Glad you can be here with me. We are starting back in the book of Mark. We've been going through Mark for a while. And hopefully some of you could find your Mark journal Bibles. I think a few people didn't. I've heard from a few. Couldn't find it. But we might still have some actually, I think. I think there's some more if you want to get a second one. But we do have some Mark, the book of Mark with some blank pages in it you can use to journal to follow through. We're at the end of Mark now. We're in the last few chapters. And so today hopefully give us a quick very quick kind of overview but you could read Mark pretty quick so if you want to catch back up we're starting in. Chapter 13 today but we're back in it excited the next few months we're going to finish the book of Mark before Christmas, Before that, though, looking forward to things sometimes is that I don't know how long it's always been a cultural thing, but I feel like it's such a normal thing, especially if you talk to someone when they book a trip. I was thinking of this in that context especially. Someone, a friend, just finished a really cool trip, and they said, okay, right away one of our first things we do is we figure out the next thing we're going to do. Even if it's like in a year, we know that in a year we're going to go visit family somewhere or do something. We like having that thing out there to know like as we go through life we can look forward to this thing so i think a very normal thing right assume we all have those things or maybe even just in your week you look forward to a thing that helps somehow that like pulls us through harder things, uh if you've had a moment maybe just at work sometimes i've had that you feel that like i can just get to the end of the day knowing there's something at the end of the day i'm looking forward to. This is the kind of the feel, this is the moment that we're going to have today in the book of Mark. Today we're looking at a whole chapter of Mark, but it's this long, in fact, I think the longest kind of monologue that Jesus gives, this kind of sermon, some people even call it a sermon, that he gives where he's going to talk about this idea of having this thing ahead of us. Now this happens, I think, not just something to look forward to, but often actually when things are really hard or scary. And the place I feel this in my life is when I was young, I think even now as I'm old some days too, when I was young, I'd have these moments in my bedroom where I would be scared it would get dark. And I was sure there might be something in a closet or under a bed. Or I was remembering a movie I wasn't supposed to see, but I did see with a friend. And so I'm like scared of something that's going to get me, and I'd be frightened and I would be in my room and I would eventually, if I could muster up the courage, I would yell out usually to my mom. My dad would say... Go to bed from the other room. And my mom usually, if I yelled, Mom, Mom, she would come. And now I've got to experience it as a parent, the same thing, the soft to eventually yelling voice of mom or mama in our house. Still sometimes. That you're nervous, you're scared, there's something that feels uneasy or not right, and you yell because you know this person come in. And for some reason, that person coming in, sitting with you. Calms you, right? It makes you feel safe. You go, okay, things are going to be okay. I can lay here and nothing's going to get me, or they can check out all the scary spots for me, or at least if something scary comes, they are here for me. There's a thing called object permanence, which you learn as a baby. It's a thing we often like to gain. Peek-a-boo is part of an example of that. You learn eventually as a baby that things that aren't right with you are still exist so it's those moments when a child can know like my mom is still in the other room, that she didn't just disappear when she wasn't with me in person and there's a sense of that right there's a sense that I know even, I think when we first moved to our house here it helped our daughter to know that we were just down the hall, our bedrooms changed we used to be on two different floors and she just slept well knowing mom and dad are just like I could see down the hall and see their light was on, and so just knowing i don't see them but i know they exist they're permanent that they're there, helps me get through really hard things really scary things or lots of anxiety laying there and it's the same thing that happens to us in our life if we have a if we're aware that something is real and. Uh stronger or more important or we know there's an end to a thing often it changes how we suffer uh how we're feeling. I think of different ways that we feel these things kind of play out. There's lots of unknowns that we experience is one of the ways, just waiting on unknowns, whether it's test results or a job, or maybe you're waiting on, I've experienced the waiting, for news from a child now who isn't in our home. She still exists somewhere. I know she didn't disappear, but how is she doing? In that, there's like this fear in that. There's anxiety. I'm like wondering what's happening. Sometimes worst case scenarios start spinning in the head. Not knowing because I can't see the thing. We see this just in our world of needing something to get us to the next thing. There's sort of a GPS element to our lives of like, I need something until I arrive at my destination. I need to know there actually is an end point and there's a way to it. There's all these places, right, that we know the destination and we want to know the in-between. We want to know how we're going to get there. Sometimes the thing that just holds us over in that isn't that we know the end. It's something that distracts me in the moment. This would be a bedtime. I remember just giving our kids books or things or trying to remind them of something else or just count sheep because that makes you think of something else and not the closet that's