Bootcamp Training For Impending Battles-Mark 13:5-13

As we begin this morning, go ahead and turn in your copies of God’s Word to the Gospel of Mark 13. This morning we will be looking at verses 5-13. Please have these verses book marked for our time in God’s Word.

Before we start looking at these verses, I want to look back at some of what we discussed last week. Next Slide

The Sovereignty of Jesus on Display.

One of the key truths Mark has sought to make clear to the reader throughout this Gospel, is that Jesus is in fact, the Son of God. In an effort to drive home this truth, Mark has gone to great lengths to demonstrate through these pages the power, authority, and sovereignty of Jesus. We have seen this through healings, through the casting out of demons, through the cleansing of lepers, through the raising of the dead, through His authority over Scripture, and even in the cleansing of the Temple at the beginning and end of His public ministry. But there is yet another area in which Jesus demonstrated His sovereign authority, and that is in the fulfillment of prophecy. We have seen this a few rimes leading up to our current chapter, especially in regards to His prophetic words about His death and resurrection, which would all be fulfilled in less than a week. Chapter 13 adds multiple layers of prophecy to what He had already declared. As we consider the prophetic this morning, I want to show you the lengths He went through as our sovereign Savior, to see to it His prophetic words came true.

Last Sunday morning we discussed Jesus prophecy concerning the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. We looked at how absolutely unlikely it was for the Temple to be destroyed in such a way that not one stone would be left on top of another. I mean some of the stones weighed over a million pounds! Yet less than 40 years after Jesus spoke these words, they happened exactly as He had foretold.

Well there is more to this story that adds to the sovereignty of Jesus. Much of this we get from the Jewish historian Josephus. Josephus was no fan of the Roman empire, yet during his lifetime he formed an unlikely friendship with a leading General by the name of Vespasian. It was all the more unlikely because Josephus was one of the leaders of a revolt against the Romans. This friendship was established after Josephus surrendered rather than be put to death. This took place around 66 AD. About 3 years after this Nero, the Emperor of Rome, died via suicide. In the months to follow, there was a great uproar in all of Rome as there were at least 4 leaders who attempted to be the next Emperor. By the end of 69 AD, Josephus’ friend, Vespasian, ceased control and became the new Emperor. By then he had already began to lay siege on Jerusalem. Upon returning to Rome, he appointed his son, Titus to replace him as the General and continue the siege against Jerusalem. This is where the sovereignty of our Savior is prominently displayed.

Under the direction of his Emperor father, Vespasian, Titus made it very clear that while the city could be destroyed, they were not to destroy the Temple. Here is where it gets very interesting, you see, when a Roman General, under the direction of the Emperor himself, gives a command, you do not disobey it! In my minds eye, I picture Satan at work in the command of the Roman General Titus. Satan knew of the prophetic Words of Jesus, that the Temple would be destroyed, that not one stone would be left on top of another. Wanting to thwart the prophetic Words of Jesus, Satan’s powerful influence was surely behind the command of Titus. But in the end, Satan is only able to accomplish what the Hand of the Almighty dictates. God is in control, not Satan.

Many of the ranks of the Roman soldiers had had their fill of the rebellion of the Jews. They had been trying to breach the walls of Jerusalem for 4 years. Their armies had surrounded the walls. If you go back to 4 years earlier, when the Roman soldiers began their rebuttal of the Jewish rebellion by the Zealots, the Jews in the small towns, villages and countryside surrounding Jerusalem, did what they had always done, they fled the countryside for the protection of the massive walls of Jerusalem. As a result, the city was bursting at the seams. Initially their plan worked, but over time the bursting population of the city depleted the food supplies, and in time the Romans soldiers were able to access the city. Fires quickly erupted and many inhabitants of the city fled to the perceived safety of the Temple. The intense hatred of some of the Roman soldiers, overcame their fear of the command of Caesar. Let me read to you from the words of Josephus; “Then one of the soldiers, without awaiting any orders and with no dread of so momentous a deed, but urged on by some supernatural force, snatched a blazing piece of wood and, climbing on another soldier's back, hurled the flaming brand through a low golden window that gave access, on the north side, to the rooms that surrounded the sanctuary. As the flames shot up, the Jews let out a shout of dismay that matched the tragedy; they flocked to the rescue, with no thought of sparing their lives or husbanding their strength; for the sacred structure that they had constantly guarded with such devotion was vanishing before their very eyes.”

