Proper 28
Daniel 12:1-3; Psalm 16; Hebrews 10:11-25; Mark 13:1-8
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I.
I would like to draw your attention to the parallelism in Daniel 12:3:
And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
Those “who are wise” and those “who turn many to righteousness” are the same.
Wisdom, that is to say right doctrine, right teaching, right learning, is not to be acquired merely for one’s own gain.
This is not insider trading or a “hot stock tip.”
This is wisdom — knowledge — founded in the truth about who God is.
Wisdom and learning are spiritual qualities and learning and teaching are spiritual acts.
This is especially true when it comes to teaching children.
The begetting and procreation of children is a physical act. Training and teaching them is a spiritual act.
To build a school, especially to build a school in a place hostile to learning, is a way of living out the implication of Genesis 1:3, “Let there be light.”1
Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy word is a lamp to my feet.”
It should be clear that I am only talking about the kind of school that is committed to teaching the truth, the lux et veritas, light and truth, or simply the veritas if you went to Harvard.
Like the heavenly Jerusalem, they need neither the sun nor the moon to shine on them in Cambridge (Revelation 21:23), such is the radiance and personal illumination possessed of every cantab.
The problem is that most schools are not committed to teaching the truth and haven’t been for a very long time.
This is the nature of Jesus’ warning to His disciples in today’s readings and to us today.
II.
Today’s readings are talking about the end of the old covenant, the end of the apostasy in Israel.
Jesus has concluded His disputations in the temple and is now leaving it with His disciples.
Mark 13:3 tells us He is headed to the Mount of Olives, which is “opposite the temple.”
Jesus has been arguing against the temple, its authority, its corrupt system of sacrifices, and all those who are complicit in that corruption.
Now, He takes up a symbolic position against the temple.
He sets His face against it: “he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple.”
In the exchange that follows with His disciples, Jesus makes it clear that the truth He teaches must be guarded and defended.
At first, the disciples praise the temple, its splendor and its architectural magnificence.
In Mark 13:1 they exclaim, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”
Jesus then predicts their destruction.
Mark 13:2, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down.”
This destruction will mark the definitive end of the old dispensation, the old covenant.
Now, those of us who are involved in — who hope and pray for, and are now working towards — the revitalization of an old, historic church like ours, need to hear the implicit warning here.
As cherished as our building is, God has no need of it.
He is not impressed by wonderful stones and wonderful buildings.
God is more concerned about what is taught in these wonderful buildings. He is concerned for the truth.
That is why Jesus warns in Mark 13:3-8 of the false teaching that will spread — false teaching that claims to be the truth about Jesus — before the temple is destroyed.
Mark 13:5, “And Jesus began to say to them, ‘Take heed that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, “I am he!” and they will lead many astray.’”
I have two points to make about this.
First, “Take heed that no one leads you astray.”
This is because in the run-up to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, false teaching will be everywhere.
Therefore, those who want to be saved from the coming destruction should find and trust the good teachers.
These are the “those who turn many to righteousness” of Daniel 12:3 from our first lesson today.
In fact, Jesus is teaching the teachers.
He wants His disciples to be those “who turn many to righteousness” during the confusing times that are about to envelop them all.
Second, “Many will come in my name.”
Here, Jesus is warning against false Christs and false gospels.
It’s always uncomfortable to have to refuse an invitation, but that is exactly what Jesus is saying His followers need to be prepared to do.
This is made explicit in our Psalm for this morning.
Psalm 16:4, “Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows.”
Or, as we sang it in stanza 3:
Their sorrows shall be multiplied
Who worship aught but Thee;
I share not in their offerings,
Nor join their company.
Just because someone says he is a Christian doesn’t mean he is.
Just because something purports to be “gospel” doesn’t mean it is.
There are many “wonderful buildings” with the name “Christ” and “church” etched in stone upon them that we would do well to avoid, refusing to “share in their offerings” and “join their company.”
The practical effect this warning from Jesus had on His disciples was to prepare them to contend for the true gospel against those who were going to falsify and misrepresent it.
In the verses that immediately follow our reading today, Mark 13:9-13, Jesus gives some specifics about how His disciples should conduct themselves when they face persecution for telling the truth.
This warning that followers of Jesus will need to contend for their faith against a hostile world lays bare the human need for courage.
The disciples would likely rather stake out an easier middle ground: keep the temple, keep the wonderful buildings and stones, and work to reform it.
But God’s mind was made up, as foretold long ago by His prophets, that the temple must be destroyed.
I won’t go into this now, but look up Zechariah 14 and John 7:37-39 to read more about that prophecy and why Jesus confirms the prophecy of Jerusalem’s destruction while sitting on the Mount of Olives.
For now, let’s look at where this leaves us, since much of this prophecy was already fulfilled nearly 2,000 years ago.
In our own day, the truth that Jesus teaches must be used to challenge errors in all fields of human knowledge.
For us, this means that Christians must become teaching saints.
As Paul writes in Hebrews 10:23-24 from this morning’s reading, “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering… stir up one another to love and good works.”
