Imagine what it must have been like for the twelve disciples to be in Jerusalem with Jesus in Mark 13. You are admiring the magnificence of Herod’s temple, and you say to Jesus, “Man, some temple, huh? You don’t see that every day.” And like Jesus does, he says something crazy, “Fellas, you need to know that there's not a stone in that building that is not going to end up in a pile of rubble. This whole place is going down.” You’d be like: “What?! The temple is going to be destroyed? When? Why? By whom?”
This was the disciples’ reaction as well. And so as they went up to the Mount of Olives, the disciples ask for some specifics: “Tell us, when will all this happen?” (13.4)
Jesus goes on to describe how injustice, persecution, war, and natural disasters will continue. He compares these things to labor pains, like the earth is groaning to give birth to new life.
But it seems to me that there is an intentional vagueness in what Jesus is saying. People living in most periods of history could look at the world around them and conclude that they were living in the last days: false messiahs, wars, injustice, famine, earthquakes, the persecution of Christians, the worldwide spread of the gospel. And I think that’s the idea – that the Christians in all time periods would expect to find injustice and opposition in the world as they spread the gospel of the kingdom, and continue to faithfully minister despite the dire circumstances around them.
Yet there seems to be a shift in verses 14-23. It speaks of a period of tribulation, the likes of which has never been seen. Some Christians believe that this passage was fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Others believe it is referring to a day still to come.
In any case, Jesus leaves no doubt as to how the story ends. He will return. And what he says should silence at least part of the debates: “since you don’t know when that time will come, be on your guard! Stay alert!” (13.33)
In fact, in Acts 1, after the resurrection, the disciples ask Jesus, “Will you at this restore the kingdom of Israel?” And Jesus responds and says, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” And then he sends them on mission. His point: “leave the end of history to the Father; your response to me should be no different if I return next week or if I return in 500 years.”
In other words, our response should be consistent and faithful: we should always live in light of our Christ’s return.
You see, the Bible’s announcements about the end of history are not given to us so that we can set dates, make charts or hypothesize about who the antichrist is. They are given to us so that we become the kind of people that God wants us to be. This ultimately means a response of faithfulness, not laziness.
So today, live as if Jesus could return. He just might.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.
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