Mark 13:24-37
Notes
Transcript
Mark 13:24-37
Mark 13:24-37
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 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.
28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
This is an often misunderstood section of scripture, although the language is the same, although the imagery of the first few verses here can be attributed to what a lot of Christians today falsely believe in called the rapture. Where before the Lord returns he comes back and collects those that are His. But this is not taught in the bible, this is not a correct interpretation of this passage. Let’s dive in and look a little closer.
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 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.
Ryan spoke of last week when Rome invaded the Holy of Holies and setting up the image of Rome as an idol in the place of the one true living God, in these days, after that tribulation. Not 2000 years later, not a generation later. We will read discuss later in the passage, but this generation will see all of this come to pass.
Let’s finish out verse 24, The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light. there is a distinct image that sounds like an apocalypse. Like the earth is coming to an end here, but there is something greater being described than the end of days and the final judgement that will eventually come.
We will go deeper into this in the next few chapter, but lets skip ahead and read from chapter 15. This is to give some context and anchor down the subject we are talking about today.
33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
we can also look at Luke 23
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,
Ok well that covers the darkness and the sun not shining, but what about the powers of the heavens being shaken? What was destroyed at that moment when Christ breathed his last breath on the Cross? The temple was destroyed, The veil was torn, there were earth quakes, the building that took decades to build, a wondrous icon of the Jewish faith, destroyed.
Christians, this is not a mini apocalyptic prophecy stuck in the middle of Mark, this is Christ speaking to his own death and the events to take place.
Verses 26 - 27
26 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.
Let’s read a passage from 1 Corinthians
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
We have been through the first few lines of this passage, we see the it is talking about the death on the cross, the darkness that envelops the skies, the shaking of the earthquakes, and the temple being destroyed. We know Christ is resurrected, and conquers death and raises to life.
Verse 23 is a beautiful explanation of our current passage in mark.
In his own order: Christ Resurrecting, then at his coming, which is the same terminology used in Mark 13, those who belong to Christ. We see accounts in scripture of others raising with Christ. the gathering of the Elect that had been sleeping, waiting on Christ. This is also the call to all Christians. His elect from the for winds, to the ends of the earth and the ends of the heaven.
28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
When christ is speaking of all these things, from the destruction of the temple, the great abomination that we spoke of last week, Christ’s death, burial and resurrection and those that are raised with him, what is the natural response of anyone, including us if we were being told this? When? Where? How? It’s exactly what the Disciples ask in Verse 3.
And he answers them with “I’ll tell you how to know if its soon.” When these things I have told you about, the tribulation, Rome desecrating the temple, after all of this, then you will know it is soon. He does tell them that this generation will see it. This is the key to knowing it is Christ’s death and Resurrection being talked about here, not the end of days or the apocalypse. This generation will see these things come to pass. he concluded these verses with a promise, physical things pass, but my words never do.
A Note about some teachings you find on this verse, we all know there are people out there that try way to hard to make scripture fit their bubble. for years I thought this whole passage was talking about the end of days until I truly dove into it and read it simply as it is, not trying to fit it into theology that i heard, or things that I read. The words “This Generation” is key to truly understanding the timing and what is being spoken of in this chapter. If this is an event that hadn’t take place yet by the passing of that generation, Christ would be a liar. I’m pretty sure we are all here, not partaking of the new heavens and new earth just yet, so this isn’t about the end of days.
Then there is a call made by Christ for his people to live accordingly.
32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
You hear this verse tied with the second coming of the Lord, and yes, it is an apt application of this text, we have to keep this in context of what is being said here and now.”CONCERNING THAT DAY” Christ is warning them to stay vigilant, to stay true to what they have been taught. Giving a glorious analogy of staying awake when waiting for the Master of the house to return. Through all of this, through the trials these people were to endure, the glorious Resurrection of Christ and the blessings we receive through Christ because of those things to come, those same words that were spoken to them apply to us now. to stay awake.
We know everything spoken here has happened, how? By the faith we are called to in Christ. By the stead fast love of the father that called us to Christ.
Christian, This chapter is christ announcing His fixed purpose. His reason for coming. foretelling his death and the events that surround it. Fulfilling the role of prophet. We know he is a priest, he is a prophet and he is our king. We are to stay vigilant and a do our duty, sharing the gospel, sharing the light of Christ with the world around us.
At this time I would ask everyone to stand as we prepare for the Lord’s Supper.
in the text today, Christ calls his people to stay awake, to be on guard and for each of us to do our work, part of that call is to make sure we are looking with in. At our sin, at our faults, that we are striving to be who we are called to be. Self Examination is part of this. To take an unbiased look at our heart to the best of our ability and to call out the anger, lust, hatred, and hidden sins that are deep within our hearts.
Paul writes:
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.