the main passage read and taught through the entire sermon
1 As he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, see what kind of stones and what kind of buildings!”
2 Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone on another, which will not be thrown down.”
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,
4 “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are all about to be fulfilled?”
5 Jesus, answering, began to tell them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray.
6 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and will lead many astray.
7 “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be troubled. For those must happen, but the end is not yet.
8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines and troubles. These things are the beginning of birth pains.
9 But watch yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them.
10 The Good News must first be preached to all the nations.
11 When they lead you away and deliver you up, don’t be anxious beforehand, or premeditate what you will say, but say whatever will be given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
12 “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.
13 You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.
14 But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,
15 and let him who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out of his house.
16 Let him who is in the field not return back to take his cloak.
17 But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babies in those days!
18 Pray that your flight won’t be in the winter.
19 For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be.
20 Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days.
21 Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ don’t believe it.
22 For there will arise false christs and false prophets, and will show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.
23 But you watch. “Behold, I have told you all things beforehand.
24 But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light,
25 the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.
26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
27 Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.
28 “Now from the fig tree, learn this parable. When the branch has now become tender, and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near;
29 even so you also, when you see these things coming to pass, know that it is near, at the doors.
30 Most certainly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen.
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33 Watch, keep alert, and pray; for you don’t know when the time is.
34 “It is like a man, traveling to another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, and to each one his work, and also commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch.
35 Watch therefore, for you don’t know when the lord of the house is coming, whether at evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning;
36 lest coming suddenly he might find you sleeping.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
On the Fourth of July, Pastor Carl walked First Baptist Jackson through Mark 13, the chapter where Jesus tells his disciples about the destruction of the temple, the rise of false messiahs, wars and persecution, and his own return. The big idea was simple: remain watchful and prepared for when Jesus comes again. There is hard news in this chapter, but there is good news too.
What was said
Pastor Carl set the scene by noting where Mark 13 falls in the story. It is still Tuesday of passion week, and the religious leaders have spent the day trying to discredit Jesus without success. As Jesus and his disciples leave the temple, one of them marvels at the massive, ornate stones. Jesus responds that every one of those stones will be thrown down, a prediction that was fulfilled in AD 70 when Rome destroyed Jerusalem, just six years after the temple was finally finished.
From the Mount of Olives, with the temple in view, four disciples ask Jesus privately when this will happen and what signs to look for. Jesus does not answer in simple chronological order. He begins instead with a warning: do not let anyone mislead you. He tells them that false messiahs, wars, earthquakes and famines will come, but these are only the beginning of birth pains, not the end itself.
Persecution is coming too, Jesus says, but Carl pointed out that Jesus reframes it. Being handed over to councils and standing before governors is described as an opportunity to tell them about Jesus. The good news must be preached to all nations. Carl drew on the example of Peter and John in Acts, who were jailed for their faith but whose testimony that same day brought 5,000 people to belief. Persecution, historically, has often led to the growth of the church.
Jesus also warns about false messiahs who will perform signs and wonders convincing enough to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones. Carl offered a few practical questions for spotting a false teacher: Have their predictions actually come true, or do they keep revising them? Does their teaching lean on one isolated passage while ignoring the whole of Scripture? Does it contradict what the Bible says about God? Do the practices point to the teacher or to Jesus?
The chapter closes with two parables urging watchfulness, and Carl slowed down here. No one knows the day or the hour, not angels, not even Jesus in his humanity, only the Father. That uncertainty is not a puzzle to solve. Carl said plainly that it is more important to be prepared than to try to predict dates, and that is where he said Jesus puts the weight of the chapter.
The good news Carl wanted to close on is this: when Jesus does return, it will be unmistakable. He will come on the clouds with great power and glory and will send angels to gather his chosen ones, those who have received and trusted the gospel. The one who endures, a word Carl noted carries the sense of bearing up under a heavy load by God's own divine power, will be saved. And God's word, Jesus says, will never disappear. What He has promised will come to pass.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Carl pointed out that Jesus' first instruction to his disciples was not about the temple or future events but 'don't let anyone mislead you.' Why do you think that warning came first, and what does it look like practically to guard against being misled today?
