Sermon Tone Analysis

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*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!”

*2 *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.”

*3 *And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, *4 *“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

*5 *And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray.

*6 *Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.

*7 *And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed.

This must take place, 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.

These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

*9 *“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.

*10 *And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.

*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.

*12 *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.

*13 *And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

*14 *“But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

*15 *Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, *16 *and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.

*17 *And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!

*18 *Pray that it may not happen in winter.

*19 *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.

*20 *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.

*21 *And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.

*22 *For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

*23 *But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

*24 *“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, *25 *and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

*26 *And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

*27 *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.

*28 *“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

*29 *So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

*30 *Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

*31 *Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

*32 *“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

*33 *Be on guard, keep awake.

For you do not know when the time will come.

*34 *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.

*35 *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— *36 *lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.

*37 *And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”

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In 1988 ministers across America received in their mailboxes a free copy of a book that would create quite a stir in the church.

About 4.5 million copies of this book would be sold in bookstores that year.

The thesis of the book, published by a former NASA engineer, is evident from the title that is etched in my memory: /88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988./

I was eleven years old in 1988, but I’ll never forget the feeling I had when I saw this book.

“The world is coming to an end this year.”

It doesn’t take much to scare an impressionable young boy.

But what frightened me the most was how many adults believed it, too.

As the predicted day approached, the Trinity Broadcast Network interrupted regular programming to provide special instructions on how to be prepared for the Rapture and the return of Christ.

Of course the day passed with little fanfare.

Undaunted by his failed prediction, the author revised his book to guess that the rapture would occur in 1989.

And then again in 1993 and 1994 and all the way to 1997.

The author passed away in 2001, so his publications finally ceased.

But interest in the end times has not faded at all.

Something like 63 million copies of the books in the /Left Behind/ series have been sold as people continue to be fascinated by the belief that Jesus is going to return to the earth.

And while, thankfully, many Christians have spoken out against the multitude of false predictions about the return of Christ, and the questionable theology suggested in the /Left Behind/ books, it is true that Christians have always believed that Jesus will in fact return to earth.

Both the Apostles’ and Nicene Creed affirm that Jesus will come again “to judge the living and the dead.”

Christians believe this because Jesus himself predicts it.

One of the places he does so is here in Mark 13.

This passage is often called the Olivet Discourse because Jesus is said to have delivered this teaching “as he sat on the Mount of Olives.”

The next few weeks we will examine the Olivet Discourse in more detail.

Today I would like us to take a look at this discourse as a whole.

We will consider first the occasion for the discourse, and then we will take a survey at its individual parts.

We will conclude with some thoughts about the significance of the discourse.

!

THE OCCASION FOR THE DISCOURSE

Jesus had been making daily trips to the temple ever since he arrived in Jerusalem, but here at the beginning of Chapter 13 we see him leaving the temple for the final time.

He will not return.

As he leaves one of his disciples comments, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings” (v. 1).

Jesus’ reply in verse 2 is what sets off the teaching in this chapter.

“Do you see these great buildings?

There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

It is this predicted destruction of the temple in Jerusalem that brings four of Jesus’ disciples to him for an explanation.

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‎/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?”/

(Mark 13:3-4)

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The disciples sense that if Jesus is right, if the temple really is going to be totally destroyed in the manner he has predicted, then this will be a significant event, for at least two reasons.

!! The Impressiveness of the Temple

The first reason why the destruction of the temple would be a significant event is because the temple was an impressive structure.

Actually, in Jesus’ day, the temple was not complete, though it had been under construction for about fifty years.

Herod the Great began the construction around 20 B.C.

He wanted to satisfy his Jewish subjects by building a temple as magnificent as the original one that Solomon had built.

So he enlarged the temple from its original size.

It had a circumference of nearly a mile, enclosing an area roughly the size of twelve football fields.

The stones that were used in the foundation are almost beyond comprehension.

You can still see some of them to this day, measuring up to 42 feet long, 11 feet high, 14 feet deep and weighing over a million pounds!

There simply was no other temple in the ancient world that could be compared to Herod’s temple.

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, it was “a striking spectacle.”

!! The Importance of the Temple

It is not surprising then that one of Jesus’ disciples, awe-struck with the magnificence of the temple, pointed out the massiveness of the temple to Jesus.

But even more significant than how the temple was constructed was what the temple represented.

Herod may have been politically motivated to build it, but for the Jews the temple had great religious significance.

This was their place of worship.

And for a people with a national religion, the importance of what the temple stood for was even more significant than the impressiveness of the temple’s construction.

Imagine hearing news that the White House had been toppled.

As beautiful a building as the White House is, it is what the White House stands for and what it symbolizes that gives it even more significance.

If we were told that within a few years the White House would no longer be standing at all, we would rightly assume that with the destruction of the White House comes a significant change in life.

That’s why Peter, James, John, and Andrew approach Jesus as he sat on the Mount of Olives across from the temple.

They want more insight into this bold prediction about the temple’s destruction.

They want to be prepared for the turmoil that would surely ensue with its destruction.

!! Destruction of the Temple and the End of the World

This is the occasion for Mark 13 and the so-called Olivet Discourse.