My sermon from November 14, 2021 at First Presbyterian Church of Searcy, Arkansas.
The Hope of Eschaton
Mark 13:1-8
We join Jesus as he continues his preaching in the temple of Jerusalem. Two chapters ago in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus had his triumphant entry into the city. Since entering the city, Jesus and his disciples had been hanging around the temple. In chapters 11 and 12, Jesus and his followers can be found going in and out of the worshipping center of Jerusalem. While they are walking around and Jesus continues to teach, all of the adversaries make appearances. The Sadducees, Pharisees, legal experts, and supporters of Herod all try to trap Jesus in different riddles and contrived problems. Jesus, of course, uses these opportunities to teach and further expand on God’s love. In the Gospel of Mark, this is the section where Jesus gives God’s two greatest commandments. Chapter 12 ends with Jesus and the disciples sitting in the temple. In this moment, Jesus explains how a poor widow who gave everything she had in the collection box has given more than any rich person who donated.
In our text today, we begin with Jesus leaving the temple. At this point, a disciple exclaims how grand the buildings are, “Teacher, look! What awesome stones and buildings!” Now, to be fair, we need to remember the disciples are simple fisherman. They have had little to no experience in the city. It must have been a sight to see for them! For context, we might compare this to a 35-year old from Batesville – my hometown – walking into downtown Manhattan for the first time. It would likely be breathtaking and wondrous to behold. Despite the awe in the disciple’s voice, Jesus brings them back to his lessons quickly, “Do you see these enormous buildings? Not even one stone will be left upon another. All will be demolished.” Jesus is not worried about the marvels of humankind here on earth. We have done – and continue to do – amazing things. In Jesus’ mind, however, God’s work is where we should continue to keep our focus. The buildings – no matter how impressive they might be – do not matter in the long run.
From here, Jesus and his disciples continue to the Mount of Olives. At this point, it is a little confusing as to where the Mount of Olives is located. At the beginning of chapter 11, this area was outside of the city. So maybe Jesus and his disciples left town? On the other hand, our text today tells us the Mount of Olives is across from the temple. The temple, at this point in time, was not on the outskirts of town. No, it is the center of the city. The temple is the center of life for people. So maybe the Mount of Olives moves? Or perhaps there are multiple locations described as the Mount of Olives. Perhaps I am simply digressing. Wherever they might be, at this point, Peter, James, John, and Andrew privately inquire of Jesus, “Tell us, when will these things happen? What sign will show all these things are about to come to an end?” In other words, these disciples want to know when the end of the world is going to happen. And, if anyone were to ask me, that seems like a pretty fair question. If I were sitting at Jesus’ feet, I would also like to know when the only reality I have ever known is going to end. And in his response, Jesus is all but clear in it. Instead of giving a direct answer, he only tells them they will not know. “Nations and kingdoms will fight against each other, and there will be earthquakes and famines in all sorts of places. These are just the beginning of the sufferings associated with the end.” In other words, because we function as the people who we are – in a worldly fashion – our everyday life is going to continue to look very much like the end times on a daily basis. Humanity is going to make it incredibly difficult to tell when the eschaton is finally coming into play.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, “eschaton” is defined as, “the final event in the divine plan; the end of the world.” Eschatology, therefore, is, “the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and humankind.” I know, I know. It is 10 AM on a Sunday and I am up here using school words. They are important school words in this context, so we need their definitions. In this section of Mark, Jesus is referring to the eschaton. He is telling his disciples, at some point, everything in this world will cease to exist. God will render it undone. Every building will be razed to the ground and the world as we know it will no longer be relevant to God’s plan. Furthermore, he is telling the disciples no one will know when this is going to happen. Things that are already happening in present time will be indicators of the end of it all. It will be impossible for humanity to acknowledge when the world is ending.
Since the Bible was written, the eschaton has been a main concern of theologians throughout history. When Paul was writing his letters to the early church, he thought the final judgment was imminent. His theology was largely based around Jesus coming back in his lifetime. Paul would sit and write his letters from damp, dark dungeons, hoping his work was not in vain and that he would live to see the final judgment. This might help explain some of the theology we encountered last time I was here. After all, if he is locked up in a cell, what faith can he put in doing works? He is unable to do anything except write his letters. His hope remained that his faith in Christ would prove to be enough when the end came. Whatever the case may be, theology has wondered what the eschaton might look like for millennia now. From Paul to Aquinas to Calvin to Knox to Barth to Tillich to Cone, the best and brightest have put together their treatises on eschatology, imagining and examining what the end of everything means for believers and non-believers alike. And to put a very long story short, no one knows.
