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This morning we are picking back up in the Gospel of Mark.
If you’re new to our church, it would be good for you to know that we practice a form of preaching called “Expository Preaching”.
What that means is we believe the Bible is best taught by taking books of the Bible and then studying them from beginning to end, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, in order to understand what they mean in our lives today.
With that said, we are currently walking through the Gospel of Mark, a book that is meant to teach us who Jesus is, what he came to do, and what it means for you and I to follow him.
So, if you haven’t been with us, I would encourage you to go online to marysvillefellowship.com or download our app from the app store where you can listen to all the messages leading up to today.
As we come back to our study today, you may recall we are working our way through Mark chapter 13, a chapter in Mark’s Gospel that is unique to the rest of the book.
Unique because it is composed of what theologians refer to as apocalyptic literature.
Which means it is a chapter about end time events, specifically the days leading up to Jesus’s return.
And as we’ve learned, Mark gives us this chapter for two reasons.
First, the chapter is strategically placed between chapter 12 and 14 in order to bring encouragement to the followers of Jesus because dark days lie ahead.
We know this because as chapter 12 closes out Jesus’s public ministry, chapter 14-16 will pick up with the betrayal, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus into heaven.
And in the middle of that is chapter 13.
A chapter meant to give hope to Mark’s readers and us hope as we await the return of Jesus.
And as we learned, this waiting period is called “The Church Age”.
It’s the time frame between Jesus’s ascension at the beginning of and his return in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation.
What that means then is, chapter 13 isn’t just for the readers of Mark’s day, it’s for us as well as we to continue to wait for Jesus to return.
And like the disciples of Mark’s day, this chapter is meant to give us hope and focus as we await that day.
Second, chapter 13 is the result of an observation the disciples made concerning the temple at the end of chapter 12.
You may recall, as Jesus and the disciples were leaving the temple, they mentioned to Jesus how amazing they thought the temple structure was.
But the Jesus surprises them with his own observation.
Instead of agreeing with them, Jesus tells them the temple is going to be destroyed.
And as we’ve discussed, the very idea of the destruction of the temple would have been a cataclysmic event for the Jews of that day.
For many Jews, the temples destruction would have signified the end of the world.
So as you might imagine the disciples now have a question.
When Jesus?
When will this happen?
When will the world end?
And it’s no different today.
The truth is, we live in a culture that is obsessed with end of the world events and calamities.
So, like the disciples we want to know when these things are going to happen.
When will the world end.
And specifically, as Christians, we want to know when Jesus is going to return, and what will be the signs of his coming.
So, that’s what chapter 13 is all about.
It’s about finding hope when it seems like the world is falling apart, and it’s about knowing what to look for and prepare for as we await Jesus’s return.
So, how does Jesus respond to the disciples question, and to our question.
Interestingly enough, Jesus doesn’t start with the answer, instead, he starts with a warning.
And as we learned, the warning is twofold.
Interestingly enough, Jesus doesn’t start with the answer, instead, he starts with a warning.
And as we learned, the warning is twofold.
First, he warns us not to be deceived by false teachers or false signs.
False teachers would be those who claim to have knowledge about the end times, but their teaching doesn’t line up with the Bible.
Jesus says don’t be deceived by such people.
False signs would be wars, rumors of wars, and natural disasters.
Jesus says, don’t let such things deceive you.
Wars and natural disasters aren’t signs, but are the natural result of a sin stained world.
They’ve existed since Adam and Eve fell in the garden of Eden, and they’ll exist right up to the end.
They are the result of sin, not signs of the end of the world.
Second, Jesus says don’t be deceived by persecution.
In other words, don’t be surprised when you face difficulties as a Christian, and then automatically assume that the end is near.
The Apostle Peter had to remind the early church of this.
Peter writes, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (ESV)
How many of you have remember that song from the 60’s, “My Mama Said”?
So, what did mama say? "Mama said there’d be days like this, there’d be days like this mama said.”
That’s what Peter is saying here.
Peter says, “Hey guys, don’t act surprised when persecution comes your way.
‘Jesus said there’d be days like this, there’d be days like this Jesus said.’”
And as we discussed last week, that’s so often the challenge for many American Christians.
Because unfortunately we have this western mindset that following Jesus is all about blessing and prosperity, not persecution.
But Peter says, “Guys, persecution comes with following Jesus.
It’s part of the deal.”
In fact, Peter says it’s the evidence that you are a Christ follower.
He goes on to write:
“If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”
(ESV)
And the challenge for many American Christians, is when persecution comes, we think its strange.
We act surprised.
And as a result we begin to associate it with the end of the world.
So, we say things like:
“Can you believe it!
They took the 10 commandments out of the schools.
Jesus must be coming back soon!”
“Can you believe it!
A gay couple sued a Christian couple because they wouldn’t bake them a cake, and they won the lawsuit!
Jesus must be coming back soon!”
“Can you believe it!
On The View, Joy Behar said anybody that follows Jesus is mentally ill.
Jesus must be coming back soon!”
“Can you believe it!
On The View, Joy Behar said Mike Pence is mentally ill because he talks to Jesus.
Jesus must be coming back soon!”
That’s what we do, right?
So, Jesus says, “Don’t be deceived by such persecution.
Don’t be surprised.
They hated me, so they’re going to hate you.
It doesn’t mean the world is ending.
It’s not a sign that I’m coming back.
It’s just what comes with following me.
If you’re going to stand up for me, you’re going to get persecuted.”
So, that’s where Jesus starts.
And now, with that out of the way, Jesus is is now ready to answer their question and give us some end time insight.
And to be honest, this is where the chapter gets tricky, because as Jesus gives his answer, he’s not going to move chronologically.
In other words, he’s not going to give us a linear timeline from beginning to end.
Let me explain it like this.
How many of you have seen the “Back to the Future” movies?
If you don’t recall, there were three of them.
Back to the Future 1, 2, & 3.
You may recall, in the first Marty Mcfly, played by Michael J. Fox, uses the DeLorean time machine to jump from 1985 back to 1955, where he encounters his teenage parents, and goes through quite an ordeal before jumping back to 1985.
In the second movie, Back to the Future 2, Marty goes from 1985 to 2015, where he encounters his future son, as he tries to fix the future before he returns back to 1955 to once again deal with his teenage parents.
And then in the third movie, Back to the Future 3, Marty goes from 1955 back to 1885, where he encounters his western ancestors, and then finally ends up back in the present in 1985.
Everybody with me?
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