dark or the noise you heard. As adults, we just begin to control things, sometimes to the point of micromanaging things. Sometimes we think the way it's out of it is to rehearse maybe the worst case scenario over and over. I know it's not the best way, but I find myself laying in bed thinking of the worst cases of things so that I can get to the thing. There's lots of ways we deal with this period, right? This moment. And even spiritually we find this, right? We feel like, is God permanent? Is he real? Is he out there? And if we start to believe, maybe he's not. Maybe he doesn't have the best intentions. Then it changes spiritually how we are in a moment before we actually get a moment to be with him. You see this even in Genesis 3 with Adam and Eve. There's the serpent, the accuser. The enemy wants us to believe. Maybe God doesn't have the best intentions. Maybe He's not out there to come back. Maybe He won't come back to get you or care about you. And it changes the right now when we don't know what's up ahead. There's lots of ways we react to that. Today, Jesus is going to share in Mark 13. He's going to sit with His disciples and He's going to talk about this end, this thing that's coming and how it actually really affects the thing right now. And how do we live right now. Knowing there is something coming, that this isn't it. It's an interesting passage. It's a passage that we often actually hear when we talk about end times things or things about when Jesus returns or when the end of the world happens, whatever you want to call that. He's going to talk about it. It's a passage very common for that, and I think a passage that maybe, if you've been around church, has been used often or maybe has even been used to stir up even more anxiety or worry. And so today I hope, the hope is that we can hear the gospel in this. It's actually really good news what he shares with us and should bring great comfort. It should help us feel like we can snuggle in and everything's going to be okay and there's not a monster in the closet that's going to attack us, but instead there's a good God who's coming back for us. That's my hope today by the end. First, though, let's remember what has happened in Mark. Lots have happened, 12 chapters, Jesus comes on the scene, all these things happen, I tried to just give us a few moments to remind us of the flow of Mark. Mark is a gospel. It's a book that's the story of Jesus. It tells the life of Jesus. It's like a biography about a person who has changed the world. And we call it the gospel because gospel means good news. And so that's literally just what the word means is good news. And so this is the gospel of Jesus, the good news about Jesus. And so here's what we know about the good news. I want to keep the focus on the person it's about because the story could get lost in the things that happened. But here's what we remember about the person of Jesus as we walk through Mark. In Mark 1, 14, we hear that he comes on. He's announced by John the Baptist, and it says, For now John was arrested. Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming this good news of God and saying, The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, turn to God, and believe in this good news. He announces essentially what the book is for. He says, I'm here. The kingdom is here. Repent. Turn to God and believe this good news. This is what changes us. This is what heals us. So Jesus comes on the scene and announces this kingdom is coming. So we get a story now, this book, this account of a real person named Jesus and how he is ushered in the kingdom of God. So the kingdom is here, is our first step in Mark. Then as we go through Mark, we see Jesus heal people and care for people. He gathers his disciples. Cast out demons. He's convicting people. He's saying, hey, you're not following the truth. You're not repenting and turning to God, which is where life is. But in this, we learn that Jesus actually is this Christ, this Messiah who's come, that God has promised to come. In Mark 8, 29, we hear, And he said to them, But who do you say I am? And Peter answers them, You are the Christ. It's a moment where Peter, one of his disciples, goes, wow, you're the guy. You're God who has come to rescue his people. You're the Christ. In Mark 10, we hear what Jesus has come for. That he didn't just come as like a king who's come to like build a throne and sit and tell everyone what to do to just have authority over people. He's actually our king, our God, who's come to serve us. And so we hear these words from him. For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. So he shares the gospel. I've come actually to serve you and to give my life so that you could be free. We hear in Mark 10. In Mark 11, 17, we hear, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations, but you have made it a den of robbers. This is the end of what we were in in Mark, and it's this moment where his disciples come with him. They stay in the city of Bethany outside of Jerusalem, and it's during this huge festival time, the Passover, in Jerusalem. People come from all over for this, and they stay with some friends outside in Bethany and they walk through Mount of Olives and they go into Jerusalem each day for the different celebrations. And each day we see this moment where Jesus comes in and he goes to the temple and the temple becomes a place where he goes, this was supposed to be a place of prayer and worship. It's supposed to be a place where God's leaders help people turn to God, repent and believe. And instead he sees people selling things to sacrifice, making money, keeping some people out, dividing people, and he gets really upset. This is this famous scene where Jesus flips tables and cracks a whip. He's very upset, so upset that he's calling the leaders there that God has put in place robbers. Instead of this being a place of prayer where we commune with God, we connect with our God, it's a place where you have actually, you're stealing from