The Temple's Doom

Here your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 21. Luke chapter 21. And we're going to look this morning at the temple's doom. inaugurating the conversation that talks about the return of the king and the judgment that he will bring to the earth and his subsequent reign up the earth. The Jews, up to this point, were a little bit taken back by the fact that Jesus did not do what they had anticipated. You realize that it's Wednesday of Passion Week. Thursday will be, this is the end of Wednesday of Passion Week.

We know that Thursday will pretty much be a silent day, and they'll prepare for Passover and they'll send two disciples in to prepare the room and to get the room. They will celebrate the last Passover and they will inaugurate the commun service, which we celebrate today. And Christ will take his men in that upper room and explain many truths to them that will help them understand. Everything they need to know. He will be betrayed on Thursday evening. He will be arrested. He will go through a subsequent series of trials that were all in error.

And he will be crucified on Friday. And it's taken us a while to get to where we are, and it will take us a while to get to his crucifixion on Friday. Because we want to cover all the conversation, all the communication, all the interaction that Jesus has as much as possible in Luke's Gospel to help you understand the last week of his life. And in verse five to seven, this is what the Lord says And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and vot gifts, he said, As for these things which you are looking at, The days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another, which will not be torn down.

And they question him, saying, Teacher, when therefore will these things be, and what will be the s when these things are about to take place? And he said to them, See to it that you be not misled, for many will come in my name, saying, I am He. And the time is at hand. Do not go after them. Jesus hears a conversation between his men. He explains to them that the temple is coming down. They ask when and what. In response to that, Jesus gives us the longest answer in Scripture concerning any question ever asked him.

Now, you think about that for a minute. The longest answer that Jesus gives centers around when will you come? And what will be the sign of your coming? Jesus spent more time talking about this than anything else. Let me ask you a question.

If someone was to ask you the when and what of Christ's return, how long would be your answer? What do you know about it? It helps us understand the importance of the return of the king. And how much importance Jesus placed upon his coming back again. In fact, let me say it to you this way: that when it was all said and done, There had been a crucifixion, there had been a death and a burial, and then a resurrection.

Jesus would spend 40 days, Acts 1. Verses one to six, talking to his men about things pertaining to what? The kingdom. 40 days talking to them about the kingdom. It wasn't that he spent 40 days talking to them about their marriage. About their families, about their relationships, about their finances, about anything else other than The kingdom. Why? Because a proper understanding of the king, his coming, and his kingdom dictates how you live in the present. If you do not have a proper understanding and a clear grasp about the second coming of the Messiah and all that means, your present will be miserable.

Your marriage will be miserable. Your family, your work, everything about your life will be miserable because you won't have a proper perspective. To get a proper perspective on the present, you must have a proper perspective on the future and the coming of the king. It's absolutely crucial. The one thing you must clearly grasp this side of eternity is the future. You must. It determines everything about how you live your present. So we're going to spend some time here. Helping you understand exactly what Jesus says.

And most people never get this. Most people don't even understand this. We're more concerned about the now, what's happening right now.

And Jesus was always concerned about what's happening in the future. That's why he said, see ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added unto you.

But if you're not seeking the king and his kingdom first, you are going to be anxious about today. You anxious about today? You worried about today? You know, and Christ in Matthew chapter 6 went into long detail. You've got to be worried, concerned about my kingdom and my coming again, and everything else will take care of itself. But you be consumed with me, you be preoccupied with me. That's what Christ wants us to do. But boy, we get all boggled down by the present. And what's happening today, and how bad life is today, and how miserable I am today.

And Christ says, don't do that. Don't be anxious about today. But you have a proper perspective on the future. And you won't even be too concerned about today because you know where you're going and you know how it's all going to end. Boy, I tell you, this is important stuff. So, Christ, here's a conversation between his men. He tells them that this temple you see is coming down. So, when they ask the question, Matthew's account adds something to it over Matthew 24, verse number 3. It says these words, and as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be?

