We dealt mostly with verses 1-13 last week.
I'm going to address it in brief a little bit this morning as well.
! We're going to read together all of chapter 13 just to lay out some context
and deal in definitive answers and absolutes, loves, resolution, completely right understanding,
then you just may not like the sermon this morning.
Because there are some challenges in this text.
Now, we of course believe that Scripture can mean only one thing,
but there's quite a divergent number of understandings about what Jesus means in all of chapter 13.
And there are certainly some exegetical challenges.
We avoid eisegesis.
Eisegesis altogether is a problem, reading into the text what we want it to say.
But there are certainly here some exegetical challenges.
We try to understand what does this text mean?
What did Jesus mean when he said it then?
What did Mark intend for us to understand by it when he recorded it?
And how does it apply to our living today?
So, we're going to jump into the midst of it all.
And I hope, by God's grace, we'll come out the other end of it changed from one degree of glory to another.
So, follow along with me as I read all of chapter 13 to you.
And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him,
Look, teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings.
And Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings?
There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.
And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple,
Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
Tell us, when will these things be?
And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?
And Jesus began to say to them,
See that no one leads you astray.
Many will come in my name saying, I am he.
And they will lead many astray.
And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed.
This must take place.
But the end is not yet.
For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be earthquakes in various places.
There will be famines.
These are but the beginnings of the birth pains.
But be on your guard, for they will deliver you over to councils,
and you will be beaten in synagogues,
and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake to bear witness before them.
And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.
And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over,
do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say,
but say whatever is given you in that hour,
for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
And brother will deliver brother over to death,
and the father his child,
and children will rise against parents and have them put to death.
And you will be hated by all for my name's sake,
but the one who endures to the end will be saved.
But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be,
let the reader understand.
And let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Let the one who is on the housetop not go down nor enter his house to take anything out.
And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
And the last for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days.
Pray that it may not happen in winter.
For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation
that God created until now, and never will be.
And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved.
But for the sake of the elect whom he chose, he shortened the days.
And then 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 arise and perform signs and wonders
to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
But be on guard.
I have told you all things beforehand.
But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
From the fig tree learn its lesson.
As soon as its branch becomes tender and put out its leaves,
you know that summer is near.
So also, when you see these things taking place,
you know that he is near at the very gates.
Truly I say to you,
this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.
But concerning that day or that hour,
no one knows,
not even the angels in heaven,
nor the Son,
but only the Father.
Be on guard.
Keep awake.
For you do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man going on a journey
when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge,
each with his work,
and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.
Therefore stay awake.
For you do not know when the master of the house will come,
in the evening,
or at midnight,
or when the rooster crows,
or in the morning,
lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.
And what I say to you,
I say to all,
stay awake.
What a text.
A couple weeks before Christmas.
Let's pray together.
Father God,
we do praise you this morning for your written word.
We thank you that it has meaning and bearing for us today,
and we pray that by your Spirit,
you will help us to wrap our minds and our hearts around that meaning,
that we might understand it
and give it application in our lives
to the glory of your name.
We also thank you this morning for the word who is Christ,
the embodiment of all that you are,
the physical representation of you here on earth,
and we thank you that we can behold him in the scriptures.
And I pray,
Father,
that as this endeavor is before us,
and as we labor to know and to understand,
I pray that in all of it,
the great end will be the exaltation of Jesus.
And it's in his name that we pray.
Amen.
Now,
I hope that you picked up a little bit
as you were following along on the complexity of chapter 13,
that maybe even your mind went in one direction,
but then something else Jesus said caused your mind to go in the other.
It's certainly a prophecy.
He's talking about things that are going to happen.
He begins with an interpretation,
a prophecy that the temple will be destroyed.
So something that did in fact happen in 70 AD in the Jewish-Roman War.
It's an event that really happened.
But then he also seems to talk about the end of all things,
the end of the age,
the end of history itself.
And there's three ways in which general categories that we can understand this text.
Firstly, that the entirety of the text is referring to the end of this age,
that it is an eschatological text.
It's all about the end,
and quite a few people hold this to be true.
