19:41 ¶ And when he was
come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at
least in this thy day, the things which
belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine
enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee
in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee
even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in
thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy
visitation. 45 And he went into the
temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;
46 Saying untothem, It is written, My house
is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. 47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the
chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy
him, 48 And could not find what they
might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.
Here is a prophecy of
the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD70. Josephus, a Jewish general
who went over to the Romans, gave us the history of that event if we can
believe what he wrote. The siege and destruction of Jerusalem was the main
event of the First Jewish-Roman War that ended not only in the disaster to the
city but the destruction of the Temple, as well.
What was called Herod’s
Temple, the Second Temple with the first destroyed by the Babylonians hundreds
of years previously, will be destroyed. The Jews will suffer for rejecting
their Messiah and for fabricating a false religion, a house of cards built on
the Mosaic Law, not too different from what many Christians have done. It seems to be a character trait of mankind,
making it up as they go along. But, some historical writers say that the destruction
of Jerusalem marked the great shift away of Christianity from its Jewish roots.
Verse 46 is a reference
to two verses in the Old Testament.
Isaiah 56:7 Even them will
I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their
burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall
be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Jeremiah 7:11 Is this
house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.
Notice how word
substitution between Testaments helps define words. See thieves in verse 46
substituted for robbers in Jeremiah 7:11.
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