Trusting Jesus in a Turbulent Age

Introduction

Our text this morning is one of the most disputed and difficult texts to interpret in our Bibles. Godly men and women who love God and uphold the authority of the Bible disagree with one another over the exact interpretation of all that Jesus says here. But, we’re not going to dodge a text because it’s difficult for us to understand, we’re going to work to mine it for the glory of God that is there because we know that all Scripture is God-breathed and helpful for us. Preaching requires that the preacher take a position of interpretation and to present it with all of his might to the church for their good, and I aim to do that again this morning. But, this is a text in which godly people can disagree, and in Christian charity and kindness, disagree to the glory of Christ and the advancement of the church; so, I preach in light of the humility that brings.

Chapter 24 begins as the climax of chapter 23. Jesus has just declared prophetically judgement upon the leaders of the Temple and all of those who are damned to follow them. And, in chapter 24, Jesus is not going to back down from a single word.

If you heard these words about your homeland, you can imagine the emotions and the questions that you would have. It’s a scenario so largely unfamiliar to us that we can hardly fathom it, but we are the exceptions to the rule. But, Jesus’ disciples and the early Christians in Jerusalem would not be counted among the exceptions. As we turn to our text this morning, this is the circumstance that Jesus declares his disciples will face soon in the days ahead. Turn with me now to , and place yourself in the shoes of these disciples that you might be encouraged and strengthened by the words of Christ as well.

God’s Word

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The Temple Destroyed

“there will not be left here one stone upon another” As Jesus leaves the Temple with his disciples, the disciples look back on what may have been the greatest architectural achievement of the ancient world, and they can’t help but to speak of the awesome complex before them. And, that’s when Jesus drops a bombshell on them. The prophecy that Jesus states to his disciples becomes one of the most condemning charges against him as the authorities seek to have him crucified. He says that the judgement coming to Israel will not be merely in the spiritual world but will result in the literal destruction of the Temple of God, so much so that Jesus says not a single one of its massive stones will be left standing.

Chapter 24 begins as the climax of chapter 23. Jesus has just declared prophetically judgement upon the leaders of the Temple and all of those who are damned to follow them. And, in chapter 24, Jesus is not going to back down from a single word. And so, as Jesus leaves the Temple with his disciples, the disciples look back on what may have been the greatest architectural achievement of the ancient world, and they can’t help but to speak to the awesome complex before them. And, that’s when Jesus drops a bombshell on them. The prophecy that Jesus states to his disciples becomes one of the most condemning charges against him as the authorities seek to have him crucified. He says that the judgement coming to Israel will not be merely in the spiritual world but will result in the literal destruction of the Temple of God, so much so that Jesus says not a single one of its massive stones will be left standing.

Big Questions

“when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming?” So, as you might imagine, the disciples have some serious questions about this. Now, for us to understand what Jesus is saying in this passage, we have to understand that it’s these questions that set the context. They set the backdrop for everything that Jesus is going to say. Jesus’ sermon is in response to these questions. They ask: “When will these things be, and what will be the sign of the coming?” Now, for some, they take these two questions as being largely independent of each other, as if the disciples are wanting Jesus to lecture on two separate prophecies. But, if you understand how the Jews viewed the Messiah, then what you can understand is that this is really all one big question that is mixed together in the minds of the disciples. Here’s what I mean: The Jews believed that when the Messiah came that it was going to be a politically triumphant moment for the people of Israel. He was going to establish them as the world super power, conquer all their enemies, and establish an earthly throne that would last forever. As we’ve seen, it’s become clear to the disciples that Jesus’ plan looked different than their expectations. He has told them that He must suffer and die, something unthinkable for Israel’s Savior. So now, when they hear Jesus speaking to the destruction of the Temple, their minds are like, “Ding! Ding! Ding!” The establishment of Isreal is going away, and this must be so that Jesus can quickly return and have the triumphant reign we all expected. And, this would be a personal vindication for them who have followed after Jesus as his disciples. Finally, their suffering and hard work would pay off. So, they’re asking, “Jesus, when is this going to happen? What signs should we look for so that we can know that our time has finally arrived? How will we know when you’re about to establish your Messianic reign from David’s throne?

