Signs of the Times (Mark 13.1-8) Nov. 14, 2021

The man is sitting in the ruins of the village. The army came through here and destroyed everything: houses, shops, crops, everything. They were on their way to Jerusalem and from what the man has heard they arrives and have now done what they came to do: destroy the uprising that had inflamed the countryside for the past 4 years. In fact, what he has heard is that the city has been taken and razed to the ground. The proud city that stood as the center point for the life of the Jews was no more. It had been utterly destroyed. And with that destruction came an even more devastating announcement: The temple, the holy place where God was said to dwell, was also destroyed. What and why had this occurred? Why had God abandoned the city and the temple? What was to become of the area now? And what did this mean for the people? Sure, there were some who said that this was only a setback, that the country would recover and throw out the hated Romans, but these were the delusional ones who had believed that there was a chance anyway. Then there were the ones who said that they deserved what they got for turning away from God so many times. And then, there was a group who were calling for the people to have hope. That all was not lost. That this was only the beginning. That this marked the signs that the one they called Lord and Messiah would be coming back soon. If there was a group more delusional than the zealots who wanted to continue the fight, this was that group. Their leader had been crucified about 40 years before and they still held to a belief that he had been raised from the dead and would return in glory.

These were the times that the man lived in. There were those who had predicted this trauma would come and now it had. The Romans had come in and destroyed what was special to the man. They killed those around him and taken others away as prisoners for the triumph that would ultimately be celebrated by the conquering general. And this general would be ultimately triumphant as he would be later the emperor Titus. It was a tragic time to be alive. But again, to hear this one group tell the story, this had been predicted and was only the beginning of suffering that would lead to the return of God to the country. What could be worse than the sufferings that had already taken place? There was no more temple, no more Jerusalem, nothing that held the people together. What was going on here? Why was this group so hopeful? What did they know that he did not?

What this story tells, as is obvious, is the story of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple but told from the viewpoint of one who suffered the destruction that came through during this time. There was great suffering during the was that raged from 66-70 CE. The Romans showed no mercy and when they reached Jerusalem, they set such a siege that the people were reduced to eating anything they could find and that included cannibalism. When the walls were finally broken, Titus, the commanding general, declared that the city was to be razed and the temple as well. This marked a turning point for the early church and the Jewish communities. No longer was Jerusalem the center of their worlds and no longer did they have the temple to go to.

So, we have to ask ourselves this, “what does this story have to do with today’s text?” Mark was probably written sometime around the time of the Jewish war if not after the fall of Jerusalem. This event would have been fresh in the minds of the church and they would have seen this text as fulfillment of what Jesus had spoken. Remember, the stories of Jesus and his ministry were initially passed along orally before they were written. So, those in the early church would have known this story of Jesus and the words that he spoke to his disciples.

The beginning is a bit humorous. The group is leaving the temple with Jesus and one makes the comment about the size of the stones and the buildings of the temple. Now this temple was not the temple built by Solomon. That one had been destroyed by the Babylonians when they took Judah into exile. It was also not the temple built in the time of the restoration return of the people to Judah. No, this temple was one of the pet projects of King Herod. It was a massive undertaking that 30 years after his death was still be worked on and would be even in the years after Jesus’ death. There were stones that are thought to have weighed close to 450 tons. There was enough gold on the roof that reflected the sun to the point that people had to look away. The stones were all in white and were so white that it looked as if the temple mount was covered in snow. All in all, it was very impressive, especially to a bunch of fishermen and country boys who were in the big city.

Think of it this way: imagine one has never been to New York City. When one finally gets the chance to go, one has to suppress the urge to squeal at the large buildings and the impressive sights that one sees. One has to make sure that there are batteries in the camera and that there are fresh ones to take over when going on the tours of the city. One has to make sure that one is not looking like the tourist that one is because one is so impressed by what one sees. Not that I know anything about this, its just what I have been told.

The disciple is just like the one in New York City for the first time. But there is another viewpoint to this as well. The disciples have just come from hearing Jesus in dispute with the official authorities. They are looking for the time when the kingdom will come and that those in power will be put in their places. Perhaps this disciple is looking over the temple and thinking what a great place it will be to have under their control when the kingdom comes. Then people will see how the temple is supposed to be run.