Secondly, we can believe that the entirety of the text is referring to this Jewish-Roman War
and the things that would happen in that time.
This is the year 70 AD, if this takes place.
And many people hold that view as well.
So the third option is to understand the text is referring to both things.
And that's the position I'll attempt to argue for today,
although I don't know how well I'm going to do that for you.
And let me again reiterate to you that I may be totally wrong.
I'm going to do my very best to give you the evidence
as of why I think this is the case,
and then give us an application for this.
But I'm certainly willing to talk about this afterwards.
Some of you may already know all the answers to this
and can inform me on the matter.
I will tell you, I started way too late in this week doing my studying on this.
The reason that I think it refers to both,
there are some evidences,
and I just want to kind of give you through the chapter,
some evidences that it's talking about the end of this age.
Like in verse 7, there will be wars and rumors of wars.
Jesus tells the apostles,
do not be alarmed.
This must take place, but the end is not yet.
Seems to be talking about something further out and beyond
what will happen in 70 AD.
In verse 8, he says,
these are but the beginning of birth pains.
The wars themselves are just the beginning of the birth pains.
And then in verse 10, he says,
and the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations,
which is not something that had happened by 70 AD.
In fact, it's still not a thing that has occurred.
And so I think we can rightly understand that this chapter,
at least in part, is about the end of all things,
the end of ages.
I also see some evidence that it is, in fact,
about the Jewish-Roman war.
The apostles ask a very specific question
about when they'll know that the temple is about to be destroyed.
And it seems to me that he doesn't just leave them without an answer.
He doesn't say,
well, let me talk about something else altogether.
You're looking for a sign.
Let me give you a sign of something that's beyond
what I've already predicted would happen.
So we see that prediction in the beginning of the chapter.
And then in verse 29 and 30, he says,
so also when you see these things taking place,
you know that he is near at the very gates.
Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away
until all these things take place.
Now upon some study, the phrase translated here in ESV
and probably in most of your translations as he is near
is a single Greek word,
and it is a gender-neutral adverb.
It's not a masculine adjective.
It's a gender-neutral adverb which forces the pronoun
to be drawn from the context.
So a translator who rightly thinks that this is about the end of all things
thinks that this is referring to Jesus' return
when in fact I believe,
and many other commentators do believe,
that it's referring to the destruction of the temple.
It could be rendered,
it is near.
And I think verse 30 is the evidence of that.
Truly I say to you,
this generation will not pass away
until all these things take place.
Those who believe that the entire chapter
is about the end of all things
believe that this generation is the generation
that sees this begin to happen,
sees the abomination of desolation come onto the scene,
and then all of this will complete it
in that generation's time frame.
I believe a much simpler reading of it
is that he's referring to those he's speaking to.
This generation will see this come to pass in 70 AD.
So I think it's talking about both.
And then the task before us then is to figure out
which is talking about what
and how this could be the case.
I think that the way he presents this
is from a very broad sense at the beginning.
They ask a specific question.
He broadens his answer to speak about the end of all things
and the experiences that are going to happen
in the process of getting to that end.
So the suffering that will take place,
certainly the destruction of the temple is part of that.
So he broadens it out.
And then our text before us today,
verses 14 through 27,
he narrows it down to talk specifically
about the Jewish-Roman War
and what will happen in that time
before once again broadening back out
to talk about long-term end of all things.
Everybody with me?
All right.
I'm sure you are.
So let's start looking in verse 14.
We see a very interesting character presented to us
when you see the abomination of desolation
standing where he,
and the pronoun is in the original,
where he ought not to be,
and then Mark's parenthetical statement,
which is in the original text,
let the reader understand.
So Jesus didn't say this.
When Mark's writing it down,
he adds,
let the reader understand.
So this is something that people beyond
just the apostles were meant to understand.
Now I'll tell you,
I quickly scrambled to remember
when it was that Mark's gospel was recorded
because if it had been recorded after 70 AD,
that would be very interesting, would it not?
It seems that he would be giving us some future information
out beyond the Jewish-Roman war,
but that's not the case.
