Endure To The End

Two things we're going to look at today, if you like to keep track of the outlines.

We're going to look at Jesus' prophetic disclosure, and then we're going to look at his pastoral directives.

Let's first look at this prophetic disclosure.

Now, much of the narrative describing the week of Jesus' crucifixion, as you will remember,

is set in and around the temple in Jerusalem.

And one of the more important interpretive keys to this passage is noting exactly where Mark placed it in his narrative.

If you'll remember all the way back to chapter 11, you remember Jesus and his disciples make this final trek to Jerusalem.

Jesus rides to Jerusalem on the donkey.

There is tremendous praise that comes along with that.

And do you remember he goes into the temple?

He looks around.

He observes.

And then he goes back to Bethany for the night, and he thinks about what he's observed.

And do you remember what he did the next morning?

He goes back.

He's headed back to the temple, except he stops at a fig tree that was in bloom but had no fruit.

And he curses the fig tree as an illustration of the end of Israel's temple and Israel's worship.

A dramatic change is about to happen, and Jesus is illustrating that in the parable of the fig tree in the enacted parable there.

And you'll remember through his teaching there.

All of this is leading up to this moment when there is a literal fulfillment of that.

And it's going to happen in the time of the apostles.

Rome will eventually come in.

In the years leading up to AD 70, Titus will come in, and he will promise to raise to the ground, R-A-Z-E, raise to the ground everything that is there in Jerusalem in response to a rebellion.

And that's exactly what happened.

And so Jesus is describing that.

He is forewarning his disciples about this occurrence.

Let's look at it there in verse 1.

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.

Now, talk about a particular killjoy of a moment, right?

Because this was an amazing moment for the disciples.

They're from the backwaters of Galilee.

They don't make this trip to Jerusalem very often.

Maybe annually they would come and they would get to witness exactly the extravagance and the grandeur of the temple complex.

And that's what they're doing.

And they've come in and they're walking out, maybe perhaps for the last time before Jesus' death,

they're walking out of the temple.

And an unnamed disciple with amazement remarks to the Lord,

Look, look at what wonderful stones.

Look at the glory of this temple.

And indeed, it was a glorious sight to behold.

The complex itself had been in the process of renovation for 46 years by King Herod at this point,

and it was nearing completion.

It spanned 36 acres.

Now, that's not the temple building in this spot that is on a 35-acre plot of land.

No, the temple complex itself was 36 acres.

It was huge.

The stones that made up this great complex.

Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote that some of the largest ones were some 40 or 50 feet long,

some 11 feet tall and 8 feet wide, weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Massive stones have been brought in to construct this amazing temple.

But it's not only that.

There was a particular ornamentation to this temple that Herod had brought in.

The outside of the walls were plated in various places by pure gold.

The gates were made of gold and brass and precious metals.

And the parts of the stone that wasn't covered in precious metal were a purest white.

So that Josephus said,

From a distance, when you're approaching Jerusalem,

the temple itself looks like a snow-clad mountain in the midst of Palestine,

in the midst of the desert mountains of Judea.

It really would have been an amazing thing to see.

And the disciples have spent their time there.

And they're walking out of the temple here in this moment.

And one of them looks up and says,

Lord, look how amazing this is.

Look how awesome this is.

And this is what sparks Jesus' lesson.

It's this particular comment.

This particular prophetic disclosure

that everything that they saw will be destroyed.

And this surely must have come as a shock to the men.

The temple then, as it is today for Jews,

was the very focus of Jewish life and worship.

For them, it was literally the house of God

where he had promised to dwell among his people.

And of course, we can read the Old Testament.

We can go to Ezekiel's book

and we can see that the vision Ezekiel had

where the glory of the Lord was removed from the temple

some hundreds of years before this event actually took place.

But in the minds of the Jews,

as they journeyed to Jerusalem,

as they saw the temple,

it stirred all kinds of spiritual emotions in them.

And just like they had no theological capacity

for a Messiah who would suffer,

neither did they have any kind of capacity in their minds

for a fruitful spiritual life

that was absent of the temple

and the forms of worship

that the temple represented and stood for.

So when they're coming out of the temple

and the disciple says,

look at how wonderful this is,

and Jesus says, yeah, it's all gonna be destroyed,

this is not a small passing statement from the Lord.

This is hugely impactful.

