Göttinger Predigten im Internet

Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:1-14, ESV).

NOT ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER

Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived much of his life in a post-World War I Germany. Even after the war, this Germany still had many of its greatest cathedrals and monuments intact. Dietrich also spent some time in London and in New York. He saw many of the finest edifices and structures that humanity had built. Some were weathered and beaten by time and war, but there they stood as fitting monuments to what mankind had accomplished. Each one of us also has seen some special structure, whether it be the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben, or the local cathedral. When we touch the cool stone, or trace with our eyes its massive outline, we look upon these structures with fondness and admiration. For these man-made things represent what we hold dear.

So today in our reading, when we hear the words of Jesus, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2), we can understand well the disciples’ surprise and shock. It was more than buildings bombed and landmarks destroyed that Dietrich Bonhoeffer viewed with horror as Nazism plunged the world into a new war. It was society, reason, all human dignity being blown from their very foundations. Unthinkable chaos! Unimaginable horror! But this sort of chaos and destruction is exactly what Christ tells us to expect. He tells us very directly that wars, famines, and earthquakes will shake our world. We, like Bonhoeffer, will see many buildings and all they represent destroyed. With the disciples, we might well ask, “When will these things be?”

But when the disciples walked toward Jesus, with the temple still gleaming in the setting sun, why did they ask this particular question? When they asked, “When will all these things be?” (24:3), why were they actually asking about a time? Were they asking out of the fear of God? Were they asking in trust and amazement? No, they were asking this question because they were hoping against all odds that this day might not come. They were hoping that in many ways this destruction would be delayed. Or if the destruction couldn’t be postponed, they wanted to know whether this, turning the world upside down, would really affect them. They thought that maybe it could be an issue for their children, or their enemies, to worry about, but not them. Perhaps they could simply place it out of thought and mind.

When we ask this question, “When will these things be,” why do we want to know? Is it because we want to make sure that we have enough time to go out and help the poor? Is it because we want to make sure that we have enough moments to proclaim God’s word to the nations? Or do we ask this question for some other reason? Do we want to know when the world will end so that we can be like a student who waits till the last minute to prepare for the final exam? Do we want to know so that our securities, our anchors in this world, can be kept to the very end? Do we want to know when the world will come to an end so that we do not have to put away our lusts, our covetousness, our gossiping, our idolatry, all of our sinful deeds? Do we want to be assured Satan will remain chained just a little longer so that we’ll never have to confront—at risk of our lives—the unleashed effects of man’s total corruption, that no Adolf Hitler will ever control our own little world and time? Yes, this is exactly why we ask. Repentance is hard and difficult. Our hearts would prefer to put this off for another day.

But the Lord did not answer his disciples’ question. Instead, he said, “See that no one leads you astray, for many will come in my name… And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars” (24:4-6). Christ does not give them a date. He does not let them off the hook. He does not tell them to avoid repentance and save it for another day. He does not say, “You have time.” Instead, he says very clearly, “SEE,” “WATCH,” “LOOK, for false prophets come in my name.” Wars are coming. Nation will rise against nation. Famine and earthquakes will arise. And these tragedies are not signs that the end is near. No, it is quite the opposite. These horrendous things come now because they are birth pains. They assure us that the end is coming, but, just like contractions, they hit again and again and again. So, KEEP WATCH, LOOK for these tragedies, and REPENT. The hour comes and you do not now when.

Do we hear the loving tone behind the Savior’s words? Jesus does not give us his words so that he can sit up in heaven and laugh at our deplorable state. No, he does not wish the tragedies we face to pound us into the ground. He knows full well what is in store for us. He gave us these words for us to repent and be comforted. He said, “When you see, do not be afraid, for it is necessary for these things to be” (24:6). Our Lord and Savior gives us his word about the future so that we do not fear.

Where Christ’s word is present, darkness must turn to light and fear to comfort. With Christ’s comforting words, when these catastrophes occur, we will not be like some observers after 9/11. When those two planes crashed into the Twin Towers, quite a few asked, “How could God have let this happen?” Instead, we will be like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who could still praise God’s name in his prison cell. Christ’s hope-filled words show us that pains and tragedies are the signs of the coming of the end of the age. He has not forsaken us, but remembers us when we suffer; whether, it is 40 A.D. or 4,000 A.D. Jesus tells us instead to repent and be watchful: “For the end is not yet.” (24:6c).

