>\n In the very ruins of the earthly Jerusalem you will find a salutary memorial, not only of the transitory character of all this worlds glory, but of the exchange of the shadow for the substance; of the introduction of that kingdom which is not of this world, and of that temple, built upon everlasting foundations, in which all believers are living stones, fashioned after the model of the chief cornerstone, even Jesus Christ. (H. Gray.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The religious use of archeology<\/strong><\/p>\n What is the true religious aspect of archaeology? We must all profit by that warning voice which did for a moment check the enthusiasm of the antiquarian disciple. The admiration for stones and buildings, however innocent and useful, is yet not religion. The regard for antiquity and the love of the past, if pushed to excess, have often been the ruin of religion. Christianity is not antiquarianism, and antiquarianism is not Christianity. There must be times and places when antiquity must give way to truth, and the beauty of form to the beauty of holiness, and the charm of poetic and historic recollections to the stern necessities of fact and duty. It is well to remember that there is something more enduring than the stones of the temple. If archaeology is not everything, it is at least something.<\/p>\n I. <\/strong>It awakens that love of the past which is so necessary a counterpoise to the excitement of the present and the future. I have considered, says the Psalmist, the days of old, the years of the ancient time. They were to him as a cool shade, a calm haven. The study of them carries us back from the days of the man to the days of the child; it opens to us a fresh world; it makes us feel that we do not stand alone in our generation on the earth, but that under God, we are what we are because of the deeds and thoughts of those who have lived before us, and to whom we thus owe a debt which we have constantly to repay to our posterity. How this insight into the past has been increased in our own age. Not only Greeks and Romans, but Egyptians and Assyrians, are familiar to us in this century.<\/p>\n II. <\/strong>The importance of these studies in developing those rarest of Gods gifts to man, a love of truth, and a love of justice-the will and the power to see things as they really are, and in their just proportions to one another.<\/p>\n III. <\/strong>The more thoroughly we can understand these ancient forms, the more eagerly we can restore and beautify ancient buildings, so much the better is the framework prepared for the reception of new thoughts and new ideas. It has been sometimes said that the great periods of building and of admiration for the past have been the precursors of the fall of the religion of the nations which they represented. It has been said, for example, that the burst of splendid architecture under the Herods, immediately preceded the fall of Judaism; that the like display under the Antonii preceded the fall of Paganism; that the like display at the beginning of the sixteenth century preceded the fall of the Church of the middle ages. There is no doubt a truth in this. There is a tendency in an expiring system to develop itself in outward form, when its inward spirit has died away. But this is not at all the whole truth, and the higher truth is something quite different, namely, that these magnificent displays of art, these profound investigations into the past, in those eras of which I have spoken, were part of the same throes, of the same mind and spirit, which accompanied the birth of the new and higher religion, which in each case succeeded. Those Augustan buildings suggested to the apostles hearts the imagery by which they expressed the most sublime of spiritual truths. The chief cornerstone; the stones joined and compacted together; the pillars which were never to be moved; the whole idea of what the apostles called edification,-that most expressive word when we understand it rightly-the architecture, so to speak, of the Christian soul-all these images were drawn from the superb edifices which everywhere rose before the apostles eyes. And so in the last great efflorescence of mediaeval architecture, religion, instead of dying out with that effort, took a third start throughout Europe. Oh! may God grant that the glory of the third temple, the glory of the living temple, may as much exceed the glory of the second, as the glory of the second exceeded the glory of the first! Cast not away the old, but see what it means, see what it embraces, see what it indicates, See what manner of stones and what buildings are here, and then, as in the case of sacred and of ancient words, so also in the case of sacred and ancient edifices, they will become as Luther said of words, not dead stones but living creatures with hands and feet; living stones which will cry out with a thousand voices; stones which will be full of sermons; dry bones which when we prophesy over them, will stand on their feet an exceeding great army; ancient, everlasting gates, which shall turn upon their rusty hinges and lift up their hoary doors that the Lord of Hosts may come in; a heavenly city within the earthly city, a city which hath foundations deeper than any earthly foundations, a city whose builder and maker is God! (Dean Stanley.