Sermon Tone Analysis

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*13:1 *And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”
*2 *And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings?
There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
*3 *And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, *4 *“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”
*5 *And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray.
*6 *Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.
*7 *And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed.
This must take place, but the end is not yet.
*8 *For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines.
These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
*9 *“But be on your guard.
For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them.
*10 *And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.
*11 *And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
*12 *And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death.
*13 *And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
}}}
Last week we began our study of the Olivet Discourse in Mark 13.
We noted that though it is explicitly a prophecy about the destruction of the temple, which would occur in A.D. 70, there is good reason to understand that Jesus is also predicting events that are set to occur even further along in the future.
In other words, the destruction of the temple was an historical event that carries with it great theological significance.
The destruction of the temple signifies the arrival of the last days which Jesus explains will end with his Second Coming and the final judgment.
That’s an overview of where we are heading in Mark 13.
In short, the Olivet Discourse is Jesus’ teaching on the last days.
So let’s consider today the meaning of the last days, Jesus’ concern for his disciples in the last days, and God’s purposes in the last days.
!
THE MEANING OF THE LAST DAYS
Of course it sounds odd to talk about the “last days” if we believe that we have been in those last days since the end of the first century.
So what exactly is meant by the phrase “the last days”?
In John’s Gospel we find several references to the “last day.”
Jesus says that Christians will be raised from the dead on the last day (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54; also 11:24).
And it will be on the last day that non-Christians will be judged (John 12:48).
After the gospels we find no more references to the last /day/ but rather to the last /days/.
According to these texts, these “last days” have already come.
Peter says that Pentecost was the fulfillment of a prophecy found in the book of Joel who said that “in the last days” God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:17).
Paul says that the last days will be times of difficulty and that those days are already here (2 Tim 3:1-9).
We get the clearest picture of what is meant by the “last days” in Hebrews 1:1-2:
{{{"
/Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
/
}}}
The last days are indicated by the revelation of God to men through his own Son rather than through the prophets.
So according to the New Testament, the “last days” began with the first coming of Jesus.
To criticize such language in light of the fact that about two millennia have transpired since then is to miss the point of this description.
Peter T. O’Brien explains that these are the last days not because of the brief duration of this time before the final judgment but because “‎God has fulfilled his promises uttered through the prophets, and spoken climactically and finally in his Son.”[1]
In other words, Jesus is the final and perfect voice of God to man and we must not look for anyone else who can reveal God to us.
God has spoken decisively in Jesus.
These are the last days, meaning that there are no other periods of redemptive history yet to be completed before the last day.
Islam teaches that Mohammad was the final prophet of God.
But Christianity says that Jesus, the Son of God, was the final prophet.
Like in the parable of the wicked tenants, it is the coming of the Son of God that signifies the last days, the final chance for humanity to submit themselves to God who owns them.
He will send no more prophets.
The next revelation of God will be his final coming in judgment.
So it is not erroneous or illogical to say that we have been living in the last days since the first century.
Precisely when the last days began, whether at the incarnation or the crucifixion or the resurrection or the ascension or the destruction of the temple matters little from our perspective in 2011.
But this explains why the Olivet Discourse has significance both for the disciples in the first century and for disciples in the twenty-first.
The point is that we are in the last days which Jesus says will be a difficult time.
These are “the beginning of the birth pains” that will culminate in the “end,” the Second Coming, the final judgment.
Satan, knowing that he has been defeated, is now unleashing his fury on the earth as God moves history along toward the which he has purposed.
And it is a /good /end that he has purposed.
The chaos of our fallen world is not a threat to God’s purposes.
We will see in a moment something of what God’s good purpose is in these last days.
!
JESUS’ CONCEREN FOR HIS DISCIPLES IN THE LAST DAYS
One of the themes that comes out in this passage, and indeed throughout the Olivet Discourse, is Jesus’ concern for his disciples in these last days.
He knows that the last days will be dangerous times for all people, and his disciples are not immune from the threats.
!! Do Not Be Led Astray
So when he is asked to provide a sign of when the temple will be destroyed and the last days will come upon us, he begins instead with a warning: “see that no one leads you astray” (v.
5).
He is concerned that his own disciples may be deceived into error, and this would be a danger far greater than wars, earthquakes, and famines.
What creates the danger of deception for Jesus’ disciples?
One answer is that “signs” themselves can deceive us.
Jesus is not opposed to giving them some signs of the “last days,” but he also wants them to know that signs can be misinterpreted and misapplied.
The most important preparation we need to make for the last days is not an understanding of the accompanying signs but an understanding that there is a danger of being deceived by those very signs.
Jesus warns his disciples that “many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray” (v. 6).
We have historical records that suggest that this is exactly what happened in the years leading up to the destruction of the temple.
According to Josephus, and Acts 5:36, a man named Theudas gathered a significant following, claiming to be a prophet of God and saying he could prove it by parting the Jordan River.[2] His cult was squashed and Theudas himself was executed.
Then there was an Egyptian who also claimed to be a prophet and gathered 30,000 men in an attempt to invade Jerusalem and overthrow the Romans.
His rebellion was silenced as well, but not before many of his followers lost their lives.[3]
But what danger is there for us today of being led astray by someone making such bold claims for themselves?
Obviously we have no lack of people making such claims and even gathering significant followings.
But we probably don’t think it is likely that many people in the church today would be deceived by someone coming in and claiming to be Jesus.
So what is the danger for today’s disciples?
The danger is exactly the same, for the problem is being led astray in doctrine, and this kind of deception continues to this day.
The danger of being led astray remains, especially for those who do not know the truth of the Scriptures well enough to see the error they are being taught by people they perceive to be authoritative.
We must “see that no one leads us astray” by grounding ourselves in the authority of Scripture and being committed to the Scriptures above all other truth claims.
!! Do Not Be Alarmed
Not only must Jesus’ disciples be careful to not be led astray by those who claim the authority of Jesus, they also must not be alarmed when they hear of wars and rumors of wars (v.
7), and when they hear of earthquakes and famines in various places.
Easier said than done!
There are fewer things more frightening than the threat of war and the devastation caused by natural disasters.
But the “alarm” to which Jesus refers is the perception that the predicted “end” has come.
The word /alarm/ is found in one other place outside the parallels to this text.
Paul writes to calm the Thessalonians who are afraid that “the day of the Lord has come.”
In both places, then, the kind of alarm that disciples are not to have is the fear that these historical events have initiated the day of the Lord.
The day of the Lord is indeed a time to be afraid.
It is “the day of the Lord’s anger” (Zephaniah 2:2).
It is the day of final judgment, where God’s wrath is poured out upon the guilty and no relief can be found any longer.
The New Testament identifies the day of the Lord with the Second Coming of Jesus (2 Pet 3:10-13) when he will return with fiery vengeance (2 Thess 2:8).
Jesus says we are not to see these things as the final judgment of God.
They are only the beginning of the birth pains.”
This is familiar imagery for a time of intense suffering that is a prelude to the final judgment of God.
These things do not signal the end; they only signal the beginning of the end and a time which may be extended and which may become even more painful as time goes along.
But Jesus’ disciples must not be alarmed because all of this “must take place.”
God has not lost control of history in the midst of wars, earthquakes, and famines.
In fact, all of these things come by the design of God as the old age gives way to the new.
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