March 19, 2014
Jesus’ Answer to the Last Days
Mark 13:1-37
I Do Not Be Deceived Mark 13:1-6
II Watch Yourselves Mark 13:7-20
III Be Alert Mark 13:21-37
My daughter-in-law Ashley, told me a sweet story, about a little Hispanic boy, named Brian, who was in her, 4th grade, Queens, New York, class room, last year------
He got to school one morning and went up to her, the first thing, and said, “Mrs. Jenkins, I won’t be at school tomorrow…” Ashley said, “Brian, can you tell me why?’ He acted a little embarrassed, as he said, “My grandmother’s, making us all stay at home, the whole family, and my dad’s not too happy about it----she is convinced that the world is coming to an end tomorrow, and she wants to make sure that we’re all together when it does.”
Ashley said, as she questioned him further, it became apparent that the grandmother was listening to someone, other than the Bible, and she was serious about it------so Ashley said she excused him, and continued on with her classroom duties-----
Then, it wasn’t but just a few minutes, before he was back thrusting a slip of paper into her hand-----she said, “Brian, what is this?” And he said, “Oh, I forgot to give you the note about conferences, the day after tomorrow---my grandmother signed up, for when when we could come.”
Ashley said she knew she shouldn’t have done it, but she couldn’t resist-----she said, “Brian, why do I need this, we’re not going to be here, because the world is going to be gone, by then….”
She said, he looked at her for a split second, then, he began to laugh, and said, “Mrs. Jenkins, you’re right, that’s a good one, why didn’t I think of that, so that I could tease my grandmother!!!!”
Cute, funny story------ but, as Brian talked about it, all day, to the other children, it opened the door for Ashley to have a serious conversation with various children, in her classroom, as they shared their concerns and fear, with her, about the end of time, especially, because most of them had watched the movie, 2012, (a sci-fi, end-of-the-world thriller)
She started off, by asking them if they went to church, and then, she asked them if they believed in the Bible-----and when they said yes to both---she told them that she did too.
And then, very gently, she was able to tell them the truth, about what the Bible says, about the end times…
Which is a great lesson for us all to learn….
What would we do, if we knew that the Lord was coming back tonight, at midnight--- How would we spend the next 13 hours? What about if we knew that He was coming back next Wednesday? Or in a month, on April 20, Easter Sunday morning…would it change our lives or our attitudes or our daily behavior….Would we continue on, like we are right now, without pausing, and just let Him come? Would we run around like chickens with our heads cut off, trying to do everything we can, that we haven’t done? Would we fall to our knees and make sure that our account with the Lord is settled, and then go to other people, to make sure that our accounts are settled with them, too? Or, would we stop doing everything….. and go sit outside with our eyes turned toward the Eastern sky, and just sit and wait?
It’s funny, this scripture passage has made people wonder about the Lord’s return, since He first spoke the words to his disciples….Every believer, in every generation, has wondered, would their generation be the one to see Him come back?
Honestly, I think that the Lord didn’t let us know purposefully, and I think it’s a blessing that He didn’t----I think He knew we wouldn’t be able to handle it; that we wouldn’t know what to do with the bigness, of the truth of it….also, it keeps every generation looking for Him….
I think the Lord told the disciples, so that they, and we, would have an outline of what was going to happen, and how,-----not so much when---- and, so that we would live our lives with the understanding, that this world, is not all that there is-----that there’s a better day coming,---- that our hearts and our eyes, need to be expecting to see Him, at any minute, and living in that hope and joy, as we go about our Father’s business……..until we do see Him coming back in glory---
for believers, that will be, when we meet Him in the air, at the Rapture, and for the remnant of the Jews and any others saved, during the tribulation---it will be when the Tribulation is over and He comes to set up the Millenial kingdom…
In this passage….as Jesus and the disciples were leaving the Temple, it seems like the disciples couldn’t help but remark on the beauty of the magnificent building (The Temple, was one of the Wonders of the Ancient World, so the Jews were ethnically proud of its engineering, and of its beauty…and it was even more a source of pride and importance- for the disciples and all sincere Jews, because the Temple was God’s chosen place to meet with His people, and the only place where they could conduct animal sacrifices for atonement,,,)----and Jesus, couldn’t help but turn the conversation, into a time to teach them, more about Himself and the Kingdom, that He was, and is building ,that will far outshine, anything manmade….….He wanted them to know, that there is nothing that man has built or has been accomplished that God has not allowed or been in control of, and that it only exists, and endures through time, because God has a purpose for it…(The time that God was going to reveal Himself through the Temple was coming to an end…the physical temple was not going to be important any more,---- believers, were going to become, His new living Temple, where God would reveal Himself to His people----and, the physical Temple, was destroyed, in 70 AD.)
As they sat on the Mount of Olives, looking out over Jerusalem, with the Temple shining like a jewel, in front of them, Jesus’ response to the disciple’s questions, about when, the temple would be destroyed, was more, about warning them, to stay focused on Him; and encouraging them, about how to live, in the last days, than it was, to provide them with information, about when it was going to happen…
(“the last days” mean, the time between Jesus’ 1st and His 2nd Coming)
So, the truth is---we’ve been living in the last days, since Jesus ascended to the Father….and in this passage, we can see that there is a specific way that we need to live, in order, to offer lives worthy, of the Lord’s call on us…
Jesus gives us, just 3 commands, to obey, in this passage----Do not be deceived; Watch yourselves; and Be alert…
I Do Not Be Deceived 13:1-6
Jesus could not have been any clearer, in warning the disciples and us, to not be deceived, by false teachers and false prophets.
Jesus, warned, that the false teachers would come, so that we need to be careful, that we know Jesus, and we know what the scripture says about Him, so that we won’t be drawn away from the truth, and we won’t be deceived, by the imposters…some of whom, will even perform signs and wonders….
Just after Jesus’ death, there were several people in Palestine, who claimed to be the Messiah----and down through the centuries, there have been numerous people who have claimed the Messiahship for themselves or for someone else….The Jehovah’s Witnesses base a lot of their doctrine, on the belief that Jesus returned in 1814….. and up until 2012, the 92 year old, Korean-born, Rev. Sun Myung Moon was the self proclaimed Messiah and founder of the Unification Church----marriage and procreation was a large part of his church’s philosophy----he believed that Jesus had failed in His mission, because he was crucified before he was able to marry and have children----and Rev. Moon believed that he, himself, had fulfilled God’s mission to mankind, by restoring them, to a state of sinless perfection……by producing sinless children…
And Satan makes these lies so attractive, that even believers can get caught up in claiming, and trusting them…satan loves to entice believers away from the truth of Jesus and lead them into worshiping false messiahs, through incorrect teaching about Jesus…
There are plenty of believers in our churches today, who think that they know all there is to know about Jesus, but what they really know is false teaching….
They think that :
*”Jesus was a good man and He gave wonderful teaching and His morality was exemplary----and how great it would be if we could just live up to His commandments.”
* “ Jesus came as an example to us, showing us how to love each other and now, all who sincerely try to live a life of love, belong to Him, no matter what they might believe.”
* “ Jesus is a Savior, and that believing in Him, offers us one way to God, so surely, God will honor all those sincere believers in other religions, even if they don’t trust Jesus.”
You can tell by these three statements that we have to be so careful about what we believe and say, because each of these claims include some truth, but then, they each twist back on themselves----it may look like minor semantics and simplification, but the difference in truth, is the difference between heaven and hell…..
The truth is :
“Of course Jesus was a good man, but He is also God incarnate….and if that is left out, then the central message of the whole Bible is missed.”
“Of course Jesus provides us with an example---but He is our indwelling Savior, not an external, glorified role model.”
Of course Jesus is not just a Savior----He is the Savior----in John 14:6, He tells us, “ I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through me.”
