Brothers and sisters,
Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and
our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
You have just heard what may very well be the most
offensive thing that Jesus ever said. He and the disciples are walking past the
temple. As the disciples marvel at the temple and everything that it was
adorned with Jesus says that the days will come when the temple will be
destroyed; that not one stone will be left upon another. He was pointing
forward to the destruction of the temple that would come in 70 AD. Today that
would be akin to someone predicting something even worse than 9-11; 9-11 as if it had taken out the White House.
But Jesus’
words about more than simply the destruction of the temple. You see these
prophetic words of Jesus are not just words of warning for the disciples. The
destruction of the temple is a foreshadowing of the coming destruction of all
earthly material. It’s not just the temple in Jerusalem that God promises to
destroy but all of the earthly things that you turn into your personal little
temples; whether it’s your job, or your house, or your business, your farm, or
your sports teams, whatever. Even the US constitution will be no more. They are
all temporary.
And
praise God for that. For they will all be part of the old that will be done
away with so that all things will be made new in Christ Jesus. The day will
come when all of these things that the devil uses to take your focus off of
Christ Jesus will be no more.
But still
it may be hard to hear these words of destruction from Jesus as good news. Well if you didn’t
like that then you’re really not going to like what else Jesus says about your
future. For Jesus promises that there will be a time of intense persecution for
you for the church.
Jesus says before His return nation will
rise against nation and kingdom will rise against kingdom, there will be
earthquakes and famine and pestilence and there will be terrors and great signs
from Heaven. But before this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up
to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and
governors for my name’s sake. This
persecution is not coming, it is here and now.
It took me less than a minute to find several examples of this sort of
persecution of Christians going on all over the world. In the country of
Eritrea this week 185 Christians were arrested for praying. They were not
praying in public. They were not making a public display. They were holding a
prayer meeting and the meeting was raided. When 83 of those arrested were released
they were warned against meeting with other believers in the future. The “offense”
was not just praying but even gathering with other Christians.
In another incident in Egypt, 4 people were killed and 18 were injured
when they were shot by two masked gunmen when they opened fire on the crowd of
people at a wedding held at the Virgin
Mary Coptic Church. These are just two incidents. But this is
happening all over the world and often in ways that are even more disturbing
than either of those incidents.
And so maybe
you think, “Well that’s sad and I’ll certainly pray for those Christians
enduring those oppressive conditions, but we don’t have to worry about anything
like that here.” And granted we might
not see anything as extreme as people being gunned down at weddings here in the
US but don’t fool yourself, persecution of the church is already here.
I recently
heard about a Mennonite couple in Grimes that owns a business which serves as a
gallery, bistro, and a wedding facility. They are being sued by a male
homosexual couple because the Mennonite couple would not allow the two men to
hold their “wedding” at their facility due to their religious convictions. The
Iowa Civil Rights Commission is supporting the two men and trying to force the Mennonite
couple to plan, facilitate and host same-sex wedding ceremonies at their
facility. And this is just one of many incidents like this all over the
country.
But there
need not be violence or legal proceedings for you to see where Jesus’ prophetic
words of His church being hated for His
name are being fulfilled. You see it in the way Christians are negatively
portrayed in movies and television. You see it in the fact that publically
confessing your belief in Jesus as the only way to salvation is seen by and
large in our culture as narrow-minded, unenlightened and even hateful. You have
all experienced this. If this weren’t the case then you would share the Gospel
with others with more enthusiasm than you would have when telling others about
a new car or a new house or a new job or your own child getting straight A’s or
even if you had found out that you had been saved from a deadly disease.
If the
Gospel was not offensive to sinful ears than you would not be able to stop
sharing it with others. But what does Jesus say of the inevitable rejection of
the Gospel that you are confronted with? How are you to respond to those who
hate you because of the name of Christ? Jesus says that it is your opportunity
to bear witness. And He promises to give you a mouth and wisdom that none of
your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.
And so what
is it about the Gospel that people reject and scorn so much? Well listen to
what Malachi says For behold, the day is
coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be
stubble. The Gospel is offensive because there is nobody who does not need
the Gospel. All have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God and so all
need the Gospel. And that means that all need to hear that they are sinners in
rebellion against God. That is offensive; true but offensive.
You see without Christ Jesus all you would
have is this sinful world. This broken and sinful world would be all there is
for you. Without the abundant and radical graciousness of Christ Jesus giving
Himself for you as the atoning sacrifice for your sin then you would be among
the arrogant and evildoers whom Malachi alludes to because you would be left in
a state of rebellion and you would be subject to God’s wrath.
And so when you are hated because of the
name of Christ-no matter how subtle or extreme it might be-just know that it is
not you who is being hated and rejected but Christ Jesus. And so those who
scorn, ridicule, reject, persecute and hate you because of the name of Christ
are to be thought of as prisoners who have been taken captive by sin and the
devil, and you as a believer in Christ, as one who has been claimed by Christ
in the waters of baptism have the very means, in the Gospel to free them, for
the Gospel is the very power of God unto salvation.
Of course
so often you might feel scornful toward them; you might want to give
non-believers the same scorn and rejection that they give to you. You might
want to look down on them feeling smugly satisfied that you will be among the
righteous who will be wrapped in the healing wings of Christ Jesus, and that
non-believers will be among the wicked who will be set ablaze. But were it not
for Christ, among the wicked is exactly where you would be.
And when
you scorn non-believers, and look down on them you exalt yourself above them.
You become as one of the idle whom Paul spoke of. Failing to share and proclaim
the Gospel is to walk in idleness for it is withholding the very Word of Christ
from those who need it. It is hoarding the peace that surpasses all
understanding to yourself. I know sharing the Gospel with your neighbors is not
easy, but Paul says “Do not grow weary in doing good”.
If you
had a cure for cancer you would most certainly share it with those who needed
it. Well you have more than that. You have the means by which death is
swallowed up. Yes, it is offensive. Yes people reject it. But it’s not you they
are rejecting. Jesus tells you to love your enemies because He died for them
just as He died for you and so He sends you to them that they would hear what
Jesus has done for them.
And Jesus
promises that He is faithful to you in the face of the opposition you will face;
that He will establish you and guard you against the evil one; and that even though
some will even be delivered to death in defense of the Gospel not a hair of
your head will perish. The signs of the
end are all around but you belong to Christ in Whom the victory is already won.
Look at the example that Paul set and do not become idle; pray for those things
that Paul prayed for; that the Word of the Lord would be honored and received
well by those whom the Lord Jesus calls you to bear witness to. And answer the
call yourself.
As baptized Christians claimed by Christ and
saved from God’s wrath you should ask yourself every day what you are doing as
you wait for Jesus’ return. Once Christ has claimed you as His own you can no
longer ask “What do I matter?” for you know that in Christ you are infinitely
loved by your Creator. You have a place, value and meaning and Christ Jesus has
given you eternal rest for your soul. You can heed Jesus’ words to straighten
up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near. May you grow
in His Word and promises so that you will be encouraged not to grow weary in
doing good.
Amen
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