Mark 13:1-2 - The Temple Location

Welcome to Proclaiming His Word! In this episode, we’re diving into the rich history and significance of the Temple Mount. Starting in 2 Chronicles 3:1 and landing in Mark 13:1-2, we’ll trace God’s story through Scripture—from Abraham’s test on Mount Moriah, to David’s plea at Ornan’s threshing floor, to Solomon’s Temple dedication. Together, we’ll see how these moments build to Jesus’ prophecy that not one stone of the Temple would remain—a sign of God’s judgment and a pointer to the hope we have in Christ alone. Join me as we explore God’s Word to uncover His faithfulness, justice, and the promise of redemption. Let’s dig in and look to Jesus, our true hope!

Transcript

87 - Mark 13:1-2 - The Temple Location

Intro

• If you have your Bible please open with me to 2 Chronicles 3 and find verse 1.
  • Today we will once again turn our attention to the Gospel of Mark and the prophecy of Christ concerning the last days.
• So it may be a confusing thing that we are opening our Bibles to 2 Chronicles instead of starting in Mark.
  • Today we will be approaching our text a bit differently as we strive to build up our understanding of what the Apostles were hearing and feeling as Jesus, speaking of the Temple, told them…
    • Mark 13:2b - “...“Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
  • We can often be found reading chapters like Mark 13 and jumping ahead to try and understand how things will play out in the final days.
  • Where there is certainly truths to be seen in this regard we must also pause and consider what all led up to this point.  
• Furthermore, I submit to you this morning that the only way we can actually understand this chapter, these verses, and others like them, is to look back and consider what we know about the Temple.
  • Today we will seek to do just that as we string together Biblical history to better understand what our Lord was talking about in Mark 13.
  • To do this we are going to do something a bit differently today.
    • We will be found doing a lot of turning in the scriptures to help us build up our understanding of the importance of this place for the Jewish people.
    • You see I could simply tell you that the Temple mount holds great significance and has been a place of importance for more than 3900 years.
    • However, I think it will be more meaningful to us if instead of just telling you that we spend the time to see it in the scriptures for ourselves.
  • To that end I would strongly encourage you to turn with me as we walk through the Bible and see the rich history, the conflict, and the heaviness of the Temple Mount.  
• With that, let us read our verse here in 2 Chronicles and open in prayer.

2 Chronicles 3:1

• This verse will not only be our starting point but will also be what helps tie information together as we talk about the Temple today.
  • I start here for a few reasons but mainly because the books of 1st and 2nd Chronicles were written somewhere between 450 and 400 BC.
    • Most attritrube the authorship to Ezra who was instrumental in the rebuilding of the Temple and reestablishing of proper worship.  
  • Assuming that he is the author he writes from the point of view of God restoring His people to this land of promise and the great need for the Temple.
    • However, even if he is not the author we know it was written around that same time period so the author would have had a similar perspective on the matter.  
  • Which means that as the author writes he looks back at Israel's prior history and in this one verse sums up the great historical significance of not only Temple but also the location of it.
• This will be our primary focus today as we consider…

The History and Location of the Temple

• Because of that I am going to keep this verse on the screen as a reference for us as we turn to other places in the scripture.
  • Let’s begin though by paying attention to the middle part of this verse, namely the location of where the Temple was built.
    • There are two references but let us focus on the first at this point.  
  • We are told that “Solomon began to build the house of the Lord… on Mount Moriah…”
    • CLICK TO BOX IN “Mount Moriah”
• Let’s talk for just a few minutes about the significance of this location, though it is a place of great importance it is only mentioned one other time in the scriptures.
• Where it is mentioned…
  • Predated Solomon and David…
  • It predated the time of the Judges…
    • The conquering of the land by the hand of Joshua…
  • It predated the establishment of the Tabernacle and the writings of Moses…
  • It even predated the nation of Israel and Jacob himself…
• Mount Moriah was referenced one other time in scripture and it was in Genesis 22 with a story that focuses on Abraham and Isaac.
  • Please turn there with me as we see the beginnings of Biblical importance of the Temple Mount.
• Genesis 22, verse 1, we will begin to read this passage together…

Genesis 22:1-2

• This story is one that I am sure many of us are familiar with.
  • It details the account of God testing Abraham’s faith and his faithfulness.
  • There are some unknowns in this story but let me share with you a bit of context about what we know for sure and then we will continue in this passage.  
    • Abraham was somewhere between 100 and 137 years old.
    • We know this because Isaac was born when he was 100 and Sarah died in the very next chapter when Isaac was 37 years old.
    • Some Jewish historians like Josephus say that Isaac was 25 years old when Genesis 22 occurred…
      • Some speculate that he was somewhere between 5-10 years old…
      • Others say he was 33, the same age as Jesus when He died…
  • What we know for sure is that Abraham called him a “boy” or “young man”, depending on the translation, and Isaac was old enough to realize that they were missing a sacrifice and to ask his father about it.
• Jump down to verse 5 and continue reading this story with me…

