And Jesus said unto them,
See you not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Read Chapter 24
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
Do you see all these things? Examine again and again all this magnificence, that the sentence of heaven may appear more striking.
A stone upon a stone. We need not look on this as an hyperbole. The temple burnt by the Romans, and afterwards even ploughed up. See Gregory of Nazianzus, orat. ii. cont. Julianum; Theodoret, lib. iii. Histor. chap. xx. (Witham)
Julian the apostate, wishing to falsify the predictions of Daniel and of Jesus Christ, attempted to rebuild the temple. For this purpose, he assembled the chief among the Jews, and asking them why they neglected the prescribed sacrifices, was answered, that they could not offer any where else but in the temple of Jerusalem. Upon this he ordered them to repair to Jerusalem, to rebuild their temple, and restore their ancient worship, promising them his concurrence in carrying on the work. This filled the Jews with inexpressible joy. Hence flocking to Jerusalem, they began with scorn and triumph to insult over the Christians. Contribu...
The magnificent splendor of the temple’s design was shown to Christ immediately after he had warned of Jerusalem’s desolation, as though to move him. Yet he said that everything had to be destroyed and the scattered stones of its entire foundation demolished, for an eternal temple was being consecrated as a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. This eternal temple is the man who is made worthy of becoming God’s habitation through knowledge of the Son, confession of the Father and obedience to the commandments.
Figuratively; When the Lord departed from the temple, all the buildings of the Law and the structure of the Commandments were so overthrown, that none of them could be fulfilled by the Jews, but, the Head being taken away, all the parts were at war among themselves.
Hom lxxv: How means He Hom. this, “that one stone shalt not be left upon another?” Either as conveying the notion of its utter overthrow; or with respect to the place in which it stood, for its parts were broken up to its very foundations. But I would add, that, after the fate it underwent, the most captious might be satisfied that its very fragments have perished.
For inasmuch as He said, Your house is left desolate, and had previously forewarned them of many grievous things; therefore the disciples having heard these things, as though marvelling at it, came unto Him, showing the beauty of the temple, and wondering, if so much beauty was to be destroyed, and materials so costly, and variety of workmanship past utterance; He no longer thenceforth talks to them of desolation merely, but foretells an entire destruction. See ye not all these things, says He, and do ye marvel, and are you amazed? There shall not remain one stone upon another. How then did it remain? One may say. But what is this? For neither so has the prediction fallen to the ground. For He said these things either indicating its entire desolation, or at that spot where He was. For there are parts of it destroyed unto the foundations.
And together with its we would say another thing also, that from what has been done, even the most contentious ought to believe concerning the rema...
The historical sense is clear, that in the forty-second year after the Lord's passion, the city and temple were overthrown under the Roman Emperors Vespasian and Titus.
. By going out of the temple, Jesus showed that He was departing from the Jews. And as He had just said, "Your house is left unto you desolate [i.e. abandoned]," so here indeed He accomplishes it. To the disciples He foretells the destruction of the temple, for they were thinking of earthly things and were moved by the beauty of the buildings and so they pointed them out to Christ, as if saying to Him, "Look how beautiful is the house Thou leavest desolate." He draws them away from attachment to earthly things and escorts them towards the heavenly Jerusalem by saying, "There shall not be left here one stone upon another." He said this in vivid language, to portray the utter destruction of the edifice.
