Be on Guard! (Part 1 of 2)

Mark chapter 13 includes a fascinating conversation between Jesus and his disciples about the end of the age. Because of our limited human perspective, it's easy to read too much or too little into the warnings Jesus gave his followers. But today on Truth for Life, Alistair Begg identifies the central theme of this caution from Jesus.

Be on guard. The fourteenth verse of Mark chapter 13. Jesus is speaking, but when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be, let the reader understand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who's on the house top not go down nor enter his house to take anything out. And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. In other words, this is what they say to you on the airline. If you find yourself in a crisis, don't be fiddling around looking for your favorite toothbrush. Just get off the plane.

Leave your personal belongings behind. Because the extreme nature of the circumstance demands that. That's what's being said here. And alas, for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days, pray that it may not happen in winter. For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved.

But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. And then if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Christ, or, Look, there he is, do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard.

I have told you all these things beforehand. Amen. Lord God, again we cry to you for help as we turn to the Bible. We look away to you, the living God. Come and meet with us by the Holy Spirit, we pray. For Jesus' sake.

Amen. Well, it's a fairly common expression. We hear it almost on a weekly basis, I would assume, being said of someone that they can't see the forest for the trees. Or, in Britain, we say they can't see the wood for the trees.

The idiom is the same. It is an indication of the fact that the individual has become so involved with the details and with the significance of the details that he or she has lost sight of the larger issue. And that, of course, is a significant problem in studying the chapter that we're studying now. I think we've already identified that. This thirteenth chapter of Mark and the correlative chapters in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 hold all kinds of potential for missing the forest for the trees.

That's why we've been trying to be as careful as we can. A passing comment by one of the disciples has given rise to this instruction by Jesus. They had made a comment about the temple.

Jesus has said to them quite dramatically, in fact, this whole temple structure is going to come toppling down. And as we've worked our way through and we've reached verse 14, I wonder if you, like me, are becoming increasingly convinced that by paying attention to the punchlines, if you like, we will be helped to get the big picture. Because we need help to see the big picture before we endeavor to explain the details. And most of the trouble that lies in Mark 13 is found because we are tempted to immediately delve into the details and give our explanation of them, especially if it is a cherished explanation that we've held for a long time, without ever having stood far enough back from the whole event itself as described to realize what Jesus is saying. Let's keep in mind that our focus and study in the Bible must always be upon Jesus, upon his life and his death, his resurrection, his ascension, and his return, so that we don't lose our way, that we keep our eyes on Christ.

He is the focus of it all. And I was helped this week, as I read and reread the verses that we have just read together now, by imagining an interjection by one of the disciples at the end of verse 22. So if you look at the text all the way through to verse 22, Jesus says, when you see the abomination of desolation, and then he says the tribulation will be as it is now, and there will be false christs and prophets and signs and wonders and people could be led astray. I just imagine that one of the disciples interjected in between 22 and 23 with a question like, Well, what do you want us to do with all this? What do you expect us to do? We hear what you're saying, or why are you telling us all this?

That would be a legitimate question, wouldn't it? There's abomination of desolation and tribulation and all these things going on. All right, what are we supposed to do with this? Now look, then, at verse 23. Here's the punchline.

Be on your guard. I have told you all these things beforehand. Now, that is almost a recurring statement by Jesus. It comes out far more clearly in the Gospel of John. In other words, Jesus is saying to his disciples again and again, so that they will be able to remember afterwards, I'm telling you this now so that afterwards you will get it. You're not necessarily getting it now, but later on you will get it. I am forewarning you so that you may be forearmed. I want you to have this picture in your mind so that when this eventuality confronts you, you will not be completely at sea—that you won't judge the Lord, if you like, by feeble sense, but you'll trust him for his grace. That in these devastating providences, which seem so dark and so inexplicable, you will realize that behind them is the very smiling face of a God who loves you and has purposes for you. If you turn to John, just for a moment, let me drive this home for us. The notion of Jesus saying, I've told you this, so that, comes with frequency in the Gospel of John. And you can go and look for it on your own.

It'll be a useful study. You'll enjoy that, and every one you find will be another reminder of the principle. John chapter 13 and verse 19, choosing this somewhat arbitrarily, and Jesus, in the context of the washing of the disciples' feet in the gathering for eating together, he says to them, The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.

Which, of course, is a quote. And then verse 19, I'm telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place, you may believe that I am he. All right? So here's information for you now that you will get then, and when you get it then, it will cause you to believe. If you go forward to chapter… We could go to 14, but we'll jump that. Go to 16, and verse 1.

You have the same thing. Jesus says, I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues.

That sounds a bit like Mark 13, doesn't it? You will be brought before the synagogue rulers. You'll have to give an answer there. You will be condemned by them.

