Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost: Judgment and God's People

Unedited Transcript Follows:

In the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy spirit. Amen. Well, we have We have several papers on here today. Let me, let me see if I can organize my life a little bit, so I don't Walk them all together. All right. So Advent is coming so that you guys might have noticed from the reading.

Advent is coming Advent. Perhaps my I mean I say that about all the things. So I'm I'm trying to stop. I love preaching during Advent. So I'm going to stop saying, it's my favorite time of the church year because I say that about like every time of the church year.

So but I I love preaching Advent, I love preparing sermons and Advent Advent. Um, is an incredible time of anticipation and expectation. Where we prepare for the celebration of the first coming of Christ. By preparing for the second coming of Christ, which is kind of an interesting tension that we enter into.

We both look forward to that celebration of what Jesus did in the past and we We look back at it. I mean, I'm sorry we both look back at that celebration. What Jesus did in the past, by looking forward, at what Jesus is going to in the in the future.

And we say, just like he gets kept his promises in the past, he's got more promises to fulfill in the future. More is coming. More is coming for our church. Um, our families for ultimately, the whole kingdom, of God, as God restores, all things and makes all things new.

And Advent is the season that we enter into that expectation. So here one Sunday before Christ, the King Sunday, which is next Sunday. Which I love preaching Christ, the King Sunday, too. But Christ one Sunday before Christ, the King Sunday, we enter into this first half of the Olivet discourse in the Book of Mark, we'll transition, we'll catch the second half of the Olivet discourse or the Mount of Olives discourse, but we'll be reading in the Book of Luke in two weeks.

So and father, Andy will be preaching on that. But now we're coming into this first half of the all of that discourse and here's the deal, he gives an exhortation to his people. Run. Run away, they're giving they're given one word and that is Run. There when they see the abomination of desolation standing, where he ought not to be, that's when they're told to run, right?

That's kind of interesting. And then there's this weird parentheses, let the reader understand, uh, which is, obviously, Jesus didn't say that in his sermon. I mean, I wouldn't think right? He's not going to say when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought to be let the reader understand uh and that's right.

So that so obviously this probably isn't a direct quote. It's a parenthetical statement added in by Mark where Leaders of his gospel to understand what the words of Jesus are referring to. An important caveat for understanding the entire sermon. Would be. That this was prompted by a specific question of the disciples.

Okay, so in in verse 3, The people ask them tell us Jesus says there's not going to be one stone on top of the other. So they've just walked out at the beginning of chapter 13. They just walked out. They've been commenting on the temples. Look at these beautiful buildings.

This Temple, this Jerusalem Temple. And Jesus says, a day is coming, when not one stone will step on the other and then the disciples ask him. When's this going to happen? When are these things going to be? And that's what prompts this sermon. So Jesus is answering the question when these things are going to be, when not one stone will be standing on another in the temple.

When is this going to happen? And he gives this discourse. And he says, Run. It's important not to speak with too much confidence about events in history that are fulfillments of prophetic sermons or literature. Uh, we get weird when we try to do that in the future. We're like, hey, the locusts are like Apache helicopters.

So we, we get really weird when we when we do that with some of our prophetic literature or apocalyptic literature. Speak with too much confidence, but I think New Testament scholar, William Lane points to a pretty compelling event that Jesus might be alluding to when he talks about the Abominous nation of desolation standing where he ought not to be.

There was a farcical high priest named Fanny and he was installed in the temple and this was culminating a bunch of murder and false worship. That would have been taking place in the temple. Tired. High priest andonist. Said it would have been far better for me to have died before.

I had seen the house of God Laden with such Abominations and it's unapproachable and hallowed places crowded with the feet of murderers. So, The beginning of this sermon is probably pointing toward. These events and ultimately, the overthrow or the destruction of the temple, in 80 70. Now, like Scholars debate over when Jesus transitions to stop talking about the temple.

And now he's talking about the end times. And I I won't I won't like come down on a side but most agree that he's talking about the temple here at this beginning part of his sermon that they. He's talking about this fulfillment, uh, or this is fulfilled by this destruction of the temple.

This judgment of the Jerusalem religious system, right? This complete and decisive judgment over these powers of Jerusalem, over the Jerusalem Temple that rejected their Messiah. Had all sorts of things that that caused them to be being unfaithful. You see Jesus in conflict with this leadership right? After this sermon, when he's cleansing the temple saying, you've made the temple a house of robbers.

