Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-august-25-2025
Mark 13:14-27
14 “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let no one on the roof of the house go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 18 Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.
20 “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive the elect – if that were possible. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.
24 “But in those days, following that distress,
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
In our reading for today, Jesus warns his disciples of scary times in the future. It’s a somewhat unsettling passage, but It’s not entirely certain whether Jesus intended to be warning about events that have yet to happen, or about events that would happen in the years shortly after his ascension to heaven. That period of 40 years or so between his ascension and the publication of the gospels of Matthew and Luke is a time marked by powerful political and military upheaval, leading to the destruction of much of Jerusalem, including the temple.
So what are we to make of this passage? The New Testament scholars aren’t in agreement, but it’s a passage that quotes Jesus himself, so it obviously demands our attention.
Maybe we should start by considering the relationship between this passage and the overall purpose of Jesus’ life and ministry among us. It’s probably true that lots of people who call themselves Christians would say that the central message of the teachings of Jesus is that we should love one another. Others might say that the central message of his teachings can be found in the answer Jesus gave when he was asked about the most important commandment: that we are to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength, and love our neighbors as ourselves. Those are both obviously important themes in his teachings.
But some New Testament scholars say that if you really dig into Jesus’ teachings, the core of those teachings is the announcement of a new Kingdom that had begun to break into this world — the Kingdom of God. That’s the Kingdom whose fulfillment we pray for when we pray the Lord’s prayer – a fulfillment, “on earth, as it is in heaven.”
The scholars can debate about whether that’s really the core of Jesus’ teachings, but it’s hard to argue with the fact that Jesus spent a lot of time and energy telling people about God’s kingdom, about how it was coming to pass in this world, and about our relationship to that kingdom as his followers.
It’s probably important to remind ourselves that the scholars say that the word that’s usually translated ‘kingdom’ in the New Testament is the Greek word basilea, and that word is probably more accurately translated as ‘reign.’ We tend to think of a kingdom as a geographic area with a king ruling it. But the reign of God transcends geographic boundaries – it seems that it will include the entire material world.
In our passage for today, Jesus makes two main points about the establishment of the reign of God in this world:
The first point is that We should expect that there will be destruction and chaos before the reign of God comes to fulfillment, and that this destruction will strike even at the heart of the ‘world of faith’ – even at Jerusalem itself. The scholars aren’t exactly certain what Jesus had in mind when he talked about “the abomination that causes desolation.” But some scholars suggest that he was foretelling an event that would take place just a few years after his death and resurrection. The Emperor Caligula ordered that a large statue of himself be placed in the temple in Jerusalem. Caligula’s motivation seems to have been political, rather than in any way religious. He wanted to assert Roman authority over the Jews, who he found to be a troublesome and confusing people. But as you might imagine, the proposed statue of Caligula caused a huge uproar among the Jews. In some cases, rioting. Fortunately, Caligula was assassinated before the statue was placed, and the whole thing sort of blew over.
But, thirty years after that (in 66 AD), the Jews launched a disastrous revolt against the Roman Empire. There was probably no chance for this revolt to succeed, but it led to a bloody war lasting four years, at the end of which the Romans defeated the Jewish army and destroyed Jerusalem, including the temple. The temple would never be rebuilt, and the daily sacrifices that had gone on for a thousand years were stopped forever.
(As an aside, the Roman general who commanded the empire’s forces in this war against the Jews later commented that he believed God was on the side of Rome, instead of on the side of the Jewish people. He said the Romans would not have won without God’s help. Rather a surprising observation.)
So as I read the prophecies in this passage, it seems to me Jesus is foretelling this period of war and turmoil leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.
We would have a clearer understanding of what Jesus had in mind if he had given more of the specifics of how these frightening events would unfold. But just a few verses later (in Mark 13:32) Jesus would say that it was not given to him to know the specifics of these future events. A part of his ministry was to warn people about chaos ahead, but not to give them the details.
And then, it seems, Jesus went on to talk about the time of his “second coming,” when even the normal operations of creation will be disturbed. While this time might also be intensely frightening, those who follow Jesus should have no fear of it, because at this time he will ‘gather to himself’ all of the faithful.
In the meantime, he warns, people will appear with all sorts of false claims about the timing of his return. Clearly, that’s been a continuing characteristic of the world after his ascension to heaven; we hear these false claims all the time. There are websites that give updated predictions every day. But those who are faithful to his teachings will not be alarmed by these false reports – we can remind ourselves that if Jesus himself didn’t know the details of his second coming, then those who claim to know that ‘the time is near’ don’t know either.
But of course, there is wisdom in everything Jesus said, including this passage. The real point, I think, is this: As followers of Jesus, we should not be as shocked as others when brutal chaos that breaks out in the world. We should be saddened by it, but not shocked by it. We should do what we can to stop it, because of the suffering it causes to vulnerable people. But we should remember that our master said it would happen. We should also remember that Jesus promised that when the reign of God is brought to fulfillment on earth as it is in heaven, then all the destructive evil will be replaced with God’s peace – God’s shalom.
Soon after issuing these warnings about the continuing chaos of the world, Jesus testified to his confidence in God’s plan by going to the cross. Then, on the third day, he rose from the dead as a sign of the truth of God’s promises. So those of us who follow him need not live in fear, even in times of chaos and uncertainty. Instead, we can live in hopeful faith in his ultimate victory.
Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you for the promise that you will ultimately be victorious over all the frightening forces of the world’s powers, and that those who follow your Son will share in that great victory, and find peace in your great kingdom to come. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
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