In this passage in Mark, Jesus tells us, in two clear and specific ways, how we can guard ourselves against false teaching….and how we can know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what and who, we’re supposed to believe:
Watch for His return----when Jesus comes back, He won’t come as a baby in a manger….He will split the Eastern sky…and will come in the clouds, with great power and glory----there’s no imitation of Jesus Christ, who will come like this! The false messiahs may be able to produce minor miracles, and pull the wool over a lot of people’s eyes, but when Jesus comes back again, there will be no doubt----we will all recognize Him----the whole world will recognize Him, and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.” (Romans 14:11)
Depend on His word….in Mark 13:31, Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” So, in order not to be deceived by false Messiahs, or false teaching, about Jesus, we need to depend on His word----we have to delight in it, feed on it, let it dwell richly in us---and desire it, like a new born baby, desires it’s mother’s milk.”
Any teaching, which does not line up with the scripture, is a false teaching and it has to be rejected-----no matter how good ,or safe, or protected, it makes us feel; no matter how much or how little, it appeals to us intellectually; no matter how politically correct it is; or how it moves us emotionally; no matter how sincere its believers are; or how many signs and wonders and lofty talk, it’s leaders perform and expound upon….If it doesn’t line up with the whole of God’s Word, we can know that it’s a lie and the Holy Spirit will help us to resist it….
II Watch Yourselves 13:7-20
Wars, earthquakes, famines, arrests, beatings, betrayals by family members, hatred by everyone and more trouble than the world has ever seen before is what Jesus promised His disciples, and all future believers if they followed Him…
It sounds awful, doesn’t it? Jesus, was about to leave, for a long time, it makes you wonder why He wouldn’t use His last few days, to encourage them, not scare them to death….
If you look closely though, it makes you realize that He is encouraging them, for the near, and the distant, future, in His warnings…His encouragement, goes beyond the disciples, and it goes beyond us----
to sometime in the future, when He will come, back and wipe away all war, all heartache, all pain, all betrayal, and all tears----and will establish a new world, of peace and joy, where we will live, in the light of His presence, forever….
In verse 23, Jesus says, “Take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance…”Jesus warned his disciples and the believers that were yet to come, about the persecutions, and the hatred and the struggles of living a Christian life, so that when they came, there would be no surprises….He didn’t want us to think that God had made a mistake, or didn’t care----He wanted us to look back, when we are experiencing difficulties and troubles, and remember His words, to us, and know that because He said it would happen, we can trust Him, to help us walk through, whatever trial, we’re in the middle of…
And Jesus doesn’t just warn us, He, in His goodness to satisfy our curiosity, goes on to tell us, some of the reason, why, these things have to happen…..he compares the wars, famines and earthquakes to the “beginning of birth pangs”-----the process of giving birth usually starts out with a tightening of the tummy with only a little pain, if any at all, then over a period of time, the pain steadily escalates and intensifies, until the mother is in full-blown labor, tolerating, what is seemingly unbearable pain-----but tolerate, is the key word----we tolerate the pain and go with it---- even welcome it---- because we trust that, hopefully, every pain, is bringing us one step closer to our goal ----the pure joy, that comes with the birth of a precious little baby.
Jesus wants us to understand, that in this world, there will be struggle and pain, with blood, sweat and tears, but we need to tolerate it, and go with it, even welcome it-----because, in the end, that pain will fade away, and in it’s place, there will be wonderful joy!
And, as Jesus went on to explain about persecution and the suffering that goes with that-----He wanted us to know, that the suffering, would be necessary, for spreading the Gospel….he said, in vs. 9-10, “You will stand before governors and kings, for my sake, as a testimony to them, and the gospel must first be preached to all nations.”
Persecution, trials, betrayals and even, martyrdom, in all its forms, whether it be a physical death or the death of a reputation, whether the betrayal comes from an enemy or a family member….it has always been a part of God’s plan------it has never been a mistake or a surprise to God-----it is not the result of evil forces, frustrating God’s plan----even though God allows evil people to participate, instigate and implement
The trouble-----because, as it says in Genesis 50:20, “what men intend for evil, God intends for good…..God uses the evil decisions of men for His glory and for our good, in the way, that only He can----and then, in His gracious goodness, He has given us the Holy Spirit, to sustain and encourage us and to give us the words, we need to say, in every circumstance….
