Sermon: Mark 13:1-8

Temple destroyed   (preached 11-18-18)

                        model of Second Temple, built by Herod; from the Israel Museum, Jerusalem 

Two weeks ago I was standing at the temple mount,

where Jesus is teaching in today’s story.

Jerusalem has changed a lot in 2000 years, of course.

The temple does not stand there anymore, so I can’t show you a

picture of it, but I’ll try to paint a picture by describing it.

First of all, keep in mind there were two different temples in Jerusalem

in the Bible.

The first, constructed by King Solomon in the 10^th century bce,

was destroyed in 587 bce by Nebuchadnezzer’s troops,

and the Israelites marched off to exile in Babylon.

When they returned, a more modest temple was built.

Herod the Great, who contributed amazing architecture to the ancient

world, expanded and completed what is known as

the Second Temple in 20 bce.

This is the temple Jesus knew in Jerusalem,

where he taught, healed people, worshiped,

 and threw over the tables of the money changers.

This temple was a large building, built on the highest of 4 peaks

that today comprise the city of Jerusalem.

Herod wanted his temple to have a larger footprint than the building

that was already there, or than the peak could accommodate;

so he built up the mountain to create a large plateau, the temple mount. 

It was over 900 x 1500 feet—31 acres.

(Park Street to bottom of hill, Scofield to bottom of bluff)

In the midst of this mount, facing the rising sun, stood the temple,

14 stories tall.

Herod had its exterior walls covered with gold so it shone in the sun—

it could be seen for miles away by pilgrims approaching the city, high above the city walls.

Some of its stones, which are still visible today, are 40 feet long.

The complex included the temple itself,

several courtyards for specific populations:

women, Gentile men, Jewish men, priests.

There was a bath area for ritual cleansing,

places to purchase animals for sacrifice and to sacrifice them, and an area for leaving an offering.

Surrounding the edge of the temple mount were areas for doing

the business of religious life,

including space for meetings and trials of the Sanhedrin.

This temple complex was twice as large as the Roman Forum

and 4x the Acropolis and Parthenon in Athens.

My point is, we can hardly even imagine the grandeur of this thing.

It was built by one of the greatest and best-funded leaders

of the ancient world and stood as a symbol of the power

of the Roman Empire in the midst of Jerusalem.

“Do you see these great buildings?” Jesus asks.

“Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

Now, we know this happened,

about the same time the gospel of Mark was composed.

Maybe it’s a reality that still stings in the memory of the faithful

who are listening to these words in Jesus’ mouth.

The disciple talking to Jesus in the story can’t imagine

that such strength and beauty could be defeated,

but the ones listening to the story told after the fact

know it all too well.

But why does Jesus say it?

We know that these words will be turned against him at his trial,

when he is accused of threatening to destroy the temple himself—which is not what he says.

But what does he mean when he says it?  

I read this as a warning, for them and for us,

not to put our trust in the wrong things.

A few sentences later Jesus warns the disciples not to be led astray. 

The temple is big and beautiful-- it is a show of force by the Romans,

but also sacred to Jews;

it is the very dwelling place of God,

the holiest place in the world in the holiest city in the world. 

Jews today still pray at the Wailing Wall,

the western embankment wall of the temple mount,

because it’s the closest they can get

to where God used to reside within the temple.

Jesus knows the people long to be close to God,

and there he is, standing right in front of them.

They can see God, they can hear and touch God right there in Jesus. 

Where will they put their trust?

Whose ways will they follow to be faithful and not be led astray?

Our temple is not as big and shiny as the one Herod built.

Our city is not as important as Jerusalem was in Jesus’ time,

the center of the known universe.

But the question remains: where do we put our trust?

It is easy for us to hold on to what we know,

to want to be the same, do the same things.

Our society is built on institutions—

universities, hospitals, churches, government.

We have historical societies to preserve old buildings

and the memories they hold.

These immovable things seem safe and sturdy, as they were built to be. But Jesus calls us to trust in something much more fragile

and harder to get hold of—the kingdom of God,

made known among us in a tiny baby, flesh and bone,

bound to die.

Jesus calls us to trust in what God is doing,

not only what God has done in the past,

which is very important to know, to remember, to celebrate—that’s why we have calendars full of holy days,

for the remembering and observing of what God has done.

But God isn’t done, so Jesus calls us to put our trust in

what God is doing, what God will do,

things we haven’t seen yet and may not even recognize

when they do happen.

Jesus does not promise us happiness, or an easy life,

or even a good life.

We have our own versions of exile, of devastation, of death.

But Jesus does promise life--

life that brings us home again to God,

life that rebuilds and puts us back together

the way God wants us to be,

life in the midst of death.

We find that life in brokenness—

the temple is broken, the body of Jesus is broken,

the bread is broken-- and we are made whole.

We put our trust, not in what we can do,

but in what God does—new life in Christ Jesus.