THE WEEK OF TRINITY X - SATURDAY

LESSON: LUKE 21:21‒24

“They will not leave one stone upon another in you.” Luke 19:44

Jesus becomes angry at the desecration of His temple by these greedy money-grubbers. They not only despise and neglect the true worship of God but turn it completely upside down and trample it under foot. Out of the temple which God set up to teach men God’s Word and bring them into heaven, they made nothing else but a den of robbers and murderers.

It was, indeed, a den of murderers, for nothing but the utter corruption and murder of souls took place there. God’s Word, through which alone souls are saved, was never heard there. In its place, men were directed to the devil’s lies.

This is really the chief sin, the reason for which they merited utter destruction together with their temple. Because they are bent on the destruction of God’s kingdom, God no longer wants to build up their kingdom. He says to them in effect, “Because you proceed to build up the devil’s kingdom in place of My kingdom, I will adopt a similar procedure with you and absolutely destroy everything that I have built up among you.”

Of this He gave them a prelude when He went on the rampage in their temple just before the end of His public ministry. Later on, when He had left this earthly scene, the Romans would carry out His words to the letter Then they would be completely carried off from Jerusalem with all their possessions, just as He had removed them from the temple. They would no longer have any worship, temple or priesthood, land or people.

SL 11:1483 (39)
AE 78:346-361

PRAYER: O God, let us not forget the example which You made of Your chosen people, the Jews, when they hardened themselves in unbelief. Keep us always truly humble and free from false presumptions, as we trust solely and only in Your grace, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.