Matthew 24:1-8 Mark 13:1-8 Luke 21:5-11
|
1 Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when
His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 And
He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not
one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
3 As
He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately,
saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the
sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And
Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 5 “For
many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead
many. 6 “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See
that you are not frightened, for those things must take
place, but that is not yet the end. 7 “For
nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various
places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 “But
all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
|
1 As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples
said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful
buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great
buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn
down.”
3 As
He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James
and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4 “Tell
us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign
when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” 5 And
Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. 6 “Many
will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead
many. 7 “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be
frightened; those things must take place; but that
is not yet the end. 8 “For
nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will
be earthquakes in various places; there will also be
famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth
pangs.
|
5 And while some were talking about the temple, that it
was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, 6 “As
for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in
which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn
down.”
7 They
questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen?
And what will be the sign when these things are about to
take place?” 8 And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for
many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is
near.’ Do not go after them. 9 “When
you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must
take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”
|
God’s perspective of history and reality is far different
from our own. We are easily impressed by
buildings and physical beauty. God knows
a beauty far beyond this world and knows that all this world is passing. We are greatly disturbed by human conflict
and natural disasters. God sees these
things far differently than we do. Jesus
wants His disciples to be prepared for the days ahead. They were under the impression that the
kingdom was going to be right around the corner. This hope has and should remain in every
generation. However, Jesus wants to warn
all His followers about what will take place in the future. Too much focus on the future can make us
ineffective in the present. Too little
knowledge about the future can lead us to despair. Balance is key to this area.
JESUS WARNS THE DISCIPLES OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE: Jesus
was a regular guest at the temple and used this location to teach many
lessons. This temple had been built by
the nation that returned from exile after a long seventy years of
captivity. Those who had seen Solomon’s
temple prior to the exile cried because this temple was not as grand as
Solomon’s. However, it was still an
impressive structure. The disciples were
very impressed by this place of worship and symbol of national identity. When they commented on the beauty of the
temple to Jesus, He warned them that this temple would be destroyed again. This is a clear indication that there was a
road of great suffering ahead before there would be any kingdom. But the physical building was not the only
temple that would be destroyed. Jesus
would also die as the temple of His body would be hung on a cross and placed in
a tomb. The path to the glory of the
kingdom would be one of suffering.
THE DISCIPLES WONDER ABOUT THE COMING OF THE KINGDOM: The
disciples met the revelation about the destruction of the temple with wonder about
the coming of the kingdom. In their
minds, the kingdom was imminent. The
destruction of the temple didn’t seem to be in line with this expectation. So they ask what the sign of His coming would
be. This would continue to be a subject
that would occupy their minds right up until the ascension of Jesus. The desire to reign with Jesus was of vital
importance to them. They were not very
excited about the prospect of suffering.
It is easy for the followers of Christ to think life will be all about
success and reigning. Jesus is striving
to show His disciples that it is a path of suffering that will find its
culmination in a glorious kingdom. We
must always remember that the path to reigning leads through suffering.
JESUS WARNS THE DISCIPLES ABOUT WARS AND DISASTERS: Jesus
answers the disciple’s question about the signs of the coming of the kingdom by
seeking to prepare them. He warned them
that there would be many impostors who would claim to be Messiah that would act
as if they were coming in the name of Jesus.
He also warned them that there would be wars and many natural
disasters. However, He made it clear that
these things were not the signs of His coming, they were merely birth pangs. Wars and natural disasters along with false saviors
are a part of living in a fallen world.
These are not the signs that the kingdom is here, they are simply a sign
that it is getting closer. We need to be
careful about thinking or teaching that wars, disasters and false teachers are
an indicator that the return of Jesus is very near. That may not be the case. We do not know when He will come and
speculating on this is a waste of time and energy. It is also dangerous because it can create a
false hope that Jesus will come very soon and if He delays, people can become
discouraged. Jesus is coming and we can
rest assured in great hope of that truth.
We just don’t know when. So, as
we wait, we work and worship.
APPLICATION: Don’t be impressed by the physical beauty of
this world. It is passing and it is not
to be compared with the glory of Jesus.
When disasters happen and false teaching increase keep calmly and
confidently working for the expanse of the Gospel. The kingdom will come at the exact right time,
so while we wait for that to happen, we have a job to do. Take great hope in the promises of God but
don’t become distracted by them.
Comments
Post a Comment