About this sermon
Jesus warns his disciples that they will be handed over to councils, beaten in synagogues, and brought before governors and kings for his sake. Much of this came true in the apostolic generation before Jerusalem fell, as the gospel spread among the nations and nearly all the apostles died as martyrs. Families will divide over Christ, and his people will be hated for his name. True saving faith endures to the end, and the Holy Spirit preserves it through the means of grace.
Sermon transcript
As we continue our consideration of the Gospel of Mark, today my sermon text is Mark chapter 13, verses 7 through 13. I’m gonna read the first 13 verses of this chapter to offer you the setting and context of our passage. But our focus will be on verses 7 through 13. Let us hear God’s holy word. As he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings. And Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down. As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning him privately. Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?
And Jesus began to say to them, see to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in my name saying, I am he and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened. Those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. But be on your guard, for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them. The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. Dear friends, the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Let’s pray for God to bless the proclamation of his word. Lord God Almighty, Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are a God of revelation, a God who has revealed yourself to us, that we need not be uncertain about the times, but indeed that we can live our lives on the rock, the foundation of your holy word. because that foundation points us to Jesus, the rock of our salvation. Lord, we ask that by your spirit you would once again open our minds and our hearts to behold wondrous things from your word, and we ask, Lord, that you would grant unto me, your unworthy servant, the grace to declare your word with power and clarity for the edification of your people and the glorification of your holy name.
In Jesus’ name we pray, and all of God’s people said, amen. As you can see on your sermon outline, the title of my sermon this morning is Proclamation, Tribulation, and Endurance. And there’s a number of key words that I’d encourage especially the children to listen for, prophecy, persecution, context, scripture, division, endurance, and gospel. Well, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there are a lot of books out there in the Christian book market today on the subject of Bible prophecy. But even though many of these books claim to be written by different authors, it seems to me that many of these popular contemporary books on Bible prophecy that you will find in your typical Christian bookstore or Christian bookseller actually seem to have been written by one and the same author, namely, Chicken Little. Why do I say that?
Because it would seem that the basic message of many of these popular books on Bible prophecy is pretty much the same. The sky is falling. Or to be more accurate, Jesus must be coming back really, really soon. All of the signs of the times point to His imminent return. Be sure you don’t take the mark of the beast and be sure that you don’t miss the rapture. Now, certainly I’m not scoffing at the importance of living lives in anticipation of our Lord’s second coming. We need to do that. In fact, our passage for today and our passage in Mark chapter 13 says that we must be watchful and we must be ready. But at the same time, there’s a lot of speculation out there when it comes to books on biblical prophecy and there’s a lot of hype The market for these kinds of books on Bible prophecy seems to be a rather lucrative one, as many sincere believers thirst for secret knowledge about what is coming up next on God’s prophetic forecast.
And this thirst for secret knowledge about the future that we find in the Christian community today is met by an endless stream of prophetic speculators, each claiming to have discovered the key to unlocking the meaning of Bible prophecies, and each claiming to quench the thirst of those who long to know what’s coming up next on God’s prophetic timetable. One favorite passage from God’s Word that modern Bible prophecy teachers turn to for their prophetic speculations is our Lord’s Olivet Discourse. And this Olivet Discourse, so named because Jesus delivered this instruction, this teaching on prophecy and eschatology on the Mount of Olives prior to his crucifixion, this is recorded in three of the Gospels, all three of the synoptics, Matthew 24 and 25, It’s recorded in Luke 21, verses 5 through 36, and it’s recorded here as well in Mark 13.
And dear ones, I would suggest to you that there are few passages of Holy Scripture that have been more twisted, more distorted, more manhandled, and therefore more misunderstood than our Lord’s Olivet Discourse has been at the hands of contemporary prophecy speculators. As we make our way today and in the weeks ahead through this vitally important portion of God’s inerrant word, it is my hope that we will gain insight into how to understand this passage within its own context. and that we will be unshackled from the scripture twisting and the distortions of the prophetic speculators of today, whose misinterpretations of God’s word, I believe, have done great damage to the cause of Christ, to the kingdom of God. How the church has received numerous black eyes from prophetic speculators with their date setting, and the dates come and go, and the world looks at us and scoffs and mocks at us.
