Two things we're going to look at today, if you like to keep track of the outlines.
We're going to look at Jesus' prophetic disclosure, and then we're going to look at his pastoral directives.
Let's first look at this prophetic disclosure.
Now, much of the narrative describing the week of Jesus' crucifixion, as you will remember,
is set in and around the temple in Jerusalem.
And one of the more important interpretive keys to this passage is noting exactly where Mark placed it in his narrative.
If you'll remember all the way back to chapter 11, you remember Jesus and his disciples make this final trek to Jerusalem.
Jesus rides to Jerusalem on the donkey.
There is tremendous praise that comes along with that.
And do you remember he goes into the temple?
He looks around.
He observes.
And then he goes back to Bethany for the night, and he thinks about what he's observed.
And do you remember what he did the next morning?
He goes back.
He's headed back to the temple, except he stops at a fig tree that was in bloom but had no fruit.
And he curses the fig tree as an illustration of the end of Israel's temple and Israel's worship.
A dramatic change is about to happen, and Jesus is illustrating that in the parable of the fig tree in the enacted parable there.
And you'll remember through his teaching there.
All of this is leading up to this moment when there is a literal fulfillment of that.
And it's going to happen in the time of the apostles.
Rome will eventually come in.
In the years leading up to AD 70, Titus will come in, and he will promise to raise to the ground, R-A-Z-E, raise to the ground everything that is there in Jerusalem in response to a rebellion.
And that's exactly what happened.
And so Jesus is describing that.
He is forewarning his disciples about this occurrence.
Let's look at it there in verse 1.
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.
Now, talk about a particular killjoy of a moment, right?
Because this was an amazing moment for the disciples.
They're from the backwaters of Galilee.
They don't make this trip to Jerusalem very often.
Maybe annually they would come and they would get to witness exactly the extravagance and the grandeur of the temple complex.
And that's what they're doing.
And they've come in and they're walking out, maybe perhaps for the last time before Jesus' death,
they're walking out of the temple.
And an unnamed disciple with amazement remarks to the Lord,
Look, look at what wonderful stones.
Look at the glory of this temple.
And indeed, it was a glorious sight to behold.
The complex itself had been in the process of renovation for 46 years by King Herod at this point,
and it was nearing completion.
It spanned 36 acres.
Now, that's not the temple building in this spot that is on a 35-acre plot of land.
No, the temple complex itself was 36 acres.
It was huge.
The stones that made up this great complex.
Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote that some of the largest ones were some 40 or 50 feet long,
some 11 feet tall and 8 feet wide, weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Massive stones have been brought in to construct this amazing temple.
But it's not only that.
There was a particular ornamentation to this temple that Herod had brought in.
The outside of the walls were plated in various places by pure gold.
The gates were made of gold and brass and precious metals.
And the parts of the stone that wasn't covered in precious metal were a purest white.
So that Josephus said,
From a distance, when you're approaching Jerusalem,
the temple itself looks like a snow-clad mountain in the midst of Palestine,
in the midst of the desert mountains of Judea.
It really would have been an amazing thing to see.
And the disciples have spent their time there.
And they're walking out of the temple here in this moment.
And one of them looks up and says,
Lord, look how amazing this is.
Look how awesome this is.
And this is what sparks Jesus' lesson.
It's this particular comment.
This particular prophetic disclosure
that everything that they saw will be destroyed.
And this surely must have come as a shock to the men.
The temple then, as it is today for Jews,
was the very focus of Jewish life and worship.
For them, it was literally the house of God
where he had promised to dwell among his people.
And of course, we can read the Old Testament.
We can go to Ezekiel's book
and we can see that the vision Ezekiel had
where the glory of the Lord was removed from the temple
some hundreds of years before this event actually took place.
But in the minds of the Jews,
as they journeyed to Jerusalem,
as they saw the temple,
it stirred all kinds of spiritual emotions in them.
And just like they had no theological capacity
for a Messiah who would suffer,
neither did they have any kind of capacity in their minds
for a fruitful spiritual life
that was absent of the temple
and the forms of worship
that the temple represented and stood for.
So when they're coming out of the temple
and the disciple says,
look at how wonderful this is,
and Jesus says, yeah, it's all gonna be destroyed,
this is not a small passing statement from the Lord.
This is hugely impactful.
Remember the first time that the temple
was destroyed in the Old Testament
with Babylon coming in
and taking captive the people of God.
