“But concerning that day… no one knows, 36:30 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Mark 13:32 not even the Son” // Mark 13:32–37 // The Difficult Sayings of Jesus #6 He doesn’t know when he’s coming back? Uhhh… Isn’t he the Son of God? How could the Son of God not know something—especially something important like his own schedule for returning? Maybe this Compassion week shows he really wasn’t God… • Gotten my whole family involved • Compassion is an amazing organization Well, first, realize that this is not the only time Jesus is described like o Over 400 kids a day last year accepted Christ at this, with limitations: Compassion projects around the world. That's 164,000 • Luke 2:52 tells us, for example, that Jesus “increased in wisdom children! and stature.” How does Jesus “increase in wisdom? Can the all- o Local church knowing God get wiser? • Hebrews tells he “learned obedience”… which means he had to This is our 2nd to last week in our series The Difficult Sayings of Jesus be trained to do certain things, like eat his vegetables… just because “mom and dad said so.” (You think, “Well, shouldn’t God These are statements that put the real Jesus front and center. (As I’ve have known that vegetables were superior to Twizzlers? Didn’t he explained… The real Jesus caused one of two reactions: devoted love invent anti-oxidants?”) or extreme hatred—people either fell at his feet and offered him their whole lives or they tried to kill him.) It appears that Jesus had to learn some things, on earth, just like you and me learn them. The irony today is that many people feel bored with Jesus. But that • (Most of us, you see, think of Jesus as a baby savant, sitting just shows they’ve never really taken him seriously. No one in the around in the nursery at 3 years old lecturing the other toddlers Gospels was ever bored with Jesus... fraud, phony, yes. People who about the Christological implications of Leviticus 13 and waxing know Jesus tend to cause division, not because their jerks… but eloquent about the end of the world.) Baby thoughts. because they believe he is who he says he is and take him seriously… • Can I have another fruit snack? He got more goldfish than me. My toy. Well, these “difficult sayings” bring us face to face with the real Jesus. Our next to last difficult saying comes from Mark 13:32, so if How can that be, if he’s God? Let’s do a little theology lesson: From you have a Bible, open it there… the beginning, Christians have believed that the “incarnate” Jesus was both fully God and fully man. That means 100% man; 100% God (not In Mark 13, Jesus is prophesying about the end of the world—he tells 50/50) his disciples about all these ominous things that are going to happen (sun darkened; moon turned to blood)… and then he says: The Council of Chalcedon one of the early church councils, clarified it like this:

“Jesus was perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly • (By the way, this is one way I know that the Bible was not forged (or, fully) God and truly man. One person… acknowledged in two by people who were trying to create Jesus into this supernatural natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the figure that he actually wasn’t. Think about it: If you were trying to distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the re-cast a guy who was really just a religious hippie as the SON of union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved.” GOD, why wouldn’t you have edited this statement out? The writers included it not because it advanced their theories, but 33:00 In other words, that he was fully God did not take away from because Jesus actually said it and they were committed to telling him from being fully man; that he was fully man did not take away the truth even when what he said created a lot of problems for from him being fully God. their doctrines.)

