马太福音24:1-3 警醒预备耶稣再来

1耶稣出了圣殿，正走的时候，门徒进前来，把殿宇指给他看。2耶稣对他们说：“你们不是看见这殿宇吗？我实在告诉你们：将来在这里，没有一块石头留在石头上不被拆毁了。”3耶稣在橄榄山上坐着，门徒暗暗地来说：“请告诉我们，什么时候有这些事？你降临和世界的末了，有什么预兆呢？”

希律兴建的圣殿是当时世界上最壮丽的建筑物之一，可是现在存留的只是圣殿的一些基石。即使是在今天，当你看到那些几百吨重的、巨大的石头，你会惊叹建造这样一所壮丽的房子所花费的巨大代价，这座房子是为主而建。当然，希律建造圣殿的动机并不是这个，他这样做只是为了讨好犹太人，这样他就可以在那里做王。

耶稣喜爱这个地方，因为神的百姓在这里聚集；即使当耶稣还是12岁的孩子，他留在圣殿里以天父的事为念。今天经文里，当耶稣离开神殿的时候，他告诉他的门徒没有一块石头将会留在另一块石头上；当罗马军队在主后70年毁灭耶路撒冷，这就应验了耶稣的预言，耶路撒冷被夷为平地，圣殿和耶路撒冷从地图上被抹去了。这是神对于当时那个世代的审判，因为他们拒绝接受他的儿子为救主。

耶稣用这个场景来讲论另一个在遥远将来的时刻，那时他要再次降临来审判这个世界。我们应当常常思考审判日，因为这个日子并不是遥遥无期。耶稣的第一个预言（耶路撒冷被毁）已经确定的实现了，同样他的第二个预言也必会实现。当我们看下一章内容的时候，神的话语将会带领我们在盼望中等待那天的到来，那时耶稣将会来临，审判这个世界，并且把他的百姓带到天家。耶稣在那天到来之前向我们说话，使我们的心一直做好准备去迎接他。

祷告：主耶稣啊，审判日就快来了，但是我知道当你来临的时候，我要被你带进天国；求你使我为那天的到来警醒预备，以免我过度的关注这个世界，或者被假先知欺骗。主耶稣，愿你快来！阿们。

Matthew 24:1-3:  Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

        The temple that Herod built was one of the most beautiful buildings in the world at the time. All that’s left is the base on which the temple was built. Even today, when you see stones that way several hundred metric tons, stones that are twenty by ten by ten or more, you marvel at the cost of building such a beautiful house for the Lord. Well, Herod’s motives weren’t so true. He really built it to curry the favor of the Jews so he could be there King.

Jesus must have loved this place where God’s people gathered. Even as a child of 12 he stayed behind so that he could be about his Father’s work.  As Jesus was leaving this place, he told his disciples that not one stone would be left on another. When the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D., they fulfilled Jesus prophecy and leveled it completely, wiped the temple and Jerusalem off the map. This was God’s judgment on the generation that refused to accept his Son as their Savior.

Jesus uses this occasion to talk about another time in the distant future when he would come again and judge the world. We should think about Judgment Day more often, because it cannot be far off.  Just as certainly as Jesus’ first prophecy came true, so will his second prophecy come true. As we look at this next chapter, God’s Word will lead us to wait with hope for that day when he will come and judge the world and take his people home to heaven.  Jesus speaks to us before that day so that our hearts will always be ready to greet him.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, the day of judgment is coming, but I know that when you come, I will be taken to heaven to be with you. Keep me vigilant and ready for that day, lest the cares of this world overtake me or the false prophets deceive me. Come, Lord Jesus, come! Amen.