"Built to Last" based on Mark 13:1-13
The Twenty-Fourth Sunday
after Pentecost -
Pastor Troy Slater - Our
This past Labor Day weekend my family
and I took a trip up to
In our Gospel reading for this
morning, Jesus disciples are acting the part of tourists, I guess we could say.
For looking up at the temple, "Look, Teacher," one of
them said, "what wonderful stones
and what wonderful buildings!" And
indeed, the Jerusalem temple was an incredible building a fact Jesus does not dispute. In fact the
And so when Jesus says to them, "there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown
down," it
leaves the disciples dumbfounded. How
can something so majestic, something so grand, something so solid not always be
here? How can it possibly be
destroyed? Our text gives the impression
that the disciples followed in silence as Jesus went to the
But note that Jesus doesn't really
answer any of their questions. For Jesus
has a greater concern on His mind. He
has a greater concern for what will be the new temple within which God would
dwell - that is, His people, His church, His disciples. "See that no one leads you astray,"
He says to them. "Watch out that no
one deceives you." …
No doubt we live in a day with a lot
of questions, a lot of uncertainty.
There's uncertainty over international matters - what rogue power is
going to get the nuclear bomb. There are
wars and rumors of war. There's
uncertainty over national matters - the economy as the unemployment rate
continues to rise. There's uncertainty
over the direction of our country as the political parties play their worn-out
games. There's uncertainty over local
matters - our state's educational system, whether we will have favorable winter
and spring whether for the wheat crop.
There's uncertainty over matters dealing with our personal and family
relationships. Our own
health or the health of a loved one, our child's education, how our life will
go from here. Uncertainty - it
abounds - it's a fact of life.
And in this uncertain and
ever-changing world, we all look for something to hold onto, something solid
that will give us some stability and confidence to face each new day. And so in affect what Jesus said to his disciples
- and now says to us - is, "Hold on
- hold on to me, for I'm built to last," He says. "There is going to be a
whole lot of bad stuff happening both around you and among you. And so be on your guard! Watch out that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and they will lead many
astray. You will hear of wars and rumors
of wars, … nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places;
there will be famines. You will be persecuted as you go
about preaching the gospel to all nations; arrested even, brought to
trial. Brother will betray brother to
death, father their children, children their parents. In fact all men will hate you because of me. In fact it will seem as if the whole world is
falling apart around you. And so watch
out - be on your guard - stand firm to the end - and you will be saved." … No Jesus doesn't
really answer the question of "when?" does he? Rather His concern is for His disciples.
Now, it's quite interesting that all
these things Jesus told his disciples would happen, they happened leading up to
the year 70 AD - 40 years after Jesus spoke these words to his disciples on the
Now what's so special about the year
70 A.D.? Well, that's the year that
Jesus' words about the destruction of the
Yes Jesus' disciples lived in a world
of uncertainty - change - decay. We live
in a world of uncertainty - a world of change - a world of decay. A world that continues to remind us that that
it's no longer built to last, but that it's in fact falling apart. ...
With today being the next to last
Sunday of the church year, we are reminded that we are quickly coming to the
end of the church year. And as we do our
readings turn our attention to the end of time - the end of all things as we
know it. And today's reading uses the
destruction of the
Need proof that the end is
coming? Well, heard of any false
Christ's lately? You might have heard of
the Rev. Moon of
And yes it could be another 2,000
years. But it also could be
tomorrow. We don't know. But it is coming. This world is falling apart before our very
eyes. We are in the last days - the last
days being from the time of Jesus ascension until His return in all glory. And so yes, the end is coming.
And so it is that Jesus encourages
His disciples, including us today, to stand firm - to focus on that which is built
to last. He says that buildings, structures, material
possessions of any kind, even our most cherished relationships aren't built to
last. They're temporary. Even the
husband and wife relationship, it's temporary for it's "till death do we
part" right? And so Jesus says that
it's much more important to stand firm in the faith than it is to hang on to
anything to do with this world. The
things of this world are passing away. Hard for us to imagine to be sure, hard for Jesus' disciples to
imagine. Hard
for them to imagine that the magnificent temple would one day be destroyed. And not just because of its great size and
magnificence, but the people of Jesus' day considered the temple in
But that simply was not true - is not
true. For with the coming of Jesus which
we will soon be celebrating with the upcoming Advent season and culminating in
the celebration of Christmas, we will celebrate how God took up residence among
His people on earth. We will celebrate
how God took on our humanity, how He came to dwell among us in the person of
Jesus of Nazareth. They no longer needed
the
Although something happened, didn't
it? Like everything else it appeared
that Jesus was destined for destruction as He suffered under Pontius Pilate, as
He was crucified, died and was buried. … But before His death Jesus had said, "destroy this
temple and in three days I will rebuild it." Of course those who heard Him thought He was
talking about that great temple made of stone.
But Jesus was talking of something greater, right? With that something greater being Himself. And on the third day, as the holy and
immortal One, He arose, coming out of His grave. After suffering all that the world could
throw at Him, He arose out of the destruction.
And now He lives. He lives
permanently; He lives eternally; He lives forever, never to die again.
Built to last, He's back and He's
here. "Where two or three gather together in my name, there am I with
them," He promises. He's here. As the only permanent thing in all creation,
He's here. Through His Word as He
forgives you all your sins; through His body and blood given and shed for you;
through His work of baptism which He continues in you throughout your baptized
life; He's here with you, He's here for you.
He's here and not just because this is a beautiful building or whatever,
but He's here because He has promised to be.
Crucified, risen and ascended for you, Jesus is here, and He's built to
last. And through faith in Him, through faith
in His words, now you are as well. …
And so while mankind can make some
pretty impressive structures - the