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Ruin ever near<\/strong><\/p>\n Jesus and the disciples of Jesus differ in just this way about the strength and durability of a great many things in this world. The disciples point to the wealth of the millionaire, to the reputation of a man of worldwide fame, to the influence of a popular leader, to the power of a national government, to the strength of some system of wrong; and they say, Behold what manner of stones and what manner of buildings! Jesus says, There shall not be left here one stone upon another. And the word of Jesus never fails. Wealth is no sure support even for the life that now is. The splendid fabric of a fortune, which a man has toiled a life through to give as an inheritance to his family, crumbles in a night, and the millionaires children are beggars, or worse. The man whom all the world honoured has become a by-word of the scoffer and jester. He who swayed multitudes at his will, and who defied the voice of an outraged public sentiment, is a wretched outcast denied help or pity from the very creatures of his influence. A system of iniquity edged in by law, and venerable for ages, is overthrown and swept away as by the breath of Omnipotence. No nation on earth, today, is beyond the possibility of ruin tomorrow. A few pounds of dynamite may scatter the last vestiges of the strongest dynasty. The traditions of the ages, the superstitions of entire races, ignorance, vice, evil in high places, Satan himself, and all his hosts combined, cannot keep one stone on another, when the word of God is spoken for the fabrics fall. If we only really believed this truth, which is as true as any other truth of God, and which has been verified anew before our own eyes again and again in the present generation, how much more restful we should be, and how much more courage we should have. (Sunday School Times.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Gods great judgment on Israel<\/strong><\/p>\n Privilege and responsibility go hand in hand, and the higher the opportunity, the greater the penalty for neglecting to improve it. The occasion of the uttering of this prediction is suggestive. The Saviour had marvelled at the widows mite; the disciples marvel at the temples magnificence. Forty and six years had the temple been in building, and had not long been completed. Occupying a site which seemed impregnable, its massive structure seemed to defy the destructive arts of war, while the exquisite beauty of its golden roof, of its courts, of its cloisters, of its pillars, of its gates, made it one of the wonders of the world. As today, a visitor to the cathedral of St. Isaacs, at St. Petersburg, would mark outside the great pillars, made of single stones of granite, and within the marvellous pillars of Malachite and Lapis Lazuli, so the twelve point to stones of vast dimensions and beautiful in their veins and workmanship, and ask His admiration at once for these individual stones, and for the whole temple, which, like a jewel, crowned that hill of Zion, which the Psalmist had thought so beautiful for situation. It was a time of peace, for the horrors of war were being forgotten as a troubled dream. The absorption of Judaea in the Roman Empire seemed to promise a degree of security, which would be not an altogether unsatisfactory compensation for the loss of dignity of freedom. Just as our rule in India prevents wars amongst the various nations peopling that continent, so The Roman peace, as it has been termed, prevailed between and blessed the various peoples blended together in the great Roman Empire. The scene was made more impressive by the multitudes from every land who had gathered to the feast, wearing various costumes, speaking various languages. The candid observer would regret the absence of many of the signs of devotion he had hoped to find; but would at the same time indulge the feeling that there must be some vitality in the religion which felt such a mighty attraction to the House of God. A nation so united in what was deepest and holiest could not, he would think, fail to have some future still awaiting it. And whether the cloudless sun gilded the scene of cheerful activity, or the silver light of the passover full moon rested like a benediction on the whole, hope rather than solicitude would fill his heart; and the holiest spot on earth would seem destined to wear an eternal bloom of glory. Unexpected by His hearers, Christs words thrill them with horror. We still feel Christs sayings hard. We still find, on earnest study, that some hard sayings are yet helpful.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Taste is not everything in religion. The temple of Jerusalem was perhaps the most beautiful religious building ever raised by men; yet it was built by Herod the Great, a man as wicked in his life as he was exquisite in his taste. And all this beauty is so valueless in Gods sight that, costly and marvellous as it was, it had no endurance, but like the grass of the housetop, which withereth afore it groweth up, the world had hardly time to marvel at its aspect before they lamented its end. The true beauty of a church is that of hearts: the kindly thought, the gracious prayer, the consecrated life.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>There is only one thing that can give endurance-righteousness. Where it is absent, nothing can secure man, city, or institution from a grave fate. So the Saviour begins His teaching on the judgment of Jerusalem. Was it any wonder that, sickened with the thought of such calamity, Christ could not enjoy the outward beauty of the temple as others did? (R. Glover.