2nd Last Sunday in the Church Year
It Will All Be Thrown Down!
Reverend Kenneth W. Wieting
Text: Mark 13:1-13
In many and various ways God spoke to His people of old by the prophets, but now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His son (Heb. 1:1, 2). As (Jesus) came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
Dear friends in Christ; there is a strong desire in the human will for things to last. We don’t like it when things dear to us are thrown down – our plans, places we know, people we love. We want there to be permanence and stability in the life we lead. Our inner desire is for that security to be seen in our surroundings. When the Gore homestead on North Oakland Ave., the oldest house in Shorewood, is gone in 300 seconds, we are reminded how time and change pull things down. When the massive, gleaming trade center towers in New York are thrown down in one September morning, we are reminded how easily the buildings of mankind are shaken. When we recall the hundreds and hundreds of people whose earthly tents, whose bodily lives were destroyed in a few minutes on that day, we are reminded how frail our earthly tents are. “Look Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” “Do you see these great buildings?” Jesus asked, “There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
They were wonderful stones! Historians describe the larger ones as 37 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 12 feet high; as long as our nave is from side to side and half that wide. White in color, the temple gleamed in the sun. It seemed as permanent and as powerful as anything on earth. It was also wonderful in another sense. God used that house of worship. He met with His people there in the Holy Place. The blood of the sacrificial lambs that flowed in the precinct of those stones flowed by God’s command, connected to His promise. There, forgiveness was given by His mercy. “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” Yes they were.
There are also wonderful buildings in your life and mine that will be thrown down. In creation God built us to last, and He built this earth to last. We were made not to be shaken and not to be thrown down. Then came the fall into sin and with it God’s curse and with it change and decay and death. All creation now groans under bondage to sin and yet the goodness of God’s daily bread is still felt by us.
It can be so good when things are built up, new and strong. Houses are constructed, rooms are remodeled, roads are repaired, and neighborhoods are revitalized and health restored. There is building up as a marriage is begun, at the birth of a baby, in the growth and excitement of youth, during the maturation of adulthood. These gifts are indeed wonderful things. But houses grow old and need ongoing repairs, smooth new roads too soon have bumps and potholes. Bodies too soon grow weary, circulation slows, memory fades, joints wear out, diseases and illness take a heavier toll. The sad truth is that it will all be thrown down, the buildings of our bodies, the buildings around us, every wonderful thing that we admire.
And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” Jesus never did answer their questions of “when”. Instead He pointed to four signs closely connected to the tearing down of this world.
The first permanent-looking thing that Jesus warned against is religion. All that is spiritual is not good. There is a whole lot of spiritual stuff swirling around in every generation that claims to offer security and stability. And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray…” To come in Jesus’ name doesn’t mean that these spiritual seducers simply run around saying, “I am Jesus, I am Jesus”. What it does mean is that they claim to speak a higher truth, put you right with the world, give you inner peace, or offer you salvation in some way. Their spiritual deception is by nature hard to detect. That is why Jesus lovingly warns his disciples, “See that no one leads you astray.” From nature worship to feminist religions to new age mysticism to works righteousness to civil religion, the spiritual inventions of mankind will not stand in the judgment. Like the massive, impressive, much-admired stones of the temple, they will all be thrown down.
Jesus also warns against putting our ultimate hopes of security in worldly government. “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.” Wars and rumors of wars must take place, Jesus warned. That admonition carries added weight as we consider nuclear weapons in the hands of rogue governments and terrorists who view the whole-scale death of us infidels as a good thing. While government is a blessing given by God, no government, not even the democracy of America will last forever. Like the massive stones of the temple, every earthly government will ultimately be thrown down.
Jesus also warns against putting our ultimate hopes of refuge in the natural world. “There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines,” Jesus warned. “These are but the beginning of the birth pangs.” The mountains and the vast plains and the extensive forests of the earth are filled with beauty and can seem so formidable, almost unshakable. Nature worship still deceives many. But the truth is, nature is dying. Tsunamis and earthquakes and hurricanes and droughts warn us that the earth is very shakable. We are to be good stewards, we are to conserve, but we cannot save the earth and nature cannot help us spiritually – that is a false religion. Like the massive stones of the temple, nature will be thrown down.
The fourth solid looking foundation that Jesus warns about is the most difficult of all to consider – our earthly families. Not only will there be persecution of the church from the outside, but there will also be betrayal from within. When the trial is severe Jesus said, “…brother will deliver brother over to death and the father his child, and children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.”
