ESSENTIAL KING JESUS: IN CONTROL
MARK 13:13
#kingjesus
USE AUDIO BIBLE: Mark Chapter 13:1-37 [5:08]
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Mark.13
INTRODUCTION… https://academicinfluence.com/inflection/influence/most-controversial-topics-today [adapted]
Controversy is a prolonged public dispute or debate. (Around here, it is also a hamburger at Happy Matt’s, but I digress). Controversy is typically played out through public channels like news media or political circles and especially on social media. There can even be sharp disagreements about religious beliefs. What perhaps most distinguishes controversy from mere disagreement is the heated, sometimes emotional, and often diametrically opposed viewpoints that frame an issue.
Right now, America is sharply divided along lines of debate that feel very personal, very emotional, and indeed, extremely heated. Controversy, as a concept, can refer to any number of issues that either impact large cross-sections of the American population or else move large populations to align along rigidly-defined ideological lines. When we hear the word controversy, we may automatically think about topics like: abortion, the death penalty, or gun control. These types of topics generate organizations and sometimes political action and then other times legislation on the government level.
There are big debates and controversies going on right now that are impacting families, schools, businesses, and jobs.
I am thinking about the mask wearing that is either required or suggested in many areas. We live in a community where many do not wear masks, but go to Bloomington and every restaurant and store requires them most of the time. Protests happen at high school football games because people do not want to wear masks and don’t want their children to wear masks. This controversy and debate impacts the church! We have people who don’t come to church because they believe their personal freedom is more important than worship and we have people who don’t come to church because the freedom of others not to wear a mask impacts their health. It is a controversy. It makes us feel uncomfortable and emotions run high.
I am thinking especially about the vaccine mandates that are coming out in government circles and in businesses and schools and other organizations. This issue is very very heated and very divisive. Jobs and livelihoods are on the line. People are free with their comments on social media on how others should behave and how laws should be either followed or not followed. We have a mix of health and laws and freedoms and government and at times also religious beliefs. It is going to be a big mess in our area very soon given that we have three major employers in the area who will have to deal with vaccine mandates and that impacts a whole lot of people.
By the way, if you are thinking about masks or vaccines and mandates and the high emotions and you would like to chat with someone about what you believe on these issues, I would love to sit down with you and talk about what the Bible says about these issues. We will not study the Constitution and the Bible… we will talk about the Bible and how that relates to your life and health and your family. We can chat and pray and hopefully get you on a firm footing about what you believe and why. Open invitation.
I bring up controversies and debates because Mark 13, the chapter we are in today, lays out a topic that is often debated among Christians. The topic is the End of Days, the End of the Age, Judgment Day, the Day of the Lord, the Book of Revelation, or any other way you want to term it. ‘What happens at the End of Time’ is a debated controversy because we get snapshot polaroid of the End Times in different passages and we desperately want to see the whole picture. We don’t get the whole picture, but some folks think and believe as though we do have the full picture. It creates tension.
Mark 13 is one of those snapshots that fuels our wonder about the End of the Age and what will happen and who will be where and what will be happening in the world. Mark 13 is complicated. In Mark 13, half of the time Jesus is speaking about an event that would happen 40 years later in 70 AD and the other half of the time He is speaking about the Day of the Lord in which He clearly says much about it is unknown and not shared. The complicated nature of Mark 13 gives us controversy and debate!
NATURE OF BIBLE PROPHECY
Before we dig too far into Mark 13, we need to mention a few things about Bible prophecy because Bible prophecy is complicated. If we think that Bible prophecy is only about predicting the future, we would be incorrect and we miss most of what God does with prophecies. There is an element of predicting the future, but that is not all Biblical Prophecy entails. Many times the prophecies in the Bible have three points of truth. Think of it as a stone skipping along the surface of the water in three distinct places making ripples, but also the ripples overlap.
First, Bible prophecy usually has a meaning for the people who are literally physically hearing the message. That is true in Mark 13. Jesus says in verse 30, “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (Mark 13:30, NIV).
Second, Bible prophecy usually has a meaning also for a future date past the lives of those who are literally hearing the message. There is truth for a future generation. That is true in Mark 13. Jesus says in verse 24 indicating a future event, “in those days” and in verse 26, “at that time.”
Thirdly Bible prophecy often has a ring of truth for the End Times. We call that the ‘Eschatological Meaning.’ ‘Eschatological’ is a fancy word meaning ‘relating to the time of the end.’ That is true in Mark 13. Jesus says in a very complicated verse about Himself (verse 32): “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father” and then in verse 33, “You do not know when that time will come.”
Even as we think about prophecy, I just read verse 32 which complicates Mark 13 even more! The obvious complication is that we believe that Jesus is the Christ and Jesus is God… so then how can He not know something?! Jesus is the One saying He doesn’t know. We find in verse 32 a Divine Mystery about Jesus in that He is completely God and also completely human, but what that means exactly is not so clear. Philippians 2:6-8 helps us a little in that we know Jesus did not have all of His divinity on display or the world would have melted because of His pure glory. Jesus did not grasp onto everything that was God while He walked in His physical life. A way of thinking of it… in a very wrong way because it is a complete Divine Mystery that I don’t think we can actually explain… is that some of God was dormant while Jesus was human, but He was 100% Divine. Like I said, verse 32 is complicated.
