Premise #2 – Jesus in this Text is Answering Two Specific Questions.
Look back with me at Mark 13 if you will. In verse 1 the disciples try to impress Jesus with the beauty and splendor of the temple that was before them. In verse 2 Jesus rains on their parade by not being all that impressed. In fact, look what He tells them. He says that this temple, which they were in awe over, would be completely and utterly destroyed. The disciples were speechless. Only after arriving at the Mount of Olives did Peter, James, and Andrew muster up the courage to ask Jesus about this dire prediction. The disciples ask two questions in verse 4.
1) “Tell us, when will these things be,….?”
2) “…and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”
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Now, as we continue on this journey together, we strive to apply Jesus’ long answer in the rest of the chapter within the framework of these two questions. After all, verse 5 says, “And Jesus began to say them,….” In the context of our text, Jesus is answering the two questions that his disciples asked Him in private. It will serve us well to keep this premise in mind as we move forward. Premise #3 – The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD was a fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy and a likely prototype of a time that is yet to come. In studying the end times, folks will often go to one extreme in order to stay away from the opposing extreme. When it comes to our third premise, we will try to strike a balance. For those who are in the preterist camp, they will defend the position that all that Jesus discusses in the Olivet Discourse was completely fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. Preterists also wrongly hold that Jesus’ second coming also happened at this time as well. We don’t have time to get into preterism as most of us have not brought that presupposition to the table this morning. We do not believe that Jesus has already returned, and we reject preterism. Just allow me to publicly make that clear before we move on. On the other spectrum of the extremes, there are some who will make every effort to minimize the events of AD 70 and will thus interpret every statement of Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as yet to be fulfilled. The position taken in our study of Mark 13 is really a ‘both/and’.
Yes, in answering the two questions (see premise #2), Jesus’ teaching was fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. On the other hand, yes, Jesus’ prophecy of the events associated with 70 AD are a likely prototype of a time that is yet to come. Often in studying prophecy in the Old Testament, we see this similar thing occur. The hermeneutic of the immediate/future fulfillment is seen in many OT prophecies. One example is found in Isaiah 7:14 which says, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” As New Testament believers we automatically will say that this verse, although written 600 years before Christ, was fulfilled by the Virgin Mary giving birth to Christ who was conceived by the Holy Spirit. This is how Matthew saw it in his Gospel (Matthew 1:22-23). Isaiah 7:14 had a future fulfillment in Christ. However, the contemporaries of Isaiah would not have read this verse the same way. They would have looked for an immediate fulfillment of this prophecy in their lifetime specifically because King Ahaz was told to be looking for the sign of a young woman giving
birth. Much in the same way we will look at Mark 13 with an eye for an immediate fulfillment of Christ’s prophecies about the temple and the end as well as with an eye for a future fulfillment of the end. This is not as easy a task as it sounds or there would not be as much debate about the timing of the events Christ speaks about. We will move forward with our presuppositions checked at the door, with the understanding that Jesus is answering two specific questions in the text, and with eyes on the prophecies being fulfilled in 70 AD with the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem and that this destruction was a likely prototype of a time that is yet to come.
Gerhard Lohfink, in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth” believes that Jesus’ person and ministry are intertwined, or actually one and of the same. After Lohfink clarifies the difference between the "reign of God" as distinct from the “Kingdom of God,” he asserts that in Jesus, there is this active, ongoing reign which is not only revealed, but is manifested in all He says and does. Lohfink states, that Jesus is “not just preaching about the reign of God, but He is announcing it,” going on to indicating that Jesus is manifesting this reign in His own self disclosure and the actions of His ministry. Jesus ways of teaching and interactions with others, is shown as compassionate, gentle, direct and personal, as well as definitive and bold. As we also find in Ch. 3, “All that is happening before everyone’s eyes. The reign of God is breaking forth in the midst of the world and not only within people.” (51) And for Lohfink, this is taking place in the actual preaching, actions and life of Jesus Christ. Simply, we are personally and collectively and actively a part of establishing this “reign” right here, right now. A “reign” of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, self-giving, sacrificial love, as well as of justice and peace.
become a Christian, a disciple of Christ. In this we have to be a good
In The Meaning of Jesus N.T. Wright and Marcus Borg present different views on issues relating to how Jesus is viewed. While Borg and Wright do agree on central ideals of Christianity, Borg tends to have more liberal views, whereas Wright holds more conservative views.
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who "does what God wants them to do". This simply means that if we put
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