<p>24:1&nbsp;<i>And Jesus came out of the temple and was going on his way when his disciples</i>- This was a visual depiction of the Lord's previous statement that the house of the temple was now left desolate (23:38). The Lord surely had in mind how the glory of God, which was Him (2 Cor. 4:6; Col. 1:27; James 2:1), progressively left the temple in Ezekiel's time, until the Babylonians came and destroyed the temple (Ez. 10:18), and how the loss of the ark (another symbol of the Lord Jesus) was the glory departing from Israel (1 Sam. 4:21,22).&nbsp;</p><p><i>Came to Him</i>- We sense a separation between the Lord and the disciples. His hint that the temple was to be desolated (23:38) was hard for them to accept. They were probably embarrassed that their teacher had spoken out against the quintessential symbol of Judaism, the temple; which would explain why they come to Him &quot;privately&quot; for more explanation (:3). And in :3 they again 'come to Him', as if they moved away from Him after His confirmation in :2 that He did indeed intend to be understood as saying that the temple would be cast down.</p><p><i>To show Him-&nbsp;</i>Mark says that&nbsp;<i>one&nbsp;</i>of the disciples said: &quot;Master, see what manner of stones, and what buildings&quot;. This may well have been Peter, as Mark appears to be Peter's gospel. It was his response to the Lord's previous comment that this house was effectively desolate already (23:38), so sure was God's forthcoming judgment upon it. And Peter is perhaps saying 'What a shame that would be- it's such a wonderful building'. In this we would see, therefore, another example of Peter, the leader of the early church, being somewhat out of sync with the Lord's intentions- another hint at the weakness of the disciples.</p><p><i>The buildings of the temple</i>- These words are taken over in the later New Testament to describe the building up often translated 'edifying' of a new temple, comprised of the believers in Christ. The temple buildings were thrown down&nbsp;<i>in order that</i>&nbsp;a new and spiritual building comprised of believers could be built up through the Lord's work in the hearts of His people. The group of believers are &quot;All the building which grows into a holy temple in the Lord&quot; (Eph. 2:21). Paul, writing before AD70, may have had this contrast indirectly in mind when he wrote that when the earthly house is destroyed, we should remember that we have a &quot;house not made with hands&quot; built by God (2 Cor. 5:1). The same struggle and angst at the loss of physical structures of our religion can be seen today; some find it hard to believe that relationship with God is ultimately personal, and that relationship continues even when surrounding, much loved traditional structures are removed.</p>