Did you pick up the words of Josephus? (“but urged on by some supernatural force”)As much as Satan wanted to upend Jesus prophecy regarding the destruction of the Temple, his evil hands were tied by the omnipotent Hands of the sovereign God, Who moved Roman soldiers to disobey a direct command, which resulted in the complete destruction of the Temple, exactly as Jesus had prophesied.

Once again, Jesus reigns supreme as the sovereign Savior, Who was, and is to this day, in complete control.

With that thought firmly planted in your mind, would you please stand, in honor of the reading of God’s Word? Next Slide

Mark 13:5–13 ESV

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.

May the Sovereign Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Word, please be seated.

I have never had the privilege of serving in the armed forces, but in researching what takes place during bootcamp, I have learned that one of the goals of bootcamp is to prepare the soldier for the battlefields they may face. In many ways this is exactly what is taking place in our current passage. This is late in the evening on Tuesday of Holy week. Jesus is on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Jerusalem, sitting on a stone. Peter, Andrew, James and John had asked Jesus privately about signs of the “coming end of the age”. Based on what we see in Matthew, Mark and Luke, I get the impression that Jesus called all of the 12 to listen in as He answered their question. All of them, minus Judas Iscariot, would encounter the spiritual battlefield, so, Jesus gives them: Next Slide

3 Battlefield Directives:

He Warns them of Coming Deception. Vs. 6

We looked at this one last week. Jesus warned them that “Many will come in My Name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and they will lead many astray.” That deception would not only be intense, it would also be effective, leading many astray.

As a side note, based on my study of this chapter, if you break it up - you come up with a fairly clear outline. Verses 1 & 2 talk about the destruction of the temple; verses 3 through 13 - talk about specific things the disciples would face. Verses 14-23 talk about the coming end time tribulation time; and the chapter closes out with Jesus speaking of His second coming.

But to begin with we see in verse 6, Jesus warns them of Coming Deception. By the way, I briefly mentioned this last week, but it is worth noting that the very best way to recognize deception is by studying the truth. I do not remember if I mentioned this here or in Monday night Men’s small group, but our Nations counterfeit money experts spend very little time studying counterfeit bills. The vast majority of their time is spent studying real money. The better they know real money, the quicker they are able to spot counterfeit money. The same holds true for us, the more time we spend studying this Book, the more time we spend getting to know Jesus the Messiah, the quicker we will be to pick up the deception of the enemy.

The next Battlefield Directive He gives them is: Next Slide

He Warns them Not to Be Alarmed. Vs. 7-8; Mt. 24:6-8; Lk. 21:9-11

Jesus warning here highlights 3 specific areas that could cause great alarm if we are not properly prepared.

Next Slide

3 Areas of Alarm.

In all 3 of these areas, Jesus describes global devastation. The first being:

Next Slide

Wars and rumors of Wars.

Wars and rumors have wars have existed throughout all of history, but to a certain degree, life in the Roman Empire, minus that fact that the Nation of Israel was now occupied and ruled by the Roman Empire, much of the Roman Empire in those days lived in relative peace. But in the near future, this would change. 4 years after Jesus prophetic Words, Caligula became the new Emperor of Rome. He was a particularly wicked and evil man who hated the Jews. He began to rule in 37 AD, but in 40 AD he decided he wanted to erect a statue of himself in the Temple in Jerusalem. As you can imagine, the uproar in Israel was significant, and in the end, Caligula changed his tune . There were many others in the following years, but 66 AD proved to be one that was particularly fearful for the Nation of Israel. You may recall from our look at Jesus selection of His 12 Disciples. One of the 12 we looked at was Simon the Zealot. If you have been watching season 2 of “The Chosen”, you have been given a picture of the temperament of the Zealots. They were a secret sect of the Jews, whose soul desire was to bring an end to the Roman Empire. Well in 66 AD, they led a major revolt against the Rome. We discussed this briefly in the introduction this morning. Well this revolt brought about swift and powerful action from the Roman army. It also changed the relationship between the Jews and the Rome from that day forward, and eventually led to the destruction of not only Jerusalem, but also the temple.