Remember when the remnant returns
and under the leadership of Ezra and Zerubbabel,
they begin to reconstruct the temple.
And the ones who were old enough
to have seen the former temple, Solomon's temple,
remember what they did when they saw the new one?
They wept.
But their weeping wasn't rejoicing.
Their weeping was the fact that this is such,
just a shadow of what it once was.
This meant so much to them.
This was everything to them.
Today, you can go to Jerusalem,
you will see it is just as important to the Jews today,
even though it's not underneath their control.
They are awaiting the moment
when they can reclaim the temple mount
and they can reestablish the temple
and their temple worship there in Israel.
It means everything to them.
So when Jesus tells these men,
it's going to be destroyed,
that means something to them.
It's impactful for them.
And so Jesus was essentially saying,
don't get too attached, fellas.
This is all going to go away.
The truth is,
if they were going to understand the gospel,
if they were going to faithfully follow Jesus,
their affections couldn't be attached
to the temple and the old covenant system
that it represented.
Do you understand why Jesus is saying this to them?
So long as these men,
so long as their affections were attached
to the things of this earth,
to the old forms of worship,
to the old covenant,
so long as they were attached first to those things,
they would never fully understand the gospel.
They would never really be faithful followers of Jesus
because remember what Jesus had come to do.
He had come to do away with the old
in order to establish the new covenant in his blood.
He talked about it as new wine at one point
that cannot be poured into old wineskins,
else it would burst and be destroyed.
Do you remember when Jesus said that in Mark's gospel?
This is what he's referring to.
You can't take the new covenant of Jesus Christ
and try to fit it into the old systems
of the old covenant and the law.
It just doesn't work.
And Jesus is saying,
as long as your affection is set on this,
as long as your affection is set on this temporary thing,
you'll never really be able to faithfully follow me.
And in the same way,
we must not get so attached to this world
and the things that we love so much here
because eventually it's all going to be destroyed.
This earth will dissolve.
It will be shaken.
It's going to go away.
Don't waste your time setting your affections
on the things of this world.
Paul says, set your mind,
set your affections on heavenly things.
Set your affections on the things of Christ.
Christians belong to another kingdom.
And we're awaiting the day
that this earth will finally be dissolved
and the new heavens and the new earth
will be ours in eternity.
And just as Jesus is describing to these disciples,
don't get attached to the temple, it's going away.
Just focus on me.
Trust me.
So he says to us through this passage,
don't let your affections get set
on the things of this earth.
Follow me.
Trust me.
The end is coming.
Look at verse three.
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 so the disciples just chew on the Lord's statement
for a little bit, don't they?
Sometime later, they're on the Mount of Olives.
I should have brought the picture for you today.
I showed it several weeks ago,
a picture of when my dad and my brother were there.
You can be on the Mount of Olives
and it's directly adjacent to the temple compound,
the temple complex and mount in Jerusalem.
That's where Jesus and the disciples move to.
They transfer over to the Mount of Olives.
They're sitting there adjacent from the temple
and they're just looking at it.
They're gazing on it.
Four of them pull Jesus to the side
or perhaps the others have gone to another place.
Maybe they've gone on to Bethany for the night
and these four disciples,
while they have Jesus to themselves,
ask him, when are these things gonna happen
and how will we know when they are about to happen?
And I think there's three questions here
for us to deal with just briefly before we move on.
One question that isn't asked,
one question that isn't answered,
and then one question that serves as the basis
for Jesus' teaching.
The first question that isn't actually asked is why?
Why?
The disciples are so focused on when,
they're so focused on the signs,
that they don't stop for a moment,
at least in the text,
they don't stop for a moment and ask the Lord,
you've said this is gonna be destroyed.
Why?
Why must it be destroyed?
Isn't that a good question to ask though, right?
Well, why is it gonna be destroyed?
Well, like I said,
if you look over the course of Jesus' teaching
in the Gospels,
you'll find this theme,
this motif woven through of something new
replacing the old.
Jesus himself is the fulfillment of everything
typified by and promised in the Old Testament.
He was the perfect sacrifice that rendered obsolete
the sacrificial system that was instructed through Moses.
He was the final fulfillment of that.
Through him,
we experience the eternal spiritual rest
that is typified by the law's approach to the Sabbath day.
Jesus fulfills that.
Because of his death on the cross,
we now have access to God through Jesus and Jesus alone,
not a priest or a temple system.
