Christ Church Washington D.C.

And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, look, teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings. And Jesus said to him, do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, tell us,
when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished? And Jesus 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 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 nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains. But be on your 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 name’s sake to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say,
but say whatever is given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child. And children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be, let the reader understand.
And for those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house to take anything out. And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas, for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days, pray that it may not happen in winter. For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now and never will be.
And 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 then if anyone says to you, look, here is the Christ, or look, there he is, do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard. I have told you all things beforehand.
And then they will 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. From the fig tree learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things,
you know that he is near at the very gates. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake, for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey when he leaves home
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 all, stay awake. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray together.
Amen. You may be seated. Well, greetings from Birmingham, Alabama. I’m one of the pastors at Trinity Presbyterian Church. You had Pastor Lusk here two weeks ago, I believe. He’s the senior pastor at our church. I’m the associate pastor there. It’s a great privilege to be with you all.
This morning we’ve been praying for you all, very excited about what the Lord is doing here in D.C. Also very excited about Pastor Brooks Pottinger. He’s in our presbytery, very fond of Brooks, a great and godly man. So thankful the Lord has heard our prayers and y’all’s prayers. Mark 13, when will these things be? When will these things be? That’s the question the disciples ask in this text. Mark 13 records one of the most misunderstood
speeches that Jesus ever gave. One of the most misunderstood speeches. It’s a prophetic speech about a momentous event in history, but many have missed the event. Many have just missed it, and as a result, many have misunderstood what Jesus is saying. Many modern interpreters have thought this speech to be about something that’s in our future, something that is yet to happen,
the final return of Jesus Christ. And without any context, that’s what it sounds like. It sounds like Jesus is predicting the apocalypse, the apocalypse in the popular sense of that term, this cataclysmic disaster that marks the end of the world, a time in the future when things are going to get really bad. And when you read it this way, it’s usually assumed that this great tribulation will come in our future with wars and famines and
earthquakes, the Antichrist, eventually the collapse of the physical world itself. Things are just going to get worse from here on out. That’s the kind of mindset that that reading leads us to. It inculcates a pessimistic mindset. Some have also imagined that this passage teaches a secret rapture. After all, we hear of the coming of the Son of Man, where Jesus will come and snatch up all the Christians from the earth, leaving all the unbelievers
left behind, left behind on this cosmic sinking ship. Again, a very pessimistic understanding of where history is headed. Historically speaking, this way of reading Jesus’ words, this way of reading this text known as the Olivet Discourse, it’s recorded here in Mark 13, Matthew 24, Luke 21. This way of reading the text was not really widespread until the 19th and 20th century
dispensationalism. I won’t go into all the details of dispensationalism, but I’ll just say that that whole movement gave rise to an entire end times industry, including best-selling fiction series, many books, movies, ministries that are devoted to calculating the return of Jesus based on the sign of the times. Think of Hal Lindsey’s book, 88 Reasons that Jesus is coming back in 1988.
Those kind of books. That way of reading Jesus’s words, though, is fundamentally mistaken. It misunderstands what Jesus is doing here. This morning, as we consider Jesus’s words in this passage, I want to show why older interpreters before the 19th and 20th century were closer to the truth than these modern misunderstandings.
This moment was something that Jesus was preparing them for, a moment that was coming very soon, an event for their generation. As you read through the rest of the New Testament, maybe you’ve noticed that there are places quite frequently throughout the letters and in the Gospels and Acts where there’s a sense of urgency.
About an event that could happen at any moment. This looming, impending event that’s just on the horizon. A major turning point that will mark judgment for some and salvation for others. The New Testament writers use language like, these things must take place very soon. The end of all things is at hand. This is the last hour. All of this sounds like the world could just fall apart.
At any moment. Furthermore, this is connected to the New Testament’s teaching that Jesus is coming soon. Revelation 22 ends with Jesus saying three times, behold, I am coming soon. Jesus adds there that when he comes, he’s going to bring recompense with him to repay each one for what he has done. The book of Revelation has several of these kind of statements.
The book is the revelation of Jesus Christ. It’s the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the things that must soon take place. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written, for the time is near. It’s coming soon. It’s near. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will perceive him.
Even those who pierced him. And all the tribes of the land will wail on account of him. The book of Revelation is describing the same imminent event that Jesus is predicting in Mark 13. This moment of judgment that is coming soon. It involves Jesus coming. Even those who pierced him, Revelation says, those who crucified and killed Jesus will see it happen.
