Daily Devotional For Thursday, February 12, 2026
Good day Southside. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew and today we come to Matthew 24. Today, we come to Matthew 24:1-14:
“Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. (2) And He said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.’ (3) As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’ (4) And Jesus answered and said to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you. (5) For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. (6) You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. (7) For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. (8) But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. (9) ‘Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. (10) At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. (11) Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. (12) Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. (13) But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. (14) This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (NASB).
Because of the length of this, we are going to take a couple of days to look at this in depth. As we come to chapter 24, this is the second of the fifth and final discourse that began in chapter 23. This second discourse involves a conversation Jesus has with His disciples as they leave the Temple on their journey on their way back to Bethany where they will spend the night. Just a casual remark by one of Jesus’ unnamed disciples about the Temple caused Jesus to prophesy about the destruction of the Temple, which came in 70 AD.
This would be Jesus’ last visit to the Temple to teach and preach. Mark’s Gospels records how one of Jesus’ disciples was commenting on the magnificent beauty of the stones of the Temple (see Mark 13:1). This was not Solomon’s Temple because that Temple had been destroyed by Babylon in their raids in 606 BC, 598 BC and finally in 586 BC. (see 2 Kgs. 25:8-10). The Temple was rebuilt under Ezra after the exiles were allowed to leave the Persian Empire in 537 BC (see Ezra 6:14-15). It was later desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century BC and then reconstructed by the Maccabees soon after that and then expanded by Herod the Great after that. It never achieved the beauty it had under Solomon.
Herod the Great started his renovation about 15 years before Jesus was born around 20 BC. He did this because he wanted to stay on friendly terms with the Jews. He had no interest in their God nor their temple, only in a construction project that would be a monument to his dynasty and name. Though the Jews hated Herod, they loved their Temple where they kept all their sacred objects and performed all their sacrifices.
They had the Court of the Gentiles, where there were the money changers and merchants with their booths. Solomon’s porch was 1,562 feet long, and the royal porch was decorated with 160 columns stretching along its 921-foot long length. The disciples gassed in wonder at marble pillars 40 feet high, carved from a single solid stone. Some of the original foundation stones were there to hold up these massive columns. The Jews were convinced that this Temple would be permanent since Herod the Great had restored it for them.
Are we any different today? We stand in awe and wonder of great structures such as the Washington Monument, the Eiffel Tower, the Capitol in Washington DC, Mount Rushmore, and etc. We see monuments; Jesus sees passing architectural idols. Real and lasting monuments lie in God’s truth and revelation and His kingdom. The greatest desire we can have is to know God’s truth, believe God’s truth and then live it.
Reflection Assignment: What do you think is man’s greatest architectural monument and why? Why do you think many people are more enamored with these than with God’s Word and God’s Truth? If you were being honest to the Lord, which excites you more, really? Why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Mark 13:13, “You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, You know me all too well. It doesn’t take much to get my attention nor my excitement. Lord, I want to be excited about You and Your Word. I do not want to come to read with dread, but read it for deliverance. Thank You for Your Word. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly