August 30: The Romans Sack Jerusalem & Destroy The Second Temple

How the murder of James the Just led to the destruction of the Temple

Aug 30, 2023

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On this day in the Blessed Year of Our Lord, 70, the Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman military after standing for approximately 586 years.

Why did the Romans besiege Jerusalem in the first place?

According to Eusebius in the Second Book of his Church History, the Jews plotted to kill James, the brother of the Lord, who had been chosen as the first Bishop of Jerusalem by the Apostles, because the Christian faith was spreading. (He was also known by the Jews at that time as “James the Just” — because of his ascetic way of life and his piety.) In those days, many Jews believed that Jesus was Christ because of James, and so the scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees hatched a plot against him.

The Jews encouraged James to address the people of Jerusalem by inviting him to speak from the pinnacle of the Temple. Now it was the time of Passover, and all the tribes were there, and a great number of Gentiles as well. They demanded that James renounce his faith in Jesus Christ publicly — but James “spoke out before the whole multitude and confessed that our Savior and Lord Jesus is the Son of God.”

So the Jews seized James and threw him from the pinnacle of the Temple in front of the multitudes. Thus “they fulfilled the scripture written in Isaiah, ‘Let us take away the just man, because he is troublesome to us: therefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings.’” James was not killed by the fall — so they took up stones to throw at him.

As they began to do so, James the Just knelt down and began to pray for his enemies. One of the priests even cried out to them, saying “Stop. What are you doing? The just one prays for you.” It is said that a fuller standing nearby took his club — which he used to beat out old clothes — and struck James the Just on the head, finally killing him while he prayed.

The ancient writers Hegesippus and Clement and Josephus all agree: “James was so admirable a man and so celebrated among all for his justice, that the more sensible even of the Jews were of the opinion that this was the cause of the siege of Jerusalem, which happened to them immediately after his martrydom for no other reason than their daring act against him.”

It is said that — immediately after the murder of James the Just — Emperor Vespasian’s son, Titus, brought three Roman legions to besiege the city of Jerusalem. The siege lasted months. The Romans finally broke the defenses on August 30th, and they totally destroyed the Temple.

These events had been foretold by Jesus himself almost 40 years earlier — as recorded in the New Testament:

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Mark 13:1-2)

The Arch of Titus in Rome, built in 71 AD, commemorating the sack of Jerusalem.

Why has the Temple never been rebuilt?

The rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem was actually initiated by the pagan emperor Julian the Apostate in 363 AD. Here’s the account of the pagan historian Ammianus Marcellinus of what happened next to Emperor Julian’s project:

His desire to leave a monument to perpetuate the memory of his reign led him to think in particular of restoring at enormous expense the once magnificent temple at Jerusalem, which, after much bitter fighting during its siege first by Vespasian and then by Titus, had finally been stormed with great difficulty. Alypius of Antioch, who had once governed Britain as the praetorian prefects’ deputy, was placed in charge of this project. He set to work boldly, assisted by the governor of the province, but repeated and alarming outbursts of fire-balls near the foundations made it impossible to approach the spot. Some of the workmen were burnt to death, and the obstinate resistance of the fiery element caused the design to be abandoned.

In other words, God prevented the rebuilding of the Temple.

Incredibly, there are six other ancient historians who recorded these miraculous events as well. Here’s the account of Sozomen, the fifth century Church historian, of what happened when the Jews tried to rebuild the Temple:

When they had removed the ruins of the former building, they dug up the ground and cleared away its foundation; it is said that on the following day when they were about to lay the first foundation, a great earthquake occurred, and by the violent agitation of the earth, stones were thrown up from the depths, by which those of the Jews who were engaged in the work were wounded, as likewise those who were merely looking on. The houses and public porticos, near the site of the temple, in which they had diverted themselves, were suddenly thrown down; many were caught thereby, some perished immediately, others were found half dead and mutilated of hands or legs, others were injured in other parts of the body.

When God caused the earthquake to cease, the workmen who survived again returned to their task, partly because such was the edict of the emperor, and partly because they were themselves interested in the undertaking. Men often, in endeavoring to gratify their own passions, seek what is injurious to them, reject what would be truly advantageous, and are deluded by the idea that nothing is really useful except what is agreeable to them. When once led astray by this error, they are no longer able to act in a manner conducive to their own interests, or to take warning by the calamities which are visited upon them.

The Jews, I believe, were just in this state; for, instead of regarding this unexpected earthquake as a manifest indication that God was opposed to the re-erection of their temple, they proceeded to recommence the work. But all parties relate, that they had scarcely returned to the undertaking, when fire burst suddenly from the foundations of the temple, and consumed several of the workmen.

This fact is fearlessly stated, and believed by all; the only discrepancy in the narrative is that some maintain that flame burst from the interior of the temple, as the workmen were striving to force an entrance, while others say that the fire proceeded directly from the earth. In whichever way the phenomenon might have occurred, it is equally wonderful.

A more tangible and still more extraordinary prodigy ensued; suddenly the sign of the cross appeared spontaneously on the garments of the persons engaged in the undertaking. These crosses were disposed like stars, and appeared the work of art. Many were hence led to confess that Christ is God, and that the rebuilding of the temple was not pleasing to Him; others presented themselves in the church, were initiated, and besought Christ, with hymns and supplications, to pardon their transgression.

If any one does not feel disposed to believe my narrative, let him go and be convinced by those who heard the facts I have related from the eyewitnesses of them, for they are still alive. Let him inquire, also, of the Jews and pagans who left the work in an incomplete state, or who, to speak more accurately, were able to commence it.