And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? So they add something else in Matthew's acc. What will be the sign of your coming? The word there is. Perus, which is pres. That's important. Why? Because he was already. Present with them. The word paro is a word that speaks of the presence of a king dwelling among his people. He had already been recognized as the king, he was already dwelling among his people. So, the disciples are asking a question: Your presence is here. So, what now will be the sign that will inaugurate all the things that we believe are going to happen?

And the question is. What did the disciples believe was going to happen? And you're going be so glad you came today because you're going to understand what it is they knew. You want to jump into the mind of Peter, James, John? You're going to do that today. What did they know? About the coming again. So they say, What will be the sign of your presence or the sign that will inaugurate all the things that your presence accomplishes? That's the question. They need to understand that. It's Wednesday of Passion Week.

Christ is done preaching to the multitudes. It's over. He had preached his heart out. He had spent this whole day. He came into the city on Monday. On Tuesday, he cleansed the temple. On Tuesday, the bulk of that day is spent denouncing the leadership that was in charge of the temple so everybody knew what Jesus thought of the existing temple on the Temple Mount. He'd already cleans it. In fact, he'd cleans it twice: once in John chapter 2, at the beginning of his ministry, and now at the end, here in Luke's Gospel and Matthew's gospel and Mark's gospel, he cleanses it again.

So they know what he thinks about the temple and its corrupt system. And they knew the system was corrupt because they were a part of the system. They lived in the system. They knew it was corrupt. So Christ says it's all going to come down now.

They also knew, outside of the fact that they understood that the system was corrupt and Jesus had cleansed the temple on two separate occasions. They also knew about the judgment that Messiah would bring to the nation. They knew that. Remember, Jesus, when he came, he came to present the kingdom. He preached the gospel of the kingdom. He's the king. He knows all about his kingdom, and these disciples have heard and embraced him as king, but they don't quite understand his kingdom. So Jesus comes.

He's denounced the leadership. Remember Matthew 23, he denounced the leadership. Woe is you, woe is you, woe is you, you're cursed. You're damned, you're cursed, you're damned, you're cursed, you're damned. That's what we said seven times. And everybody on the tip of mount hearing this sermon. And he is denouncing the leadership of Israel, the religious leadership of Israel, the highest spiritual people in Israel. He is just completely obliterated. He has answered all their questions. He has silenced them.

He has silenced them. He asked them a question. About his messiahship, they could not answer correctly. Even though he took them to the Old Testament, Psalm 1, verse number 1, to show them that he was the Messiah and that the Messiah would be divine, they could not grasp that. They would not grasp that better yet. And they would not accept him as their Messiah. So he denounces everything about them. Luke just gives us a brief synopsis of that denunciation. Matthew chapter 23 gives us the long detail, and then he says, This, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her, how often I wanted to gather your children together.

the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house no longer is it my father's house. Beh, your house is left to you des, ab for ruin. Why? It's not my father's house because Ichabod has been written across the temple, meaning the glory of the Lord has departed. It's no longer my father's house, it's your house. Because in my father's house, these things don't happen. So, therefore, it's no longer his house, it's your h There, it is desolate. It 's been abandoned.

The glory of the Lord has departed. It 's been abandoned to ruin. And then he says, For I say to you, from now on, you shall not see me until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And I believe it was at that time. That he sat down and he put his head down and then he looked up. He looked up. And he saw that poor, destute widow taking those last two copper coins and putting them in the treasury. And said, this poor widow has given everything. In other words, nothing's going to change.

Everything is going to continue on as is because this is their house. It's not God's house. She's trying to purchase her salvation. She's trying to earn her way into heaven. It's never going to change this house. Is coming down because any house that claims to be a house of God and does not teach the truth must come down. It must. And so Christ gives this prediction about the doom of the temple. It wasn't the first time he said it.

Six months earlier, Luke chapter 13. Remember Luke chapter 13? Six months before this time, this is what Christ said. Verse 34: Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her. How often do I wanted to gather your children together just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it? Similar to what he said in Matthew 24. Behold, your house is left to you desolate. And I say to you, you shall not see me until the time comes when you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

So, this is not the first time his disciples heard it. He's heard that they've heard this before. Six months earlier, Christ has already proclaimed desolation, ruin, abandonment. On the house of God, and the people of God, and the c of God. So it's not the first time they've heard this.

