Mat 24:1-2 | KingComments | STEP | The following two chapters, Matthew 24-25, contain prophecy and are also teaching to the disciples for their guidance on the path they should follow in the midst of the coming events. The Lord departs from the temple for good. He is thus exercising the judgment which he has just pronounced. As a result, the temple has become a soulless body. It is now “your house” ( ). This is a repeat of what happened earlier in Ezekiel ( ). There the glory of the LORD, Yahweh , disappears. The same glory disappears here also in the form of the humiliated Man Jesus Christ. Whoever has eyes to see sees in Him the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father ( ). Yet the hearts of the disciples remain attached to the temple. They point out the imposing building to the Lord. Because of earlier prejudices, they cannot be separated from its outer beauty. But because He is no longer in it, they are busy with nice outward appearances, the display of pomp and splendor in the service of God. The Lord looks with them when He says: “Do you not see all these things?” But He looks in a different way. He sees that these buildings have become symbols of self-willed worship. He therefore pronounces the verdict on everything they admire in the most radical way. He wants to free them from their vain thoughts. Therefore He communicates His thoughts to them and sheds the light of the future on the present. There is only interest in this if our hearts are not attached to the things of the earth. How will I long for His coming when that coming draws a line through everything I try to build up in the world?

‏ Matthew 24:1-2

What Will Happen to the Temple

The following two chapters, Matthew 24-25, contain prophecy and are also teaching to the disciples for their guidance on the path they should follow in the midst of the coming events. The Lord departs from the temple for good. He is thus exercising the judgment which he has just pronounced. As a result, the temple has become a soulless body. It is now “your house” (Mt 23:38).

This is a repeat of what happened earlier in Ezekiel (Eze 10:18-19 ; Eze 11:22-23). There the glory of the LORD, Yahweh, disappears. The same glory disappears here also in the form of the humiliated Man Jesus Christ. Whoever has eyes to see sees in Him the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father (Jn 1:14).

Yet the hearts of the disciples remain attached to the temple. They point out the imposing building to the Lord. Because of earlier prejudices, they cannot be separated from its outer beauty. But because He is no longer in it, they are busy with nice outward appearances, the display of pomp and splendor in the service of God.

The Lord looks with them when He says: “Do you not see all these things?” But He looks in a different way. He sees that these buildings have become symbols of self-willed worship. He therefore pronounces the verdict on everything they admire in the most radical way. He wants to free them from their vain thoughts. Therefore He communicates His thoughts to them and sheds the light of the future on the present. There is only interest in this if our hearts are not attached to the things of the earth. How will I long for His coming when that coming draws a line through everything I try to build up in the world?