Because of the Lord,
the temple has no other reason to exist.
He himself in that day
was the presence of God among his people.
And after, as we talked about last week,
after he ascended to heaven,
he sent his spirit to indwell his people personally.
There's no reason for the temple to continue.
The old forms of the old covenant
have been perfectly fulfilled and replaced by Jesus.
And if you desire forgiveness of sin,
if you desire eternal life,
peace with God,
you will not find that in the temple.
You will not find that in a church building.
You will not find that in religious formalism.
You will find it through faith in Christ
and Christ alone.
That's the why.
Why is this going to happen?
Because I am the fulfillment of all these things,
would have been Jesus' answer.
But then that brings us to the second question,
a question that they actually do ask,
which is when?
When will these things happen,
the disciples say.
And what's interesting about this question
is that Jesus doesn't answer it.
You read all the way through the Olivet Discourse
in this chapter plus Matthew 24 plus Luke 21,
and you will never find where Jesus says,
let me tell you when it's going to happen.
In fact, the closest that he comes to it,
and Mark 13 is in verse 32,
and he essentially says,
you'll never know when it's going to happen
until it happens.
And so it's a question that goes unanswered.
And my point in bringing that up
is that since the Bible doesn't tell us
when the end will come,
we have to stop wasting our time
trying to determine it ourselves.
Right?
There was the one guy
through the 70s and 80s and 90s
that would write these books
that 99 reasons the Lord will return in 1999.
And then when the Lord doesn't return in 1999,
he writes the next one.
Well, you know,
21 reasons why the Lord will return in 2021.
You know what I mean?
The people trying to predict things
that the Lord never gave us an answer for.
In fact, he said,
you won't have an answer for it.
We have to stop trying to do that.
We need to beware of the people
that are so obsessed
with the things that are happening around the world
that all they can think about
is trying to pinpoint a time frame
for the Lord's return.
We can be satisfied with the fact
that the Lord is returning
and then come to his own teaching
and see he didn't give us an answer on that.
So we'll leave it there.
Then there's a third question.
What?
What will be the sign of these things?
The disciples say.
And this is the question that serves
as the foundation for the whole chapter.
They wanted to know how they could know
when everything Jesus said
was about to happen.
Now Matthew's account
adds a third element to this question.
Matthew says that they ask also
what will be the sign of the Lord's coming
at the end of the age?
Mark doesn't include that part of the question.
And I think the reason he doesn't include it
is because it's the same question
that they ask when they're asking
for the signs of the temple's destruction.
Here's why I think that.
Because to the disciples
and to the Jews in general,
the destruction of the temple
could only mean one thing.
That the end of the age has come.
Remember, theologically,
in their capacity,
that they had no theological understanding
of a spiritual life without the temple.
The only thing that the destruction
of the temple could mean
is that the eternal state has come.
The eternal kingdom has come.
And so I really think
when the disciples say,
what will be the sign
of all of these things?
It's the same as
if they're also asking
what will be the sign
at the end of the age.
So Jesus' answer corrects
their thinking that says
that these two things
are going to happen simultaneously.
And then he speaks of two separate events here.
One being a sign for the other.
I mention these three questions
because they serve as the context
to which we have to return
time and again
as we study this chapter.
The answers Jesus gave
to the disciples
are the same that he gives to us
as we await his return.
The gospel answers the why question.
We will not have an answer
for the when question.
And the signs and exhortations
of the what question
are the same for us
as they were for the disciples.
For the disciples,
it had the temple particularly in focus.
For us, it has the foreshadowing
of the end times.
Well, that's the prophetic disclosure.
Look with me now
at the pastoral directives.
Pastoral directives.
As the time of the temple's destruction drew near,
there are three things
that Jesus insinuates
that the disciples
are going to have to encounter.
They're going to encounter deception.
They're going to encounter persecution.
And as a result of both of those things,
they're going to encounter
personal spiritual doubt.
And so what Jesus does
as he begins to unfold
what will happen moving forward,
he uses it in the framework
of three exhortations,
three directives.
Here's what you must do
to be faithful disciples.
The first thing he says,
don't be led astray.
Don't be led astray.
Look at verse five.
And Jesus began to say to them,
see that no one leads you astray.
Now, his first warning was that
his followers were going to face
wave after wave of false teaching
that if they weren't careful
would lead them away
from following Christ
instead of encouraging them
to faithfully follow Christ.
