Tawa Baptist

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Scripture: Mark 13:28-37

Video Link: https://youtu.be/UTzUTNOVvT4

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • These things (vv. 28-31)
  • That day (vv. 32-37)
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

When working with anything electrical it’s important not to get your wires crossed. If your car battery runs flat and you need jumper leads to get it started, always remember positive to positive, negative to negative. If you cross your wires, sparks will fly and you might get a nasty shock.  

To make it easier for you, the jumper leads are colour coded. The red lead attaches to the positive terminal on each battery and the black lead attaches to the negative terminal. Just don’t let the wires touch each other.

Today we conclude our series in the gospel of Mark by looking at the closing verses of chapter 13. Mark 13 is complicated. For most of the chapter Jesus is talking about the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, which happened in AD70. But right at the end of Mark 13, Jesus switches to talking about his second coming and the end of the age, which is yet to happen.

From this distance in history (2000 years after Mark wrote his gospel) it’s easy to get our wires crossed. To make it clearer for you, verses 28-31 relate to the destruction of Jerusalem and the verses 32-37 relate to Jesus’ second coming and the end of the age. From Mark 13, verse 28 we read… 

28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. 35 “Therefore, keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Today’s sermon is a message of two halves. The first half focuses on verses 28-31, where Jesus talks about ‘these things’. These things being the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, which happened in the first Century, and has been the subject of most of the preceding 27 verses. 

The second half of the message focuses on verses 32-37, where Jesus talks about ‘that day’. That day being the day of the Lord; aka: Jesus’ second coming, which is yet to happen. Let’s start with these things.

These things (vv. 28-31)

The seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn and winter, are normally heralded by certain signs. We know spring is starting when daffodils and cherry blossoms come out. We know summer is almost here when the lawns need mowing more frequently. And we know autumn has arrived by the changing colour of the leaves on trees.

These signs of the seasons don’t lie. People may lie and deceive but the leaves on the trees reveal the truth of the season.  

In Mark 13, Jesus is sitting on the Mount of Olives, looking across the valley to Jerusalem. It’s springtime and the Mount of Olives is covered in fig trees.

Fig trees grow a lot of foliage during spring and so Jesus uses this as a parable for what he has just been talking about.

In verse 2 of Mark 13, Jesus had predicted the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. Then in verse 4, the disciples asked, ‘when will these things happen and what will be the sign?’ Jesus goes on to talk about what to look out for and what to avoid. We covered these things over the past two Sundays.

The signs Jesus mentions are like fig trees growing an abundance of leaves in spring. They indicate the destruction of the Jerusalem temple is close at hand.

In the same way the leaves of a tree don’t lie, so too Jesus doesn’t lie.

False prophets will deceive many, saying God will save Jerusalem. But Jesus’ words reveal the truth of the season.     

Jesus says as much, in verses 30-31, which read…

30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

We know these things refers to the destruction of Jerusalem because Jesus says it will happen within this generation, that is, within the lifetime of the disciples. And, as we have heard, the destruction of Jerusalem did actually happen within 40 years of Jesus predicting it. 

The cogent point here is that Jesus’ words are trustworthy and reliable, far more trustworthy and reliable than the temple building. The phrase heaven and earth, in verse 31, is probably a metaphor for the temple. (The temple being a symbol of heaven and earth in miniature.)

Jesus is saying his words will outlive the Jerusalem temple. Indeed, Jesus’ words are eternal. Therefore, Jesus’ teaching is worthy of our obedience.

When we obey Jesus’ words in faith, we offer worship of eternal significance; something that gives our lives lasting meaning.

That day (vv. 32-37)

Okay, having spoken at length (for 31 verses) about these things (aka: the destruction of Jerusalem), Jesus then looks further ahead to that day, at the end of the age when he will return in glory.

Unlike the destruction of Jerusalem, which Jesus knew would happen within a generation, that day of his second coming is known only to God the Father.

Not even the angels in heaven nor Jesus himself know the timing of that day.

And because no one knows the timing of Christ’s return, we must keep watch.

