20And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. ²¹Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. ²²For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. ²³But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. ²⁴And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

One thing I’ve learned being a child of God is that God does not want his children to be ignorant.

God’s word is anti-ignorant for God’s word is light and there is no darkness at all in God’s word.

As you read about the life of Christ you will see that Jesus Christ was always teaching for He did not want ignorant disciples so to that intent he constantly taught them.

So we see in this passage another opportunity for Jesus Christ to teach so that his disciples do not remain ignorant.

He uses the curiosity of some of his disciples who are admiring the temple to teach them about that which will come upon them and others like them who are called to follow Christ.

Now what was it that so enthralled the disciples and gave opportunity for Jesus to give them light?

The first temple of Israel was a famous structure built by Solomon but Solomon’s temple was destroyed in 556 B.C., by the Chaldeans.

It was rebuilt by Zerubbabel and his companions after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity.

As we’ve learned from the book of Ezra this rebuilt temple was comparatively small and simple.

But the temple in which Jesus walked was not small and simple for this temple was built by Herod the Great.

Herod the Great ruled over the Jewish people from 37 to 4 B.C. and was a great lover of architecture and this love was expressed in the grandeur of the temple complex.

His temple was located in a massive building complex, nearly five hundred yards long and four hundred yards wide.

It is said that he even caused a thousand priests to be trained as builders to do the work of construction so that the Jews could not accuse him of having the temple built by ‘unclean hands’.

Jesus referred to the temple in his adulthood as already in building for 46 years.

Historians therefore date its beginning in 19 B.C. with its completion in A.D. 63 under Agrippa II and Albinus.

So when Jesus had this conversation with his disciples the temple was not completed yet and had another 30 plus years left in its construction.

The temple of Herod the Great was built on the site of the previous temples.

In doing so he altered and enlarged the temple complex.

He began to build it 18 years into his reign but it was not completed until long after his death, in fact it was not completed until just a few years before it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A. D..

But the grandeur and beauty of the temple was unparalleled and that is why it so impressed the disciples,

Their admiration of the temple was used as an opportunity by the Lord Jesus to teach them about its ruin and what they could expect by following Him.

The temple structure itself was surrounded by a massive outer wall.

The whole complex was of course built on Mt. Moriah, where Abraham had offered his son Isaac, and because of its uneven surface the foundation had to be laid very deep and the space between hilltop and outer wall had to be filled in, in order to make a flat surface for such a large area.

The temple building itself was in an east-west configuration, with the end in which the holy of holies was located, facing the west.

The north side faced the suburb of Bethesda, the east wall overlooked the Kidron Valley, the garden of Gethsemane, Bethany and the Mount of Olives, the south wall the lower city, and the west wall the upper city.

The temple building itself was only entered by going though a series of outer courts, the first and vastly larger court was known as the COURT OF THE GENTILES.

It was a huge rectangular area about 35 acres in size.

It was paved with colored stones and enclosed by tall, stately columns.

Visitors entered through a number of immense double and triple gates, which stood at intervals along the outer court.

The Court of the Gentiles was open to Gentiles as well as Jews, and it was usually crowded with people from many backgrounds and walks of life.

Most any day there would be in that court, Jewish pilgrims from all over Palestine and the Roman Empire.

There would be merchants selling doves, young sheep and cattle for sacrifice; moneychangers converting foreign currency into Jewish shekels; Jewish scribes and rabbis discussing points of Mosaic law; and others simply passing the time of day.

At the center of the Court of the Gentiles stood a second enclosed compound, posted with signs in Greek and Latin with this warning:

"No foreigner is allowed within the balustrades and embankment about the sanctuary. Whoever is caught will be personally responsible for his ensuing death."

Only Jews were allowed to enter the temple court and the first entry into this area was into the court of the women.

This did not mean that only women could enter this court but it meant that women could go no further than this court toward the temple building.

So only Jewish men and women could go from the court of the gentiles into the court of the women.

Access to this court was by way of three large gates.

Steps led up to the terrace of the court which gave access to the Temple by any one of nine gateways, four on the north side, four on the south and one on the east.

This last gate leading to the Court of the Women was the main gate called "the Beautiful Gate" referred to in Acts 3:2.

After this area, was an area to which only male Jews could go.

This was called Israel’s Court.

But men of Israel who were not priests could go no further than this court.

The next area was the Priest’s Court which encompassed inner sanctuary with its Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.

The Priest’s Court was the location of the altar of burnt offering and the colossal brazen laver that rested on the back of twelve bulls.

The measurement of the temple building, the sanctuary was sixty cubits in length, about 90 feet, and twenty cubits in width, about 30 feet.

The Holy place took up forty of the sixty cubits while the Holy of Holies took up the remaining twenty cubits.

It is easy to see that the progress toward the Holy of Holies was one in which separation and exclusion took place.