You see, in order for Jesus to save us, he had to be fully both. Had OK, so, the reason he didn’t know was because he, as a man, had he not been man, he could not have died in our place as a “emptied himself” of access to that knowledge. substitute; had he not been God, he could never have defeated the powers of sin and the grave. 30:00 But… what Jesus says next is really difficult, too: [33] Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time (of his He was both. And because he was both, during his life we see flashes return) will come. [34] It is like a man going on a journey, when he of either nature. For example: leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and • Because he was the son of man, he could become hungry; but commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. [35] Therefore stay because he was the Son of God he fed 5000. awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will • Because he was the son of man, he would get thirsty; but because come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in he was the Son of God, he could turn water into wine; the morning—[36] lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. • Because he was the son of man, he grew weary; but because he [37] And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake. Be ready, because I was the Son of God, he raised the dead. could return at any moment. • As the son of man, he counted his birthdays; but as the Son of God, he would say, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and Now, here’s why that’s difficult… Did Jesus really think the end of the end.” world was close? It sounds like it… but that was 2000 years ago, and • Because he was the son of man, he did not know the day or the he still has not yet returned. hour of his return; but because he was the Son of God, he promised he would return on the clouds with power and great So some have concluded that Jesus was wrong here… (Jesus was a glory. product of his time… many people in his day were expecting the end of the world soon, and Jesus went along with that, but he was wrong. While Jesus was on earth, Jesus voluntarily emptied himself of access to a lot of his divine powers. That’s called the kenosis (which means, In fact, they point out that Jesus in this same passage said (vs. 30), literally, the “emptying”), and that’s what’s at work here. In his “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these humanity he doesn’t know, and he’s not accessing his divine powers. things take place.” (Mark 13:30) Well, that generation did pass away and the end had not come, so clearly Jesus was wrong. • C.S. Lewis thought this. But—brace yourself—C.S. Lewis was • He uses the example of Noah. wrong about it. Yes, let that sink in for a minute… those words o God told the world through Russell Crowe that he would actually just came out of my mouth. C.S. Lewis. Was. Wrong. (It’s send a flood and then waited for 120 years before he did important to me that you know that I think C.S. Lewis was wrong it. After Noah said that, maybe the people on earth were sometimes! You’re not going to believe what we heard at church nervous… for the first few months; but after 10 years they today.) were pretty skeptical. After 30 years, would anyone have remembered? 30 years ago was the beginning of the 80’s. Was Jesus wrong? I don’t think so. If some crazy country guy said God was going to destroy • You see, the bigger context of what Jesus is talking about in vs. 30 the world, would you remember it? After 120 years? is the destruction of the Temple (vs. 2). That to him would be a o It was so far out of their minds… So they partied, got milestone in the commencement of the last days… The Messiah drunk… and then it came. And only the Gladiator and would be killed; the Temple would be destroyed, and God would Hermione Granger were saved. begin to gather in the Gentiles from the four corners of the world • Then he tells the story of the master who gave 3 servants large (vs. 27). sums of money. Two of them got busy and invested the money so • And that all took place by 70 A.D., which was in in their lifetime. that the master would have a good profit when he returned, but the 3rd guy must have thought… “He’s not coming back anytime But, it’s clear that not all of it has been completed… for example, vs. soon. I don’t need to invest it.” 26, he has not yet come with power and glory (that hasn’t happened • But the master returns when the servant is not expecting it and yet; he’s risen from the dead with power and glory—so it has begun, casts the servant into outer darkness. but it’s not completed)… so is there another reason he might be telling us to remain ready? All Jesus’ examples make the same point. You’re to live in a state of readiness… like he might return today. Yes. Jesus wants us to live in a constant state of readiness. 