Closing Testimony

21. I know you’re surprised that
I would steer the vehicle back onto the path of Luke 21. You have good reason to doubt
me, having taken so many hiatuses over the years, but I was actually
eager to get back into this passage, having begun it several weeks
ago. We are, as you know, in the Olivet
Discourse, Wednesday of Passion Week, the triumphal entry on
Monday, arrest and crucifixion on Friday. This is Wednesday
of Jesus final week of earthly ministry, one of the last ever
opportunities to formally instruct his disciples. As we have seen,
it is this section, the Olivet Discourse is the longest answer
to any question that Jesus ever gave. The question again in response
to their admiration of the temple, as we’ll see in a moment. Jesus
tells his disciples, as they admire the temple, that the temple
is soon to be destroyed, utterly destroyed. That provokes a series
of questions from the disciples. Remember, not just one question,
but a series of questions recorded variously in the Gospels. Both
Luke and Mark record the first two. When will these things happen
and what will be the sign when these things are going to happen?
Now, while the first question, as we have seen, is a general
question, approximately when the second one looks for very
particular signs of when these things will unfold. But as we
have also seen, Matthew introduces two additional questions. And
I do think that it’s important to synthesize these passages,
these treatments of the Olivet discourse. And you’ll see that
I place a premium on synthesizing those here in a moment. Matthew,
as I said, introduces two additional questions. You see, the problem
was the disciples were equating the destruction of the temple
with Jesus return. And Matthew records the disciples
as asking two additional questions, namely, what will be the sign
of your coming? We think that it’s tied to the
destruction of the temple. We want to know when you are
coming back. The second question that Matthew
records that neither of the other two gospel writers do is what
will be the sign of the end of the age? They clearly equated
all of these things together. Jesus doesn’t. He doesn’t go
there. The problem was that they incorrectly assumed that the
end of the world, the end of the times would immediately follow
the destruction of the temple. And Jesus doesn’t present it
that way. And neither does history. Looking back now, we know exactly
when the destruction of the temple was, 70 A.D., total destruction. We looked at it. We spent time
on it exactly as Jesus had prophesied the destruction of the temple.
But as Jesus begins to answer these questions, he isn’t focused
on the temple. The temple isn’t the most important
thing in view. Rather, it is his return and
the end of the age. The destruction of the temple,
even though it occurred Immediately, historically, some 40 years down
the road, as dramatic as it sounds, it is a secondary issue, a secondary
matter to Christ here in this context. Even though Jesus has
just foretold of the destruction of the temple, the temple and
its place in prophetic history is a distant second. The most
important thing for Jesus is what Matthew records as being
the end of the age. While the disciples ask for signs
of the end of the age, Jesus doesn’t even immediately provide
that information. In fact, you might even say that
Jesus first tells them what won’t be. As we’ve begun to look and
consider false signs. The problem was his disciples
were very unclear about the future, very unclear about what would
unfold. And because of that, they were vulnerable and Jesus
didn’t want them to be caught off guard. And so Jesus, in order
to help them, issues a series of warnings about false signs. And we’ve looked at them. There
would be false messiahs. There would be those clamoring
and claiming to be the very messiah himself. And Jesus says, don’t
run after them and don’t be alarmed. The end is not yet. There would
be is what we what we saw scripture referred to as false labor, earthquakes
and famine and all of those kinds of things. And the world has
always been worried when those things multiply, thinking that
the end is near. Jesus says, don’t panic. They’re
signs, but they’re false indicators. It’s not going to happen immediately
after those. We also took some time to look
And we’re actually in the midst of looking at false incrimination. There will be a time of great
persecution, as we have seen upon the church, that is an indicator
of. The nearness of the Lord, but
it is a false sign, if you take it immediately speaking, those
things will not happen immediately after the persecution and the
church has always fallen for this one, too. We’ve fallen for
earthquakes. We’ve fallen for false messiahs.
We have fallen for the persecution of the church as being a harbinger
of the immediate return of Christ. And Jesus says it’s not the case.
It’s not the case. In order to help. His disciples,
Jesus issues these series of warnings. False messiahs, false
labor, false incrimination. We’re in the midst of that consideration
of the false incrimination as we speak. And I want to look
at the passage in its entirety, but all we’re going to focus
on is the latter verses. If you would, I want you to take
your bulletin. Because if you look only at your
bulletin, you’re going to walk out of here thinking that either
my word processor is messed up or I’m messed up. But something
is clearly amiss. As I indicated a moment ago,
it is vitally important to synthesize. To at least examine in light
of the other gospels to synthesize this Olivet discourse. And that
is the attempt that I’ve made in the verses put before you.