All were welcome to the huge Court of the Gentiles, next all Jews could enter the Court of the Women, next only the male Jews could enter Israel’s’ Court, next only priests could enter the Priest’s Court and Holy Place.

But the last place, the Holy of Holies could only be entered by the High Priest one time in one year.

This was an awe-inspiring place.

But the beauty of the entire complex was the majestic TEMPLE SANCTUARY itself, which stood at the rear of the Court of Priests.

It was no wonder that the disciples were in awe of the temple, for it was a marvelous site to behold since it was built of perfectly tooled and fitted white marble stones, covered with plates of heavy gold.

The sanctuary was an imposing 60 feet above the Court of the Gentiles.

Some of the stones in the building were over sixty feet in length, 7 feet in height, and 6 feet in depth.

The whole temple, with the exception of the porch, was covered with a gabled roof of cedar wood.

Josephus wrote that from its summit protruded sharp golden spikes to prevent birds from settling upon it and polluting the roof.

Josephus also wrote of its beauty. He said: The exterior of the building lacked nothing that could astonish either the soul or the eyes. For being covered on every side with massive plates of gold, the sun had no sooner risen than it radiated so fiery a flash that those straining to look at it were forced to avert their eyes as from the solar rays. To approaching strangers it appeared from a distance like a snow-clad mountain, the reason being that whatever was not overlain with gold was purest white."

At the back of a large porch were immense gilded doors covered by a Babylonian tapestry of blue, purple, crimson and gold, depicting the heavens.

Above was a golden vine, symbol of the nation of Israel.

Inside the Temple Sanctuary were two rooms. The first, the HOLY PLACE, was a large hall paneled in cedar.

It contained a GOLDEN ALTAR FOR INCENSE, a GOLDEN TABLE FOR THE BREAD OFFERING and a GOLDEN MENORAH, a seven-branched candelabrum lit by seven lamps burning purest olive oil.

The second room, the HOLY OF HOLIES, was separated from the first by a heavy linen curtain embroidered with spun gold.

This was the veil that was rent in twain from top to bottom at the Crucifixion (Matt. 27:51).

Only the high priest was allowed to enter, and he only on the annual Day of Atonement.

Within the HOLY OF HOLIES which was to be the earthly dwelling place of the God of Israel, there was nothing at all.

Josephus the historian at that time relates that the Holy of Holies was empty for the location of the arc of the covenant was no longer known, if it at all still existed.

Solomon stated the purpose for this temple in I Kings 8:13, I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

Jesus as a child called this temple his Father’s house.

He called it a house of prayer when he cast out the money changers and the merchants.

The vastness and beauty of this temple complex produced awe and wonder from any who saw it, and the disciples were no exception.

But Jesus Christ was an exception for he knew of its temporary nature. He knew of its demise.

Jesus Christ had just taken note of the poor widow who had given her all in the treasury of the temple, contrasting her heart with that of the heart of the rich man.

Jesus Christ was interested in souls for he came to seek and to save that which was lost.

But the disciples were interested in the temple and its adornments of goodly stones and gifts.

The temple was great, the temple was glorious, especially to the disciples who were not city dwellers but were from the country.

They were not from Jerusalem, but from Galilee, which city dwellers most likely called the sticks.

We would say they were beholding the grandeur of the temple as tourists.

I remember as a small boy going to downtown Chicago with my father on one of his days off.

It was a big occasion for me and we would do the town, going to a hamburger place called Whimpies.

Whimpy was a Popeye cartoon character who was always shown eating multitudes of hamburgers and only said: "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

I guess it was never Tuesday that Whimpy asked for a hamburger!

My Dad and I then would go into a place for one hour where all they showed was news films.

My Dad always liked to keep up with the news.

But one thing I remember my Dad telling me was that he could always tell who the tourists were because they were the ones whose necks were craned toward the sky.

They were the ones gawking at the tall buildings and saying "Wow" and "Golly" and "Whoop de Do" or Did you ever see anything like that Mable?

They were also called rubber neckers

This is what I picture when I read this passage.

The disciples are amazed at the size and the grandeur of Herod’s temple.

They are gawkers, they are tourists.

But Jesus uses this occasion to refocus the disciple’s attention on that which is important.

He knows the time is at hand when they will be left to be his body and to carry out the work of his body.

He is interested in their conduct during the period in which he will be absent from them.

All these things that have taken place in recent days reveal that the official rejection of Jesus is now virtually complete.

The leaders of the nation are conspiring to put Jesus to death.

Judas is soon to do his dirty work in betraying our Lord which will lead to his arrest, trial, crucifixion and death.

The time has come where Jesus Christ concentrates on the teaching of his disciples so as to prepare them for the terrible days ahead.

The words given to his disciples, who seem to continue to hope for the best, that is, the immediate coming of the kingdom are sober words, down to earth words.

The disciples are enthralled with the glory of the temple but he speaks here of its destruction.

He speaks of the persecution of the disciples, and the dangers which any disciple can expect if they are faithful in following Him