Birth Pains

“All of these are but the beginning of the birth pains” So, Jesus responds with an explanation that helps to set their expectations so that they will not be caught off guard by what’s going to transpire in the days ahead. He’s like a surgeon that tells you about the recovery on the other side so that you don’t end up disappointed and disillusioned. And so, Jesus starts by talking more generally about the days that are ahead. And, these days he describes as being like birth pains. That is, the disciples are going to be living in an age that is going feel like laboring and laboring and laboring, and the pain is going to be intense, and you may find yourself wondering if all of this going to be worth it. As we look at verses 3-14 and then verses 22-28, I think we should see these verses as describing, not only the specific time leading up to the destruction of the Temple, but as describing the experience of the entire church age, ranging from Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to his ultimate return.

It’s a Slow Labor

“but the end is not yet” To see what I’m talking about, I want you to notice the types of time frames that Jesus is discussing here. He’s saying: “These are but the beginning of the birth pains, and this is going to be a slow labor.” I have frequently heard these specific verses used to point out signs that we are to look for so that we can know that Christ will return soon. But, Jesus is actually saying the opposite of that here, which become apparent if we read this passage carefully. He says, “many will come” and “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom will rise against kingdom.” These are things that are going to take some time! Nations don’t rise and fall quickly! Many false prophets will lead many astray over an extended period of time. He even says, “See that you’re not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.” These things are not the end! Rather, all of these things are only the beginning of the birth pains that are to come. This is going to be a slow labor over many generations. “Don’t be alarmed that this takes so long!” “Don’t listen to all of the people who try to interpret wars and earthquakes and famines as my return! These are the normal turbulence you will face living in this broken world.”

APPLICATION: Jesus is tempering the expectations of the disciples. They want to be vindicated, to embrace a triumphalism that shows the world that they were following the true Messiah, but there lot in this world won’t be crowns and it won’t be esteem and it won’t be prominence. It will be the way of the cross. And, that’s a word for every, single one of us. It’s easy for us to believe that we are living in a part of history in which we are guaranteed and assured the ability to follow Christ without resistance. We want to be vindicated in the eyes of our society and family and neighbors. We don’t want to be thought of as ignorant or old-fashioned or socially naive. We want to be admired and respected and promoted, not persecuted. But, brothers and sisters, our way until Christ returns is the way of the cross. We will not be vindicated here. We will not be made at home here. We will not be admired and respected and celebrated here. We will be sent to Jesus’ cross where we will be privileged to join him in his sufferings that we might join him in his final victory!

Spiritual and Physical

“See that you are not alarmed” Jesus gives us two markers of this age of birth pains, this age of awaiting his return: 1) They will face a two front battle, which is both spiritual and physical. Jesus says that there will be false teachers and false christs that are coming. They will come, and they will be peddling a false gospel that will be appealing to ‘many.’ That is, as you’re laboring and as you’re working and as you’re battling in the midst of these turbulent waters, you will face men who are working against you and attempting to undo the very work that you are doing. The work of the disciples was not going to be the triumphal, victorious onslaught they may be imagining; it would be working in the face of opposition. ‘Many’ of those they labored to bring into the church were going to be led astray by the false prophets and the false christs that were going to be appearing. And not only will they face hardship from within the church, but they will face the difficulty of brokenness outside of the church. The threat of war is always going to be hanging over their heads. Famines and natural disasters and conquering armies are normal in this broken world.

That is, these turbulent days will not be defined as only spiritual or only physical. The disciples will battle on both fronts as they labor in Christ’s kingdom.

