‘And as he went forth out of the Temple, one of his disciples says to him, “Teacher, look, what manner of stones, and what manner of buildings!'
As they left the Temple His disciples said to Jesus ‘What manner of stones, and what manner of buildings.' They were drawing attention here to what this chapter is to be mainly about, the Temple and its destruction. Indeed in Mark 13:3-4 Mark will restrict his words to indicating this remarkable fact.
But first, before we go on, let us consider the Temple, with its stones and buildings. It was a huge edifice built on top of the Temple mount. Its building commenced in 19 BC and the main structure was completed as a result of ten years hard labour, but the finishing touches went on and were still in progress at this time, not being finished until 64 AD, just in time for its destruction. It was enclosed by a wall of massive stone blocks, each block on average about 1 metre high and five metres long. And there were stones in the Temple measuring 20 metres by Mark 2:5 metres by Mark 2:25 metres (68 feet by 9 feet by Mark 7:5 feet). The Temple area was about 450 metres by 300 metres. All was on a vast scale. The large outer court, the Court of the Gentiles, was surrounded by porticoes built on huge pillars. It was in these colonnades that Rabbis held their schools and debates (Luke 2:46), and the Temple trading took place (Mark 11:15).
The inner area within that outer court was raised slightly above it and was surrounded by a balustrade on which were posted the signs warning death to any Gentile who trespassed within. (Two of these inscriptions have been discovered). The first court beyond this balustrade, accessed by steps, was the Court of the Women in which were found the thirteen trumpets for collection of funds for the Treasury. A further court, raised above the court of the women and accessed by further steps, was the Court of Israel, and beyond that, and even higher, was the Priests' Court which contained the great Altar built of unhewn stone.
Within the Priests' Court, raised above all, was the holy shrine itself, entered through a porch that was 100 cubits high and 100 cubits wide (a cubit was 44.45 centimetres or 17.5 inches). Theoretically it was entered through a first curtain as it had been in the Tabernacle, although in fact doors had been introduced over which the curtain hung. The doorway that gave entry was 40 cubits high and 20 cubits wide, and then another door, half the size, led into the Holy Place. The Holy Place was 40 cubits long and 20 cubits wide, and separated from the Most Holy Place by further doors over which hung another curtain (the inner veil). The Most Holy Place was 20 cubits square and 40 cubits high. But the height of the sanctuary was increased by an additional empty room above it which raised the height of the whole to 100 cubits.
But it was not only large, it was magnificent. Josephus described the holy shrine and its magnificence in this way. ‘Now the outward face of the Temple in its front wanted nothing that was likely to surprise men's minds or their eyes, for it was covered all over with plates of gold of great weight, and, at the first rising of the sun, reflected back a very fiery splendour, and made those who forced themselves to look on it turn their eyes away, just as they would have done at the sun's own rays. But this Temple appeared to strangers, when they were at a distance, like a mountain covered with snow, for as to those parts of it which were not gold they were exceeding white.' Some of these great white stones have in fact been unearthed within the last few decades.
This then was the magnificence that so drew the attention of the disciples. While they had seen it before they never ceased to marvel at its massiveness. No wonder then that the widow's mite seemed unimportant to all but Jesus, and God.