What does it mean to keep watch? Here’s an acronym for you. W.A.T.C.H. stands for Work, Abide, Trust, Commit and Hope. Watching begins with working.

In verse 34, Jesus gives another parable. The second coming of the Lord is like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task…

Jesus is the owner of the house who goes away and Jesus’ followers are the servants who are left in charge. The servants don’t sit around idly doing nothing in their master’s absence. No. The servants keep working. They get on with the tasks assigned to them.

Perhaps one servant is in charge of the grounds. If she doesn’t mow the lawns and keep the weeds under control, and the master comes back to an overgrown garden, it will be obvious she wasn’t keeping watch.

Or another servant may be in charge of the kitchen. If he doesn’t feed the household, and the master comes back to a sickly, malnourished staff, it will be obvious he wasn’t keeping watch.

Watching begins with working, doing the mahi. Work provides a positive use for our time, so we are less likely to get into trouble. It also gives us purpose and enables us to contribute to God’s household in meaningful ways. 

The question is: what is our assigned task? What good work does Jesus want us to do? How does the master want you to contribute to his household?

We are talking about what it means to watch for Jesus’ return. As well as doing the work assigned to us, we must also abide in Christ. ‘Abide’ is one of those words which has more than one meaning.

Abide can mean hanging out with someone, spending time with them or living with them. Jesus’ parable in verse 34 imagines a situation where the servants abide in their master’s household, sort of like Downton Abbey.

Abiding, then, is about being together and taking care of our relationships.

We don’t want to become so task-focused that we neglect our relationships with each other.

When we started training for ministry, our New Testament lecturer (George) talked to us about SAS training. The SAS are elite commandos in the British army. We were not elite Christians. We were pretty ordinary really. But we were preparing to enter a spiritual war zone. 

George told us, the final test for getting into the SAS is a survival exercise.

A small squad of men are dropped in the wilderness and have to get back to base without being captured. To pass the test though, every member of the squad needs to make it home. No one left behind.

George’s point was that we needed to look out for each other and not become so focused on the task that we neglected our mates. Our own individual achievement should not become more important than the wellbeing of our fellow believers.

Abiding doesn’t mean we need to live together all the time, commune style. But we do need to fellowship together on a regular basis. We do need to take care of our relationships. One of the reasons we gather for worship on a Sunday and hold shared lunches and run small groups is to abide with each other. When believers abide with each other, they are abiding in Christ.      

Abide also has another meaning though. To abide means to obey or adhere to, as in ‘abide by the law’. To abide in Christ, therefore, is to continue obeying Jesus’ teaching, following in his footsteps. And what did Jesus command us to do? Love one another. By this all people will know you are my disciples.

Abiding in Christ is what makes our work fruitful for God’s glory. As Jesus says in John 15, 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Abiding in Christ could be summed up as obeying Jesus in fellowship with other believers. To what extent are we abiding in Christ? Do we have the balance right between working and abiding?

Life is busy, especially at this time of year. I know, I get it. I don’t want to add yet another thing to your ‘to do list’. Nor do I want to send you on a guilt trip. But the spiritual reality is, we cannot keep watch on our own. We need to help each other if we are going to make it.    

To watch for Jesus’ return means to work at the task the Lord assigns to us, as we abide in Christ, that is, as we support one another. Keeping watch also involves trust. This trust works both ways. Jesus trusts us and we trust him. 

In verse 34, Jesus says the owner of the house puts the servants in charge. Putting the servants in charge shows that the owner trusts his servants to take care of business when he is gone.

By the same token, the servants need to trust the master, even though they cannot see him and don’t know when he will return. There are times in this life when we feel overwhelmed, when the darkness closes in, and we can’t see a way forward. In those times we need to trust that God will find a way, that he will lead us to the light of a new day.

Humanity has been waiting 2000 years for Jesus to return. That’s a long time from our perspective. We know we can trust Jesus’ words though, because his prediction about the destruction of Jerusalem came true, as did many other things he said. Jesus’ return is as sure as the sunrise, it just takes longer.