people. So he's explaining how the temple is not what the temple was made for. He's pretty upset about this. He uses this image even of a fig tree that they walk by, that the fig tree doesn't produce fruit, then the fig tree dies. And so he's illustrating even as the temple and these leaders are these fig trees aren't producing the fruit of prayer or this connection to God or drawing people to God, but instead they're taking from people. And then in Mark 12, right before we get to our passage today. He tells this story. It's this intense story of this person who has this vineyard and people take care of the vineyard and he keeps sending people. We know the story is picturing this picture of these prophets. He keeps sending people to tell them, hey, you're not taking care of this place, right? And the owner's people are being killed or kicked off. And he eventually says, I'm going to send my son because for sure they'll listen to my son. He still had one other, a beloved son. Finally, he sent him to them. They will respect my son. This great painting of this moment, of this beautiful vineyard and the owner is sending his son. But what they do is they eventually, Jesus tells a story, they actually, instead of saying, oh, you're right. We want to create this place, this vineyard. It's like a picture of the temple right now. They actually throw the son out. Into this pile of garbage heap where they threw garbage and bodies outside. A picture of hell. They throw him outside. And so Jesus says, right before we get to the passage we're in, this is what it's looking like right now. God has sent people to say, I need you to turn to me. I need you to live the lives I've called you to. I want you to worship me and not other things. It seems to me you're worshiping yourself, ultimately. And those prophets have literally, as we see in the Old Testament, or been killed or cast out, not listened to, and he finally sends his son, who you'd hope would be the one that would be respected. It's the owner's son, but instead he is also killed. Jesus, again, just giving us this picture that later you have to, as a disciple, for us later you go, holy cow, that's exactly what was happening. His son was right there. The son was telling them this story, knowing that pretty soon he would also be cast out. And so we see in Mark, up to this, as we see the flames getting bigger, the heat getting turned on and turned up, people are getting quite upset. We're now starting to hear the religious leaders and other leaders in the community say, we not only have to figure out how to get Jesus out of here and get people to stop listening to him, but now they're actually saying, I think we need to kill this guy. I think we need to get rid of this guy. And so it's really got turned up. Jesus is going in to the temple to try to worship, and he's saying this place is no longer what God made it to be. There needs to be a new kingdom and a new temple, and that is what today is going to happen. At the end of these moments from these stories and him flipping tables, they're there for this celebration. We're going to have this week now where we see him. We're going to see him arrested. We're going to see him crucified and buried. He's going to rise from the dead in the next two months as we go through Mark. But before he's setting up this moment, this last kind of moment in the temple with his disciples in 13, that's going to give us a picture of what's coming and what will one day come so we can have hope in what's coming. All right, so we're in 13. So if you have a Bible, I quick just put the whole passage up here. It's a short one today. I didn't know if you'd even be able to see it. I wanted to see how it looked on one screen. I promise I'll zoom in to these, but this is what we're looking at today. This is all of 13. This is essentially a moment where he tells his disciples the temple will be destroyed. They sit down and go, what exactly does that mean, Jesus? How will we know that's coming? He describes what it's going to be like. He brings in the fig tree again, and he ends with this story again of an owner, a master, who has this place that should be taken care of and it's not being taken care of. He really kind of wraps up, it's like a summary of all these moments in the temple together. And he talks about this time that will come. And I would hope to argue today that he's actually talking about that. He's talking about kind of three different moments in history that are going to happen all together. So we're in Mark 13, if you want to hop in there. I'm not going to read it all first. We're just going to read it as we go through, make us some comments, and I hope that we can be encouraged in the end here, as Jesus says at the end, to stay awake. All right, Mark 13, here we go. Our first section here is reminding us or sharing this moment, this narrative that actually happened. So you've got to remember, they've been at the temple. Jesus has been explaining to them the temple is not the house of prayer they thought it was. It's not a place that all people can come and worship God, hear the good news, be changed, be healed. It's not a place that all people can come and worship God, hear the good news, be changed, be healed. But instead, it's become a place where people are trying to lord things over other people. People are trying to get credit for themselves. People are stealing from other people. And so they are coming out once again from the temple. And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Look, teacher, what wonderful stones and what beautiful, wonderful buildings. The temple was beautiful, beautiful. I mean, it was incredible. It took many, many years to build. They say the stone was like beautiful white stone that if it was the right time of day and the sun hit it, it would like glow. Like from a distance, if you looked at Jerusalem, the temple took up a huge part, like almost a sixth of the city. The part of the city would like glow because the sun on the stones that were