Les Feldick Bible Study

What temple was in Jerusalem when Jesus made His First Coming?

The temple in Jerusalem at Jesus' First Coming was the restored temple built by Ezra and Nehemiah after the Babylonian captivity. King Herod later remodeled and enlarged it into the beautiful temple complex present when Christ began His earthly ministry.

Les explains that after Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem around 606 B.C., besieged and destroyed the city and temple, and took Israel captive, only a few returned. By 400 B.C. there was a restored temple built by Ezra and Nehemiah, and that was the temple in Jerusalem when Jesus made His First Coming. Because Ezra and Nehemiah had limited resources, they could not make it as beautiful as Solomon's. Later King Herod, who was not even a believer but loved to build and was known as a tremendous builder in antiquity, took it upon himself to make the temple on Mount Moriah a wonder of the ancient world. He started with the little ramshackle temple of Ezra and Nehemiah, remodeled and enlarged it, and made the beautiful temple complex that was there when Christ began His earthly ministry. That beautiful temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman General Titus, and the Jews were sent out into a complete dispersion, though a few stayed in Jerusalem and Israel.