23:30 Since I beat up on C. S. Lewis a minute ago, let make up to him In Matthew’s account of this Jesus goes on to give a number of with this: parables… • He says his return will be like a thief in the night. You never know C.S. Lewis, “Precisely because we cannot predict the moment, we when a thief is coming. must be ready at all times. The soldier does not know at what time the o How awesome would it be if thieves made appointments? enemy may attack, or what time the time an officer might inspect his “Do I need to lock the doors tonight? Let me check my post. So he must be awake at all times. calendar… Nope. No scheduled break-ins. But for tomorrow night, I’ve got two requests. I better be ready!” Not that we should always be running around in fear that the end o Unfortunately, thieves don’t operate like that, so we might happen at any moment. We should be like an 80-year-old man, should be ready at all times. This is how the return of the who needs, on the one hand, not to be always thinking about his Son of God to earth will be. At the moment you least approaching death. But, at 80, he should always be taking it into expect it. account. It would be criminally foolish not to have made his will and o Illus. As a kid, I was always worried the rapture had so on. happened and I had gotten left. One of the worst nightmares I ever had: 8 years old… Rapture happened Now what death is to each person, the second coming is to the whole and I got lifted up to the top of the house and then Jesus human race. We must therefore train ourselves to ask more and more said, ‘Nope. Not enough faith!’ and dropped me. I woke up often how the things we are saying or doing, or are failing to do, will and thought, “Oh no!” And I ran to the bedroom to see if look when the irresistible light of God streams in upon it—that my parents were there. irresistible light… that will reveal all things as they truly are.”1 o Even now… The other night my wife and I were laying in bed talking about Jesus coming back… wife was sayhing Let me give you 4 things that will change in you if you are in a state of how awesome it would be that one night we may just go readiness for Jesus’ return: to bed together, he’d come back, and we’d wake up on our way through the clouds up to heaven… While she was 1. Spiritual Alertness (22:15) talking about this I silently slipped out of bed onto the • How would you live differently if you knew Jesus were coming floor, and lay perfectly still and quiet, so she was like, “You back tonight? know what I mean? J.D., J.D.?” • The church I grew up in talked about the return of Jesus a lot… • And I know it’s easy to make fun of all that now… but there is one Kind of obsessed. Posters with dragons. Politicians were named. thing my church had that I think we’re missing: the earnest Jimmy Carter. Anyone? expectation of his return… o Each year we had our prophecy conference. They knew • A lot of people think of this doctrine as superstitious, non- there were 3 ways you could fill up a church: preach on essential. It’s the embarrassing, uneducated uncle of Christian sex; preach on the end times; and if you really wanted theology. people to come out, speculate whether there would be o But in the 260 chapters of the New Testament, there are sex in the end times. Rapture sex. 318 references to the second coming of Christ…(1 out of • We had our bumper stickers, “In case of rapture, this car will be every 13 verses mentions it.) unmanned.” On our church basketball team instead of doing o Furthermore… Almost every moral command given in the jumping jacks we’d do rapture practice. NT is tied to the second coming! (Meaning… “do this or o I started to feel bad for people who were dismayed that don’t do this… because he’s coming back soon.”: 1 John: another year had past and Jesus had not come back. I’d “If you have the hope of seeing him in you, you’ll purify say, “Cheer up. It’s not the end of the world.” Or, “There’s yourself as he is pure…” always tomorrow. Which, actually wouldn’t be true if your o Listen… For every prophecy in the Bible concerning rapture prediction had happened.” Christ’s first advent, there are 8 that look forward to his o In trouble at 14… parents go OT on me… Jesus, I know you second! (We have a whole holiday celebrating his first will forgive me; parents wouldn’t go ahead and come back. coming. But 8 times as much is said about his 2nd! I’m good with you… ANYONE ELSE? • Charles Stevens, one of my first pastors, used to say… “How can we call this doctrine non-essential? It’s in every chapter. Every