The lives and deaths of the apostles bear out what Jesus said. What happened to them is not a pretty picture. Indeed, the trail of the church down through the centuries has often been a trail of blood. The world doesn’t mind Christians who wink at the golden calves of an immoral culture. The world will sheath its sword if we change colors like a chameleon to compromise with humanistic and civil and new age religions. But confess too clearly the Ten Commandments and that salvation is found only in Christ and the knives of disdain and discrimination and even delivering over to death quickly come out.
In our country family treachery over Christ is often sophisticated. It is designed to mete out emotional pain from an imagined position of intellectual superiority. But the ultimate family betrayal Jesus described has also occurred thousands upon thousands of times in our lifetime, particularly in communist lands. One of the guides who assisted during my teaching trip to Siberia spoke of her own disavowal of Christ under Stalin. She spoke of the millions who were denounced by family and friends for confessing Christ and the tens of millions who lost freedom and life in those decades. Upon showing me a painting of the Prodigal Son in the Hermitage she asked if it was true that there was also forgiveness also for those like her who at one time sought earthly position and security at the price of denouncing Christ and His church.
Dear Christians, false spirituality, decaying and warring governments, the storms of nature, and the rebellion of family members over Christ are four signs that expose the false foundation of all created things. None of them are inherently bad except the false religions, but none of them will stand forever. We are to give thanks for the relationships God has given us on earth. We are to love those in our family. But if we put our ultimate trust in our children or our parents or any other person, we will be shaken. Like the massive, impressive, much-admired stones of the temple all earthly things that come before Christ will be thrown down.
We, like the disciples, easily gawk at such false foundations. We admire our own handiwork. We may idolize another human being. We have visions of security based upon our own construction and imagination and achievement. Every day we are tempted to build our own little kingdoms and think, “ What impressive things!” Why are we surprised when wars continue to shake the world, when famine continues to plague many, when serious illness strikes close to home, when things we know and love are torn down? In love, Jesus continues to say, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
Beloved, the things of this world that appear solid and secure will not stand. On the other hand, the person who appears powerless and weak will stand forever. Jesus spoke these words about the temple on Tuesday of Holy Week. He would soon step forth to establish a foundation that will never be thrown down. The writer to the Hebrews described that foundation, “…we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened up for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)
As Jesus left the temple for the last time, all of the signs He warned against were directly in view for Himself. The religious powers were deceived by Satan and intent on throwing Him down. The political kingdom looked out for itself and Governor Pilate washed his hands, agreeing to Jesus’ destruction. On the day of His death, nature itself convulsed as the sky grew black and the earth quaked. Those He called His brothers, His disciples, betrayed Him and denied Him and deserted Him as He was put to death.
Beloved the key to all that is solid and sure in His flesh, His holy embryonic flesh knit together in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, His youthful flesh perfectly obeying the Father’s will, His ministerial flesh baptized in the Jordan and withstanding all of Satan’s temptations, His crucified flesh, hanging in naked, bloody, agony on Calvary, His dead flesh, laid in the garden tomb. “We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh…” His flesh and blood are more unshakable than stone! He was born to bear judgment day ahead of time, to take into His body the curse of the world. He was born to bear your sin – all of it. There is no greater ruin than the ruin left hanging on the tree of the cross. What is it that you have done or left undone that His once-for-all sacrifice does not satisfy? Behold the holy Son of god thrown down to suffer the torments of hell in our stead. How foolish we are ever to doubt God’s love for us or His desire for us or the standing He gives to us in Christ.
The Word made flesh is God’s real house and He is in this house of worship for you! The true temple of God that was thrown down in total ruin sprang to life again in total victory. He had said to those who demanded a miraculous sign, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it again” (John 2:19). And rise He did! And wash you with pure water He did! And come to you today to teach you and to feed you He does!
Remember the guide in the Hermitage and her question to me about the Prodigal Son in the Hermitage. Is it true that God forgives like that, she asked, even someone who formerly openly denounced Christ? The answer I gave her is “yes”, absolutely yes! For He has said, “I will remember their sin and their lawless deeds no more.” In Christ you sins are thrown down, drowned in the depths of the sea. In Christ, Satan in thrown down, no longer able to accuse you before God.
“The one who endures to the end will be saved.” But, you say, she certainly didn’t endure under Stalin. And you say, you certainly haven’t endured the way you desire. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God”. “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them whit in the blood of the Lamb.” That dear woman did not return to the church and receive God’s gifts in vain. Nor do you receive God’s gifts in vain.
You see, those who stand firm to the end are real sinners who stand firm only by the real forgiveness of the Lamb of God. By His strength you are now His wonderful stones, living stones, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Himself the chief cornerstone. What a wonderful stone He is! God help us to marvel at Him and invite others to look to Him for life and blessing that will never be thrown down. In many and various ways God spoke to His people of old by the prophets, but now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. Amen.
