Have you Ever Wondered?

Grand Design

Good morning and welcome another week of church here at the Bridge. I am so glad that we are gathered here together to worship this morning.

Have you ever been to a large city and walked around and just marveled at the wonders that Mankind has created. I mean think about it we have created structures that stand hundreds of feet tall and are amazing feats of engineering. Not only can we see this in large sky scrapers but we see this in things like monuments and other man mad things. These grand structures baffle me sometimes because they truly are an amazing thing to behold.

I remember once i went to the church of the immaculate conception and i was amazed at the beauty and grandeur of the building. I imagine it is similar for people who have visited Notre dame or the Vatican and the Sistine chapel. These spaces of beauty are amazing to behold. For the Jewish people they also had this in the temple. The temple had to be a glorious building. I can only imagine what it must have been like to walk into one of the temple gates and know that you were standing in a holy place.

These kind of places are often loved by many people. The Temple was no exception it was something the Jewish people valued and prized almost over anything else. That is why this mornings passage is so interesting.

Mark 13:1–13 NIV

1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” 2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?” 5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. 12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Looking for Signs

The last couple weeks we have talked about heaven and the end of the earth and what it is going to look like and some of the aspects of the end times. It is important that we have an healthy understanding of these times and what is really involved with them. That is one of the reasons why this passage is so interesting. This is a passage that starts with Jesus talking about the Temple. This glorious place that Is being referenced and Jesus simply says that nothing will be left. There is a day coming that it will all be destroyed.

Now this could be seen as a predictive passage of the coming destruction of the temple in 70 AD. It can also have interpretive insight into the end times and our view of the end of things.

The Disciples were looking for signs. After they head Jesus speak about this building when they were alone on the Mount of Olives overlooking the temple they had to ask about when the temple would be destroyed. They wanted to know because they knew that this could be a sign of the end and who wouldn’t want to know.

I mean really think about this wouldn’t you want to know how it all is going to end? Of course we want to know that. I won’t lie I want to know. Yet, i have shared this before and i still hold to this how it is going to end has never been that important and it is because of passages like this that i have come to that conclusion.

Worries of the Future

It is natural for us to worry about the future and what it holds. WE worry about things like suffering and hardship. We worry about how we are going to be able to endure things like that. That is why i think it is so interesting how Jesus responds to the disciples.

Mark 13:5–8 NIV

5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

He first warns of those who will come in his name and making false claims. He calls us to be ready and cautious of people who may claim to be the Messiah. I think this is where the study of the second coming can be very important. It helps us to be aware of how Jesus is going to return so we can be ready.

This isn’t the only area he addresses. The word is going to be groaning. War, famine, earthquakes, disasters of all kinds will befall the earth. This are just the beginning of Birth pains for the earth.

This is where many people will read this passage and say but that is happening right now. So they get on heightened edge and worried about what is happening around us and they see this as the end times. For some that drives them to do amazing things and for others it drives them to do foolish things. For some it drives them to reach out into the world with the Gospel because they know the time is short and they need to do all they can for Christ in the time that we have left. For some though it is reason to hunker down and prepare. To be blinded of the plight of those around them. This is why v. 9 becomes so important.

Mark 13:9 NIV

9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.

Be on your guard

As i was reading this passage and preparing for this i was going through some of the commentaries and i found an interesting perspective on this passage. When we read the word guard some images come to our minds right away. For me a soldier is the first thing that i thought of. The man standing the post guarding the base or a person ready to lay their life down to protect. I also thought of boxing. Putting our guard up to protect our body. The boxer would rather get hit int he gloves than take the full brunt of the blow on the face or to the body. This is a natural thought because when we look at the definition of guard we come up with.

Guard—watch over or protect against.

Yet, is this what Jesus was trying to portray. When i think guard against i think we want to prevent. Jesus follows up this statement about guarding by saying that you will be handed over.

For Jesus its not a matter of IF its a matter of WHEN.

This commentary i was reading helped interpret this passage as “you must be clear in your own minds”. This was powerful to me. When we think about guarding as clarity of thought in what is to come it changes everything.

Clear minded—Free of doubt or confusion

Jesus wasn’t trying to prepare the disciples for the coming battle by giving them a blueprint to avoid it but he is giving them the blue print to keep their minds and bodies focused on Him.

When we approach this passage from this understanding does it change the way we read...

Mark 13:9–12 NIV

9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. 12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.

We are clear of thought i knowing that suffering is coming that we will have to stand firm in him and that we will have to face a lot of hardship. Yet, the hope comes for us in the next verse.

Mark 13:13 NIV

13 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Salvation comes

Jesus will come for us. those of us who are able to stand firm and steadfast can take joy in knowing that He will save us. This is hard at times to realize and to think about but it is the truth. That we will face pain and suffering and it will need to be for the glory of God that we endure that.

One of the biggest insights that i gained form this passage is that it still confirmed for me the truth that i have always known. That the end will come. It is coming. There is no denying that. Yet, even in that knowledge i look to only one thing. I look to the clarity of this thought. That Jesus is Lord and savior. That i am called to remain steadfast in him and that means that i must not look for signs or wonders but i instead need to live my life as he commanded.

I must love God with all my heart. I must love my neighbor. He calls me to this. This keeps my eyes not on the future but the here and the right now. I can’t be looking to what might happen or when its going to happen but i need to look at what i can control. What i can change. What i can influence. How i can share with those around me the good news that is the gospel. So this morning i have to ask how are you focused on him? Do you have a clear mind on what is to come? Do you take joy in knowing that he will save us if we remain in him? that is the truth for us this morning that at the end of the day salvation will come for us but until it does there is work to be done.

Let us pray.