Others, on the other side, who rightly refuse to believe that Jesus or Scripture,
could be an error. They’ve tried to stretch the meaning of the word soon. Okay, yeah, yeah, you know, the Scriptures say soon, this is all at hand, but let’s try to stretch this out. Something analogous to how my kids understand the word soon. When I’m talking at a gathering and I say, yes, we’re going to leave soon. Soon is stretched beyond the breaking point. And this eminent language, according to this view, in the New Testament is supposed to provoke something like the
every generation is on the brink of a disaster. Every generation is on the brink of these events. 2,000 years later, every Christian needs to be ready because this is probably happening at any moment, most likely in our lifetime. Every generation thinks it’s our lifetime. Again, both of these ways of reading the New Testament are mistaken. Jesus’ words are trustworthy and true. He says, heaven and earth will pass away.
But his words will not. We can trust what Jesus says he will do, he does. The thing that he says he will do, he does. His words are reliable. Jesus and the New Testament writers were describing something that was about to take place. They were predicting a major moment in history that was coming soon. Jesus was not predicting the end of the physical world.
The Christians out of the world. He wasn’t predicting the end of the world, but the end of a world. Not the end of the world, the physical universe, but the end of a world. The end of the old covenant age, the old creation, the old order. More on that in a moment. He was prophesying about the desolation and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in the year 70 AD. That’s what he’s talking about.
This destruction of the temple, this destruction of Jerusalem. This event would be the sign of Jesus coming in judgment upon the generation of Israel that rejected him. This is the sign that Jesus is reigning and that he has come in judgment upon a wicked generation. It would be a sign of his judgment. It would also be a sign of his salvation. It would be a sign to all that Jesus is on the throne, that he’s advancing his kingdom to the ends of the earth.
This coming of Jesus is not his final coming. Yes, we affirm that Jesus has a final coming. The New Testament talks about that elsewhere. This is not the last day when he’s going to raise his people from the dead. That’s still in our future. That day is still yet to come. But his coming in 70 AD is the coming of the Son of Man that he talks about here in Mark 13.
What happened in the year 70 AD is an apocalypse in the biblical sense of that word. It is an unveiling, a revealing, like Revelation says, a revelation of Jesus Christ, an uncovering of who he is and who his church is. Jesus’ reign and dominion is revealed in this event. And Jesus’ words are ultimately vindicated in that event.
Trustworthy and true. And his people who trusted in him were saved from that disaster. The Christians that lived in Jerusalem were saved from that disaster because they listened to Jesus’ words. Now, we can’t cover every detail of Mark 13 this morning. It’s a long passage, as you just heard read. But what I want to do is focus on a few aspects of this passage that demonstrate this understanding that I’m defending here, this understanding of Jesus’ words.
And then we will consider what a text like this has to say for us, the church, living 2,000 years later. First, we need to understand the significance of the temple in Jerusalem. You might wonder, why does the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem matter? Why is that such a big deal? Why could it be considered the end of the old creation or the old covenant order? To understand that, we need to understand the temple.
And certainly, the temple in Jesus’ day was truly one of the wonders of the ancient world. But this was not just a beautiful building. The temple in Jerusalem was the meeting place of heaven and earth itself. This was God’s unique dwelling place among His people.
This was the place of Yahweh’s throne on earth. This was the place where Israel could draw near to her God to receive forgiveness of sins, to commune with God, to have a peace offering meal with God, to offer her worship and praise to God. The Lord intended to dwell among His people. He set up the Old Covenant sacrificial system not to kick people out, not to push people away, but so that His people would know how to draw near.
As long as they had the temple, it meant that God was with them, that He would dwell with them, and He would reign in their midst. He would defend them from their enemies. And so they naturally expected this to last, to be a sign that God would deliver them in the future from their enemies.
She was unfaithful to the Lord all throughout Israel’s history. Israel was unfaithful in the covenant that the Lord had made with her. She committed idolatry, worshipped other gods. She failed to keep the Lord’s commands. She failed to carry out the Lord’s justice and righteousness. She failed to be a light to the nations. She failed to make the Lord’s house a house of prayer for all nations.
She failed to make the Lord’s house a light to the nations. She failed to make the Lord’s house a light to the nations.
Glory leaves the temple and the house is desolate. That is what Jesus is announcing when he departs from the temple and he goes and stands opposite the temple on the Mount of Olives. He’s opposing the temple. And he says, not one stone will be left upon another. It’s interesting that in Mark and in Luke, the immediately preceding verse is the widow’s might. The widow giving of the last of her money to the temple.
This temple that was devouring widows’ houses. The next verse, both Mark and Luke set up, Jesus saying, not one stone will be left upon another. The glory has departed the temple, and now judgment will come upon this wicked generation. Luke 19 records Jesus weeping over Israel’s rejection of her God and tells of the same coming event. Listen to Jesus in Luke 19.
He says,
Jesus prophesies exactly what Josephus tells us happened in 70 A.D. The Romans surround the city of Jerusalem, destroy the people in Jerusalem, over a million Jews, potentially multiple millions, but at least a million Jews according to one source, and destroy the temple. This generation rejected their God when he visited them, and Jesus’ words came true in 70 A.D.
tree in Mark 11, symbolized Jesus curses the fig tree when it does not bear fruit, and as a result it withers away. And now Jesus is pronouncing a curse upon the temple and the generation that rejected him. They too will pass away. Okay, I’m speaking a lot about judgment. There’s another aspect to what Jesus is doing and what the Lord’s doing in the destruction of the temple. It wasn’t only about bringing judgment upon Israel.
God still intends to dwell with his people. He didn’t give up on that idea. When Jesus came, he announced that something greater than the temple is here, referring to himself. Jesus came to replace the temple. He came to be all that the temple was supposed to be and more. Jesus is eating and drinking with sinners. He’s healing the sick. He’s casting out demons.
He’s doing what the temple and the temple’s leadership should have done all along. The end of the physical temple in Jerusalem means the end of that sacrificial system. You don’t have a temple anymore. You can’t offer sacrifices. Jesus brings an end to that. The end of the whole way of life regulated under the law of Moses. The end of a single site in Jerusalem where God’s presence is uniquely accessed. Jesus is not only tearing down a building.
He’s carrying God’s purposes forward. Jesus is going to take Israel’s curse and take Adam’s curse upon himself on the cross. And those who trust in him, who are loyal to him, will receive full and free forgiveness through his once and for all atoning sacrifice. He ends the need for sacrifices. He’s the final sacrifice. Through his death, resurrection, and ascension, and through the sending of his spirit, he’s now building
a better temple, a new temple for those who are in union with him, a global temple made up of living stones. His spirit will inhabit his people wherever two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name. Jesus replaces the temple and builds the church upon that foundation. So Jesus is coming in judgment upon the temple, but also in salvation for his people to carry forward his mission in the world. And Jesus warns his disciples and all his followers
about what to expect so they can flee the city at the right time. The disciples understandably want to know, when will this happen? If someone were to walk about D.C. and say, look at all these wonderful buildings, it’s all going to be demolished, you might have a few questions. When is this going to happen? When will these things be? What signs should we look for? Jesus answers the when question in this passage. She says, truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away,
until all these things take place. This generation, it’s going to happen during this generation. In the Bible, a generation is 40 years. Think about the 40-year period where Israel was in the wilderness. Numbers tells us they were in the wilderness for 40 years because there was an unfaithful generation that needed to pass away. 40 years is the time period for a generation. Now get this, Jesus is prophesying in Mark 13 around the year 30 AD. That’s when he’s crucified, 30 AD.
This is Jesus’ answer to the timing question. This generation will not pass away until all these things take place. And 40 years later, it takes place. Jesus gives them signs to look for leading to the destruction of the temple. These are the things that are going to happen ahead of time before
he comes in judgment upon the temple. Most of these signs can be easily spotted in the book of Acts. Jesus mentions false teachers, earthquakes, famines. That’s what Acts records. False teachers, earthquakes, famines, all those things are going on as you read through the story in Acts. Jesus tells the disciples they’ll be delivered over to councils, beaten in the synagogues. They’ll stand before governors and kings to testify. Look at what the apostles are doing in the book of Acts. All of those things.
Handed over to the councils. They’re testifying before the kings. Again, all these things are recorded for us in Scripture. So we see the signs that Jesus said must happen before this event, before the destruction of the temple. And they’re laid out for us in the Bible that they happen. There are a few other signs mentioned here that need a little bit more unpacking. And I want to address those briefly here.
You might say, well, that’s one that probably hasn’t happened by 70 AD. Can we really say that the apostles preached to the Aztecs or to the Native Americans? Well, no, I don’t think we can. But listen to what Paul says in Colossians in chapter 1.
And again, later in the same chapter, he says, The hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven. The gospel has come to the whole world, Paul says in Colossians 1. And he’s writing this around the early 60s, so just before the destruction of the temple. It’s been proclaimed in all creation. How can Paul say that?