If you will notice at the top of the page, Matthew’s scriptures
are in italics. Mark’s scriptures are just plain
old everyday. A print, and then in Luke’s gospel,
those scriptures, those passages taken directly from Luke’s gospel
are in chapter or in boldface type. What I hope to do in coursing
through this is present to you. A synthesis of these teachings
that Christ provided. In order to set the tone, let’s
go through these if we could. Where Jesus says, but before
all these things. And I take that in order of importance,
as we talked about, they will lay their hands on you and will
persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons,
bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity
for your testimony. The gospel must first be preached
to all the nations, Mark adds. So make up your minds not to
prepare beforehand to defend yourselves. Mark issues also this caveat
that says when they arrest you, not whether, but when they arrest
you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand what you are
to say, for I will give you utterance, Luke records, and wisdom, which
none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. But say whatever is given to
you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but it is the
Holy Spirit. At that time, Matthew gathers
in. At that time, many will fall
away and will betray one another and hate one another. But you
will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and
friends, and they will put some of you to death and you will
be hated by all because of my name. Yet, not a hair of your
head will perish. By endurance, you will gain your
lives. What we come into in this synthesis
of these gospel accounts, what we come into is what I would
title the closing testimony. The closing testimony, the final
witness of the saints in history, the final opportunity for the
proclamation of the gospel that each of us has the final opportunity. If you would back all the way
up, And I want to look first at the circumstances leading
to our witness. And really, this is by way of
review. If you look at verse 12, which is there at the top
of the page in bold, we saw that Luke recorded Jesus words in
in the most plentiful fashion. He he had the fullest account
of this particular section. We noticed that essentially these
were the details of the persecution of Christ Church, the details. We knew that the church would
be persecuted. We know that they’ll be hated and all of these things.
And Luke here provides the greatest amount of detail as such. He tells us first that there
will be apprehension, that we will be arrested, they will lay
hands on us. That is the language of arrest and seizure. We saw
that there would be persecution, not anything in particular, just
a general word for persecution. The world will be against us
and they will show themselves that they are against us. We
saw that there would be incarceration. And I told you back when we preached
this a month ago that this is a very broad sweeping term to
gather up all kinds of information. Incarceration, when it says that
they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, we saw
that Matthew and Mark both added detail here. They will deliver
you to tribulation. They will deliver you to the
courts. They will deliver you to the synagogues. They will
deliver you to the prisons. You are not your own. You are
being incarcerated. You’re being taken here and there
against your will. That’s all I intended there.
The fourth thing, the fourth detail that we get in the persecution
of Christ Church is oppression. Mark tells us here that we will
be flogged, beaten, just exactly like Jesus will. And when I say
we, I don’t mean every one of us. I don’t know that every one
of us will live to see that day. But it does say that Christians
will face that. And in that sense, I say we. Fifthly, and this one people
really didn’t like, several really didn’t care for this one. You
will stand before kings and governors. And I call that humiliation.
I don’t mean to say that in any sense we have done anything wrong
and we have cause to be humiliated because of our sinfulness, but
we are being taken against our will. We’re being stood before
authorities that are not our ultimate authority. And we are
being remanded and and accused and falsely accused. You will stand before kings and
governors. That is not a good thing. Proverbs says, Do you
see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings and
Proverbs means that in a great way. If you do your work well,
God’s going to put you in great places. That’s not what this
means. Apprehension, persecution, incarceration, oppression, humiliation,
execution. Matthew says that you will be
killed Christians have that to look forward to. When the world
starts to come apart at the seams, they will take their vengeance
out on Christians, they will take their vengeance out if they
could get their hands again on Christ, they would. They can’t.
And so the the nearest equivalent is Christians and they will exact
their vengeance upon Christians. You will be killed. And then
finally, and this one almost seems It almost seems unnecessary
to say, except that God’s word included it, you will be hated.
Yeah. That’s a pretty adequate summation
of what was given before apprehension, persecution, incarceration, ultimately
execution, and to say that will be hated. And you know what,
while that news is hard, we are looking at it in context. Well,
that news is hard. It’s difficult. It’s unpleasant
news to think that if you’re a Christian in that day, you
will either know of someone or see someone or be someone that
is treated in this fashion. But it isn’t all bad. Because
there’s a divine purpose to it. Behind the suffering and the
hardships that Christians will face in those days, the divine
purpose is gospel opportunity. That is our purpose in this life.
