Mark 13:1-2 Throne Down, or Thrown Down?

Mark 13:1-2

Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him,

"Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"

And Jesus answered and said to him,

"Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

Comments:

Deadly landslide from a major 2001 earthquake 
in El Salvador.

Jesus was quick to teach that the things that we think are impressive, solid, immovable, and permanent will be torn down if we honor them more than we honor God. Have you ever experienced an earthquake? We occasionally have earthquakes here in Oregon (I can think of two pretty big ones) but I am originally from Los Angeles and have experienced many there. Once as a child, I was thrown out of bed during an especially strong quake. My daughter is from El Salvador and experienced many terrible quakes including the one in Santa Tecla (2001) that killed 944 people and damaged 150,000 buildings. There really is something unnerving when that which you think to be solid starts moving and shaking, or rolling like the waves on the ocean!

Jesus’ disciples thought the temple was the most beautiful and stable thing in their world. Yet it had come to be a mockery to its original purpose. When Jesus entered Jerusalem he found that it was not a “house of prayer for all nations” and had to drive out the moneychangers and sacrifice vendors. It was not a place concerned with relieving the burden of the very poor, as we saw in the previous post on the account of the widow's offering and Jesus’ condemnation of the predatory practices of the scribes. The leaders in what was supposed to be “my Father’s house” were like wicked tenants in Jesus' parable who were plotting to kill “the heir” and would soon complete the act. Jesus was telling his followers that their hope was not found in a building—or in any impressive works of man—but the work that Jesus himself was about to do in dying for their sins. He had already told them about this many times but they really didn’t understand. They just wanted to talk about a timeline for when the temple would be destroyed. The end-times fascination started early I guess.

Model of Robinson's Arch into Temple

There used to be a pedestrian walkway to enter the Temple Compound at ground level and it was supported by what we now call Robinson’s Arch. In 70 a.d. the Romans tore it all down and toppled the stones into the street below where they left a significant crater. See the photo of those stones below.

The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism sponsored a consultation of “Gospel and Culture” which was published as The Willowbank Report. These diverse ministry leaders commented on the shockwaves of our conversion to Christ.

"True conversion to Christ is bound, therefore, to strike at the heart of our cultural inheritance. Jesus Christ insists on dislodging from the center of our world whatever idol previously reigned there, and occupying the throne himself. This is the radical change of allegiance which constitutes conversion, or at least it's beginning."[1]

What is the anchor for our soul, the light of our life, the solid rock that we run to "when all around us is sinking sand?" It had better be Jesus or we are in for a rude awakening! 

Regardless of timetables, charts & graphs, and debates over symbolism...

That which can be shaken will be shaken.

God will judge every idol exalted against him. Kingdoms and buildings alike will fall.

The question is, will we stand in God's grace or will we fall in our own strength.

[1] Ralph D. Winter, and Steven C. Hawthorne, eds. Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2006), 495.