Remember the first time that the temple

was destroyed in the Old Testament

with Babylon coming in

and taking captive the people of God.

Remember when the remnant returns

and under the leadership of Ezra and Zerubbabel,

they begin to reconstruct the temple.

And the ones who were old enough

to have seen the former temple, Solomon's temple,

remember what they did when they saw the new one?

They wept.

But their weeping wasn't rejoicing.

Their weeping was the fact that this is such,

just a shadow of what it once was.

This meant so much to them.

This was everything to them.

Today, you can go to Jerusalem,

you will see it is just as important to the Jews today,

even though it's not underneath their control.

They are awaiting the moment

when they can reclaim the temple mount

and they can reestablish the temple

and their temple worship there in Israel.

It means everything to them.

So when Jesus tells these men,

it's going to be destroyed,

that means something to them.

It's impactful for them.

And so Jesus was essentially saying,

don't get too attached, fellas.

This is all going to go away.

The truth is,

if they were going to understand the gospel,

if they were going to faithfully follow Jesus,

their affections couldn't be attached

to the temple and the old covenant system

that it represented.

Do you understand why Jesus is saying this to them?

So long as these men,

so long as their affections were attached

to the things of this earth,

to the old forms of worship,

to the old covenant,

so long as they were attached first to those things,

they would never fully understand the gospel.

They would never really be faithful followers of Jesus

because remember what Jesus had come to do.

He had come to do away with the old

in order to establish the new covenant in his blood.

He talked about it as new wine at one point

that cannot be poured into old wineskins,

else it would burst and be destroyed.

Do you remember when Jesus said that in Mark's gospel?

This is what he's referring to.

You can't take the new covenant of Jesus Christ

and try to fit it into the old systems

of the old covenant and the law.

It just doesn't work.

And Jesus is saying,

as long as your affection is set on this,

as long as your affection is set on this temporary thing,

you'll never really be able to faithfully follow me.

And in the same way,

we must not get so attached to this world

and the things that we love so much here

because eventually it's all going to be destroyed.

This earth will dissolve.

It will be shaken.

It's going to go away.

Don't waste your time setting your affections

on the things of this world.

Paul says, set your mind,

set your affections on heavenly things.

Set your affections on the things of Christ.

Christians belong to another kingdom.

And we're awaiting the day

that this earth will finally be dissolved

and the new heavens and the new earth

will be ours in eternity.

And just as Jesus is describing to these disciples,

don't get attached to the temple, it's going away.

Just focus on me.

Trust me.

So he says to us through this passage,

don't let your affections get set

on the things of this earth.

Follow me.

Trust me.

The end is coming.

Look at verse three.

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 so the disciples just chew on the Lord's statement

for a little bit, don't they?

Sometime later, they're on the Mount of Olives.

I should have brought the picture for you today.

I showed it several weeks ago,

a picture of when my dad and my brother were there.

You can be on the Mount of Olives

and it's directly adjacent to the temple compound,

the temple complex and mount in Jerusalem.

That's where Jesus and the disciples move to.

They transfer over to the Mount of Olives.

They're sitting there adjacent from the temple

and they're just looking at it.

They're gazing on it.

Four of them pull Jesus to the side

or perhaps the others have gone to another place.

Maybe they've gone on to Bethany for the night

and these four disciples,

while they have Jesus to themselves,

ask him, when are these things gonna happen

and how will we know when they are about to happen?

And I think there's three questions here

for us to deal with just briefly before we move on.

One question that isn't asked,

one question that isn't answered,

and then one question that serves as the basis

for Jesus' teaching.

The first question that isn't actually asked is why?

Why?

The disciples are so focused on when,

they're so focused on the signs,

that they don't stop for a moment,

at least in the text,

they don't stop for a moment and ask the Lord,

you've said this is gonna be destroyed.

Why?

Why must it be destroyed?

Isn't that a good question to ask though, right?

Well, why is it gonna be destroyed?

Well, like I said,

if you look over the course of Jesus' teaching

in the Gospels,

you'll find this theme,

this motif woven through of something new

replacing the old.

Jesus himself is the fulfillment of everything

typified by and promised in the Old Testament.

He was the perfect sacrifice that rendered obsolete

the sacrificial system that was instructed through Moses.

He was the final fulfillment of that.

