Matthew 24:1

And Jesus—departed, &c.— Our Saviour was in the temple, speaking to a mixed audience of his disciples and the multitude, when he uttered that pathetic lamentation at the close of the preceding chapter; wherein he has left to his disciples a generous and amiable pattern of a patriot spirit; and whence we see how contrary to truth is the insinuation of a noble writer, that there is nothing in the Gospels to recommend and encourage the love of one's country. Such a resolution as that mentioned by our Lord, Matthew 24:38 appeared very strange to his disciples, and affected them much; for which reason they stopped him, as he was departing out of the temple, and desired him to observe what a magnificent structure it was; insinuating, that they were surprized to hear him talk of leaving it desolate; that so rich and glorious a fabric was not to be deserted rashly; and that they should all be very happy when he, as Messiah, took possession of it, with the other palaces which of right belonged to him. They were going to the mount of Olives, which stood eastward from the city. It was the eastern wall, therefore, of the temple, fronting that mountain, which the disciples desired their Master to look at, and which being built from the bottom of the valley to a prodigious height with stones of an incredible bulk, firmly compacted together, made a very grand appearance at a distance. The stones employed in the foundations were in magnitude forty cubits, that is to say, sixty feet; and the superstructure was worthy of such foundations. There were some stones of the whitest marble, forty-five cubits long, five cubits high, and six cubits broad, as a priest of the temple has described them. In Mr. Mede's opinion, the eastern wall was the only part of Solomon's structure which remained after the Chaldeans burned the temple. Hence the portico built on the top of it, obtained the name of Solomon's porch or portico. See Joseph. Antiq. lib. 15: 100: 14. War, lib. 6. 100: 6. The magnificence of the fabric, however, was not the only topic they descanted upon. They spake also of the precious utensils with which it was furnished, and of the gifts wherewith the treasury was enriched; for there the gifts of ages were deposited, the presents of kings and emperors, as well as the offerings of the Jews. Hanging up such αναθηματα, or consecrated gifts, was common in most of the ancient temples. Tacitus, Histor. lib. 5 speaks of the immense opulence of the temple at Jerusalem. Amongst other of its treasures there was a golden table given by Pompey, and several golden vines of exquisite workmanship, as well as immense size; for Josephus tells us, that they had clusters as tall as a man, which some have thought referred to God's representing the Jewish nation under the emblem of a vine. Josephus likewise affects, in the place above quoted, that the marble of the temple was so white that it appeared at a distance like a mountain of snow; and the gilding of several of its external parts, which he there mentions, must, especially when the sun shone upon it, render it a most splendid and beautiful spectacle. See Luke 21:5 and Mark 13 Chapter s which the reader will please to keep in view while we go through the present; and we would refer him by all means to Josephus's History of this event. Christian writers have always, with great reason, represented his History of the Jewish War as the best commentary on this chapter; and many have justly remarked it, as a wonderful instance of the care of Providence for the Christian church, that this writer, an eye-witness, and in thesethings of so great credit, should be preserved, and especially in so extraordinary a manner preserved, to transmit to us a collection of important tracts, which so exactly illustrate this noble prophesy in almost every circumst