Reverend Kenneth W. Wieting
Text: Mark 13:1-13
In many and various ways God spoke to His people of old by the prophets, but now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His son (Heb. 1:1, 2). As (Jesus) came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
Dear friends in Christ; there is a strong desire in the human will for things to last. We don’t like it when things dear to us are thrown down – our plans, places we know, people we love. We want there to be permanence and stability in the life we lead. Our inner desire is for that security to be seen in our surroundings. When the Gore homestead on North Oakland Ave., the oldest house in Shorewood, is gone in 300 seconds, we are reminded how time and change pull things down. When the massive, gleaming trade center towers in New York are thrown down in one September morning, we are reminded how easily the buildings of mankind are shaken. When we recall the hundreds and hundreds of people whose earthly tents, whose bodily lives were destroyed in a few minutes on that day, we are reminded how frail our earthly tents are. “Look Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” “Do you see these great buildings?” Jesus asked, “There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
They were wonderful stones! Historians describe the larger ones as 37 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 12 feet high; as long as our nave is from side to side and half that wide. White in color, the temple gleamed in the sun. It seemed as permanent and as powerful as anything on earth. It was also wonderful in another sense. God used that house of worship. He met with His people there in the Holy Place. The blood of the sacrificial lambs that flowed in the precinct of those stones flowed by God’s command, connected to His promise. There, forgiveness was given by His mercy. “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” Yes they were.
There are also wonderful buildings in your life and mine that will be thrown down. In creation God built us to last, and He built this earth to last. We were made not to be shaken and not to be thrown down. Then came the fall into sin and with it God’s curse and with it change and decay and death. All creation now groans under bondage to sin and yet the goodness of God’s daily bread is still felt by us.
It can be so good when things are built up, new and strong. Houses are constructed, rooms are remodeled, roads are repaired, and neighborhoods are revitalized and health restored. There is building up as a marriage is begun, at the birth of a baby, in the growth and excitement of youth, during the maturation of adulthood. These gifts are indeed wonderful things. But houses grow old and need ongoing repairs, smooth new roads too soon have bumps and potholes. Bodies too soon grow weary, circulation slows, memory fades, joints wear out, diseases and illness take a heavier toll. The sad truth is that it will all be thrown down, the buildings of our bodies, the buildings around us, every wonderful thing that we admire.
And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” Jesus never did answer their questions of “when”. Instead He pointed to four signs closely connected to the tearing down of this world.
The first permanent-looking thing that Jesus warned against is religion. All that is spiritual is not good. There is a whole lot of spiritual stuff swirling around in every generation that claims to offer security and stability. And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray…” To come in Jesus’ name doesn’t mean that these spiritual seducers simply run around saying, “I am Jesus, I am Jesus”. What it does mean is that they claim to speak a higher truth, put you right with the world, give you inner peace, or offer you salvation in some way. Their spiritual deception is by nature hard to detect. That is why Jesus lovingly warns his disciples, “See that no one leads you astray.” From nature worship to feminist religions to new age mysticism to works righteousness to civil religion, the spiritual inventions of mankind will not stand in the judgment. Like the massive, impressive, much-admired stones of the temple, they will all be thrown down.
Jesus also warns against putting our ultimate hopes of security in worldly government. “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.” Wars and rumors of wars must take place, Jesus warned. That admonition carries added weight as we consider nuclear weapons in the hands of rogue governments and terrorists who view the whole-scale death of us infidels as a good thing. While government is a blessing given by God, no government, not even the democracy of America will last forever. Like the massive stones of the temple, every earthly government will ultimately be thrown down.
Jesus also warns against putting our ultimate hopes of refuge in the natural world. “There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines,” Jesus warned. “These are but the beginning of the birth pangs.” The mountains and the vast plains and the extensive forests of the earth are filled with beauty and can seem so formidable, almost unshakable. Nature worship still deceives many. But the truth is, nature is dying. Tsunamis and earthquakes and hurricanes and droughts warn us that the earth is very shakable. We are to be good stewards, we are to conserve, but we cannot save the earth and nature cannot help us spiritually – that is a false religion. Like the massive stones of the temple, nature will be thrown down.
The fourth solid looking foundation that Jesus warns about is the most difficult of all to consider – our earthly families. Not only will there be persecution of the church from the outside, but there will also be betrayal from within. When the trial is severe Jesus said, “…brother will deliver brother over to death and the father his child, and children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.”
The lives and deaths of the apostles bear out what Jesus said. What happened to them is not a pretty picture. Indeed, the trail of the church down through the centuries has often been a trail of blood. The world doesn’t mind Christians who wink at the golden calves of an immoral culture. The world will sheath its sword if we change colors like a chameleon to compromise with humanistic and civil and new age religions. But confess too clearly the Ten Commandments and that salvation is found only in Christ and the knives of disdain and discrimination and even delivering over to death quickly come out.