Through him,

we experience the eternal spiritual rest

that is typified by the law's approach to the Sabbath day.

Jesus fulfills that.

Because of his death on the cross,

we now have access to God through Jesus and Jesus alone,

not a priest or a temple system.

Because of the Lord,

the temple has no other reason to exist.

He himself in that day

was the presence of God among his people.

And after, as we talked about last week,

after he ascended to heaven,

he sent his spirit to indwell his people personally.

There's no reason for the temple to continue.

The old forms of the old covenant

have been perfectly fulfilled and replaced by Jesus.

And if you desire forgiveness of sin,

if you desire eternal life,

peace with God,

you will not find that in the temple.

You will not find that in a church building.

You will not find that in religious formalism.

You will find it through faith in Christ

and Christ alone.

That's the why.

Why is this going to happen?

Because I am the fulfillment of all these things,

would have been Jesus' answer.

But then that brings us to the second question,

a question that they actually do ask,

which is when?

When will these things happen,

the disciples say.

And what's interesting about this question

is that Jesus doesn't answer it.

You read all the way through the Olivet Discourse

in this chapter plus Matthew 24 plus Luke 21,

and you will never find where Jesus says,

let me tell you when it's going to happen.

In fact, the closest that he comes to it,

and Mark 13 is in verse 32,

and he essentially says,

you'll never know when it's going to happen

until it happens.

And so it's a question that goes unanswered.

And my point in bringing that up

is that since the Bible doesn't tell us

when the end will come,

we have to stop wasting our time

trying to determine it ourselves.

Right?

There was the one guy

through the 70s and 80s and 90s

that would write these books

that 99 reasons the Lord will return in 1999.

And then when the Lord doesn't return in 1999,

he writes the next one.

Well, you know,

21 reasons why the Lord will return in 2021.

You know what I mean?

The people trying to predict things

that the Lord never gave us an answer for.

In fact, he said,

you won't have an answer for it.

We have to stop trying to do that.

We need to beware of the people

that are so obsessed

with the things that are happening around the world

that all they can think about

is trying to pinpoint a time frame

for the Lord's return.

We can be satisfied with the fact

that the Lord is returning

and then come to his own teaching

and see he didn't give us an answer on that.

So we'll leave it there.

Then there's a third question.

What?

What will be the sign of these things?

The disciples say.

And this is the question that serves

as the foundation for the whole chapter.

They wanted to know how they could know

when everything Jesus said

was about to happen.

Now Matthew's account

adds a third element to this question.

Matthew says that they ask also

what will be the sign of the Lord's coming

at the end of the age?

Mark doesn't include that part of the question.

And I think the reason he doesn't include it

is because it's the same question

that they ask when they're asking

for the signs of the temple's destruction.

Here's why I think that.

Because to the disciples

and to the Jews in general,

the destruction of the temple

could only mean one thing.

That the end of the age has come.

Remember, theologically,

in their capacity,

that they had no theological understanding

of a spiritual life without the temple.

The only thing that the destruction

of the temple could mean

is that the eternal state has come.

The eternal kingdom has come.

And so I really think

when the disciples say,

what will be the sign

of all of these things?

It's the same as

if they're also asking

what will be the sign

at the end of the age.

So Jesus' answer corrects

their thinking that says

that these two things

are going to happen simultaneously.

And then he speaks of two separate events here.

One being a sign for the other.

I mention these three questions

because they serve as the context

to which we have to return

time and again

as we study this chapter.

The answers Jesus gave

to the disciples

are the same that he gives to us

as we await his return.

The gospel answers the why question.

We will not have an answer

for the when question.

And the signs and exhortations

of the what question

are the same for us

as they were for the disciples.

For the disciples,

it had the temple particularly in focus.

For us, it has the foreshadowing

of the end times.

Well, that's the prophetic disclosure.

Look with me now

at the pastoral directives.

Pastoral directives.

As the time of the temple's destruction drew near,

there are three things

that Jesus insinuates

that the disciples

are going to have to encounter.

They're going to encounter deception.

They're going to encounter persecution.

And as a result of both of those things,

they're going to encounter

personal spiritual doubt.

And so what Jesus does

as he begins to unfold

what will happen moving forward,

he uses it in the framework

of three exhortations,

three directives.

Here's what you must do

to be faithful disciples.

The first thing he says,

don't be led astray.

Don't be led astray.