Consider the cultural
and religious climate of their day.
Remember, the Jews believed
that the Messiah was going to be
primarily a political Messiah.
They thought he's going to deliver
the nation from the oppression
of Rome.
So you can imagine,
just as it happened historically,
as things got worse and worse
leading up to the destruction
of the temple,
there were many false messiahs
claiming that they would be
the one to save the nation.
The disciples were going to have
to be mindful of these things.
Jesus mentions two types of people
that Christians must be aware of
lest they're led away.
The first one is what I just mentioned,
fake messiahs.
Fake messiahs.
Look at verse six.
Many will come in my name
saying, I am he.
And they will lead many people astray.
Now, the claim here
is not that they are Jesus.
That's not the claim.
It's not that many were going to come
after Jesus' ascension
and say, I'm Jesus that has come back.
That's not what they're saying.
What they're claiming
is to be the savior for the nation,
the messiah for the nation.
Again, as Rome would come in
and as the tensions politically
would begin to boil over,
we would find historically
that there were many
who claimed to be the champion
that God had sent.
And Jesus indicated
that what would increase
the pressure on his disciples
as these false messiahs
came on the scene
is the amount of followers
that would follow these men.
I think it was a man
named Judas Maccabeus
who would be responsible
for the rebellion
around the AD 65, AD 66,
responsible for the rebellion.
He would be the one claiming,
I will be the one
to deliver the nation.
God has sent me.
And there were masses of people
following this man,
following this man
to their destruction.
Jesus says,
don't be led astray
by the fake messiahs,
that the one saying,
I am he that will deliver the nation.
These messiahs,
these false saviors
would have the skills
that align with the Jewish
misunderstanding of the Messiah.
And the disciples
are going to face
enormous pressure,
enormous cultural pressure
as the people around them
begin to believe these claims
and begin to abandon
the truth of Jesus
in the process.
And Jesus warned,
this is going to happen.
Men, don't be led astray,
Jesus says.
Don't be led astray.
And we have to heed
this directive of the Lord.
Because many false saviors
arise in each generation
from religious and secular realms.
Their claims and skills
are deceptive.
And the cultural numbers of people
are often on their side.
Masses of people
following these false doctrines,
following these false saviors
to their certain doom
and destruction.
Don't be led astray
by the false savior
of expressive individualism.
Don't be led astray
by the false savior
of moral relativism.
Don't be led astray
by the false saviors
of Roman Catholicism
or Mormonism
or Zen Buddhism
or other false religions.
There will be many of them.
They will have many more followers
than Christ will have.
Don't be led astray.
It's only going to get worse
and worse and worse.
Beware of the false messiahs,
Jesus says.
But there's a second group here
that he warns about.
They're really connected
to the first.
I term them as foolish experts.
There's false messiahs,
fake messiahs,
then there's foolish experts.
Look at verse seven.
And when you hear of wars
and rumors of wars,
do not be alarmed.
This must take place.
But the end is not yet.
Nation will rise against nation,
kingdom against kingdom.
There will be earthquakes
in various places.
There will be famines.
And notice Jesus is saying this
under the same paragraph,
same context,
as do not be led astray.
Don't be led astray
by the false saviors.
Don't be led astray
by the foolish experts.
Because there's going to be
plenty of people that come
claiming to know the things
that God hasn't revealed
about the end.
In the years between
Jesus' ascension and resurrection
unto the destruction of the temple,
all of these things
came to fruition
in and around Palestine.
There's a massive earthquake
and Laodicea,
massive destruction.
It wasn't too far removed
from this time
that Vesuvius erupted
and buried Pompeii.
It was certainly during this time
that there's constant wars
and rumors of wars
just like there always has been.
And anytime those things
take place,
it's necessary,
Jesus says,
but they're not the exclusive
signs of the end.
Political and natural catastrophes
will continue
until Jesus returns,
but we must not be led astray
by the doomsday experts
that strike fear in our hearts.
You don't have to build
a bomb shelter under your house
in fear
from reading the newspaper.
You don't have to be led astray
by these that claim to know
when these things are going to happen
and point to every little thing
that the end is actually here.
Perhaps we can see
the warnings here
in application
to the fear-mongering media age
in which we live.
Whether it's a newspaper
or a news program
or social media,
all we get fed
over and over and over
is things that are designed
to make us panic
and fear.