used. It was carved beautifully. The best artists came and carved pictures into it and ornamental things within everything. I mean, it's a really beautiful place. And so they're just walking out of the temple and they go, how beautiful is this place? It's what we would do if we were walking through a place like that. I remember walking through a Capitol building in Iowa and I was like, I'm overwhelmed by the architecture. It's so beautiful. They're just commenting on that with Jesus. And he said to them, do you see these great buildings? Yeah, they just said they saw them. There will not be left one stone upon another that have not been thrown down. So they said, look at these beautiful buildings and Jesus says, this place is going to crumble. And not like over there is not going to do well. He's like, the whole thing is coming down. It should be surprising. It would be like, this is the center of our spiritual life, of our people, and you're saying it's going to fall down. So as they walk out, they say, look how beautiful. And he says, he doesn't say no. He just says, this place is going to fall down. So that leads us to a place as they walk out of Jerusalem, they sat on the Mount of Olives. And the Mount of Olives is just outside of town. So as they walked out, they'd be walking back to Bethany, that's where they stayed at night. So as they walked back, they probably would walk by the Mount of Olives. It was a hill outside that lots of moments in Scripture happen. It's a hill that overlooks the city, a hill that overlooks the side of the city where they could see the temple. I use like a photograph, an artist's rendering of what it probably could have looked like. They would have been able to get this beautiful view of the city. It's the place where they maybe walked through, we heard other times as they went to the city. It's a place where as you looked onto Jerusalem, you would see this glowing temple. And as they walked back that way, past some fig trees on their way home, And it says they sit there and the disciples, in that process of walking, they had to be thinking, what is that supposed to mean? Like, the temple's going to fall down? This is why we all come here, so we can go to the temple. The Holy of Holies, the place where God's presence is, is in the temple. This is the place we have to sacrifice. And that's where the priests go to be, in the presence of God. Everything has to be around this temple. Without this temple, how do we get forgiveness? And how do we have presence of God? How do we have communion with God? How do we have prayer without this temple? And so they sit down with Jesus and ask that question. A question we'd all ask. As they sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately. I don't know if the disciples were chatting on the way, the whole group, and then they're like, you guys have to ask him. Not long before this, they got to go with Jesus and he glowed. And they're like, you guys got to see him glow on the mountain top. You have to ask him what's up with the temple. And so they asked, tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished? When is that going to happen? Like, I'd like to maybe not be there if it's going to fall over. Or, really, what's going to happen? And when is that going to happen? How will we know it's about to happen? This is an incredible thing to say. Tell us more. So he began to say to them, and now Jesus is going to explain a lot more than I think they were thinking he was going to explain. He's going to explain what is going on here. He began to say to them, See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name saying i am he and they will lead many many astray and when you hear of wars and rumors of wars do not be alarmed this must take place but the end is not yet for Nate for nation will rise against nation and king against kingdom there'll be earthquakes in various places there'll be famines, these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Probably not what they're hoping for they're probably like it'll happen soon it'll be over you guys can do this, he says the earth is going to suffer and quake and tremble the nations are going to quake and tremble there's going to be chaos within earth and people and people groups and leaders there's going to be wars amongst each other people will come and say they're the christ They are to save you. They're going to rescue you. They can save you from all of this. And they can't, but many people will follow them instead of me. They'll be tempted to put their worship and hope in something else to get them out of the chaos, out of the earthquake, out of the famine, out of the corrupt government or kingdoms. And they go, whew, and he goes, and this is just the beginning. They're like birth pains, something's beginning here and happening. Okay, and then he continues to go on. He uses a phrase here we're going to see a lot, so be aware, it's said in different ways, but he says, be on guard or stay awake or be alert. Be on 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. So not just these things around you, you might go, that sounds crazy. I guess we could like hide in the hills or something until it's all over. He says, oh, no, people will come for you as well. They'll be suffering a lot of it. And in fact, they're going to bring you before people and they're going to say, do you follow this Jesus guy? Do you believe the good news? I mean, right away, I can't imagine they know at this point he's the Christ and he's fulfilled all things he's said. And so now they're hearing, it's going to get tough. It's going to be really hard. You're going to have to wonder, can we make it through this thing? They'll bring you to trial and deliver you over. But do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, for whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. It's a beautiful little moment of reprieve. He reminds them, it's going to be really hard. You're not going to know what to say. Do we actually confess