In Jesus Holy Name November 17, 2024
Text: Mark 13:1-2 Pentecost XXVI Redeemer
“Be On Your Guard, Don’t Be Fooled”
What a week it’s been for all of us! This has been one of those rare moments when time, which had been rolling smoothly along with election results pouring in many were wondering if there would be rioting in the streets. We wondered if there would be a smoot transition of power.
Naturally, the war in the Middle East, Ukraine are on everyone’s mind. How many news anchors have said “It seems the world is on fire.” Television has enabled us to sit at home and watch the Scud missiles attacking Tel Aviv. Will the Suez Canal ever be safe for travel. We see it instantly as it happens, and that’s never been possible before. Satellite technology gives us a ringside seat.
For many years the Middle East has been a tinderbox, with its warring factions and desert sheikdoms armed to the teeth, waiting, hoping and praying for a chance to be rid of their ancestral enemies.
Civilization began in the Middle East. Perhaps that is where it will end. War is always frightening, but this war could become something much worse. It could lead us to Armageddon. And that could happen quicker and easier than we think. I Peter 4:7, “The end of all things is at hand.” That verse seems a lot more relevant today than it did just one year ago. Can there be peace?
Wars come about because of the sinfulness of humanity. Warfare comes from the fallen nature of man. Whenever two nations go to war, sin is always involved somewhere. There may be sins of pride and oppression or there may be sins of brutality and naked aggression, but sin is always part of the equation. It is useful to remind ourselves that God often sent his people into war in the Old Testament in order to secure their new promised land. There were also times that God even used war against His own chosen people because of their failure to worship Him and their failure to seek justice.
There was time when Jeremiah prophesied about the coming destruction of
Jerusalem by the Babylonians. The Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem in 897 BC and carried into exile Daniel, Meshack, Shadrack and Abednego. Jeremiah is very clear about the coming destruction because false worship in Jerusalem (Read Jeremiah 7:1-11)
Listen again to verse 11. “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? I have been watching declares the Lord.”
The days of war are not yet past. In Mark 13 Jesus tells about the future destruction of Jerusalem. The story of the widow’s mite last Sunday was not about stewardship but about the coming judgment against the “Pharisees” and the entrenched religious corruption in the Temple. This is why Jesus threw out the money changers who were “defrauding” God’s people who simply wanted to worship God in the Temple. We know from last weeks message our the prophecy of Jesus in Mark 13 is part of a larger verbal exchange that is happening in the temple during Holy Week.
The triumph of Palm Sunday is over. Day two. Jerusalem. Jesus “The King of kings”, “The Son of David” has entered His temple and quotes Isaiah 5 by telling the parable of the owner of the vineyard who came to His vineyard looking for “justice and righteousness”. Jesus is pointing a finger directly at the “teachers of the law” who were gaining their wealth by “devouring widows’ houses” and then claiming to hide their unrighteous behavior with lengthy prayers meant to impress. Jesus said: “Beware of the teachers of the law who devour widow’s houses.”
This is why
Jesus enters the Temple complex and began driving out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. Jesus said, “My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nation, but you have turned it into a den of thieves” (Mark 11:15-17, NLT).
Mark 13 begins: “As Jesus was leaving the temple,….” It’s now Wednesday before He was crucified. He and his disciples are on the Mt. of Olives. Under the shadow of the temple, He told them what the world would be like after He was gone. In that message, He included these famous words: “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.” (Matthew 24:6)
J. B. Phillips translates it this way: “The time is coming when you will hear the noise of battle near at hand and the news of battles far away; see that you are not alarmed.” That certainly describes this past and present year, doesn’t it? “The news of battles far away.” (from a sermon in Matthew 21 by Ray Pritcuard.)
The disciples and Jesus are looking back to the glorious, glistening white stones of Herod’s Temple Mount. Jesus responds: “Not one stone here will be left on another, everyone will be thrown down. And so, His words were fulfilled in 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. Josephus said some of the stones were 60 feet long, 11 feet high, 8 feet deep, weighing over a million pounds. It looked like a mountain of marble decorated with Gold. The wall was 150 feet high – 15 stories – half a football field.
The exterior was covered in white marble and gold. One can only imagine the reaction of pilgrims upon first seeing it, especially if they arrived in the morning with the early light striking the front facade. This shining structure would have seemed a fitting place indeed for God's presence on earth.
In the mind of the disciples, in the Jewish mind , The Temple was God’s dwelling place. This is where you went to receive forgiveness of sins. This is where you gave your offerings, and your prayers were heard. The Jews thought God was the temple and the temple was God – Jesus said, “No. The temple will be torn down, but God will still be. I am replacing the Temple. I am where forgiveness is found. They are shocked!
A prophet always speaks to their own generation, but their words also point to the future. When Jesus spoke with the disciples about the destruction of the temple, of the troubles leading up to that terrible day, and of the signal that the terrible day is upon them, He was speaking to our generation as much as to theirs.
We live in the interim between the ascension Jesus to the throne of heaven (Revelation 5) and the return of Jesus at the end of human history. We have been given His Holy Spirit to carry on His ministry, the “Church” has replaced his physical body. In this interim we experience the same circumstances that Jesus promised his disciples all those years ago. We will experience false prophets, wars and rumors of wars, natural calamities and somewhere in the world, believers will experience persecution, so don’t be fooled.
Four Warnings. 1st. The disciple must be discerning of their leaders, of their teachers and prophets. There will always be those who promote second-coming fever.
2nd. Rather than get distracted by the circumstances of life, the disciple needs to be focused on the business of sharing our faith, doing the good works He has prepared in advance for us to do. Moving the gospel out into the world is our top priority.
The 3rd piece of advice Jesus gives is particularly for those who face persecution. It was true of the early disciples, and is often true today, that the followers of Christ are not always this world's "beautiful" people.
We know from Revelation 6 (v9,10) that when the angel opened the 5th seal John saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God.” They cried out: How Long, Sovereign Lord, Holy and True before you judge the inhabitants of the earth…) Then in chapter 12 (v 17) the great Dragan, that is Satan went off to wage war against the “church” and those who obey the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
So shall it be. Until He returns, God is our refuge and strength. Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.” Stay the course. Amen