TRANSITION
Let’s dig into Mark 13 and look at the meaning for the disciples’ lifetime, the terrible event in 70AD, and then the Day of the Lord. As we look at each of these three areas, I want you to keep one of the verses from Mark 13 in the background of your mind.
READ MARK 13:13 (ESV)
“And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
READ MARK 13:13 (MSG)
“Stay with it—that’s what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry; you’ll be saved.
READ MARK 13:13 (TLB)
And everyone will hate you because you are Mine. But all who endure to the end without renouncing Me shall be saved.
DISCIPLES’ LIFETIME (VERSES 1-11)
Jesus does prophesy and speak to events in the disciples’ lifetime. Jesus speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem, which we will get to in a moment, and the disciples are full of questions. They want to know how they will know when these things would be fulfilled (verse 4).
Part of the prophecy that Jesus lays out is that life will become difficult for believers in Him. He says that the disciples will need to be on “guard” (verse 9). They will be handed over to councils and arrested and brought to trial and people will hate them because of the faith they profess in Jesus Christ.
We know this to be true. Peter and John are brought before the Sanhedrin in Acts 4 and put on trial. The apostles are arrested and put in jail in Acts 5. Stephen, one of the first deacons, is stoned to death in Acts 7. Believers were driven from their homes and dragged to prison in Acts 8. James the son of Zebedee is killed in Acts 12 and Peter was again thrown in prison at the same time.
Jesus knows this ahead of time that all this will happen to those who follow Him. He wants them to be as prepared as they can be. He tells them that they will be witnesses. They need not worry about what they will say or how they will say it because the Holy Spirit will be their Counselor and Helper and Power in trying days (verse 11).
Notice that Jesus is promising that in difficult times when our life is on the line or our faith is tested or we are stretched thin that we have power and assurance and strength from our faith in Jesus and because of the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to endure to the end to be delivered. The Holy Spirit encourages us to be faithful and stick with it which leads us to ultimate salvation. What a wonderful promise!
READ MARK 13:13 (HCSB)
And you will be hated by everyone because of My Name. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.
READ MARK 13:13 (AMP)
You will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but the one who [patiently perseveres empowered by the Holy Spirit and] endures to the end, he will be saved
TERRIBLE EVENT IN 70AD (VERSES 1-23)
Jesus does prophesy and speak to events after the disciples’ lifetime that centers on a terrible event in 70AD. This is the event that Jesus speaks most about in this chapter. Jesus says in verse 2 that all of the stones of the temple in Jerusalem will be torn down and thrown down. He describes those days as being filled with persecution, false saviors grabbing the attention of the crowds, war, earthquakes, famines, betrayal in families, and quite a bit of death.
What Jesus describes happened in the year 70. About 40 years after Jesus’ life, the legions of Rome marched on Jerusalem and destroyed much of it. This is a historical fact that happened. We know it is a historical fact that happened because of histories written at the time. We know about specific events in Jerusalem because of a man named Josephus who was a Jewish historian. He was an eye witness.
Listen to what he writes…
ILLUSTRATION… The Wars of the Jews, Book 6, Chapter 8
“(404) But when they [Romans] went in numbers into the lanes of the city, with their swords drawn, they slew those whom they overtook, without mercy, and set fire to the houses wither the Jews were fled, and burnt every soul in them, and laid waste a great many of the rest; (405) and when they were come to the houses to plunder them, they found in them entire families of dead men, and the upper rooms full of dead corpses, that is of such as died by the famine; they then stood in a horror at this sight, and went out without touching anything. (406) But although they had this commiseration for such as were destroyed in that manner, yet had they not the same for those that were still alive, but they ran every one through whom they met with, and obstructed the very lanes with their dead bodies, and made the whole city run down with blood, to such a degree indeed that the fire of many of the houses was quenched with these men's blood. (407) And truly so it happened, that though the slayers left off at the evening, yet did the fire greatly prevail in the night, and as all was burning, came that eighth day of the month [Elul] upon Jerusalem,”
We understand from this eye witness account that Rome laid siege to Jerusalem and many people starved to death. Those that did not starve to death or kill each other in their homes were killed by Roman soldiers. I want you to make sure you caught that there was so much blood that it put out some of the fires. Eventually, much of the whole city either was destroyed or burned down including the temple which still has not been rebuilt even today.
I want to read one other passage from his history that shares how many people died in Jerusalem.
ILLUSTRATION… The Wars of the Jews, Book 6, Chapter 9
(420) Now the number of those that were carried captive during this whole war was collected to be ninety-seven thousand, as was the number of those that perished during the whole siege eleven hundred thousand, (421) the greater part of whom were indeed of the same nation [with the citizens of Jerusalem], but not belonging to the city itself; for they were come up from all the country to the feast of unleavened bread, and were on a sudden shut up by an army, which, at the very first, occasioned so great a traitness among them that there came a pestilential destruction upon them, and soon afterward such a famine, as destroyed them more suddenly.