Look at verse five.

And Jesus began to say to them,

see that no one leads you astray.

Now, his first warning was that

his followers were going to face

wave after wave of false teaching

that if they weren't careful

would lead them away

from following Christ

instead of encouraging them

to faithfully follow Christ.

Consider the cultural

and religious climate of their day.

Remember, the Jews believed

that the Messiah was going to be

primarily a political Messiah.

They thought he's going to deliver

the nation from the oppression

of Rome.

So you can imagine,

just as it happened historically,

as things got worse and worse

leading up to the destruction

of the temple,

there were many false messiahs

claiming that they would be

the one to save the nation.

The disciples were going to have

to be mindful of these things.

Jesus mentions two types of people

that Christians must be aware of

lest they're led away.

The first one is what I just mentioned,

fake messiahs.

Fake messiahs.

Look at verse six.

Many will come in my name

saying, I am he.

And they will lead many people astray.

Now, the claim here

is not that they are Jesus.

That's not the claim.

It's not that many were going to come

after Jesus' ascension

and say, I'm Jesus that has come back.

That's not what they're saying.

What they're claiming

is to be the savior for the nation,

the messiah for the nation.

Again, as Rome would come in

and as the tensions politically

would begin to boil over,

we would find historically

that there were many

who claimed to be the champion

that God had sent.

And Jesus indicated

that what would increase

the pressure on his disciples

as these false messiahs

came on the scene

is the amount of followers

that would follow these men.

I think it was a man

named Judas Maccabeus

who would be responsible

for the rebellion

around the AD 65, AD 66,

responsible for the rebellion.

He would be the one claiming,

I will be the one

to deliver the nation.

God has sent me.

And there were masses of people

following this man,

following this man

to their destruction.

Jesus says,

don't be led astray

by the fake messiahs,

that the one saying,

I am he that will deliver the nation.

These messiahs,

these false saviors

would have the skills

that align with the Jewish

misunderstanding of the Messiah.

And the disciples

are going to face

enormous pressure,

enormous cultural pressure

as the people around them

begin to believe these claims

and begin to abandon

the truth of Jesus

in the process.

And Jesus warned,

this is going to happen.

Men, don't be led astray,

Jesus says.

Don't be led astray.

And we have to heed

this directive of the Lord.

Because many false saviors

arise in each generation

from religious and secular realms.

Their claims and skills

are deceptive.

And the cultural numbers of people

are often on their side.

Masses of people

following these false doctrines,

following these false saviors

to their certain doom

and destruction.

Don't be led astray

by the false savior

of expressive individualism.

Don't be led astray

by the false savior

of moral relativism.

Don't be led astray

by the false saviors

of Roman Catholicism

or Mormonism

or Zen Buddhism

or other false religions.

There will be many of them.

They will have many more followers

than Christ will have.

Don't be led astray.

It's only going to get worse

and worse and worse.

Beware of the false messiahs,

Jesus says.

But there's a second group here

that he warns about.

They're really connected

to the first.

I term them as foolish experts.

There's false messiahs,

fake messiahs,

then there's foolish experts.

Look at verse seven.

And when you hear of wars

and rumors of wars,

do not be alarmed.

This must take place.

But the end is not yet.

Nation will rise against nation,

kingdom against kingdom.

There will be earthquakes

in various places.

There will be famines.

And notice Jesus is saying this

under the same paragraph,

same context,

as do not be led astray.

Don't be led astray

by the false saviors.

Don't be led astray

by the foolish experts.

Because there's going to be

plenty of people that come

claiming to know the things

that God hasn't revealed

about the end.

In the years between

Jesus' ascension and resurrection

unto the destruction of the temple,

all of these things

came to fruition

in and around Palestine.

There's a massive earthquake

and Laodicea,

massive destruction.

It wasn't too far removed

from this time

that Vesuvius erupted

and buried Pompeii.

It was certainly during this time

that there's constant wars

and rumors of wars

just like there always has been.

And anytime those things

take place,

it's necessary,

Jesus says,

but they're not the exclusive

signs of the end.

Political and natural catastrophes

will continue

until Jesus returns,

but we must not be led astray

by the doomsday experts

that strike fear in our hearts.

You don't have to build

a bomb shelter under your house

in fear

from reading the newspaper.