He’s gathered at Pentecost in Jerusalem to hear Peter’s sermon. Men from every nation. And he lists out 17 nations, which is not every nation on the globe in the year 30 AD. But it’s all the nations of the empire. Remember, Israel is under the Roman Empire, which is in charge of this mini cosmos. It’s a mini world in that part of the globe. It’s all the nations of the empire. And Luke can say, every nation under heaven.
It’s represented there. That gives us a clue to the meaning of Jesus’ words. When Jesus says the gospel must be proclaimed first to every nation before the destruction of the temple, he’s not referring to literally every nation on earth. He’s talking about the gospel going out to the whole empire before the closing of the old age. The gospel needs to go out to the whole empire before we close down the old creation, the old age. And that is exactly what the New Testament tells us happened.
The gospel went out. Paul in Romans says the last place he wants to go is Spain. He’s looking at a map of the Roman Empire. What about the cosmic collapse that we see, the sun, moon, and stars language that Jesus uses, the powers in heaven being shaken? Jesus says in verse 24,
Okay, well, that hasn’t happened, right? This is the climax of the time of tribulation that Jesus just described. What does it mean? Well, Jesus is using prophetic vocabulary, symbolic language to describe the destruction of the temple, the collapse of the old order. This kind of language, specifically this star, moon, and sun language, shows up many places in the prophetic literature. Let me give you one example.
This is talking about during Israel’s exilic period or before the exilic period. Then it goes on to describe the Lord mustering an army for battle against Babylon. This is how Isaiah puts it.
The stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark at its rising and the moon will not shed its light. Okay, there we have sun, moon, and stars language. The lights are being put out on that nation. And then a few verses later, he clarifies what is he talking about? Verse 17 of that chapter. Behold, I’m stirring up the Medes against the Babylonians. Okay, stirring up the Medes against the Babylonians. This is symbolic language.
Decreation language. And scripture uses this language in multiple places to describe the judgment of kingdoms and rulers. This describes the judgment of kingdoms and rulers. It always refers to the downfall of rulers or a kingdom, whether Israel or other nations. And you can see this in other prophets like Amos and Ezekiel as well. The sun, moon, and stars represent the rulers.
Throughout history, God uses other nations to carry out his judgment in fulfillment of these prophecies. When he says, I am going to do this, the Lord says, I’m going to do this, and then a nation or army comes in, a pagan nation comes in to destroy another nation and conquer, Isaiah says that’s the same thing. Those two things are not at odds. Scripture affirms that God is using that army as a means to carry out his wrath and judgment.
So this world-destroying cosmic collapse language is about the downfall of kingdoms and peoples in judgment, not about the literal destruction of the physical universe. These are prophetic and poetic descriptions. Jesus is using the very same language that his prophets, that the prophets of Israel used in their sermons. He talks about sun, moon, and stars, heavens being shaken up. He’s drawing on the same figures of speech.
Lastly, what do we make of the language of the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power and glory? Isn’t that talking about Jesus’ final return? We haven’t seen Jesus on clouds. He sends out his angels to gather his elect from the four winds. We haven’t seen angels doing that. What’s that about? Again, this is why we need to know our Bibles. This is why we need to read both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
This language doesn’t come out of thin air. Jesus isn’t describing first century space travel when he says he’s coming on the clouds. Clouds are part of the symbolism that the Lord uses all throughout Scripture to describe his glory presence, to describe his coming in judgment. Think of the pillar of cloud that leads Israel in the wilderness. There’s numerous passages where the Lord’s riding around on clouds. Psalm 104 says,
The Lord is the cloud rider. The cloud is his royal chariot. Jeremiah 4, the Lord’s prophesying judgment that’s about to take place during the exile. And he says, The Lord came on the clouds in judgment in Jeremiah 4. The clouds are stock imagery that the Bible uses to describe the Lord’s coming in judgment against his enemies and bringing salvation.
Daniel 7 has the clouds language as well, and Jesus’ title that he uses for himself here, Son of Man. Daniel sees a vision of one like a Son of Man coming with clouds. But in his vision, he’s going to the Ancient of Days. He’s going to heaven to receive an eternal kingdom. Jesus is coming into his kingdom on the clouds in heaven. He’s taking his throne. And that’s what happens in the book of Acts, right?
Okay, how do we tie all this together? AD 70 is the proof that Jesus is reigning. That’s what I want you to see. AD 70, what happens with the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem is proof, it’s the sign that the Son of Man is on his throne. It’s his vindication. Okay, the Romans did it, but remember, that’s not at all.