They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father nor me.

Here we go. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told them to you. And in fact, 16 ends with a similar statement, down in verse… Well, let's look at 32. Behold, the hour is coming. Indeed, it has come when you will be scattered each to his own home and will leave me alone. Yet I'm not alone, for the Father is with me. And again, I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world. What a patient, kind, faithful friend is Jesus!

Here is this instruction for you. They're not the brightest bunch, and neither are we. They're not going to be able to interpret these things in the immediacy of their circumstances in a way that allows all the pieces of the jigsaw to fit together, because there are elements of it that are beyond them, and there are elements of it that will be immediate to them. And so it is imperative that Jesus has given them these statements in order that later on, when they look back upon it, then it will fit in.

It's a reminder to us of a principle, isn't it? That the providences of God— in other words, the things that happen to us in our lives that may seem random—the providences of God are not self-interpreting. If we try in the immediacy, particularly of difficulty or disappointment or disease or hardship or even of extreme success and encouragement, if we try immediately to interpret those events in our lives in terms of what it means to me now and why this has happened to me and so on, we will almost inevitably be wrong. It will take time for us to be able to look back on the unfolding drama of things and say, Aha, now that does make sense to me.

And incidentally, loved ones, some of those aha moments will only happen in eternity. Will only happen when we no longer see through a glass darkly, but then we see face to face, when we are known, when he is known by us. Now, I belabor that point, and purposefully, because the early readers of the Gospel—and remember, this Gospel was written for people who were now living in the first century—they are the early readers of the Gospel. And the readers of the Gospel needed to be assured, as do we, that, to quote Townend, when the world has plunged them in its deepest pit, that they find the Savior there. They needed to have this assurance in light of all that was about to unfold. So Jesus is telling them these things beforehand, warning them, I'm giving you sufficient advice on this, he's saying, I'm telling you this that you might believe, I'm telling you this that you might have peace, I'm telling you this that you might have security in a world that is increasingly insecure.

And surely, loved ones, that is a word for today as well, isn't it? In the world you will have tribulation. He's not just talking about one century. He's talking about the totality of the earthly pilgrimage. There will always be tribulation.

There will always be these challenges. In the world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer.

This hasn't taken me by surprise. And by the way, I have overcome the world. The victory that I have accomplished at Calvary is a real and a true victory. It will ultimately be expressed in all of its fullness, but now it is no less true.

You might want to ponder that for a little bit. No, these dear folks that were reading this needed to know that the Lord God, the Almighty, reigns. That God reigns. So when we tackle this section, as in all of the sections, let's keep in mind what we've said already—that what Jesus is doing here is practical and it is pastoral. It's not theoretical, okay? He's giving practical and pastoral encouragement to his disciples and through his disciples to all, then, who will be the beneficiaries of this gospel to us.

Pastoral, practical. Secondly, we have to keep in mind that the events that are described here are, if you like, at least two-dimensional. And I've tried to say this every time—that there is both a historical and there is an eschatological dimension to what is being said. The word eschatological, you understand, just means the study of the end things, the way that the world will end, the judgment of God, his plans. That is the eschaton, that is the noun. Eschatological being the adjective, okay? So when we read this, we're saying, there is a dimension to this that has an obvious and immediate application, as we'll see now, but there is also clearly a dimension to it that pushes it forward, pushes it beyond the centuries in which these people are living and probably beyond the century in which we ourselves are living.

Okay? So if you keep that in mind, it will help. This is practical. This is pastoral. This has a historical dimension to it. This has an eschatological dimension to it. Now, I say all of that so that, once again, we don't immediately get ourselves completely tied up in knots by delving into the details. That is not an attempt on my part to avoid the details, and we're going to have to, in this section, say something about the abomination of desolation, about the tribulation, and about all these imitation Jesuses.

So let's get at it right now and start. First of all, when you see the abomination of desolation, you'll be helped by Matthew's statement in this regard, which is the fifteenth verse of Matthew 24. He says, So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place.

Now, that is very helpful to us, because here Mark says, when you see the abomination of desolation, standing where he ought not to be. Now we go, Well, where ought he not to be? Matthew tells us where he ought not to be. He ought not to be in the holy place.

He ought not to be desecrating the place where God is meeting with his people in the temple. So we got that part. And also, if we find ourselves saying, Where does the abomination of desolation come from? Matthew helps us by telling us, You're going to have to read the book of Daniel if you want to understand about that. So let's just jump into Daniel for a moment, and we'll jump back out very quickly, I can assure you. Those of you who want to spend a long time in that particular swimming pool can do so later on today.