The next area of Alarm Jesus warned His disciples about was: Next Slide

Earthquakes In Various Places.

Again, earthquakes have always existed, but in the decades following this prophecy, historians describe an uptick in some pretty powerful earthquakes. There was a powerful quake in Crete between 46 & 47 AD, another in Apameia, Rome right at the time Nero became the unquestioned ruler of Rome in 51 AD, one in Laodicea in 60 AD and another that destroyed the city of Pompeii in 63 AD.

The last area Jesus warned His disciples about was:

Next Slide

Famines.

Claudius ruled Rome from 41-54 AD and during that time alone there were 4 significant famines and in 65 AD intense storms reeked havock on the land and brought about another devastating famine.

Do you remember our discussion last week about the preconceived notions of the disciples? How they were beginning to acknowledge that Jesus would die and rise again, but their expectation was that He would then, immediately establish His kingdom? How that misconception was likely behind their comment about the beauty and magnificence of the Temple? Of course we now know that Jesus went on to foretell of the destruction of the temple, and as if that wasn’t enough, he went on to warn of 3 areas of global devastation that would soon take place.

For the disciples, contemplating the destruction of the Temple, followed by all these other things Jesus was describing, could have easily put them in panic mode, thinking that the end of the world was quickly approaching.

With a desire to stop the potential panic in its track, Jesus says a couple of things at the end if verses 7 & 8. Look at the end of verse 7, what does He say at the close of the verse?

“This must take place, but the end is not yet.”

If you don’t have an issue with marking or writing in your Bible, I encourage you to highlight or underline the phrase “This must take place” and then, if there is room in your margin write, “God is in control!” That is the underlying and powerful message Jesus is delivering to His disciples. In many ways Jesus telling the disciples that Things are going to get bad, so bad that doubt is going to creep in, doubt in yourselves, but also doubt in the sovereignty of God. But know this in advance, I am in control, that is why I am warning you in advance, so when it happens, you will place your hope in Me.

Next, combine the end of verse 7 with the end of verse 8. If you do that, what sentence would you have? “The End is not yet... These are but the beginning of the birth pains.” In this statement, as well as what we will see throughout the rest of chapter 13, Jesus is also letting them know the His return to establish His kingdom, would not take place until long after they were gone. As we talked about last week, if you know something is going to happen, even if that something is incredibly difficult, if you know there is light at the end of the tunnel, even if you can’t see that light, you can rest in that hope. Jesus is giving them hope.

Now that Jesus has told to them not to be alarmed by the 3 areas of future global devastation, He now gives them one more Battlefield Directive: Next Slide

He Warns them to Be On Your Guard. Vs. 9-13; Mt. 24:9-14; Lk. 21:12-18

In the first part of verse 9, where we read; “For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues”. Jesus is specifically referring to what they will experience at the hands of their own people. As bad as it is to face these things from your own nation, it gets worse in verse 12 & 13 where Jesus adds; “And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.” Then, He adds in verse 13; “And you will be hated by all for My Names sake.”

Keep in mind that Jesus had already experienced some of these things in their presence. His own siblings considered Him to be a lunatic and tried to seize Him, and just a couple days from when He was speaking here, He would be beaten to the point that He didn’t even look human. So, He is speaking from a Been there, or soon to be there point of view.

By the way, the Book of Acts is loaded with instances where believers in the early church faced persecution from their fellow Jews.

Examples of Christ followers being persecuted by Jewish opponents in Acts: 3:12-26; 4:1-3; 5:18; 6:8–11; 7:57–60; 8:1–3; 9:23–24, 29; 12:1–3; 13:6–8, 45; 14:2, 19; 17:5, 13; 18:6, 12–16; 19:8–9; 20:3, 19; 21:27–32; 23:12–22; 25:2–3; 28:23–28; cf. 2 Cor. 11:24, 26

But the persecution wouldn’t end with the Jews, it would also take place at the hands of the Gentiles. We see that at the end of verse 9; “and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake...”

No New Testament figure illustrates that reality more dramatically than the apostle Paul, who was imprisoned by the Romans on multiple occasions and repeatedly put on trial before Gentile rulers.