You don't have to be led astray

by these that claim to know

when these things are going to happen

and point to every little thing

that the end is actually here.

Perhaps we can see

the warnings here

in application

to the fear-mongering media age

in which we live.

Whether it's a newspaper

or a news program

or social media,

all we get fed

over and over and over

is things that are designed

to make us panic

and fear.

Is there a warning in this

from Jesus?

What does he say?

You're going to hear of wars,

rumors of wars,

earthquakes,

kingdoms against kingdoms.

And what does he say?

Don't be alarmed.

Don't be alarmed.

Don't be led astray.

We've seen so much of this

the last two years,

haven't we?

Christians are being led astray

by notions that the COVID vaccination

is the mark of the beast.

Or that Bitcoin and Dogecoin

are the universal currencies

that mark the rule of the Antichrist

at the end of the age.

Listen, church.

Don't be led astray

by those

who are obsessed

with every little thing

that happens in Israel.

Beware of those

who interpret the Bible

through the lens

of American politics.

Beware of those

that interpret their Bible

by laying the grid

of their newspapers

across it

in order to determine

what it is

that God has said

for us here.

Beware of those people.

Don't be led astray.

And notice what Jesus says

in verse 8.

These are but the beginning

of the birth pains,

he says.

These are but the beginning

of the birth pains.

This is such a helpful analogy,

isn't it?

I say it's helpful

because I wasn't the one

that actually had to go

through the birth pains

in the process

of our two children

being born.

It brings back to mind

some of those days, though.

Remember,

those of you ladies

who have gone through this,

you understand

what it's like

when you first begin

to experience

the early contractions

that signal

that birth is imminent.

Even maybe the fake ones,

whatever those are called,

that happen maybe

the week or so before

and you start to panic

and you find out,

you go to the doctor

and you think

you're about to have a baby

and the doctor says,

well, those aren't even

real contractions.

Well, what are they for?

We begin to panic.

We see the early birth pains,

right?

Well, how is it

that this works?

You know.

You've been there.

You've witnessed it.

You start to feel the pain.

You begin to panic

a little bit.

This baby might come

any minute now

because I had a little pain

and you start to get urgent

in the things that you do

and you rush yourself

to the hospital

only to find that

maybe it's going to be

many, many hours,

maybe days

before the baby

actually arrives.

Well, it's the purpose

of the early birth pains.

Well, they're a sign

that the baby is coming,

but they're not the sign

that the baby is here.

This is a helpful analogy,

isn't it?

Because it applies

the same way to us.

Think about those moments,

that final extreme pain

and effort

that a mother goes through

in giving birth

and then joy suddenly comes

in the experience

of new life

and knowing

that the pains of birth

are now a thing

of the past.

So it is

with the end of the age,

Jesus says.

The disciples assume

that the destruction

of the temple

meant the end of the age.

Jesus said

it was not the end of the age,

it was actually

the beginning

of a new era,

a new era

in redemptive history.

It's just the beginning

and the events

foreshadowed

in the temple's destruction

are going to continue

to increase

as the day

of the Lord draws near.

Just like those

early contractions

are somewhat small

and infrequent,

but they grow stronger

and they grow more frequent

all the way up

until the moment

that new life

is realized.

So it will be

with the end of the age.

The temple

was just the beginning.

It's going to get worse.

It's going to get more frequent

and suddenly

will come

the end.

And so as we read

our Bibles,

we quickly find

that this analogy

is so fitting.

Things are going to worsen

in this world.

And at the end

of the tribulation,

the worst

of the birth pains,

the worst

of the efforts,

believers will rejoice

in the experience

of eternal life

in the new heavens

and the new earth.

Just like a mother

who is exhausted

from hours of labor,

so will weary Christians

stand before their Lord

and Savior.

And the Bible says

at that moment,

He will look

at those of us

who are weary,

who have come

through great trial

and hardship

and persecution

and tribulation,

and He will wipe

every tear

from our eyes

and death

will be no more

and sin

will be no more

and disease

will be no more.

No more martyrs,

no more problems,

no more war.

It all will pass away

in that moment.

And what we will have

is to enjoy

in eternity

the new heavens

and the new earth.

Jesus says

this is just

the beginning,

but the beginning

always has an end

and in the end

comes the new age

and the new heavens.

What a day that will be.

What a day that will be

when my Jesus

I shall see

and I look upon His face

the one who saved me

by His grace

and He takes me

by the hand

and leads me

through the promised land.

What a day,

glorious day

that will be.

Do you see what Jesus

is doing for His disciples here?

Things are going to get bad.

It's going to be really hard.

Endure men,

He says.

Don't be led astray.

It's just the beginning

and the end will come

and the end will come

with great victory

and life.

Don't be led astray.

And then He says

don't drop your guard.

Don't drop your guard.

Look at verse 9.

He very plainly says it.

I know this is just

such an amazing

sign of my ability

as a wordsmith

to come up with

just tremendous ways

to describe

what this passage is saying.

What is it that Jesus says?

Be on your guard.

Don't drop your guard.

Be on your guard.

The directive here,

it carries the idea

of standing firm

in the truth.

being prepared

for what will come

as a result.

And in this section,

Jesus is reminding

the disciples

of the reality

of persecution

for believers

in this life.

Persecution for the gospel

will continue.

It will increase

as the day of the Lord

approaches.

and the Lord's directive

was that we stand firm

and be faithful

to the glory of God.

Isn't this what Paul

was instructing

the Philippian church with?

In reference to

his own suffering

and their suffering

in that day,

he writes,

only let your manner

of life be worthy

of the gospel of Christ.

So whether I come

and see you

or am absent,

I may hear of you

that you are standing firm

in one spirit

with one mind,

striving side by side

for the faith

of the gospel,

not frightened

in anything

by your opponents,

he says.

This is a clear sign

to them

of their destruction,

but of your salvation

and that from God.

For it has been granted

to you

that for the sake

of Christ,

you should not only

believe in him,

but also suffer

for his sake,

engaged in the same

conflict that you

saw I had

and now hear

that I still have.

What is it that Paul's saying?

He's saying what Jesus said.

You're going to deal

with persecution.

And it will be great

when I hear

that you are standing

firm together

as the church,

that you are standing

firm in one spirit,

that you are standing

firm on the truth,

not frightened

by your opponents

because you recognize

that to suffer

for Christ

in this life

is an honor.

It's a grace

of the Lord

that he would count us

worthy to suffer

for his sake

because we know

at the end

of this suffering

is life eternal

with him.

And so Jesus

takes this

reality

of persecution

as these men

continued on

in their walk

with Christ

and I think he says

three things

about it here.

First,

he gives us

the purpose

of persecution

in verse 9.

The purpose,

look at it.

For they will deliver

you over to councils

and you will be beaten

in synagogues.

You will stand

before governors

and kings

for my sake.

Why?

To bear witness

before them.

To bear witness

before them.

And you only have

to get a couple

of chapters

into the book

of Acts.

Just days

after Jesus

tells them this

that these men

are indeed

delivered before

the councils

of the Sanhedrin.

They're persecuted

in the synagogues

and cast out

of the synagogues

not allowed

to even return.

They stood

before governors

and kings

as Paul stood

before Agrippa

and they testified

gave witness

to the resurrected

Christ

all for the glory

of God.

So in case

we're tempted

to think

that the hardship

we face

is a result

of God

being out of control

or perhaps

unconcerned

Jesus proclaims

there's actually

a divine purpose

to this.

They would indeed

stand before

all of these people

and the purpose

was to bear witness

of the truth

which had two

possible results.

It has one result

the conversion

of the lost.

as people

looked on

to their persecution

and listened

to the message

of the gospel

people were converted

to Christ

and they became

Christians

in that moment.

It also served

the purpose

of judgment

a warning

to the unbelievers

of their damnation

and these results

were to the glory

of God

for he is the God

of perfect mercy

and of perfect

justice.

So what does

Jesus say

the purpose

of this is?

You're going to glorify

God in your persecution.

You're going to glorify

the Lord

in your hardship.

People will be saved

and others

will be warned

and in either case

the Lord

will be glorified.

The purpose

of persecution.

Then we see

the product

of persecution

for them.

Verse 10

and the gospel

must first

be proclaimed

to all nations.

It will be

proclaimed

to all nations.

All people groups

will hear the truth

so that when we

endure the persecution

for the gospel's sake

it results

in the evangelization

of the world.

The statement

pointed to

a dramatic

shift

in God's plan

to show

his glory

to the world.

Do you remember

how God's plan

to reveal

his glory

to the world

was structured

in the Old Testament?

