A Question for Jesus (Part 1 of 2)

In chapter 13 of the Gospel According to Mark, we have an opportunity to experience a conversation that took place between Jesus and one of his disciples. It was a somewhat perplexing exchange that reveals what Jesus wants us to know about the future.

Today on Truth for Life, Alistair Begg presents a message titled A Question for Jesus. When he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Luke, teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings. And Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished? And Jesus began to say to them, See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, I am he, and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don't be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains. Be on your guard.

We'll stop there. Alan Stibbs was for years a teacher at a theological college in London, Oak Hill Theological College. And in helping his students come to terms with the Bible, and particularly the more daunting passages of the Bible, he gave them this instruction, Do not try to satisfy an unhealthy curiosity. It is, he said, a serious misuse of Scripture to try to make it disclose more than God has purposed to reveal. And that's very helpful, because it means that we need to come, as we said last time, diligently to the Scriptures, expectantly to the Scriptures, and humbly recognizing that while the Bible is in itself without error, no particular interpreter of the Bible is exclusively without error. And so the warning is well taken.

We noted last time that there is a danger in coming to a passage like this and viewing it as largely theoretical. And Jesus is making it very clear to his disciples that this is actually intensely practical. He's encouraging them, in relationship to what he's saying, to make sure that the moral imperative, if you like, of the information that he gives them is to be uppermost in their thinking.

That's why he wants them to be on guard. That's why he wants to make sure that they are not distracted or deceived, that no one frightens them, that they're not unsettled by the things that he says and by the explanations that others might give. And in verse 31—which, of course, we didn't read, but you'll find there—Jesus is pointing out that heaven and earth will pass away, but he wants to remind them, My words will not pass away. In other words, we may rest in security in the words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is not dissimilar, actually, to the familiar words, the opening two verses of Psalm 46, where the psalmist says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be cast into the midst of the sea. He's not saying that there won't be things that shake the cosmos. He's not saying that there aren't issues that are to be addressed. But he says that these things are set within the context of God and the absolute security that is there in him. I tried to point this out last time so that we might get a grasp of the fact that what we're dealing with here challenges so much contemporary thought.

So much of what was embryonic in the sixties is in full bloom now in these early decades of the twenty-first century. I went looking for Noel Harrison—not looking for him, but, well, looking for him—because I wanted to see if he was still around singing The Windmills of Your Mind, which, of course, was one of my favorite songs. I hadn't a clue what it meant then, and I'm not sure what it means now. But I found him there.

He's on YouTube singing, I think, on Top of the Pops, which was a program when I was growing up in my teens in Britain. I remember, you know, run like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel, never-ending or beginning and a never-spinning reel, like a snowball down a mountain or a carnival balloon and so on, like the hands that are passing across the minutes of the face of the clock, and the world is like an apple twirling silently in space. I used to think, man, there must be a reason why some of these people smoke that stuff, because it presumably was generated in part by it and was only understood when enabled by it. But in actual fact, it was a foreshadowing of the notions that are part and part of so much Western culture that regards history as being cyclical rather than being linear—that there is actually no point of beginning and that there will be no ending point. And so we are somehow or another just spinning around in space. That's supposed to make us feel very tranquil. What it ought to do is make us feel very unsettled. And if you've been feeling unsettled by that notion at all, and you've been thinking about embracing the ideas of Hinduism or of Zen Buddhism, which is out there in the marketplace for you to see, it's interesting now that just yesterday I remarked to Sue, I was watching something—I was watching golf—and with the expression of finding peace in this particular commercial, the statement was, and finding peace, and the symbol that went with finding peace was one of the moves from yoga and from Hinduism.

Very subtle, but very clear. There is a peace to be found in these things. Now, when we come to Mark chapter 13, we realize that this is saying something radically different from that, and that it was daunting for the disciples to lay hold of it, and it's pretty tough for us as well. What Jesus is teaching to his disciples is what Paul, the apostle, had to learn. He then taught it to the intelligentsia of Athens, when they were surrounded by all the emblems of their contemporary philosophical and religious thought, and he said to them, The God that made the world and everything in it does not live in temples made by hands. He cannot be contained in any of these structures. He is the God who created all these things.

He is the God who has revealed himself in the person of his Son, and this Son has been raised from the dead. And when they heard about that notion, then they began to disband very, very quickly. Now, it is this truth that is dawning upon the disciples, albeit slowly, but nevertheless being made clear. And I wrote in my notes that what we have in verse 1 is a passing comment. A passing comment, Luke, teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings. It's an observation about the structure of the temple.

It's understandable. The temple was a magnificent structure. Josephus, the Roman historian—the Jewish historian, forgive me—said the exterior of the building lacked nothing that could astonish either the soul or the eyes.

