Hidden Truth?
I wonder if the apostles whom Jesus chose had ever been to the Temple in Jerusalem before he brought them there.
As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birthpangs. “Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come. - Matthew 24:1-14
They were in awe of the size of the buildings, which leads me to think they had never seen them before.
If we think about it, though, why would we expect that they had? They were fishermen and tax collectors. Jesus found them at their work, not in the act of worship.
Perhaps they had never been formally trained in the faith. They were the outcasts and the forgotten.
So, they visit the Temple and Jesus warns them not to be too impressed with the majesty of it all. This, he says, will all come tumbling down.
This is not the center of our faith. It is just a place, a reminder, a symbol of God's presence.
The true center of God's presence is us.
We are the temples of God.
With so much to distract us and lead us astray, it is important that we can see the truth. Jesus wanted his disciples to know there is only one truth and it lies within us as children of the loving God.
When we can see that we are special in God's eyes, then we will be protected from the lies and misinformation of those who wish to deceive.
The leaders of the time had become corrupt with power. They were not to be trusted anymore.
It was time to turn to God directly.
More to come...