Here’s what Jesus is saying: Don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid! Don’t let them lead you off course! Trust me! You can trust me in this turbulent age! Do you notice? Jesus is not caught off guard! Jesus is not on his heels! Jesus is calling his shot! Oh, rest your tired and weary bones in his strength and his sovereignty!

A Pure and Persecuted Church

“but the end is not yet” These are but the beginning of the birth pains, and this is going to be a slow labor. I have frequently heard these specific verses used to point out signs that we are to look for so that we can know that Christ will return soon. But, Jesus is actually saying the opposite of that here, which become apparently if we read this passage carefully. He says, “many will come” and “nation will rise against nation, and kingdom will rise against kingdom.” These are things that are going to take some time! Nations don’t rise and fall quickly! Many false prophets will lead many astray over an extended period of time. He even says, “See that you’re not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.” These things are not the end! Rather, all of these things are only the beginning of the birth pains that are to come. This is going to be a slow labor over many generations. “Don’t be alarmed that this takes so long!” “Don’t listen to all of the people who try to interpret wars and earthquakes and famines as my return! These are the normal turbulence you will face living in this broken world.

“they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death” There’s a second mark that will mark this age, and 2) it is a persecuted church. The Narrow and the Wide path are not distinguished by a fork in the road. They are distinguished by one road going against the flow of the other. When you follow Christ down the Narrow Path, you don't leave the Wide Path behind to never face it again. Instead, you turn Northbound and get hit by the Southbound traffic head on. Jesus' disciples will follow him to the cross and to the martyr's grave. And, this is the expectation that Jesus sets for his disciples. Disciples of Jesus expect hatred, endure suffering, and willingly die at the hands of those who oppose Christ. In fact, Jesus even prepares us that much of our persecution will come from those who claim to come in his name. He says that within the church there will be betrayal and falling away. There will be people in the church who appear to be true brothers and sisters who are in fact imposters that will inflict pain and suffering upon those seeking to bring honor to Christ.

APPLICATION: And, you might be tempted to think that all of this is proof that Jesus doesn’t have control over his church. That Jesus’ rule is a weak and powerless one. But, even in this, even this two-front battle even in your betrayal, even as you face opposition within the church, Jesus is in control. The war we’re fighting hasn’t caught Jesus off guard. Our struggles haven’t surprised him. Their betrayal doesn’t catch Jesus off guard. In fact, Jesus is so in control that He is going to use the persecution intended to kill the church to make the church stronger. Persecution will not stop the church; it will only purify it. There are many, when times are good, that want to be a part of something. There are many that hear Jesus’ message and get excited for just a little while until the pain comes and the trouble comes and the hardship comes. There are many weeds among wheat that have no root and no passion, but these imposters will not survive these turbulent times. They will not survive the persecution. They will not overcome the false teachers. They will fall away. They will prove that they love themselves and not Christ, and the church will be stronger and purer and more beautiful. Don’t hate your persecution; rejoice over your King’s sovereign rule! Don’t be afraid; Jesus can be trusted!

Is Your Faith Weaker or Stronger?

APPLICATION: And, what about your faith? An important question of true faith: Is your faith and hope in Christ becoming weaker or stronger with time? Do you find yourself believing in him and trusting in him more or less? Do you feel yourself more convinced of his sovereign rule and of the worthiness of the Christian life or less? One of these is indicative of a faith that was fraudulent from the beginning, and the other of a faith that will endure for all of eternity.

The Church Won’t Be Stopped

APPLICATION: “this gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world” I want you to notice just one word in verse 14. It says ‘will’. It says this gospel ‘will be’ proclaimed to the whole world, and then Jesus ‘will’ come back! Do you hear the glory of this? We have assurance. We have certainty. These things ‘will’ take place. See this: The church can’t be stopped because Jesus won’t be stopped. It’s easy to think that in the midst of our suffering and in the midst of our persecution and in the midst of our physical pain and our spiritual warfare that we’re just surviving. But, we’re doing much more than that, brothers and sisters. We’re advancing. We’re fighting a two-front war, but we’re advancing. The church will be persecuted and purified, but it won’t be stopped! And, she can’t be stopped because Jesus won’t be stopped. The nations will hear the gospel, and they will hear it from us. Our neighbors will be won, and they will be won by us. We may be suffering, but we aren’t losing. In fact, Jesus is going to take every bit of our suffering, and He’s going to use it as a testimony to the world of how good He is that people would love him like that.

