Mark 13:1  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.

We have mentioned before that most of the Jews of Jesus’ day had lost the importance of the temple. The Bible makes it clear that since the fall of man, there has always been a remnant of individuals who have known the fear of the Lord. In Genesis 6 we learn that only eight people out of the entire population of the earth had some sense of the fear of the Lord. We know that even those eight did not always exemplify that fear of the Lord. We realize from God’s Word, that there is not a single person on this earth who will always walk in the fear of the Lord.
In our text, we learn that the disciples had been heavily influenced by the culture around them. They did not have a proper understanding of the place of the temple either. In John 2 we read that king Herod spent forty six years rebuilding the second temple. That temple was not what the first temple had been. That first temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. God brought them into Jerusalem to destroy that temple and scatter the people. Some were killed, others were taken captive. Some were left in Judaea. For over seventy years there was no temple in Jerusalem. God directed king Cyrus to write a decree allowing the Jews to go back home to begin to rebuild the temple. That temple was not nearly as glorious as the first temple. The biggest problem was not the structure itself, but the heart attitude of the people. The seventy years of exile had not broken the nation of Israel.
At the time that Jesus came to this earth, the majority of the nation of Israel was still living in defiance of the true God. The second temple was there. As mentioned, King Herod had spent forty six years rebuilding that temple. King Herod was not a God-fearing man. He was a politician. He wanted peace with the Jews and he taxed the people for the money he wanted. It was not his money that was used to rebuild the temple. It was the people’s money. He used their money to buy their loyalty. That is how secular governments work. Gullible people pay the government to scratch their itching ears. Sometimes people complain about the taxation, but then the government takes more of their money and gives them some little thing back and the gullible people go back to sleep.
The temple was to be the house of God. It was to remind the people of the holiness of God. It was to be a permanent structure where people could go to offer their sacrifices, and also learn the law of God. It was a place to come together to worship the true God.
In our text, the disciples were not focused on the true purpose of the temple. They were impressed with the structure. God brought the Romans to destroy that second temple in 70 A.D. There has not been a temple since that time. For a number of years now, Jews have been working to prepare for a new temple. That third temple will not be built to glorify God. It will be another political diversion used by the antichrist to woo gullible Jews to accept him. That temple will only last seven years. Jesus Christ will destroy that temple. In the Millennium, Jesus Christ will direct the building of another temple. That temple will be governed by the Lord Jesus Christ. It will depict the true purpose of the temple.
In our text, the second temple was standing. We notice that the disciples drew Jesus’ attention to the stones of the buildings. The architecture of that building impressed the disciples. In verse 2 Jesus helped the disciples re-focus their attention. That building was not anything to pride themselves in. That temple was going to be destroyed with such force that there would not be one stone left upon another.
Since the Jews were brought back in 1948, to the land that God promised Abraham, they have been trying to determine where that temple sat. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes back at the end of the Tribulation, He will know where the temple needs to stand. The third temple will not likely be where the first temple was.
Jesus wanted the disciples to understand that the structure of a building is not all that important. The temple was set on a hill in Jerusalem. It could be seen from a long distance away. As Jesus pointed out twice, the temple was to be the house of God. It was to remind the people of Who the true God was. It was an object lesson that was designed to draw people to God. Since it had lost that place, it could be destroyed. God removed His blessing from that place and Jesus Christ was not going to be there.
The fact that the temple would be destroyed was a picture of the fact that God was withdrawing His presence from the land of Israel. He was not abandoning them, but they would no longer have that special place. In Romans 11 God directed the apostle Paul to write and explain that God has cut off Israel at the root. The root is still there and alive. Israel is back in their land. However, spiritually Israel is not a light and has not been a light for many years.
Jesus instituted a new entity while still on this earth. He pronounced that He would build His church upon Himself. That first church was started in Jerusalem. From there, the apostles were commanded to spread out and establish many more churches. Some of those churches met in homes. A true church is more than just a building. A building is important in that it gives a common place where all can go to learn of God. Today there are areas where the people cannot afford to own a building. They meet in rented facilities. There are a few places where they meet in homes.
A true church is not a coffee house. It is not a place to come together to socialize. It must be a place that focuses on the proclamation of the Word of God. People need to be reminded that the true local church is the place where they will hear the Truth. That will be offensive to many. The pastor is not to be a politician. He is to be a true servant of God who is born again and a student of God’s Word. He needs to be a man of prayer who is directed by the Lord in his study and in his preaching.
Buildings can be destroyed. A true church is not defined by a building. It is defined by God-fearing people who know the love of God in their hearts and who seek to come together to worship and serve the Lord. Whether in rented facilities or in an owned building, the local church must never forget that it must be the house of God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
The temple the disciples were so impressed with, was destroyed, under God’s direction. There are many churches that have been destroyed as well. When a church turns away from the Lord, it has no purpose for existing. There are wealthy people who pour thousands upon thousands of dollars into structures they call churches. Some of those places have crumbled. The people have scattered because they were meeting, but they were not saved. Those who are saved cannot lose their salvation. They may have to move to a new area if the leadership of their former church choose to walk away from the Lord.
It is not the building that is the ultimate goal. The proclamation of the Word of God is paramount. Jesus would refer to His body as the temple and He declared that temple would be destroyed by the Jews, but He would rebuild it in three days. True saints are the temple of the Holy Ghost. It is essential that we live for the true and living God.
Pastor Bartel