Take heed that no one deceives you

Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you see these great buildings?  Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?"  And Jesus, answering them, began to say:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, "I am He,' and will deceive many.  But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles.  These are the beginnings of sorrows.

"But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues.  You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.  And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak.  But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.  Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved."

- Mark 13:1-13

In our current readings, it is Holy Week.  Jesus daily teaches in the temple, and has been engaged in confrontation with various people in the leadership.  In yesterday's reading, after having discussed with a scribe the greatest commandments in the Law,  Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'  Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"  And the common people heard Him gladly.  Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."  Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.  And many who were rich put in much.  Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.  So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

 Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you see these great buildings?  Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down."   This prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled when the temple was destroyed by the Romans in the Siege of Jerusalem, AD 70.

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?"  And Jesus, answering them, began to say:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, "I am He,' and will deceive many.  But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles.  These are the beginnings of sorrows."  Jesus begins a discussion about "end times," which includes both the destruction of the temple and Siege of Jerusalem, as well as a discussion of the end of the world.  My study bible points out that in the entire passage (which will also include verses from our next reading on Monday, up to verse 23), the account of the end times is given in a reverse parallel (called chiastic) form -- the topics mentioned in the first half of the passage are repeated and amplified in the reverse order in the second half.  So this section begins and ends with a warning to take heed about false christs.  The second warning is about wars, the second-to-last (our next reading) is about tribulation. 

"But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues.  You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.  And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak.  But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.  Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved."  Here is the third warning, that His disciples will be delivered up to councils, and the third-to-last -- also about being delivered up, but this time by one's own family members.  But the very center of Jesus' prophecy here is that the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.  This is the heart of the apostolic ministry and mission of the Church, my study bible tells us (see Matthew 28:19-20). 

Jesus' warnings about the end times combine both the destruction of the temple (and the Siege of Jerusalem), and the times of the end of the world.  In an apocalyptic sense, these are mixed, as we are to understand that the epoch of "end times" truly begins with Jesus' ministry.  That is, the times in which we live, and the time since Jesus' mission on earth, have been the time of the end.  These images of destruction and conflict, of persecution and turmoil, the warnings of wars and rumors of wars, of false christs, and of all kinds of sorrows -- all of these things are in some sense, both literal and figurative, connected with His mission in the world and His return in Judgment.  Most particularly, His warnings here about persecution to come to His disciples, the preaching of the gospel to all the nations -- and betrayals by those who are closest to oneself -- all of these are connected to "end times" and the coming time of Judgment which closes the age.  The language here is legal, if we look closely, for the centerpiece is testimony.  The preaching of the gospel to all nations is testimony.  And there is direct action of the Holy Spirit:  "But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit."  We live in a time of choice, of conflict, and of testimony.  The gospel message going out into the world is one of ongoing mission.  The work of the Holy Spirit in the world is also one of ongoing "mission" -- and all of us are in the center of that mission.  There are those who die for their choice to love Christ, we call them martyrs, and martyr means "witness" in Greek.  The time of this mission and ministry is one of division and of persecution for His followers.  It is a time of choice, of making choices.   It is even a time of being "hated by all for My name's sake."   And most of all, for believers, it is a time of endurance, of enduring to the end, as Jesus says.  There are those who say that faith gives false assurance and security.  There are those for whom faith means a promise of prosperity.  But Jesus promises no such thing to His followers.  Rather He promises a time in which we are called to endure to the end, a time of conflicts and difficult choices, of testing and betrayals even by those whom we love in the world, of hatred for His name's sake.  The mission of Christ in the world to many of us today may not seem to parallel times of great persecution of the early Church and its missionaries, these men to whom Jesus speaks of the destruction of the temple and the end times.  We may live in countries where Christianity is well established, even associated with ruling or upper classes.  However, it is also true that we can indeed look around in the world today and find horrific places of Christian persecution on various continents, even genocide in recent memory.    But reading Jesus' words for ourselves, there may truly be times when in our own private lives, we find ourselves at odds with those whom we love "for His name's sake."  One may have to stand out in difficult ways from one's own social circle, regardless of what that particular personal circle is.  That Jesus begins today's reading with a prophecy of the destruction of the extraordinarily splendid temple at Jerusalem, one of the greatest wonders of the world in its time,  is a sign that we're not necessarily going to be prepared for the changes such struggle may bring us.  We find we need courage to follow our faith -- that the fragrant roses of faith are accompanied by things which are not so pleasant and invite us into a struggle rather than a pleasant walk in a park or garden.  In each of our lives, this is the time Jesus promises us, one of great rewards and depth nothing else can touch, but also one worthy of such a price as the struggle it may ask of us.