that we follow you? And he goes, the Holy Spirit's going to be with you in that, though. I'm going to be right there with you. Our spirit is going to be with you. It reminds me of the great commandment where he says, go and make disciples of all nations. And you think, oh, and he says, but I'm going to be with you. You have a God throughout all of scripture that says, I need you to be strong and courageous, we hear in Joshua, because the Lord God will be with you. This is going to be really hard, but I'm going to be with you. And brother will deliver brother over to death and father his child. And child will raise up against parents and have them put to death. You'll be hated by all for my name's sake, but the one who endures to the end will be saved. That's a pretty heavy thing to be told. I'm going to ask you to turn to me. I mean, before this, right? The kingdom of God is here and repent, turn to me and be saved. And they say, yes. And then he goes, congratulations. You now get to suffer more and you get to have more opposition. And to follow a life in the way I've called you to and to follow me means there might be a lot of suffering, will be a lot of suffering, even families. So now we've seen the chaos in families. We've seen the chaos in kingdoms. We've seen the chaos even in the world. There's this disorder that the fall and brokenness and sin brings. But he says, I'm going to be with you and in your perseverance as the end of this is a rescue, is a save, a saving. That's really difficult. I think in those really hard times, when things get really hard and I'm exhausted, it is very hard to keep my eye on Jesus and not go, I would take anything right now to get me out of this. I would. It's not that hard, right? We live in a time where we hear, we start seeing political ads, and you're like, every political ad is calling out, everything's chaotic and part of that's my opponent's problem they did it but I will rescue us, how easy to turn our hope and our worship to another person or another thing. He goes on. He still goes on. You'd hope there was a pause here. He's like, let me let you take that in for a second. And let's just look out at this view. He just goes, let me tell you some more. He uses an amazing phrase here. But when you see the abomination of desolation standing there, he ought not to be. Let the reader understand. He's saying, listen, you know what I'm talking about. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. He says, you're going to see this thing, this interesting phrase he uses here, the abomination of desolation standing there where he ought not to be. Then you should run to the hills. Let the one who was on the housetop not go down. So at the time the houses there would have been flat. People would have actually hung out on the houses maybe just to cool off during the day, to not be in warm homes. So he's saying, you don't have any time. you're going to have to just get out of here once this abomination of desolation happens. This phrase is, every time I read this, I think of Lord of the Rings. Like there's a movie coming out with Jesus and the Lord of the Lord of the Rings. Someday we've got to make this movie. This phrase is really, really important here. He's saying this thing's coming, and when it comes, it's bad. And we don't know, we've never heard this phrase. None of us probably use this word. I guess in your daily life at work, you don't have meetings, and someone goes, oh, you guys know the abomination of desolation. Unless it was a movie title, maybe you'd know. They would know this phrase. They actually use this phrase specifically because this is the phrase that's used in Daniel. And the phrase is actually referring in Daniel to this time where there's a government and a leadership and people who are not following the Lord. A time when God's people had to learn what does it look like to follow him in the midst of hard things in a place that there was opposition even to being, a worshiper of God, even to even be deaf. And in there, they actually used the phrase in his prophecy in Daniel. We see this in Daniel 9 and 11 and 12. we hear this word, the abomination of desolation. Actually, what it's referring to is a thing that actually happens in the year 167 B.C. So that happens in 167 B.C., which would have been not that long before Jesus is here. People would have known of this moment that happened. So Daniel prophesies this. God says it to him. There's going to be this abomination of desolation. It actually is a person who's going to come, and they're going to come into the temple, and they're going to make the temple no longer a holy place. Which is a little hard for us to understand because we go like, oh, if someone came in and made it so we couldn't meet in a school auditorium, we'd be like, fine, we'll just move to another building. But that is the house of God. That's where you went to sacrifice. If you wanted forgiveness, if you wanted to be in the presence of God, Like you're saying someone's coming in like now, no longer making it possible to go to God's house. And so in 167, a Roman leader actually comes in. They end up doing sacrifices. They turn the temple into an altar of Zeus. This is when the Maccabees revolt. There's this big battle. It's a very huge part of the Jewish history, especially recently. So there's this pattern here that happens. It does happen. So Daniel, him saying this, he's going, this happened when he says this phrase, it would spark like, remember when Daniel said that? The people came in and essentially took over the temple. It no longer became the temple. It was bad news. And we did have to flee. and so they're remembering a thing Daniel said that and it did happen and now by him saying it he's saying now I'm saying this is happening again. And it's interesting here even the word standing here we get it in the translation where he, the word standing here is a unique way of saying standing in the original language it's not, a neutral word it's actually a gendered word