Matthew 24:1-3

The Destruction of the Temple

24:1 Now ¹  as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings. ²  24:2 And he said to them, ³  “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, ⁴  not one stone will be left on another. ⁵  All will be torn down!” ⁶ 

Signs of the End of the Age

24:3 As ⁷  he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things ⁸  happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

[24:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[24:1]  ² sn The Jerusalem temple was widely admired around the world. See Josephus, Ant. 15.11 [15.380-425]; J. W. 5.5 [5.184-227] and Tacitus, History 5.8, who called it “immensely opulent.” Josephus compared it to a beautiful snowcapped mountain.

[24:2]  ³ tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (ajpokriqei") is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[24:2]  ⁴ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[24:2]  ⁵ sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in a.d. 70.

[24:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”

[24:3]  ⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:3]  ⁸ sn Because the phrase these things is plural, more than the temple’s destruction is in view. The question may presuppose that such a catastrophe signals the end.