26th Sunday a Pentecost (2nd Last Sun. of the Church Year) “We Shall Not Be Moved”
November 17, 2024 Mark 13:1-13
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Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ
Hebrews 12:28 says: “We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.”
That promise is implied by Jesus in Mark 13. In these 2 last Sundays of the Church Year,
we are focused on the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, often called Judgment Day. He will bring the Great Resurrection Day, and take us home. But until He arrives, we must stand firm in His promise, in His Word, & in that hope. This is what Jesus is teaching in Mark 13.
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Much of our lives looks to ‘the future.’ Children dream about what they’ll do when they’re old enough; parents invest in their child’s education so that they will have a good career; every day there is some news report about the future of the economy. Some people are already concerned about the next election cycle; some are warning us to be preparing for the next pandemic. What lies in the future? Who should we listen to? If we put too much trust in the media forecasters, our life becomes like a rollercoaster: one day our future looks up, the next day we’re looking down, and sometimes we’re completely upside down.
How much more level & firm & calm we are when we first listen to the Lord of heaven & earth. Jesus reminds us of what has always been true since mankind sinned. The things of this world, which appear solid, will not stand. And the cross, which appears powerless, gives us a different kind of strength that will endure to the end.
In Mark 13, Jesus is coming out of the temple for the last time; in just 3 days, He will be nailed to the cross. When one of the disciples points out the magnificent, massive temple stones, Jesus makes a shocking prediction. None of the Disciples would’ve guessed that in
just 40 yrs, it would all be completely destroyed. But there was One who knew it would happen; and so, whoever believed & trusted that One would remain unshaken, and stand firm during that troubled time.
That One also knew some other future things; such as what would happen that very week. Jesus knew He would be /betrayed, /falsely condemned in court, /scourged, /crucified, /die & rise again.
Jesus never sinned against anyone, but He offended many with the truths of God. Those in power were pushing Him to the cross. If you had 3 days to live, what would you do? (maybe redo your will, visit family, sit & sulk, or party?) With 3 days to go, the Son of God went to the temple to teach; /He told parables about important spiritual things; /He debated with the Pharisees & Sadducees about their false beliefs; /He sat & watched the people, and praised that widow who, in faith, gave all she had back to God = two copper coins. Jesus knew future events; but He didn’t rush around & panic about earthly things. He was unshaken, & focused on the things that would last.
So Jesus has just a few days left. It’s no wonder He wasn’t in the mood to admire the massive stones of the temple that day. He admitted that the temple was a ‘great’ building,
but the Twelve should not let themselves be deceived. ‘It will all be destroyed,’ He says. Wisely, the Disciples waited for a little privacy, & then asked Him: ‘When, Lord?
As He answers, Jesus speaks a ‘dual’ prophecy = things of now and later. Before the big & final End, before His return in power & glory, terrible things will happen in Jerusalem, among the nations, & in various places. So His message is clear, but it’s general: Earthly life has a long history of falling apart; it will continue to fall apart until the End. And His believers have always been called upon to stand firm as a part of ‘a kingdom that cannot be shaken.’
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So, the disciples ask, ‘what should we look for?’ And Jesus talks about 4 signs that relate to the collapse of 4 different foundations in which people tend to put their trust.
The FIRST FOUNDATION that crumbles is RELIGION. He says, “see that no one leads you astray.” The first sign is spiritual deception. Many will come & claim to speak for God; and the false doctrine will sound nice, and it will fool many careless believers.
Spiritual deception is very serious, because it robs God’s people of the truth; without the truth, people cannot know the real Christ, and will not believe in God’s salvation by grace & thru faith in Him. For example, the world has become Satan’s ‘con-man’, with the ‘co-exist’ bumper-sticker, to convince us that all religions have equal value, & all lead to the same heaven.
This deception is as old as Satan’s lie about that forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. Adam & Eve’ deception led to disobedience & eviction; & it finally ends in death. People are tempted to seek ‘spiritual wisdom’; when it contradicts God’s Word of Truth, it’s deadly. We can see deception at work when Christians are labeled as ‘unloving,’ when we are just using Christ’s own words to warn about sin. Deception is at work when we see young adults led astray to despise the old-fashioned Christian views, and are told: don’t let a 2,000 yr old book tell you what to do.
‘See that no one leads you astray’. Think of how deceiving it is when religious groups say it’s ‘loving’ to let people ‘do whatever feels right’; just ‘be true to yourself.’ Jesus says that our ‘selves’ are corrupt in sin. It’s no wonder religions of the world will call good things bad & bad things good. They see no need for repentance, forgiveness, & obedience to God’s Bible-truth. This kind of religion is not true faith, and it can only end in one fiery place.