so what it means is saying actually in here, when you see the person standing there, and actually it's gendered male. So when you see the man who's standing there who shouldn't be there because he's come to make the temple, no longer the temple, you should flee. So he's saying there's a person who's coming again to make the temple, not the temple. It's going to be bad. Run to the hills. Let the one who is on the hilltop go down or enter his house to take anything away. And let the one who is in the field not turn back to his cloak. Like you just got to get out it's really bad it's gonna be really bad and last for women who are pregnant for those who are nursing infants in those days pray that it might not be in winter i hope it's not in winter even because that would make it even harder, especially if you were pregnant or nursing and to deal with you have to bring your kid or, um and you're gonna have to give birth to a child like out in the hills. It makes it so real. Like, this is a real thing, friends. It's going to be hard. And from those days, there was such tribulation as to not bend from the beginning of creation that God created until now and never will be. It's going to be a really hard time. 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. And when if anyone says to you, look, here's the Christ, or look, there he is, do not believe it. Again, he brings us back again. In all this time of hardship and suffering, They're going to go, look, there's our Savior. Don't believe it, friends. Stay on guard. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, to the elect. But be on guard. I told you all things beforehand. So they ask the question. They're sitting on the hill. How is the temple going to fall? And he says, there's going to be a lot of suffering, a lot of shaking, a lot of chaos, a lot of brokenness. And really specifically, someone is going to come and actually turn the temple no longer into the place of God's house. It's going to turn the temple into abomination. We've seen that before, and he goes, it's going to be even worse this time. It's going to be even harder this time. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will be falling from heaven, the powers in the heavens will be shaken, and when they see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory, 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. This is a passage that is all of this, but this is one that people really love to look at when we're thinking about the end times. As in, like, how will it happen? We do love to figure out how things will happen. We do love to calculate all the things that are happening in the world and the sun didn't rise the same or it was kind of dark for a few days or I live in Alaska and so this must be the end of the world for a season. We love to figure that stuff out. You may have been around that before, maybe even in your own history, you've been around that in a church. We love to figure out exactly when this is going to happen and how it's going to happen so that we know exactly where Jesus is going to be and when he's going to be. These are some of the passages used. If you've ever been around, if you remember every few years, we get someone announces the day that the world went. These are some of the ones we love to use. In fact, this week I even looked up this passage because I was like, I know there's just awesome websites about the end times. So I was like, I'm going to check into some Googled Christian end times websites, which is a wild ride if you just need a break. The first one I found was they were explaining how AI is the Antichrist. They use this passage to explain how AI is bringing in, is making the sun darker and the moon not give its light. And they actually had this. I love this. I'll just tell the Stephen this. They used AI to make like images for their website. It was clearly AI images that were showing what it would look like when these things happened, explaining how AI is the Antichrist. I don't know if they missed that connection there. I want to encourage us in this. This could feel scary and it can feel like, how are we going to know and what's happening. I think we're reading all this together. We're reading it in this part of Mark. Jesus is saying. I don't know if it's literally happening exactly this way, but he's saying things are going to get dark, things are going to get chaotic. From large groups of people that rule to individuals all across the board, there's suffering, there's turning away from God. The places that were used to worship God are not worshiping God. People are turning from the good news and turning from Christ. So at this time, we're wondering, like, what's actually happening here? These passages are interpreted a few different ways historically. So one of the ways is that we say, wow, this is, we see this happen. We actually see when the book of Mark was written, we think it's at the end of the 60s. In the year 70, this happens. Romans actually come, they actually go into the temple. The temple's actually destroyed in the year 70. So right before it actually would have already been some of the jewish wars that were happening, when the book of mark we think is like put together and distributed amongst the church, um so one of the interpretations of this is jesus is describing, this thing that's about to happen in the year 70 with the actual people he's sitting i mean the people he's sitting with would have, some of them would have experienced that actually someone coming in and actually walking into the temple and actually destroying the temple and the temple no longer existing. So one of the interpretations could be that some of the things that are described here aren't things that happen there. So what would be that? Well, another interpretation of this is this passage is used to describe this just season of suffering that we all have, that we're in the season before Jesus returns and finally makes his place, his home here on earth. And heaven and earth come