Matthew 24:1-2(NKJV) 1Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
This week I want to look at one of the more interesting chapters in the Bible. It is a chapter that speaks of the trials and tribulations of the last days. I were saved in the late 1960’s and was filled with the Holy Spirit in the early 1970’s. At that time, there was a great deal of talk in the church about the end times. I suppose the nature of the days we were living in prompted people to think that the end of the world might be near. We lived in fear of nuclear war and there was turmoil and upheaval at home. Those of us who turned to the Lord at this time wanted to know what was in the future.
Many Christians in that day got very interested in scriptures like Matthew 24. We looked at the news and current affairs through the lens of Bible prophecy. While this was good in some ways, it was very unproductive in others. The idea that these were possibly the last days did tend to make us more interested in the things of the Lord.
On the other hand, many doctrinal points of view that arose were both wrong and had a tendency to make people spectators to our day instead of active participants. We were all looking to see which prophecy would be fulfilled next. What was happening in Israel and the Middle East? How did all that fit into the timeline and where were we on that timeline? We stayed immature in our faith and failed to reach out to the lost around us.
As I have been talking about the love of God in our church, the Lord led me to this chapter once again, but this time I saw if from a very different point of view. I found that the first word in Matthew 24 was “then.” This may seem like a small thing, but sometimes small things in the Bible can be very important. The word “then” means that chapter 24 is connected to chapter 23. When I went back to look at chapter 23, I found that it also started with this same word. Chapter 23 was connected to chapter 22. These three chapters make up one flow of thought that is all connected.
Let us look at an overview of these three chapters. I found that doing so gives us a better understanding of the real impact of chapter 24. We spent a great deal of time in chapter 22 when we began this study. I believe it is one of the most important chapters in the Bible concerning the place of the love of God in our Christian walk.
This chapter begins with two opposite religious parties of that day trying to make Jesus say something they can condemn him for. Jesus recognizes what they are doing and answers their question in such a way that the Pharisees who are standing by watching are impressed. One of them, a lawyer or expert in the Law of Moses, asks him which commandment is the greatest. Jesus says that all the Law and the Prophets hang on two commandments.
The law represented their religious practice while the prophets represented their spiritual relationship with God. He said that both of these elements hung on two commandments. First, they were commanded to love the Lord with all their heart, soul and mind and second, to love their neighbor as themselves. If they kept these two commandments all would be in order, but if they did everything else and failed to keep these two commandments, all that they did amounted to nothing. Jesus changed the basic structure of their system from one with the Law at the center to one with love at the center.
As we begin chapter 23, Jesus continues to talk to the people about the pharisaical system. This chapter contains a speech by Jesus known as the great “woes” of the New Testament. He tells the people that the scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses seat so they should listen to what they teach, but they should not follow what they do. He says to his listeners that the scribes and Pharisees “say but do not do” the truths of the bible.
He then proceeds to speak many strong condemnations against those who should be teaching the people of God the truth of God’s word. I will quote just the first one, but you will get the idea.
Matthew 23:13(NKJV) 13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
How does this connect to chapter 22 and the two commandments that everything else hangs on? In chapter 22 he redefines the system and in chapter 23 he condemns those who would perpetuate a system based on law and not on loving God and loving our neighbor.
He finally comes to the end of chapter 23 and we read these heart-wrenching words.
Matthew 23:37-38(NKJV) 37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38See! Your house is left to you desolate;
The picture of the chicks under the wings of the hen is a picture of the love of God. A hen will gather her chicks under her wings to protect them. If a storm comes, she spreads her wings so her chicks can get out of the wind and rain. She stays exposed to the elements. God was trying to draw Israel and Jerusalem under the covering of a system based on love, but Jesus knew they could not receive it. He weeps for them and tells them they will not see him until they proclaim that God sent him to establish this new system.
We then come to today’s verse. Jesus leaves the temple. He was not leaving the temple for the day. He was not leaving the temple until the next time he would come and try to teach them. He was leaving the temple for good. He was leaving until they recognized that this system based in love was the only hope for man. This was Jesus final condemnation of the old system and his declaration that a new system would soon be in place.
It can be very interesting to look at the Jewish roots of Christianity. Indeed, we owe a great debt to Israel because it was through them that the Messiah came to earth. However, it was always this love system called the Church that God had in mind. When Jesus left the temple that day, he was on his way to the cross. Just a short time later, he would be celebrating the final Passover of the Old Covenant with his disciples. Soon there would be a New Covenant in place based on a better sacrifice, His own precious blood.
His disciples tried to point out the grandeur of the temple buildings. This was the identity of the Israelite people. It was the symbol of all they trusted in both religiously and as a nation. Jesus answer was simple. Not one stone of this building will be left in place. Within 70 years, his words would come to pass. The temple was completely destroyed and not one stone was left on another.
However, it was not just the temple he was speaking of in this statement. He was talking about the whole system the temple represented. It had been rejected by God because it had forgotten the reason for its existence. Love had established the Law, the Prophets and the religious system of the Jewish nation because he loved man and wanted an avenue back into relationship with him. However, the Jews could not understand something very important. Jesus tried to tell them but they would not hear.
Love had created this beautiful building and the system it represented, but love had moved on. If we want to walk in the kind of power that will change our lives and the world we live in we must move on as well. We must hang all we do on loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Nothing else will do.
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