Notes on Matthew 24:1-2

Historical Background of the Temple

The temple complex consisted of many buildings and was perhaps the largest, most magnificent
structure in the ancient world; it was twice the size of Solomons temple. (Probably only anti-
Jewish prejudice kept it from being ranked among the seven wonders of the ancient world, for it
was larger than the Ephesian temple of Artemis, which was so ranked.) Construction had begun
under Herod the Great before Jesus birth and was still continuing at this time. Jewish people all
over the world contributed to the temple, and so much was received that officials kept adding on
to a golden vine that was part of its ostentatious glory. It was sacred to Herods enemies as well as
to his allies. Although Greeks counted Ephesuss Artemis temple as one of the Seven Wonders of
the World, Jerusalems temple was actually far larger and more magnificent. The Jerusalem temple
was one of the most splendid structures of all antiquity and seemed strong and invincible (cf., e.g.,
*Letter of Aristeas 100-101).

The Text
24:1. Chapter 24 began Jesus warning of Gods judgment against certain elements of the religious
establishment; this chapter extends that judgment to the temple itself. After it was destroyed in a.d.
70, many of the Jewish people saw Gods hand of judgment in the destruction.The temple was left
desolate in 70, when the Romans destroyed it with fire and then erected their own standards on
the site. As Jewish people knew (it is lamented in the *Dead Sea Scrolls), these standards bore the
insignia of the Roman emperor, who was worshiped as divine in the Eastern Mediterranean; they
would thus have sealed the sites desecration. Jerusalems citizens had felt that even bringing these
standards into Jerusalem temporarily (as *Pilate had done roughly three and one-half years before
Jesus uttered this warning) defiled the holy city. On several occasions the Jerusalemites had shown
that they preferred death to their temples defilement.

It was the central symbol of Judaism and was renowned for its beauty. Many or most Jews
considered the temple invincible, but forty years after Jesus spoke these words, in a.d. 70, the
Romans destroyed the temple. The wording here is only slightly *hyperbolic: some stones in the
retaining wall remained in place, but the temple proper was obliterated. As exemplified in the
*Dead Sea Scrolls, some other groups also expected God to judge the temple authorities; but no
one before a.d. 66 was as accurate concerning the timing as Jesus was.

24:2. Some Greek philosophers were unimpressed with magnificent structures, but Jesus response
goes far beyond this attitudehe speaks of judgment. Some other Jewish groups (including the
*Qumran sect) also expected the temple to be judged; but most Jews, regardless of their other
differences, found in the temple a symbol of their Jewish unity and would have been appalled to
think that God would allow it to be destroyed (as in Jer 7:4-15). Some stones were left on others
(e.g., part of one wall still stands), but this fact does not weaken the force of the *hyperbole: the
temple was almost entirely demolished in a.d. 70. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus felt
that Daniel was fulfilled when revolution arises slaughtered the priests in the temple in a.d. 66,
committing a sacrilege for which God brought about the desolation of the temple (human
bloodshed in the temple desecrated it; cf. comment on 23:35).