Work, abide, trust. These are essential to keeping watch for Jesus’ second coming, as is commitment. Keeping watch for Christ requires us to commit.

To commit means to stick with something (or someone) for as long as it takes. Commitment requires grit. Like the grit on sandpaper, we stick no matter what.

In verse 35 Jesus says: keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.    

Following this metaphor, it could be a long night without Jesus in the world. And so, the followers of Jesus need to be prepared to commit for the long haul.

The kind of commitment required is the commitment of a marathon runner who does the training and prepares well in advance. Come race day, he is ready and goes the distance. Or it’s the commitment of a woman in labour, who breaths through the contractions and endures the pain till her baby is born.

What I’m saying here is, we need to find our rhythm because a healthy rhythm supports commitment. Just like a marathon runner needs to find their rhythm to make it through the race. And, just like a woman in labour needs to find her rhythm with delivering her baby. Commitment requires a certain rhythm and balance, so we don’t burn ourselves out. 

Verse 36 reads: If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.

It’s best not to interpret this verse literally. Sleeping here is a metaphor for failing to do one’s duty and not taking seriously the warning of the master’s return.

Getting a good night’s sleep and taking holidays when we need to, is part and parcel of finding our rhythm and maintaining our commitment so we can go the distance in God’s will for us.

What rhythms support your commitment to Christ? Do you observe a sabbath? Do you maintain a regular routine of Bible reading and prayer? Do you take care of your body with healthy eating, exercise and rest? Do you make time for friends and family and church?  

To watch for Christ is to do the work Jesus assigns us, to abide in him, to recognize the trust he shows in us and return that trust to him, to commit for the long haul and to maintain our hope.    

Hope is like a kite; it rises against the wind. Just as you can’t fly a kite without wind, so too you can’t raise hope without facing opposition.

When life is easy and we don’t face any opposition we have little need for hope, because we are happy enough in the present. But when life is difficult and the present is not a comfortable place to be, we long for a better future. That is hope.

As we have noted already, Jesus uses the expression ‘that day’ in relation to his second coming. In the Old Testament, that day, (aka: the day of the Lord), was a day of judgement.

In Isaiah chapter 2 we read, ‘The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and the pride of men brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day’.

For Jesus’ disciples, ‘that day’ was a day of judgement, when God would come to sweep away evil and all that is false. But that day was also a day of hope, because if you are oppressed by injustice, then the removal of those who are oppressing you is good news, something to look forward to.

Judgement and hope go together in the Bible. They are two sides of the same coin.

In Matthew 24, the parallel passage to Mark 13, Jesus says…

37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 

Jesus’ second coming will be a surprise. It will mean the terror of judgement for some and the hope of salvation realised for others. This is why Jesus stresses the importance of keeping watch. So his second advent is a source of hope and not despair.

How does the day of Christ’s return make you feel? How strong is your hope?

Is Jesus’ second coming something you look forward to, or is it something you don’t think about all that much?

Conclusion:

Hope feeds joy and joy gives us the strength we need to watch. To do the work assigned to us, to abide in Christ, to trust Jesus, and to commit for the long haul.

Let us pray…   

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of Man, give us strength, wisdom and fellowship as we wait and watch for your advent. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. How do we know we can trust Jesus’ words? Why should we take Jesus at his word?
  3. What does it mean to keep watch for Jesus’ return? How do we do this?
  4. What is your assigned task? What good work does Jesus want you to do? How does the master want you to contribute to his household?
  5. What does it mean to abide in (or with) Christ? To what extent are you abiding in Christ? Do you have the balance right between working and abiding?
  6. What rhythms do you have in your life that support your commitment to Jesus? What could you do differently to better sustain your commitment to Christ?
  7. How does the day of Christ’s return make you feel? Is Jesus’ second coming something you look forward to in hope? Why or why not?
Tawa Baptist

Keep Calm

Scripture: Mark 13:1-13

Video Link: https://youtu.be/kURCOQhAKTc

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Calm your enthusiasm
  • Calm your speculation
  • Calm your fear
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Keep calm and carry on has become a well-known phrase around the world. Some might say it is overused. Keep calm and carry on was originally coined by the British Ministry of Information in 1939, just before the Second World War.