Carl described persecution in the early church as often leading to the growth of the church, pointing to Peter and John in Acts. Has there been a difficult situation in your own life where something hard opened a door to share your faith with someone?
CarlPower button. I hear that Real quick, Quinn. Can we give Felix and Guadalupe a hand before they they step out? Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
And welcome, everybody. We're making our way through the gospel of Mark, and it is conversation style. So keep that in mind when we get to the scripture. You don't have to share anything. The scripture always speaks for itself, but, the conversation is always always helpful, I think.
But before we get to the scripture, can we stand just worship in in in song here? I just would love to sing one song together before we get into the word. The goodness of God from Psalm 146. It says, I'll praise the Lord as long as I live, and I'll sing praises to my God while I have my being. God, may that be us.
As long as we live, as long as we have breath in our lungs and recognize you as our God, our creator, our savior, that we would, offer ourselves to you. And, as we sing, God, I pray that, you would encourage, this this little church body And, God, that you would, bring things to mind that, maybe we've heard before, maybe things that we, need to hear, this evening. But, God, would you encourage your church? And thank you for each person here. In Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 2I love you, Lord, for your mercy never fails me. All my days, I've been held in your hands. From the moment that I wake up until I lay my head, I will sing the goodness of God. I'm gonna sing of his faithfulness. And all my life you have been faithful.
And all my life, you have been so so good.
Speaker 3With every breath that I am able,
Speaker 2I will sing of the goodness of God, and I love your voice. I love your voice. You led me through the fire In darkest night, you were close like no other. I've known you as a father. I've known you as a friend.
I live the goodness of God. Yes. We have in all our lives. And all my life, you have been faithful. And all my life you have been so so good.
Speaker 3With every breath that I am able,
Speaker 2I will sing of the goodness of God and his goodness running after us. And your goodness is running after, running after me. Your Your goodness is running out, running after me. Your goodness is running out, running after me in all my life. And all my life, you have been faithful.
And all my life, you have been so, so good.
Speaker 3With every breath that I am able.
Speaker 2I will sing the goodness of God.
CarlGod, it is good to sing of your faithfulness, because you are. You say, even when we are faithless, you remain faithful, for you cannot disown yourself. And so, Lord, would we, as we approach you, approach your word this evening, learn something from you that just we need to hear, and may it fall fresh on our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
Amen. How are we doing this evening? I'm good too. You know, I was really encouraging Ray and I and Tanya and we got to to do a a little wedding ceremony for a a couple that came in, and and it's just so good. It's so good to celebrate wonderful things like love, like God's unconditional love that he shows us and then we're to show to one another.
And it's hard, and it's a battle. I mean, it's hard to love. But by God's grace, really, he does give us the strength, to love. And here's where we're at tonight. Mark thirteen one through 37, the whole chapter I tackled.
And as I was studying this week, I thought, oh my goodness. Why did I do this? This is so much. But this is where Jesus tells about the future. He tells about his return and about remaining watchful.
There is a lot of life application in this chapter, for us. If we would hear it, and if I were to sum it up in a in a sentence, it would be Jesus is saying, remain watchful and prepared for his second coming. Remain watchful and prepared. So that's the big idea. There are, lots of instructions.
There's there's bad news. There's good news. But the big idea that I would really love for us to walk away with this evening is that we are to remain watchful and prepared for when Jesus comes again. So I'm gonna go ahead and read it. I'll share some a few thoughts as we go.
But would you please take a mental note of what stood out to you so that we can bounce this a little bit, more at the end and have a little back and forth and encourage each other? So this is, still Tuesday of passion week. That's where we're at in Mark. It's Tuesday of passion week. Jesus has been thoroughly questioned and examined by the religious leaders.
But no matter how hard they try, they cannot disprove him. They try over and over again to discredit him. But Jesus is without fault because he's without fault. He's the perfect lamb that would take away the sins of the world. Do you remember when John says that?
When he sees Jesus off in the distance, he goes, look. There's the lamb that takes away the sins of the world. So Jesus is just proving that over and over and over again. So instead of being condemned, Jesus, he he condemns them for abusing their positions of authority. And now in 13, Jesus has a private discussion with his disciples.