So as we dive into our passage for today, and as I said, we’ll be focusing especially on verses seven through 14. The first point I wanna make, beloved, is that understanding the first century setting and context of this passage is a vital key to its correct interpretation. Understanding the first century setting and context of this passage is a vital key to its correct contextual interpretation. What is the setting and context of our passage? Well, this passage is set during Passion Week. Our Lord Jesus gave this teaching on the last week of his life, the week leading up to his crucifixion. In fact, this teaching was very likely given, I believe some scholars suggest it was delivered maybe two days before his crucifixion. And so this is Passion Week. And what is the subject at hand?
Well, the first four verses of chapter 13, as we considered on the last Lord’s Day, make it very clear that the subject at hand was the subject of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. Jesus, in verse 2, had made a prophecy. He predicted the destruction of the temple. The particular disciple points out to the Lord Jesus what wonderful buildings and so forth, what wonderful stones were there on the Temple Mount. And Jesus responds with this prophecy in verse 2. He says, Not one stone will be left upon another, which will not be torn down. And it is in response to that specific prophecy that four of his disciples, Peter and James and John and Andrew, these are among the inner circle of our Lord’s disciples. They come up to him and they question him about about this.
And they ask him in verse four, tell us, when will these things be? These things meaning what? The things that Jesus predicted in verse two. When will these things be? and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled. But one of the things that it’s important to do is to compare scripture with scripture. It’s clear from Mark’s gospel that the primary thing that was on the disciples’ minds when they asked Jesus this question was the destruction of the temple. But as we compare scripture with scripture and look at the parallel text in Matthew’s account, and Matthew gives a fuller account of our Lord’s teachings in the Olivet Discourse. If you look at Matthew chapter 24, of verse 3. Consider Matthew’s record of the questions that Jesus’ disciples posed to him.
Matthew 24, verse 3, as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, tell us, when will these things happen? and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age. One of the points I tried to make on the last Lord’s Day was that in the minds of first century Jews, The destruction of the temple would mean the end of the cosmos, the end of this present age. In their minds, the destruction of the temple would mean final judgment, it would mean the Lord’s return, it would mean the coming of the age of the Messiah and so forth. And so we need to keep that in mind as we seek to navigate our way through these verses here. Bible scholar C.E. Graham Swift, I think, offers an important perspective when he says the following in his commentary.
He says that Jesus is, as it were, using the events associated with the immediate crisis, namely the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, which took place in 70 A.D., to foreshadow those events that are connected with the ultimate crisis, that ultimate crisis being our Lord’s future second advent. And this explains why the two are interwoven so clearly. So what’s Dr. Swift getting at? Well, in other words, friends, the events that characterize the period of time between our Lord’s ascension into heaven and the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 AD. In a sense, those events foreshadow the entire period of time between our Lord’s first advent and his future glorious second advent. And the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, which took place in 70 AD, This was, in a sense, a judgment coming, a secret judgment coming of Christ to execute the vengeance of the covenant against an apostate Israel who had rejected its Messiah.
But that judgment event, and if you’ve done any studies on the event of the destruction of the temple, it was a horrible, horrible event. If I’m recalling correctly, by some estimates, somewhere in the neighborhood of a million Jews were slaughtered in the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70 AD. There was cannibalism, it was horrible suffering. It was indeed a great tribulation for apostate Israel. Well, that event, that judgment event that Jesus prophesied here was a foreshadowing and a type of our Lord’s visible future eschatological judgment coming at the end of this present age. which will take place at his glorious second advent. The destruction of the temple in 70 AD was a picture, a type of the final judgment, an intrusion of God in judgment upon an apostate Israel. And it was a picture thus of the final judgment that will occur at our Lord’s visible return in glory at his second advent.
