Matthew24:1

Context: Jesus had been in the temple teaching and facing loaded questions since the beginning of Matthew chapter 21. The point of this clause is that He had left the temple courts.

This is the second of a very specific and carefully chosen set of clauses designed to give us a clear picture of where Jesus was when this happened. The words “Having left the temple” indicate that Jesus was no longer inside the temple complex but was outside of it. The words “was going away,” inform us that Jesus and His disciples were in the process of leaving but had not yet left the area in which the temple was located. The point is that they were still in view of the temple complex and were now viewing it from the outside.

Cultural note: What were they looking at? Herod the Great carried out a massive renovation and expansion of the temple complex. The project included a massive retaining wall, an expansion of the courtyard, a renovated temple proper and renovated colonnades, new storage rooms, etc. The entire renovation project was an impressive sight that took more than 40 years to complete. The disciples were probably looking at, and exclaiming about, the entire renovation project. Everything they saw in the temple complex was new, bigger than life, and done with outstanding workmanship. It was unlike anything the disciples had seen anywhere else.