1 From C.S. Lewis essay, “The World’s Last Night.” command is tied to it… It keeps everything in the Christian life in And you knew I was coming back. Why didn’t you invest balance.”2 what I gave you for my kingdom?” • What if you knew Jesus was coming back today… Wouldn’t it o Nothing wrong with a little R&R. Hobbies or nice thigns. make you ask the question: Am I ready? Am I living today in a way But many of work just so you can vacation. That’s the end that I’d be happy to see him tonight? game… vacation. A disciple of Jesus takes occasional • What if you knew Jesus was coming back today? Wouldn’t it vacations so he can work more for Jesus kingdom. make you ask the question: Am I ready? Am I living today in a way • In one of those parables Jesus told… (and this scares me) he that I’d be happy to see him tonight? describes a guy who failed to invest the talent God had given him. • At my church we would often end our services with the pastor He cast him into “outer darkness,” which means that those people saying, “Maranatha.” (which means the Lord is coming). Then he who fail to invest their lives for God’s kingdom are not really would say, “And it could be today.” I think we could use some saved, regardless of what they say they believe about Jesus. more of that. • Are you investing the resources of your life, expectant of his • IT MAY BE TODAY… this may be your last chance to repent; last return? chance to share the gospel. • COLLEGE STUDENTS: PLANNING CAREER TO INVEST? 2. Mission urgency 16:30 3. Hope in suffering 13:00 • If you know the world has an end, and it could be soon, doesn’t • “And then they will see the Son of Man coming with the clouds in that rearrange your priorities? great power and glory.” (Mark 13:26) • EXAMPLE: If you were on the Titanic… re-arranging the deck • Little observation. We always say “through” the clouds, but notice chairs. it says he is coming “with” the clouds, not through them. o Isn’t that what a lot of us are doing? Life is consumed by o Why does that distinction matter? It’s showing he’s VACATIONS; HOBBIES; POSSESSIONS; BUCKET LISTS. bringing back paradise. His beautiful clouds of power and #YOLO! glory. • Listen, you know this: I’m not a guy who believes God never wants • The world we live in is wrecked by pain and suffering that came us to have things we enjoy, or not glorified by our work. from our sin. o But I also know life is painfully short, and when the • Jesus’ return promises us that won’t last forever; all the pain is Master returns I want to have invested my talents to the temporary. fullest for his kingdom… and not be found sitting on them. • I can endure just about anything if I know it is not that long—so o That will happen to many of you, I fear. God will say, “I when I’m in pain, I can look upwards and say, “He’s coming! And it gave you opportunity… resources… and you bought new may be today!” cars, new houses… filled up your time with silly hobbies. o Cornelius Plantinga, “The second coming of Jesus Christ is good news for people whose lives are filled with bad news. If you a slave in Pharaoh’s Egypt or in the United States in 2 My paraphrase. “We are not looking for signs but looking for the Son; not concerned so the early 19th century; if you are an Israelite exiled in much with a program but enamored of a Person; not striving for a kingdom but waiting for a King; not trying to Christianize the nation but evangelize the world.” Charles Stevens, from In Babylon, or a Kosovar exiled in Albania; if you are a woman All Things…The Life and Ministry of Charles H. Stevens by William Thompson (Greenville: living in a culture where when your husband gets mad at Truth Publishers, 2011) you he can lock you up in a closet or threaten to have his coming back; he will bring justice! And so I CAN ENDURE buddies come and rape you… then you don’t yawn when INJUSTICE FOR THE TIME BEING, BC HE’LL SET THINGS RIGHT. somebody mentions the return of Jesus Christ.”3 o If your son just died of cancer… if your marriage just THOSE 4 THINGS… You say, “Well, what’s his return going to be like? dissolved; if you’re lonely; if you’re body is wracked with What’s going to happen?” Unfortunately, that’s a bigger question chronic pain… lift your eyes! It doesn’t last forever. It could than I have time for (WHOLE SERIES?). Basically 4 positions: be tonight. • Some Christians think he is coming back before… Pre-trib: o If your life just hasn’t turned out… “the promise of the Tribulation is a 7 year period in which the antichrist and Kirk second coming shows us the ‘good ole days’ are always Cameron do battle… Nicolas Cage, the greatest actor of our ahead of us.” generation. Raptured out before. • Post-trib: (problem imminence) 4. Power to forgive 10:00 • Post-millenial and amillenial. Take a more metaphorical • Tim Keller points this out… believing in return of Jesus gives you approach. Jesus could return whenever; the problem is there are the power to forgive. I’ve seen people who really struggle with a lot of things in Revelation that don’t seem to fit well with this bitterness helped by grasping Jesus’ imminent return. model.