So even though the events that our Lord speaks of here in this first section of the Olivet Discourse arguably, I would say, have primarily a first century fulfillment, this passage has ongoing relevance for the church during the entire period of redemptive history between our Lord’s first coming and his future glorious second coming. So those are important principles of interpretation to keep in mind. Now on the last Lord’s Day, as I sought to orient us towards this passage, the Olivet Discourse, I listed for you or laid before you a number of things that are important to keep in mind as clues for appropriately and contextually interpreting this passage. And I’ll just remind you of two of those clues. One of the most important passages, and I don’t have time to preach on it in depth today, we’ll get to this later on in future weeks, but if you go down to verse 30, the time text of verse 30 is very important for the interpretation of this passage.
In verse 30, Jesus says, truly, amen, in the Greek, truly, I say to you, I, the Messiah, the Lord incarnate, Jesus is speaking with divine authority, truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. In other words, all of the things that our Lord has predicted up until this verse. Now, some in the Greek, this generation is he genea. Some have suggested that it should be translated as this race. So they would say Jesus is simply predicting that the Jewish race will persist until our Lord’s return at his second coming. But when we compare scripture with scripture, for example, if you study the woes that our Lord lays before Israel in Matthew chapter 23, where he uses similar terminology of this generation, it’s clear that Jesus meant this generation, his contemporary generation, the generation that was then alive. in the days of our Lord.” So this would seem to indicate that everything up to verse 30 in the Olivet Discourse had its fulfillment in that generation, in that first century generation.
Another interpretive key is the distinction that we find in this passage between those days, meaning those days of tribulation which preceded the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Jesus refers to those days of tribulation, for example, in verses 19 and 24. And that is distinguished from that day, which Jesus refers to in verse 32, where he says, but of that day, or hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. And it seems clear that Jesus is trying to separate in his disciples’ minds that which they had meshed together, namely the destruction of the Jerusalem temple and our Lord’s final eschatological second coming, Jesus says, no, of that day, that day of his return in glory at his second advent, of that day, no one knows the day or the hour.
He could come at any time. He could return in two seconds, two years, 200 years, 2,000 years, we don’t know. But the whole point here in this Olivet Discourse. In this discourse, eschatology is being used by Jesus for exhortation. He is exhorting us to be watchful, to be ready, to live our lives in the light of our Lord’s imminent return. But in terms of the first century setting and fulfillment of this particular passage, let’s go through these verses. In verses seven and eight, we read this. Jesus says, you will hear, When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened. Those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. And then verse eight, for nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places and there will also be famines.
These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. And some might say, well, wait a minute, Pastor. What Jesus is talking about here, doesn’t this characterize the entire period of redemptive history between the Lord’s first coming and his future second coming? And the answer to that question is yes. However, the particulars here can also be viewed as having a first century fulfillment. In the first century, the Jews lived under the Pax Romana. They were subject to the Roman Empire. And the Roman Empire enforced the peace of Rome, the Pax Romana. It was maintained in the Roman Empire, of course, only through a strong military presence. And the Roman Empire was a mixed bag. Yes, it was a pagan, brutal empire. But it was also an empire that God used to bring great blessing. There was relative peace and stability.
There was the Roman road system which aided in the spread of the gospel throughout the Roman Empire and so forth. But there were also plenty of wars and rumors of wars among the nations that made up the Roman Empire in this period of time between 30 AD and 70 AD. especially the Jewish wars that led up to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. But these wars and rumors of wars, as I said, continue to characterize our current age as well. And then Jesus also mentions natural disasters. Look again at verse 8, there will be earthquakes in various places and there will also be famines. Well guess what? In the first century there were indeed earthquakes and famines. But again you say, well wait a minute, there continue to be earthquakes and famines even today.
Yes, that’s correct because as I said, The things that characterize the first generation of the Christian movement in the apostolic age continue to characterize this period of time between the first coming and our Lord’s future second coming. But then to see the particular Jewish and first century fulfillment of this passage, we need go no further than verse nine. Look at verse nine. What does Jesus mean by the courts? He’s talking there about the Jewish courts that were overseen by the Jewish elders. And then he mentions that you will be flogged in the synagogues. How many times today do you read of Christians being flogged in the synagogues? That was something that took place primarily in the first century. And you will stand before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them. Read the book of Acts.
