When I was a sophomore in high school I was not always the most attentive student… especially when it came to math class. One day I was sitting right next to the wall in our algebra II classroom… and as the class seemed to drag on I leaned my head against the wall… and before I knew it, my eyes were closed and I was drifting off to sleep… but it wouldn’t last. Suddenly there was a “bang!” right above my head. The teacher had fired a piece of chalk at the wall and as it exploded… so did he… “Sellnow! If you don’t pay attention… you’re not gonna be ready when it’s time to take the test!” – – As you can imagine I had my eyes open and fixed on that chalkboard for the rest of the period. I didn’t want to be caught off guard by the teacher again after that warning.
The section of Scripture we’re looking at today for our sermon features Jesus teaching four of his students. And while he didn’t fire off any chalk at them, he did fire off a number of warnings for them… warnings that he wanted them to take to heart and pay attention to so they’d be ready when it came time to face the test. Jesus wanted them to watch and he wanted them to witness. And to be honest he wants all of his students, us included, to do the same.
The setting for our sermon text was a late Tuesday afternoon, three days before Jesus’ death. Jesus and his disciples are on the Mount of Olives just east of Jerusalem looking down on the temple. Four of his disciples (Peter, Andrew, James and John) ask him about the destruction of Jerusalem that Jesus had referred to earlier in the day and about the end of the world when Jesus would come again. And in response we hear Jesus say two times “Watch out!”
“Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains (Mark 13:5-8).”
Jesus said that before the end would come there’d be signs all around – both in the church and in the world – signs that would remind us the end is near. And these aren’t things we’re waiting to see fulfilled are they? You can’t read a paper or turn on the news without hearing about wars and earthquakes and famines… We see people in every generation claiming to be the Christ – whether it’s people from the last century like David Koresh or Sun Myung Moon claiming to be the Messiah… or simply people claiming to come in Jesus’ name but teaching somethings very different from Jesus’ good news of free forgiveness through faith alone… “Watch out!” Jesus said. Pay attention so you are not caught off guard…
Jesus also told the disciples to be on their guard when it came time to be tested. “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them (Mark 13:9).” When Jesus says, “You must be on your guard”, what he is literally saying is, “you must watch yourselves… guard yourselves.” Why? Well, what might you be tempted to do if you were staring down a jail sentence or an execution because you believed and confessed your faith in Jesus Christ?
I think we all hope we’d be as courageous as other Christians have been who’ve faced those situations. People like the apostle James – one of those four disciples Jesus spoke to in our text. James was the first apostle killed because he believed and taught the good news about Jesus Christ. Or maybe on Reformation Sunday we think of the German monk, Martin Luther, who in 1521 stood before an imperial gathering and refused to back down when told to take back his teachings about free forgiveness through Jesus… even if it meant he’d face banishment from the Catholic church and a threat of death hanging over his head the rest of his life. Or maybe you think of the Christians being beheaded by ISIS fighters today… or the students in Oregon last month who confessed that they were Christians before being gunned down in their classrooms.
“Watch yourselves” Jesus said… “Be prepared for the time when you are put to the test. Be ready to stand as my witness and die for the truth of the gospel if it comes to that.” – – You know last weekend in church we welcomed a group of new members to our church family and asked them in front of the congregation a question that we ask all our confirmands… all our new members: “Do you intend to continue steadfast in the true Christian faith, be diligent in the use of God’s Word and Sacraments, and lead a godly life, even to death?” – – And when we ask that question that’s not simply asking a person to promise they will continue in the faith until they die, it means that they will hold to Christ even if it means they die because of it.
But why… why would Jesus tell his disciples to be ready to give not only a witness but to give their lives… why would Christian martyrs throughout the centuries make the ultimate sacrifice? Why would we be prepared to do the same today? Well I think you know the answer… We see the answer in the man who sits on the Mount of Olives in our text and prepares his students to face the test… We see the answer in Jesus who would travel back into Jerusalem that very week and face his greatest test… would make the sacrifice that would free sinners from the punishment of hell… would proclaim the good news from the cross as he died, saying, “It is finished.” And who would not only conquer sin through his cross but the grave through his resurrection.
Jesus is the reason we will watch and witness as the end draws near. Jesus’ good news of free forgiveness means eternal life for all who trust in him… this is the gospel that is going out into all the world (vs. 10)… the gospel the Spirit will remind us of when we are called on to witness for Christ (vs. 11)… even when people try to silence us… even when friends and family disown us… even if it means we lose everything in this life.
Having a child is a painful experience… A woman’s body is put through pain and discomfort during nine months of pregnancy… and then comes the delivery… I don’t think the pain of having children is a novel concept to anyone… and yet if it’s so painful why do people keep wanting to have children? Well because after the pain you give birth to a new life… and the joy of that new life makes you forget the anxiousness and the agony you just went through.
When Jesus described the things we’d face as the end draws near he described them as birth pains. And there’s no doubt that living in a sinful world that’s falling apart and that grows ever more opposed to the gospel – it’s painful. But the pain won’t last forever. And when the end of this life comes we will be born into an eternal life that will be filled with joy beyond all measure. And because of that promise of eternal life through faith in Christ alone we watch eagerly and we witness boldly as we wait for our Savior to return. Amen.