You must understand that when Christ came in and said this, they had no idea. No idea. That there would be such a long period of time from the time he arrived and his coming again. They really truly believed that because the Messiah was there, oh, the temple might come down. But he's still going to establish his kingdom. They had no idea he was going to leave and come back again. He would spend Thursday night talking to them about that. He would spend this day, Wednesday night, talking to them about that.

He would spend 40 days after his resurrection reiterating the fact about his kingdom and his coming again. And even when he was done with that, he said, They said, Okay, now, is it at this time now you're going to restore the kingdom to Israel? This was 40 days after the resurrection. They heard everything about the kingdom and the of the kingdom. They say, okay, now are you going to do it? Now is the time. This is not for you to know the time that the Father has set his own agenda. You're to be my witnesses.

They had no idea it'd be 2,000 years. No idea. But they did know that when Messiah came, there would be judgment. So Jesus, according to Matthew 24, it says in verse number 1, and Jesus came out from the temple. Now this, he gives his long denunciation. Of the religious establishment. It ends with you until you, for I say to you, from now on, you should not see me until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. I believe it's at that time he puts his head down, he looks up, he sees the widow, he makes a statement about the widow, and now they depart the temple.

Okay? They would walk down the southern steps of the temple. For those of you who have been to Israel with me, you have walked on those southern steps, those exact steps that Christ and his men would have walked on. They walk down the southern steps of the temple. They turn toward their left. They make their way over the Kid Valley up to the Mount of Olives. And as they make their way out of the temple, out of, down the stairs, toward the Mount of Olives, they make a statement. Some were talking about the temple, and it was adorned with beautiful stones and vote of gifts.

Vote of gifts. Now you got to understand. That this temple that was there was being constructed, listen carefully, for 8 years. And some of you will say, because you're good students of the word, say, wait a minute. In John chapter 2, when he cleansed the temple, he said, Destroy this temple in three days I'll build it up. They said, How can you destroy this temple? It took 46 years to build. Remember that? So, how do you come up with the number 85? When Herod began his reign, he wanted to build a temple.

So, what he would do, Zerubbab's temple was there, the one that he had rebuilt along with Joshua after the destruction of the Babylonian captivity. And it was about three stories high. It was more like a fort. And so what Herod wanted to do was to build a luxurious temple, not for God's glory, but for his own. And so it would continue long after his death. In fact, what happened is that it was around the fiftieth year. When Christ makes this statement around the 49th year, okay, the temple had basically been constructed.

But there would be remodeling and redecorating that would continue on for 35 more years. Why is that important? Because it wasn't until the month of August, 80. Five years after its completion, that it would be destroyed. Because Christ's prediction. Would encompass the completion of this monstrosity of a facility, one of the ancient wonders of the world. We don't understand it today. We go to Israel today and we are enamored by what we see. And there's not much there on the tip of the mount. You got the dome with a rock, and it's not even a tribute to Christ.

It's a tribute to Muhammad. And it's just a golden dome. But to be there and to see it is amazing, and it's breatht. But to see Solomon's temple. Rebuilt by Herod, now Herod's temple. And to see the beauty of it, you had to understand that the eastern side of the temple was plated with gold. That's important. Why? Because the sun rises in the east. It comes up over the Mount of Olives. And as the sun would come up over the Mount of Olives, rising in the east, it would shine down on that temple. On the golden plate of the eastern side of the temple, and it would shine so much it would blind your eyes.

It was a brilliant, brilliant shining. And even as the sun would go and set down in the west, you could still see the glow on the gold of the eastern side of that temple. It was so magnificent. It was made out of stones, beautiful stones, some that were so huge. They weighed tons. They were 12 feet wide, 12 feet tall, 45 feet long. Some of them are 85 feet long. They weighed over a hundred tons. And yet they built this monstrosity. They built this temple that was absolutely filled with gardens and porticos and And it was just nothing like we can ever imagine today.