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Christs double prophecy<\/strong><\/p>\n The difficulty in explaining this discourse of our Lord lies in the appropriateness of its terms to two distinct and distant events,-the end of the world and the destruction of Jerusalem. But whether we assume, with some interpreters, that the one catastrophe was meant to typify the other; or, with another class, that the discourse may be mechanically divided by assuming a transition, at a certain point, from one of these great subjects to the other; or, with a third, that it describes a sequence of events to be repeated more than once, a prediction to be verified, not once for all, nor yet by a continuous progressive series of events, but in stages and at intervals, like repeated flashes of lightning, or the periodical germination of the fig tree, or the reassembling of the birds of prey whenever and wherever a new carcass tempts them; upon any of these various suppositions it is still true that the primary fulfilment of the prophecy was in the downfall of the Jewish state, with the previous or accompanying change of dispensations; and yet that it was so framed as to leave it doubtful until the event, whether a still more terrible catastrophe was not intended. However clear the contrary may now seem to us, there was nothing absurd in the opinion which so many entertained that the end of the world and of the old economy might be coincident. This ambiguity is not accidental, but designed, as in many other prophecies of Scripture. (J. A. Alexander, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Beauty of Jerusalem<\/strong><\/p>\n When I stood that morning on the brow of Olivet, and looked down on the city crowning those battlemented heights, encircled by those deep and dark ravines, I involuntarily exclaimed, Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion. And as I gazed, the red rays of the rising sun shed a halo round the top of the castle of David; then they tipped with gold each tapering minaret, and gilded each dome of mosque and church, and at length bathed in one flood of ruddy light the terraced roofs of the city, and the grass and foliage, the cupolas, pavements, and colossal walls of the Haram. No human being could be disappointed who first saw Jerusalem from Olivet. (Dr. Porter.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Trouble just ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n The chapter now coming under our perusal for two Sundays in succession, is not easy of interpretation in a good many of its particulars, because the suggestions of doctrine glide so imperceptibly and fitfully between the predictions of Jerusalems downfall and the prophecies of the worlds end that we cannot always fix their exact application. It appears as if it might be as well on the present occasion to occupy ourselves with what is plain and practical, and not lose our time in speculation upon what is not certainly revealed.<\/p>\n I. <\/strong>We learn, in the beginning, that Jerusalem was openly announced as doomed to fall before it fell. Some specific incidents were related beforehand which would test the prophetic power of Jesus Christ there at once, and put within reach of His disciples a confutation or a confirmation of His claims. It hardly needs to be stated, for the whole matter is so familiar, that the predictions of this citys overthrow showed that our Lord spoke with a perfect knowledge of the events He mentioned as coming on the earth. The site of that old town is a well-known fact; no one thinks of disputing the locality. The historic books of the Jews tell how Jerusalem was overthrown by the Romans. Any one can ask and answer whether the stones are large, whether they are in position or not. The city lies on heaps. Mount Zion is ploughed. The temple is gone. Those vast walls are scattered. Some few stones of prodigious size yet remain in what were the foundations of the edifices, and in the cavernous substructions underground. No one can pass out of the modern Jaffa gate, and push on around along the declivity of Zion till he enters again the gate of Stephen, without unconsciously saying to himself, See what manner of stones!<\/p>\n II. <\/strong>We learn, next, as we continue to read the verses (verses 3, 4), that it is lawful to inquire for the time of fulfilment of scriptural prophecy. It is not right to attempt to set it, but if it can be ascertained, so much the better for our understanding, and in that direction our duty lies. Christ makes no rebuke for what some consider their curiosity. On the contrary, He tells them most important facts concerning the great times coming.<\/p>\n III. <\/strong>We learn also, just here, that there will be one special token of the worlds end which will not fail: the gospel must first be published among all nations (verse 10): Very carefully chosen is this phraseology. We are not told that all the nations are to be converted by the gospel before the true Christ shall come again, but that they are all to hear it. It would seem as if it could not be a difficult thing to decide so evident a fact as this assumes, whenever it should occur. Most of us would, no doubt, be surprised to learn how many of the nations on the face of the earth have, really, already heard the tidings of salvation; and it is not impossible that the joyous moment is very nigh. It is time, certainly, to be thoughtful. It is within the memory of almost all of us that the fixed, and with some good old men the stereotyped, prayer for monthly concert, for many a year, was that God would open China to the gospel, and break down the barriers in Japan. Now there is in all the world nothing in the way except the hardness of mens hearts. Growth has been made in evangelizing effort that startles us when we think of it. Lately, the sudden conversion of nations in a day, as once seemed to be the case in Madagascar, has come to appear less and less strange. Spiritual uprisings of whole peoples at a time have been recorded in our generation.