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| "He is risen!" Now what? (Mark 13) | |||||
 Printer Friendly Version - opens in separate window The risen Christ charged his disciples with no less a task than to:"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20) Luke's gospel sheds more light on that word 'therefore' for us, explaining: He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:44-49) Therefore, i.e. in light of these things and in light of the fact that, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given me" Jesus commissioned his followers to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins, make disciples and teach obedience - then the end. To enable them to do this Jesus was going to send the promised Holy Spirit and promised that, in this way, he would be with them always (Matthew (28:20) Mark 13 is an account of "what I told you when I was still with you". Future history (Apocalyptic writings etc.) has always fascinated people and the danger is that an exhortation to the church - which this is - can become a road map to future events -which it isn't. This Jesus made plain when he declared: "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. You do not know when that time will come…Therefore keep watch…" (Mark 13:32-35) What, then, did he intend? "Watch out that no one deceives you" (v.5) "Do not be alarmed" (v.7) "You must be on your guard" (v.9) "What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'" (v.37) Four Spiritual Dangers As Jesus predicts events his concern is for his disciples, that they should understand the times and be watchful for four spiritual dangers. 1. As he predicts the destruction of the temple (v.2) there is a warning to beware of relying on outward religious symbols. It is noteworthy that when people wish to criticise the Christian Church it is usually the earthly institutions and outward practices and traditions they criticise. Perhaps some criticism is justified but they should remember that God now dwells in his people and not in buildings made by human hands. God's work is not the establishment of an institution but of a people and there could be no more eloquent illustration of this than the temple's destruction. 2. Jesus warns against false Messiah's (vv 5&6). This deception has been expressed in different ways down the centuries. Sometimes a claim is made for a person that he is the Messiah and there have been many such claims. More common has been false teaching about Christ, such as denying his deity, his bodily resurrection, his completed work, etc. that leads people to believe in a false Christ. False beliefs lead to worship of a false Christ. 3. Jesus then predicts turmoil on a global scale (vv 7 & 8). Christians can despair when they see the scale of sin's impact on this fallen world and, distracted by such horrors as wars and conflicts, can fail in their duty to persevere and preach the good news. Jesus warned us to be on our guard against such things. 4. Finally, Jesus predicts persecution for the saints (v 9) and warns us to be prepared to suffer for the faith, to take up our cross. We have his promise that he will be with us to the end. Now What? As it has been for almost two thousand years so it is now our responsibility to ignore the distractions of religious trappings, false Messiahs, unfolding world events and even persecution and proclaim the good news that all that has been written in the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms is fulfilled in Christ and we await his coming, ever watchful, and confident that He is with us, even to the end of the age, Amen. |
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