In the World You WILL Have
Tribulation!
Mark 13:1-13
Introduction: After our 4-week advent series, and now on the
brink of starting a new year, I think it fits to return to our series in Mark,
specifically chapter 13, where Jesus alludes to His second coming, and
to the tribulation that we will experience in the world. Earlier in this
Gospel, Jesus had told his hearers to count the cost of following Him
(8:31-35). There was no cover up, no hiding of the hardship that would come
with discipleship. He said “If anyone
would be my disciple, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
Here, in the Olivet discourse, He once again warns His disciples that perilous
times were coming, that in the world they would have tribulation (cf. Jn 16:33). The New Testament tells us that things will
become difficult in the “last days.” In the last letter that the Apostle Paul wrote,
he said in 2 Timothy 3:2-5,
But understand this, that in the last
days there will come times of difficulty.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud,
arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable,
slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen
with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of
godliness, but denying its power...
And then a little further down in
that chapter he warns in vv.12-13,
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be
persecuted, 13 while evil
people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived…
Paul understood that there was a cost
to discipleship, that we are in a spiritual battle and that the enemy will work
hard to discourage us and, if possible, to cause us to stumble. One of the
practical applications of prophecy, it seems to me, is to see the fulfillment
of God’s promises and to be assured that He is the Lord of History. When we
turn to the New Testament, the early church experienced the beginning of the
birth pangs described in this chapter. The disciples are arrested in Acts 4,
arrested again and beaten in Acts 5. Stephen is stoned by a mob in Acts 7. Saul
(Paul) comes to faith, and then, his life under threat, has to flee in a basket
over the wall of Damascus. In chapter 12 James is put to death by the sword of
Herod, and Peter is arrested… Come to Jesus and you will have a peaceful life!
On the contrary, “…all who seek to live a
godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
The BIG Idea:
The assurance of God’s presence and the certainty of victory will enables
us to endure both the trials of life and the attacks of the enemy. We’ll see
that Jesus warns His disciples to 1) Be discerning; 2) Be on guard; and to 3) Not
be anxious.
Context: Jesus
had just prophesied the destruction of the Temple (13:1,2).
As he was leaving the temple, one of
his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What
magnificent buildings!" 2
"Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one
stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."
The disciples commented about the
buildings in the Temple complex as they were leaving, and Jesus made a shocking
prophecy – every stone would be thrown down –complete devastation! It seems the
disciples were so stunned by that idea that they walked in silence from the
Temple, out the gates of the city, through the Kidron Valley and up the hill to
the Mount of Olives. It was there that they came to the Lord with some
questions, asking for clarification…
I. Be Discerning: Do not be led astray (3-8).
The disciples had questions
(3-4). They were confused about what comes next.
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter,
James, John and Andrew asked him privately,
4 "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will
be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?"
Jesus knew the hearts of His disciples, and we know from His answer, as
well as from the parallel accounts in Matthew and Luke, that they were asking
Him not only about the destruction of the Temple, but also about the end of the
age and the coming of the Kingdom. In their thinking those things went
together, they didn’t know that there would be an interval of many centuries
between the Temple being leveled and the Millennial Kingdom of the Messiah, spoken
of by the prophets, being established. For example, they knew the prophecy of Isaiah
2:2-4,
It shall come to pass in the latter
days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the
highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the
nations shall flow to it, 3
and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain
of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning
hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn
war anymore.
This was God’s city, and the
Temple was God’s House. Were they to understand that one Temple would literally
be torn down and another built? If
Jerusalem and the Temple were to be the center of the Kingdom, and of the
world, how could it be destroyed? Jesus warns them to be on guard…
Deceivers will come, leading many astray (5-6). First of all, don’t be led astray by messianic
pretenders.
5 Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name,
claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many.
Satan is a liar, and the father of lies. One aspect of that is that he
counterfeits what God does and says. Through the centuries many have falsely
claimed to be Christ. The language here is even stronger, “Many will come in my name and say, ‘I AM…’ and will deceive many…”
That is the language that Jesus used, one of the ways he claimed and affirmed
His deity. Imitators, many of them, would come. And indeed they have! From the
first century to the present day, cult leaders have made such false claims and
have led astray people. Jim Jones, David Koresh, and people like them leading
people down a path to destruction. Jesus said, “Watch out! Do not be
deceived!” He also said…
Don’t be alarmed by the
“non-signs” that come with life in a fallen world (7-8).
7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such
things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 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.
How will we know that the end is near? Is Jesus saying that wars and
earthquakes are signs of the end? I think His point is quite the opposite:
these are the kinds of things that characterize life in a fallen world.
They happened in the early first century, they would be happening in an intense
way in the siege of Jerusalem in the late 60s until it’s destruction in AD 70,
and they will be happening until the Lord returns. Wars, rumors of wars, such things must
happen, but the end is still to come. Natural disasters as well,
earthquakes, famines, (Luke 21:11 includes Jesus’ reference to “pestilences”),
are a part of life in this fallen world. They can remind us that the end will
come, but of that day and hour no one knows. I like this famous quote from
Cyprian of Carthage,
This is a cheerful world as I see it
from my garden under the shadows of my vines. But if I were to ascend some high
mountain and look out over the wide lands, you know very well what I should
see: brigands on the highways, pirates on the sea, armies fighting, cities
burning; in the amphitheaters men murdered to please applauding crowds;
selfishness and cruelty and misery and despair under all roofs. It is
a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the
midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They
have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our
sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They
are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people,
Donatus, are the Christians--and I am one of them.
