By Joshua Cooley
Scripture Reading: Luke 21:1-38, Luke 22:1-2, Daniel 7:13-14
In about 20 BC, Herod the Great, the Rome-appointed provincial ruler of the Jews, began a massive renovation and expansion project on the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
The original temple had been finished by King Solomon in 960 BC, but King Nebuchadnezzar’s invading forces from Babylon destroyed it when they sacked Jerusalem in 586 BC and deported the people. After Babylon’s conqueror, King Cyrus of Persia, allowed the Jewish exiles to return to Judea in 538, they began rebuilding the temple, finishing in 515 BC. This second temple—far less magnificent than Solomon’s—stood for nearly 500 years before Herod began his improvement project, which ultimately outlasted him and took a total of 46 years.
This renovated temple complex was where Jesus went during his time on earth. At about 175 feet tall (about fifteen stories), the temple building itself was quite impressive. But the overall complex was truly an architectural marvel of the ancient world, measuring roughly 1.5 million square feet (about thirty-six acres) and filled with various gates, courts, chambers, porticoes, ramparts, and a massive retaining wall (some of which can still be seen today). The complex occupied approximately one-sixth of the total area within Jerusalem’s walls.
The Jewish temple was the heartbeat of the nation. The people’s lives orbited around its meaning and rituals. Jewish pilgrims from all over the region—indeed, all over the vast Roman Empire—flocked to the temple each year for various festivals and observances, none greater than the weeklong Passover celebration that served as a backdrop for Holy Week.
The temple was the chief repository of the Torah. It was the meeting place of the Sanhedrin, the powerful Jewish ruling council. It was where the priests offered sacrifices for the sins of the nation, where the people prayed for God’s favor and deliverance, and where the high priest entered into the inner sanctum of God’s presence once a year on the Day of Atonement.
So imagine the utter shock and confusion that Jesus’s listeners felt when, three days before His death, He prophesied these words about the temple: “The days will come when not one stone will be left on another” (Luke 21:6). It was a terrifying thought for the disciples, who asked Him for more details about warning signs and timing. Jesus’s answer? Be alert. Be watchful. Be ready.
Some of Jesus’s prophecies in the ensuing Luke 21 discourse were fulfilled in AD 70, when besieging Roman forces entered Jerusalem and razed the temple. But starting in verse 25, Jesus seemed to shift gears to address His own return, which we as twenty-first century believers still anxiously await.
Two thousand years of anticipation should confirm that attempting to pinpoint the exact timing of Jesus’s return is folly. Rather, His message for us today is the same: I will return. So be alert. Be watchful. Be ready.
Our King is coming. He has all authority, dominion and power, and soon He will inaugurate a glorious reign of peace without end. Our redemption is closer now than ever. Until then, may we be prayerfully alert, watchful, and ready.
Written by Josh Cooley
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