Jesus, a prophet…so what? Matthew 24.

Yup, you should read scripture because it is true, and because it is inspired by God. Besides, there is a divine transaction that takes place when we read the holy words, though I must admit, I cannot really explain how or what happens—I just know it is true.  And did you know the Bible is the only book in the world that has accurate prophecy? In fact, hundreds of prophecies and their exact fulfillment set the Bible apart from any other sacred writing. Did you get that?  Not the Koran or the Book of Mormon or any other religious book can make the same claim of fulfilled prophecies. 

Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of more than 300 prophecies himself.  But here in Matthew 24, we see Jesus prophesying about things to come: of beloved Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple, center of Jewish faith.  Seven hundred years earlier, the Lord said, “I told you these things long ago;

    before they happened, I announced them to you.”^1,2 On this day, exactly who was listening to Jesus’ terrifying prediction we cannot say, but many would face exactly what Jesus was describing and remember his words, just as the disciple Matthew wrote them down.

“Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”³

“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”⁴

The Temple was an unparalleled marvel in the ancient world—vast and mighty, constructed of white marble, gold, massive stones and pillars that seemed indestructible.  Get this—the pillars were 37 ½ feet high and so broad it took three men with arms linked together to encircle them.⁵ So it was not surprising that the disciples pointed out the wonder of the Temple construction to Jesus.  Yet in less than 40 years from their conversation about its might, the Temple would be destroyed.  As Jesus said, “not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Indeed the Temple was reduced to ruins; it was as Jesus had said.

The people staged a rebellion against Rome in A.D. 66, after which Nero dispatched armies to quell it.  Immediately after, Jerusalem would be under siege--one of the most terrible in all history—no matter that the walled city was on a hill and seemed difficult to capture.  Jewish historian Josephus tells us that 97,000 were taken captive and enslaved, and 1,100,000 died.⁶ Roman general, Titus, starved the people who ran to hide within Jerusalem’s walls—literally, starved them to death, and by A.D. 70, Jerusalem was devastated.

How could Jesus—on the eve of his arrest and crucifixion-- know these things would happen to Jerusalem?  The same way that Isaiah could write that the Messiah would be born of a virgin.⁷  We read that prophecy so glibly, as though it was just a regular thing that a virgin would give birth … but of course, it was miraculous, it was divine.  A woman who had not been intimate with a man did not bear a child (nor does a woman today)!  Yet Isaiah had foretold just such an occurrence some seven hundred years before it happened -- Jesus was born … to a virgin.

So what?  What difference does it make that Jesus prophesied that the Temple, that Jerusalem would be destroyed and in several decades, and both were? 

Biblical prophecy should be heeded … as most of it has been fulfilled, although some has not yet.  Jesus was not just the fulfillment of many, many scriptures, what he prophesied came to be in short order; therefore anything else about which he prophesied is worthy of our attention.

So what?  Since the events of A.D. 70 fulfilled Jesus’ prophecy to a ‘T’, we ought pay attention to whatever else Jesus said was coming.  Well, what else did Jesus say would come to pass? Stay tuned … ‘Okay, Lord, I’m ready to hear from you … what else did you say was/is coming in this world of ours?’ Stay tuned for more in chapter 24. 

In the mean time, let us not miss the fact that

our God knows, and he knows what will happen even before it does! 

Our God reigns ~ that is a certainty and a guarantee. 

^{1 – Isaiah 48.5b}

^{2 – “What Evidence is there that the Bible is in fact God's Word?”  Love Worth Finding.org, Ministries with Adrian Rogers}

^{3 – Matthew 24.1-2}

^{4 – Matthew 24.15-22}

^{5 – William Barclay, Matthew 24 Commentary}

^{6 - Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 6. 8. 5}

^{7 – Isaiah 7.14}