I think it’s safe to say that we live in a changing world. The stock market is up, the stock market is down (today it’s down because of the coronavirus scare!). Oil is boom, oil is bust, oil is boom again. Yesterday the house two doors down was there, today it’s a pile of rubble, waiting for the new owner to build a new and better house. What seemed a solid, family value (marriage between a man and a woman) has seemingly redefined overnight.
In this changing world, people come to power and, inevitably, lose that power. Borders are redrawn, nations rise and fall. Often, leaders and even nations want to leave a legacy about themselves, something that will speak well of them for generations to come. On our recent trip to Italy, we saw a lot of that in the museums: busts and full sculptures of emperors and senators, monuments to military victories, etc.
One interesting monument was the Arch of Titus. It was erected by Emperor Domitian in 81 AD to honor his brother’s (Titus) victory in the Jewish rebellion in Judea. About 35 years before this rebellion was put down in 70 AD, the disciples remarked to Jesus about the beauty of the temple stones. His reply referenced this very victory and the coming destruction by Rome:
“You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2).
Solomon’s temple was not forever but was destroyed. Neither was Herod’s temple forever (the temple was rebuilt in Jerusalem in 516 BC and enlarged and refurbished by Herod the Great in the decades before Jesus was born). The Arch of Titus has carvings which detail the victorious procession of the conquering army of Rome as it brought away many Jews as slaves and the treasures of the Jewish temple as spoils. The Arch of Titus still stands today, but even this stone monument is not forever, as it required restoration in the 1800’s.
The Roman Empire spanned 1000 years. The ancient Romans believed that, no matter what went on in the world, Rome would endure. Even today it is sometimes referred to as the Eternal City.
It was striking, then, to see the remains of ancient Rome. The Forum is a preserved area of the heart of ancient Rome where great pillared colonnades and massive buildings once stood as temples to various deities and even Roman emperors.
Although the artist’s renderings of the original buildings are beautiful and quite impressive, these great monuments to a civilization did not last. Neither did the Roman Empire.
All of this might remind us of Psalm 146, where God urges us:
“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.”
Don’t put your faith in kings and princes, in emperors or presidents, in the government…, because all of the establishments of man will pass away. After Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple, he says,
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
The only thing stable in this world, the only thing that will not pass away, is the Word of God. That Word is the good news of a loving God who sent his only Son to be our Savior, to die on a Roman cross for the sins of the world.
While the world continues to change, while kingdoms rise and fall, God’s eternal Word will continue to change the hearts of people, bringing repentance and creating faith. Whatever happens in your life today, tomorrow, and over the decades, His love for you will never change, and His claim on you as his dear child will remain true forever.
Swift to its close
Ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim,
Its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all I see;
O, thou who changest not,
Abide with me.
God bless you during this Lenten season as you look forward to the celebration of Christ’s passion and His glorious resurrection, eternal monuments to His great love for you.
- Pastor