Consider these questions as we dwell on Mark 13:1-13:

1. How does Jesus' prophecy about the destruction of the temple signify a significant shift in the way people approach God? What does this reveal about the centrality of Jesus' sacrifice in the New Covenant compared to the Old Testament sacrificial system?

2. What specific warnings and instructions does Jesus give to his disciples in preparation for the events leading up to the destruction of the temple? How do these teachings equip them to navigate the challenges they would face?

3. Reflecting on the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy about the temple's destruction in 70 AD, what does this reveal about Jesus' divine authority and foreknowledge? How does this reinforce the trustworthiness of his words and teachings for believers today?

Transcript:

For the fast pace that we have seen so far in the Gospel of Mark, we're to that point in the story that Mark is telling that is seeming to slow down quite a bit because it feels like a really long time ago that we saw Jesus and the triumphal entry, right? And we're not to the crucifixion yet. But we come to Mark 13 here and we have something that's known as the Olivec discourse. So Jesus is walking away from the temple and his disciples are like, Look, teacher, look how awesome this building is, how amazing and how great it is. And it took a very long time to build the temple. And so Jesus says, You see this? They're great. And he says, There will not be one stone that is not thrown down. Now you can imagine, this is probably the largest building the apostles have ever seen in their life. And the idea that it will be completely thrown down and gotten destroyed is mind-blowing to them. They knew that the first temple was destroyed, and this is the second temple, and they know these things, but for them, this building is firm, it is strong, it is secure.

And so, they go to the Mount of Olives, they ask Jesus, When are these going to think to be? This is pretty intense. This seems like a significant thing. Well, Jesus has a lot to say. He says that, Let no one lead you astray. Many will come in my name saying, I am he. There's all these wars and rumors of warms before the temple will be destroyed. But Jesus is telling them that this is going to happen. The question that we need to ask, what does the end of the age mean here? Because clearly Jesus is number 1, talking about this temple, it's going to be destroyed. And Jesus is also talking to his disciples as they will experience these things. When we say the end of the age here, what are we meaning? Well, the end of the temple age, the end of the way in which people interacted with God was through the temple. Eventually, that temple would be destroyed. Now people only come to God not through the temple, they come to God through Jesus Christ, through the power of the Spirit and praying to their mediator, the ascended Lord and King of all things.

And so, Jesus is saying that these things are going to happen before this temple is destroyed. You'll be turned over to councils. Did that happen to the disciples? You'll stand before governors and kings. Did that happen to the disciples? Yes. Both things, yes. The Gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. Well, the Gospel goes out into the world. By the time the temple is destroyed in the year '70, we know that the Gospel had gone out into the entire known world at that time. All these things were happening, and all these things are being experienced by the disciples themselves. And Jesus tells them, You'll be hated by all for my name's sake, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus is saying, You need to persevere. Stand on what I have taught you. Stand firm. As we think about what this passage means, the first thing we need to understand is that Jesus here is talking about that temple and why it would be destroyed is because we don't need it anymore. We don't need the temple to go to God. We don't need to bring our sacrifices to God because Jesus is going to be, or is for us, but for his disciples, Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice.

The temple is no longer needed. And so, in due time, the Roman armies came in the year '70, and they destroyed the temple, just as Jesus prophesied. In fact, if we go up here and we look at this and say, Not one stone that will not be thrown down, that actually happened in the year '70, just as the Lord Jesus prophesied that it would. Because the Roman armies came in and they took care of the temple and they told them to burn it. From what history tells us, there was gold in the temple, and it melted, and it got into the mortar joints. And then the leaders of the armies told these soldiers to go and they could have whatever they could get. And so, they were ripping apart the temple stone by stone. Not one stone was left unturned. It was destroyed, again, just as Jesus had prophesied. Now, we are confident. We know that the Gospel of Mark was written before the year '70. We know this. And yet Jesus tells us exactly what is going to happen, not only to the temple, but to his disciples before any of it happens. And so, we know that Jesus is speaking with authority here.

He is able to tell the future. He is more than a prophet. He is God himself in human flesh. As we think about this, the first thing, as I said, is we need to think about what is the purpose of the temple? Well, it was that there would be there for the forgiveness of sins. Well, we can rest in the fact that the temple is destroyed, that Jesus said that it was going to be destroyed. We can rest in the fact that His sacrifice is once and for all, it is all we need. That can give us great peace to know that there isn't a temple that we go to where sacrifices are made over and over and over for us, but instead, Jesus was our once and for all sacrifice, and that gives us peace. The other thing that this passage does is it gives us confidence in the words of Jesus. As I said, the Gospel of Mark was written before the year 70, and yet the prophecy that Jesus made here comes to pass. And so, may we live in confidence that not only our Lord and savior is able to speak and know the future, he is able to control those things of history that are under His command.

He is sovereign Lord, but also He did it all that we might have the peace that His sacrifice for us is once and for all. We don't have to go to a temple in Jerusalem. We don't have to go someplace special, but we are able to go into the presence of God as we worship Him through the power of the Spirit. May we worship our God in spirit and truth for who He is and what He has done.