Genesis 22:5-8

• What happens next is that Abraham does not only lay the wood upon his son as they head to the top of this mount but he also lays his son upon the wood and prepares to offer him to the Lord as he was commanded.
  • The significance of this moment was not only that Abraham was willing to obey the Lord no matter the command…
  • But also with what happens right as he is about to offer up his son. 
• Look with me at verse 10…

Genesis 22:10-14

• Upon this Mount the Lord showed Himself faithful to Abraham and his descendants.
  • He showed that He could be trusted and that He would provide.
    • This story becomes one of the oldest and clearest foreshadowing of the sacrifice of another son.
  • God Himself provided for the sin of man by the precious blood of His One and Only Son whom He loves dearly. 
• As we consider the significance of the Temple Mount we must begin here as God provided in this moment.
  • This occurred some 1900 years before the birth of Christ, which means that Temple mount has been a point of interest for far longer than we often realize.
  • For just as God provided a ram in Genesis 22 so also would He continue to provide for His people for generations.
    • He provided for them though they found themselves enslaved in Egypt…
    • He provided for them as they wandered through the wilderness…
      • I think of Deuteronomy 8 verse four where Moses tells the people… 
      • Deuteronomy 8:4 - “Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.”
    • God continued to provide for them as they occupied the Promised land and as Solomon built the Temple.
  • Let us realize though that it finds its beginnings in this moment, and the author of 2 Chronicles recognizes this and blesses us by showing us the importance of this place.
• That it goes all the way back to the faithfulness God showed to Abraham.
  • Before we go forward in the text and turn to a different place…
    • It is important to make note what the Temple represents…
      • It represents God dwelling with His people.
    • This reference could go back as far as the Garden in Genesis 2, but we see it even clearer in the command to build the Tabernacle and establish a central place of worship.
      • Multiple times throughout the scriptures we see God’s presence being made manifest in the tabernacle or the Temple.  
    • I do not want to discount that or make light of it, there are even components of the Garden that point us ahead to the Temple.
  • However, our focus today is upon this particular place so even though there are references to the Temple throughout the writings of Moses…
    • Like in Exodus where we see the construction of the temporary Temple known as the tabernacle.
    • Or even in Deuteronomy where we see 12 times…
      • Moses making reference to the “...place that the LORD your God will choose…”
    • Though that is relevant and important to the purpose of the Temple…
  • We will skip over that for now and look ahead to how the location was selected for the Temple.
• Please turn with me to 1 Chronicles 21…
  • As you do consider the history that we are skipping over, aside from the writings of Moses…
  • We are skipping over the time of Joshua and the time of the Judges…
  • We are skipping over the reign of the first king of Israel and looking at the end of the reign of King David.  
• Once you land in 1 Chronicles 21 find verse 7.
  • Before we read it together I want to draw your attention back to the verse we started with that is on the screen…
    • 2 Chronicles 3:1, as I told you earlier, we find two references to the location of where the Temple was built.
  • The first we have looked at, Mount Moriah points us back to Abraham, now we will now turn our attention to the second reference…
    • The “...threshing floors of Ornan…”
    • CLICK FOR THE RED BOX - “threshing floor”.
• In 1 Chronicles 21 David has been given peace from his enemies toward the end of his life and he decides to “number the people”.
  • He wants to know how many men he has ready for war, though there are times where the Lord commands this at this point it was a sinful thing for David to do.
  • It seemed to be rooted in pride and arrogance but David realizes this too late…
• He realizes it after the report was given to him, then in verse 7, let us read together…

1 Chronicles 21:7-8

• Though David is mournful and sorrowful over his sin there will still be consequences for his actions.
  • The Lord, in the next several verses, by the mouth and ministry of Gad, gives David a choice…
    • He offers him three years of famine…
      • Three months of fleeing from his enemies…
      • Or three days of the sword of the Lord…
    • None of those options would have been very good.
  • David opts to fall into the hand of the Lord, citing the greatness of His mercy.
• Jump down to verse 14 with me.
  • What follows is what we will read together beginning in verse 14.

