As we draw closer to the end of the liturgical calendar this year, we also draw close to the end of the Gospel of Mark. Over the last few weeks, we have seen Jesus on his final journey to Jerusalem. As he has moved ever closer to his final days, folks have had plenty of questions for him. In answering their questions, Jesus has done his best to help us all catch a glimpse of the kingdom of God. What does it look like? How do we get there? What will our lives be like once we are there?
In his final days in Jerusalem, Jesus has spent much of his time in and around the Temple. We know from other stories that he drives out the vendors and money changers. He teaches in parables. He answers the challenges of the religious leaders. He teaches them the most important commands. He speaks against religion that does not show love.
It is not really surprising that he would spend so much time in the Temple. The Temple in Jerusalem was central to Jewish religious practice. The Temple was built as a home for God to reside in, a place of God’s presence among the people. The Temple was where people came to offer their sacrifices, a place they came to be close to God. It was a place of worship and praise, a place of beauty meant to highlight God’s presence.
Imagine visiting St. Paul’s basilica in Rome or even visiting Jerusalem itself. It isn’t hard to understand one of the disciples commenting on the beauty of the place. I suspect some of us would have the same reaction to seeing the Temple in person today. Imagine the disciples’ shock when Jesus tells them the entire place will soon be destroyed (see Mark 13:1-8). With the knowledge of history behind us, we can know that the Second Temple in Jerusalem was in fact destroyed by the Romans some 30 or 40 years after Jesus’ time.
I find it almost amusing trying to imagine this scene. Some of the disciples are obviously in awe of their surroundings. “Look at this place. Can you believe it?” Then Jesus responds in an offhand way, “Yeah, this whole place is gonna come down. Not one stone will be left on another.” And then nothing more is said as they apparently just go on their way. It reminds me a little of the movie, So I Married an Axe Murderer when Charlie and his best friend take a trip out to Alcatraz. During the tour, the guide stops them to share a particularly violent and graphic anecdote. As soon as he finishes the rather dramatic story, he switches into a happy chipper voice directing everyone to the dining hall. “Yeah, the whole Temple is gonna come down. Now, let’s go pray in the garden over there.”
Given this information, it is no surprise that certain of the disciples might be fretting over the details. What do you mean the Temple will be destroyed? When? How will we know? Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is Peter, James, and John who approach Jesus, the three disciples closest to Jesus, though this time Andrew, Peter’s brother, is also with them. While Mark gives us some words here, I imagine the conversation starting a bit more cautiously.
“So, hey, uh, Jesus. You remember that thing you said a little while ago about the Temple? Yeah, so, we have some questions.”
These four approach Jesus in private. Is it because they are the only ones who took what Jesus said seriously? Were they nominated by the other followers as those closest to Jesus who therefore should be the ones to ask? Had the notion of the destruction of the Temple been weighing on them, fearful for a future full of destruction? Maybe they didn’t want to cause a panic among the others.
Whatever the reason, they want to know. How will we know the time has come? What signs will we see to know that the end is near?
On the surface, their questions totally make sense. If this is what is coming, we need to be prepared. Let us know when and how to recognize what will happen so that we can make ourselves ready. So Jesus launches into what we might call an apocalyptic vision of what is to come. In fact, this passage and the parallels in Matthew and Luke are sometimes referred to as the Little Apocalypse. There will be those claiming to be the Son of God or the Messiah. There will be wars, nations fighting against nations. There will be earthquakes and famines. Even in their day, these pronouncements of doom are probably exactly what the disciples were expecting to hear.
But Jesus’ final words in today’s reading don’t quite fit the formula. “These things are just the beginning of the sufferings associated with the end.” This will happen and this will happen and these things will happen, but that is not actually the end. In fact, Jesus’ vision of the future goes on for most of the rest of this chapter. But in truth, no matter how disturbing the picture that Jesus paints is, these visions are not actually the important part of what he has to say.