So you seeing Jesus in conflict with his Jerusalem leadership. Ultimately that Temple is destroyed in 80 70. So the the point was they were going to be alerted to this impending judgment on the temple. And one stone was not going to be set on another and it was going to be something.

So obviously Wicked. That they knew the result was going to be God's judgment. They were going to know when they saw it. The abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be. We might not have as much Clarity but they knew and they were going, you know, and they were told to run.

Were to run quickly. They were to run. Really fast. It's like, don't go get stuff. Don't go getting it going around. Don't go get stuff. Run away. Jesus is showing compassion on people who have conditions that would make it harder for them to run. Hello to those who are pregnant and nursing children in those days, right?

So he he's saying, man, when the Judgment comes, he's showing compassion on those who would be in a condition that would find it harder. To run. Right? It's hard to run if you're really pregnant. It's hard to run. If you're having a baby that needs carried and is being nurse, right?

It's harder to run and so he's showing compassion uh oh we don't want that to happen, right? And you want to know, something kind of cool about history. They did run they, if they followed, Jesus instruction, right? They took Jesus in his word and when they saw the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be the reader understood and the reader ran and they ran they ran away.

And they they went up to the hills, they went up to the mountains, they knew judgment was coming and Josephus tells us about their flight. The the Jerusalem Christians, when they saw this starting to take place they ran and they and they went away because they followed Jesus word.

Principal at work here. Just about judgment in general and it's the decisive judgment is always disruptive even for the people of God. Decisive judgment on World Systems systems that are Fallen or broken or sinful or rebellious against God, which is like all of them, right? And decisive judgment on those systems.

Always results in a lot of disruption. In everyone's life who's relying on the systems, but even the people of God, who are reliant on those systems, Right. There's a sense in which all God's people should be Desiring. God's judgment. God's judgment is not. Only something to be feared as the people of God because he sets, right?

What is broken? When we see Injustice, when we see grave Injustice throughout the world and we don't have to look far to see grave Injustice in the world. The Cry of our heart should be with the Cry of the hearts Through the Ages. Maranatha come, Lord, Jesus come set this right.

Come fix. What is broken? Come heal, the world from all its Brokenness from all the effects of sin and evil. And death. Come more. Jesus. Come save your people. But we pray in the Tate Doom, come Lord, and help your people, but with the price of your own blood, right?

He said, come

But there's also an exhortation. We shouldn't be Desiring the day of the Lord. Amos says that right woe to you. Too long for the day of the Lord. Why, and how could it be that we on the one hand should call out for God to bring? Decisive judgment and said everything right?

That is broken. But at the same time, it's saying, hey, hold on, don't get too excited about the day of the Lord. How could that be? Except that when the Judgment of the Lord comes, it is Quite disruptive. Even to God's people. If anything tied, these people down to the current order of things.

Even pregnancy. They were going to have a significantly harder more difficult and challenging time, you guys know I'm kind of into babies, right? Like I got five of them. And I love pregnancy. I I'm all for all of you having all the babies God gives you like, fill the church with loud, obnoxious babies, just do it.

Um, I I want I want you to fill the church with loud. Obnoxious babies, please do it. And, uh, I love it. I love the babies. And yet, we have to recognize that having children puts us in a state of Reliance on the world system. Stability for like, just general stability for our lives and for our family's lives.

And the reality is like all World Systems. And America, any Nation. We would find ourselves in is corrupt is Fallen is broken. And we're Reliant on this system for our well-being, a system that Be decisively judged, one day, you know? And it will be only one system remains. We'll get into Christ the King next week, but only only one system rains at the end.

None of the other nations are going to stand. Like there's not like special Nations that are going to be waving their flags at the feet of King Jesus, right? And so when all of them get destroyed which they will, they'll all be overturned because the whole world system will be overturned.

Directive. Those of us who find ourselves Reliant on that system. For our stability. See, there's a real arrogance that can come from believing. We aren't caught up in the broken aspects of the world system. That we don't. Benefit from broken structures. By receiving some. Amount of order and stability.

So when we rely on structures or educational institutions, governmental Powers military, might corporations protections given to us as U.S citizens, pensions or retirement accounts to the degree that that we find ourselves reliant on these systems. Judgment is going to be more difficult. This is what was true for. These people in the temple system was decisively judged, it will be true for anyone relying on any world system when it's judged.