Just so you know, 1100 x1000 is 1.1 million. 97,000 Jews were taking into slavery and captivity and over 1 million people were killed by either famine or by the sword. It is astounding to think of that much death. From what I can tell, it might be about like everyone in Dallas, Texas dying at one time.
Jesus knows this ahead of time that all this will happen and He wants those who follow Him to flee (verse 14). Jesus knows the death and destruction that will come and He tells them to leave and not to be caught up in those days that were unequalled (verse 19). He wants them to be as prepared as they can be and commands them again to be on “guard” (verse 23).
Notice that Jesus is promising that in times in history when the days are unequaled in violence or death or sickness or hardship and when our faith is tested or we are stretched thin that we have power and assurance and strength from our faith in Jesus and because of the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to endure through to the end to be delivered. The Holy Spirit encourages us to be faithful and stick with it which leads us to ultimate salvation. What a wonderful promise!
READ MARK 13:13 (NASB)
And you will be hated by everyone because of My Name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
READ MARK 13:13 (KJV)
And ye shall be hated of all men for My Name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
THE DAY OF THE LORD (VERSES 24-37)
Jesus does prophesy and speak to events after the disciples’ lifetime and after the events of 70AD to the End Times and the Day of the Lord. We do have snapshots of the End of Time in the Bible in books like Isaiah and Daniel in the Old Testament and Revelation in the New Testament. These looks in on the end of the world show it to be a terrible time for people, governments, cities, animals, and even the planet itself.
The dreadful days of the End Times bring about many wars and government against government. Jesus even quotes from Isaiah 13 when He says the “sun will be darkened” and the whole heavens will be “shaken” (verses 24-25). There will be so much unrest on the planet that nothing of what we consider to be civilization survives. It all falls. It is all shaken.
The dreadful days of the End Times also bring about false teachers and false Christs and delusions and lies that tempt faithful people away from God. It is not like these false prophets offer nothing, verse 22 tells us that these false teachers will produce signs and wonders to deceive even the most faithful of people.
Jesus knows this ahead of time that all this will happen and He wants those who follow Him to understand that He is coming back! In the midst of those terrible says, Jesus makes a promise. He says…
READ MARK 13:26-27
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
Jesus knows the death and destruction that will come and He tells all believers that whether they are alive or dead that He will collect those who are faithful to Him with power and with glory. He will take us to be with Him. He wants us to be as prepared as we can be and commands us to “be on guard” (verse 33), “keep watch” (verse 34) and “keep watch” (verse 35) and to “watch” (verse 37).
Notice that Jesus is promising that in the Day of the Lord He will come for us. He will come and we need to be ready when He does. We will have assurance and strength from our faith in Jesus and because of the presence of the Holy Spirit we will be able to endure in faithfulness. The Holy Spirit enables us to endure through to the end to be saved. The Holy Spirit encourages us to be faithful and stick with it which leads us to ultimate salvation. What a wonderful promise!
TRANSITION
We have seen that Jesus in Mark 13 prophesies about Jerusalem and wrapped up in that prophecy is meaning for the disciples’ lifetime, the terrible event in 70AD, and then the Day of the Lord. That leads us to the Essential King Jesus for Mark 13.
ESSENTIAL KING JESUS
We are making our way through the Gospel of Mark that I’ve themed ‘Essential King Jesus.’ Each week we are taking a look at one passage in a chapter. Each week I want to share with one essential truth that is important for us to believe and then also communicate to others about Jesus. We are focusing on the Essential King Jesus. Mark 13 is no different even though we are talking about the End of the World in this chapter among other things. The Essential King Jesus for Mark 13: Jesus is in control.
Jesus is in control when believers are arrested for simply believing in Jesus.
Jesus is in control when the home of the Jews is flattened by the Romans.
Jesus is in control at the End of the World.
Jesus calls us to be faithful to the end because He is in control.
Jesus is in control when we get a diagnosis of cancer.
Jesus is in control when we have a house fire and we lose all our worldly possessions.
Jesus is in control when we get a huge bill and we don’t have the finances to pay it.
Jesus calls us to be faithful to the end because He is in control.
Jesus is in control when you have to get a vaccine to keep your job.
Jesus is in control when you refuse to get a vaccine and you get fired.
Jesus is in control as we navigate making decisions for our families.
Jesus calls us to be faithful to the end because He is in control.
CONCLUSION
We have talked about terrible times for the disciples. We have talked about the terrible event in 70AD. We have talked briefly about the end of the world. No matter what trial or terrible event or test or happenstance we must endure, Jesus calls us to be faithful to the end because He is in control.
READ MARK 13:13b (ESV)
“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
PRAYER
INVITATION
Debates can rage in our hearts. What is not up for debate and what is not a controversy is that God loves you. God really did send His Son to die for you. Jesus really did die for you. If you believe that, may you feel the draw to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and choose to follow Him with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind. Choose Jesus. End the debate in your heart.