This then leads us to ask the next question. If these horrible things occur, then what will endure? What will survive? This question in itself is incredibly important for us. We spend our entire lives placing everything we have into things that will hopefully endure. We place our money into savings accounts and blue chip stocks. We place our children into the best schools. We put our time and energy into our homes and our material things. We put all our pride into our nation and its accomplishments. These worldly things look very secure to us. In fact, when they are compared to the Christian Church, the church of Christ looks weak and frail. Christ even says about the church, “You will be hated by the nations for my name’s sake” (24:9b).

Christ shows us that appearances are quite deceiving. He says very directly, “Lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (24:12). Our children may go astray. Our mutual funds can only survive so long. Our homes and material blessings, no matter how much effort is placed into them, will still in the end fall apart. Even the great monuments of our time, and the nations they represent, will eventually crumble into dust. These things of the world look victorious, but instead their power will be cut away, their love degenerate into nothing. They will be like a vine removed from the branches.

Jesus Christ says, “The one who endures to the end will be saved” (24:13). Endurance does not come from mankind. True endurance only comes from one place. It comes from the One, Jesus Christ, who had the endurance to become man and carry our sins. He had the ability to walk to the Mount of Olives. He had the strength to walk from there to the cross. He had the power to be crucified. He had the stamina to die for us. He had the strength to rise for us. On the last day, when all earthly temples will be washed away, only one thing will endure, and that will be the cross of Jesus Christ.

But the world so often chimes back in and asks that all-important last question, “Who’s in control?” For we, along with the sinful world, would like to say we are. After all, we have made the buildings. We have built our lives. We have shaped our own futures. We have become mature and independent. But Christ shows us directly how much control we have with every earthquake, with every tsunami, with every hurricane, with every burnt and flooded downtown, with every desert war-zone and every tyrant, with… with… with… It’s a joke to say mankind is in control. It’s the cruelest prank to say what we build will survive when it cannot even pass through a storm or can be wiped away in one war. It is pure blindness to say our meager funds and abilities have any influence on the future.

So Christ does not point us to a date. He does not point us to a building program. He does not point to the evolution of man and his self-autonomy. No, instead Jesus Christ points us solely to the one thing that is in control. He points us to his Word, the Gospel of the Kingdom. This Gospel proclamation declares only one thing, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This word about Jesus Christ has power. It can bring life to that which is dead. It does not appear to have power by the world’s standards, but Christ says so clearly, “And this Gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (24:14). No matter what persecution or laws the nations of the world try to impose against the Gospel, it will still endure.

The reason the world is prolonged—and this Gospel message endures—is for this truth to reach your ears. Jesus Christ knows full well that what we build does not last. He knows that everything we have striven so hard for can be destroyed in one storm. He knows that evil men will bring our hopes down with a plane or a bomb. For this reason he CAME, DIED, was BURIED, and ROSE. So that he could give to us something eternal, something that has endurance, something that does not end. He came to give us his word of life. His word was placed upon us at our baptism, given to us through preaching, and placed in our mouths every Lord’s Day. This life he gives to us endures. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but [his] words will not pass away” (24:35).

So for us the question is not about when the world will end. Jesus Christ upon the cross has redeemed all of time. When we were baptized the date of the world’s ending ceased to be our real concern. For in Christ’s baptismal waters we have been brought into his time. We have been brought into the time of the cross. And this time of Jesus Christ will never end. We don’t stop being his children. We don’t cease living. Even if we were imprisoned and died at the hands of wicked men, as did Dietrich Bonhoeffer, we still do not truly die. “For [we] do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28a). We have been give the sure hope, in Christ’s words, that we “who have been baptized into His death… might walk in the newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4). This Gospel message of salvation, which has the power to outlast evil empires and to energize those who oppose them, is what will bring all believers to the eternal temple of Jesus Christ.

So these questions about the end of the world needn’t alarm the children of God. The world may say it has control, but it does not. Only Jesus Christ, the same God who called this world into existence, who redeemed it through his blood, and will call it to its end, has all control and all power. This Jesus Christ, in his Word, indeed answers our questions. And he, the only stone which will remain standing, gives us the only foundation on which to build.

Joshua Haugen