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- [00:02]
Drew
Hey, Bible readers.
- [00:03]
Tara Leigh Cobble
I'm Tara Leigh Cobble, and I'm your.
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Drew
Host for the Bible Recap.
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Tara Leigh Cobble
Today's reading has a lot in common with tomorrow's reading. So today we'll zoom in on the first half, and tomorrow we'll recap the last half. One of the things that helps me through these passages is to look at the context. First, who is this message for? Some of that is up for debate. Second, what in this text is information, and what in this text is instruction? As we read through Matthew's account of this tomorrow, aim to use those lenses for the context. You can ask yourself things like, is Jesus telling me something God is going to do? Or something the disciples were supposed to do? Or something I am supposed to do? If he's telling us what God is going to do, it's information. If he's telling us what the disciples were supposed to do, it's still just information as far as we're concerned. But if he's telling us something we're supposed to do, it's instruction. Let's jump in. Jesus has been teaching in the Temple, and as they're on their way out the door, one of his disciples is like, isn't this place the best? And Jesus just reigns all over his parade by saying, yeah, these buildings are awesome. Enjoy them while you can, because they're about to be rubble. This is the Temple. It's a huge complex built with massive stones, the largest of which weighs 570 tons. That's more than 1 billion pounds for just this one stone. We see this stone when we do the Western Wall tunnel tours in Jerusalem, and it's enormous. If you were with us in the Old Testament, you probably remember what a challenge it was to get this temple rebuilt. But how? God provided the funds for supplies and protection for the workers. He made it all happen. And now Jesus says God's going to make it unhappen. Jesus says the Temple will be destroyed. Less than 40 years after he prophesied this, Rome fulfills that prophecy. The Jews will mount an ongoing revolt, and Rome will retaliate by razing the Temple, just like Jesus said. We also read about this in Luke 19, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. In that passage, we saw that the Temple's destruction is judgment on Israel for rejecting Jesus. So which is it? Why is the Temple destroyed? Is it the revolt of the Jews? Or is it Israel's rejection of Jesus? Yes, God uses Rome as a tool in his hand to bring judgment on Israel. We saw God do this lots of times in the Old Testament. But it's one of the first times we see this idea in the Gospels. By the way, we read a similar sounding prophecy earlier in John 2:19, where Jesus compared his body to the temple. In that passage, he said, destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days. That prophecy refers to his body, and John clarifies that point in the verses that follow. So it's a different situation. But it's easy to confuse these two prophecies since they both refer to temple destruction of one kind or another. After they leave the temple, they cross the valley and walk up to the Mount of Olives. Jesus is with some of his inner circle and they start asking him questions about when all this stuff is going to go down and what the signs will be that it's about to happen. We discussed this briefly yesterday, but it bears repeating. First, he spends more time on the part of their question that deals with the signs, but never gives them a straight answer about the time. That's important to note. In fact, he tells them in verses 7 and 13 that when a lot of terrible things happen, they're going to assume it's the end. But it's not. He says these are just the beginning of the birth pains. Second, a lot of the instructions Jesus gives them seem to be for these specific people at this specific time. Then he goes on to talk about something called the abomination of desolation. Most scholars believe this is a person, not a thing. But who or what is it and when will that happen? Scholars are divided on this. Some think it refers to Rome taking over Jerusalem 40 years later when the temple is destroyed and the Jews have to flee Jerusalem in persecution. Others think it pertains to something still yet to come, in the final days before God unites heaven and earth. If you're in the camp of this already happened, then this text probably doesn't alarm you. You probably believe these warnings are instructions are given to the disciples. And here's what Jesus says to them. He says people will pretend to be him and they shouldn't believe those people. He says there'll be wars and rumors, but they shouldn't be afraid. He says they'll have to answer to kings, but God will give them words. He says they'll be hated and beaten, but ultimately saved. But if you're in the camp of this is still yet to come and you find that scary, then here are a few things I want to point to in this text that will hopefully give you some peace, because this means those instructions apply to you. Jesus says not to fear the end. In verse 7, he says, do not be alarmed. In verse 11, he says, do not be anxious. Bad things will happen. But you have a kingdom assignment. In the midst of it all, your priority is to talk about the good news of Jesus. After all, like we talked about yesterday, he's the one who does the preserving. Jesus also says to stay awake and stay focused on the main thing. Don't be lulled to sleep by the comforts and the ways of the world. Matthew's account of this in 2414 says, this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. So every time there's another hurricane or mass shooting or tragedy and you pray, come, Lord Jesus. Remember that God has given you a role to play in that our cry, come, Lord Jesus, meets its match in our call. Go share Jesus. This may sound cheesy or old school or just awkward to you, but what this boils down to is talking about who you love, just like you do with everything else you love. Our relationship with God is personal, but it's never supposed to be private. Because the thing is, Jesus says the gospel must go everywhere, and we're the ones who have it. To share in the conversation Jesus is having with his disciples, he promises that God's elect, those people God has chosen to be in his family, will endure hard times, but that he'll protect them from eternal harm. And that was my God shot today. God's eternal protection of his kids. Jesus says it's impossible to lead the elect away from the faith, because, remember, nothing can snatch you out of his hand. But he gets painfully honest about it when he says, if anything could lead the elect astray, it would be this thing I'm describing. But it's not possible. Jesus reminds the disciples again of the same thing he told them at Caesarea Philippi, the gates of hell, that the church will last. He said it in a place where he was encouraging them to storm the gates of hell. And he's saying it again in reference to the time when it may feel like hell itself is storming them. Before they encounter this, he wants to reinforce his encouragement to them. He says, you'll see opposition and even death. But this thing I'm building, you're a part of it, and it's going to outlast all this. So before and during and after the trials, take heart. I've got this. I'm so glad we're a part of an unstoppable kingdom. But I'm even more glad that he's our king. He's where the joy is.
- [06:53]
Drew
Hey Bible readers, if you're looking for a seamless way to stay connected to Scripture even when life is hectic, check out the Dwell Bible app. I'm constantly on the move, and with the Dwell Bible app, I can listen to the Bible in a way that's easy and engaging. That's why we partnered with Dwell to.
- [07:10]
Tara Leigh Cobble
Bring you our New Testament plan on.
- [07:12]
Drew
Their app, so you can dwell in God's Word even when you don't have time to sit down and read. I highly recommend this for anyone who is looking for a way to deepen their Bible engagement, especially on the go to get started now go to dwellbible.com new or click the link in the Show Notes.
- [07:34]
Tara Leigh Cobble
I love D Group D Group International.
- [07:37]
Drew
Is another ministry that I started that's different from the Bible Recap, but they work together really well. Here at tbr, we read the whole Bible every year, and in D Group we zoom in on specific parts of.
- [07:48]
Tara Leigh Cobble
The Bible for 12 weeks of deeper study. D Group is an international network and it meets in homes and churches around.
- [07:55]
Drew
The world, and we have online D Groups too. Our website has everything you need to know about dgroup, what dgroups currently exist, how to join or start a dgroup, the schedule of our future studies, and.
- [08:06]
Tara Leigh Cobble
Even how your church can partner with us.
- [08:08]
Drew
Check it out@MYDGroup.org or click the link.
- [08:11]
Tara Leigh Cobble
In the Show Notes.