<\/p>\n IV. <\/strong>We learn, also, that when the end of the world draws nigh, it will be heralded and accompanied with most dire convulsions and troubles (verses 19, 20).<\/p>\n VI. <\/strong>So we are ready for our final lesson from the passage: man need to prepare for such a day as this before it shall prove to be too late. It is easy for us to see now the relevancy of what has been given us as the golden text (Pro 22:3<\/span>), A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself. There is but one refuge for any human soul: Christ is our hiding place; He will preserve us from trouble (Psa 32:7<\/span>). If we believe in Him, we are safe. It is revealed in the Scriptures that the coming of our Lord to judge the world will find men in a condition of apathy and listlessness. They will be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, as they were in Noahs time (Mat 24:37-39<\/span>). They will be buying and selling, planting and building, as they were in Lots time (Luk 17:28-30<\/span>). Better for us who are studying to know Gods will this impressive hour to call on the Lord at once, and be secure. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n CHAPTER XIII. <\/P> Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple<\/I>, 1, 2.<\/P> His disciples inquire when this shall be, and what previous<\/I><\/P> sign there shall be of this calamity<\/I>, 3, 4;<\/P> which questions he answers very solemnly and minutely<\/I>, 5-27;<\/P> illustrates the whole by a parable<\/I>, 28, 29;<\/P> asserts the absolute certainty of the events<\/I>, 30, 31;<\/P> shows that the precise minute cannot be known by man<\/I>, 32;<\/P> and inculcates the necessity of watchfulness and prayer<\/I>, 33-37. <\/P> NOTES ON MARK XIII.<\/P> <\/P> Verse 1<\/span>. See what manner of stones<\/B><\/I>] Josephus says, ANT. b. xv. chap. 11<\/span>: “That these stones were white<\/I> and strong, FIFTY feet<\/I> long, TWENTY-FOUR broad, and SIXTEEN in thickness.” If this account can be relied on, well might the disciples be struck with wonder at such a superb edifice, and formed by such immense stones! The principal contents of this chapter are largely explained in the notes on Matt. 24<\/span>:, and to these the reader is requested to refer.<\/P><\/p>\n The perishing nature of the splendid and gay things of this world, are fitter objects for the meditation of such as are Christs disciples, than the splendour and magnificence of them, especially when they are the privileges of a sinful people. Sin will undermine and blow up the most famous structures. It is a good thing for Christians not to set their hearts upon them. See Poole on “Mat 24:1-2<\/span>“. <\/P> <\/p>\n 1. And as he went out of the temple,one of his disciples saith unto him<\/B>The other Evangelists areless definite. “As some spake,” says Luke (Lu21:5<\/span>); “His disciples came to Him,” says Matthew (Mt24:2<\/span>). Doubtless it was the speech of one, the mouthpiece,likely, of others. <\/P> Master<\/B>Teacher. <\/P> see what manner of stones andwhat buildings are here<\/B>wondering probably, how so massive apile could be overthrown, as seemed implied in our Lord’s last wordsregarding it. JOSEPHUS,who gives a minute account of the wonderful structure, speaks ofstones forty cubits long [Wars of the Jews,<\/I> 5.5.1.] and saysthe pillars supporting the porches were twenty-five cubits high, allof one stone, and that of the whitest marble [Wars of the Jews,<\/I>5.5.2]. Six days’ battering at the walls, during the siege, made noimpression upon them [Wars of the Jews,<\/I> 6.4.1]. Some of theunder-building, yet remaining, and other works, are probably as oldas the first temple.<\/P><\/p>\n And as he went out of the temple<\/strong>,…. The Ethiopic version reads, “as they went out”; Christ and his disciples: for when Christ went out of the temple, the disciples went out with him; or at least very quickly followed him, and came to him, as appears from what follows; though the true reading is, “as he went out”: and the Syriac and Persic versions are more express, and read, “as Jesus went out”: for having done all he intended to do there, he left it, never more to return to it:<\/p>\n one of his disciples<\/strong>: it may be Peter, who was generally pretty forward, and commonly the mouth of the rest, as this disciple was, whoever he was: the Persic version reads, “the disciples”; and Matthew and Luke represent them in general, as observing to Christ, the beauty and grandeur of the temple, as this disciple did: who<\/p>\n saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings [are here]<\/strong>. The temple, as repaired by Herod, was a very beautiful building, according to the account the Jews give of it, and its stones were of a very great magnitude; [See comments on Mt 24:1]<\/span>.<\/p>\n The Destruction of the Temple Foretold.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> 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!<\/I> 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<\/I> the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?<\/P> We may here see,<\/P> I. How apt many of Christ’s own disciples are to idolize things that look great,<\/I> and have been long looked upon as sacred.<\/I> They had heard Christ complain of those who had made the temple a den of thieves;<\/I> and yet, when he quitted it, for the wickedness that remained in it, they court him to be as much in love as they were with the stately structure and adorning of it. One of them said to him, “Look, Master, what manner of stones, and what buildings are here,<\/I> v.<\/span> 1<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. We never saw the like in Galilee; O do not leave this fine place.”