1 Chronicles 21:14-16

• Can you imagine this sight?
  • The angel of the Lord with a sword drawn over the city of Jerusalem.
    • Stopping in mid air, waiting as the Lord had commanded him.
  • Here, in this moment, we find David’s life as well as the lives of those around him hanging in the balance.
• Though the Lord relents at this point and has stayed the destruction of Jerusalem, the angel still has the sword drawn.
  • He has not fully relented but has just paused to allow the rest of the events to occur.
• Jump down two verses and let's continue to unpack this story…

1 Chronicles 21:18

• The Lord, again, through the prophet Gad, commanded that David go to this place and offer a sacrifice for his sins.
  • Let us keep in mind that as David is given this command the angel of the Lord is still very much present.
  • So David goes and purchases the land from Ornan and there he builds an altar.
• Let us read these verses as well.
  • Go to verse 26…

1 Chronicles 21:26-27

• Though many were killed because of David's foolish sin, here, upon Mount Moriah, which was at this time the threshing floor of Ornan, the Lord relented.  
  • Now consider this with me…
    • Abraham had a drawn blade ready to slay his son upon this place, but the LORD provided a substitute.
    • Here, the angel of the Lord had a drawn blade ready to slay the entire city, after 70,000 had already perished, but the LORD provided a substitute.
  • Again, what we have in this story is a beautiful foreshadowing of what was to come with Christ.
    • When the blade of death was raised against Him, however, there was no substitute.
      • For He was the substitute for man.
    • The Lord did not relent in that moment but poured out His perfect wrath upon His Son though it was undeserved.
  • Whether we consider Abraham with Isaac or David in this moment please consider with me that we are dealing with a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.
    • We are dealing with God’s Justice and what is due man for our sins.
    • The Temple where it represented the presence of God among His people, it also represented God’s judgment for their sins.
      • Otherwise a Temple would not even be required.
  • Keep this in mind as we move forward in our text. 
• Look with me at 1 Chronicles 22 and verse 1.

1 Chronicles 22:1

• It was decided, this was to be the place for the house of God.
  • For the most part the rest of 1 Chronicles we see David spending his final time as king organizing, preparing, and directing the people to prepare for the building of the Temple.
  • He was not allowed to build it, but he did all that he could to ensure that Solomon would be able to construct God’s House upon this particular plot of land.
• God had chosen this place for His people to worship and for His presence to dwell.
  • Let us turn forward again to see how this work was completed by the hand of Solomon.  
• Turn with me to 2 Chronicles 7 and find verse 1.
  • Seven chapters in and Solomon has finished the construction of the first Temple.
    • It took a full 7 years to complete and must have really been something to behold.  
  • When we jump into 2 Chronicles 7 we find ourselves at the end of Solomon's prayer of dedication and the Lord’s response.
• Let’s read it together…

2 Chronicles 7:1-3

• The first Temple was constructed and completed and dedicated and the Lord’s presence filled it.  
  • It would have been something to see, the people, as they witnessed this, broke out into spontaneous worship.
  • It was a day of celebration and of joy, many sacrifices were made as the people gave Glory to God for what He had accomplished.
• It is this chapter that many people turn to when talking about forgiveness and prayer.
  • That is because the Lord, after this moment but very much connected to it, appeared to Solomon and told him…
    • 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 - “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
  • We like those verses, and it has been the focal point of many services of prayer.
• Consider though that these verses are directly connected to the Temple and the peoples relation to it.
  • It is connected here to this particular location, and it becomes even clear in the verses that follow.
  • Look down at verse 19 with me…

2 Chronicles 7:19-22

• What we find in these verses is that this house, this Temple, is not only a place of worship and not only a place of sacrifice.
  • It is also a place that measures whether or not God was pleased with His people.
    • If the Temple was destroyed or brought to ruin it is evidence of the judgment of God upon His people.
      • The parallel account of these verses in 1 Kings makes the point a little more pointed…
      • The Lord told Solomon in 1 Kings 9:8…
    • 1 Kings 9:8a - “And this house will become a heap of ruins…”
  • Again, this Temple became a representation to show whether or not God was pleased with His people.
• If they sinned and repented of that sin and turned and prayed to God at this place or toward this place then He will forgive them.
  • That is the glorious promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14.
    • However, if they sinned against Him, and continued to rebel, and chased after other gods, and acted as the people around them, then He would not allow this place to stand.
  • This Temple, as well as the one that followed, became a living illustration of the judgment of God upon the nation of Israel.  
• This is so important to how we understand and interpret Mark 13.
  • If we fail to see the significance of this place and what it represents then we will likely misunderstand and misinterpret the prophecy connected to it.  
  • This was the first temple, it was completed by Solomon in 957 BC and it stood for more than 350 years.
• Now please continue turning with me to the book of Jeremiah and find chapter 7 and verse 8.
  • As we step into the book of Jeremiah keep in mind that the first temple still stands and a big part of his ministry is calling the people to repent of their sins.
  • However, much of his work did not yield any fruit in his day and the people continued in their sins.
• By the time we get to Jeremiah 7 the Lord has had enough and has promised to destroy this place.