This temple was more than twice the size of the acropolis. It was the work of Herod the Great, and there was nothing too good for Herod the Great. It was vast, and therefore there is no surprise that this anonymous disciple would, as they left the temple, look back at it and just make a passing comment, wow, what a wonderful building, what amazing stones. And that passing comment gives rise to Jesus' teaching. The temple is going to be destroyed. Verse 2.

So a passing comment—just the kind of thing that anyone might say—gives rise to this very important instruction by the Lord Jesus. They're going to have to realize that there is an obsolescence that is built into this magnificent structure. It's not simply that the doors of the temple are going to be closed, but they're actually going to be destroyed.

There will not be left here one stone upon another. Now, it's pretty hard for us to grasp this, even if we've been to Jerusalem and stood at the Wailing Wall. Because the Wailing Wall comprises some of the foundation structure of the temple of Herod the Great, as you will know. But even when you stand there at that, you don't have any real sense of the fantastic significance of the superstructure that was built upon it. The disciples did. The temple's architecture, however—its splendor—was more than matched by its religious significance.

And it is vital that we understand that. We need to realize that for these disciples, the temple was the epicenter of all of their Jewish universe. Remember that God had established his presence among his people of old in the Ark of the Covenant that they took with them as they moved in their wilderness wanderings. Eventually, they built a temple that was fit for his name, and in that temple they took the Ark of the Covenant, and there in that temple they had the symbolic presence of God. And so the temple said to them, This is where God is known, this is where God's glory is established, this is where you encounter God. It was at the very heart of everything they understood about God's revelation of himself. And so, for Jesus to say, You know what?

This temple is going to be absolutely destroyed. The temple in which Isaiah had seen the glory of God—Isaiah chapter 6. The temple in which Jesus had been discovered by Mary and Joseph—remember, when he is separated from them after a visit to Jerusalem, and they come back and they find him in the temple discussing with the religious leaders there. And he says to them, Don't you know, didn't you know, that I had to be in my Father's house? But when Jesus had most recently arrived in the temple precincts—you find this back in chapter 11—he did not find it as a house of prayer, but he found it as a den of robbers. And as he was teaching them, he said to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? But you have made it a den of robbers.

That didn't go down well. This is verse 18 of chapter 11. And the chief priests and the scribes heard it, and they were seeking a way to destroy him—to destroy the king who has come to establish his kingdom. Mark chapter 1, The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news. They said, We're not going to listen to this stuff.

We must destroy this man. Jesus says, You want to know something? Just as the significance of the structure lay in its religious purpose, the destruction of the structure, the demolition of it, is not actually significant because of the physicality of it but because of the theological implications. So, the chapter opens with a passing comment, and Jesus gives a word of instruction. This temple is actually going to be destroyed. When you get to verse 3, Mark tells us that there was a private question.

I just wrote that down as well. It might be helpful to you, I don't know. But there is a private question. When they were on the Mount of Olives offs at the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately. So as they sit on the Mount of Olives, they're looking across the Kedron Valley—some of you will have been there—and they have a magnificent view of the temple as it sits there in all of its splendor.

When you look from that point on the Mount of Olives now across the Kedron Valley, of course, you see the Muslim structure, the Dome of the Rock. But on that occasion, that is exactly what they would have seen. Now, what struck me as I studied it again this week was not the question that they ask to which we're going to come—namely, when—but the question that they didn't ask—namely, why.

Why? I found that interesting. I'm not pausing on it just out of a sense of intrigue, but I think it's very, very important. Why didn't they ask him, Why is it going to be destroyed? Was it that they understood perfectly all that the Old Testament prophets had said? Did they understand what Micah was saying about that day? Had they assimilated Jeremiah's words about that being now inscripturated, if you like, in the hearts of people, that it would no longer be external?

It would be hard to believe that they did, because they missed so much. I think it's probably that they were just preoccupied with the when. It's far more intriguing to ask questions about when than to understand the significance of the why.

But we need to understand it. It becomes apparent as you go through the rest of the Gospel of Mark, but let's pause here for just a moment purposefully this morning. The short answer to the why question—why is the temple going to be destroyed? The short answer is, because it's no longer going to be needed.

It's no longer going to be needed. Matthew has it in just a phrase where he records in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 6 the words of Jesus where Jesus says, Something greater than the temple is here. And the destruction of the temple is actually a judgment on the spiritual blindness of those to whom Jesus came. Remember, he came to his own, and his own received him not. Here he is, saying these things, and the Pharisees are immediately opposed to him, saying, We must destroy him. And now Jesus explains to his disciples, The very temple which is the epicenter of everything you regard about knowing God, it is going to be brought down. Now, if you read this morning part of the reading through the New Testament, you will now, as you hear my voice, be saying to yourself, Well, that ties in a little bit with what we saw this morning in John chapter 9.

And you would have read this morning the encounter of Jesus with the boy who was blind. He heals him, remember? That leads to quite a furore involving the religious leaders and involving his parents. And the story unfolds, where they come and say, Is this your boy?