We read of Paul standing before governors and kings and giving testimony to the gospel of Jesus Christ. You know, the first persecuting power of hostility against the early Christian movement, the early Christian church, was the Jewish establishment. The earliest persecutors of the church was not the Roman, the earliest persecutor was not the Roman Empire. The earliest persecutor of the Christian church was, were the Jewish authorities based in Jerusalem. And that is reflected in our Lord’s words here in verse nine. So Jewish persecution is in view. And skip down to verse 11. When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. Again, this too speaks to, as I’ll mention in a few moments, a first century fulfillment.
But then, look at verse 10. It says in verse 10, The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. Now some interpret this to mean that before Jesus returns at his second advent, the gospel has to go out to all of the nations of mankind. So some would say, well, wait a minute, look at this verse. How does this have a first century fulfillment? Well, beloved, the word in the Greek here for nations is ethne. And so what Jesus is predicting here is the spread of the gospel throughout the nations, in other words, among the Gentiles within the Roman Empire. The Greek in Matthew 24, verse 14 helps to confirm this. If you look at the parallel text in Matthew 24, verse 14, let me go ahead and read that. Matthew 24, verse 14.
We read these words. I’m sorry, yeah, Matthew 24, 14. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to the whole world as a testimony and to all the nations, and then the end will come. Now, the Greek in Matthew 24, 14 says that the gospel will be preached in all the ecumene, oecumene, the word from which we derive the word ecumenical. And that word means the inhabited earth, and it is a word that was often used to indicate the Roman Empire. Well, you say, how could this have been fulfilled before 70 AD? The language seems so universal. Well, the answer that I would give is that the New Testament itself elsewhere says that it was so. Let’s just look at a few passages. Look with me, if you would, at Colossians 1, verses 21 through 23.
Colossians 1, verses 21 through 23. Paul writes this. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet he has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death in order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproach. If indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” Paul, writing in the first century, writing to the Colossians, says that this gospel that he preached has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. Again, he uses very cosmic language to describe the spread of the gospel throughout the world of the Roman Empire. Or you consider Romans 1, verse eight.
Romans 1, verse eight. Paul writes, first, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. The Romans’ faith, their gospels being proclaimed throughout the whole world, clearly he didn’t mean that their faith was being proclaimed in South America or in Japan or in Australia. The gospel had not reached those lands at this particular point in redemptive history. But nonetheless, he says your faith has been proclaimed in all the world, meaning the Gentile world within the Roman Empire, the world that was known to them. Or consider Romans 16, verses 25 and 26. Romans 16, verses 25 and 26. Paul writes, Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but is now manifested by the scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to what?
To all the nations, leading to obedience of faith. Now beloved, I do believe that Jesus said that we are to make the disciples of all the nations. And certainly the gospel is to go out beyond the bounds of the Roman Empire as it has in the course of Christian history. And it will continue to go out until our Lord’s return. But again, even verse 10 can be viewed as having a first century fulfillment. But again, a first century fulfillment that continues to have ongoing relevance as the gospel continues to spread. throughout the nations of mankind. Another indication of a first century fulfillment can be found in verse 11, where Jesus says, when they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that hour, for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.
Now some would suggest that what Jesus is here promising is that for all of the ages of Christian history, up until his second coming, whenever Christians are persecuted and hauled before magistrates and so forth, that the Holy Spirit will give them aid and assistance. And certainly, there’s other passages of scripture that indicate that the Spirit does indeed help us in times of persecution. But it seems pretty clear in verse 11 that this is a promise of direct inspiration for these apostles. Remember who Jesus is addressing. He’s addressing his apostles. And he says, when they arrest you, you apostles, and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say. But say whatever is given to you in that hour, given to you, it would seem, by direct inspiration. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.
