WADING RIVER CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

SERMONS IN PRINT

Peter Vibert 1/29/06

Mark 13:1-37 “The End Is Not Yet”

From the days of the Prophets, Israel had looked forward to the moment when God would act decisively to judge sinners and vindicate the righteous. It was called “the Day of the Lord,” often simply referred to as “that day.” To be sure, the prophets had warned that it would involve judgment on Israel herself, as well as her oppressors. It was also believed that as the Day approached, there would be times of distress and tribulation – the “last days” – in which “evil would make its last stand” before the coming of the Lord to make all things right.

New Testament writers, building on Jesus’ own words, believed that his coming had ushered in the “last days.” But they were confused that he did not immediately and fully purge the nation of sin, destroy Israel’s enemies, and “restore the kingdom.” It only slowly became apparent that “the last days” would last a while, and that the consummation of God’s plans, the great “day of the Lord,” the “final judgment” still lay in the future, when Jesus would return “in power and glory.”

1) The Temple

Meanwhile, judgment would begin with Israel, as the prophets had foreseen. In the final week before Jesus’ arrest, he teaches about the judgment that will soon come on the Temple, the priesthood, and the city of Jerusalem. His prediction that the Temple would be destroyed would be used against him in his trial. The disciples’ awe and wonder at the magnificent Temple prompts Jesus’ prophecy that the buildings will be thrown down, “with not one stone left upon another.” It will happen, he says, within a generation. And indeed it does, as historians like Josephus and Philo have told us in great detail.

The growing unrest among the Jews over the Roman occupation resulted in more frequent and more violent acts of revolt. It came to a head in the years 66-70 AD, just 40 years (a biblical “generation”) from the time Jesus spoke. The procurator Florus had taken Temple moneys for unpaid tribute, and Roman troops had sacked part of the city and flogged or crucified many people. The rebels’ capture of the Antonia fortress and massacre of the Roman garrison there in 66 AD led to the arrival of two more legions of soldiers. The Jews prepared for war, setting up provincial governments and military commanders (Josephus was one of them), until Nero sent in his general Vespasian with 60,000 men. They started their campaign in Galilee and by 67 AD were besieging Jerusalem.

Nero’s death and the struggle over his succession brought a short respite; but by summer of 69 AD, Vespasian resumed his siege; only to find himself declared the new emperor. He left for Rome, and Titus took over. By summer of AD 70, Titus had sacked and destroyed Jerusalem, burned the Temple, and carried 100,000 prisoners to Rome for his victory parade. The remaining Jewish rebels held out in captured fortresses until the last of them committed suicide rather than surrender at Masada in 73 AD, a martyrdom held in honor by Jews to this day.

2) Do Not Be Misled

Were these not the days of tribulation? Did people in Judea not have to flee to the mountains? Was it not hard on the weak? Was it not certain that there was no time to “look back”? Surely everyone in Judea would see these as “the last days”!

“Do not be misled,” says Jesus. The “leaves on the fig tree” refer to the judgment of Israel, not of the whole world. In just one generation, there would be wars and rumors of wars, nation against nation, earthquakes and famines, persecutions, arrests, interrogations, floggings, “but the end is not yet.” False messiahs and family betrayals will come; the synagogues will curse the Christians and throw them out, all in this generation. But “the end is still to come.” What you see here in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Israel, is just “the beginning of birth pains.” Even when the Temple is desecrated and finally abandoned by God, this is not “the end.”

Disciples of Jesus will go through the judgment of Israel, and will suffer too. God will be merciful in shortening the time of troubles for the sake of his people, but they will indeed suffer. In all this, God will not forsake them. Their calling will be to “stand firm,” to “endure,” to “bear witness” to Jesus and his kingdom, to ensure that the Gospel of Jesus continues to be preached until all the Gentile nations have heard it. The Holy Spirit will be present to protect and guide those who are persecuted, and will give words to those who are called to testify on Jesus’ behalf.

Place yourself in the position of Mark’s first readers: Christians in Rome during the reign of Nero in the late 60s AD, and you know how powerful these words are. Jesus has predicted what is happening in Judea; and what is happening to them in Rome. Just as Jesus himself will be arrested, flogged, and dragged to trial, so will his disciples; just as he suffers and is finally vindicated in his resurrection, so will his disciples. They must not be deceived, they must not lose heart, they must be on guard, they must not worry. All the things that happen to them are foreseen by Jesus and prefigured in Jesus’ own experience. They must not be misled; the end is not yet.