But Jesus will have none of this. He states “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”[1] Jesus throws cold water on the disciples. Here he is telling them that the one thing that they believe to be the center of their small universe is going to be destroyed.

Jesus then takes them up the Mount of Olives to a place that overlooks the temple and sits down in rabbinic fashion to teach. Peter, Andrew, James and John come to talk to him privately. Notice that these are the first disciples that Jesus called to him when he began his ministry. Three of them are the most trusted of all of his disciples. And they come to him to ask when things will come to pass and just what signs there will be to announce this coming. They want to be ready when things go south because that will be the time when the kingdom of God will appear. Won’t it?

Did you notice that nothing is said about the kingdom in this text? The coming of the Son of Man and the kingdom are not mentioned anytime close to this text. What Jesus gives them are several oblique references to what they are to be on the lookout for and even then, they will not see what they expect.

The first thing that they are to watch out for is for those who will lead people astray. They will come saying that they are there in the name of Jesus or that they are the Messiah. This was nothing really new. There had been many who were claiming to be the Messiah in this time and many who were put down ruthlessly. There will be more to come, Jesus says, don’t be deceived.

Wars and rumors of wars have always been around. If Mark was indeed written during the time of Jewish War, then this would have been on the minds of all those gathered. There had been rumors of a war and now there was a full-blown war going on. But Jesus had said to them that this was still not the end. Nations were to rise up against nations, but still things like this were only the beginnings.

Earthquakes and famines were often seen as punishments from God. How else could one explain these natural phenomena? When the earth that is supposed to be solid under one’s feet begins to move and shake, then what is one supposed to think but that God, or the gods, is angry and is exacting punishment that is coming from the heaving ground? This is what is happening here in this context. And famines. In the First Testament famine was a big punishment from God. Remember Elijah and Ahab? Famine in an agricultural society was devastating and was also seen as a sign that God was punishing the people for the evil that they were doing.

But again, Jesus says that these things are just the beginnings of the birth pangs, the beginning of what will be greater sufferings. Now, I’m not sure about you, but if I had been the disciples, I would have been looking worried at this point. These things are only the beginnings of the sufferings? What else could possibly go wrong? Jesus continues to tell them in the sections after this text. I encourage you to read all of Mark 13 and see what Jesus has to say about the signs of the times.

So, what has this to do with us today? There are still the signs that Jesus spoke about and still no Jesus.

There have been many who have claimed to speak in the name of Jesus and have announced when he was coming back. They attract followers and they attract news. And then when Jesus does not come back, they either go back to the drawing board or take their lives. Think of Harold Camping and his several predictions that Jesus would come back in 2011 and 2012 and still here we are. Or think of David Koresh and the Branch Davidians who committed suicide when the kingdom did not come. These and others are ones whom Jesus warns us to watch out that we are not deceived by the ones who come claiming as the Greek literally has it “I am”, a title reserved for God alone. It is interesting that these and others come and claim to have the voice of God and speak for Jesus when Jesus tells us that even he does not know the time of the coming of the Kingdom. Do these people really believe that they know more than Jesus? I hope that the answer to this would be a resounding no, but sometimes I wonder.

As for wars and rumors of wars, those are still with us. We have experienced two wars that were world-wide and were devastating. And yet we still have not seen the kingdom come. There are rumors of wars still going on today. Nations will rattle their sabers and they will try to intimidate others. They will rise up against each other in ways that the bible never mentions. Some wars today are fought in cyberspace and in places that would have never been imagined by those who wrote the books of the First and Second Testaments. And yet even now as we look back at the devastation caused by the wars that have been waged, we see that the end is still to come. The same can be said about earthquakes and famines.

So, what good news can we find in a text like this one? For one there is hope. Hope that these signs are not the end. Hope that there is something more. Hope that we can discern those around us and that we can continue to know that God is in control.

The signs of the times are all about us. They have been since Jesus’ day. And instead of taking Jesus at his word that these things are simply the beginnings and that we are to hold on and be faithful, we try to figure out the signs. What will it take for us to know that we will never know, that we are to do the work that we have been called to do, that the Holy Spirit will help us in our need? It’s a sign of the times that we still try to figure out instead of going out and doing what we have been called to do. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.