Examples of Paul facing persecution from Roman authorities: Acts 16:23–24; 22:24–29; 23:10, 18, 35; 24:27; 28:16–31; 2 Tim. 1:8; cf. 2 Cor. 11:25; 1 Thess. 2:2; Acts 16:19–22; 18:12–16; 21:31–33; 22:24–29; 24:1–22; 25:1–12, 21; 26:1–32; 2 Tim. 4:16–17

In spite of all these things taking place, what clear directive does Jesus give them at the end of verse 9?

They were “to bear witness before them.” If you have a chance this week, as a part of your time in God’s Word, look up the passages you see in your handouts, and if you didn’t pick up a handout, grab one on the way out this morning. Then, look up these passages and note all of the times Jesus disciples, including the Apostle Paul, did exactly what Jesus directed them to do, they bore witness before them.

Now, I want you to note something here. Generally, when we think of being on trial and bearing witness, our thoughts are drawn to a defense of ourselves. As you look at the passages highlighted in your handouts, as well as what we see recorded in Church history, you will see that believers rarely ever defended themselves. Their defense was of the Gospel with a desire to bear witness of the truths of Scripture, always wanting to point people to Jesus. Even in the face of death, they wanted to see those coming against them, transformed by the same power that transformed them.

Think about this for a second. This is all taking place as the sun was setting on Tuesday. Late Thursday night, heading into Friday, when Jesus was being arrested, the disciples fled in fear. Yet as you look at them in the pages of Acts and in the writings of church history, you are given a clear evidence of how much they were transformed. Willing to face death, never defending themselves, but always lifting high the Name of Jesus.

There is one more point I want us to look at this morning. We see it recorded in verse 11. I call this verse: Next Slide

Jesus Personal Promise to Transformed Sinners. Vs. 11; Acts 7:1-53

As we look at this verse, I want us to remember something we may forget about those who were a part of the early church. Those that were faced with some pretty intense persecution. None of them had a copy of God’s Word, and the writings of the Apostles would not be available until long after most of them were in the presence of Jesus. On top of that, many in the early church were largely uneducated.

Yet Jesus’ promise to them;

Mark 13:11 ESV

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.

In other words; “Don’t fret over what to say! At the hour you need it most, God Himself, through the power of the Holy Spirit will speak through you in such a way that as you hear the words proceeding out of your mouths, you’ll think, ‘Where did that come from!?’” One of the most powerful demonstrations of this is seen in Acts 7:1-53, when Stephen, faced with the certainty of death, delivered one of the most powerful sermons in all of the Book of Acts.

While Jesus makes the same promise to us today, He has also provided us with an opportunity to prepare in advance that the early church didn’t have. You see, you and I have God’s Word at our disposal. If we don’t already, we should have, as a part of our daily routine, spending time in God’s Word, that we might, in the words of Peter in 1 Peter 3:15; “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect”.

Oftentimes the words given to us, flow from our time in God’s Word. As the Holy Spirit brings to our memory, passages of Scripture we have poured over in our personal time in God’s Word.

So, what are our Action Points this morning?

First:

Never forget, no matter how bad things may look, our Sovereign Savior is in complete control. Next:

The Battlefield directives He gave to them, also apply to us: Our enemy, the devil, will seek to deceive us. And we may see things happen that are alarming, but if we rest in the sovereignty of God, that alarm will dissipate as we trust in Him, because our hope is not based on our circumstances, but in our Savior. And lastly:

Part of our “being on guard” comes from our preparation for battle by pouring over God’s Word, seeking to learn the powerful truths we see there, and allowing those truths to transform who we are, as a result, we then become the mouthpiece of God.

Let’s close our time in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we rest in Your Sovereignty. It seems like this world is plummeting farther and farther from You, yet Your Word assures us that You are still in complete control. I pray as we look over the battlefield directives You gave the Disciples, that we will be prepared for the deception of the enemy, that we will pour over the truths of Your Word, that we might know those truths so well, that we quickly spot the counterfeits of the enemy. And may You speak through us, may Your light shine through us, and may Your power be displayed in us, just as it was in the early church. We pray these things in the Name of our Sovereign Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.