Jesus teaches the temple will be destroyed... he will be destroyed...
In Chapter 23, the destruction of the nation and the temple, which was the worldwide center of Jewish worship and pride, will be a result of not just the murder of the prophets, but of Christ's murder.
Matthew 24:1-2 As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 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."
The fate of the nation and the temple hinge upon what they do with the message delivered by the prophets and with Christ himself. If they accept it, they will take part in God's mission on earth. But they have already killed the prophets. Now all that is left is to kill the son of God. Jesus not only predicts his own death here, but he also (once again) predicts the fate of those who reject the message of the prophets and who reject Jesus.
Matthew 21:33-46 33 "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 34 When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. 35 But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.' 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" 41 They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time." 42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. 44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls." 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
Their fate is in the process of being sealed. Jesus will be murdered shortly. Their place of worship and their community will be destroyed.
Do we ignore Jesus' teaching that the community and place of worship of those who rejected the message of the prophets and who rejected Jesus himself, will be destroyed? What God has given them, will be taken away and given to a community of people who will take part in God's mission.
Although Jesus was speaking specifically to the 1st century situation, his message applies to the church today. Does the church embrace the message of the prophets? Does it follow Jesus? Does it embrace the teachings of Jesus? Or have we achieved the same religiousity of the 1st century Pharisees following the right rules, the right list of good works, and the right theology, but rejecting Jesus - recreating him and his teachings in our own images?
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