But we must just make a quick dip and then exit posthaste. Okay, Daniel chapter 11. Now, what Jesus is doing here is he is conflating a number of statements that appear in the book of Daniel that reference this.

And I'm choosing just to look at one of them. Verse 31—"Forces from him shall appear"—that is, this king, evil—"Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering, and they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action." Now, it is here in Daniel's prophecy that you have this notion of this abomination that is to take place in the context of that which God has said must not be profaned. So Daniel prophesies in this way. By the time that the gospel is being read, the Jewish people had had at least one illustration of that taking place. Because in 168 BC Antiochus Epiphanes—who you may remember from school, he made a brief visit in most of our schools—he had attempted 168 years before to not only subvert but to stamp out the Jewish religion. He actually went as far as sacrificing pigs' flesh on the great altar.

He set up a statue of Zeus, and he ordered the Jews to worship it. So the people, when they begin to read the gospel for the first time about an abomination of desolation, have to their advantage two things that we don't have until at least right now, unless you've been studying your Bible. One, an awareness of the fact that this phrase has not jumped out of the blue, but it is actually in the prophecy of Daniel. And two, that our fathers in distress—from our hymn, Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven—our fathers in distress have seen evidence of this kind of thing, as is recorded by the historians. But what is Jesus saying here? What he's saying is that there's more of this to come. You're going to see the abomination of desolation when you see—and it's interesting, because it doesn't say when you see it, but when you see he.

Okay? The abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be. So in other words, this abomination is actually personified, isn't it? Luke says, in 21, he says, when you see the Roman armies amassed against Jerusalem.

So you've got the combination of these pictures. You've got the encroaching forces of domination, you've got the expression of abomination, which creates desolation, and you've got this notion in your mind that somehow or another this very abomination will take on a physical, personal presence somehow, somewhere. In other words, it is the very spirit of the antichrist—all that is opposed to God, all that profanes God, all that stands against God—therefore encouraging the reader to realize that, once again, the historical impact of this is set within the larger eschatological framework. Now, we know that this has immediate application, because in the balance of verse 14, the instructions for fleeing are given to those who are there. Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. In other words, this was expected in their lifetime.

This was expected in their lifetime. Now, why is it that they're to make a run for it if he'd just told them that they're supposed to endure, and that those who endure to the end will be saved at the end of verse 13? So he wants them to be absolutely committed for the faith of the gospel, but he wants them to know that there's no reason for them to be fanatical about buildings—namely, a temple—or about places—namely, Jerusalem.

You're not tied to this building, and you're not tied to this place. You're tied to the gospel. Therefore, endure to the end for the gospel.

But when this goes, you can make a run for it. And Eusebius, the early church historian, records how in AD 67, with the revolt of the Jews, the believers in Jerusalem did make a run for it and fled to the mountains of Pella. You can find that for yourself with any good concordance. So, you see, the immediacy of it is something that needs to be reckoned with. You're listening to Truth for Life and a message from Alistair Begg. He has titled today's study in Mark 13, Be on Guard. As our team at Truth for Life got ready to present this teaching series to you, we came across a classic book written by the late John Stott. It's a book called The Disciple.

You've probably heard Alistair quote this British theologian from time to time. Well, this book complements our current study because John Stott wrote about discipleship in a way that helps us cultivate our one-on-one relationship with Jesus. It beautifully parallels Mark's gospel in that it addresses some of the common questions Jesus' disciples ask him during his earthly ministry. John Stott helps us understand what following Jesus looks like in our contemporary world. He fleshes out the key components of discipleship, how we hear God's voice, how we rely on his truth to guide our thoughts and even our emotions. We're happy to send you a copy of The Disciple upon your request when you include a donation to support the ministry of Truth for Life. This book offer ends soon so ask for the book today by going to truthforlife.org slash donate or click on the image in the mobile app.

You can also call us at 888-588-7884. In addition to receiving this helpful book from John Stott, you should know that your financial support provides an opportunity for you to help establish disciples through the ministry of Truth for Life. In that sense, you have a ministry that's really your own. We regularly hear from listeners who tell us about the value of clear and relevant Bible teaching in their lives.

Some tell us how they have come to rely on these daily studies as a way of hearing God speak to them through his word. Your giving makes it possible for these important moments in someone's life to happen so thank you for financially supporting Truth for Life with your gift today. If you'd like to send a contribution along with your request for John Stott's book in the mail, write to Truth for Life at post office box 398000 Cleveland, Ohio 44139. You can also call to donate 888-588-7884 or go online to truthforlife.org slash donate. Earthquakes, famine, wars, Jesus said these events would be signals that the end of the age was near. What should we make of these warnings? Alistair addresses this question on tomorrow's program so be sure to join us Thursday. I'm Bob Lapine. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life where the Learning is for Living.