So I just would love to read it together. There's a lot, and I don't wanna race, but I I will read, kind of fast. And can I just point at you, Blake? So starting with verse one, I could just throw this thing out the window. As Jesus was leaving the temple that day, one of the his disciples said, teacher, look at these magnificent buildings.
Look at the impressive stones in the walls. And it was. It was extremely impressive. Herod made the temple. That's just a mock drawing.
But, it was one of the most beautiful buildings in Jerusalem. The thing about it, though, is this was not to it was not built to honor God. Instead, Herod built this to appease the Jewish people that he ruled. And that temple wasn't even finished until sixty four AD, then it was demolished just six years later in AD seventy. Ain't that crazy?
Something so beautiful and so ornate, they finish it. Six years later, it's destroyed when the Romans destroyed the temple and and and the city of Jerusalem. But Jesus predicts this in the next verse too. He says, yes. Look at these great buildings.
Whoo. But they will be completely destroyed or demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another. So there's one prediction that Jesus made that comes to pass. Three, later, Jesus sat on the Mount Of Olives across the valley from the temple.
So he can see this temple from the Mount Of Olives that he's at. And I envy the people that have got to go to Jerusalem and actually see this for themselves. I I would love to do that someday, but I've got a visual right here in my mind. And Peter, James, and John, and Andrew came to him privately, and they asked him, tell us, when's all this gonna happen? When's the destruction of the temple?
What sign will you show us that these things are about to be fulfilled? And this is where Jesus really begins to predict, not just near events, but distant events, things that we have not yet seen. And not necessarily putting them in chronological order, some of these things, the disciples, they would experience in their lifetime. Some of them, they would not. Five, Jesus replied, don't let anyone mislead you.
Interesting that he says this right away. Not even the temple right away. He goes, disciples, followers, don't let anybody mislead you. For many will come in my name claiming, I'm the Messiah, and they will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don't panic.
Yes. These things must take place. Would you take just a mental note of that right there? These things must take place, but the end won't follow immediately. Let's take a mental picture of that little verse right there.
So Jesus is talking about future events beyond the destruction of the temple, like these false teachers that will come in his name and deceive people. Oh my goodness. Just do yourself a favor and Google search once false messiahs. It is list and list long. I mean, one after the other after the other after the other.
Wars and rumors of wars. Oh my goodness. Jesus says, don't panic. Don't panic. These things must take place, but the end, it's not gonna follow immediately.
Nation will go to war against nation, kingdom against kingdom. There'll be earthquakes in many parts of the world as well as famines. In our own lifetime, we've seen these. We've we've seen some of these things, and yet they're saying there's more to come. But this is only the first of birth pains with more to come.
This is a kind of a gloomy fourth of July message, isn't it? I I trust me there. It's just where we're at in scripture. But trust me, there is good news here. Okay?
And and you will hear it. You will hear it. So verse nine. When these things begin to happen, watch out. So there's the warning.
You'll be handed over to local councils and beaten in synagogues. So Jesus is saying, guys, there is going to be persecution here. You will experience persecution. You'll stand trial before governors and kings because you're my followers. But catch this.
I want you I want you to hear this. This will be your opportunity to tell them about me. For the good news, it's gotta be preached to all nations. So, yes, there's persecution, but with that persecution comes opportunity to share the gospel. Like, do you remember Peter and John in the book of acts?
So they're thrown in jail for for sharing their faith about Jesus. But it says the people who heard their message, they believed, and their number grew to 5,000 that day. So and we see this historically over and over again too. Persecution often leads to the growth of the church. Now what we ask for?
Am I asking for persecution? Heavens no. No. I I I I don't want to be persecuted, but often persecution leads to the growth of the church. Verse 11.
But when you're arrested and you stand trial, don't worry in advance about what to say. I love this part too. Just say what God tells you at the time, for it's not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. And, again, there's a beautiful example of this, in the book of acts, Peter and John, and they're standing trial, and it says, the council was amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John. Why?
Because they were unschooled, ordinary men filled with the Holy Spirit. So I just I I want to say that as an encouragement to us. Should we be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have? Absolutely. Right?
But know this too. The Holy Spirit also gives us the right words at the right time. When when when the gospel needs to be presented, the Holy Spirit speaks for us. And I I was just very, very encouraged by that. More hard things.
