This morning I preached on Mark 13:24-37.
The Coming of the Son of Man
1. The Fall of Jerusalem is not the End of the World 24-27
a. Jesus foretells the End of the Age.
The destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem would seem like the end of the
world to them; but the End is not yet. There will be a period of great
suffering, and its end will be marked by signs of cosmic proportions. There
will be no room for false alarms or false messiahs.
b. Jesus foretells his Coming in Glory.
All will see Christ descend from heaven, the same way as his disciples saw him
go into heaven at the Ascension. "His feet will stand in that Day upon the
Mount of Olives" (Zechariah 14:4). That's the very place from which he
ascended (Acts 1:12). He ascended in view of his disciples; he will return
with all his saints in full view of all people (courtesy of CNN television?).
2. The Parable of the Fig Tree 28-32
a. The Fig Tree represents Ancient Israel.
God refers to his chosen people as like his fig tree (Hosea 9:10; Jeremiah
8:13). Jesus saw a fig tree in Jerusalem, and he cursed it because it bore no
fruit (Mark 11:12-14). It duly withered away and died (Mark 11:20-24). Israel
rejected its Messiah in 33 AD, and in 70 AD it died. Until 1948 there was no
longer a Nation of Israel upon earth.
b. The Greening of the Fig Tree represents Modern Israel.
When General Allenby drove the Turks out of Jerusalem in 1918, and with the
subsequent Balfour Declaration, the Jews began returning to Palestine. In 1948
the United Nations recognised the new State of Israel, and in 1967 General
Moshe Dayan recaptured Jerusalem which became the capital city of a sovereign
Israel for the first time since Nebuchadnezzar's conquest over 2500 years
before. Modern Israel is a secular State, still rejecting Jesus Christ as
their Messiah. But when they see Him return, then they will be converted
(Revelation 1:7).
3. The Parable of the Faithful Servants 33-37
a. The Household of Christ on Earth is the Church.
At his Ascension, Christ left his servants to mind his household until his
Return. When he returns, will he find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8)? Will
there still be a Church watching and waiting for him? -- yes, there will!
There is huge interest in the Second Coming nowadays.
b. The Faithful Servants are the Christians looking for the Master's Return.
The doctrine of the Visible Return of Christ is mocked in some quarters. We
don't know in advance the year, the date, or the time: so we must be ready at
all times. "Be therefore ready, because the Son of Man comes at a time when
you think not" (Matthew 24:44).
___________________________________________________________________________
Ben
--
Revd Ben Crick BA CF, and Mrs Joanna (Goodwin) Crick
<ben.crick@argonet.co.uk>
232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK)
http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm
