Olivet Discourse Part 1

The Olivet Discourse - Hope Has Come

Vv.1-8 The Beginning of the End

A. vv. 1-13 - End of the temple and fall of Jerusalem

B. vv.14-27 - End of the Age and return of Christ.

A. vv. 28-31 - End of the temple and fall of Jerusalem

B. vv.32-37 - Return of Christ and a call to watchfulness

vv.1-3 - Jesus shares that the very center of the Jewish universe was going to be destroyed.

This is where God came to dwell with his people

Ark of the covenant, temple containing the ark, it is where Jesus was found being “about the will of the Father.”

This would have signified the end of the world for them.

V.3 - Mount of Olives - sat across the Kidron Valley from the Temple in Jerusalem.

The mount was where Jesus came into Jerusalem just a few days earlier and it is where he will return again to gather the church at the end of the age.

V.4 Mark 13:4: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

Peter, James, John, and Andrew come to Jesus privately and asked two questions contained in one (When and What).

He address both of them, but not in the order they were given, and not with equal significance.

Too many Christians are interested in the when, spending time, energy, and money trying to figure out the time of Jesus’s return

Mark 13:32 (ESV): But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father

WHAT - Mark 13:6–8 (ESV): See that no one leads you astray. 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

Now when you weigh what Jesus is saying in the immediate context of Jesus’ life death, resurrection, ascension, and then on into the church being established you can see some of these things taking place in the book of Acts.

FALSE TEACHERS:

Acts 5 - Gamaliel told of two influential men named Theudas and Judas the Galilean who had large crowds who followed them because of their teaching.

Acts 21 - Paul was confused with an influential Egyptian who had led 4000 Jews out into the wilderness.

Throughout the history of the Church there have been swindlers, manipulators, corrupt teachers, and false teachers who use the  name of God for their own selfish gain.

Remember False teachers are a sign of what was to come...

CREATION UNSETTLED:

Wars and Rumors of Wars

Earthquakes

Matthew 27 :50-53 - “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”

Famine

Acts 11:27–28: “Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius)”

This multi-year famine affected the entire Roman world and lasted from 44 AD to 48 AD during Claudius' reign. The Roman historian Suetonius wrote that the famine was so great even in Rome mobs abused Claudius Caesar himself - "When there was a scarcity of grain because of long-continued droughts, he was once stopped in the middle of the Forum by a mob and so pelted with abuse and at the same time with pieces of bread, that he was barely able to make his escape to the Palace by a back door; and after this experience he resorted to every possible means to bring grain to Rome, even in the winter season."

(V.9) THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE END!

(V.8) Birth Pains

Be on Guard! 1 Peter 5:8 - Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

3. Persecution

v.9 - “For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten, you will stand before governors and kings.”

Vv.12-13 - “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.“

Matthew 10:35–37 (ESV): For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

We have hope because the future is in God’s hands.

Let us not be led astray.

Bearans - Acts 17:11 : Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Let us be on guard.

2 John 8–9 (ESV): Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son

Let us trust in his eternal plan.

Mark 13:10–11 (ESV): And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations (WHEN).

Acts 2:7-11 the known world heard

Mark 13:11 (ESV): 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.

This is not an excuse for laziness in preparation, but a promise that should lead to hope. When persecution is so bad that one can not prepare what to say, the Holy Spirit will lead you.

Jesus’ disciples are to be worldwide, Spirit-led witnesses regardless the situation.

It was with this hope, that God is in control of the future, that he will fulfill his eternal plan, and that he is equipping and empowering his disciples for the mission, that Peter, James, John, and Andrew were to persevere.

Mark 13:13 (ESV): But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

There are 270 Xians who are killed daily. (Vv.9,13 - For my sake, for my names sake.)

Perseverance is the sign of true faith.

Sproul - If you have it, you will never lose it. If you lose it, you never truly had it.

But it is not of our own effort.

John 17 - Those whom the Father gave the Son will never be lost

Romans 8 - There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.

Colossians - We are complete in Christ.

Commentator“The God who has chosen us, redeemed us and freed us from all bondage, also sees us through the journey of this life unto our glorious end.”

Yes, your perseverance is the one true sign of your saving faith, but your perseverance is also a sign of God’s preserving work in your life.

1 Corinthians 1:4–9 (ESV): I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Therefore we have hope knowing that the God who created time, stepped into time to save us, and he will keep all who are his to the end of time - regardless what we may face!