So, the encouragement for us, is that we are to be faithful, and to guard ourselves----we are to keep our focus on Jesus, not on the circumstances that we find ourselves in-----We are to consciously bring our thoughts, our worries and our reactions to the Lord, recognizing and trusting that He is always in control; He is always sovereign, even when the external events, going on around us, look like He isn’t…
(Martin Luther wrote a letter to a friend, in June, 1530, who was worried about the fallout, of Martin Luther having nailed his 95 Thesis to the church door---- that was a lesson to him and, it’s a lesson for us….’I pray for you earnestly, and I am deeply pained that you keep sucking up cares like a leech, rendering my prayers vain.
Only Christ knows, whether it comes from, stupidity or the Spirit, but I, for my part, am not much troubled about our cause…..
God, who is able to raise the dead, is also able to uphold His cause, when it is failing, or to raise it up again, when it has fallen, or to move it forward when it is standing.
If we are not worthy instruments to accomplish His purpose, He will find others.
If we are not strengthened by His promises, where in all the world, are the people to whom those promises apply….).
Martin Luther’s confidence, is an example for us….God is in control, He is sovereign-----Satan may hurl his fiery darts; he may even kill us-----but, if he does, God will raise up others, to advance His plan for the Gospel----
Because the truth is, it’s His plan, not ours….
Luther wasn’t telling his friend to take his responsibilities lightly, or to ignore them, or to just sit back and give up-----
He was telling him, to rest in the knowledge, that God is in control,
and that there are no surprises with Him….
The bottom line for us, is that….. our task, is to be about our Father’s business, whatever He’s called us to------ faithfully trusting Him, to handle the results…
III Be Alert 13:21-37
We spend so much time preparing for things…birthdays, weddings, family reunions, or just family dinners-----we always spend a good amount of time, preparing celebrations----when we are facing a future event we usually put our backs into it and give it all the attention that we can…since our reputation as a good hostess and a good cook , is at stake, being prepared is at the top of our list…Doesn’t it seem logical then, that when we’re faced with the last, great event of our lives, we should prepare all we can, to be ready for it…
(Billy Graham would often talk about the need for us to be prepared to meet the Lord Jesus, unexpectedly---as an illustration, he would often tell the story about a little boy named Paul Haley. He was a 6 year old little boy from Denver, Colorado, who was dying from cancer. His story hit the newspapers, along with his fondest wish. The little boy wanted to meet Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was then, the president of the United States.
One day, quite unexpectedly, the president announced to his aides, that he was going to visit Paul Haley. Hopping in the presidential limousine, they drove to Denver, and pulled up outside the Haley home, flags flying from the limo’s fenders. President Eisenhower just strode up the little walk, leading to the front door, and rang the doorbell.
Donald Haley, the little boy’s daddy, answered the door. Faced with the neatly dressed, dapper, stranger, not recognizing who the president was, the daddy just said, “may I help you?”
Suddenly, a little boy appeared between his daddy’s legs, peering up at the stranger’s face. The president said, “yes, I’m Dwight Eisenhower, and I’d like to meet your son.”
The little boy scampered out to the limo and the president showed him the car and allowed him to sit in it.
When they parted, it was with a handshake and a hug…
When they parted, it was with a handshake and a hug…
And the whole time, Donald Haley, the daddy, just
stood in the doorway, awestruck----he had been caught, unaware…
As years went by, Donald Haley often talked about how unprepared he had been, dressed in old jeans, and a dirty t-shirt, to shake hands with the most important man, in the world, at that time…..
Someday the Lord is going to come….we need to be alert, expecting him any minute, so that we aren’t caught unaware….?
