Mark 13:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we can see, first, how easily even Christ’s own disciples were tempted to admire things that seemed grand and had long been treated as holy. They had heard Christ rebuke those who had turned the temple into a den of thieves, and yet, when he left it because of the evil still found there, they wanted him to share their love for its beauty and size. One of them said, “Look, Teacher, what stones and what buildings!” (Mark 13:1). They seemed to mean, “We have never seen anything like this in Galilee, so do not leave this fine place.”

Second, we see how little Christ cared for outward splendor where there was no real holiness. When he says, “Do you see these great buildings?” he is not admiring them. He adds that the time is near when “not one stone will be left on another, that will not be thrown down” (Mark 13:2). The rich building gave it no protection, and it did not soften the Lord Jesus toward it. He feels pity for ruined souls and weeps over them, because he values them greatly, but we do not see him grieving over the fall of a magnificent building when sin has driven him out of it.

With what calmness he speaks of its collapse: “Not one stone shall be left on another.” Much of the temple’s strength came from its large stones, and if they were all thrown down, nothing would remain to show what it had been. As long as some part still stood, there could be hope of repair. But when one stone would not be left on another, what hope was there then?

Third, we see how natural it is for us to want to know future events and their timing. We are often more curious about those things than about our duty. The disciples could not easily accept this message about the temple’s ruin, since they thought it must be their Master’s royal palace and the place where they would rise to honor and rank. So they were uneasy until they could ask him alone and learn more about it.

As he was returning to Bethany, he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, where he could see it clearly. There four of them agreed to ask him privately what he meant by the destruction of the temple, which they understood no better than they understood his own death. Their hopes were so set on another outcome that this teaching did not fit their plans. Probably these four asked the question, but Christ’s answer was heard by the rest of the disciples as well, though apart from the crowd.

Their question was, “When will these things happen?” They did not, at least openly, ask whether they would happen, because their Master had already said they would. They seemed willing to hope the event was far off. Yet they did not ask for the exact day or year. They wanted the sign, the warning marks that would show when all these things were about to be fulfilled, and how they might tell that the time was near.