Jeremiah 7:8-14

• Here we see clearly something playing out that the Lord promised back in Solomon’s day.
  • Here we find that this place is indeed a representation of God’s judgment upon His people.
    • They had given themselves to worshiping false gods, they had neglected and ignored the Word of God.  
  • In view of that God has promised to destroy this place, to bring it to ruin and to scatter the people.
    • This came to pass and the Temple was destroyed and laid to waste by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
• For more than three centuries it stood and the people worshiped there, the people sought the Lord in that place, but now they had turned from Him and He brought judgment.
  • This is a low point for the people of Israel as they were driven from their homeland and intermixed with the people of Babylon.
    • However, God was not finished with His people and with this place.
  • He continued to send prophets even among a foreign land, He continued to raise up servants who desired to restore what had been desecrated. 
    • People like Daniel, Ezekiel, Nehemiah, and Ezra, arose during this time.  
    • They brought about reform, called the people to repentance, and demonstrated faithfulness to God among a foreign people.
  • Though the people were in exile for 70 years the Lord did not forget them and again returned them to their home.
• Please turn with me to Ezra chapter 1 to see how God brought this about…
  • Ezra chapter one is one of my favorite verses that so beautifully showcases the Sovereignty of our God and how He directs the nations.  
  • Let us observe this in the first four verses of Ezra 1.  

Ezra 1:1-4

• Clearly, God is not finished with His people or this place.
  • He brings them back and reestablishes this Temple.
    • Though it was smaller and less decorated than the first it stood as a reminder of God’s faithfulness.  
  • It was constructed in 516 BC and stood at the time of Christ.
    • I would ask you to turn to one final place in the scripture…
    • Please turn with me to Mark 13.  
  • As we consider this second Temple I want you to realize that…
• Just like the first Temple, it would be a place that represented God’s pleasure or displeasure with His people.
  • Keep in mind at this point the Temple had been expanded by Herod and took 46 years to complete.
    • It was massive, it was beautiful…
      • It was this Temple that Jesus taught in…
      • It was this Temple that Jesus overturned tables in and ran out money changers…
      • It was here that Jesus had healed people and debated with the religious leaders of the day…
    • The apostles saw this, they witnessed these things, try to place yourself in their positions.
  • As we place ourselves in the shoes of these Jewish Apostles there is something else we must remember….
  • We must remember that the Jewish nation at this time existed under the rule of the Romans.
    • We see this struggle throughout the Gospels, and though this displeased the Jewish people they could at least say…
      • We have the Temple.
      • We get to worship as we see fit.
  • They could look at their massive and beautiful Temple and say…
    • “At least God is still pleased with us…” or
    • “At least God has not cast us aside…”
  • We cannot miss the significance of the Temple standing.
    • It represented God’s presence among His people.
    • As long as it stood the Jewish people had a reason to be thankful.  
• So as the apostles marveled at it in Mark 13 we also have to understand that they were not just marveling at a structure…
  • They were marveling at how God had smiled upon their nation to establish and maintain such a place.  
  • The place where God provided for Abraham, the place where God forgave David, the place that God had reestablished and brought the nation back.
• Now, read these final verses with me as we close out together.

Mark 13:1-2

• Can you feel the weight of what Jesus just told these men?
  • Judgment is coming, the temple will be laid bare, it will be no more.
  • God is not pleased with His people and in less than 40 years they all knew it all too well.  

Closing

• Though these men would have mourned such news at this time they would have had reason to rejoice later.
  • For this Temple that was a place of sacrifice and forgiveness pointed ahead to a perfect sacrifice that was found in the One standing before them.
  • Though Jesus gave them sorrowful news at this time it was to be a temporary sorrow because they would see that true forgiveness was not found in a place but in a person.
    • Through Christ, and Christ alone. was atonement found and though the Temple was laid bare in 70 AD, take heart, we do not look to a place but we trust in a person.
    • Have you placed your faith in Jesus?
      • The One who was promised, the One whose foreshadowing was clear in the establishing of Temple…
      • The One who died in your place as a perfect substitute…
  • I urge you…
• Look to Jesus today where true hope is found.