<\/P> II. How little Christ values external pomp, where there is not real purity; “Seest thou these great buildings<\/I>” (saith Christ), “and admirest thou them? I tell thee, the time is at hand when there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down,<\/I>” v.<\/I><\/span> 2<\/span>. And the sumptuousness of the fabric shall be no security to it, no nor move any compassion in the Lord Jesus towards it. He looks with pity<\/I> upon the ruin of precious souls, and weeps over them, for on them he has put great value; but we do not find him look with any pity upon the ruin of a magnificent house, when he is driven out of it by sin, for that is of small value with him. With what little concern doth he say, Not one stone shall be left on another!<\/I> Much of the strength of the temple lay in the largeness of the stones, and if these be thrown down, no footstep, no remembrance, of it will remain. While any part remained standing, there might be some hopes of the repair of it; but what hope is there, when not one stone is left upon another?<\/I><\/P> III. How natural it is to us to desire to know things to come, and the times of them; more inquisitive we are apt to be about that than about our duty. His disciples knew not how to digest<\/I> this doctrine of the ruin of the temple, which they thought must be their Master’s royal palace, and in which they expected their preferment, and to have the posts of honour; and therefore they were in pain till they got him alone, and got more out of him concerning this matter. As he was returning to Bethany therefore, he sat upon the mount of Olives, over against the temple,<\/I> where he had a full view of it; and there four of them agreed to ask him privately,<\/I> what he meant by the destroying of the temple, which they understood no more than they did the predictions of his own death, so inconsistent was it with their scheme. Probably, though these four proposed the question, yet Christ’s discourse, in answer to it, was in the hearing of the rest of the disciples, yet privately,<\/I> that is, apart from the multitude. Their enquiry is, When shall these things be?<\/I> They will not question, at least not seem to question, whether they shall be or no (for their Master has said that they shall), but are willing to hope it is a great way off. Yet they ask not precisely the day and year (therein they were modest), but say, “Tell us what shall be the sign, when all these things shall be fulfilled?<\/I> What presages shall there be of them, and how may we prognosticate their approach?”<\/P> <\/p>\n Master, behold, what manner of stones and what manner of buildings <\/B> (, <\/SPAN><\/span>). Mt 24:1<\/span> and Lu 21:5<\/span> tell of the fact of the comment, but Mark alone gives the precise words. Perhaps Peter himself (Swete) was the one who sought thus by a pleasant platitude to divert the Teacher’s attention from the serious topics of recent hours in the temple. It was not a new observation, but the merest commonplace might serve at this crisis. Josephus (Ant<\/I>. xv. II, 3) speaks of the great size of these stones and the beauty of the buildings. Some of these stones at the southeastern and southwestern angles survive today and measure from twenty to forty feet long and weigh a hundred tons. Jesus had, of course, often observed them. <\/P> <\/p>\n Stones. The spring – stones of the arches of the bridge which spanned the valley of Tyropoeon (the cheese – makers), and connected the ancient city of David with the royal porch of the temple, measured twenty – four feet in length by six in thickness. Yet these were by no means the largest in the masonry of the temple. Both at the southeastern and southwestern angles stones have been found measuring from twenty to forty feet long, and weighing above one hundred tons (Edersheim, ” Temple “).<\/P> <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n OLIVET DISCOURSE — 3 QUESTIONS OF THE FUTURE, V. 1-4<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n 1) “And as He went out of the temple,” <\/strong>(kai ekporeuomenou autou ek tou hierou) “And as He went out of and away from the temple,” and the temple area in Jerusalem, He began an extensive discourse, Mat 24:1<\/span>.<\/p>\n 2) “One of the disciples saith unto Him,” <\/strong>(legei auto eis ton matheton autou) “One of His disciples said to Him,” as others of the disciples joined in the inquiries and observations regarding the majesty of the temple, the future of it, the people of Israel, and their future.<\/p>\n 3) “Master, see what manner of stones,”<\/strong> (didaskale ice potapoi lithoi) “Teacher, behold (just look) what great stones,” great in size and beauty, what majestic stone buildings! Do you see? Have you really noticed the size of the stones in these buildings? Luk 21:5<\/span>.<\/p>\n 4) “And what buildings are here!”<\/strong> (kai potapai oikodomai) “And just what great buildings,” what edifices these are! in size, in architecture, in durability, as well as beauty; The disciples saw only the manner of the stones and the beauty of the buildings, while the Lord saw the events of the future associated with these stones, the temple, this city, this people of temple worship (Israel) and the work of His disciples in the Church, His New Covenant program of worship and service. This is the central theme of this discourse, as also recounted by Matthew and Luke, Mat 24:1<\/span> to Mat 25:46<\/span>; Luk 21:38<\/span>.<\/p>\n CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES<\/em><\/p>\n Mar. 13:8<\/span>. Beginnings of sorrows<\/strong>.Beginning of travail-pangs<\/em>the throes that are to issue in the regeneration of the world.