The Ministry of Information put this phrase on posters to help the public. They printed nearly two and half million copies. However, very few posters were ever displayed. Hence the slogan didn’t really catch on during World War Two.

It wasn’t until the beginning of the 21st Century that keep calm and carry on became popular. A bookshop owner was sorting through a box of second-hand books when he found one of the original posters. When he displayed the poster in his shop, it created so much interest he reproduced it and started selling copies. Now it’s everywhere. 

Keep calm and carry on reflects the spirit of British stoicism. It speaks to the self-discipline and fortitude of the war generation. It’s about not being carried away by anxiety but staying calm under pressure for the sake of those around you.

Today we continue our series in Mark’s gospel, focusing on chapter 13, verses 1-13. In this reading Jesus talks about the future. The disciples can expect the years ahead to be difficult. When the mud hits the fan, Jesus’ advice is to keep calm and carry on. From Mark 13, verse 1, we read… 

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” 2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?” 5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. 7 When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. 12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13 Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Keeping calm is the key to carrying on. If you don’t keep calm, you won’t be able to carry on for long.

In the verses we just read, Jesus counsels his disciples to keep calm. More specifically, they need to calm their enthusiasm for the temple. They need to calm their speculation about end times, and they need to calm their fear of rejection. Let’s begin with the disciples’ misplaced enthusiasm.  

Calm your enthusiasm:

Have you ever seen a shiny red apple which looked fresh and crisp in the fruit bowl, only to bite into it and get a mouth full of floury mush?

Have you ever read glowing reviews about a restaurant, only to find the meal servings were tiny and the prices enormous?

Have you ever bought an electrical appliance that seemed like good value in the shop, only to have it break down a few days outside of its warranty?    

Sometimes it pays to curb your enthusiasm.

In verse 1 of Mark 13, as Jesus is leaving Jerusalem for the Mount of Olives, one of his disciples expresses his enthusiasm for the temple. He remarks how the stones are enormous and the building looks magnificent. His enthusiasm is understandable. Some of the stones were the size of a bus and the architecture was ornate.  

The temple of Jesus’ day had been rebuilt by Herod the Great. The same Herod who had murdered innocent babies around the time Jesus was born.

Herod’s purpose in building the temple was to make a name for himself and wrangle political power. Herod was not interested in honouring God.

The temple was meant to be a place of prayer and purity. Instead, it had become a place of politics and corruption. It was supposed to be a place of healing and reconciliation, but it had become a place of greed and conniving. The temple should have been a place to worship God in spirit and in truth, but it was really a man-made idol.       

Jesus pours cold water on the disciples’ enthusiasm for the temple, predicting a time when the temple will be destroyed, not one stone left on top of another. Why does Jesus do this? Because the temple is under God’s judgement.

Enthusiasm for the temple building is misplaced, it is a waste of energy.

Getting all excited about the temple is like being eager to buy a ticket for the Titanic’s maiden voyage. 

The Jerusalem temple was, in fact, destroyed by the Romans just a few decades later, in AD 70. We will hear more about that next week.

When speaking to the Pharisees in Matthew 12, Jesus says: “I tell you, one greater than the temple is here”. Jesus was talking about himself.

Given the choice between looking at a picture of an ice cream or actually eating the ice cream, most people would choose to eat the ice cream.

Following this metaphor, the temple building was just a pretty picture, an image, it wasn’t the real thing. Jesus is the ice cream. Jesus is the real thing. Through Jesus we taste and experience the goodness of God. 

Jesus is greater than the Jerusalem temple, for Jesus embodies the living presence of God on earth. Jesus is the atoning sacrifice who makes us right with God. In Jesus we find healing for body, mind and soul. Through Jesus our prayers and our worship are made acceptable to God.

Sadly, the disciples couldn’t tell the difference between the picture and the ice cream itself. The disciples couldn’t yet see that being in Christ was better, by far, than being in the temple courts. For when we are in Christ, we are as close to God as we can possibly be.