It was gorgeous. And they built this thing. Herod built it for his glory, but even after he died, it continued to be remodeled and redecorated. And the disciples, they're exiting the temple and Christ. Hears them in this conversation. It's almost as if they're saying, wow, you know, that's a beautiful facility right there. Boy, that's amazing. Now, why do they say that? Because. He's already said, Your house has left you desolate. He said it on this day. He said it six months earlier. Remember on Monday when he rode into the city, Luke chapter 19, what did he say?

Luke chapter 19, verse number 41. And when he approached, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace. But now they have been hidden from your eyes, for the day shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you and surround you and hem you in on every side. And will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.

This is the third time he said it. He said it six months earlier. He said it on Monday. He says it on Wednesday. The disciples now are getting the picture. Everything's coming down. It's coming down. Well, how's it going to come down? How can it come down? It is huge. It is, it took us 50 years to get here. They had no idea it would take them another 35 to get to where it needed to be. But it said it took us 50 years to get here. How's it going to come down? And they would say, Wow, what a magnificent structure.

They're talking among themselves, not talking to Jesus, talking among themselves. And they say, Some were talking about the temple. It was adorned with beautiful stones and devot gifts. How could this come down? Beautiful stones, precious stones. What they did is they did the same thing they did in Solomon's Day, when people would bring their precious jewels and they'd be embedded in the walls of the temple. Then the things sparkled. Votive gifts are gifts given with a vow. They are given with a vow.

And so, votive gifts are given by people who make a vow to God. And the gift is symbolic of their vow and the commitment to follow through in the vow. Didn't mean anything because they didn't follow the Lord. But it all hung there, and they hung them. with brass plaques on the walls and in the rooms and in the gardens and the porticos. And it was just a beautiful structure that was unlike the world had ever seen and will be unlike anything the world will see until the Messiah builds his temple. Temple again in Zach.

It was a magnificent structure. So they're walking out, and they've heard now twice this week, they've heard it before. It's coming down, it's coming down, it's going to be destroyed, it's going to be destroyed. I think, how can that be? Because their whole life was centered around temple worship. All the feasts and Passover and everything was all centered right there in that one location. It's the most valued piece of property in the world. Those of you going with me in February will stand on the most valuable piece of property in the world.

It's what the whole world fights over. Everybody wants a piece of the property. Jesus owns the property, it's His. It's his land. That's why it's called the Holy Land. Not because Israel is holy, but because the God of Israel is holy. And so, how could this happen? And Jesus is just listening. He's just listening to the conversation. And they're carrying on about the beautiful stones, the voter gifts. They're talking about the magnificent structure of the building. What a beautiful structure. This is amazing.

They're asking themselves: how can this possibly be? So by the time they get to the Mount of now you got to realize you're going to walk from the temple, descend the southern steps, cross over the Kid Brook, and walk up to the Mount of Olives. Now, if you haven't been to Israel, you don't know the close proximity of everything. If you have been, you understand this. So it didn't take him that long, maybe. Maybe a 20-minute walk, maybe? Max. Depends on where they went on the Mount of Olives. Okay, maybe 15 minutes.

They got to where they were. When they got to where they were, they sat, according to Matthew's account, on the Mount of Olives. Disciples came to them privately and asked them a question. About when will these things happen and what will be the sign. Okay? You with me so far? And Jesus says to them, As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another.

Which will not be torn down. And they want to know when it's going to happen. What did they understand? What did they know? What did they come to grips with? There's a book written, it was written in 189, by a man by the name of M. L. Sch. That book is entitled, The History of the Jewish People in the Time of Christ. It tells us what the Jewish people believed concerning the coming of the Messiah. It's a conglomerate of what is called the a, the unveiling, all written during the 400 silent years between Malachi and Matthew.

There were four silent years, and the Jews had got together with their rabbis and they began to formulate what they believed concerning the return or the coming of the Messiah. And Emil Schure has done the historical task of bringing together the books that were written at that time. Books such as the Apocrypha, the Sibyll Oracles, books like 2 Baruch 27, which speaks of the coming of the Messiah. Books like the Psalms of Solomon, none of them inspired by God, but they were the historical record of what the Jews believed about the arrival of the Messiah.

And this, in summation, is what it says. Ready? Number one, the Jews understood that before the Messiah would come, there would be a great tribulation, both physically and morally, upon the Jewish people.

That's what is taught. That's what they believed. Now As you go ahead and you read the Mishnah, as you read 2 Baruch 27, as you read Ezra 9:3, I believe it is, 4 Ezra 9. 3, you begin to see what they believed concerning this tribulation. Okay? Physically and morally upon the Jewish people. Number two.

They believed that before Messiah came, there'd be a forerunner. Well, that would be true. That would be true based on Malachi, where there would be a forerunner to the Messiah. What they believed about a great tribulation was found in Zach 12 to 14. Okay? So what they 're doing is they're taking from Zach 12 to 14. Taken from the book of Malachi, that number one, there's going be a great tribulation upon the earth, upon the Jewish people, because Jerusalem is going to be sieged.

All right? And while Jerusalem is being sieged, they'll be shielded by a Messiah. That's all in Zach chapter 12. And then to be a salvation of the Messiah, Zach chapter 13. So, what these wr consisted of was a summation of this great tribulation that would come. And that there'd be some forerunner that would come before the Messiah. That was John the Baptist. Now, if I'm a disciple, I know my time is fleeting. Just please bear with me, okay? If I'm a disciple, I'm thinking, okay, we are under great oppression by Rome.

To me, this is the great tribulation. We don't want to be here. We are suffering morally, we are suffering physically. We know that John the Baptist has come and died. We know that he's the forerunner to the Messiah. We've been so far. They are thinking, wow, okay, the tribulation is here. It's upon us. We are oppressed by Rome. The forerunner has already come. He's John the Baptist. They know all this, right? This is in their mind. This is in their thinking. And then the Messiah will come. That's number three of what Em Shuar put together by looking at the history of the Jewish people and what they believed about the return, or excuse me, the coming of the king.

The anointed one would come. Well, before then, was the anointed one the Messiah. Peter's already made the statement: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. You're the Messiah. You're here. So, in their mind, they're in tribulation. In their mind, the forerunner is already come. In their mind, the Messiah is here. In their mind, okay, when will these things take place? Because The king is here, your presence is here. So, when will these things? What will be the sign that you will inaugurate the coming of your kingdom?

That's the question, because that's what they believed. Based on Zach 12 to 14, based on the book of Malachi, based on Daniel, based on Ezekiel, based on Jeremiah, this is what they believed. Mr. Sch goes on and says, They believe, number four, that the nations will gather against Messiah. That's Zach chapter 14. In Zach 14 it says this, Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off in the city.

Then the Lord will go forth from and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. And in that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, where are they through the conversation? Mount of Olives. So if I'm a disciple, I'm sitting here talking to Jesus. I'm living in anticipation. Okay, we're in great tribulation. The Fore has already been here. He's dead. The Messiah is standing right here. And we're on the Mount of Olives. This baby is going to split, and the king is going to set up his kingdom.

That's what they're thinking. You've got to put your mind, yourself, in the sandals of the Messiah, I mean, of the disciples. What are they thinking? Because this is what they were taught by the rabbis. This is what had been gathered together based on what the Old Testament already said. And now they know this because they're Jewish people in the synagogue every day. Listening to the rabbis talk about the coming of the Messiah and what's going to happen when he gets here. They know this backward and forward.

So that's why they asked the question. That's why they asked the question. Number five, in the book of Enoch, 52, it talks about the destruction of the hostile powers. That, of course, is in Zachariah chapter 14 as well. The book of Enoch also spoke of the restoration and the purification of the city. And so they know, according to Zach 13, that all Israel will be saved and there'll be a pouring out and a cleans of the people of Israel. They know this. They know this. And so they think it's going to happen now.

