Do you not see all these things?

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

Now as he sat 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?" And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, "I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

- Matthew 24:1-14

Jesus has just finished a long discourse of accusations regarding the scribes and Pharisees and their practices, which, he says, keep those whom they would lead far from God. See the readings for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for this complete speech to the multitudes and to his disciples (Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, Fools and blind!, and But you were not willing!). This assertive indictment of their faults as leadership to the people of God came after the leadership tried to trap Jesus with their own questions, made with the intent to have him arrested. In the final verses of this indictment or list of faults, Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and expressed his deep sorrow over their choices.

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." My study bible notes here: "This is a prediction of the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, which sets the tone for Jesus discourse on the end of the age (chs. 24-25). The New Testament describes the end time in a variety of ways, so that no precise chronology can be determined (see Mark 13; Luke 21; 1 Cor. 15:51-55; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; and the Book of Revelation). Jesus' emphasis is on being prepared through watchfulness and stewardship rather than on constructing exacting chronologies. In this chapter the end is described as a process with three overlapping stages: (1) the beginning of sorrows (vv. 4-14), (2) the Great Tribulation (vv. 15-28) and (3) the coming of the Son of Man (vv. 29-31)." At the time of the destruction of the temple by the Romans, it was believed that the temple stones, which were massive in size, were lined with gold. So "not one stone shall be left here upon another" is a rather remarkable prediction. The temple itself was completely destroyed. Out of a huge complex of grand designs, only a small part of a retaining perimeter wall remained standing, which became known as The Wailing Wall.

For the rest of today's reading, my study bible has the following general note: "The question about the signs and the persecutions is connected in Matthew with the sign of his coming and the end of the age. The disciples dream of the hoped-for earthly kingdom, which they expect to appear almost immediately. Jesus knows their anticipation and sets out to prepare them for what is to come. He warns them to take heed (v. 4) not to (1) be seduced by any deception (v. 5); (2) be overpowered by the violence of afflictions which will come (vv. 6-9); or (3) stumble because of the false brethren (vv. 10-12)."

Now as he sat 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?" And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, "I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." My study bible notes, specifically regarding verse 6: "Jesus and the disciples are sitting on the Mount of Olives looking out over Jerusalem (v. 1). The immediate reference here is not to the wars of the world over the centuries, but to wars in Jerusalem." Clearly, in this beginning of his discourse to his disciples, Jesus is referring to what will take place in Jerusalem in their lifetimes. We can imagine the difficulties these men will endure in Jerusalem itself - just as Jesus has described above. The word for "sorrows" ("All these are the beginning of sorrows") comes from a word that also means "pain" or "birth pang" or "agony." Its root is the word for "grief." So, Jesus is clearly initiating them into the time to come: not one of the glory of the final kingdom - but rather one of travail and hardship, and endurance.

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." My study bible notes here: "All these calamities and tribulations will not prevent the progress of the gospel; the Good News will be preached everywhere (Rom. 10:18; Col. 1:6, 23)." So, Jesus' disciples are being initiated into a time of great sorrow, travail and affliction, difficulties -- but also of the endurance that comes from fighting the good fight. We will come to know this fight as one that defines strength, persistence and courage as those skills with which we bear our faith and in which we pursue it. We will continue with this discourse in the next several readings, as Jesus expands on the question posed to him in today's reading. We understand Jesus' reference to the sorrows they will endure. In many ways, they remain the sorrows and difficulties of the world that we endure and that the history of the Church has known. We are still in this time of "the good fight." We wage it with weapons of peace and love and hope and truth. It is a war that takes place within each of us. May you be equipped for it well, and strong in all the gifts that teach us what these things truly mean, and what it is to endure with the help we give to one another and that comes from above.