The Gospel last week told us that Jesus watched the Treasury system. This Sunday, November 17, 2024, Jesus and his disciples take a seat on the Mount of Olives overlooking the entire site of the Temple of Jerusalem.
Here is the story:
1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”
2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately,
4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”
5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you.
6 Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.
7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
8 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.”
The Gospel of Mark was likely written just prior to (or just after) the events of the Jewish rebellion and the Great War between Rome and Israel that led to the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.
“Not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down” (Mark 13:2) will happen because of the system not only about the Temple but the whole colonial system of the Jewish society.
Jesus illustrated the destruction of Jerusalem as “the end of time.” His disciples and the first readers of the Gospel of Mark were part of the community who suffered thus they think that this end of time had already taken place. In Mark 13:24-26 with words of hope and help from heaven. It says, “But in those days, following that distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.”
Our present time is not far from the experiences of Jesus’ disciples and their followers.
Here we are, still dealing with the chronic economic crisis, and we are also looking for solutions. May be, at this time that the May 2025 is coming, we can hear some promises of “change,” development or progress, or even of liberation from human sufferings.
However, we should not be carried out by these promises. Our time now, is not “the end of time.” Remember this warning from Jesus in verses 5 to 8, which states:
“Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.”
From the perspective of an activist, this prophecy is still valid today. In out context, though the revolutionary situation is at hand, the reality is that the people are not yet ready for a revolutionary change. Most of the people have still faith in reform and in election as a form of a legal way of changing society. Armed uprising is a legitimate form of action to change a society like ours but many people have fear on it as it is a “bloody” war.
In the A.D. 60s and 70s were a difficult time for Christians throughout the Roman world; along with persecution, they were directly obstructed by the power struggles that followed Nero’s death and the Jewish rebellion. Wars and rumors of war ponder heavy on one’s psyche and overall well-being. These difficulties did not end with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, but could describe much of the early church’s existence. As Jesus says, these struggles and hardships are just the beginning of the end—the end that we are continuing to anticipate today.
Wars and rumors of wars around the world especially in Ukraine and Russia, in the middle east, and even the West Philippine Sea continue drawn us to be afraid of. When Jesus tells us to not be alarmed, is he recognizing that this is “par for the human course” until he comes again? I think so because war destroyed a society but a new society will rise from its ruins.
And earthquakes, typhoons, floods and famines are common reality in the Philippines. We continue to see the devastation caused by natural disasters and we’re being consistently warned of the impending crises brought on by climate change. In other words, all of the things Jesus said were coming and are still coming. His prophecy was immediate as well as overarching because he is speaking about the human and world condition until all things are made at “the end of time” or on his Second Coming.
Therein, the hope will prevail within us. The destruction of the Temple is actually a really good thing. It represents that the old order of human sin and a picture of the old society and being led astray from God, that be utterly and completely destroyed. Not one stone of abuse or power geared towards abusive gain will stand.
The Kingdom of God or a society of Shalom, a life in its fullness will be fully established, and that we can hope without fear. We can be alert without being alarmed or overly consumed with worry because these human tragedies are part of the way things Jesus had told us but “a new heaven and a new earth” will come to its reality.
Revelation 21:1-8 is the basis of this hope. It says,
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.
7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Jesus really means it: the Kingdom of God will not let any corruption stand; evil will be swallowed up and destroyed completely.
In the Philippines, the revolutionaries hold on to this truth. They might be “devastated” by the campaign of psychological and combat warfare launched by the state but as long as the reasons for a revolution is eminent there is still a reason to hope for a better future.