<\/p>\n Mar. 13:9<\/span>. Render: But look ye to yourselves; for they shall deliver you unto sanhedrins and unto synagogues; ye shall be beaten; and at-the-bar-of governors and kings ye shall stand on account of Me, for a testimony to them<\/em>. Meaning of last clause: an opportunity will be given you of proclaiming the truth in the hearing of the highest in the landthose who, in the ordinary course of things, would be unlikely to come in contact with peasants of Galilee.<\/p>\n Mar. 13:11<\/span>. Take no thought beforehand<\/strong>.Entertain no solicitude as to what<\/em>, etc. Neither do ye premeditate<\/strong>.Omitted in many first-rate MSS. and versions. Probably a marginal explanation of preceding clause, which eventually crept into the text.<\/p>\n Mar. 13:13<\/span>. He that shall endure unto the end<\/strong>.Here is the cardinal virtue of fortitude<\/em>, the cheerful hardihood and loyal sense of duty, evinced by Christs faithful soldier and servant in meeting all shocks of temptation and all assaults of our enemies; for often means to bide the brunt of encounter in battle.<\/p>\n MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.<\/em>Mar. 13:1-13<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n (PARALLELS: Mat. 24:1-14<\/span>; Luk. 21:5-19<\/span>.)<\/p>\n The destruction of the Temple<\/em>.<\/p>\n I. The function of a prophet<\/strong>.Of the three characters, Prophet, Priest, and King, which are united in the person of Christ, the first is that in which He was commonly regarded while He lived among men. The original authority of a prophet is grounded, not on the truth of his declarations concerning future events, which can never be ascertained till the accomplishment of those events, but on the proofs of his Divine mission which he offers to his immediate hearersthe signs and wonders which, in connexion with the purity of his doctrine and the holiness of his life, plainly prove him to be a teacher come from God, a prophet at least, if not more than a prophet. When, however, the miracles have done their work, and convinced the men of that generation of the prophetic character of him who performs them, there still remains the test of prophecy, strictly so calledthe predictions, if the prophet have uttered any such, relating to future events, to be accomplished in due season. Many such predictions might be gathered out of our Lords discourses, and compared with the course of subsequent events, from the time of their delivery unto this day. None, however, will be found more interesting or more convincing than those which He delivered relating to the destruction of that very city and Temple in or near which they were uttered.<\/p>\n II. The prediction of Christ concerning the Temple<\/strong>.Jerusalem might be called, at that time, a prosperous and flourishing city, not indeed independent, but rather strengthened than weakened by that protection which was extended over it by the Roman power. It was surrounded with lofty walls, along which numerous strong towers were erected at certain distances, according to the best methods of fortification then practised. High above all rose the Temple, at once temple and fortress, to the buildings of which belonged those immense stones which were pointed out to Christ by His disciples on this occasion. Could a finer opportunity have been offered of delivering that prediction which He had always intended to leave behind Him of the approaching destruction of both city and Temple? Or could that destruction have been announced in terms better adapted to sink down into the ears of His disciples? When a building, especially one of the size and massive construction of the Temple, is suffered to fall into decay, its destruction is slow and gradual; and long after the more perishable portions have disappeared the walls remain standing, to shew the form and dimensions of the structure when entire. Even when these have fallen down the foundations continue unimpaired; and no degree of dilapidation, nothing but extreme violence and a deliberate intention to destroy, can ever reduce such an edifice to the state here described. It is manifest, therefore, and must have been manifest to Christs hearers, that He spoke of no ravages of time, no process of decay, but of brute force and hostile assaults, when He used this image.<\/p>\n III. The fulfilment of this prediction<\/strong>.Pass over a period of forty years, and view Jerusalem, as had been foretold of it, compassed with armies, the armies of the Romans under Titus. After several delays, occasioned by the unsettled state of the Roman Government, Vespasian was at last confirmed in the imperial throne, and his son Titus was sent to command the armies in Judea. The days of Jerusalem were now numbered. Failing to take the city by assault, Titus proceeded to surround the entire compass of it with a wall, thereby fulfilling a part of our Lords description (Luk. 19:43<\/span>). The inhabitants being thus without the possibility of escape, and all supplies being cut off, the accomplishment of the rest of the prophecy could not be far off. It was hastened by the conduct of the people themselves. Instead of uniting, as one man, in the defence of the city, they weakened themselves by mutual factions and divisions, insomuch that within the short space of five months the city was taken, and the work of destruction begun. It is recorded that Titus himself was very desirous of preserving the Temple as a monument of Roman power and prowess, but was unable to restrain his own soldiers, who, in the heat and excitement of victory, set fire to it, and resisted all attempts to extinguish the conflagration. The preservation of these great buildings being thus rendered impossible, we read that the Roman general, foiled in his first design, now gave orders to complete the demolition both of the city and Temple by actually digging up and levelling the foundations of them; thus, almost literally, leaving not one stone upon another.