o When someone wrongs us, we want justice. So we run to • Pan-tribulationists: Which means, “I really have no idea, but I the judgment seat of the world and we hop on it… we know it will all pan out in the end.” How many of you are there? know what they deserve and we want to help them get it. • (If you’re curious, I am actually in the pre-trib camp… 80% of the

CHEER: “Go, God. Give it to him.” Be God’s adviser. time. Sympathetic, but come down on that side. For all my post-

• But listen: we weren’t meant for that throne. It’s too big for us. trib friends, you can stay and enjoy it if you want, me and Kirk And it distorts us. Like the ring in Lord of the Rings. Cameron are going on to heaven. o Ever seen how bitterness destroys SOMEONE? Someone is mad at someone else and it colors their whole disposition 5:00 One thing we have to agree on. We ought to be expecting it toward that person, where everything that person does today. Charles Spurgeon: “The hour of his appearing is not revealed, becomes tarnished… Or maybe even they begin to be in order that we may always stand on tiptoe, expecting it to be prejudiced toward whole groups of people… Woman angry today." at her husband thinks all men are bad; someone who suffers injustice at the hands one person in a people group Which leads me to the last question… thinks everyone in that people group is bad… • We weren’t meant for that throne (!)… and the doctrine of the Do you yearn for his return? second coming helps us stay off of it because we know, he’s THERMOMETER:

3 Are you ‘on your tiptoes’? We’re supposed to be. Adapted from a sermon preached at the opening service of the Conference on Worship, Theology, and the Arts; at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN. July 24, 2000. (http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/seasonalResources/advent/2012/sermons/plantinga- InTheInterim.php When I was in college, I heard a true story of a teacher who taught Most important insight. When Jesus describes the Judgment day here kids with special needs, she taught them about the return of Jesus… in in Mark 13 he adds in these odd phrases…” On that day, the sun after that, whenever they heard a commotion or a loud voice they’d will be darkened.” all get up and say, “It’s Jesus coming back.” The Christian band • And in Mark 15, at Jesus’ crucifixion, we read that darkness came Newsong turned it into a song: down—utter darkness, over the whole land.

And she can't keep them in their seats; They're all at the windows He says, “On that day the earth will be shaken.”4 In the Gospel of straining to see; And it's… Fingertips and noses pressed to the Matthew we read that when Jesus died the earth shook, and the windowpanes; Longing eyes, expectant hearts for him to come again rocks split.

All they know is that they love him so, and if he said he’s coming, he’s When you read this chapter, Mark 13, and then the story of the coming… crucifixion, Mark 15, you should say “What was happening at the crucifixion? It looks almost like Judgment Day.” Well, it was. Jesus on All they know is that they love him so, and he said he’s coming, and the cross was the ultimate Judgment Day. coming for them… So the first thing you know, they're out of their • He was judged in our place, so that for those of us who receive seats, Back at the windows straining to see… him, all we have to look forward to is reunion with our Father, not fear over facing the Judge. Honesty time: Most of us don’t yearn for his return. And I know why. • Jesus faced the Judge so I would not have to. 1. We are so at home in the world! We’ve spent so much of our life trying to make life good here. Lewis: Wealth has a way… we don’t –0:45 find ourselves longing for his return because we have so much At the first coming, Jesus didn’t come to bring judgment; he came to invested here. That shows you haven’t invested… THERMOMETER. take it.5 This is the gospel. Jesus, the great Judge of the universe, came the first time not to bring judgment to the earth, but to take it 2. The thought of Jesus’ return is mixed with a little fear. And it’s a in our place. All that is left is mercy and intimacy… But to those who well-founded fear. When he returns, an account has to be given for have not received him… he will come to give to all exactly what they sin. And most of us don’t feel entirely confident to stand before the have deserved. (Schaeffer?) judge. • My kids: when they want to be close. Many people don’t want to Have you received him? see Jesus because they feel like he’s mad. • Maybe you know you haven’t lived up to the 10 Commandments. Are you ready for his return? • Maybe you don’t even believe in the 10 commandments. Here’s one thing I can speculate about you… you’re scared of facing the –3:28 judge of the world. The human condition: we know we’re guilty, and that’s why we’re scared of facing God.

4 Matthew 24, cf. Matt 27. 5 Adapted from Tim Keller, Sermon on Mark 13:24–37