It was pinned somewhere in the mid-50s to 60s,
depending on the opinion out there.
Likely the mid-50s is when it was pinned.
So those beyond the apostles were meant to see
and understand this very thing he's about to tell us.
So the abomination of desolation
is an individual,
a person that's being drawn from the book of Daniel.
9.27, 11.31, and 12.11.
These are the mentions of them.
Let me just read to you the first two.
Daniel 9.27,
And then Daniel 11.31,
Now those who think that the entire text
is about the end of all things,
suggests that the abomination of desolation
is what we know as the Antichrist.
I don't think so.
I can't tell you exactly who he is,
but here are some suggestions for you.
And I think that as Mark says,
let the reader understand,
I think the implication he's making,
again, I think my opinion,
is that he's making the implication
that these people already knew
who the abomination of desolation was.
He adds that parenthetical to go,
uh-huh, pay attention reader,
we already know who this is.
I think, more than likely,
it's Antiochus Epiphanes,
right, who is the ruler of the Seleucid Empire.
This man, his name,
he changed his name,
actually means God manifest.
And he, in 168 BC,
erected an altar to the pagan god Zeus
over the altar of burnt offering.
And then to add insult to injury,
he sacrificed pigs on it,
which was a horrible desecration
of what was meant to happen there.
You remember back in Daniel 11, 31,
forces from him shall appear
and profane the temple and the fortress
and shall take away the regular burnt offering.
There are some other suggestions, too.
It could have been,
the Roman emperor Caligula
had planned to build a statue of himself
on the same altar.
It never came to pass,
but it was a project in the works
before the Jewish-Roman war took place.
And two years before the temple was destroyed,
Jewish zealots,
who was the kind of political group
that started the war,
committed various atrocities in the temple
and actually put in power
as the high priest,
kind of a joke of a man named Fanny.
The pun is certainly intended in this case.
So these things seem to be things
that are leading up to the Jewish-Roman war
and likely, it's my suggestion,
that that's what he's referring to.
He goes on in the rest of verse 14
to give some very real,
like very modern,
for their day,
things to do.
Then let those who are in Judea
flee to the mountains.
He's predicting this war that's about to come,
this tribulation that's about to happen,
a judgment on apostate Israel,
and he's saying to them,
flee.
Those who are in Judea,
in this region,
flee to the mountains.
Let the one who's on the housetop
not go down or enter his house.
He's saying,
don't take any time to pack stuff up.
Let the one who's in the field
not turn back his cloak.
Alas for women.
It's going to be a horrible,
horrible thing
for women who are pregnant
or nursing infants
who are slowed down by that process.
Pray that it doesn't happen in the winter.
It's going to be this atrocious judgment
that's going to come.
Verse 19,
For in those days,
there will be such tribulation
has not been from the beginning of creation
that God created until now
and will never be.
Now I believe,
as I said,
that this tribulation
he's referring to
is not what many would call
the tribulation
at the end of all things,
but rather a tribulation.
Such a horrible tribulation.
And I believe this is brought on
at the Jewish-Roman war.
The Roman army,
under command of the future emperor Titus,
killed approximately
one million Jews.
They besieged the city
for five months.
There were hundreds of thousands
of crucifixions,
spearing,
all kinds of killing.
Many people died
of starvation
in the process of this.
It was a difficult,
difficult time
for the Jews.
And Jesus is warning them,
flee.
Get out of the city.
Go to the mountains.
Get away from
this judgment
that is coming.
But there's an interesting
little phrase there
in verse 19,
is there not?
Even as I'm speaking,
if you're an astute listener,
the level of tribulation
seems to be heightened
at first,
as Jesus says,
and has not been
from the beginning
of the creation
that God created
until now.
That means that there's
nothing worse
that's ever happened,
this tribulation is,
and never will be.
This seems to be
the great height
of trouble
for the world.
And so most of us,
for our upbringing
in church,
would run quickly
to what we call
the tribulation
at the end
of all things.
However,
a little bit of study,
you can find
that this phrase
found at the very end
and never will be
is an Old Testament
stock expression
of great suffering.