<\/p>\n Lessons<\/strong>.<\/p>\n 1. How differently would things strike us if we could only look forward a few years! What a world of changes do we live in! Desire and seek after durable riches, a building of God, a good foundation laid up in store against the time to come. Warning, promise, and encouragement<\/em>.There is nothing in these words to encourage speculation, much to induce and strengthen that practical temper and habit, the habit of duty and loyal obedience, in which there lives far more real religion than in all the pious and laborious conjectures good men have framed, and which they sometimes attempt to palm off as infallible certainties on an astonished Church, or world.<\/p>\n I. The warning<\/strong> I take to be that we are to wait with patience for the orderly providential unfolding of the Divine counsel, instead of impatiently jumping at hasty and misleading conclusions. The conceited temper which speaks as though it had been admitted to the secret council-chamber of heaven; the curious temper which is for ever prying into futurity, and busies itself with speculation instead of with the rules of holy living and the problems of obedience; the hasty temper which is impatient for results, and wants to see trees bearing fruit as soon as they are planted; and the faithless temper which is always seeking proofs and signs, and confounds seeing with believing, are all rebuked by this grave and kindly warning.<\/p>\n II. The promise<\/strong> I take to be that to all faithful and obedient souls, thus waiting with patience on God amid many tribulations and disappointments, too occupied with duty and service to let their hearts grow sick with hope deferred, a Divine guidance and help will be vouchsafed, answering to every need. Loyalty to Christ under hard conditions, and when we fall on evil times, will expose us to many tribulationsto loss, contumely, and the alienation of friends. But these very tribulations are part of the discipline by which God is making us constant and making us perfect, by which He is preparing us for salvation and life. And meantime, even in our darkest hours and most dejected moods, He is with us to guide and sustain us, to teach us what to say and what to do.<\/p>\n III. The encouragement<\/strong> I take to be that the tribulations of this present time are designed to usher in, to prepare for us and to prepare us for, a better time, a golden age, which shall have no end. This regeneration is our great hope, our great encouragement, under the toils, often unrequited, of time, under all its changes and catastrophes, under the oppressive sense of its manifold evils, sorrows, wrongs. We look for a time, we believe it to be the purpose of God that a time shall come, in which evil will be overcome of good, and death be swallowed up of life, in which not we alone shall be blessed, but all men will be drawn into the service, love, and peace of God. And if we really believe this to be the end to which the love and providence of God are pressing forward through all the vicissitudes and tribulations of time, for the joy set before us, we may well rejoice in our tribulations and toils, even though we do not know when the end will be reached, or what will be the signs of its approach.S. Cox, D.D.<\/em><\/p>\n OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES<\/em><\/p>\n Mar. 13:1-2<\/span>. The spiritual temple<\/em>.<\/p>\n 1. The world admires a stately and magnificent temple; but the temple which attracts the eyes and the heart of Christ, as worthy of God and framed by His Spirit, is a heart which resembles that of this poor widow, a heart consecrated by charity, wherein God makes His abode, and in which this virtue worships Him, sacrifices itself to Him, mourns continually in His presence, and there feeds upon His Divine Word. Mar. 13:5-13<\/span>. This prophecy a proof of Christs Divinity<\/em>.This prophecy is one of the clearest and surest in the Bible, and has ever been regarded by Christians as a decisive proof of the Divine mission of their Lord. In a time of peace He predicted war. When there were only visible signs of prosperity, He foretold speedy destruction. When the disciples were few, He declared that the gospel would soon be proclaimed to distant nations. When the apostles were about to forsake Him, seeking safety by flight, He said that ere long many would be willing to die for His name. When there were no outward indications of success, He spoke with perfect confidence of the establishment of His kingdom. He taught the disciples that its nature was different from their hopes, being more excellent; and the means of its promotion different from their expectations, being more effective. Knowing that after two days He should be crucified, and declaring this to the disciples, He expressed to them the full assurance of the triumph of His kingdom, by means of which the history of the world afforded no example; and of their salvation, through sufferings which they feared to anticipate. He gave them that knowledge, and only that, which was useful to them; and referred to their coming trials with the firmest faith and the most tender sympathy. He announced the retribution which would come on His adversaries, without any personal resentment, stating it to be the righteous judgment of God, but manifesting compassion even for those whose sins brought upon themselves destruction. Such were the words of Jesus; and His words were fulfilled. Looking only to this one prophecy, we say with those who witnessed the Crucifixion, Truly this is the Son of God.J. H. Godwin<\/em>.