Luke briefly touches on a whole series of events about which the other evangelists, especially Matthew, speak in greater detail. He gives the central place to Peter's confession and to Jesus' account of His approaching death and resurrection. There is a logic to this presentation. First of all, the Savior lets His disciples feel the power of the Kingdom and learn from their own experience how this power acts in the world. And not only them: the miraculous feeding of thousands of people with five loaves and two fish is also possible only in the Kingdom. This is not surprising: when it comes to the Kingdom, it is easier to show than to tell. Meanwhile, even those who had previously taken no interest in Christ's testimony begin to notice it—for example, Herod, who was generally wary of every kind of messianic movement that threatened his power.

This is precisely why, immediately after Peter's confession, Jesus explains to the disciples just how different the messiahship He has brought into the world is. Of course, the apostles fully understood everything Jesus told them only on the day of Pentecost. But it was immediately after Peter's confession that He began speaking to them about His messiahship and His path. It is as though He is trying to make everything clear from the outset, so that His messianic ministry will not become associated in His disciples' minds with traditional popular messianic expectations.

From the very beginning, the Savior does everything possible to help His disciples understand as much as they can of what they will have to understand fully in due time. This is natural: Golgotha lay ahead. The disciples had to be prepared, as far as possible, for what awaited them—and what awaited them was the shock of the complete collapse of their entire worldview and sense of the world. Only the experience of the Kingdom could help them endure it—not the earthly kingdom of popular expectations, but the true Kingdom, the one the Savior brought into the world.

The apostles gained as much experience of the Kingdom as was then possible after they went out to preach on their own, without their Teacher. The new ideas about the Kingdom proved more difficult: they would not fit into the disciples' minds or find room in their consciousness. All that remained was to rely on their intuition and, above all, on the personal relationship that bound them to Jesus. Nevertheless, He tells the apostles everything that can be said in human words about His earthly path and earthly ministry. And then each one takes in as much of His words as he is able to take in.

Those who remember the former temple find it hard to accept the new one: they would like to see its restoration as a full return to their former life. But the Lord does not let us return to the old place or stand still in the new one. He leads us forward, especially since not everything in the world that has passed away was truly good. People, however, need an outward effect, and therefore they too easily fall into superficial judgments, into aestheticizing and imitating antiquity. But the most important thing, as we know, cannot be seen with the eyes: the visible is only one way of touching the invisible, not a substitute for it. More important than the restoration of architectural forms is that in the new temple the Lord is still present, preserving the covenant concluded between Him and the people.

His presence will be manifested in this temple in a way that would have been hard for Haggai's contemporaries, and perhaps even for the prophet himself, to imagine. Not only in the Holy of Holies, not only during prayers and sacrifices, but also as an unrecognized Man conversing with worshipers and driving out merchants, He will reveal Himself here.

And again we hear His words, with which He constantly addresses people: "Do not be afraid!" Many times throughout all Scripture we see these words, a sure sign of His presence beside people. In this world, where it is easier to defile a holy thing than to sanctify anything, since tearing down is not building, no one promised us an absence of difficulties. But with God much is possible, even the impossible: from clearing away everyday cares to uprooting the rule of pagan empires.

Before the inhabitants of Judah, and before us as well, stands a question of priorities, and it is neither simple nor unambiguous. Those who think that the time has not yet come to build the temple have their arguments. After all, the people have only recently begun returning from exile: life interrupted by an enemy invasion has only begun to revive, not all the houses have been rebuilt, and the losses have not been made up. Where can strength and resources be found to restore the temple?

Such is the logic of human reasoning. It appears correct, but once again it demonstrates its limitation. Those who think this way are counting on themselves, on their own labor and abilities, and this would be wonderful if behind hope in their own strength one did not see yet another attempt to get along without God. And although the voice of the prophets had already sounded more than once, even today, after the bitter lessons of invasions and exile, not everyone draws the proper conclusions: it is impossible to gain anything without Him.

In recent years one increasingly hears complaints that times are changing, while troubles around us only multiply. It would be worth asking ourselves: how often do we compare our desires with His will? Are we ready to begin with the restoration of temples, the nearest of which we ourselves are called to become?