So, given Jesus’ criticism of the Jerusalem temple, does that mean we should not have church buildings? Well, no. Our situation is different from the Jewish temple of the first century.

The church buildings are useful in so far as they support relationship and connection. The buildings provide a place for the community to come together for worship and fellowship, and they are a symbol of the Christian presence in this place. We want our buildings to be functional and safe. That’s why we did the earthquake strengthening and the north wing renovations.

At the same time, we hold our buildings lightly. We recognize that while the buildings are useful, they are not the most important thing. The church depends on Jesus, not on this auditorium. The church would continue to exist if the buildings were taken away.

Jesus is our temple. Wherever two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, the Lord is present. Therefore, the church is the people, all those who are in Christ.      

I don’t think anyone could accuse Tawa Baptist of making too much of their buildings. Someone told me once (before we did our renovations) how they liked that our buildings looked a bit tired and weather worn. They could identify with this. They had been knocked around by life and felt at home here.

That’s the gospel. Weakness and vulnerability speak to people in a way that strength and beauty can’t.    

Jesus is more concerned with the quality of our relationships with God and each other, than he is with our architecture. Are we a people of faith and prayer? Are we a community of grace and truth? Do others experience something of God’s presence among us? Does this church feel like coming home?

Calm your speculation:

After calming the disciples’ enthusiasm for the temple, Jesus goes on to calm their speculation about end times.

For thousands of years people have speculated about how the world will end. Some thought it would all be over 12 years ago because the Mayan calendar ran out on the 21 December 2012. And yet here we are. There was also quite a bit of anxiety 25 years ago with the Y2K bug. Remember that?

Not to mention all the conspiracy theories that float around whenever there is a war. The leaders of those countries we consider to be our enemies at the minute, tend to be labelled the anti-Christ. Give it another 30 or 40 years and our enemies will be our allies again.

People are slow to learn. Consequently, history keeps repeating itself.

Humanity remains fascinated with the so-called apocalypse. A case in point: The Left Behind book series sold over 65 million copies and was made into a number of movies as well. Sadly, some people base their belief about end times on those books. The Left Behind series might be entertaining in the way that Tom Clancy or Stephen King is entertaining, but it’s not the gospel. It’s fiction.

To be clear, the experts are not agreed that Mark 13 is about the end of the world. But that is how many people today read it. In the context Jesus is talking about the destruction of Jerusalem which, to the Jews of the first century, would have seemed like the end of the world.

When four of Jesus’ disciples ask him when the temple will be destroyed and what sign they should look out for that the end is nigh, Jesus seeks to calm their speculation.

Jesus tells his disciples to watch out for false Messiah’s and not to be alarmed when they hear of wars and rumours of wars. Such things must happen,but they do not signal the end.  

Jesus goes on to say: 8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

Wars, earthquakes and famines happen in every age of human history and do not necessarily carry any weight as signs that the end is imminent.

Jesus wants his disciples to guard against apocalyptic fanatics who think the end of the world is at hand. These fanatics point to false prophets, false Messiah’s and various earthly upheavals to prove their point. [1] Don’t be sucked in by their conspiracy theories.  

Jesus’ metaphor of birth pains sounds a note of hope. Wars, earthquakes and famines are normally associated with death and destruction. But Jesus sees beyond the death and destruction of these events to the new creation God is bringing about. Jesus’ story does not end with the cross. Jesus’ story (and ours) continues with the resurrection.

Rather than speculating about how the world might end, the disciples are to give their time and energy to preaching the gospel to all nations. You can’t control the future, but you can tell people about Jesus in the present. 

Calm your fear:

Perhaps the hardest part of keeping calm and carrying on is managing our fear. Fear is often more difficult to control than enthusiasm and speculation.

But it’s not just fear in general that Jesus wants to calm. More specifically we need help to calm our fear of rejection.  

We can experience rejection in a variety of ways. For example…

Being made redundant from a job you really enjoyed and were good at.

Not getting a job you interviewed for. Being dumped by someone you really liked. Or perhaps having your husband or wife cheat on you. Being picked last for a sports team in PE. Being overlooked or abandoned by a parent. Not getting invited to a party.