They say, Yes, it's our boy. Was he blind? They say, Yes, he's blind. Can he see?

Yes, he can definitely see. Well, then, how did this happen? They say, You better ask him. And then that unfolds, and… Let me just quote it to you.

It's easier than paraphrasing it. They said to him, that is, to the fellow, What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered them, I've told you already, and you wouldn't listen. So he's getting a little obstreperous here. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?

This fellow's getting quite bold. And they reviled him, saying, You're his disciple, but we are the disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but it's for this man, we do not know where he comes from.

The man answered, Why, this is an amazing thing. You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.

Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. They answered him, You were born in utter sin, and you would teach us, and they cast him out. That's what was unfolding in this great drama that is leading to the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross. Now, says one of the disciples, this is an amazing building, I must say. Jesus says, Let me tell you about this building. It is going to be utterly demolished. And the reason that it's going to be utterly demolished is because the sacrificial system that finds its apex in the events of the temple is no longer going to be needed, because I am going up to Jerusalem to suffer and to die at the hands of cruel men and to make a once-for-all provision for sin.

Hebrews 10. And when that once-for-all provision for sin is made, there will not be any necessity for this temple anymore. Indeed, the next point in the calendar for the temple was what? It was the drama that unfolded when the curtain in the temple was torn in two! And suddenly, all that had been represented as a barrier to God, particularly to the non-Jew—for they were only allowed into the court of the Gentiles, they could not go into the court of the Jews, only the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies in order to represent them—first having made sacrifice for his own sins, and all of a sudden, boom!

The curtain is torn in two. And now, the gospel that is to be preached to all the nations is about to unfold. And for those of you who look at this and say, The gospel has to be preached to all the nations before he returns, and you're immediately saying, And that means before the return of Jesus Christ.

It surely means before the return of Jesus Christ, but it actually also means before the events of AD 70. The gospel was going to go out. The disciples were going to stand up in Jerusalem and say, There is no other name under heaven by which you must be saved.

It's the name of Jesus. So the question they don't ask is a significant question. And what Jesus is pointing out is that it is easy for them, even them, to be distracted by the magnificence of externalized religion, of all the things that had been put in place. But they were the façade, if you like, pointing to the reality.

They were the present that was pointing to the future. Calvin says of the disciples, The vast size and wealth of the temple hung like a veil before the eyes of the disciples, preventing them from elevating their faith to the true reign of Christ. It wasn't simply that those who were stuck, if you like, with the law of Moses didn't get it. The disciples themselves were in danger of missing it, until they recognized all that this Jesus, whom they had committed themselves to follow, had come to do. You see, it is only when we come to terms with the ultimate emptiness of externalized religious endeavor that the story of a person who has lived a perfect life—the life that we should live but can't, the story of a person who has died in our place a death that we deserve but could never pay—it is only when, if you like, the temple structures of our religious orthodoxy have crumbled that we will then say, Well, only in Christ, only in this Savior, only in this sacrifice, is the answer to my sin.

You're listening to Truth for Life. Alistair Begg titled this study in Mark chapter 13, A Question for Jesus. Imagine what it must have been like to have one-on-one access to Jesus, to ask him questions and listen to the answers. Even though we are centuries removed from these incredible moments, John Stott argues that God is still speaking to us today, not in the same way he engaged with his disciples and others in the Gospel of Mark, but in an active and meaningful way that comes through the Bible. As a complement to our current study in Mark's Gospel, we want to recommend to you John Stott's helpful book on discipleship. It's called The Disciple—God's Word for Today.

And whatever circumstance you find yourself in today as a follower of Jesus, this book will help you understand how to better hear God's voice, how to follow his guidance, and also how to train our minds so that our emotions don't steer us away from clear thinking. We're pleased to send you a copy of The Disciple when you give a donation to support the ministry of Truth for Life. Simply click the book image on the mobile app or visit truthforlife.org slash donate, or you can give us a call at 888-588-7884. To send your contribution and request the book by mail, write to us at Truth for Life, P.O.

Box 398000, Cleveland, Ohio 44139. Thank you for your donation today. Because of your giving, we're able to fulfill our mission, which is to teach the Bible with clarity and relevance so that unbelievers will be converted, believers will be established in the faith, and local churches will be strengthened. As we begin the weekend, keep in mind you're invited to supplement the Bible teaching you receive from your local church by watching the worship service at Parkside Church. To check Alistair's teaching schedule for this coming Sunday, go to truthforlife.org slash live. We're glad you've joined us for today's study. I'm Bob Lapine for Alistair Begg and all of us at Truth for Life. We hope you have a refreshing and relaxing weekend, and we want to invite you to listen again Monday as we continue our study in the Gospel According to Mark. Today's program was furnished by Truth for Life, where the Learning is for Living.