Mark 13:1-37
For
those who have been in the military and deployed to a combat zone, being on
guard takes on a very vital meaning. At the moments when they are on duty, the
lives of everyone in that compound hang in their hands. If they fail at their
duty, if they fall asleep or are inattentive, the enemy can get through the
defenses and attack from within. And this is one of the most dangerous situations,
as the insider attacks have proven over the past few years.
When
you are on guard, you must be ready to sound the alarm. Their job is not to
stop the enemy, but to summon all forces to repel the attack. They are the eyes
and ears of the whole outpost at that moment. If they are blind or deaf, they
can’t do their job. If they fail, the outpost can easily follow.
There
are a few times in life when a husband can’t fail. I think of when my wife
began labor with our children. I had to be ready at a moment’s notice to jump
into action. Suitcase in hand, and attentiveness as my one task, I had to be
there for her. Yes, she could have had the baby without my attentiveness, but I
can imagine that it would have left a scar on our relationship. If the football
game had been more important than her wellbeing at that moment, I am sure I
would have heard about it, and rightfully so.
Many
books have been written about the words in this chapter of Mark, and those
other passages that give us a glimpse into events near the end of the world as
we know it. What I find interesting is that it seems as if we are missing a
couple of key pieces of information. We can’t quite nail down the sequence, or
even some of the details of the events themselves. It is almost as if we won’t
know for sure until we are right in the middle of the events that the events
are taking place. Thus the need to be alert and on guard.
It
is easy to get distracted. So many things to catch our eyes and attentions. The
disciples, one in particular, was distracted by the beautiful architecture of
the Temple in Jerusalem. Even today, we can see remnants of that structure, the
Wailing Wall. Huge stones cut with precision and placed so tightly that there
is barely enough space for written prayers to be stuffed in the crevices. I can
only imagine what the structure on top of this wall would have looked like if
the supporting wall was built with this level of professionalism.
This
disciple sees the architecture, comments on its beauty, and Jesus redirects his
attention. All the buildings he was admiring would be destroyed. They were
temporary structures. Their ‘sell by’ date had already been stamped. And this
sparked the conversation about the timing of events connected with the end of
the buildings and the end of the status quo.
Much
debate has transpired over the centuries about which portions of Jesus’
response have been fulfilled and which portions have yet to be fulfilled. If
you are looking for an authoritative answer to that question, then I think you
will be disappointed in what I will be writing over the coming days. I think we
are missing a few pieces of important, key information.
Some
events like wars and rumors of wars have been a repeated event down through
history. So has the appearance of deceivers doing their dastardly deeds. The
disciples were certainly persecuted in their lifetimes. But persecution still
continues today around the world. Betrayal by family members continues.
The
Lord Jesus has not appeared in the clouds as portrayed here. Jesus has not come
in this power yet, unless you completely strip this passage of any literal
meaning. If it is just a story, they you can make it say just about anything. But
I don’t think the disciples were asking for some fairytale picture of events.
That would not have satisfied their curiosity. They wanted some concrete
answers.
Now
I am sure much of what Jesus said that day made more sense to the disciples in
some respects than it does to us. But some of it is clearer to us, because of
the passage of time and the unfolding of some of the events. Jerusalem was
destroyed and the buildings torn down. It was in the future for them, but the
past for us.
But
one thing is clear, we must be alert and on guard. There is an enemy in our day
as well. We can easily get distracted. Stay focused!