GOSPEL MEDITATION # 221
Mark 13:1-8
Jesus Foretells the Destruction of the Temple &
Signs of the Close of the Age, part 1
- Find a quiet place, alone and apart from distractions.
- Be comfortably alert, still and at peace.
- Say the Lord’s Prayer. Sing or cant the Jesus Prayer
- Pray for family, friends, neighbors, and yourself.
- Slowly and carefully read the passages of Scripture.
- Reread them. From memory, determine the central points.
- This event takes place on Wednesday of the last week. Jesus has just ended His public preaching and teaching.
- Leaving the temple for the last time, Jesus has pointed out to Him by the disciples what a grand building the temple was. Jesus uses this moment for a startling prediction.
- One of the 7 wonders of the ancient world would be utterly destroyed – the meaning of not “one stone upon another” – which would be unimaginable to Jews.
- This would take place at the end of the Jewish revolt against Rome that would begin in A.D. 66. Jesus’ prophecy would literally be fulfilled in A.D. 70. The Temple would never be rebuilt.
- Now then the disciples ask Jesus two questions – when would this event happen and is there a way we could know it is about to happen.
- The first words out of Jesus’ mouth are, “see that no one leads you astray” and would that Christians over the years would heed the warning. By the dozens, even to our own day, there are those who lead astray – again just as Jesus announced – many would be lead astray.
- The usual great events, wars, rumors of such, nations fighting each other, earthquakes, famines (Luke adds pestilence (diseases) and cosmic events).
- And these would be “the beginning of the birth pains.”