Is there a warning in this
from Jesus?
What does he say?
You're going to hear of wars,
rumors of wars,
earthquakes,
kingdoms against kingdoms.
And what does he say?
Don't be alarmed.
Don't be led astray.
We've seen so much of this
the last two years,
haven't we?
Christians are being led astray
by notions that the COVID vaccination
is the mark of the beast.
Or that Bitcoin and Dogecoin
are the universal currencies
that mark the rule of the Antichrist
at the end of the age.
Listen, church.
Don't be led astray
by those
who are obsessed
with every little thing
that happens in Israel.
Beware of those
who interpret the Bible
through the lens
of American politics.
Beware of those
that interpret their Bible
by laying the grid
of their newspapers
across it
in order to determine
what it is
that God has said
for us here.
Beware of those people.
Don't be led astray.
And notice what Jesus says
in verse 8.
These are but the beginning
of the birth pains,
he says.
These are but the beginning
of the birth pains.
This is such a helpful analogy,
isn't it?
I say it's helpful
because I wasn't the one
that actually had to go
through the birth pains
in the process
of our two children
being born.
It brings back to mind
some of those days, though.
Remember,
those of you ladies
who have gone through this,
you understand
what it's like
when you first begin
to experience
the early contractions
that signal
that birth is imminent.
Even maybe the fake ones,
whatever those are called,
that happen maybe
the week or so before
and you start to panic
and you find out,
you go to the doctor
and you think
you're about to have a baby
and the doctor says,
well, those aren't even
real contractions.
Well, what are they for?
We begin to panic.
We see the early birth pains,
right?
Well, how is it
that this works?
You know.
You've been there.
You've witnessed it.
You start to feel the pain.
You begin to panic
a little bit.
This baby might come
any minute now
because I had a little pain
and you start to get urgent
in the things that you do
and you rush yourself
to the hospital
only to find that
maybe it's going to be
many, many hours,
maybe days
before the baby
actually arrives.
Well, it's the purpose
of the early birth pains.
Well, they're a sign
that the baby is coming,
but they're not the sign
that the baby is here.
This is a helpful analogy,
isn't it?
Because it applies
the same way to us.
Think about those moments,
that final extreme pain
and effort
that a mother goes through
in giving birth
and then joy suddenly comes
in the experience
of new life
and knowing
that the pains of birth
are now a thing
of the past.
So it is
with the end of the age,
Jesus says.
The disciples assume
that the destruction
of the temple
meant the end of the age.
Jesus said
it was not the end of the age,
it was actually
the beginning
of a new era,
a new era
in redemptive history.
It's just the beginning
and the events
foreshadowed
in the temple's destruction
are going to continue
to increase
as the day
of the Lord draws near.
Just like those
early contractions
are somewhat small
and infrequent,
but they grow stronger
and they grow more frequent
all the way up
until the moment
that new life
is realized.
So it will be
with the end of the age.
The temple
was just the beginning.
It's going to get worse.
It's going to get more frequent
and suddenly
will come
the end.
And so as we read
our Bibles,
we quickly find
that this analogy
is so fitting.
Things are going to worsen
in this world.
And at the end
of the tribulation,
the worst
of the birth pains,
the worst
of the efforts,
believers will rejoice
in the experience
of eternal life
in the new heavens
and the new earth.
Just like a mother
who is exhausted
from hours of labor,
so will weary Christians
stand before their Lord
and Savior.
And the Bible says
at that moment,
He will look
at those of us
who are weary,
who have come
through great trial
and hardship
and persecution
and tribulation,
and He will wipe
every tear
from our eyes
and death
will be no more
and sin
will be no more
and disease
will be no more.
No more martyrs,
no more problems,
no more war.
It all will pass away
in that moment.
And what we will have
is to enjoy
in eternity
the new heavens
and the new earth.
Jesus says
this is just
the beginning,
but the beginning
always has an end
and in the end
comes the new age
and the new heavens.
What a day that will be.
What a day that will be
when my Jesus
I shall see
and I look upon His face
the one who saved me
by His grace
and He takes me
by the hand
and leads me
through the promised land.
What a day,
glorious day
that will be.
Do you see what Jesus
is doing for His disciples here?
Things are going to get bad.
It's going to be really hard.
Endure men,
He says.
Don't be led astray.
It's just the beginning
and the end will come
with great victory
and life.