Verse 12. Brother will betray brother to death. Father will betray his own child. Children rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. Everyone will hate you because you're my followers, but here's good news.
The one who endures to the end can I just share this? The word endures endures. The one who bears up against a heavy load by God's divine power. That's what endure means. Bears up against a heavy load because they have God's divine power.
I love that. They'll be saved. And I just wanna saved that word too. Rescued from destruction and brought to divine safety. Now does that mean that they and we would be, saved from every physical danger?
No. No. It doesn't. But eventually rescued out of this present darkness or evil and into God's eternal kingdom. So there is save and saved.
Even though there we're not free from physical danger, we're still saved. We're still we're still his. Does that make sense? 14, the day is coming when you'll see sacrilegious object that causes discretion standing where he should not be. Reader, pay attention.
So this is referring to the desecration of the temple. Who, how, when, reading reading commentaries on it, nobody nobody could really say. I don't know. But when it occurs, Jesus is saying, in these next verses ahead, there isn't time to go back. Those in Judea must flee to the hills.
A person out on the deck of a roof must not go into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not get, go back to get a coat. How terrible it'll be for pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days. And pray that your flight will not be in winter, for there will be greater anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world, and it will never be so great again. 20.
In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a single person will survive. But for the sake of his chosen ones, he has shortened those days. That's just a hard, hard teaching. It's just a hard teaching, period. 21.
Then if anyone tells you, look. Here's the messiah or there he is, don't believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders as to deceive. So on the outside, it looks great. It looks marvelous, powerful.
But there is the intent to deceive, if possible, God's chosen ones, it says. So can I just share a little application here concerning that? Is how is it that we would spot a false teacher, a false messiah? And I felt like these were some some good questions here to ask. One being, have their predictions come true, or do they have to revise them to fit what's already happened?
So I I I can I can think I can take a mental, like, a mental note of this and go, yes? I I I've seen that happen. Two, does any teaching utilize a small section of the Bible to neglect the whole? So in other words, is there just is is that teacher just nailing one little kind of proof texting, I guess we'd call it, hitting one little section but ignoring the whole story of scripture? So that's that's not that's not good.
Three, does the teaching contradict what the Bible says about God? Four, are the practices meant to glorify the teacher or Jesus? And five, do the teachings promote hostility toward other quest toward other Christians? So just a few just a few, questions to to be asking. How do I how do I know if someone's a false teacher or not?
But Jesus is saying there there will be teachers that deceive. Here's another warning. Verse 23, he says, watch out. Be on your guard. I've warned you about this ahead of time.
So we can't say that we haven't heard. He's he's telling us. 24. At that time, after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers and the heavens will be shaken. Those are those are references to Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Revelation.
They're all over the Bible. 26, then everyone will see the son of man in the clouds with great power and glory, and he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones, chosen ones, those who have faithfully responded to the gospel. They've received and believe the good news about Jesus' love and forgiveness from all over the world, from the farthest ends of earth. I wanna make a point here. We'll know it when it happens.
There's it it will be unmistakable. 28, a parable he shares. Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. There are signs that lead to it.
In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that his return is very near, right at the door. But can I add a little something here? It is more important to prepare than to predict. There people make a lot of predictions. Right?
And a lot of them are wrong and have been wrong. I feel like the heart of this text is it is more important to be prepared than to try to predict the dates. Does that make sense? Alright. 30.
I tell you the truth. This generation will not pass from the scene before these things take place. '31. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. Be assured that what God says, it really will come to pass.
And '32, however, no one knows the day or the hour when these things will happen. So who knows the day or the hour? Nobody. Not even angels in heaven or the son himself. Jesus is he really his you can see his humanity in this here.
He he he is limited. He's fully God, but also fully man, and he doesn't know the day or the hour. Only the father knows. Many have claimed to know, but only God knows. And since you don't know when that time will come, be on guard and stay alert.
What's most important is being prepared. Here's another illustration, another parable to illustrate, okay, as we wrap up the chapter. The coming of the son of man can be illustrated by a story of a man going on a long trip. And when he left home, he gave each of his slave instructions about the work that they're to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. Now you too must keep watch for you don't know when the master of the household will return in the evening, at midnight before dawn, or at daybreak.