together and there's a new Jerusalem and we're all there with him. This is the actual like revelation end time. So there's these two places. I think this is actually one of those places because he also references Daniel. So it's like he's mentioning this has happened before. It's maybe about to happen again. And then it could, in this bigger sense, happen. I think it's less about him going, I need you to figure out the details so you know exactly when Jesus returns. And it's more, much more about him saying there is a pattern that happens over and over and over. Of suffering because of sin and brokenness and chaos. And he goes, and I come, I'm with you, and I'm coming for you. It happened with Daniel, and I'm with you. We're with you. It's happening right now. It's going to happen real soon. I'm still with you. It's going to happen for a while, but I'm still with you. I'm still here. There's still an end. There's still rescue and saving. I need you to stay with me. I need you to hold on to me. I need you to look to me. When all these things come, I need you to keep looking to me. And he describes two more things. He kind of makes a callback to two things. From the fig tree, learn its lesson. As soon as its branches become tender and puts out its leaves, you know that the summer is near. You can see things happening in a fig tree. You know that it's about to bear fruit. So also when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. So he's reminding them, just like in a tree, things will be happening and you'll know that I'm near. You're going to know that this is happening. Remember the fig trees that didn't bear fruit? In the same way those fig trees remind us that something is coming. And then he's going to say this, he's going to end with again this stay on guard. But he's going to give another story that's similar to the one he just told us that we read in Mark 12. But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows. I think this passage is so helpful. I want to go, okay, I've got to start making a chart of when the sun comes up and when it comes down and is it slowly dying and what year will the sun stop working and the moon stop? He gives us some release here and I'm not looking for you to figure out when it's coming back. I'm looking for you, how you live right now, knowing that it's coming back. But concerning the day or that hour, no one knows. Remember before he said, I hope it's not in the winter? He said, I don't know when it's actually going to happen. Not even the angels in heaven or the sun, but only the Father knows. Be on guard. Keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It's 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. 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 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you, I say to you all, stay awake. Don't fall asleep. Stay awake. Keep your eyes on me. Hold on to me. He gives this picture like he gave before. There's someone who's away from their home and they're asking people to take care of the home. I need you to keep taking care of the home, waiting for the master to come back. Looking out the window, is he back yet? Is he back yet? We'll keep doing what we're called to do. We gotta stay focused. Someone else comes and goes, hey, you should work for me. This is my home, this is my place. He says, stay awake. Stay awake. Stay alert. Another way to say stay awake is don't fall asleep. I said this is a pattern that we see. I think it's a pattern that he's sharing that we do see. I think it could be this is a passage where Jesus isn't trying to give us real specifics as much as a thing that happens. And he goes, this is happening. They're about to see it in their own lifetime. In the year 70, it's actually going to happen. And also it's a picture of what we see in general that we're waiting in. We're in the season of this that we're going to see him come. Back again. They've seen it before. And I think there's another moment we see this. You might have seen the hints as we went through all this. This one, I think, gives us some of the strongest. He says, you don't know when he's going to come back. And then he gives, it's really interesting, he gives times the master could come back. Almost saying, hey, there's these different times that things will happen. In the evening or at midnight or when the rooster crows in the morning or in the morning. It's interesting it doesn't just say the rooster crows, that's in the morning, or the rooster crows meaning morning. Which if you hear rooster crows, that's interesting because in just a few chapters, you've got to remember, this is still in Mark. In chapter 14 is when we start to see the things happen. Things start to unravel. There's a last supper with Jesus. There's an arrest. They go to a garden. He asks them to stay awake. They don't. He gets arrested he goes on trial someone comes up to Peter and says hey do you know this Jesus guy, and he says I don't know him and then they ask again do you know the Jesus guy and he says no I don't he turns away and turns away and turns away and the third time he turns away if you remember the story a rooster crows, and then we see Jesus that next morning carry a cross up a hill and is crucified and. It might be the ultimate picture of this. Governments and authorities coming around him. People denying him. We see him on a cross. And we see when he's on that cross, the sky gets dark, we hear. The earth trembles when he's on that cross. Jesus is sitting on the Mount of Olives saying these things are going to happen, and you don't realize they're actually just about to happen to him. He's going to be denied. He's going to be tortured. He's going to be hung on a cross. The rooster is going to crow. He's going to be put on that cross. The earth is going to tremble. The sky is going to get dark. It's interesting. In the moment that all happens, the curtain of the temple is torn, so that now the presence of God is released into the world and there is no need now