This promise of direct inspiration applies only to first century apostles. And then we read of animosity for those who reject the gospel. Again, verses 12 and 13, brother will betray brother to death. and a father his child, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.” Now friends, of course, this has been a cross that the church has had to bear throughout its history. It has ongoing relevance. But this hostility and hatred against the claims of Christ and against the gospel was especially pronounced in the age of the apostles. According to what I believe to be reliable early church tradition, did you know that almost all of our Lord’s apostles, except the Apostle John, died violent martyrs’ deaths for Jesus?
According to history, The Apostle Peter was crucified upside down. The Apostle Paul was beheaded. And Mark, the disciple of the Apostle Peter, Mark, the author of this gospel, if I’m remembering correctly, Mark was killed by being dragged behind a horse unto his death. So this kind of open persecution and hostility was especially intense and pronounced in that first generation of Christians. Again, it continues, this prediction of persecution and hostility continues to have relevance, but we can view this passage as also having a first century fulfillment. Beloved, a couple of applications from this. First of all, first of all, We see here the vital importance of rightly handling God’s Word by interpreting it in its own context. In other words, we need to let Scripture interpret Scripture. The Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Many different authors composed the books of the Bible over a lengthy period of time, and yet even though there is diversity of expression, the Bible is a unified divine revelation, and that’s why if we have trouble understanding one portion of Scripture, we need to compare it to portions that are clearer.
We need to compare Scripture with Scripture. That’s precisely what the prophecy speculators of today do not do. They twist the Scriptures. They very often read into the Scriptures their own ideas instead of searching the Scriptures and seeking to bring out the meaning of Scripture based on its own terms. So let us seek to compare Scripture with Scripture. Let us also be careful not to read too much prophetic significance into current events. Let’s not engage in what some have called newspaper exegesis, where we look at the present headlines in the news feed and we read those into scripture. Oh, I wonder if so-and-so is the Antichrist. Do you know how many predictions of the Antichrist there have been throughout the years? Some had predicted that Hitler was the Antichrist, and then there was one book a number of years ago that predicted that Saddam Hussein would be the Antichrist.
Those didn’t come to fruition, did they? No, we have to be careful not to read too much prophetic significance into current events. After all, our Lord Jesus makes it clear in this discourse that no one knows the time of his future second advent. So it is simply poor stewardship of our time and energy trying to read between the lines and guess the timing of his return. As Jesus says in verses 32 and 33, but of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven nor the sun. Another important lesson here is that this reminds us that God, our God, is the sovereign Lord over all history. And that should be a source of great comfort for us. It is not as Jesus says to his apostles in Acts chapter one after his resurrection when they ask him, Lord, are you at this time gonna restore the kingdom to Israel?
How did Jesus respond? He said, it’s not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. but you will be my witnesses. Don’t focus on speculating when Jesus may return. Instead, brothers and sisters, let’s be busy about the business of serving our Lord and fulfilling the Great Commission until that time when he returns in glory at the end of this age. But in closing, a couple brief points of application, then we’ll close our time in the Word. I want you to observe from verse 12, how the gospel brings division, sometimes even division of families. This is my second main point in your outline. Observe how the gospel brings division, sometimes even division of families. Verse 12, Jesus says, brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
Now the ironic thing about the gospel of Jesus Christ, it brings great unity to those who embrace it, but it also brings division in the case of those who don’t embrace it, those who are hostile against the claims of Christ and his gospel. You know, think about it. I mean, how are we addressed in the scriptures? We are brothers and sisters in Christ. If Christ is your Lord and Savior, you may come from a completely different background. We come from different backgrounds, different socioeconomic statuses. We come from different nations in some cases, and yet Christ brings us together. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. If you are in Christ, you are my brother or sister in Christ. and I am your brother from another mother, as the saying goes. We are brethren, brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And yet, when the gospel is rejected, it can bring turmoil and sometimes even violent division. Again, consider how this too, had a first century fulfillment, but it also continues to have ongoing relevance today. The gospel arouses the hostility of those who reject it and who refuse to repent, and that should not surprise us. Jesus warned us about this. If you consider what Jesus says in Luke chapter 14, verses 25 through 27, Jesus says, let me get to that verse here. Now large crowds were going along with him and he turned and said to them, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be Again, Jesus is using hyperbole.
