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MARK 13:1 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Mark 13Mark 13:2
“And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”
As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, look, teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings — the disciple's exclamation communicates genuine awe at the temple complex, which was one of the architectural wonders of the ancient world. Herod the Great had begun its renovation in 20 BCE; the stones were massive limestone blocks, some weighing hundreds of tons. The disciple's wonder is the setup for the most shocking statement Jesus will make in the Gospel before the passion.

Church Fathers on Mark 13:1

Because after the founding of the Church of Christ, Judaea was to be punished for her treachery, the Lord fitly, after praising the devotedness of the Church in the person of the poor widow, goes out of the temple, and foretold its coming ruin, and the contempt in which the buildings now so wonderful were soon to be held.

Bede · 8th century · in Marc., iv, 42

For, since the Lord had spoken much concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, His disciples wondered, that such numerous and beautiful buildings were to be destroyed; and this is the reason why they point out the beauty of the temple, and He answers not only that they were to be destroyed, but also that one stone should not be left upon another.

Theophylact · 11th century

Here also the Lord enumerates to His disciples the destruction of the last time, that is of the temple, with the people, and its letter; of which one stone shall not be left upon another, that is, no testimony of the Prophets upon those, to whom the Jews perversely applied them, that is, on Ezra, Zerubbabel and the Maccabees.

Pseudo-Jerome · 5th century
Read all 5 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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