Thursday after the Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on November 4, 2021 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 21:5-9 (NKJV)
21:5 Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, “These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”
7 So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?
8 And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them. 9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”
Devotion
The destruction of the Temple described in the verses before us today was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Roman armies took Jerusalem, burned the Temple, and destroyed the city. The Jewish historian Josephus in his record entitled “Jewish War” describes the Jerusalem Temple with statements like “…one stone at the southwest corner was some 36 feet long,” and “Whatever was not overlaid with gold was purest white…” He describes how Herod gave a golden vine for one of its decorations, and “Its grape clusters were as tall as a man.” The full magnificence of the Temple as adorned by Herod has only recently come to light through archaeological investigations on the Temple hill.
It is hard for most of us to appreciate the level of opulence and splendor being spoken about by the disciples and Jesus in this text. All of this was looted or destroyed by the Roman legions. They concluded by running a plow across the city on the four points of the compass to make clear that it was all destroyed and would not be restored ever. However, the Lord permitted this to happen so we could see that the true presence of God is now found in Jesus Christ and His Church.
Prayer: O God, our Refuge and Strength, Who art the Author of all godliness: Be ready, we beseech Thee, to hear the devout prayers of Thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully, we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
