Not One Stone Will Be Left Upon Another

That song by Larry Norman had a lot in it about wars and people disappearing. Back in the 70’s when we were singing it the world was still mired in war in Southeast Asia. The cold war looked more and more like it could become ‘hot’ at any moment. There were seismic shifts in Western culture. Young people rose up against the “establishment” while those in power doubled down on their resolve to maintain the status quo at any cost. Many of us listened to this song and read the stories that Jesus told and began to do the math. We were sure that the end of the world was imminent.

One of those stories that Norman used in his song was from the Gospel according to Matthew.

Matthew 24:36-41
36 But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven,  
     nor the Son, but the Father alone.
37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking,
     marrying and giving in marriage, until the day
     that Noah entered the ark,
39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all
     away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will
     be left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will
     be left.
(New American Standard Bible, 1995 update, LaHabra, CA, The Lockman
Foundation.)

Wow! There’s talk about wars. We have Noah and the flood. There’s a bunch of eating and drinking and marriages. Then there’s that bit about 2 people doing something when suddenly, one of them is ‘taken’!

A lot of folks look at these verses and see a graphic description of the ‘End Times’ and the rapture. “Look,” they say. “All that partying and debauchery and nasty stuff. Just like we said! Then ‘poof!’ The righteous one gets raptured! Oh, isn’t that just glorious?”

Well, maybe…maybe not. Just like the passage in Thessalonians, the context here is key to understanding what this writer was trying to say to the people who would read this account. We can’t just ‘snatch’ this passage out of its context and create a meaning that backs up our preconceived ideas of what this text should mean.

I think that there are some questions that need asking. And, yes, we are allowed to ask questions. There can never be too many questions.

The first question that jumps out at me is ‘Why did Jesus even say these things? What sparked this discourse in the first place? I’m sure that he and his disciples weren’t just walking down the street and Jesus said, “Oh, by the way, the Son of Man is gonna show up! And, there’s gonna be a whole lot of weird stuff happening!”

No, there had to be some context to this.

This all took place during what we now call Holy Week. The day before this, Jesus had come to the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Yep! Palm Sunday! The events recorded here apparently took place on Monday.

Jesus returned to the Temple to talk with and teach the people gathered there. Some of the Jewish leaders came up to him and challenged him. According to Matthew they asked, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” In other words, “Dude! Who the hell do you think you are coming to OUR Temple and presuming to teach OUR people?”

As you’d expect, Jesus gave them a bit more than they asked for. In fact, the last half of chapter 21 and all of chapters 22 & 23 are devoted to Jesus’ response. And, it wasn’t exactly ‘uplifting’ for the leaders. Chapter 23 records what has become known as the Seven Woes. These are the verses where Jesus says, “Woe to you” Pharisees; scribes; hypocrites; blind guides; blind fools. At the end of this Jesus cried out a lament for Jerusalem itself. These chapters contain some of the most passionate speech by Jesus recorded anywhere in the Bible. He seems to have gotten very ‘worked up.’

So, of course, as they were leaving the Temple the disciples astutely changed the subject. “Hey, Jesus! Check out the magnificent stonework here! Pretty cool, huh?” When I read this I think about a group of guys walking down a street right after one of them went off on someone. They turn to their pal who’s still pretty hot and say, “Whoa! Check out that Corvette!” Totally clueless. But, trying to lighten the mood.

Jesus wasn’t quite ready to simmer down. He responded to them by saying, “You see these buildings? You like them? Well, listen up! There will not be one stone left on another. They will all be torn down!

Later that evening, after everyone had time to cool down a little, (Jesus), the disciples went to him and asked him to tell him when these things he talked about would happen.

Jesus then spent the remainder of chapter 24 and all of 25 explaining things to them. But, he didn’t come right out and give them a checklist of things that would happen. The writer of Matthew recorded a good share of this, including the passage that we’re looking at here using apocalyptic language. It is vital to understand this while reading this. If we don’t, if we read it like Darby & Assoc., we absolutely will come to a conclusion that Jesus never intended. We will wind up with a checklist that Larry Norman can use to write a song. And, we will completely miss the point.

And, that point will be the subject of the next post.

Please leave your thoughts and questions in the comments.
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