Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRO

Six years ago I preached through the book of Daniel.

When we came to Daniel 9 I shared with the congregation that:

Commentators are agreed that this is the most difficult text in all of Daniel.

That is the only thing that commentators are agreed upon.

Alistair Begg preached an excellent sermon series through Daniel that helped me greatly.

When he came to chapter 9 …

… he kept talking about his three friends who had written commentaries on this passage

… and yet all disagreed with one another.

More than that, he was about to preach a sermon that disagreed with all three of them.

Listen, I barely have three friends who are willing to read Daniel 9, let alone write a commentary on it.

The same thing is true of our passage today.

The only thing I could get the books that I often look to for help to agree upon regarding our passage today …

… in the middle of the Olivet Discourse

… is that there is the least amount of agreement of interpretation of this passage of all the the teachings of Jesus in the gospel of Mark.

I, hereby, claim the right to disagree with myself.

When I preached on Daniel 9 I actually wrote in my notes:

I like Sam Storms’ interpretation better than my own interpretation.

Well, today, I would like to vindicate Sam Storms and say that I think that I not only like his interpretation …

… but that I think he is spot on in his interpretation of the Olivet Discourse.

But as I read and reread the passage there were a couple things that I just couldn’t shake.

There are a few core things that I think almost every commentator had to gloss over.

All commentaries but one.

A commentary by R. T. France—an anglican scholar and pastor who wrote the Mark volume for the New International Greek Testament Commentary.

Much of what I will share today is in alignment with what R. T. France shares there.

3:30

PRAY

THE OLIVET DISCOURSE

The Three Weeks

1. v1-13 - The Opening Question and Answer

2. v14 - 31 - The Coming Tribulation and the Glory of the Son of Man

3. v32 - 37 - The Coming Day When the Lord Returns

My own interpretation is that the majority of Jesus’ focus in this passage is in reference to his own initial statement in verse 2 that the temple will be utterly destroyed.

Jesus has come out of the temple ...

… after teaching there and facing the interrogations of the leaders in Jerusalem and specifically the temple.

He has shown much of what he found in the city to be filled with hypocrisy and faithlessness.

Now, Jesus, the very image of the glory of God …

… walks out of the temple and up to the Mount of Olives

… to the east of the city and standing high above it

… with a full view of the temple

… and pronounces this word of judgement.

Mark 13:2 (ESV)

Do you see these great buildings?

There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

The Lord himself is about to tear down his own house.

In the next verse, Peter, James, John and Andrew come to Jesus to ask a very specific two part question:

Mark 13:3–4 (ESV)

And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

When?

What?

Last week (v1-13) Jesus warned them of the things that are not a sign that the destruction is coming.

Specifically, just because they hear of wars of earthquakes or famines …

… that doesn’t mean that the time has come.

These things do not announce the when nor are they the signs of the what.

They are simply the ongoing pattern of an earth that groans for redemption.

They are birth pains that are so common in history.

He also warns them that in the midst of these times …

… leading up to the destruction of the temple

… they themselves will suffer much persecution as they bear witness to Christ and his gospel.

But they must be faithful as they trust the Lord to make his gospel known to all the nations.

Now, as we come to v14ff, Jesus is beginning to explain in some vivid detail …

… the when and what of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.

It is over these details that readers of this passage have often disagreed.

But before we turn to our own study this morning …

… I want to share …

8:00

THREE OBSERVATIONS FROM MY OWN PROCESS OF STUDY

Before I really opened any commentaries there are a few things I realized as I read this chapter over and over.

1) This is My Beloved Son.

Listen to Him.

Jesus is speaking.

He is communicating.

What he says is supposed to be understood by those to whom he is speaking.

i.e.

Peter, James, John and Andrew

But it’s hard to read the Bible and not hear the voice of our pastor growing up …

… or the notes in our study bible

… or the tradition or denomination or end times theology we have adopted.

As I read I wanted to hear the voice of Jesus to his disciples.

I wanted to really listen in on what Mark has recorded and the Spirit inspired for us here.

But as I did, I found myself repeatedly being interrupted by observations and recollections of how I have heard this passage interpreted by others.

I mentioned an example last week in verse 7 where it talks about “wars and rumors of wars.”

If you’ve spent any time in your growing up years around the church you probably heard that referenced …

… as a sure way to know the end is coming soon.

But in reality, if you actually pay attention to the words of Jesus he actually says …

… do not be alarmed.

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

Wars and rumors of wars are not a sign that the end has come!

Explicitly in the words of Jesus, they will happen, but they are not the sign we are looking for.

Do you know how hard it was to read this passage over and over and not just hear what I’ve heard people say about this stuff?

So, let me encourage you as we walk our way through …

… listen to Jesus words

… and try to notice when you’ve become distracted by a tradition or teacher or theological interpretation.

These things aren’t bad, but as John Piper has said, commentaries can be sermon killers …

… precisely because instead of helping us to better understand the words of the Word

… they can draw our attention away from the actual words that the Spirit has actually spoken.

11:00

2) As it is written …

The second sentence in the gospel of Mark is …

Mark 1:2 (ESV)

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

What is the context of the gospel of Mark?

I would say that even more than first century Israel …