Cyprian found hope in Christ, despite
the prevalence of apparently flourishing evil in the world. Evil and suffering,
the bad news that we hear domestically and around the world every day, all
reminds us of human depravity and how desperately the world needs the Gospel. That
is why Jesus came, and that is why He left us in the world. To be His
witnesses. That is the BIG Idea in our context: The assurance of God’s presence
and the certainty of victory will enable believers to endure both the trials of
life and the attacks of the enemy... So, 1) be discerning, don’t be led astray, and…
II. Be on Guard: You will be attacked for your faith (9-10).
9 "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. 10And the gospel must
first be preached to all nations.
You
will experience religious persecutions (9a). We see this in the unfolding
story of the early church in the Book of Acts. After being arrested and
threatened by the leaders in Acts 4, in the next chapter they are arrested
again and brought before the council…
…And the high priest questioned them,
28 saying, "We strictly charged you not to teach in this
name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to
bring this man's blood upon us." 29
But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than
men. 30 The God of our
fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right
hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of
sins. 32 And we are witnesses
to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who
obey him." 33 When they
heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them… (Acts 5:27-33).
You will experience persecution by
authorities (9b). We have seen some cases with businesses that seek to do
business “by the book,” reflecting their faith in their business practices
facing some backlashes in our country. But in many other contexts it is far
worse. In Islamic regimes as in Saudi Arabia or Iraq or Pakistan, it can be
life or death for someone to openly profess faith in Christ. To share your
faith, even worse. It isn’t new, and it seems it will get worse. In reading
the Book of Acts, the last quarter of the story, Paul is a prisoner of Roman
authorities. He appeared before governors and kings. Ultimately, tradition
tells us, he would be put to death by Nero. Jesus says…
In the midst of it all, you have a mission
to carry out (9c-10). Jesus told the disciples what was coming, and what
they were to do. Here He said “…you will
stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be
preached to all nations.” The word
“witness” in verse 9 is the word from which we get the English word “martyr.”
And that was the reality for most of these men. Read through the early pages of
Fox’s Book of Martyrs. It begins with
the biblical martyrs, and then shares some of the traditions of the death of
the other apostles as well as subsequent persecutions of the church. It isn’t
pretty, but it is edifying to hear about their faith under fire.
Jesus didn’t hide anything, in fact, He told the disciples in advance
that suffering would come as His mission expanded to “all nations.” But as they went they wouldn’t be alone, and
ultimately, God’s purpose would be accomplished. The assurance of God’s presence and the
certainty of [ultimate] victory will enable believers to endure both the trials
of life and the attacks of the enemy, staying faithful in the mission. So 1) be discerning, don’t be
deceived… 2) be on guard, be ready, and 3…
III. Do not be Anxious: God is with you and victory is certain (11-13).
11 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. 12
"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children
will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 All men will hate you because
of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Do not be anxious – the Spirit
will be with you to guide you (11). This
promise would be developed further in the Upper Room Discourse (John 14-16) as
Jesus speaks more about His departure, and the promise of sending a
“Comforter,” the Parakletos, who
would be with them to guide, empower, and enable them. The arrest of Jesus, His
so-called trial that would follow, His torture and execution by the Romans, and
His burial, would certainly throw them into confusion. In retrospect we can
wonder why that was, since the final journey to Jerusalem had been replete with
predictions by Jesus, explicitly saying that would happen (8:31-35; 9:30-32;
10:33-34)! But their eyes were not yet opened. Even in the Upper Room, as He
was teaching and preparing them for what would soon happen, they didn’t
understand. Jesus knew their struggle and said,
19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them,
"Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while
you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? 20 I tell you the truth, you will
weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will
turn to joy (Jn 16:19-20).
Jesus is offering perspective and
hope in the midst of heartbreak and sorrow. As the psalmist said, “Weeping may last for the night, But a shout
of joy comes in the morning…” (Psalm 30:5, NAS). Don’t forget, Jesus wins!
Even so, it will be difficult…
Those closest to us may turn against us
(12-13a). "Brother
will betray brother to death, and a father his child...” Remember that we have a High Priest who
can sympathize with our weaknesses… Jesus knew something about personal
betrayal. Earlier, we know that for a time at least “His own brothers were not believing in Him…” Soon, one who had
walked with Him for three and a half years, who had seen the miracles and heard
the teaching, one who’s feet Jesus would wash in the upper room along with 11
others, would betray Him. This teaching may have been Wednesday night of
passion week. After a long day of teaching in the Temple they had crossed the
Kidron Valley and were on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Temple Mount. It
would be in the upper room, in the next day or so, that Jesus would again speak
of the hatred and betrayal they would experience. He said in John 15:18-22,
18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first… 20b If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also… 21 They
will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who
sent me…
In other words, don’t take it
personally, it is not about you really. It is about Jesus. Let it remind you of
how desperately lost people are, and let that deepen your commitment to pray
for them and to seek to point them to the Lord.
Stand firm, Jesus wins!
(13b). Jesus said, “…but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” The world can
only do so much to us. As Paul said at the end of that great resurrection
chapter, I Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore,
be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that
your labor is not in vain in the Lord!”
What is God saying to me in this passage? Perilous times will come, but the
assurance of God’s presence and the certainty of victory will enable believers
to endure both the trials of life and the attacks of the enemy as we carry out
God’s mission in the world.
What would God have me
to do in response to this passage?
1) 1) Advent has passed, but remember, Jesus
will return. Remember why He came. Remember who He is. He is our hope!
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