There are so many layers of understanding in this Mark passage—it was for the here and now, it was for the immediate future, it was for the distant future, and Jesus used the bulk of this passage, to describe something, according to Mark 13:32, that nobody knows, when it’s going to happen not even the Son knows------and that’s the 3 stages of the Tribulation Period, that is described in the book of Revelation in great detail….
I personally believe, that the church, may be here, for the beginning of the birth bangs, but when the real horror begins, I believe, that we will have already been raptured----because, in the book of Revelation, after the 4th chapter, the Church is gone------and I believe that our being with Him during this time, and not on the earth, will be a reward and a blessing for us, for our having trusted Him for salvation…. and it will be a great testament to Him, for His faithfulness, for having kept His promises!
The middle and the end of the 7-year period, that scripture says, will be the length of the Tribulation, will be the time, that God will judge the world and will prepare the Jews to recognize and meet their Messiah----After the Anti-Christ, or as Daniel and Luke say, “the abomination of desolation” sets himself and his idols up, in the rebuilt Temple, as the one to be worshiped-----and the Jews finally recognize him, as the falsest, of all false prophets----the judgment of the world will intensify to a point that has never been seen, and will never be seen again…they will be so unimaginably horrible, that God had to determine from the beginning, to shorten those years, for the elect (the Jews and the Gentiles who will come to believe during the tribulation) or no one would survive them…
Satanic deception, will continue to the very end, and false prophets and false teachers, will not stop, trying to lead people away----their miracles will be so believable, that even the elect, will be tempted to believe their lies-----but the tribulation elect, will have to remember, and we need to remember it, as we live our lives, now,----we cannot always trust what we see, we have to line everything up with the scripture----the scripture is the only thing that’s true---it is the final test…..
The Tribulation Period will climax, with the appearing, of terrifying signs in the heavens and worldwide chaos on the earth……
When the time is rIght-----The Lord will appear, with the raptured saints around Him------the Jews scattered throughout the nations, will be gathered, along with those saved during the Tribulation-----and the Millennial Kingdom, will be established.
Jesus didn’t want the disciples or us, to get so involved in the prophecies of the future that we would stop living in the present and neglect our tasks now, so, to encourage constant diligence, He closed His lesson, according to Mark, with the parable of the doorkeeper (Matthew included two more)
(The master goes on a journey, after having assigned a task, to each of his servants, and asking the doorkeeper to guard the entrance----I love how, Ray Stedman, the author of our lesson books explains this parable, it makes sense to me…..he says, “Now, what is he to watch for? Is he to watch for his master’s return? That’s the way this is usually interpreted….but Dr. Stedman says that, that isn’t it, because the doorkeeper is supposed to start looking, as soon as as the master leaves. They know he’s not going to be back right away….What then is he to watch for? He is to watch lest somebody deceive them, and gain entrance into the house, and wreck and rob and ruin all they have. So, Jesus’ word is, “Be alert, don’t go to sleep; Watch! There are temptations and pressures which will assault you, to make you think that its all a lie, to make you give up and stop living like a Christian, stop walking in faith, stop believing the truth of God. Watch out for that. And in the meantime, do your work. Don’t let anything turn you aside. Don’t let anything derail you from being what God wants you to be in this day and age.” This is the way you watch. We are not to be looking up into the sky all the time, waiting for His coming. That will happen when He is ready. We are to watch so we will not be deceived…)
If we are as alert and diligent as the doorkeeper---- will be able to protect ourselves and others from any evil attacks….and if we are diligent to the end, whatever that end is, tonight at midnight or a 1000 years from now….whether it’s through death, the rapture or the end of the tribulation, Jesus will take us to Himself, and we will rest in His glory forever.
Jesus final command was “Be alert!” it appears 3 times in the last 6 verses….Jesus doesn’t tell us when He’s coming----he just tells us to be alert---to always be ready---never lazy, never lackadaisical, never uncaring-----never taking a break, from being about the Father’s business , till the end…
When Jesus comes back, we will have no real advance notice, so, we need to make sure that we’re ready, no matter when it is…
No comments:
Post a Comment