Gardendale Nazarene Sermons John Parrish

The End of the Age

Mark 13:1-13, 24-37



Apocalypse- the complete final destruction of the world

apo- un-

kaluptein- to cover

apokaluptein- to uncover, to reveal



Apocalypse- a revelation, a disclosure, an uncovering that shapes the way in which you see things



Mark 13:1-3

1 As he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look! What massive stones! What impressive buildings!”

2 Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another—all will be thrown down.”

3 While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, 

The center of the religious institution was an elegant building- the Temple.



The Temple:

• where atonement was made

• where the sacrifice was offered

• where God was understood to be uniquely present

• the gathering point for the worshipping community



The apocalyptic moment in Mark's gospel is the passion (the death and resurrection) of Jesus the Christ. This is THE world-altering event.



The Cross:

• where atonement was made

• where the sacrifice was offered

• where God was understood to be uniquely present

• the gathering point for the worshipping community



What are our instructions? 

1. Watch out that no one deceives you (13:5).

2. Our calling is to preach to gospel (13:10).

3. The Holy Spirit is with us and will speak through us (13:11).

4. The world will not accept the message of Christ (13:13).



Mark 13:28-29

28 “Learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize that he is near—at the door.



5. God is near (13:29)



1 Peter 3:8-12

8 Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble, 9 not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.

10 For the one who wants to love life and to see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit,

11 and let him turn away from evil and do what is good.Let him seek peace and pursue it,

12 because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.



6. Watch! Be alert! (13:5, 23, 33, 37)

From Regulations to Relationships

Mark 12:28-44



Mark 12:28 One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?”



"Which command is the most important?"

"What matters?"



Mark 12:29-31

29 Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.31 The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”



Mark 12:32-33

32 Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one else except him. 33 And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”



Mark 12:34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And no one dared to question him any longer.



What does Jesus mean by 'not far' from the Kingdom?

• We are called to be people of love.



"The faith that we are called to live knows the God form whom all blessings flow is also the God to whom all alliance is owed."



• He is 'not far' because he can see that relationships, not regulations, are key in our relationships with God and man.



• Moving towards the kingdom of god means we understand the direction of our relationship with God.



Genesis 3:8-9

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”



• We must become like children to receive the kingdom of God (10:14).

• "What must I do?" moves from law to love (10:17).



"I take upon myself the commandment, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And by this merit, I shall open my mouth."

Death to New Life

Mark 12:1-17



Mark 12:1-9

1 He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from them. 3 But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent another servant to them, and they hit him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed. 6 He still had one to send, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others.



Mark 11:9-11

9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted:

Hosanna!Blessed is he who comesin the nameof the Lord!

10 Blessed is the coming kingdomof our father David!Hosanna in the highest heaven!

11 He went into Jerusalem and into the temple. After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.



Psalm 118:25-29

25 Lord, save us!Lord, please grant us success!

26 He who comes in the nameof the Lord is blessed.From the house of the Lord we bless you.

27 The Lord is God and has given us light.Bind the festival sacrifice with cordsto the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks.You are my God; I will exalt you.

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;his faithful love endures forever.



Psalm 118:19-24

19 Open the gates of righteousness for me;I will enter through themand give thanks to the Lord.

20 This is the Lord’s gate;the righteous will enter through it.

21 I will give thanks to youbecause you have answered meand have become my salvation.

22 The stone that the builders rejectedhas become the cornerstone.

23 This came from the Lord;it is wondrous in our sight.

24 This is the day the Lord has made;let’s rejoice and be glad in it.



The final triumph of Christ (and now those who are 'in Christ') is not by avoiding death but by moving through death to new life.



Mark 12:13-16

13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words. 14 When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

15 But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” 16 They brought a coin. “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked them.

“Caesar’s,” they replied.



Exodus 20:3-4

3 Do not have other gods besides me.

4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.



Ti[berivs] Caesar Divi Aug[vsti] F[ilivs] Avgvstvs

Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the divine Augustus



Mark 12:17 Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.



"Whose image and inscription is this?"



Beings bearing the image of God belong to God.



Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.

“What do you want me to do for you?”

Mark 10:32-52



Isaiah 42:18-20

18 “Listen, you deaf!Look, you blind, so that you may see.

19 Who is blind but my servant, or deaf like my messenger I am sending?Who is blind like my dedicated one, or blind like the servant of the Lord?

20 Though seeing many things, you pay no attention.Though his ears are open, he does not listen.”



Isaiah 43:2

2 When you pass through the waters,I will be with you, and the rivers will not overwhelm you.When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, and the flame will not burn you.



Isaiah 43:5-8, 10-12

5 Do not fear, for I am with you;I will bring your descendants from the east,and gather you from the west.

6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’Bring my sons from far away,and my daughters from the ends of the earth—

7 everyone who bears my nameand is created for my glory.I have formed them; indeed, I have made them.”

8 Bring out a people who are blind, yet have eyes,and are deaf, yet have ears.

10 “You are my witnesses”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.No god was formed before me, and there will be none after me.

11 I—I am the Lord.Besides me, there is no Savior.

12 I alone declared, saved, and proclaimed—and not some foreign god among you.So you are my witnesses”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I am God.



Prediction

Misunderstanding by the disciples

Corrective teaching

Call to the disciples



Mark 10:32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were astonished, but those who followed him were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them the things that would happen to him. 



Mark 10:36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked them.

Mark 10:37 They answered him, “Allow us to sit at your right and at your left in your glory.”



Mark 10:46-52

46 They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 Many warned him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, “Have mercy on me, Son of David!”

49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up; he’s calling for you.” 50 He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

51 Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Rabboni,” the blind man said to him, “I want to see.”

52 Jesus said to him, “Go, your faith has saved you.” Immediately he could see and began to follow Jesus on the road.



What do you want me to do for you?



Mark 10:43-45

43 But it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you will be a slave to all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”



Lord, when I look around in this world, I see Your work, but they are like 'trees walking.' Lord, I want to see. I want to be aware of Your presence in my life. I want to see You working in the darkness. I want to live into what You are giving– Yourself.

Walking Away From Transformation

Mark 10:17-31



Mark 10:17-22

17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.”

20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.”

21 Looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But he was dismayed by this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.



Do not murder.

Do not commit adultery.

Do not steal.

Do not bear false witness.

Do not defraud.

Honor your father and mother.



You lack one thing ...



What is keeping you from totally relying on God? 



The focus of this story is not the act of selling possessions. It's about the fact that when you have nothing, you open yourself to be vulnerable to God.



The rich young ruler cannot follow because he cannot bear the transformation that following Jesus would bring. 




Transformation seems elusive because we can't control it.
Transformation begins when we leave one story for a whole new story with Christ at the center.
Transformation is the impossible giving way to the impossible.

Losing One's Life

Mark 8:27-9:8



Mark 8:22-26

22 They came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

24 He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.”

25 Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. 26 Then he sent him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”



"I see people, they look like trees walking."

The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly.



Mark 8:27-30

27 Jesus went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

28 They answered him, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.”

29 “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” 30 And he strictly warned them to tell no one about him.



Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”



Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.



Mark 8:31-38

31 Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. 32 He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”34 Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it. 36 For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life? 37 What can anyone give in exchange for his life? 38 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”



The coming of the Messiah ushers in a time that is fundamentally aligned with God's vision for the way the world should be.



The question Jesus asks is not just for His first disciples, it is for us. 

"Who do you say that I am?"