It was a common way
people referred to
great suffering.
Two examples
from one book
in the Old Testament.
You can also find it
in Joel 2.2,
I believe,
if I'm remembering
that correctly.
Exodus 10.14,
the locusts came up
over all the land
of Egypt
and settled
on the whole country
of Egypt.
Such a dense swarm
of locusts
as had never been
before nor ever
will be again.
Exodus 11.6,
there shall be
a great cry
throughout all the land
of Egypt,
such as there has
never been
nor ever will be
again.
So it seems to be
just this stock
expression
to really heighten
the suffering.
Suffer,
they're going to suffer,
they're really,
really going to suffer
is what he seems
to be expressing
as he says this.
In verse 20,
he goes on to say,
And if the Lord,
speaking of God the Father,
had not cut short
the days,
no human being
would be saved.
And upon some word study,
this saving is not
speaking of the
spiritual saving
that we're so familiar
with as a term
in our church today,
but of physical salvation.
He's referring in verse 20
directly back to verse 19,
this great tribulation
that would take place
that's cut short
so that people are saved,
so that people live on.
But in the rest of the verse,
he says,
But for the sake
of the elect,
those who God has chosen,
whom he chose,
he shortened.
The days.
The Jewish-Roman War
lasted about five months,
as I previously mentioned,
and it would seem
that God cut short
the days of this
so that all of Israel
wasn't destroyed,
so that the gospel itself
could be carried
outside of
this smaller circle,
this smaller people group,
to all nations.
You remember what verse 10 said,
that the gospel
must be preached first
to all nations.
And so,
God stayed his judgment
over Israel
so that not everyone
would be destroyed,
and so that the gospel
could be preached
out and beyond.
Are you tracking with me?
Let's keep moving.
Verse 21 through 23,
he gives once again
some warning
that people are going to come
and claim to be him.
And this has happened
all throughout history.
This is not just a thing
that will happen
at the end of all things,
but this is something
that has been happening.
people claiming
to be Christ.
Antichrist,
lowercase a.
It's the repeated warning
of chapter 13,
verse 5 and 6.
He says,
see that no one
leads you astray.
Many will come
in my name saying,
I am he,
and they will lead
many astray.
All right,
we get to verse 24 through 27.
Are we ready for it?
And all this has
real application,
I promise I'm getting there.
But in those days
after the tribulation,
the sun will be darkened
and the moon will not
give its light
and the stars will be
falling from heaven
and the powers in the heaven
will be shaken,
which has such imagery
of the world
coming to an end,
does it not?
And so,
on our first reading of this,
that's where my mind
immediately goes,
but we have to recognize
that Jesus was speaking
to a Jewish audience.
A Jewish audience
that would have had
a good understanding
of the Old Testament Scriptures.
Sadly,
we really don't
as American Christians,
and so,
we have to study
and we have to go
and look
and figure out
what is he saying here.
This language,
again,
being borrowed
from the Old Testament.
Two places,
let me show you.
Firstly,
in Isaiah 13,
verse 10,
speaking of the judgment
of Babylon,
for the stars
of the heavens
and their constellations
will not give their light.
The sun will be dark
as it's rising
and the moon
will not shed
its light.
Speaking simply
and specifically
about the judgment
of Babylon.
And then later
in Isaiah 34,
speaking of the judgment
of all nations
in verse 4,
all the hosts
of heaven,
the stars
in the heaven,
shall rot away
and the skies
roll up
like a scroll.
All their hosts
shall fall
as leaves fall
from the vine
like leaves
falling from the fig tree.
So,
I believe that in verse 24,
what Jesus is trying
to communicate
is there going to be
a great disruption
in world power.
We've already talked
about wars
and rumors of wars.
There's going to be
a great turning over
of world power,
which we certainly
saw happen
with the Jewish-Roman war.
Verse 26.
And here's our kicker.
And then they will see
the Son of Man
coming in clouds
with great power
and glory.
Now, Jesus has established
that He is the Son of Man
repeatedly
all throughout
the New Testament.
In Mark's Gospel account,
nine times already
it's been recorded.