If you read through the passage, whether the snippet we have or the full chapter, Jesus doesn’t directly answer the question. Or perhaps I should say he does not answer the question as the disciples expect. The disciples are familiar with the prophets from their own scriptures. They are almost certainly expecting these apocalyptic images. But Jesus reminds them throughout “But this is not the end.” Or, as he sums up at the end of the chapter, “But nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the angels in heaven and not the Son. Only the Father knows. Watch out! Stay alert! You don’t know when the time is coming” (Mark 13:32-33, CEB).
But that’s not to say these words have no meaning. They wanted answers about what is to come, what should we expect, when will we know the time is here? Jesus tells them what they expect to hear without actually telling them anything. In their time, there were already others claiming to be the Son of God or the Messiah; there were already wars; there were already earthquakes and famines. Jesus’ answer, while telling them in some ways what they expect to hear, is not precise in the way they expect.
However to understand what Jesus is saying, we must remember that his answers always have to do with the kingdom of God. What does this apocalyptic vision that Jesus offers have to do with the kingdom? In his response, Jesus actually tells us exactly what we need to know.
First, Jesus’ response reminds us that the kingdom of God is not about some distant time, it is not about the future; it is about the here and now. So many of the questions that Jesus gets asked seem to miss this point. Can we sit at your right and at your left in the kingdom to come? What must I do now to gain eternal life later? In the resurrection, whose wife is the widow who has remarried? What signs will we see that the end is near?
In answering all of these questions, Jesus reminds us that our focus is wrong. When we ask these sorts of questions, our focus is on the future, on the horizon. Never on where we are and what we are doing. Instead of worrying about the time to come, Jesus wants us to focus on the time we are in right now. Live as if the kingdom is already present, and it will be.
As proof, look at what Jesus tells the disciples in his response today. The fact that the disciples ask the question suggests that they believe the only important time is when they know things are coming to an end. But Jesus tells them that the time to be paying attention and doing the important work is when they hear others claiming to be him, when they hear about wars, when they hear about earthquakes, when they hear about famines.
In their time, there were already others claiming to be the Messiah. There were already wars. There were already earthquakes and famines. Even today, we get plenty of people pointing to this or that disaster as a sign of the end of times, as a sign of ultimate judgement and destruction. But I challenge you to point to a time in history when there has not been someone somewhere claiming to be the savior of humanity. Find a time in history when there have not been wars and nations fighting with nations. Point to time devoid of earthquakes, devoid of famines and other illnesses.
Jesus is not pointing to some far off future. He is describing their present, the world in which he and the disciples lived. He is describing our present, the world in which we live. And he is reminding us that the time to do the work of the kingdom is when we see those things taking place.
I know there are folks in our world still today who want to predict the coming end of the world. They want to use fear to try to draw folks together, perhaps. Or they want to motivate folks to get things done before it is too late. But the signs that they point to are nothing new. We spend too much time watching for the signs and not taking care of what we can right here, right now.
It kind of reminds me of the song “Signs” by Five Man Electrical Band from 1970 (though some may be more familiar with the remake by Tesla released in 1990). The song talks about all the various signs in the world that are put into place as a means of control. To think about one of the other themes we have noted throughout the last few weeks, these signs tell us who is in and who is out. But, just as Jesus is reminding us, these signs have a tendency to block out the scenery and draw our attention away from what is all around us. We spend so much time watching for signs and worrying about signs that we miss the beauty and the needs right in front of us.
Jesus doesn’t want us to wait to live in the kingdom. Jesus doesn’t want us to sit around waiting for the signs that will tell us the end is near. Jesus tells us that no one can know when that time is coming anyway. Instead, Jesus reminds us once again that we should be focusing on living in the kingdom here and now, today. We should be loving those around us and caring for the world because it is here now. There are some things we can do something about, like feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and making sure the world is still here for our children and our grandchildren and for their grandchildren. But knowing when the end of the world is coming, when God will bring an end to all things? That is something we cannot know.
When it comes down to it, Jesus uses the language we expect to hear, but, instead of pointing to those images as signs of the end of the world, he uses images that are already present to remind us that now is the time to live in the kingdom of God. Stop waiting for a future that you cannot know in order to get things done. Love the world now.