Was structured

through his people

in Israel?

Through their worship?

Through the temple?

People would have

to travel

to Israel

to learn

of this God.

They would have

to travel

to Jerusalem

to the temple

to learn

of his glory

to witness

of his glory

as they gazed

upon his people

and the way

that they behaved

and the things

that they did.

Not so in the New Testament.

Temple's destroyed now.

Right?

That's what Jesus

is saying.

And with that

comes a shift

in the way

that God reveals

his glory

to the world.

Instead of bringing

people to a single

place to reveal

his glory

he takes his people

he indwells them

and then he scatters

them around the world

and they take

the demonstration

of God's glory

with them

wherever they go.

And what is often

the agent

of this scattering?

Hardship.

Persecution.

The war

in AD 70

itself

would see

many Christians

spread throughout

the Roman Empire

and as they're spread

in the diaspora

throughout the Roman Empire

what do they take

with them?

The words

of the Lord

are on their lips

and they preach

the gospel

and we see

even in the book

of Acts

we see a foreshadowing

of the gospel

going to all nations

around the world

and Jesus says

this will also

be a sign

of the end

that as the end

of the age

approaches

the gospel

will prevail

and the gospel

will flourish

around the world

once again.

We see the product

of it.

Then we see

the promise

in it

the promise

in persecution.

Verse 11

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.

Now what peace

this provides to us.

What peace.

We don't have

to attempt

to predict

the future

so that we might

prepare ourselves

for its realities.

We don't have

to do that.

We only need

to faithfully

follow Christ

and trust

his promise

that he will

send his spirit

to sustain us

in those moments.

Wasn't that

the point

of that whole section

between John 14

and 16?

Jesus is telling

his disciples

we read some of it

last week

I'm going away

but when I go away

I'm going to send

my spirit.

Now I want you

to think about that

for just a moment.

I prayed this

this morning

here in this room

before people

began to show up

for worship today.

I pray that we

would experience

the reality

of that promise

that as we

gather for worship

we have the

promise

of Christ's

spirit

to help us

understand his

truth.

To help us

respond to his

truth in the way

that we need

to respond.

To enlighten us

to his glory.

To inform

and help us

and encourage us

in our worship.

We have the

seal of the

spirit within us

as a seal

of our salvation.

There is

wonderful promise

that comes from

Christ about

the spirit

and here in

this passage

it is echoed

once again

that as you

face certain

persecution

and hardship

in this life

whether it be

through natural

catastrophe

or political

upheaval

or persecution

for the gospel

sake

he has promised

us his spirit

and his spirit

will inform us

in those moments.

You don't have

to try to figure

it all out

and prepare.

You just have

to trust the

Lord.

trust his promise

he will give you

through great peace

the things that we

need

as we face

these things.

And there's

echoes of the

promise in the

great commission

here

in Matthew 28

Jesus says

all authority

is given to me

go and make

disciples of all

nations

baptizing them

in the name

of the father

and the son

of the holy

spirit

teaching them

to observe

all things

I have commanded

you.

