SERIES: WALKING WITH JESUS
“THE SERVANT’S SECOND COMING”
MARK 13:1-37
OPEN
One of the most controversial subjects in Christianity is that of the End Times. There are several viewpoints concerning Jesus’ Second Coming and some folks have turned these viewpoints into matters of salvation. If you don’t believe the way they do, you’re obviously a heretic. If you agree with them, then you are certainly one of God’s elect.
Without going into a lot of detail, most of these viewpoints are simply opinion. Based on Scripture, I could comfortably argue for at least two of these viewpoints. There is room for debate. And I truly believe that no one understands this biblical doctrine completely. I have been studying it for over 30 years and still have trouble sorting out all the details.
With that in mind, I invite you to join me this morning as we look at Jesus’ teaching in Mark 13. It teaches us some important things. First, we’re going to look at the setting into which this teaching is given. Second, we’re going to look at each section of Mark 13 and interpret it the best that we can. Second, we’re going to apply what Jesus is teaching to our lives.
THE SETTING
Mk. 13:1-2 – “As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher! What massive
stones! What magnificent buildings!’ ‘Do you see all these great buildings?’ replied Jesus. ‘Not one stone
here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’”
Starting back in Mark 11, Jesus has declared the Jerusalem temple to be invalid. The cursing of the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple show his disdain for this Jewish symbol of God’s presence among his people. In the time following the cleansing of the temple, Jesus has been teaching in the temple courts. While there he has been confronted by the different groups within the Jewish leadership where they have tried to trap him with questions. They failed miserably.
As Jesus leaves the temple for the very last time (there would be no more public teaching) the disciples remark about the glory and the splendor of the temple. The temple building at this time was not the one Solomon built. It was destroyed by the Babylonians. This is the temple that was started by Ezra when the exiles returned.
Herod the Great began a grand reconstruction on the building around 20 B.C. and that reconstruction project continued until around 64 A.D. He expanded the original temple into one of the great architectural wonders of the ancient world. Many of the stones were massive chunks of white limestone. Josephus tells us that the temple building was so dazzling in the sun that people had to avert or cover their eyes as they walked toward the city. He says that from miles away that it appeared as a large snow-covered mountain. The temple was built on a massive stone platform and its courts and buildings made up about 1/6th of the land mass of the city of Jerusalem.
Perhaps the disciples thought that since Jesus had been spending so much time at the temple during this final week of his life that he was going to make the temple the headquarters for his new kingdom. They had already been arguing over who would hold the most important positions in the kingdom.
Can you imagine the look on their faces when they heard what Jesus said? The joy of every Jew was the temple. It was magnificent and only had a short time to exist. And Jesus was right. When the Romans sought to quell a Jewish rebellion starting in the year 66 A.D., they eventually took the city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and destroyed the temple.
INTERPRETATION
This teaching of Jesus is very difficult to interpret. Jesus is intentionally vague on some things and specific on others. It seems that Jesus starts out talking about one thing and then ends it by talking about something else.
Mk. 13:3-37 – “As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and
Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are
all about to be fulfilled?’ Jesus said to them: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my
name, claiming, I am he, and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be
alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 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. 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. And the gospel
must first be preached to all nations. 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.
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you see the abomination that causes desolation standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—
then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the
house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those
days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will
be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be
equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Christ! or, Look, there he is! do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and
miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of
time. But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the
four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see
these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words
will never pass away. No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but
only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away:
He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let
him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!’”
There are three main schools of thought concerning the interpretation of Jesus’ teaching here. The first says that this whole teaching concerns the Jewish revolt against Rome that lasted from 66-70 A.D. In 70 A.D. the Roman soldiers literally leveled the temple. They were led to believe that there was gold hidden there and they took the temple apart stone by stone to look for the gold. Josephus informs us that they set fire to the temple and reduced it to rubble. The fire burned for months.
