Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost
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Scripture |
Mark 13:1-8 13 As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” 2 Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” 3 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, 4“Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 Then Jesus began to say to them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.
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Devotional |
The destruction of the temple had been predicted by other prophetic figures. Josephus reports that a prophetic figure went around Jerusalem predicting the city’s destruction, for several years prior to the outbreak of the rebellion against Rome . Religious authorities attempted to silence the man, but the Roman governor concluded that he was merely insane. Destruction was predicted because some believed that the Temple was not functioning as God had intended. This scripture remind me of an old saying I would get in response to a question. “Just load the wagon and don’t worry about the mule!” Jesus seems to be saying to the disciples, “Just load the wagon and don’t worry about the mule!” Questions concerning the future have always been asked by those living at the time. Today people are asking: In our personal spiritual lives, we ask many questions about when and why. Jesus tells us to continue to love God and love our neighbor instead of ourselves. As John Wesley advised: “Do no harm, do good, and keep the ordnances of God.” It is therefore the case that most of Jesus’ discussion is taken up with describing what will happen in the next generation, whereas the “when” questions not really addressed until Mark 13:32-37, although this was the main question that the disciples raised. And of course Jesus answers it by saying that we do not know when the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds for final judgment will happen. There is thus a very strong emphasis in this material on ignorance of the timing of “the end,” or the end of the eschatological age. It should be clear, then, that the major function of this discourse is to discourage theological weather forecasting when it comes to the end of the eschatological age. At the same time, there is the intent to encourage watchfulness and diligence in Christian work and witness. 1 We can spend a lot of time on the questions about the end of time but we still do not know when the end will come. Jesus reminds me: “Just load the wagon and don’t worry about the mule” Loading the wagon is more than I can attend to. 1 Ben Witherington III, The Indelible Image. Downers Grove : IVP Academic, 2009. p. 633
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