Don't be led astray.
And then He says
don't drop your guard.
Don't drop your guard.
Look at verse 9.
He very plainly says it.
I know this is just
such an amazing
sign of my ability
as a wordsmith
to come up with
just tremendous ways
to describe
what this passage is saying.
What is it that Jesus says?
Be on your guard.
Don't drop your guard.
Be on your guard.
The directive here,
it carries the idea
of standing firm
in the truth.
being prepared
for what will come
as a result.
And in this section,
Jesus is reminding
the disciples
of the reality
of persecution
for believers
in this life.
Persecution for the gospel
will continue.
It will increase
as the day of the Lord
approaches.
and the Lord's directive
was that we stand firm
and be faithful
to the glory of God.
Isn't this what Paul
was instructing
the Philippian church with?
In reference to
his own suffering
and their suffering
in that day,
he writes,
only let your manner
of life be worthy
of the gospel of Christ.
So whether I come
and see you
or am absent,
I may hear of you
that you are standing firm
in one spirit
with one mind,
striving side by side
for the faith
of the gospel,
not frightened
in anything
by your opponents,
he says.
This is a clear sign
to them
of their destruction,
but of your salvation
and that from God.
For it has been granted
to you
that for the sake
of Christ,
you should not only
believe in him,
but also suffer
for his sake,
engaged in the same
conflict that you
saw I had
and now hear
that I still have.
What is it that Paul's saying?
He's saying what Jesus said.
You're going to deal
with persecution.
And it will be great
when I hear
that you are standing
firm together
as the church,
that you are standing
firm in one spirit,
that you are standing
firm on the truth,
not frightened
by your opponents
because you recognize
that to suffer
for Christ
in this life
is an honor.
It's a grace
of the Lord
that he would count us
worthy to suffer
for his sake
because we know
at the end
of this suffering
is life eternal
with him.
And so Jesus
takes this
reality
of persecution
as these men
continued on
in their walk
with Christ
and I think he says
three things
about it here.
First,
he gives us
the purpose
of persecution
in verse 9.
The purpose,
look at it.
For they will deliver
you over to councils
and you will be beaten
in synagogues.
You will stand
before governors
and kings
for my sake.
Why?
To bear witness
before them.
To bear witness
before them.
And you only have
to get a couple
of chapters
into the book
of Acts.
Just days
after Jesus
tells them this
that these men
are indeed
delivered before
the councils
of the Sanhedrin.
They're persecuted
in the synagogues
and cast out
of the synagogues
not allowed
to even return.
They stood
before governors
and kings
as Paul stood
before Agrippa
and they testified
gave witness
to the resurrected
Christ
all for the glory
of God.
So in case
we're tempted
to think
that the hardship
we face
is a result
of God
being out of control
or perhaps
unconcerned
Jesus proclaims
there's actually
a divine purpose
to this.
They would indeed
stand before
all of these people
and the purpose
was to bear witness
of the truth
which had two
possible results.
It has one result
the conversion
of the lost.
as people
looked on
to their persecution
and listened
to the message
of the gospel
people were converted
to Christ
and they became
Christians
in that moment.
It also served
the purpose
of judgment
a warning
to the unbelievers
of their damnation
and these results
were to the glory
of God
for he is the God
of perfect mercy
and of perfect
justice.
So what does
Jesus say
the purpose
of this is?
You're going to glorify
God in your persecution.
You're going to glorify
the Lord
in your hardship.
People will be saved
and others
will be warned
and in either case
the Lord
will be glorified.
The purpose
of persecution.
Then we see
the product
of persecution
for them.
Verse 10
and the gospel
must first
be proclaimed
to all nations.
It will be
proclaimed
to all nations.
All people groups
will hear the truth
so that when we
endure the persecution
for the gospel's sake
it results
in the evangelization
of the world.
The statement
pointed to
a dramatic
shift
in God's plan
to show
his glory
to the world.
Do you remember
how God's plan
to reveal
his glory
to the world
was structured
in the Old Testament?
Was structured
through his people
in Israel?
Through their worship?
Through the temple?
People would have
to travel
to Israel
to learn
of this God.
They would have
to travel
to Jerusalem
to the temple
to learn
of his glory
to witness
of his glory
as they gazed
upon his people
and the way
that they behaved
and the things
that they did.
Not so in the New Testament.
Temple's destroyed now.
Right?