Chapters 2, 8, 9, and 10.
He has called Himself
the Son of Man.
And what He's doing
is He's connecting
all of His listeners' minds
to the book of Daniel.
So, turn with me,
if you will,
to Daniel chapter 7.
Alright, Daniel chapter 7.
I'm going to set up our text,
which is going to be
verses 13 and 14 specifically,
by reading to you
before that,
beginning in verse 9.
This is Daniel's vision.
As I looked,
thrones were placed,
and the Ancient of Days,
which is God the Father,
took His seat.
His clothing was white as snow,
and the hair on His head
like pure wool.
His throne was fiery flames,
its wheels were burning fire.
A stream of fire issued
and came out before Him.
A thousand thousand served Him,
and ten thousand times
ten thousand stood before Him.
The court sat in judgment,
and the books were opened.
So, this picture is God the Father,
seated in a heavenly place,
reigning over all things,
a throng serving Him.
And then verse 13,
I saw in the night visions,
and behold,
with the clouds of heaven
there came one
like a son of man.
And He came
to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before Him.
And to Him was given
dominion and glory
and a kingdom
that all peoples,
nations,
and languages
should serve Him.
His dominion
is an everlasting dominion
which shall not pass away,
and His kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
Now, the thing that's really important
for us to see here
is that if we take this text
as an eschatological text,
as an end-of-all-things text,
then what that's referring to
is Jesus coming back,
coming in clouds,
coming back to the earth
to judge the earth.
But that's not what the text says
in Daniel 7, 13, and 14, is it?
We see the Ancient of Days
seated in heaven,
and then we see
the Son of Man
presented before Him,
brought up to Him.
He comes to the Father,
not coming from the Father,
but going to the Father
in Daniel 7, 13, and 14.
And so my suggestion to you
is that what Jesus is saying here
is that while the world
is going to be going
through this great tumult,
like world power
is going to be shifting,
things are changing,
don't worry
because my kingdom
is being established forever.
I have come as the Christ,
I have ushered in the kingdom of God,
and I'm going to go sit
at the right hand of the Father,
and I'm going to reign over
everything that happens.
I think that's what Jesus
is trying to communicate
to us here.
And what will He do
when this happens?
Not that He'll judge all things,
as we know He'll do
when He returns,
but rather,
verse 27,
He will send out the angels
and gather His elect
from the four winds,
from the ends of the earth
to the ends of the heaven.
Now, interestingly,
the Greek word used here
for angels
is translated using
its secondary meaning.
Its primary meaning in Greek
is simply messengers.
Simply messengers.
And so I would argue
that part of what
He's communicating here
is that when He goes
and ascends
and He's with the Father
is that He'll send out
messengers,
which includes the apostles,
and now includes us.
To do what?
To travel to the ends
of the earth
to gather the elect,
to build the church,
to advance the gospel.
Now, I wouldn't exclude
angels from that number.
In fact, the Greek word
is most often translated
angels throughout
the New Testament,
and I believe rightly so.
I wouldn't exclude that.
In fact, I think that God
in many ways,
by angels,
is still about the work
of advancing the kingdom.
Hebrews 1.14,
speaking of angels,
are they not all
ministering spirits
sent out to serve
for the sake of those
who are to inherit salvation.
So it seems that angels
have this place still
as the heralds of God.
He says that He'll send out
the angels,
His elect from the four winds,
the farthest reaches
from the ends of the earth
to the ends of heaven,
which would have drawn
the apostles' minds
to a text like Deuteronomy 30,
verse 4.
If your outcasts are
in the uttermost parts
of heaven,
from there the Lord your God
will gather you,
and from there He will take you.
So it doesn't matter
how far you go.
Imagine the furthest place
the elect of God
could possibly travel to.
It doesn't matter.
Even to that place,
God will gather them.
We're about to send,
if you don't know,
2030, I think they're saying,
possibly,
manned mission to Mars.
There's a big test
that achieved that.
Even there, right,
we get men on Mars
that are the elect of God.
God will gather them
to Himself.
So, that's why
all these things
that I've said,
I believe He's speaking
specifically of this time,
and then He'll get
here in a moment
as we move on in the text,
next week,
He'll advance it
back out again
to the end of all things.
Kyle has the job
of doing that next week,
and I've already told him
he has permission
just to get up
and say I'm crazy,
and I don't know
what I'm talking about
and set me straight
in these regards.
But I think
that's the trajectory
of this text.
If that bothers you,
I want you to know
it bothers me too.
I really, really want
all of the scholars
and the commentators
to agree on what
these things mean.
I really want to wrap
my mind around it
and get it in its completion.
I believe the Word of God
is incredibly valuable to us.
Every single word in it
is valuable to us,
so it confounds me
a little bit
when I can't quite
understand something
like this.
But there are some things
we can understand
from the text,
and here's our application.
This is why it's important
that we don't just neglect
a text like this
altogether.
Here's our application,
and I want you to
take special note
of three things
from the text
this morning.
First of all,
note the reign of Christ.
When exactly
is he referring to here?
We're not sure.
Maybe some of you are.
I'm not sure
exactly what he's talking about
in this case,
but something we know
to be sure,
without a doubt,
is that Jesus Christ
does in fact reign,
and will in fact reign supreme
forever.
We looked at verse 24-26
to see that.
Some other texts.
Hebrews 1-3
says,
After making purification
for sins,
he, being Jesus,
sat down at the right hand
of the majesty on high.
He was given the place
of honor to reign
and to rule
at the right hand
of God the Father.
Colossians 1,
verse 13-14.
Paul writes,
He has delivered us
from the domain of darkness
or the kingdom of darkness
and transferred us
to the kingdom
of His beloved Son
in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins.
It's a kingdom that exists now
that if you've placed
your faith in Christ,
you are part of.
And it is a kingdom
that He reigns over.
Hebrews 12-28.
At least the very first part of it.
It says,
Therefore,
let us be grateful
for receiving a kingdom
that cannot be shaken.
A permanent kingdom.
A kingdom that has been established.
The kingdoms of the world
are being shaken.
The kingdoms of the world
are being all mixed up.
There's lots of tumult.
There's lots of turmoil.
There's lots of war.
But we have received a kingdom
that cannot be shaken.
Why?
Because Christ reigns supreme.
In fact,
the writer of Hebrews
is likely referring to
another text from Daniel.
A fulfillment of a prophecy
in Daniel 2-44.
And in the days of those kings,
the God of heaven
will set up a kingdom
that shall never be destroyed,
nor shall the kingdom
be left to another people.
It shall break in pieces
all these kingdoms
and bring them to an end,
and it shall stand forever.
Let's say to you, beloved,
that this kingdom
has already been established
and Jesus Christ
reigns supreme over it.
So firstly,
Christ's reign.
Secondly,
notice in our text
and previous to our text,
the love of God
for us.
Those who are part of His church,
the elect,
the ones whom He has chosen.
Right?
In spite of us,
not having done anything
to deserve His favor,
He has called us His own.
Look at verse 5.
The warning.
See that no one leads you astray.
Jesus is prepping us
for the challenges
that will face us.
Verse 9.
Be on your guard.
Verse 14.
Flee to the mountains.
And just as an aside
at this point,
God has given us common sense.
He has said to us
that there will be suffering
if we desire to live
righteous lives,
we will be persecuted.
But He hasn't taught us
that we should seek it out.
We should thumb our noses
at those who may persecute us.
In fact,
in this case,
He says,
flee to the mountains.
It's okay.
Get away from such a thing.
Verse 20.
For the sake of the elect,
He shortened the days.
For our sake,
for our good.
Verse 23.
Again,
the warning to be on guard.
In verse 27,
He's sending out the angels.
And whether you want this
just to be heavenly beings
or that's us
or both combined,
He is sending out ones,
messengers,
heralds,
to gather us
from the farthest reaches
of the earth.
He loves us
so incredibly.
Even as He's invited us
into His kingdom,
which brings so much trouble
because the world
has hated Jesus,
He pours out
a great deal
of compassion on us,
gives to us instruction
for how we should live.