And so that's why they ask the question. That's why the conversation, that's why Jesus has to give this long answer. Because they have no idea. That he's going to leave and come back again. That doesn't compete with him. He's already here. Why would you leave? You're already here. Why go away? Stay right here. Your presence is already here. Stay right here. Do what you're going to do. Do the Jesus thing. Do the king thing. We're ready for it. We're ready for judgment to fall. The four one has been here.

The Messiah is among us. We're on the Mount of Olives. Split the things. S up your kingdom. Let 's inaugurate the kingdom of God. Let 's do this. What will be a sign that you're going to inaugurate all these things? And Jesus says, don't be mis.

Because many will come in my name saying, I am Messiah. And so he takes them through a long process that will help them understand exactly what they're asking. Although they did not truly comprehend it. That's why after his resurrection in Acts chapter 1, he would spend 40 more days talking to them about things pertaining to the kingdom, and they would still say, Okay, now are you going to do it? When are you going to do this thing? But because he didn't do it then, why, you know, he ascends up into heaven and the angel comes.

Why do you stand here gazing up into heaven? You the same Jesus is going to come in the same manner in which he left. But listen, they would spend the rest of their earthly lives living in anticipation of the coming king and his kingdom. That's why they could go and preach and be killed because of what they said. That's why they feared no man. Jesus is coming again. He's coming again. I don't have to fear what anybody's going to do to me. I'm going to preach the gospel. I don't have to worry about anything because Jesus is coming again.

That's why they lived like they lived. They lived in anticipation of the coming king. They didn't worry about what they were going to eat or what they were going to wear or where they were going to go on vacation. None of that was a part of their thinking. It was all about get the gospel out. Tell people about the king. Tell them why he was here. Tell them he's coming again. Let them know. That's what their life consisted of. And they died preaching that gospel. And 2,000 years later, he's still not here.

They had no idea. They had no idea. So he tells them about the end. Why? Simply because the end of the story is the reason for the story. Do you understand that? The end of the story is the reason for the story. The reason for Genesis is what? Revelation. The reason for creation is what? The consummation. Why is there a Genesis? Because there's going to be a revelation. The end. Why was there a creation? Because there's going to be a consummation. Why is there a story? Because there's an end to the story.

We live for the end of the story. And if you don't live for the end, you're going to not make it right now in the present. You've got to live for the end. What Jesus says is so magnific.

It 's so other. It's so unbelievable. But my friend, listen, this is what it's about. This is what it's all about. I don't know how to get us all out of the present. Our little aches and pains. My f. He's going to die. I don't know when. He wants to die. Have you ever been a part of a prayer meeting where everybody's praying for you to die, but you don't die? That's my dad. Everybody's praying for my dad to die, and he's still living. He wants to go home. We all want him to go home, and he's still here.

But you see, he knows the end. He knows where he's going. And so for him to make it. With each day, as hard as it is for him not to be able to communicate, not to be able to eat, not to be able to do anything unless my mom does it for him. Unless she dresses him or wheels him around. To live each day, how do you make it through each day? You do it because you know the end of the story. If you have no end to the story, you have no reason to live the story. And the only reason my father has to live the story is because he knows the end.

Knows the end. And Jesus is going to tell us the end. In the end is the glorious part of the whole thing. That's where we're going. That's where we're going. That's why it's so important to understand it. That's why you need to understand the coming of the king, the return of the king, and what it means. I mean, think about it. I mean, the city of Cleveland is celebrating the coming of the king. And LeBron James. He's come home. They are living in celebration of a man who's come to play basketball.

And we live in anticipation of the true King of kings, a Lord of Lords, who is coming to give us everything we've hoped for. for everything we dream of and he promises it. He's going to give it to us. He's going to deliver it because he's the ultimate deliverer and we need to live in celebration every day of our lives anticipating the return of the king. We're done. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today. We thank you for your word. And we thank you for the fact that you're coming again. That, Lord, you are.

You are the end of the story. You're the beginning, the middle, and the end, and everything centers around you. And my prayer is that, Lord, all of us would keep our focus off of ourselves, off of our present issues, onto the future glory of the coming King of Kings. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.