Our Temples

November 18, 2012

GOSPEL LESSON:　　 Mark 13:1–13

As [Jesus] came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2And 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.”

3And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4“Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 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.

9 “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. 10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. 11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

We all enjoy sight-seeing. There are many beautiful things both natural and man-made. From the forest to the cities, there are many things that we can thank God for. We take photographs to keep the memories and also to help focus in on what we really want to see. And we are moved to express our feelings. “Wow! Look! Kool! Do you see that?” What we call “sight-seers” and “tourists” used to also be called “pilgrims.” Jesus and his disciples lived in the province of Galilee, but they went up to the feasts in Jerusalem about three times a year. Jerusalem was a beautiful city. The public buildings and the private homes of the rich were built with marble. The most beautiful place was the temple. It was made of white marble and topped with a golden dome. Since the temple was on a hill, travelers and pilgrims could see the temple from far off, shining when the sun shone on the dome.

The first “temple” of the Lord God of Israel was the elaborate tabernacle tent made by Moses in the wilderness. The first temple built of stone and wood was built by Solomon. This was destroyed by the Babylonians. Then 70 years later when the Jews returned from Exile, they started to rebuild the temple under Ezra and Nehemiah, urged on by the prophet Haggai. Then Herod the Great spent 46 years (John 2:20) to rebuild the temple again and made it very beautiful. He did that just in time for Jesus.

Mark 13:1-2.

This prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled in the year A.D. 70 when the Romans burnt the city and the temple. They carried off the precious gold and beautiful stones, like the marble, for buildings in other cities.

The disciples believed the prophecy and wanted to know when it would happen. They wanted to be prepared. Jesus does not give a date. And his answer is not about the destruction of Jerusalem when the Romans come, but rather about the destruction of the world when Christ comes back. And that is the more important thing for us. The Jerusalem temple is history. It has been replaced by the body of Jesus where the ultimate sacrifice was made. And so the temple is not longer needed. It is not needed for sacrifice or prayer. The temple of God is wherever the Holy Spirit dwells: in our hearts and in our churches. The Jerusalem temple is history, but the prophecy of Jesus is for right now. It is not only about the future, because the devil is at work right now to destroy the temples of the Holy Spirit.

The signs which the disciples asked for we can see right now in the world. The first sign that Jesus gave was that there would be false messiahs that would lead people away from Jesus, the true Savior. The modern word for this is “cults” or “heresies.” And then there is a lot of bad preaching and questionable church programs, while not anti-Christ, do not help to lead people in the right path to Jesus.

The second sign given by Jesus is “wars and rumors of war.” There will also be earthquakes in various places and there will be famines. He could probably have added plagues and tsunami and typhoons and forest fires, too. This has been true for 2000 years. It would seem that the end has always been near. Should we live in constant fear for our lives? No. Jesus says, “7And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet.” We can live with peace and tranquility in our hearts because the Holy Spirit is with us.

The third sign of the end is persecution. Even in times of persecution we can live with peace and tranquility in our hearts because the Holy Spirit is with us. Jesus said, “11And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.” Why are Christians persecuted? Why is anybody persecuted or bullied or tormented or made fun of? It is because they are different. And Christians are different. Jesus said that his followers will be brought before governors and kings because they have a different political view. We believe in the Heavenly King and so we view things of this earth differently, we feel and act differently than other people. However, Jesus speaks of one good thing about persecutions, if you are brought to trial and have a chance to defend yourself, you can speak the Gospel, and in this way the gospel will be proclaimed to all nations (vs. 10).

I think the worst part of the persecution that Jesus speaks of is that it can divide families. The family is the place where love should triumph over everything. Christians love their family so much that they want the whole family to be saved. We teach children about Jesus. But some people are so deep in this world of sin that the Gospel of Jesus sounds evil to them. It is as Jesus says, “13And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

One of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

Think about all the beautiful temples in this world. Think of all the beautiful things we worship. Every time we make something new the center of our world, we have erected a new temple. And in this temple we put our idol. There are things we hold center in our lives where we put our trust and faith. When these things take the place of the Lord God Almighty, then they become an idol. The classic examples of these idols are money and food and pleasure and pride and strength and others. We build a temple around them to protect them: so that money will not fail us, so that our pride is not humbled, and that our fun is not taken away from us. “What wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

And Jesus says, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” This is why the world hates Jesus and the church and Christians. It is because people are afraid of losing their temples of this world. When they lose their temples they lose their security. And so, when they hear of wars and rumors of wars they are afraid. When they hear the Gospel that proclaims forgiveness to those who repent of their sins, they are afraid. They are afraid of losing their beautiful temples.

The Gospel is in the words of Jesus when he cleansed the temple. In John 2:19 he said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. … 21 But he spoke of the temple of his body.” A temple is a place of worship and sacrifice. Jesus was both temple and sacrifice when he died on the cross. He rose from the dead and he is our temple, our place of worship. This is where we put our hope and trust. It is not made of dead stones; rather it is the living Christ.

We do not come to church on Sundays to go sight-seeing, to see the stained glass windows or the architecture. There are some famous churches in the world which have become museums, but the good museum churches are the ones that remember the Gospel and that point us to salvation in Jesus Christ. Rather than saying, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” We should be saying, “What wonderful gospel and what a wonderful Lord Jesus!”

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor

Okinawa Lutheran Church

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