Kempsey Baptist: Jesus and The End Times - Mark 13:1-8

Kempsey Baptist Church

Sunday 29 November 2015

Jesus and the End Times - Mark 13:1-8

Prayer

Heavenly Father and maker of us all - bless the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts - help us to grow, show us your ways and inspire us to live by your truth.  Amen

Bible Reading: Mark 13:1-8

Introduction
It is generally accepted that the gospel of Mark was written from Rome and to the Christians in Rome which represent the physical church as a record of the early advents of the life and teaching of Jesus. It is also assumed that the writer is John Mark who was a traveler with Peter and Paul. The gospel is about capturing the oral accounts of eyewitnesses and recorded for the Roman community in Rome.
Chapter 13 of Mark is also referred to in Christian tradition as the “little apocalypse.”  The term ‘End Times” is commonly known as part of the study called “Eschatology” and “apocalypse” falls within along with the return of Jesus.
Very early in the gospel, Jesus announces in Mark 1:15, “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” The phrase, “The kingdom of God is near,” forms the end times ideas which Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) and Charles H Dodd (1884-1973) had major influence in developing concepts about eschatology and I will highlight their ideas latter on.
Let us take a step back to the time of Jesus and recapture the expectation of the Jewish community and the hope of the future. A central part of the Jewish religious aspirations for generations was the promised Messiah and the kingdom of God which they saw in King David.
The Jewish nation lived under the domination of an imperial force of Rome and they had two burning questions:

·        How could the nation be restored?

·        Who would be the divinely appointed instrument?

This was the picture of the Jewish hope but not the hope that Jesus was unfolding. Jesus was using language they understood but he was redefining to something else.
One of the early fathers was Augustine of Hippo (354-430) alluded that the “kingdom of God” referred to “the organised structures of the church, regarded themselves as legitimate successors to the Roman empire with a political mandate”  (Drane 2011). This became the public image and with the church solely had the Scriptures; this was their interpretation of “the kingdom of God”. This was the mindset that the public were taught in the homily that Rome was the authority for both politically and spiritual matters. This operated for a numbers of centuries until the period of reformation made inroads into matters of faith and daily living.
How do we understand the events of the end times and “the kingdom of God?”
We need to understand that “Jesus never talks about the future without it also firmly rooted in the here-and-now.” We will see this more clearly when we look at the passage in Mark’s gospel.
To understand some thinking about the end times, we be looking at two scholars who made inroads about end times ideas.
The first person is a German musician and theologian, a medical missionary in Africa. Would anyone like to suggest who that person is? (Albert Schweitzer 1875-1965) Albert promoted the idea that Jesus was obsessed with what he called “futurist eschatology.” What does he means?

·        Jesus held roughly the same expectation as the apocalyptic writers of Albert time.

·        Albert believed God was about to intervene immediately and dramatically in the affairs of humanity.

·        Albert owns life’s work was to be the decisive climax of history.

Albert believed in a future end time event when the kingdom of God would come and intervene. It was something to hold onto, the hope of our salvation, a new earth and a new heaven as the writer in Revelation writes.
The second person is a Welshman, a New Testament scholar who had an opposite view to Albert is Charles H Dodd (1884-1973) but believe the kingdom had already arrived in Jesus.
What was happening in the community following World War 1 was a generation that had experienced the horrors of war and they were beginning to ask question whether the human race really was as advanced as had been supposed?
So Charles was a promoted that Jesus brought the kingdom of God and we can have that experience now. Remember that Jesus ascended, so that the promise Spirit can come and be our guide in the new relationship, restored into fellowship with God. Is this the kingdom that Jesus was promoting?
I do not know where you sit but there is consensus among scholars today is that there are elements of truth in both ideas and commonly known as “inaugurated eschatology” (Drane 2011 p74)
Both Christians and Non-Christians alike are fascinated by the “end times.” (Akin 2014)
As we shall see from this passage there is skepticism that is ripe in our world where erroneous predictions of so many pseudo-prophets and prognosticators flourish.
What a dramatic time in our national and global life. The intensity of issues regarding politics, religion, race, violence, economics, migration, terrorism, and war fill the headlines of blogs and posts, newspapers and news sites all day, every day. Our world teems with vivid and profound need. Much of it understandably leaves us silent. (Mark Labberton, President Fuller Seminary quoted in a message on 20 Nov 2015, “Hope and thanksgiving in a season of suffering.”)
Deception is coming, so do not Be Led Astray – Mark 13:1-8
The story is picking up with Jesus leaving the temple for the last time. The magnificence structure has caught the eyes of one disciple and commented. The temple shows splendour, great architectural wonders to the world, rebuilt by Herod. The structure comprised of large white stones and gold decoration which could blind when the sunlight rays hit.  To the Jewish people, God was external to them and the temple held the very sanctuary of God but Jesus tells the disciples, “Do you not see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
We find that Jesus was leaving the temple with his disciples when the observation was made, it was something tangible, and the stones will be dismantled. No long a place of worship for the Jewish people or for God to be housed. Mark records the party now at the Mount of Olives which is situated 826m above sea level on the Judean Mountains at the city of Jerusalem and 80m above the temple complex. This is where we have Jesus with Peter, James, John and Andrew. What Jesus said stirred up questions, when will this happens and what are the signs. They were looking for fixed events but Jesus doesn’t answer their question of time or define events. Instead he gives numerous warning.

·        Watch out that no-one deceived you (5)

·        Wars and rumour of wars (7)

·        Nation against nation & kingdom against kingdom (8)

·        Earthquakes and famines (8)

Jesus refers to these as “the beginning of birth pain” (8) and also Matthew 24:8. There is a sense that the whole creation will experience agony, deceivers claiming to be the one, do not be alarm by wars. These two things, deceivers and wars must happen but the end is yet to happen. Matthew, Mark and Luke contain this incident but only Matthew and Mark refer that the incident will be like “the beginning of birth pains.” But I am told the birthing pain is something like having kidney stones or is it like an impinge nerve pain. This is one area that I am not an expert and maybe the reason no commentators have elaborated on the phrase, “the beginning of birth pain.”
When I look at these 8 verses, it is talking about events that will happen external to me. It maybe personal, different opinions, claiming to be the one that can help, the media are full of them which can develop into war and nation against nation over ideology or religion, different policy. The standards are dropping as we become more secularised.
These verses demonstrate an uncovering of events that is called, “little apocalyptical” and outlays the beginning of the end times. All these four events are taking place and have been for a long time. I am constantly reminded that we surely are in the last days and the scripture reinforce that we do not know the time but we must be ready.
Conclusion  
In closing my advice and that of the scriptures is to trust in God means living a life expectant and hopeful for Christ’s return; it need not be consumed by explaining every world affair in terms of God’s super-plan.

Let me pray:
Heavenly Father, you know all things before they came into being and as we consider the lesson about the end times. Help us to keep our eyes focus on Jesus you Son and we ask that the Spirit be near and guide as we walk in your way. AMEN

Resources
Akin, Daniel L. 2014. Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Mark. B & H Publishing Group: Nashville, Tennessee
Drane, John. 2011. Introducing the New Testament. Third Edition. Fortress Press: Minneapolis. pp 72-75; 187-191
English, Donald. 1992. The Message of Mark: The Mystery of Faith. The Bible Speaks Today. Inter-Varsity Press: Nottingham, England. Pp 202-210
Hurtado, Larry W. 2011. Mark: Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. Grand Rapids: Bakers Books. Pp 211-227.