2021-2028

Rev. Brian Weinberger

RCL Year B • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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Today we hear an interesting story that starts off with the one of Jesus disciples commenting on how incredible the Temple and the courtyards surrounding the temple look. The reason they are so impressive is that Herod had invested in restoring parts of the temple that had gone under disrepair and had actually made the courtyards even bigger to accommodate the mass amounts of pilgrims that came to the temple during the festivals throughout the year.

It certainly was an impressive sight to see and probably very concerning to hear that Jesus would say that they would all be thrown down one day. Part of this huge structure is the temple proper which is where the priests offered sacrifices to God and where the curtain was, and behind that curtain was where God resided. It was called the Holy of Holies and it was believed that when that was destroyed that it would be the beginning of the sign of the end of days for when God would return.

Dr F Kenton Beshore

So Jesus prediction that that nothing would be left was a prediction that the end times would start and the disciples, when they reach the Mount of Olives and are able to look at the whole temple from there, ask him when all of this will take place. They want to know so they are prepared, and they maybe also want to know because the temple is so huge and massive that it seemed impossible that something like that could happen.

Dr F Kenton Beshore was the founder and president of the World Bible Society until he passed away two years ago at the age of 90. Beshore made a prediction based off numbers he found in the Bible that the world would end in 2021 with Jesus returning 7 years later in 2028. Obviously we cannot tell if the end of the world will take place in 2021 since it hasn’t happened yet, but we have seen many other predictions from other pastors and theologians and don’t forget the Mayan calendar prediction that also didn’t take place.

Dr F Kenton Beshore

Because of passages in the Bible like this and like the book of Revelation we have had people predicting the coming of Jesus for ages. Yet, in the same passage that Dr. Beshore uses as his basis for his prediction in Jesus also clearly tells us that we don’t know the day nor the and and neither does he. That timeline is left to only God alone. Jesus then says it again in the very next chapter in . So why is it that, when Jesus says no one knows and not even Jesus himself have people been so obsessed with finding out the day and the hour? Obviously the disciples were in the same boat because they too wanted to know when it would be.

When Jesus answers them he does answer half of what they ask. The disciples want to know when and what will be the signs that the destruction of the temple is going to happen. Jesus never gives them a ‘when’ answer, but he does go on to tell them different things that will happen that will show the beginning will happen.

I believe one of the reasons that people have been so focused on the idea of when is that they want to be ready for when Jesus comes again. They want to make sure that they have everything that they need for when the end times begin. In fact there are companies that sell shelters to keep you safe and fed during the six months of destruction that will take place according to Revelation. There is also a company that will take care of your pets when you are taken up to heaven so that you know that your furry loved ones are cared for.

Any time that I hear about these kinds of predictions about the coming rapture the first thing that comes to my mind after I remember that Jesus says that no one but God alone knows the day or the hour so there is no need to worry about a date that someone predicts is that I am already ready for what is to come. There is no need for a shelter, or a pet care service because I know that I have been saved by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. I am already ready thanks to what Jesus has already done for me. Jesus has already done it for you as well.

What I believe Jesus is telling us today is that there are going to be difficult times in our lives and we all face hardships that we will have to endure. For the early disciples it was suffering and death at the hands of the rulers and kings of the day. For some people it is being ridiculed or made fun of for their faith. There are so many different hardships that we face in our lives, but Jesus invites us to hold on and let those things happen while we still hold on to our faith.

The text immediately following our verses today continues to talk about apocalyptic themes. This time though it focuses more on what I just talked about. It focuses on the idea that we will go through a lot of different things in our lives. One of the most important things Jesus focuses on isn’t the bad things that happen though that takes up most of the text. What I feel is more important is that Jesus reminds us that through everything we go through whether good or bad in our lives is that we are encouraged to live out and share our faith to all the nations. We see that same charge in the Great Commission in .

So there will be all kinds of things that will happen to us in this life and I am sure that you like me have experienced lots of things in our lives that have been trials that we have had to live through. Even though those things happen I have to always go back to the fact that we have already been saved by God through Jesus and that we are called to be patient through everything that happens in our lives.

I was truly moved a few weeks ago when I heard our youth share their faith statements on their confirmation. Many of them shared some of the trials that they had gone through in their young lives already and that it was their faith in God that helped them through those difficult times. That is what it means to have faith and to endure through any of these difficult times in our lives or whatever happens in this world. These youth said that in the end it was all ok and that God helped them through it.

That is what I think this passage is trying to teach us ultimately. Even if the temple is destroyed, even if there are wars and false prophets that come into this world that try to lead us astray, we need to hold fast and always remember that no matter what happens in this life that we have been saved by Jesus on the cross. Jesus paid the price so that we would no longer have to worry about death or dying. Jesus died on the cross so that we would know that we have a place secured for us in heaven. Jesus died on the cross so that we would know that no matter what happens in this life that we know that everything is going to be fine.

There may be times when we don’t feel fine because of what we are going through, but in the end the promises of God made through Jesus always prevail. Through your faith in Jesus there is nothing that could ever happen in this life that would take away those promises. You may see and experience all kinds of hurts and pains but know that God is bigger and greater than any of it, and in the end God will win. Hold onto these truths and trust in them each and every day of your life.