November 15, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Mark 13:1-8
The unnamed disciple in Mark 13:1 would have been impressed not only by the temple’s splendor, but by what it represented: God’s presence with Israel. Jesus’ reply must have astounded him.
Structurally, this week’s Gospel passage divides into two sections: Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple (v. 1–2) and his discourse concerning the apocalyptic woes ahead for the nation of Israel (3–8). The first part responds to a comment by an unnamed disciple, while the second begins to answer the two questions posed privately by the inner group of Peter, James, John, and Andrew.
“As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!’” The Jerusalem temple, newly reconstructed by Herod the Great at great expense, was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The project began about 20 years before the birth of Jesus, and the inner sanctuary was completed quickly (in about 18 months, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, who provides us with detailed descriptions of the main building, the outer buildings, and their contents). But the temple took many more years to complete.
It occupied a platform of more than 900 by 1,500 feet—twice as large as the Roman Forum with its many temples and four times as large as the Athenian Acropolis with its Parthenon. The huge retaining walls that supported the temple were composed of great white stones as long as 40 feet, some of which still stand as part of the Western Wall.
