Matthew 24:2

ὁ δὲ ἀποκ., but, adversatively. He answered, in a mood entirely different from theirs. οὐ βλέπετε; do you not see all these things? = you ask me to look at them, let me ask you in turn to take a good look at them. ταῦτα : these things, not buildings, implying indifference to the splendours admired by the disciples. οὐ μὴ ἀφεθῇ, etc.: not an exact description ex eventu, but a strong statement of coming destruction (by fire) in prophetically coloured language (Micah 3:12; Jeremiah 26:18). So Holtz., H.C.