He's going to tell us
in the coming text
to be on guard,
to be aware,
to be awake,
to be waiting
and watching,
prepared for His return.
So secondly,
the love of God for us.
Thirdly,
notice the mission
we've been given to.
Notice the mission
we've been given to.
Now,
I say that intentionally
in that way
because I think it's wrong
for us to think
that we exist
as the church
and God has granted
to us a mission
because it's His mission
ultimately
and He's really given
us to the mission.
Right?
It's a thing that
He'll accomplish.
If you've been here
long at all,
you've heard me say
that God doesn't need you.
Don't belittle God
so much in your mind
to think that He needs you
to accomplish
His will.
But you're precious to Him
and He loves you
and because of His great love
for you,
He's given you
to His mission.
Right?
The things that He cares
most about,
He's invited you into
to work within,
to pray prayers
and to share your faith,
to minister
to the needs of people.
This is the things
that God cares about
and He wants you
to be part of that
so that you'll experience
Him.
Right?
So,
He's given us
to the mission.
Note that mission.
Verse 27,
as I said again,
He'll send out the angels,
gather His elect
from the four winds,
from the ends of the earth
to the ends of the heavens.
Verse 10,
and the gospel
must first be proclaimed
to all nations.
God has chosen
to use His church
as the means
to that great end.
Could He have done it
another way?
He sure could have.
But He's chosen
to use us
to accomplish
that goal.
Why?
Do we not join Him?
Why do we not
make our joy complete
in pursuing the things
that God cares about?
We pursue
pithy things
compared to the greatness
of what we can pursue
that God has for us.
The mission
that He's given us to.
Turn to 2 Corinthians 5.
I'll begin reading
in verse 17.
Therefore,
if anyone is
in Christ,
that is,
has placed
saving faith
in Him,
His person
and His work,
He is
a new creation.
The old
has passed away.
Behold,
the new
has come.
This is that picture
of us.
Our citizenship
has changed.
We're no longer
citizens of the world.
We're just sojourners here.
Now we're citizens
of the kingdom
of heaven.
The old,
our identity
has changed
completely.
Verse 18,
All this
is from God
who through Christ
reconciled us
to Himself
and gave us
the ministry
of reconciliation.
Reconciliation
is the making right
of a schismed relationship.
A relationship
that's been torn apart
and it's been torn apart
in this case
because of sin,
because of our rebellion
against God,
totally separated from Him.
The ministry
of reconciliation
has brought us
back together
because what of Christ
has accomplished?
Verse 19,
That is,
in Christ,
God was reconciling
the world
to Himself,
not counting
the trespasses
against them
and entrusting
to us
the message
of reconciliation,
the gospel,
the good news
of Jesus Christ.
Verse 20,
Therefore,
we are ambassadors
for Christ,
God making His appeal
through us.
We implore you
on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled
to God.
And there,
Paul gives us
this great gospel message
at the very end
of verse 20,
We implore you
on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled
to God.
If you have been
reconciled to God
in Christ,
you should want
to share
that good news
with others.
Beloved,
what's going on
in our hearts
that causes us
to do the things
we do
and talk about
the things
we talk about?
Out of the outflow
of your heart,
your mouth speaks.
Do you love
the gospel
of Jesus Christ?
Have you been
reconciled by it?
Have you understood
the schism
and the relationship
that existed
and the way
in which Christ
has brought that
back together?
That ought to well up
in us a great deal
of joy
and we ought to share it
every opportunity
we get.
We can't simply
act it out,
display it.
We have to
proclaim it.
It's necessary.
This message
comes by our mouths.
Not because God
needs us,
but because
He loves us.
So we've been
given
to a mission,
a wonderful mission,
the greatest
of missions.
Some people call it
the Great
Commission.
In Mark 16,
verse 15,
we see a very short
record of it.
Go into all the world
and proclaim the gospel
to the whole creation.
Beloved,
this is our high calling
in Christ.
Christ who reigns
over all things
and loves us
immensely,
has given to us
this task,
made us ambassadors,
given us the ministry
of reconciliation.
Let's pray together.