<\/p>\n Mar. 13:5-6<\/span>. The danger of being led astray<\/em>.It is quite as important not to be led astray by false religious teachers as by any other class of deceivers or deceived; and there is quite as much danger in this line as in any other. Sincerity on our part is no guard against deception or wandering; nor is sincerity a safeguard to a religious teacher. Those who are themselves both honest and sincere would lead us astray if we followed them in their wrong path. There is danger of our being led astray by the sermons we hear, the papers or the books we read, the counsel or example of those whom we have supposed to be godly, or by the impulses or convictions of our own minds and hearts. There is such a thing as conscientious error-teaching and devil-serving. The warning of Jesus is, that ye take heed that no man lead you astray in doctrine or morals, through holding up a false standard of conduct, or a false interpretation of Gods Word.<\/p>\n Mar. 13:6<\/span>. I am Christ<\/em>.Imposture will always take its clue from antecedent reality; its work is that of distortion, not of invention (Act. 19:13<\/span>; 2Ti. 2:18<\/span>; 2Pe. 3:16<\/span>).J. Miller<\/em>.<\/p>\n Mar. 13:11<\/span>. Divine source of apostolic sufficiency<\/em>.Christ chose poor fishermen to shew that however insufficient soever He received them, yet He received them into such a school, such an university, as would deliver them back into His Church, made fit by Him for the service thereof. Christ needed not mans sufficiency; He took insufficient men. Christ excuses no mans insufficiency; He made them sufficient (Mar. 16:20<\/span>; Act. 4:13<\/span>; Exo. 4:10-12<\/span>; 2Co. 4:7<\/span>).John Donne, D.D.<\/em><\/p>\n Mar. 13:12<\/span>. Christianity the cause of division<\/em>.As Christianity gives birth to and cherishes the most perfect love, so it calls forth the most bitter hatred. It calls forth a love which is above nature, because it makes men love their enemies. Contrariwise it calls forth a hatred which is unnatural; for it made, and yet makes, men hate and betray, and, if they can, destroy their own flesh and blood. Thus we read that the Emperor Domitian, in his hatred of the Christian name, slew Flavius Clemens and his niece, or near relation Flavia Domitilla; the Emperor Maximin martyred Artemia, his own sister; and Diocletian slew his own wife and other relatives. St. Barbara also was killed by her own father; and if we had a full martyrology of obscure Christians, we should find multitudes of others similarly betrayed by their own flesh and blood. We are told by Indian missionaries that as soon as converts are baptised they become objects of hatred to their nearest relatives; even their wives often desert them. Now if this be so in a country where Christianity is the religion of the rulers, what would it be if heathenism were unchecked in its power of persecution?M. F. Sadler<\/em>.<\/p>\n Mar. 13:13<\/span>. Incentives to perseverance<\/em>.<\/p>\n 1. Of all afflictions and troubles, those are the most comfortable to suffer and endure which are suffered for Christ. Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
<\/P>
<\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
2. In connexion with the punishment inflicted on Jerusalem, reflect on our own responsibility as having succeeded to those privileges of which the Jews were dispossessed. Beware of defiling the temple of the living God.
3. Where is this temple to be seen in its perfection? Not, will each of us be ready to reply, not in me, nor in my sin-stained, blood-guilty soul. When I look into myself I see a temple indeed, but a temple in ruins; a shrine from which the Divinity has departed; a perverse will, unruly passions, wayward and unsanctified affections; in a word, of that noble fabric which was dedicated to God in baptism, and has been since adorned with so many gifts of the Holy Ghost, not one stone is left upon another. I see, and mourn; but I do not despair. The tears of the Christian over the breaches and decays of his spiritual temple are the appointed means by which, under God, those breaches are to be healed, and the whole building restored to its original use, and, if possible, to more than its original beauty.F. Field, LL.D<\/em>.<\/p>\n
2. Christ bears with the simplicity of His disciples, who would have Him admire a temple of which He was Himself the model, and which was only a figure of His body; but He makes use of this simplicity to instruct them, to take off their minds from this visible temple, and to give them a foresight of that justice which He was to exercise upon this building, on account of the Jews. Nothing of that which is to be destroyed is worthy to be the true temple of God. It is in a poor and humble heart that Hedelights to dwell.P. Quesnel<\/em>.<\/p>\n
2. By these kinds of sufferings we glorify God, and bring honour to the name of Christ, and credit to the gospel, more than by any other sufferings.
3. It is a most honourable thing unto us, yea, the greatest glory that may be in this world, to suffer anything for Christ.
4. Consider how much Christ has suffered for us, and for our salvation; how great reproach and shame; what bitter pain and torment of soul and body; and let this move us patiently and willingly to suffer any persecution and trouble for His sake.
5. Consider how much wicked men suffer in the practice of sin, and to satisfy their wicked lusts, and let this move us to suffer any persecution for Christ.
6. Consider the great and excellent reward promised to those who endure for Christs sake.G. Petter<\/em>.<\/p>\n