“Jesus said, ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. Many people will come in my name saying, “I’m the one!” They will deceive many people.’” Almost a full two thousand years later, and we might as well say, “Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.” Thousands of people have come forward claiming to know when the end of the world will be. They claimed to have done the math, using biblical numbers and analysis. Truth be told, though, there are not the proper amounts of numbers anywhere in any biblical text for us to determine when the end of the world will happen. The only thing we know, which we just read, is that Jesus told us we will never know. Anyone can study what they want in the Bible and glean what they want from scripture. We can all produce any hypothesis we want. It is all going to end up pointing back to a text like ours from today: humanity will not know when the end of the world is nigh because Jesus tells us this. This is the only thing we know about the eschaton.
The rest of this chapter is a soliloquy of sorts from Jesus. He goes on to explain what the end of the world will look like for those here on earth. To be fair, it sounds pretty dark. Both literally and metaphorically. Jesus says there will be much suffering and it will be an incredibly difficult time. The sun and moon will stop shining. People – including families – will turn on each other. Folks will be beaten, tried, and sentenced to death. The stars will fall from the sky. The planets will be shaken. Jesus even gives a warning this even will be particularly hard for pregnant women and women who are breast feeding. He tells the disciples to pray it does not happen in winter. He then finishes by looping back to the text we read today, “But nobody knows when the day or hour will come, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Only the Father knows.” He then continues his idea of staying vigilant, comparing the wait for the eschaton as if leaving the servants in charge of the household, anxiously awaiting the return of their master. In all things linked to the end of times, vigilance is key. According to Jesus’ advice, we must stay prepared at all times.
It is no secret the disciples were continuously confused throughout Jesus’ teachings. Perhaps that one disciple’s wonderment at enormous buildings helps clue us in to their way of thinking. If we again compare this person to someone from our corner of the earth visiting Manhattan for the first time – after never before leaving their hometown – they would be very much out of their element. Now imagine that same person – born and raised in a small town with little or no education – being told about the end of the world by the greatest teacher of them all. It seems to me all of this would be a lot to take in. And, if I am being honest, quite unsettling. Shoot. I am from Batesville. I have been around the world, though. I have stood amidst some of the tallest buildings our society has to offer. I speak three languages. I have a college and master’s degree. I am well-versed and well-learned. And when I read texts like these, they continue to be unsettling. The idea that everything we have ever known will be upended and – ultimately – unimportant does not sit well. In our humanity, we have a tendency to become connected to the things we know.
It becomes hard, at times, to hear these things and remain faithful. If everything we have ever known is going to go away, then why remain involved? Why not shut ourselves in our room, focusing on prayer and study in anticipation of the Son of Man’s return? We could at least detach from all the things that are destined to go away! Only… this is not what Jesus tells us to do. Because Jesus tells us to remain involved in this world. Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We cannot love our neighbor if we ignore them. It is true, that in the end of all things, everything we render in this world will be undone. At the same time, the only way we see God’s presence come into this world is by staying active in it. At the end of Mark 13, Jesus tells the disciples about how waiting is like being a servant waiting for the master to come back. If the servants are being ever vigilant in keeping their eyes open for the return, would they also let the house fall into ruin? What is the point in that? Even if everything in this world is destined to be no more, it was created by God in the first place. And we were created to care for all of this as well as each other.
Ultimately, we find ourselves in the same place as that one disciple who was in awe of the buildings. Everything around us is a great feat of human ingenuity and creativity. We have used all of our talents to create complex things from the pyramids to skyscrapers to computer chips. Simply think about how far we have come since 1900. The greatest part of our history has arguably come in the last century and a half. And it is likely not to mean much when the end of it all comes around. As we sit in awe of everything we have done and come to understand and struggle with idea of it all going away, we find hope in the fact that Jesus does not give up. Even when the disciples continued to struggle with Jesus’ teachings, he did not give up on them. Instead of becoming frustrated and walking away, Jesus kept teaching and encouraging. He stayed with them and guided them through his lessons. Even if they continued to struggle with these teachings, Jesus stayed faithful to the disciples even to his death and resurrection. In this same way, Jesus stays faithful to us, no matter the case. Yeah, the thought of the eschaton might be intimidating and even scary. Jesus remains with us, though. Going through life and facing obstacles is daunting. And Jesus remains with us. Throughout it all, in encouragement and hope, Jesus remains at our side.
We are called to face the idea of this eschaton.
We are called to face a new reality.
We are called to struggle with our identities.
We are called to keep caring through it all.
We are called to keep our faith.
We are called to keep going.
We are called into this new way of being.
And throughout all of this call, Jesus stays by our side, in and through all things. Amen.
Reformed Cam 