Year 2, Day 160: Mark 13

What Beautiful Stones, Jesus!

This first story in Mark 13 brings me a lot of comfort for two different reasons.  First, here is Jesus trying to teach His disciples about what God is literally on the cusp of doing and one of His disciples instead focuses on the things of the world.  “Look at what beautiful stones!”  I can feel Jesus slapping His own forehead in disbelief as the comment comes out of the disciple’s mouth.  I mean, seriously?  Is that what a person should be focused on in the presence of Christ?

But I also find it comforting because Jesus doesn’t chastise the disciple.  Jesus instead turns it into a teachable moment.  How many times am I that guy who can’t focus on Jesus when He is right in front of me?  Jesus doesn’t get mad, He just takes me where I am and refocuses me.  There is such blessed relational grace in this story.

Be Prepared

Much of the rest of the chapter is going to loosely revolve around the idea of preparedness.  We begin with the passage on the signs of the end of the age.  Let’s take a really hard look at this, because I think there are a bunch of people that miss the true depth of Jesus’ words.  There will be violent wars.  Nature will become turbulent.  So many people see those things in our world today and say, “The End Is Near!”  What does Jesus say?  No.  This is just the beginning.  It isn’t the middle.  It isn’t the end.  It is the beginning.

What is the end?  Look at what Jesus says.  They will turn you over as they would turn on a criminal.  Brother will rise up against brother.  Father against son and daughter against mother.  We will know it is the end when Christians are no longer even accepted in this world.  The other stuff … that’s just the beginning stuff.  The end is near when there is no safe refuge for the Christian in this world.  The end is near when to be a Christian means to embrace judgment and death. 

Woe to the people who live during that age.  We think it is tough now; we can only imagine how tough it will get. 

Blessed are the faithful who live during that time, for their reward will surely be great in heaven.  These are the least who will likely become the great.

This makes me really think about the idea of “luke-warm.”  I have always been fascinated by the church in Laodicea because of the description found in Revelation 3:16.  “Because you are luke-warm in your faith, I will spit you out.”  It makes me wonder … if it was illegal to show up and worship in a building, how many of us would continue?  If it was illegal to own a Bible, how many of us would get rid of them or at least hide them and never look at them?  If it was illegal to wear a cross around one’s neck, how many would continue to do so?  Not that any of these things save a person, of course. 

Even that makes me wonder.  Sure, we may believe God is real.  But so do the demons.  Read James 2:19.  Does that make them saved and followers of God?  Not by my knowledge.  What about the church in Laodicea?  Certainly they believe in God and believe that God is real.  But they are luke-warm in faith!  God says to them, “I am about to vomit you out of my presence!”  The people in Laodicea are interested in compromise.  They want eternal life because of their belief, but they want to live life their way and in their luxury.  What will that get them?  Nothing good, certainly.  Just believing that God exists is not the same as living a life of obedient submission to that God.

In the end, it will be bad for Christians.  It will be far worse than we can even imagine.  Who among us would have the strength to stand then?  If we think ourselves of having the strength to stand then, why do we not then stand when it is easier now?  If we cannot be obedient when it is easier, why do we think we will be obedient when it is difficult?

We are then told by Jesus that there will be an abomination to the faith.  This likely has something to do with a person genuinely claiming to be God and people genuinely following that person as a god.  It will be an abomination to the truth and to the true way.  People will be led astray.  It will be an evil day.

Gathered to God

But then Christ will come.  He will send out the angels and gather the faithful unto Himself.  This is a passage of hope!  Even in the darkest of hours, pockets of genuine believers will exist!  No evil day will be completely evil!

We are to learn these lessons.  Wars and natural disasters really tell us that it is just the beginning.   When it becomes illegal to follow God and families are willing to turn on each other because of the faith; then the time is near.  Then the time has come to be absolutely prepared.  Until that time, we are still in the beginning.  We should be preparing and teaching, for that day is coming.  But it is not here yet.

We cannot know the day or the hour.  We will not know the day or the hour.  God knows it, and I believe much of the timing is still undecided from our perspective.  God knows when it will happen, but the course that we allow humanity to track still has much to do with when it ultimately comes about. 

But the truth is that knowledge of the day or the hour of Christ’s return should not change us.  If we think that knowing that Jesus would return tomorrow would change anything, then all that confession does is condemn who we are today.  We should be living today as though Christ will come tomorrow.  Tomorrow we should be living as though Christ is coming the day after.  If we are not living that way, then are we really living with the seriousness of faith that God desires from our hearts?

This is a tough chapter and I ask some pretty harsh questions here.  The teachings of Jesus the week before He died are not for the faint of heart.  His time is short, and His teaching is blunt.  But I do believe this is the teaching we need to hear in our culture today.  God’s name be praised, for only He is the source of Truth.

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