Mark 13:24-37
The Enduring Word
If there was one thing that we all despised more than anything else in school, it was always quizzes and tests. No one looked forward to taking a test or having a pop quiz, even if we knew all the material. I’m convinced that at least some of my teachers wrote their tests in such a way that even if you had the right answer, they would make you question if it was the right answer. Now, it also may have happened a time or two where a teacher forgot when test day was. As students, we all walked in expecting to take a test only to be surprised by the teacher not handing it out. Then came the game of, “Should we tell him or not?” The side glances, piercing eyes, and secretive head shakes that came when the teacher had his back turned said everything you needed to know about whether we wanted to take it. Yes, not one of us would ever complain about missing a test because of the teacher’s bad memory. Though, we had at times those few teacher’s pet students who always had to remind them. But you see, when it came down to it, it didn’t really matter if we took the test or not. Why? Because even those few random days that we got out of taking it meant that it would get added onto the next one. It meant that we’d have to make up the missed test at some point. Even if you got out of a test, you never truly got out of taking the test. What the teacher had said and written in our syllabus would always hold true one way or another.
In our Gospel lesson, Jesus continues to prepare us for the end times and his glorious return. While Jesus tells us about all the things that will fade away, he tells us one thing that will always stand sure. If a teacher’s word holds true, how much more shall we count on the Word of God? As we look to the end of all things, let us hear Jesus say again:
MY WORDS WILL NOT PASS AWAY!
I.
Whenever a test is delayed, we all knew that we could slack off a little bit. Avoiding the big test meant we had more time to study, more time to prepare, and above all more time to mess around before we truly got down to business. What’s scary is how many people have this same sentiment with faith. When we talk about the end times, we constantly mention that we’re currently living them. We mention that Jesus could come back any day at any time. But let’s be honest, how many of us truly believe it? Do you believe that Jesus will come tomorrow? Probably not. It seems to many people that Jesus was lying or bluffing or just simply forgot. This allows many of us to become lackadaisical in our faith. Yet, hear what Jesus says, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come,” Mark 13:32-33. We can always question how soon Jesus’ return is. We can wonder when the big “test” will be. But like the classroom, it was always when we felt most secure that a “pop quiz” would show up on our desks.
Don’t think that God or Jesus would lie to us. Don’t think that his Word is unsure. Don’t think that we can count on our “teacher” forgetting about the “test”. Yes, when we look out at our world, we should see exactly what Jesus is talking about. “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates,” Mark 13:28-29. We can no more let the terror and horror of evil dissuade us from trusting in Christ any more than we can let our own apathy get in the way. If there were any time to get serious about our faith, that time is now... and always. For this is what Jesus is telling us as he says, “Stay awake.” Don’t grow weary from doing good, resisting evil. Don’t grow lackadaisical thinking that our Lord’s return is anything but imminent. Jesus has told us that he will return and when he does, he’ll judge all people. He shall separate the sheep from the goats.
II.
Indeed, there’s nothing in all of creation that’s able to undo our Lord’s word. Everything else will fail. Everything else will fall. But Jesus and his word shall remain our foundation for all eternity. Jesus says it himself, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away,” Mark 13:31. That means that we shouldn’t trust in our wealth. That will disappear. We can’t trust in our health. That will fail. We can’t trust in our government; it too will succumb to the ruins of time. What we can trust is this: “God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son so that whosoever believes in him shall have eternal life,” John 3:16. And what about this word, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” John 14:2. And how about this word of Christ, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” Luke 23:34. Count on it! Believe it! For I tell you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there’s nothing surer than these words of Christ. There’s no sin too great, no problem too enormous, no distance too far that shall ever make our Lord’s word to us fail! For his word to you is forgiveness, life, and salvation!
This is why we watch for our Lord’s coming. We do so not in fear or anxiety because Jesus has prepared us for this final “test”. He has given us faith to believe and grace to endure until the end. God has given us not just His word, but the one who is the very Word incarnate. God has given us Jesus, his only Son that Jesus may be the final and enduring word. That final word is none other than the cross. It’s Jesus, nailed to the tree for your sins. It’s Jesus, crowned with thorns. It’s Jesus, crucified and buried into your tomb. And most of all, it’s Jesus risen from dead that Jesus may speak this word of forgiveness, grace, and salvation both now and forevermore! Thus, when Christ returns, he comes not in terror, but as our savior. Even as Jesus says, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven,” Mark 13:26-27.
Count on it. Believe it, that when Christ returns, he returns for you. To gather you with his nail-scarred hands and welcome you into the glory of his salvation. For this is our enduring Word, Jesus Christ, who speaks to us his love, forgiveness, and grace that we may live eternally! In Jesus’ name! Amen!