The problem with this viewpoint is that some part of Jesus’ teaching here does not fit the events of 70 A.D. One example is found in vss. 24-27. Jesus quotes from passages in Isaiah Chapts. 13 and 30 about the darkening of the sun and the moon and the stars falling from heaven. Then Jesus says, “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.” That obviously didn’t happen following the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70
The second viewpoint is based on how Jesus’ teaching ends. They believe that the whole passage concerns some future period of time immediately preceding Jesus’ second coming. This viewpoint says that everything Jesus is talking about here has to do with things in the future instead of in the past.
The problem with this viewpoint is that it takes what Jesus says out of its context. Remember that Jesus has centered everything over the last few days around the temple. The cursing of the fig tree shows Jesus’ judgment on the temple. Jesus cleanses the temple and then spends several days teaching in its courts. Obviously, some of what Jesus is saying has to do with the temple and its destruction in A.D. 70. Another problem is that Jesus instructs his followers to escape and hide. That obviously refers to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans because no one can run and hide during the final judgment. Rev. 6:15-17 – “ Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who
sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can
stand?’” Someone commented on this prophesied period: “A time is coming for all men when they will be either born again, or wish they had never been born at all.”
The third viewpoint is the one to which I basically subscribe. Jesus here is referring to both the events around 70 A.D. and his second coming. It makes better sense within the context of the teaching. The problem with this viewpoint is trying to figure out when Jesus is talking about the events around 70 A.D. and when he is talking about his second coming.
The disciples believe that they are asking one question. In their minds, the destruction of the temple can only mean the end of the age has come. Jesus that what they’re asking are actually two separate and distinct questions: when will the temple be destroyed and when will the end of the age come.
Two fellows are standing on the side of a country road. One is holding a sign that says, “The end is near!” The other one is holding a sign that says, “Repent!”
Several cars pass them by and pay them no heed. In fact, all the cars speed up to get past these guys whom they consider to be religious nuts. After several more cars speed past them, one fellow looks at the other and says, “I don’t think we’re getting our message across.” The other guy replies, “Yeah. I guess you sign should say, ‘Bridge out!’ and mine should say, ‘Turn around!’”
Notice how Jesus answers. Instead of giving them signs for the end of the age, he tells them what things are not the signs of the end. Jesus calls these thing “birth pains” not signs. They tell us something is getting ready to happen but not when they’re going to happen. Jesus simply says that these things will mark the time between his first coming and his second.
We can expect these things to get more intense as we get closer to his second coming – just like birth pains. These things are simply part of the age in which we live. Wars, false messiahs, earthquakes, famines, and persecutions do not mark the end. They are simply characteristics of life between his first and second coming.
These things do not signal that the end is near, back then or today.
Did you ever watch a fireworks show? I’m not talking about backyard fireworks. I’m talking about a major fireworks show. As you watch, you see all those spectacular displays of light in the air. Some times, there will be multiple shots go off at once. After you watch for awhile and then see an impressive multiple burst, you think, “Is this it? Is this the grand finale?” And of course, the fireworks show goes on. When you see the actual grand finale, you know it’s the grand finale. There’s no doubt about it.
The concept of a finale was originally a musical concept for the final movement in a symphony. Usually the finale of a musical piece is foreshadowed several times throughout the piece. Only the finale is grander, louder, more complex and more impressive. The grand finale is designed to leave the audience in awe, whether it’s in a musical piece or a fireworks show. Sometimes as Christians we get so excite about the minor displays, we mistake the foreshadowing for finale itself.
APPLICATION
The first lesson that we should take home from Jesus’ teaching on the Mount of Olives is to watch where we put our trust. To the Jews, the temple was the most important thing in the entire world. They were proud of the magnificence of its structures. They thought that because the temple represented God’s presence in their midst that they were the most favored of all peoples. They saw it as the mark of God’s blessing on their existence.
Within about 35 years of Jesus’ prediction concerning its destruction, the temple was nothing but a pile of rubble. The once great structure was demolished. God’s judgment came upon the temple because the majority of the Jewish people rejected Jesus as the Messiah.