A Sharp Pain

“when you see the abomination of desolation....in the holy place” So, you have these birth pains, these long, laboring birth pains that the Church is going to face from the time of Jesus’ ascension to the time of his return, but Jesus wants to prepare his disciples for a particularly sharp and painful part of this labor. And so, he recalls the words of the prophet Daniel, and He tells them that there will be an abomination in the Temple and that the Temple will ultimately be left desolate. This is your church, your White House, and your Capitol building being obliterated! Feel the pain of this. In fact, Jesus says that this tribulation would be so painful, so overwhelming, so gut-wrenching that ‘such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.’ This is the tribulation that Jesus speaks of here in answering the question of his disciples. And, turbulent it was. Almost 40 years after Jesus spoke these words they would become reality. For six months, Roman legions surrounded Jerusalem and laid siege to it. Just before, the Emperor, Titus allowed those who would celebrate Passover to enter, but then refused to let them leave. The population swelled into the millions, and they quickly ran out of food. The Jewish Historian, Josephus, tells us that things were so bad that mothers were boiling their babies and men were eating their own defocation for something to eat. Once the 150 foot walls of Jerusalem were breached, the Romans ran roughshod over the people. Josephus writes: “As the legions charged in, neither persuasion nor threat could check their impetuosity: passion alone was in command. Crowded together around the entrances many were trampled by their friends, many fell among the still hot and smoking ruins of the colonnades and died as miserably as the defeated. As they neared the Sanctuary they pretended not even to hear Caesar's commands and urged the men in front to throw in more firebrands. The partisans were no longer in a position to help; everywhere was slaughter and flight. Most of the victims were peaceful citizens, weak and unarmed, butchered wherever they were caught. Round the Altar the heaps of corpses grew higher and higher, while down the Sanctuary steps poured a river of blood and the bodies of those killed at the top slithered to the bottom.” Over 1 million died during the siege, and the Temple was totally destroyed. Only part of the western wall remained. Sacred instruments from the Holy of Holies that had only been seen before by high priests were paraded in the streets as trophies of war.

“flee to the mountains” But, Josephus says something else remarkable about this time. He says that by the time Rome arrived the Christian were gone. They survived this siege because they weren’t there. Why? They had listened to Jesus! Jesus had prepared them, and Jesus had warned them, and they had obeyed him. Jesus told them that they must flee and run across the rooftops and leave the work in the fields, and they did, surviving to take the Good News to the nations.

Landing

“For as the lightning comes from the east” APPLICATION: Oh, and brothers and sisters, don’t you see that the hope of the Christians on the day the Temple fell is still the same hope of Christians today as the sanctity of life and marriage fall? Don’t you see that the same hope of the Christians during that siege 2000 years ago is the same hope that we have as we face the birth-pains now with society unraveling round us? Jesus told us about this beforehand, just like He did them! And, false preachers will come and go telling you that Jesus is here or there, or coming then or now. They will be impressive and alluring. They will have strobe lights and good music, but don’t listen to them, brothers and sisters. Don’t listen to them. For the true Christ will light up the sky like lightning. Everyone will see it at once. You won’t have to wonder, and you won’t be confused. When Christ returns, you will know as certainly as you know when the lightning strikes your house. But, for now, as we live in this unraveling world, as we face the birth-pains of the fall, as we await the coming of glory, trust Christ! Go where He sends you, do what He tells you, and be who He makes you. This is our hope! And, it’s the same now that it’s always been!