These are just some of the ways we might feel rejected.  

Sometimes rejection is relatively minor. Other times it is more significant. Whether it is major or minor though, rejection erodes your spirit and your self-confidence. Suffer enough rejection and you will end up with a hole in your heart, where faith and hope used to be. That’s a difficult hole to fill.

Often when someone rejects us, they have made a judgement about us that is not fair. Prejudice goes hand in hand with rejection. No one wants to be prejudged or condemned. We are naturally afraid of rejection and try to avoid it.

To those who have been judged and rejected unfairly, let me say this. God sees you, even when you are invisible to others. The Lord is our judge and he is just. God will make things right in the end. He can heal your wounds and fill the hole in your heart. That’s not speculation. That is God’s character.

In verses 9-13, Jesus warns his disciples of the prejudice and rejection they will face because of their relationship with him. Their rejection will be quite a bit worse than being picked last in PE. Their rejection will be akin to the suffering Jesus faced. Jesus’ experience sets the pattern for his followers.

The disciples will be flogged and rejected by their fellow Jews in the local synagogues. They will stand trial and be rejected before the Roman authorities as well. And, worst of all, they will be betrayed and rejected by members of their own family.  Everyone will hate the disciples because of Jesus.   

In verse 11 Jesus says, “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.”

This is not an excuse for preachers to avoid doing the hard yards with their sermon prep. The idea here is that, when you are blindsided and the pressure comes on you from the authorities, keep calm and carry on. Don’t panic. The Holy Spirit has got you.

We read how the Holy Spirit empowered the apostles under trial in the book of Acts. For example, in Acts 4 we read how Peter responded when standing before the Jewish Sanhedrin…

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to humankind by which we must be saved.” 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus… 

The Sanhedrin tried to silence the apostles 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 

20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Peter and John were rejected by the Jewish authorities, but the Holy Spirit gave them the courage and the words they needed to keep calm and carry on.

On that occasion the apostles were set free with a warning, but it didn’t always end so well. Eventually Peter was killed for his witness for Jesus and John was sent into exile.

Humanly speaking, not many (if any) could stand the rejection that believers suffered in the first century, except by the strengthening of the Holy Spirit.

When we are rejected because of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is like a hug from God. The Spirit reassures us of Jesus’ presence and God’s acceptance. When we know that God is for us, what does it matter who is against us.  

Conclusion:

One commentator notes that Jesus’ followers live at a place where the purposes of God and the pain of the world cross paths.

“Many Christians today face persecution every bit as severe as that which the early church suffered; and those Christians who don’t face persecution [Christians like us in NZ] often face the opposite temptation, to stagnate, to become cynical, to suppose nothing much is happening, that the Kingdom of God is just a pious dream”. [2]

We are unlikely to suffer in the same way the early church did, but the temptation to not carry on is no less real. We need to find our balance.

We don’t want to be so uptight that we burn out or put others off. 

Nor do we want to be so relaxed that we become bored or fall asleep.

As Jesus said, those who stand firm to the end will be saved.    

Let us pray…

All knowing God, save us from wasting our energies on misplaced enthusiasm and speculation about the future. Fill us with your Spirit that we would know your acceptance and not be afraid. Help us to keep calm and carry on, in your will, to the end. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What is the purpose of a temple? Why does Jesus curb the disciples’ enthusiasm for the temple? What is the church?
  3. Why does Jesus discourage speculation about end times? What does Jesus encourage his followers to do instead?
  4. In what ways did the disciples of Jesus experience rejection? In what ways have you experienced rejection? How did you feel when you were rejected?
  5. How does Jesus say the Holy Spirit will help the disciples? Can you think of a time when the Holy Spirit gave you the right words in a tight spot? What happened? 
  6. What does it mean to stand firm to the end? How do we do this? How might we find a healthy balance with keeping calm and carrying on? 

[1] See Ben Witherington’s commentary on Mark, page 337. 

[2] Refer Tom Wright’s commentary on Mark, page 180.