We are called not only to be faithful believers but to be faithful teachers of the Christian faith.
III.
But this takes courage, and courage is often in short supply.
It’s not made explicit in Mark 13:1, but I suspect that the disciples, having just witnessed Jesus go head-to-head with the Jerusalem power structure in chapter 12, are feeling a bit scared.
“And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!’”
That sounds a bit like nervous small talk to me. Does it to you?
And Jesus’ prediction of the temple’s destruction does nothing to let His disciples off the hook.
It’s as if Jesus is saying, “You are going to have to bear witness to the truth about Me and about Who I am.”
The disciples (or, at least this one disciple who is speaking) engage in what psychologists call bargaining.
“Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”
The disciples are saying, in effect:
“All this is good, right? We can keep this, right?”
“The buildings have architectural and aesthetic merits.”
“The Historical and Preservation Society will be on our side.”
“After all, we know that it’s the people inside who are corrupt. Won’t this place be our pride and joy once we (meaning you, Jesus) kick the bad guys out?”
Drain the swamp, anyone?
But it is us lowly saints who are called to have the courage to teach the truth in the public square.
Only by keeping faith with God’s truth will we get to keep our “wonderful stones” and “wonderful buildings.”
We find that courage in Christ.
He is the one, who, in the words of Daniel 12:3, will “turn many to righteousness” by working directly on their hearts.
IV.
When Jesus sits opposite — and opposed — to the temple on the Mount of Olives, He foreshadows His own death on the cross.
Hebrews 10:12 says:
But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet.
I will have more to say about what it means for Jesus to sit down at the right hand of God next week, which is Christ the King Sunday.
For now, it is enough to say that by His death, Jesus fulfilled the meaning of the temple sacrifices and rendered their continuation unnecessary.
This was a necessary first step as the time of the old covenant drew to a close.
Being a faithful Christian teacher requires courage, which can be had by knowing that Christ died to write our names in the book of life, alluded to in Daniel 12:1 and confirmed in Revelation 20:12:
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done.
V.
Now we must become teaching saints, saints who teach other saints.
Teaching is a spiritual act. It works on the heart and mind. It is the means by which the Holy Spirit converts the sinner’s soul.
Each of us can have a role to play in teaching the necessary truths that may lead to someone’s conversion, but the Bible says that husbands and fathers in particular are responsible for teaching their wives and children (1 Corinthians 14:35; Ephesians 6:4).
Remember, teaching is a way of applying the implications of Genesis 1:3, “Let there be light.”
If begetting children is physical procreation, then teaching is spiritual procreation.
This is why great teachers throughout history have often been called “father” by their students.
But it isn’t enough to teach the truth.
We must also oppose false teaching.
That will bring us into direct conflict with the false teachers of this world, many of whom occupy positions of authority and power. Opposing them will cost us.
But Jesus does not give us the easy way out.
He did not preserve the temple in all its magnificence, throw the scoundrels out, and hand over a cleansed institution to His disciples for safe keeping.
Instead, He commissioned them to go “make disciples of all nations…” teaching them to observe all that He taught and commanded (Matthew 28:19-20).
Don’t be confused: this means teaching the whole counsel of God, the entire Bible.
Scripture has only one author and it is the Word incarnate, Jesus Christ, Himself.
Teaching the whole counsel of God has led many a missionary to his death and many a preacher to be driven from his pulpit.
The whole counsel of God challenges the lies and errors taught in every human field of knowledge.
Therefore, the teaching saint is not limited to one subject.
Since God is the God of all, all knowledge and all facts are to be explained and corrected by God’s revealed word.
St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:5, “We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
This is why courage in the Christian is so important.
The sinner does not like to be corrected.
Let us pray.
Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them; that, by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Preached on November 17, 2024 at the First Congregational Church, Woodbury, Connecticut.
Questions for reflection and discussion:
Wisdom and learning are not to be acquired for one's own ____________.
Learning is a ____________ quality and teaching is a ____________ act.
To build a ____________ is a way of living out the implication of Genesis 1:3, “Let there be light.”
Jesus predicts the destruction of the ____________.
This signifies the end of the old ____________.
Before this destruction comes, ____________ teaching will be rampant.
Psalm 16:4 warns against fellowship with those who choose another ____________.
It takes ____________ to teach the true Christian faith.
In praising the temple, the disciples may have engaged in what psychologists call ____________.
By His death, Jesus fulfilled the meaning of the temple sacrifices and rendered their continuation ____________.
Teaching the truth may lead to someone’s ____________.
This means teaching the whole ____________ of God, the entire Bible.
Parents and Grandparents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents or the minister after church. Older Children – Discuss with your parents one or both of the following: 1) Who are the primary teachers in your life? 2) To whom are they accountable?
(1) gain; (2) spiritual; (3) school; (4) temple; (5) covenant; (6) false; (7) god; (8) courage; (9) bargaining; (10) unnecessary; (11) conversion; (12) counsel
Joseph Dov Soloveitchik and Arnold Lustiger, Sefer Devarim, Vol. 5 (New York, NY: OU Press, 2018), 57.
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