And what's the

promise that

that goes

along with

it at the

very end

and behold

I am with

you always

to the end

of the age

Jesus says

and what does

he tell his

disciples here

guys

you're probably

going to die

you're going to

face a lot

of hardship

don't be

alarmed

I'll be

with you

I will be

with you

what peace

that brings

to our hearts

what wonderful

promise there is

in persecution

we got to

hurry to the

end here

we're thinking

pastoral directives

Jesus says

as the end

of the age

draws near

don't be led

astray

don't drop

your guard

be prepared

for what's

ahead

and then he

says

don't lose

the faith

don't lose

the faith

because if

they're led

astray

and they drop

their guard

that will be

the result

they will

abandon

the faith

verse 12

brother will

deliver brother

over to death

and the father

his child

and children

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

this final

directive

I think

brings us

to the

main point

of this

first section

down through

verse 13

faith in the

gospel can

indeed result

in loss

of family

we don't

always have

first hand

experience

with this

in our

context

like many

Christians

do around

the world

but there

are many

people

who upon

converting

to Christ

perhaps even

through their

baptism

are totally

abandoned

by their

families

as a result

they're

abandoned

by their

friends

they lose

their

jobs

they lose

life as

they know

it and

they lose

it

willingly

for the

sake of

the gospel

that's a

reality

for many

people around

the world

faith in

the gospel

can result

in loss

of family

it can

result in

loss of

friends

it can

result in

loss of

life

itself

the end

is coming

and with

it will

be an

incredible

amount of

hardship

and persecution

and in

the midst

of that

we will

be tempted

to follow

false

teachers

and we

will be

tempted

to abandon

Jesus

in order

to preserve

a comfortable

life in

this world

that's the

temptation

that's why

Jesus said

whoever will

lose his life

for my sake

will gain it

and whoever

will save

his life

will lose

it

but in

the end

all those

who endure

and persevere

in faith

will be

saved

that's the

promise

now Jesus

didn't mean

that endurance

earns our

salvation

that's not

what he means

by that

our salvation

is a present

possession

that comes

to us

at the

moment

of regeneration

and conversion

we can trust

that

our eternity

is secure

at the moment

that we're

saved

but there

is a dynamic

to our

future

salvation

there's

echoes

of Jesus'

parable

of the

soils

do you remember

Jesus said

that the

gospel would

be cast

the seed

would be

cast

on various

types

of soil

and there

were two

types

of soil

that for

a time

appear to

be fruitful

they appear

to be

believers

but either

through sin

or persecution

they fall

away

but the

promise

from Jesus

in that

is that

those who

have truly

trusted

Christ alone

for salvation

will prove

to be fruitful

even in the

end

and how do

we apply

the end

here

look again

at the

verse

13

the one

who endures

to the

end

will be

saved

well these

disciples

didn't live

all the way

to the

end

at least

the end

of the

age

but they

did come

to an

end

didn't they

all of us

will face

the waves

of death

as we'll

sing about

in just a

moment

Christ

the sure

and steady

anchor

as we face

the waves

of death

if you

remember

back to

pilgrim's

progress

do you

remember

us

as pilgrim

and hopeful

they make

it finally

to the

sea

that they

have to

cross

in order

to get

to

the

celestial

city

and it

represents

death

doesn't it

and in

that moment

pilgrim

wavers

for just

a minute

afraid

of the

death

that awaits

them

and we

can expect

that at

the moment

that our

death

approaches

we will

be tempted

to abandon

the faith

will you

trust

Christ

even in

those

moments

and Jesus

says

the one

who endures

to the

end

will be

saved

for you

the end

may be

natural

death

for you

the end

may be

disease

for you

it may be

some type

of devastating

consequence

for you

it may be

persecution

hardship

the sun

beating down

on us

like it did

the seed

that Jesus

talked about

in that

parable

but the one

who endures

will prove

to be fruitful

it's a promise

of the Lord

so endure

Jesus

says

it's a

pastoral

warning

endure

don't lose

the faith

don't throw

in the towel

stay faithful

trust me

continue

the Olivet

Discourse

is so very

helpful

but we have

to approach

it with the

right purpose

as I said

in the beginning

we can learn

lots of things

about the end

of the age

and we need

to learn

those things

but the purpose

of this section

is in order

to exhort us

to faithfully

follow Jesus

do you see it

just as the temple

came to an end

in AD 70

the end of this

world is going

to come

the end is coming

are you ready

for that

are you ready

for the end

have you trusted

Christ alone

to forgive your sins

will you endure

the deception

will you endure

the destruction

will you prove

to be a faithful

disciple

we prayed

about our

discipling initiatives

earlier in the service

do you know why

those things matter

they matter

because we need

one another

to spur us

along in this

don't we

sometimes we

come to church

Sunday by Sunday

and we do the best

we can

we only have

limited time

together on Sunday

mornings

don't we

we do the best

we can

to encourage

people

the truth is

we really have

no idea

what's under

the surface

of most of our

hearts

as we come

in Sunday

by Sunday

and we may

think you know

nobody is

nobody's having

to go home

every Sunday

and deal with

the threat

of their life

because they

went to church

that day

at least I

don't think

that's the case

for anyone

here

but we don't

know what

kind of

hardships

and persecutions

each other

are facing

you know why

it's helpful

when we come

to a lakeside

connect group

we have a

moment to

encourage people

along to

say just

keep going

trust the

promise

isn't that

what we want

to do with

our children

on Thursdays

because things

might be harder

for them

than what it

actually is

for us

in either

case

they're going

to face

great difficulty

as believers