for this temple to hold God's presence because now God's presence is there. In fact, Jesus himself now becomes the temple. There isn't a place that they have to go now. Now there's a person they go to and they don't have to go to Jerusalem for that. They go to the person of Christ who now is the way to forgiveness, the way to learn about God, the way to be cared for by God, the way to be in his presence is to go to this person now. It's amazing all these things happen together and he tells his people yes stay awake i need you to not fall asleep i need you to hold on to me, so right now your job is to hold on and wait because i'm coming back, i promise you when i come back you'll be rescued you'll be saved there's so many things you're going to want to turn to and all this, all this chaos. Hold on. Stay awake. Please stay awake. I'm sure they're like, what are you? Okay, okay. Not even knowing that in the days to come, they're going to act all of this out together. So this stay awake is so important, I think, and it's a thing that I have heard in my life that can be interpreted different ways as we kind of end our time here in this passage. It's a one that could be heard, you better stay awake. I think of it as a child, because when dad gets home, he finds out what happened. It's a feeling of like I'm waiting because I know when he gets home we're in trouble. Are you better when he gets home be ready to say hello and do the things you're supposed to do? I remember hearing stories of my grandfather. There was like everyone had jobs to like make sure grandpa had a cold Miller light and grandpa's chair was ready and I think we could feel that. You might have even been, I think we've been told that sometimes. Hey you You just got to be ready. He's coming. He's had a rough day, right? I think until Jesus is saying, friends, I need you to hold on because there's this wonderful day when he's coming home. Makes me think of these videos. I could watch these all day and cry all day watching these. These videos where they show like a dog waiting for its parents, whatever, but the best are these videos of these kids who are like waiting for dad to come home. This girl's waiting for daddy to come home so he can show her hair and dress. Who knows how long she sat on the step. Like she couldn't wait because she knew dad would go, Oh, you look so beautiful. And grab her and hold her. This boy sitting on his chair waiting by the door for dad to come in the garage. He can't wait for dad to play with dad and be with dad. This dog and the friend are waiting. This video, these kids go nuts. The dog and the kid are like hitting the window. They can't wait for dad to come home. I think this Jesus is going, I need you just to wait. He's coming. I'm coming back, I promise. With that anticipation, with that excitement, with that love that you know is coming and can sustain you right now, that is how I need to hold through suffering. That is how I need to run a race. Right now, we have friends probably right now running this race, the marathon. That's such a great picture, right? As our friends now are running the marathon, the Twin Cities, all over. There's got to be so many moments in that where you're like, I want to stop. This is so hard. But they know there's this end, there's this finish, and there's this kind of glory in that, this beautiful thing where I can say, I ran a marathon. This is incredible. There's got to be, I mean, you could easily duck into the crowd and be like, rip off your, I never ran the marathon. Or tell your friends you ran the marathon. You could probably, like in the office, you could probably get in an Uber and fake like you finished the marathon. There's something about, like, they're just persevering in the hurt with all these others knowing that there's this end. We hear this exact thing told to us in Hebrews 12. Therefore, since you're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, I feel like Hebrews just sums up what Jesus is saying a lot shorter. Let us also lay aside every weight and sin that clings to us so closely. We've got to cast these things off they're trying to hey I'm the Christ come to me no no, and looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith who for joy that was set before him endured the cross he endured, suffering knowing what came after the rescue of people the new temple that we could go to and be forgiven and have the presence of God with despising shame. Is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. We can look to him. I'm going to invite our worship team up. I want to read to you Eugene Peterson's version of Hebrews 12 as we end our time. Do you see what this means? All these pioneers who brave the way, all these veterans cheering us on, it means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running, and never quit. No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it, because we never lose sight of where he's headed, that exhilarating finish in and with God. He could put up with anything along the way, the cross, shame, whatever, and now he's here in the place of honor right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through that will shoot adrenaline into your souls. Staying away looks like remembering the gospel and Jesus day after day after day. We're going to move to a time of response here as we continue to remember the gospel. There's ways we do that. We love to do that with communion. It'll be out in the hallways. Love for you to have an opportunity to do that. You can do that throughout these next songs. We'll sing together. We also have people who will love to pray with you. They'll be in the back of the room with yellow lanyards on. Love for you to take the opportunity to always give as an opportunity. And just consider the opportunities here to reflect on what God has done. Let me pray for us as we continue to worship him. Lord, help us stay awake. Help us look to you, cling to you. It's hard, but we know there's a good, good end. I pray we could see that.