36, don't let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. I say to you what I say to everyone. So Jesus was clear about this. We're not just his disciples. He's saying, I'm saying this all y'all, I guess, as as as you would say it.
So watch for him. Watch for him. So if I could, and I know I raced through this. I I know I have, and I know it's a ton of scripture. But if I could sum up in in in just three categories here, it's instructions, bad news, and good news.
I counted, at least nine instructions from Jesus. He said and this is the New Living Translation that I'm using. But in that, he said, don't be misled by false messiahs. Don't panic when you hear the wars and threats of wars. Watch out because you will be persecuted.
Don't worry about what to say. Don't believe those false messiahs. Watch out. You've been warned. Be on guard.
Stay alert. You don't know when. He will come. Keep watch. You don't know when the master of the household will return, and watch for him.
So we get the idea, though. Right? When we look at these, we go, alright, Jesus. I think you're urging us here to pay attention and to be prepared. So and, yes, there is bad news.
There is false messiahs that deceive many, wars and threats of wars, nation against nation, persecution, family betraying family, hatred toward Jesus followers, dis discretion, terror, anguish, calamity. That's hard stuff. It's hard stuff. We spent how how long do we spend in Revelation Ray? It felt like too long.
I promise you not every not every sermon is like this. It really isn't. We're just going verse by verse, chapter by chapter, saying what it says because it's important. It really is. It is.
And we can say that we haven't heard. You know? We can go, you know what? I've heard this. And it's not gonna surprise me when I hear of wars or rumors of war or threats or earthquakes or famines.
I'm not gonna go race out and build a bombshell. I mean, maybe I should, but I'm I'm I'm not gonna get too excited because Jesus said, guys, this is just the beginning. And there is bad news here. But there is also good news. Let's take a look at that because I wanna end on this, that there is an opportunity to share Jesus and the gospel to all nations.
There's opportunity. There really is in our everyday to day life. In word and in deed, we can share the good news of God's love and forgiveness. Absolutely no doubt about it. The Holy Spirit helps us to know what to say.
Isn't that good news? Then you go, I don't even know what to say. The Holy Spirit's going, I got you. I got you covered. I'll give you the words to share.
Here's more good news. The one who endures, the one who holds up against that heavy load because of God's divine power will be saved, safe. That's good news. For the sake of his chosen, God has shortened those days. I I'm I'm just saying there was a lot of bad news, but apparently, Jesus is saying, hey.
It it's it's actually gonna be shortened. Here's good news. We'll see Jesus coming on the clouds with great power and glory. It will be unmistakable when he comes again. And he is going to send angels to gather his chosen ones, those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus, those who have acted on that little, that little bit of faith that God has given.
Some some are given just a little measure of faith, and some are are given a larger measure. Our job is to act on the faith that has been given. Ray, in the parable yesterday, on Sunday, there was a quote. And I loved it. That is I feel like that is that's a really good quote.
Leon Morris. And here's one more. God's word will never disappear. What he says will come to pass. So that is a lot of information, I know.
But if you go, I don't know what Carl said. Would you would you at least put this right here in your back pocket that we are to remain watchful and prepared for Jesus' return? That's the big idea here, to remain watchful and prepared for his return. So that's the good word for tonight. I was actually really excited to share this.
I I I still am. And I know there's bad news, but there's always good news when there's bad news. There's always good news. And so I'd like to hear your thoughts on this too. If you're if if if you'd like to to add to this, I I I would love to hear it.
But one more word of encouragement, a verse from Hebrews ten twenty three, and then I'll pray and then open it up for conversation. But it says, let's hold tightly and without wavering to the hope that we affirm because God can be trusted to keep his promise. So I'm holding on to that. And can we pray just one more time? God, as we read about your second coming, it it can feel so overwhelming.
But, God, wouldn't you remind us of your promises to us that you are with us, that you will never leave us or forsake us, that the Holy Spirit will help us to know what to say, that your divine power can help us to endure the the heavy load, that you will indeed return, no doubt about it, and that your words will will never disappear. God, would you give us courage? Would you help us to be bold? Would you help us to pay attention? In Jesus' name, amen.