The warning for us is that we need to be careful as well. We can put our trust in our church attendance, in our heritage, and in our goodness. None of that matters. What matters is what we have done with Jesus Christ.
The second lesson is that we should avoid setting times and dates for Jesus’ return. People have been trying to predict the time of the end of the age since Jesus ascended to heaven.
Hippolytus (who died in 236) predicted that the 500th year after Christ would see the end of the world. A Spanish monk named Beatus predicted that he would live to see the Antichrist and the end of the world by the year 800. He died in 798 and, of course, the world is still here. In the 900’s, it was a widespread belief across Europe that the end of the world would occur in the year 1000.
After the year 1000 passed uneventfully, the year 1033 was targeted by several as “the time of the end.” In 1843-44, William Miller and his followers were looking for Jesus’ return. In 1910, many Christians expected that Halley ’s Comet would destroy the world. The year 1914 was proclaimed by the Jehovah’s Witnesses as the time when the Battle of Armageddon would be fought. The February 1967 issue of Plain Truth magazine carried Herbert W. Armstrong’s pronouncement that the “Day of the Eternal” would come between five and ten years from his prediction, that is between 1972 and 1977. A few years later, based on the first edition of Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth, tens of thousands of people sincerely believed “the rapture” would occur by the end of 1981.
In 1988, Edgar Whisenant mailed out a book to millions of preachers that said that “the rapture” would take place somewhere between September 11-13 of that same year. He modified the book for 1989. Of course, we all remember the hype concerning the year 2000 and the end of the world. Now the emphasis is on the year 2012 based on the Mayan calendar. Church historian David Kyle has written a book called The Last Days Are Here Again. Listen to his conclusion on the matter: "Through two thousand years of Western history millions of people have believed that they were living in the last days….Many sincere, devout, and knowledgeable people have seen the end as imminent…But they have all been wrong.”
Jesus tells us that no one knows when the end of time will be. How do we expect to figure it out when God has intentionally made it unknowable? From our very text today, Jesus was warning us not to waste our time trying to figure it out..
The third lesson is that God is in control. Lots of bad things are going to happen. There are going to be persecutions, natural disasters, and personal sufferings. The Bible tells us that God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. He is not a “respecter of persons.”
The simple lesson is that we can rely on God. No matter what we’re going through, no matter what is happening in the world, no matter how bad things seem, God is moving everything toward completion and fulfillment.
When we stand in front of people who demand that we give an account of our faith, God will be there for us. The Holy Spirit will be our comfort and guide. When the going gets tough, God will not make things easy but he will give us the strength and encouragement to keep going.
The fourth lesson is that we should always be prepared for Jesus to come again. Jesus says, in a parallel
passage in Mt.24:42-44, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son
of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
I read a story this week about a family who was discussing their preacher’s sermon over the noon meal one Sunday. The sermon was about Jesus’ Second Coming.
The teenage son said that he still had lots of questions about Christ’s return. The father tried his best to answer his son’s questions. The father finally said, “We just don’t have all the answers we might like, but we do have all we need to know. The best preparation is simply to live each day as if it were your last.” The son said, “I tried that once, and you grounded me for a month!”
CLOSE
One of the great promises of the Bible is found in Jn. 14:1-3 – “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
But there is danger involved with that promise. We can be so heavenly-minded that we end up being no earthly good. We get so wrapped up in trying to figure out when Jesus is coming back and the time-line concerning his coming that we lose focus on what God wants us to do here.
Instead of living in the future, God wants us to live our lives in the now. We should be anxiously awaiting and eagerly anticipating Christ’s’ return. But Jesus warns us that he has left us here with a purpose to accomplish. When he returns, he wants to find that we’ve been faithful to his cause.
John Wesley was working in his garden one day when a neighbor came by to visit. The neighbor attempted to jolt Wesley by asking, “What would you be doing now, John, if you knew for certain Jesus would return today?”
Wesley jolted his neighbor instead by replying, “I would go right on doing what I’m doing.” May we live in such a way that Christ could return at any time and we would be comfortable continuing the task at hand.