That's what Jesus
is saying.
And with that
comes a shift
in the way
that God reveals
his glory
to the world.
Instead of bringing
people to a single
place to reveal
his glory
he takes his people
he indwells them
and then he scatters
them around the world
and they take
the demonstration
of God's glory
with them
wherever they go.
And what is often
the agent
of this scattering?
Hardship.
Persecution.
The war
in AD 70
itself
would see
many Christians
spread throughout
the Roman Empire
and as they're spread
in the diaspora
throughout the Roman Empire
what do they take
with them?
The words
of the Lord
are on their lips
and they preach
the gospel
and we see
even in the book
of Acts
we see a foreshadowing
of the gospel
going to all nations
around the world
and Jesus says
this will also
be a sign
of the end
that as the end
of the age
approaches
the gospel
will prevail
and the gospel
will flourish
around the world
once again.
We see the product
of it.
Then we see
the promise
in it
the promise
in persecution.
Verse 11
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.
Now what peace
this provides to us.
What peace.
We don't have
to attempt
to predict
the future
so that we might
prepare ourselves
for its realities.
We don't have
to do that.
We only need
to faithfully
follow Christ
and trust
his promise
that he will
send his spirit
to sustain us
in those moments.
Wasn't that
the point
of that whole section
between John 14
and 16?
Jesus is telling
his disciples
we read some of it
last week
I'm going away
but when I go away
I'm going to send
my spirit.
Now I want you
to think about that
for just a moment.
I prayed this
this morning
here in this room
before people
began to show up
for worship today.
I pray that we
would experience
the reality
of that promise
that as we
gather for worship
we have the
promise
of Christ's
spirit
to help us
understand his
truth.
To help us
respond to his
truth in the way
that we need
to respond.
To enlighten us
to his glory.
To inform
and help us
and encourage us
in our worship.
We have the
seal of the
spirit within us
as a seal
of our salvation.
There is
wonderful promise
that comes from
Christ about
the spirit
and here in
this passage
it is echoed
once again
that as you
face certain
persecution
and hardship
in this life
whether it be
through natural
catastrophe
or political
upheaval
or persecution
for the gospel
sake
he has promised
us his spirit
and his spirit
will inform us
in those moments.
You don't have
to try to figure
it all out
and prepare.
You just have
to trust the
Lord.
trust his promise
he will give you
through great peace
the things that we
need
as we face
these things.
And there's
echoes of the
promise in the
great commission
here
in Matthew 28
Jesus says
all authority
is given to me
go and make
disciples of all
nations
baptizing them
in the name
of the father
and the son
of the holy
spirit
teaching them
to observe
all things
I have commanded
you.
And what's the
promise that
that goes
along with
it at the
very end
and behold
I am with
you always
to the end
of the age
Jesus says
and what does
he tell his
disciples here
guys
you're probably
going to die
you're going to
face a lot
of hardship
don't be
alarmed
I'll be
with you
I will be
with you
what peace
that brings
to our hearts
what wonderful
promise there is
in persecution
we got to
hurry to the
end here
we're thinking
pastoral directives
Jesus says
as the end
of the age
draws near
don't be led
astray
don't drop
your guard
be prepared
for what's
ahead
and then he
says
don't lose
the faith
don't lose
the faith
because if
they're led
astray
and they drop
their guard
that will be
the result
they will
abandon
the faith
verse 12
brother will
deliver brother
over to death
and the father
his child
and children
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
this final
directive
I think
brings us
to the
main point
of this
first section
down through
verse 13
faith in the
gospel can
indeed result
in loss
of family
we don't
always have
first hand
experience
with this
in our
context
like many
Christians
do around
the world
but there
are many
people
who upon
converting
to Christ
perhaps even
through their
baptism
are totally
abandoned
by their
families
as a result
they're
abandoned
by their
friends
they lose
their
jobs
they lose
life as
they know
it and
they lose
it
willingly
for the
sake of
the gospel
that's a
reality
for many
people around
the world
faith in
the gospel
can result
in loss
of family
it can
result in
loss of
friends
it can
result in
loss of
life
itself
the end
is coming
and with
it will
be an
incredible
amount of
hardship
and persecution
and in
the midst
of that
we will
be tempted
to follow