That’s not at odds with God doing it. That’s not at odds with Jesus bringing his judgment, using a nation to carry this out. He said he is coming soon. He is coming with the clouds. Every eye will perceive it, even those who pierced him, even those who called for his crucifixion. All the tribes of the earth will wail. That’s Israel on account of him. That’s exactly what happens. Jesus did come in power in 70 AD, bringing the Romans against the wicked generation of covenant breakers,
destroying the temple and delivering those who trust in him from wrath. This marked the end of the old covenant, the end of the sacrificial system, the end of everything that was necessary before Christ’s work. The apostles were then sent out to proclaim, to herald, that there is a new king in the world, that he’s reigning. They were his witnesses, witnesses to the saving rule of King Jesus. We’ve only scratched the surface here.
I’d love to talk with you after if you have further questions, but I hope you can see that it makes sense to read Jesus’ words this way. It makes sense in light of the rest of Scripture, in light of the context here, to see that Jesus isn’t prophesying about the collapse of the world in our future. He’s prophesying about what he did in 70 AD. What do we do with a text like this today?
Well, like most of the Bible, it was not written to us, but it is written for us. It was not written to us, but it’s written for us. There are other letters of the New Testament that we read that are not written directly to you and I, but they are written for us. They address specific historical situations, problems that don’t match ours exactly, but the Lord has wisdom and instruction for us in them anyway.
Takeaways from this passage. First, the apologetic value. Can we trust Jesus’ words? Can we trust Jesus? Jesus says, my words are trustworthy and true. Can you trust that? Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not. The destruction of the temple in 70 AD, the fulfillment of the signs that Jesus prophesied about, that we see in the rest of the book of Acts, the rest of the New Testament, all of that should give you confidence
that Jesus is trustworthy. His words indeed do not fail. Jesus proves himself trustworthy. We can know that he’s on the throne in heaven, ruling and reigning. He’s governing all things. Because Jesus is king, we can have confidence that his purposes will be accomplished in the world. This is proof that he is trustworthy. Secondly, there’s a warning here for us, even for the church today. Jesus judged a wicked
generation because of their unfruitfulness, their unfaithfulness. They were members of the covenant, but they were ultimately covenant breakers. They presumed upon the grace of God. They presumed upon the Lord’s kindness. They did not obey them. They didn’t obey the Lord. This is a warning for us today, any who would presume upon God’s grace. Jesus offers salvation to those who will trust in him, who swear allegiance to him, who submit to him, but he brings vengeance upon his
enemies, those who rebel against him. The New Testament gives warnings to those in the church who do not turn from their sin and walk in a manner worthy of the followers of Christ. In the book of Revelation, Jesus warns several churches in those first few chapters that he’ll put out their lampstand if they do not turn from their wickedness. They can’t just claim Christ’s name and live however they want. Jesus demands things of us. So this is a warning.
It’s also a significant event of God’s judgment upon the wicked, but it’s also a type of the future eternal judgment of the wicked. Those who do not repent, those who refuse to bow the knee to Jesus, to King Jesus, will suffer his wrath. That’s the warning of 70 A.D. Lastly, we see that Jesus is vindicated, and his people who trust in him and what he says are vindicated as well. Think about those Christians who were living in Judea who remembered the words of Christ,
who remembered the signs, who paid attention to what was going on leading up to 70 A.D. The historian, church historian Eusebius records that all the Christians living in Jerusalem fled to the mountains. They got out before it was destroyed. There wasn’t a Christian left who died in that great destruction. While the wicked generation was still clinging to their temple, the Christians obeyed Jesus, and they were vindicated. They saw the signs that Jesus gave them,
The Lord showed his stamp of approval upon Christ and the church, the new temple, when he condemned and he removed the old temple. Jesus was vindicated in the first century. He will be vindicated yet again at the end of history when everything is brought to light. All who are loyal to Jesus, who trust in him, who walk in line with his kingdom, will be vindicated as well. Christians may be mocked. You might be ridiculed. You might be rejected for clinging to Christ.
You stand with one who was rejected by men. You stand with one who was hated by his own. You stand with the vindicated one who will deliver us and vindicate us on the last day. Heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus’ words will not. Cling to his promises. Trust in his plan and obey his commands.
Amen. Let’s pray. Father, we thank you for revealing yourself to us in the Lord Jesus Christ, for showing your grace, extending your forgiveness. We thank you for delivering us from our enemies, from saving us from our own sins, from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Help us to cling to Christ’s trustworthy word and to trust in him above all and give us strength to be diligent and faithful in the work you have given us to do. In Jesus’ name.
Amen.