The disciple was amazed at the temple and wanted Jesus to admire it too. Jesus answers with a question that holds his gaze on the very thing he admired: Do you see these great buildings? Gill paraphrases it as, "dost thou take a survey of all these buildings, and of the whole of this stately edifice?" What Jesus says next will overturn everything the disciple sees. Matthew Henry notes that Jesus wept over the ruin of souls, "but we do not find him look with pity upon the ruin of a fine house."

Jesus answers His own question with a prophecy: "there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down" (Mark 13:2). The disciple's reply is not recorded. Later, as Jesus sat upon the mount of Olives, Peter, James, John, and Andrew ask Him privately, "Tell us, when shall these things be?" (Mark 13:3-4). Their question opens Jesus' long teaching about what is to come (Mark 13:5-37).

The temple in Jerusalem was famous for its huge stones. Barnes says "the blocks were of a prodigious size," and he reports from Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, that some of these stones were fifty feet long, twenty-four broad, and sixteen thick. Luke says the temple "was adorned with goodly stones and gifts" (Luke 21:5). Barnes refers readers to his notes on Matthew 24 for the fuller explanation of this chapter.

Jesus' question teaches His disciples to see the temple the way God sees it. The temple was beautiful, but it was not permanent. Earlier Jesus had said it was meant to be "the house of prayer" but had been made "a den of thieves" (Mark 11:17). Now He foretells its fall. Even the greatest buildings made for God are not the same as God Himself.

The question is gentle. Jesus does not scold the disciple for admiring the stones. He asks him to look again, and to see past the stone to what lasts. As Jesus says later in this chapter, "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away" (Mark 13:31).