He’s not saying that we are to literally hate our father and mother, but the point He’s making is that our love for even our own family should be nothing compared to our love for and loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ. The call of discipleship challenges our deepest loyalties as Jesus Christ rightfully demands our supreme loyalty and our deepest love. Dear listener, is your supreme allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, if you’re wondering and saying, I’m not so sure, my loyalty is not what it ought to be, come to Christ. Trust in Him, call upon Him to change your heart, to forgive your sins. You see, the demands of discipleship show us that we’re not capable in ourselves of meeting those demands, but Christ does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. So let us trust in him, and as a result of that trust, as we are filled with gratitude for his gift of salvation, the outflow of that will be a life of ever-deepening devotion to and loyalty to Christ our Lord.
But finally, beloved, notice the animosity of the world and the endurance of the saints. The animosity of the world and the endurance of the saints. Jesus brings this out very clearly in verse 13. You will be hated by all because of my name. Again, Jesus is speaking in generalities. He’s not saying you’re gonna be equally hated by everyone. But he’s giving a prediction that there will be hatred for God’s people among those who reject Christ. But here’s the good news. The one who endures to the end, he will be saved. Here again, though this prophecy of Christ had at one level a first century fulfillment, it also has a continuing ongoing relevance to the church and to believers today. And some would ask, well, why is the world so hostile to Christianity, to biblical Christianity?
There’s a study note in one of my study Bibles that I think puts it well in commenting on the prediction that you will be hated by all. It says, because God’s law offends and because Jesus claimed to be the only way to salvation, John 14, verse 6. Why is it? that the unregenerate, those who reject Christ, are so hostile to biblical Christianity because we lay before the world, we bear witness to the moral law of God as the only absolute standard of right and wrong. The world says, no, we wanna make our own rules, we wanna be autonomous from God, we wanna go our own way. I did it my way, that’s the motto of the unregenerate man. We live in an age where the primary idol of our age is the idol of self-sovereignty.
You get to choose your own identity. You get to create your own reality. But friends, we know as believers, Bible-believing Christians, that God gives us reality. We live in God’s world. God gifts to us our identity. And that’s very offensive to those who seek to create their own reality. And of course, we proclaim Christ as the only way to salvation because Jesus himself said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. When we uphold the claims of Christ, it’s not because of some arrogant spirit of Christian imperialism, but because we are simply seeking to faithfully confess who Jesus is and that he is the only hope of salvation. Here in this passage, our Lord highlights the faith and persevering patience of the saints. True believers are in it for the long haul, unto the end or to the uttermost, as it could be translated.
True saving faith is not just a one-time decision for Christ. but rather it is a persevering trust in and clinging to Christ alone for salvation. A penitent faith that is renewed daily and that is nourished week in and week out by the ordinary means of grace, especially the word but also the sacraments and prayer and worship in the fellowship of Christ’s church. Beloved, true saving faith is a faith which perseveres in Christ until the end. And it perseveres because God the Holy Spirit enables us. He preserves us and enables us to persevere. By the grace of God, let us cultivate this persevering faith by diligently using the means of grace. And especially as we prepare to come to the Lord’s table, let us be built up in our faith and have our faith in Christ renewed and strengthened, amen, let us pray.
Our Lord and Father in heaven, we thank you, oh God. For your word it is a lamp unto our feet, a light into our path, a guide into our way. We pray that by your spirit you would build us up by what we’ve heard today, strengthen us, deepen our understanding and our faith. We pray also that you would bless us as we prepare to partake of the Lord’s Supper together. Be with us now and feed us with the emblems of Christ’s broken body and shed blood. We pray in Jesus’ name and all of God’s people said, amen. Well dear ones, as we prepare to partake of the Lord’s Supper together, I’m going to read
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