Like those disciples, we must go to the Son of God & learn. We must always compare what we see & hear to God’s perfect Word – so that we are not led astray. The religious ideas of this world, like those massive stones of the temple, will all be thrown down.
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The SECOND FOUNDATION that does not endure is POLITICAL POWER. Many base their sense of life-security on governments, since politics is the power of this world. But no nation will last forever; including the U.S. Nations rise & fall; countries & leaders come & go. The fact that governments fail is a sign that the Lord has established a better kingdom.
It was a like a modern parable when ‘iron curtain’ fell in 1989. The nationalist=socialism of Russia & East Germany was supposed to be a paradise: ‘from each according to his means — to each according to his need.’ But they failed by ignoring the Biblical truths of human nature. So, the few powerful leaders had wealthy control, & all the people had powerless suffering.
What came to light was this: when the massive stones of human government crumbled, we saw that the underground Christian faith was standing firm. Socialism & communism is gov’t at its worst; but, our democratic-type gov’t is also not perfect, even with all its blessings.
We enjoy more godly freedom & prosperity within our ‘republic’, but our government is still a shaky human foundation, and it will not last; it will be torn down.
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The crumbling THIRD FOUNDATION described by Jesus is the NATURAL WORLD. Scripture says that creation itself groans under the consequence of man’s sin against God. And I’m not talking about the claims of climate alarmists who say we’re ruining the earth with fossil fuels, CO2 emissions, & over-population. If we got rid of all cars & all factories, there would still be earthquakes in California, hurricanes in Florida, and either floods, droughts, & tornadoes in the Midwest.
The earth is broken because its chief creature broke away from the Creator. So this world is no solid foundation for life & peace. In many ways, this creation is impressive. But like the huge building blocks of the Temple, it will all be torn down. Only the Creator is unshakable,
as Psalm 46 says: “God is our refuge and strength …therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea… nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts His voice, the earth melts.”
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And FINALLY, the 4TH FOUNDATION to crumble saddens us. THE FAMILY itself becomes a sign of the end. The outside pressures of immorality assault the integrity of the family; such as /fornication, /cohabitation, /divorce, /abortion, /& homosexual unions. It’s hard enough to stand firm against those. But even worse is the sign of betrayal from within the family.
When it comes to faithfulness to Christ as Lord of this life, even our family relationships are not an unshakable foundation. They say ‘blood is thicker than water’; but our blood-bonds are not stronger than the Baptismal-bond we share in Christ. In rebellion against Christ, brother will betray brother, & children will rise up against parents. The family unit is vital & God-pleasing; but if we put our spiritual trust in it, we will be shaken & crumble.
So it is, that with all things earthly & with human involvement: with religion, government, nature, & family, they appear to be massive foundational-stones for life; but don’t put your eternal hope in them, because they cannot last. ++++++++++++++++
And so, by telling us the hard truth about these false foundations, Jesus prepares us to hear of the one, true foundation; so that we will know how to be unshakable in our future. HE is the foundation on which we stand & endure to the end, & are saved. He is the chief cornerstone. St.John wells us why he wrote his gospel account of who Jesus is & what He has done; he said, ‘these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”
Jesus is the One who has come from heaven to deliver the promise of the full atonement for all our sin – by His death on the cross. He has become the rock of our salvation; the stone the other builders rejected has become the chief-stone. Death could not destroy Him as He rose from the dead, and threw down the tomb-stone. He has shown Himself to be the only true foundation for our life; He is our future.
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Wouldn’t it be nice to know the future? We do quite a bit of living toward the future, even tho we don’t know what our country will be like, or the economy, or our health, or what our children will do with their lives. These are part of our life, but the Son of God teaches us to be cautious. History shows us how many things in the world have crumbled = strong things we thought would last, and didn’t. Those things are God’s signs to us; so that we will not put our trust & hope in them.
The hope we have is God-built; it is the true foundation for our present & our future. We have His saving Gospel Promise = it is the good news of forgiveness & life -for all sinners- who are baptized & believe in the Savior Jesus. The End is coming, and we are not afraid.
We are standing firm in our hope in Christ, & His sign of the cross & empty tomb.
And that’s the message we have for others when we see that they are worried about the future. That same Jesus is coming back to bring us -& all His people- into the kingdom that cannot be shaken.
Amen