“Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings.” That was an understatement. We simply call it “the Temple,” but historians distinguish this as “Herod’s Temple.” It took over four decades to build and Herod spared no expense. It was his way of trying to buy off the Jews, demonstrating he wasn’t such a bad guy after all. And, the people were proud of what they called “theirs.” The stones were the size of busses and train cars, tightly fitted together, layered with gold. It was said that at certain times of the day, the sun’s reflection off the walls was blinding. I imagine the disciples caught it at one such moment and the awe and sheer beauty of it caught them: "Look, Jesus. Isn’t she a beauty?"
Jesus wasn’t even slightly impressed. “It will all be torn down,” He said, “Not one stone will be left on top of each other.” It took forty-six years to build, but just three decades later, the Romans would invade the rebellious people and practically level the beautiful building, burning it up so that the gold ran out of the cracks of the bricks and stones. All that would remain is what stands today – a small section known as the “wailing wall.”
When Jesus said this, it shook the disciples to the core. Imagine how you would feel if a passer-by said the same about this sanctuary. Now multiply that feeling to a national level. The temple was the center, the focus of all of Israel. Theologically, it was God’s dwelling place. Geographically, it was the high point of the city. Socially, it was the center of Jewish life. Destroy it? How would God allow something like this to happen to His house? You can imagine the murmuring among the 12 as they crossed the Kidron Valley and went up to the Mount of Olives. Inquiring minds and all: when will this happen, how will we know, what will be the sign to warn us of the pending destruction?
Have you noticed in the Gospels that Jesus often doesn’t answer questions the way the disciples want questions answered? Or, for that matter, how He doesn’t answer our questions the way we want them to be addressed? They want how, why, when. Can’t say we’re much different. As we move to these latter days of the church year, and our eyes are drawn to the end of things, we are morbidly curious as well. It would be nice if we could block the day of Jesus return into our Google calendars so we can make plans and don’t miss it. Woulnd’t that be great? Or, would it… Jesus knows better than to tell us the specifics, but He doesn’t leave us without a warning or a promise.
The warning applies as much today as it did in the first century: don’t be fooled by satan’s lies. He’ll do it a half-dozen different ways. He’ll even try to use religion, a little “Jesus talk,” and a little bait and switch. False Christs, false teachers, with false gospels will arise – remember, Gospel means “good news.” A false gospel isn’t good news at all! It’s a lie in pretty words! We have them today - if not more than ever, at least as many as ever – pseudo-Christs and fake Christs and alternative Christs, none of which shed a single drop of blood for you, none of which point you to His cross, or to your own cross for that matter. They won’t speak of body and blood, water and word, the gathering of the saints and the forgiveness of sins. They’ll be inside the church and outside the church, all clamoring for your faith, your hope and your trust, all deceptive, all crying for your attention, trying to take your eyes off Jesus, all trying to get you to turn from the cross.
Don’t be deceived. There is only one Jesus who died on a cross for you, and He’s all the Jesus you need.
Not quite two weeks ago, roughly 60 percent of the country voted for one person
against the other. Make no mistake. President-Elect Trump is not the savior of
the nation, a political party, or the people any more than Vice President
Harris is the antichrist. The headlines you’ve been reading, don’t over read
them. The political world serves a sign, yes, with wars, rumors of war, nation
against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There are still dictators, murderers,
and religions who want to kill everyone who disagrees. Just as peace is
established in one part of the world, war breaks out in another.
The natural world serves as a sign. A mid-November hurricane is a rarity; we
pray it remains harmless and doesn’t do anything to the coast anywhere along
the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, creation moans - earthquakes in various places, famines,
natural disasters. As Paul says in Romans, the entire creation groans
under the burden of our sin, waiting expectantly for our resurrection, the
redemption of our bodies. We witness some of that groaning as the dry
grass and pastures rustle, eager for rain. We will experience more of the
same. You can expect it.
Jesus isn’t trying to shake up His disciples,
and he is not trying to fill us with doubt or despair. He’s giving
His people a way to look at things and to interpret what’s happening in the
world from His perspective. All the wars, rumors of war, earthquakes,
famines - all the deaths of this world, Jesus calls all these things “the birth
pangs,” the labor contractions of the new creation. Just as giving birth
is painful and often difficult, so is the coming of the new creation. It
involves dying and rising - the death and resurrection of Jesus Himself, and
also your own death and resurrection.
In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus was preparing His disciples for the trouble that lay
ahead. He knew that as His ministry brought opposition against Him, so
would His victory over sin and death. His disciples would be considered
heretics by the religious world that prefers to deal with God on its own
terms. They would be tried in the religious courts and banished from the synagogues
they grew up in. The government would be used against them. They
would be hauled before kings and princes to testify. Yet Jesus assures
them they would be equipped for the challenge. “Don’t worry what you’re
going to say. Just speak what you are given by the Spirit.”
Jesus warned His disciples they would be betrayed, even by those closest to
them. Brother would betray believing brother; children would betray
confessing parents, even to their death. It happened in the first
century. It happens today in our century wherever Christians are
persecuted for the name of Jesus. It will happen in the future, perhaps even
here in Mission Valley, some day. Jesus
is not telling His disciples these things to terrify them or to discourage
them. He’s preparing them, and us, to be alert to the times in which we
live. Live with eyes and ears open to the signs of His coming. And
He assures them.
Jesus says, “He who endures to the end will be saved.” That’s a promise
from Him whose word is sure and true. He won’t ever fail you or abandon
you or go back on His word to you. You have the sure and certain
signs from God Himself. You are baptized, the testimony from God that
your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life. You have Christ’s body
and blood in the Lord’s Supper, which you take with you to the end of your
days. You have His Word and promise of forgiveness, that in the death of
Jesus your sins are covered, and God is at peace with you.
The last days are not days for panic, anxiety, or uncertainty. They are
days for alertness, readiness, watchfulness, expectation, longing, hopefulness,
patient endurance. There will be hardship, pain, difficulty but these are
only the birth pangs of a new creation that has already come in Christ.
“He who endures to the end, will be saved.” You have Jesus’
promise. Trust Him to the end, for He is faithful.
In the Name of Jesus, Amen.