SERMON NOTES | PASTOR CHRIS MARTIN Mark 13:1-8 “Endure to the End with Jesus” Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018 The last three Sundays of the Church Year on the the end of the week. He knows that His enemies are liturgical calendar have unique theme to , in already trying to fi nd a way to silence Him by putting that they are used to turn the attention of Christians Him to death. Jesus knows that on Friday, the temple to an important teaching that we have in Scripture: the that is His fl esh will be lifted up on a cross and that He promised second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It will suffer and die for the sins of the world. He knows is a Biblical truth that we confess in the creeds of the that body will be laid in a tomb, a place reserved for church, such as in the Apostles’ Creed when we con- the dead. He knows that on the third day, He will rise fess we believe “He will come again to judge the living from the dead, and eventually ascend into heaven. He and the dead” and in the words of the Nicene Creed, knows that His kingdom will come in its fullness into later today we will confess that we believe the teaching this world when He returns. So knowing all of this, of the Bible that “He will come again in glory to judge Jesus wants to draw His disciples to what is important, the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no His Word, by telling them there’s coming a day when end” and that as Christians, we “look for the resurrec- this building that they are admiring will be coming tion of the dead, and the life of the world to come.” We down. And indeed, it will when the Romans come in confess every week in this place that we believe this, and destroy the city in 70 A.D. that there is coming a day when Jesus will return. We But there’s more to it than just a building. Jesus have His Word on it. uses this as an opportunity to tell His disciples what the question that today’s Gospel lesson brings to look for to remind them that He will be returning to light is this: what do you think about that? How do again someday: we know that Jesus is coming back? Do we really live “Beware that no one leads you astray. Many will our daily lives in a manner that says we believe that Je- come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead sus will return some day? Is that something we really many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of want? wars, do no be alarmed; this must take place, but the As we listen in on this conversation during Holy end is to come. For nation will rise against nation, Week between Jesus and His disciples as they walk and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earth- along the temple grounds, we can see that the disci- quakes in various places, there will be famines. This is ples’ immediate focus wasn’t on that. Instead, they but the beginning of the birth pangs.” (v.5-8) remark “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what That’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? Let’s think about that large buildings!” (v.2) To them, they’re in awe of the for a moment. I know we often say that Jesus is the temple and the buildings that make up the entire com- “Prince of Peace”, and while we haven’t even reached plex there. Now to be perfectly honest, they would Thanksgiving yet, I’m already hearing Christmas mu- have been an architectural marvel for the time peri- sic at times being played in some places, and some od. But the problem is this: in their amazement of the people have already put up their decoration. Christmas building itself, Jesus sees something that really goes is a season where we hear a lot of people talk about much deeper than simply an admiration for fi ne archi- peace. But, do we really live in a peaceful world? tecture. Do you remember what it was that truly made As you listen to these words of Jesus, and you look the temple signifi cant? Why this place, this building, at what’s going on in our world, what Jesus describes took signifi cance in the life of God’s chosen people? are things we see play out in the news headlines every The temple was the place where God physically dwelt day. This past week, I met once again with Pastor Jor- with His people. It was His presence there that made it dan Long, President of the Lutheran Church of South signifi cant. If God were to remove His presence from Sudan, who many of you had the opportunity to meet there, it would simply be another building. when he was with with Pastor James a couple of Now let’s remember who is walking with the dis- weeks ago. As part of my visit, Pastor Long was giving ciples and who they are having a conversation with. me a brief history of Sudan and the Church there, and Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, in human fl esh. Being the constant confl ict that the people of his homeland fully divine, Jesus knows what lies ahead for him by go through. One of the comments that he made that

PAGE 1 SERMON NOTES CONTINUED really hit for me was him saying that he doesn’t to such things, our authority in matters of faith and life remember a time in his life where he wasn’t a refu- isn’t always in what we see around us, or in what is gee, because there was always some sort of war in his going on in our lives, our authority in matters of faith homeland, and much of the ministry he oversees in and life is in the Word Himself, Jesus Christ, which the LCSS, and the ministry our friend, Pastor James, we fi nd in Scripture! In other words, when someone will be doing when he leaves for Ethiopia in January, makes such a claim about the return of Jesus, we have is done with people who have been displaced by war to make sure that what that person is saying fi rst and and rumor of war. These are people who, even when foremost, lines up with what all of God’s Word says, peace treaties are signed, know how fragile it is, and and if they are claiming some sort of authority that are often skeptical that it will last, because it rarely, if they don’t have, then we are not to listen, so that we are ever, does. not led astray from our Savior, Jesus! Closer to home, while we haven’t heard of earth- That’s one warning we take with us from the text. quakes lately, we’ve certainly heard about natural di- But there’s more to this text than simply that. Let’s go sasters in recent months. Our Mission District is put- back to that list we just heard. All of those things that ting together a youth mission trip for next summer to don’t exactly give us peace. Whether it’s of the magni- the Carolinas to work with long-term hurricane recov- tude of war or natural disaster, or its something such ery for people who were affected by Hurricane Flor- as failing health, caring for a loved one who is , or ence this past summer. In , wildfi res have facing Thanksgiving later this week with a heart that destroyed homes and property, leaving people with is full of grief because there is an empty place at your nothing. Many of you farmers had a late start to your table that once belonged to someone you loved who has harvest season because of all the rain we had at the be- died, we have all sorts of reasons to feel that peace is ginning of fall, and you’ve tried to catch up as best as something that is perhaps unattainable. It seems as if you can. These events and so many more like them are our enemies of sin, death, and the power of the devil moments in life that can lead to stress and anxiety, as win out. It might seem that Jesus is somehow distant, our lives are turned upside down, wondering how they or doesn’t care about what is happening in your life. will be put right. Yet, Jesus reminds us that these things that He lists As we look at these things that Jesus mentions, in our text are “but the beginning of the birth pangs.” what do they have in common, in particular, as it per- (v.8) They’re reminders that we live in a world that is tains to the idea of peace? These things rob us of the full of sin and as a result, is dying. They remind us that peace that’s in our lives, don’t they? They’re anything this is not how God intended this world to be! Thus but peaceful. They can leave us in distress, wonder- the whole creation groans, longing for the day that it ing when we will be delivered from them. It is in mo- will be made whole once again when sin has sought to ments such as these, God’s faithful people often cry separate and destroy. out “Lord, how long! How much longer will I have to That is why, in giving us the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus suffer? How much more will I have to endure?” instructs us to pray for, among other things, “thy King- When it comes to these words of Jesus, before we go dom come.” In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther any further, we have to be careful as we put them into explains what it means to pray these words when he the context of the conversation about the return of Je- writes: sus. Over the years, it’s been common for people to “What does this mean? The kingdom of God cer- to pinpoint the exact day or time that Jesus will come tainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray back, and will use events like what we had just talked in this petition that it may come to us also. How does about, as a reason to sound an alarm and say “I know God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when that Jesus is coming back on this date and time, so you our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that better get ready and follow me!” What’s the problem by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly with trying to pinpoint the exact day and time when lives here in time and there in eternity.” Jesus will return? Jesus Himself says in Matthew 24: Now how does this tie into the words of Jesus in “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, our text for today? A few verses later in Mark 13, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Fa- Jesus tells His disciples some of the things that they ther only.” (Matthew 24:36) personally will endure for being disciples of His, Jesus That ties into the warning that Jesus gives before ends this particular section by saying “But the one who He starts to tell us what to look for to remind us that endures to the end will be saved.” (Mark 13:13) How He’s coming back: don’t be led astray. When it comes do we endure the suffering that we encounter in our

PAGE 2 SERMON NOTES CONTINUED lives in this sin-fi lled, dying world? We endure by our ginning of birth pains. Even death itself is relegated to faith in Jesus Christ. We endure because we know that being merely the vehicle that God uses to deliver His Jesus has already defeated everything at the cross. We redeemed children in Christ from the things that affl ict know that as Christians, who have had all of our sins them in this life, to everlasting life in His kingdom that covered in the blood of Jesus Christ, our relationship has no end, a kingdom where these things will not ex- with our heavenly Father has been made whole. Thus ist or threaten His people again. we are able to pray “Thy Kingdom Come” because that Just as that temple the disciples of Jesus were ad- is what we long for! miring one day came crashing down, sometimes we Since we are now redeemed children of the heav- have moments in our own daily lives where it seems enly Father, we look at the return of Jesus in a differ- that everything we’ve placed our hopes, dreams, and ent manner. Remember all of those things that Jesus sense of security in come crashing down. Today, we said had to happen before He comes back, the things give thanks to God that through the life-giving Word He warns us about so that they don’t lead us astray? of our Lord, we’ve been reminded of how fragile Through faith given to us by the work of the Holy Spir- peace in our lives can often be, and how all too often, it in God’s Word and in the Sacraments, we are able to sin seeks to rob us of the hope we have in Christ and view suffering in a different way. We are able to recog- lead us astray by what we see with our eyes. Howev- nize that our suffering has limits. They can only affl ict er, through the eyes of faith, you have been reminded us while we are in this life. We know that Jesus prom- of where your true source of life and salvation lie, in ises those of us who believe in Him that there’s com- Christ, your Savior. So today, take this time to re-cen- ing a day when our suffering will end. We know that ter your life in Jesus Christ. Give thanks to Him for war, rumor of war, natural disaster, disease, illness, His gifts of life and salvation that He won for you on suffering have no hold over us forever. We know that Calvary’s cross. Leave behind the things you often Christ has them all under His feet. Thus we know that, cling to that can leave you feeling forgotten and forsak- having been baptized into the death of Christ, we’ve en. And as you go into your life this week, give thanks also been baptized into His resurrection. We know that that God has chosen you to be a light of the good news daily, as we drown our old sinful selves as we confess of the coming of His kingdom into our world through our sin, and rise anew as forgiven, redeemed children Jesus Christ, who is coming again on the last day, to of God, these things are not the end. They are the be- deliver His kingdom into its fullness. Amen.

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