So, that's why. We don't want to be the people that are too excited about God's judgment because we know that we all benefit from systems that bring order to a chaotic world. But also are not all that they could be and all that they should be right. So don't hear me saying burn all the structures down in modern society.

Actually, in our morning prayer reading in Acts yesterday. Paul appeals to his Roman citizenship, right, and he does that to flex in the face of being unjustly, beaten, and imprisoned. You did this to a Roman citizen. He says, right. Into the fullness of God's kingdom comes. There isn't like a better system to replace all the systems with, right?

And don't hear me saying that we don't work to make Society more fair and more Equitable and to do better. We can always strive and get better, right? It just means that we have to Realize that the theological principle present in this text. It's not talking about the ultimate Judgment of all things.

It's talking about a precursor of it. That when a system is judged, in this case, the Jerusalem religious leadership, the people who are reliant on that system are disrupted, their lives are completely disrupted. In other words. Yeah. Paul appealed to his Roman citizenship and the rights he had because of it that doesn't change the fact that when Rome fell Both Christians and non-christians who are relying on Rome for the ordering of their lives were deeply disrupted, right?

They were deeply disrupted. When Rome fell? So we should be longing for God's judgment. Yes. And for God to come and set the world, right. But not with such arrogance that we believe judgment won't be disrupted or really disruptive for us and really difficult for us too. Judgment's hard and when God brings judgment it disrupts our our lives.

And, That's not the end of the sermon, right? Um, we're called to live as obedient and a hopeful people. Right. This Judgment of the Jerusalem, Temple was pointing toward another day. Another day that that we're going to talk about in a couple weeks from the Gospel of Luke It, it's pointing us toward another day.

When? The world will be decisively judged and God will reign on the throne. And in the meantime, we're to live these obedient Earnest and hope-filled lives. The Epistle of re the epistle reading in Hebrews that we read today opened with it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God, right.

But it also tells us therefore do not throw away your confidence. Which has a great reward for you of need of endurance. So that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised. Our Psalm that we read today tells us that God will not let his Holy One.

See corruption, how obviously this is about Jesus, right? Learn to read the songs and see that they're about Jesus. So obviously it's about Jesus. Who died but didn't see corruption because he rose from the dead, right? However, in crisis is also all of our story. It's all of our story as we are in Christ that we don't see corruption that.

As we as we go through judgment and as judgment comes. Yes. Is if this world, if this system, if the United States Um, doesn't last until the Lord returns it will be disrupted to our life. It'll be a mess but God's people do come through and God doesn't allow his holy ones to be seek corruption and although they die.

They rise again, like Jesus. And they have every reason to hope that when God does decisively judge the whole world system, That they receive reward and blessing and honor because God doesn't let his holy One. See corruption We're to recognize the reality of disruption in experiencing God's judgment for.

Also as we pray looking forward with great expectation. To being abundantly rewarded when our Savior Jesus Christ comes to restore all things. That's what we prayed in our collect. A reward's coming for the people of God. This is good news. So, As we're getting right, we're, we're getting ready to turn our hearts into a season of anticipation of Advent Advent's, actually a penitential season.

Listening to the majority of my home. You see why, right? It's because when, when God's presence comes in judgment, Um, he when Jesus returns, he's not coming as a cute little baby, right. He's, he's coming as the returning King and, uh, and, and claiming his world. And so we it's a sign a season of penitence as we get ready to receive the Lord, so we obey the Lord, as we turn to this season.

Participation. When he says, run, we run just like the people of God did. We don't think we're the exception? We know that in other words, we know that judgment is disruptive for all of us. The people of God and the people outside of the family of God. So it's not just God coming to judge those people.

It's God's coming to judge this world and we're a part of it, right? And so we're ready. We don't think we're the exception, but we also run with hope. We know that if we are in Christ, we will persevere through judgment. That is the Epistle of the Hebrews says, we we won't be like those who shrink back.

That we will persevere through judgment. And that all that is broken and all that is messed up in the world is going to be set right? When our Lord, our judge comes again. So let us welcome God's presence. As we turn toward the new liturgical year, Let us welcome God's presence that will definitely chasten us, but thanks be to God.

It will also heal us. Amen.