false
teachers
and we
will be
tempted
to abandon
Jesus
in order
to preserve
a comfortable
life in
this world
that's the
temptation
that's why
Jesus said
whoever will
lose his life
for my sake
will gain it
and whoever
will save
his life
will lose
it
but in
the end
all those
who endure
and persevere
in faith
will be
saved
that's the
promise
now Jesus
didn't mean
that endurance
earns our
salvation
that's not
what he means
by that
our salvation
is a present
possession
that comes
to us
at the
moment
of regeneration
and conversion
we can trust
that
our eternity
is secure
at the moment
that we're
saved
but there
is a dynamic
to our
future
salvation
there's
echoes
of Jesus'
parable
of the
soils
do you remember
Jesus said
that the
gospel would
be cast
the seed
would be
cast
on various
types
of soil
and there
were two
types
of soil
that for
a time
appear to
be fruitful
they appear
to be
believers
but either
through sin
or persecution
they fall
away
but the
promise
from Jesus
in that
is that
those who
have truly
trusted
Christ alone
for salvation
will prove
to be fruitful
even in the
end
and how do
we apply
the end
here
look again
at the
verse
13
the one
who endures
to the
end
will be
saved
well these
disciples
didn't live
all the way
to the
end
at least
the end
of the
age
but they
did come
to an
end
didn't they
all of us
will face
the waves
of death
as we'll
sing about
in just a
moment
Christ
the sure
and steady
anchor
as we face
the waves
of death
if you
remember
back to
pilgrim's
progress
do you
remember
us
as pilgrim
and hopeful
they make
it finally
to the
sea
that they
have to
cross
in order
to get
to
the
celestial
city
and it
represents
death
doesn't it
and in
that moment
pilgrim
wavers
for just
a minute
afraid
of the
death
that awaits
them
and we
can expect
that at
the moment
that our
death
approaches
we will
be tempted
to abandon
the faith
will you
trust
Christ
even in
those
moments
and Jesus
says
the one
who endures
to the
end
will be
saved
for you
the end
may be
natural
death
for you
the end
may be
disease
for you
it may be
some type
of devastating
consequence
for you
it may be
persecution
hardship
the sun
beating down
on us
like it did
the seed
that Jesus
talked about
in that
parable
but the one
who endures
will prove
to be fruitful
it's a promise
of the Lord
so endure
Jesus
says
it's a
pastoral
warning
endure
don't lose
the faith
don't throw
in the towel
stay faithful
trust me
continue
the Olivet
Discourse
is so very
helpful
but we have
to approach
it with the
right purpose
as I said
in the beginning
we can learn
lots of things
about the end
of the age
and we need
to learn
those things
but the purpose
of this section
is in order
to exhort us
to faithfully
follow Jesus
do you see it
just as the temple
came to an end
in AD 70
the end of this
world is going
to come
the end is coming
are you ready
for that
are you ready
for the end
have you trusted
Christ alone
to forgive your sins
will you endure
the deception
will you endure
the destruction
will you prove
to be a faithful
disciple
we prayed
about our
discipling initiatives
earlier in the service
do you know why
those things matter
they matter
because we need
one another
to spur us
along in this
don't we
sometimes we
come to church
Sunday by Sunday
and we do the best
we can
we only have
limited time
together on Sunday
mornings
don't we
we do the best
we can
to encourage
people
the truth is
we really have
no idea
what's under
the surface
of most of our
hearts
as we come
in Sunday
by Sunday
and we may
think you know
nobody is
nobody's having
to go home
every Sunday
and deal with
the threat
of their life
because they
went to church
that day
at least I
don't think
that's the case
for anyone
here
but we don't
know what
kind of
hardships
and persecutions
each other
are facing
you know why
it's helpful
when we come
to a lakeside
connect group
we have a
moment to
encourage people
along to
say just
keep going
trust the
promise
isn't that
what we want
to do with
our children
on Thursdays
because things
might be harder
for them
than what it
actually is
for us
in either
case
they're going
to face
great difficulty
as believers
don't we want
to start
teaching them
now
hey
trust the
promise
Jesus said
this would
happen
just stay
faithful
just trust
him
isn't that
what we do
is we pray
for one another
in the prayer
breakfast
and in our
personal time
that's what
we're doing
when we're
meeting together
for coffee
and when we're
investing
we're saying
keep going
God is good
the Lord
is faithful
he will help
you
keep moving
endure
to the end
and in the end
every one of us
who know Christ
will celebrate
just like a new
mother
new life
and joy
NING
Thank you.