3) Signs Of The End

But “the end” will come. Woven among Jesus’ predictions about the sufferings of his generation are his warnings about “that day” when the end will come.

There are two things his disciples need to know about “the End,” the “Day of the Lord.” First, it will be unmistakable. There will be “signs in the heavens,” – the sun will be darkened, the moon fail, the stars fall. This is apocalyptic language, strong metaphors for the fact that the end will be an “earth-shattering event.” What will happen? “The Son of Man” – Jesus’ favorite description for himself – will “come in the clouds with great power and glory.” The Second Coming of Christ will be unmistakable and will usher in the end of human history as we know it.

His purpose in coming will be to “gather his elect” from the “four corners of the earth.” This is the prelude to the judgment, when God will purge evil and vindicate those who love him and serve him and do good. The Second Coming is as sure as the first: in the “fullness of time,” when God is ready to consummate his plans, Jesus will return.

That fact is stated by Jesus over and over; it is a recurrent theme of all the NT writers, from the Gospels to Acts to the Epistles to the Revelation. Jesus will come again. Certainly there were those in the first Christian generation who thought it would occur in their own lifetimes. Some stopped working and sat around waiting; others began to despair as some of their generation died - the Apostle Paul’s earliest letters (to the church in Thessalonica) tried to deal with these confusions. Peter will later write that “the delay” in the Lord’s return was a sign of God’s mercy and patience, allowing more people more time to repent.

But besides the certainty of his return, Jesus makes clear a second thing his disciples need to know: that the timing of his return is unknown. No matter what rumors they may hear about it, his coming will not be a secret. But it will not be heralded by unmistakable and easily interpreted signs. Nobody – “not even the Son, but only the Father” – knows the day of his Coming. Not the first generation disciples, not the people living in 1000AD who were sure that was the end, not the ones in 2000AD who thought the same, not Jenkins and LaHaye; nobody knows!

4) Keep Watch

What does the true disciple do in “the last days”? Endure. Witness. Trust. Do not fear. Do not be misled. Above all, “keep watch.” The “day of the Lord” may come at any time, and it cannot be predicted. Therefore disciples should always live as though it could be today. They should be faithful to their calling, do the jobs the Lord assigned to them, and not fall asleep!

Is there a preview here of the events in Gethsemane, just a few nights away? When the moment of crisis, the moment of opportunity, comes, will we – like Peter, James and John - be found asleep? The master of the house may come at any moment; we may be called into his presence at any time to give account of our stewardship. Are we alert, keeping watch, doing our job, or falling asleep?

Has the Second Coming been delayed so long – so many generations – that we have stopped believing in it, stopped expecting it? Are we now so comfortable, so complacent, that we have lost all sense of urgency about our discipleship?

Keep watch! We do not know what tomorrow may bring. We do not know what this year may bring. We cannot predict the future, and we do not know how many days, months or years are left to us. Are we doing what we are called to do? If not, when do we plan to start? If not now, when? If we do not know what we are called to do, when do we plan to find out? What would that take? How much effort? Are we going to just drift from where we are now, or are we going to seek God’s guidance and his plan for our lives?

Are we becoming more and more the people that Jesus has called us to be? Are we better, holier, more patient, more pure, more gentle, more faithful, more generous, more kind than we were a year ago? Or are we not, and we don’t care? Keep watch! “You do not know when that time will come.” This week alone I have been by the hospital bed of a 21-year old woman who is struggling to survive, and at the funeral home for a woman in mid-life who was diagnosed with cancer just a few short months ago. Keep watch! Life is short. Discipleship involves suffering, as the life of Jesus did. We must be prepared for it.

In Jesus’ words there is, in the last few days before his arrest, a sense of urgency that should have communicated itself to his disciples. It’s not clear that it did. They did not believe his predictions of arrest and trial and crucifixion; and even the best of them fell asleep when he asked them to be with him in prayer in Gethsemane. We so easily listen, nod, and then drift away. We so rarely take seriously the words of Jesus, until a moment of crisis comes in our lives or in the life of someone we love. Then in our distress we cry out for help, and healing, and comfort! It would be so much better if we had learned to stay close to the Lord beforehand; to know his ways and his will, to be ready to interpret and to endure the times of trouble when they come.

“Be on guard; I have told you everything ahead of time,” Jesus says to the disciples. We also have been told what to expect - so that we are not misled, we are not surprised, we are not confused, we are not “found sleeping.” May we be ready for the “great day” when he comes to gather his people.

Let us pray...