The Temple Will Fall

As he came out of the temple one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!" Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down." Mark 13: 1,2

Here is a photograph of a devout Jewish man praying at what's left of the temple which Jesus and the disciples are discussing in these two verses. Seeing the huge stones, we get a sense of how awe-inspiring the temple was. 

Notice that Jesus says the temple will be thrown down. He doesn't say HE will destroy it, as some claimed at his trial. Maybe when Jesus cast out the animal sellers and money changers (11:15-17) he was hinting at the temple's destruction, as if to say: If this temple isn't going to serve the purpose of being God's house, then it will fall. We might also notice that the prediction of the temple's destruction is not linked to the other gospel verses in which Jesus speaks of the end time.

Jesus assumes a prophetic role here. But lots of people only think of prophets as fortune tellers. And lots of people love fortune tellers: "Will I see my relatives in heaven?" "Will I see my pets in heaven?" "Should I marry him/her?" "If I lend them the money, will I get it back?" Will I get this desired job or promotion?" "Should I move to this new place?" Religion is easily trivialized.

In the Hebrew Scriptures people ask the prophet for a word, but when he speaks a call to reform or change, the message is ignored and the prophet winds up exiled or murdered. It's still that way: 

• Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of El Salvador, was murdered in 1980 for speaking boldly against poverty, social injustice, assassinations and torture.

• Father Pino Puglisi was murdered in 1993 because he publicly challenged the Mafia against luring children into drug dealing. He would not take Mafia bribes to allow them to lead religious processions and was critical of Church inaction in the face of Mafia crimes.

• Polish Father Jerzy Popieluszko was beaten, bound and drowned at the height of the Soviet years for being a vocal defender of human dignity, freedom and workers rights.

• Sister Dorthy Stang was shot dead in 2005 for defending the peasants and indigenous peoples of the Amazon, against ranchers who wanted their land. Her motto was: "The death of the forest is the end of our lives."

The Prophet detests the worship of false gods and the abuse of power that chews up the poor, the weak and the vulnerable. The prophet demands change. His themes are not about sex but about justice. And so when Jesus is uttering this prophetic word about the ruin of the temple, he's not acting as a scary fortune teller, but calling us to make the necessary changes - as individual persons, as nation, as church - to stand with God and God's agenda. 

And when we're not on the side of God's justice (and more than a few Christians won't allow for this) - it can all come tumbling down. In 70 A.D. the Romans demolished the great temple and its impressive complex of splendid buildings. No matter how impressive the stones and decorations, no matter how old and far reaching the empire or sphere of influence, no matter how vast the military might, no matter how much power the lobbyists exercise, no matter how astute the powers are at protecting incriminating secrets, no matter how vociferous the claims of greatness and prominence - it can all come to a disastrous end.