In our country family treachery over Christ is often sophisticated. It is designed to mete out emotional pain from an imagined position of intellectual superiority. But the ultimate family betrayal Jesus described has also occurred thousands upon thousands of times in our lifetime, particularly in communist lands. One of the guides who assisted during my teaching trip to Siberia spoke of her own disavowal of Christ under Stalin. She spoke of the millions who were denounced by family and friends for confessing Christ and the tens of millions who lost freedom and life in those decades. Upon showing me a painting of the Prodigal Son in the Hermitage she asked if it was true that there was also forgiveness also for those like her who at one time sought earthly position and security at the price of denouncing Christ and His church.
Dear Christians, false spirituality, decaying and warring governments, the storms of nature, and the rebellion of family members over Christ are four signs that expose the false foundation of all created things. None of them are inherently bad except the false religions, but none of them will stand forever. We are to give thanks for the relationships God has given us on earth. We are to love those in our family. But if we put our ultimate trust in our children or our parents or any other person, we will be shaken. Like the massive, impressive, much-admired stones of the temple all earthly things that come before Christ will be thrown down.
We, like the disciples, easily gawk at such false foundations. We admire our own handiwork. We may idolize another human being. We have visions of security based upon our own construction and imagination and achievement. Every day we are tempted to build our own little kingdoms and think, “ What impressive things!” Why are we surprised when wars continue to shake the world, when famine continues to plague many, when serious illness strikes close to home, when things we know and love are torn down? In love, Jesus continues to say, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
Beloved, the things of this world that appear solid and secure will not stand. On the other hand, the person who appears powerless and weak will stand forever. Jesus spoke these words about the temple on Tuesday of Holy Week. He would soon step forth to establish a foundation that will never be thrown down. The writer to the Hebrews described that foundation, “…we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened up for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)
As Jesus left the temple for the last time, all of the signs He warned against were directly in view for Himself. The religious powers were deceived by Satan and intent on throwing Him down. The political kingdom looked out for itself and Governor Pilate washed his hands, agreeing to Jesus’ destruction. On the day of His death, nature itself convulsed as the sky grew black and the earth quaked. Those He called His brothers, His disciples, betrayed Him and denied Him and deserted Him as He was put to death.
Beloved the key to all that is solid and sure in His flesh, His holy embryonic flesh knit together in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary, His youthful flesh perfectly obeying the Father’s will, His ministerial flesh baptized in the Jordan and withstanding all of Satan’s temptations, His crucified flesh, hanging in naked, bloody, agony on Calvary, His dead flesh, laid in the garden tomb. “We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh…” His flesh and blood are more unshakable than stone! He was born to bear judgment day ahead of time, to take into His body the curse of the world. He was born to bear your sin – all of it. There is no greater ruin than the ruin left hanging on the tree of the cross. What is it that you have done or left undone that His once-for-all sacrifice does not satisfy? Behold the holy Son of god thrown down to suffer the torments of hell in our stead. How foolish we are ever to doubt God’s love for us or His desire for us or the standing He gives to us in Christ.
The Word made flesh is God’s real house and He is in this house of worship for you! The true temple of God that was thrown down in total ruin sprang to life again in total victory. He had said to those who demanded a miraculous sign, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it again” (John 2:19). And rise He did! And wash you with pure water He did! And come to you today to teach you and to feed you He does!
Remember the guide in the Hermitage and her question to me about the Prodigal Son in the Hermitage. Is it true that God forgives like that, she asked, even someone who formerly openly denounced Christ? The answer I gave her is “yes”, absolutely yes! For He has said, “I will remember their sin and their lawless deeds no more.” In Christ you sins are thrown down, drowned in the depths of the sea. In Christ, Satan in thrown down, no longer able to accuse you before God.
“The one who endures to the end will be saved.” But, you say, she certainly didn’t endure under Stalin. And you say, you certainly haven’t endured the way you desire. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God”. “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them whit in the blood of the Lamb.” That dear woman did not return to the church and receive God’s gifts in vain. Nor do you receive God’s gifts in vain.
You see, those who stand firm to the end are real sinners who stand firm only by the real forgiveness of the Lamb of God. By His strength you are now His wonderful stones, living stones, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Himself the chief cornerstone. What a wonderful stone He is! God help us to marvel at Him and invite others to look to Him for life and blessing that will never be thrown down. In many and various ways God spoke to His people of old by the prophets, but now in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. Amen.
posted by Luther Memorial Chapel at
11/26/2006