That is why we pray that God would extend our country for
a little bit longer. That is why we pray that Christ
would hold back for just a little bit longer on his return. It’s
an opportunity. It’s always an opportunity for
the proclamation and the advance of the gospel. As one said, in
spite of persecution and trial, believers are not to be distracted,
but they are to see in these distresses an opportunity to
bear witness. Now, promise. If you don’t take
this perspective now, while it’s easy, you will never take that
perspective when the fires of persecution begin to heat up.
Never. All these persecutions. are designed
to give the faithful. Those who are faithful to Christ,
an opportunity, a gospel opportunity to proclaim their Redeemer, to
proclaim that redemption is in Christ and Christ alone, to proclaim
the Messiah, as we have just celebrated. Secondly. That is. the circumstances leading
to our witness. But I want to look secondly at
the opportunity itself to witness. Look at verse 13, where Luke
just simply says it will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.
Jesus makes this sound so simplistic, right? He has just dumped on
them the heaviest information that these disciples have ever
heard. Ultimately, culminating with
that little word, you will be hated. This is not what they
signed up for. To be executed, to be persecuted,
to be hated, they wanted an earthly kingdom, they thought they had
this earthly king. And now you say it all of this
persecution somehow is going to lead to an opportunity for
our testimony. What that it points back to is
the entirety of verse 12 and everything in it, all of that
persecution, all of that trouble, all of that heartache, all of
it is going to lead to an opportunity. An opportunity of proclaiming
the Lord Jesus with our mouths. Of telling people of what our
hope is, what anyone’s hope is. As one Puritan said, it’s the
sufferings of the Christians shall prove to be an evidence
of the truth of Christianity. If the first professors of Christianity
had always received riches and honor and temporal rewards as
soon as they became Christians, the heathen world might fairly
have doubted their sincerity. Do you hear what he says? Look
at you. Got a prize when you became a
Christian. How long do you think it would
take the world to say, well, of course, of course, people
are going to proclaim the Lord. They get a prize. But when the world saw thousands
of them. Patiently enduring tremendous sufferings rather than give up
their religion, the site must have supplied a very strong proof
that it was true. A man here and there might be
found who, in a fit of enthusiasm or fanaticism, might endure suffering
and death for a false religion, which he foolishly believed to
be true. But when myriads suffered and
died for Christianity in the early days of the church, an
argument was supplied for the truth of Christianity, which
her enemies have never been able to overthrow. The willingness
to suffer alongside of Christ is a powerful witness. Jesus says there will be many
who have that precious opportunity. In spite of whatever persecution
they face, in spite of the fact that they will be on trial before
synagogues and civil courts, even before kings or governors,
We can’t be taken off course. We can’t allow ourselves to be
distracted. We can’t allow ourselves to lose sight of the fact that
this is a golden opportunity. The testimony that we will give
that we are called to give is a testimony to the truth of the
gospel, that there is forgiveness and salvation by the Lord Jesus
Christ and through him alone. We are called to honor the Lord. We are called to honor our Redeemer
by proclaiming him even in these difficult moments. Point number
three. Point number three, if you’re
coursing through there, you know now that this is not a passage
that was included in Luke’s gospel. Rather, it is Mark that gives
us this little detail that the gospel first must be preached
to all nations. The gospel must first be preached
to all nations. The third point is the context
of this testimony is the great plan of God. This isn’t an accident. This isn’t just people taking
matters into their own hands and oh, by the way, if you go
through this while you’re at it, give a testimony. This is
God’s plan. Be ready for it when it says
it must. That indicates a necessity. The gospel must first be preached
to all the nations. It is fully in accord with God’s
desires. This is God’s plan. And yet. Don’t mistake the fact that God
has a plan that in the midst of great persecution, he does
desire those open their mouth. He does desire that we would
proclaim Christ. But don’t expect a worldwide
conversion. That’s not promise. That’s not
part of the promise. It’s interesting, Matthew’s gospel
records in the same context a little later, Matthew 24, 14 says the
gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world.
And you ask me what that looks like. Does that mean we’re going
to find every man on every hill and every cave near every beach
and river? I don’t know what that looks
like. It’s God’s standard. The gospel of the kingdom shall
be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations,
none accepted. And then the end will come. We’ll
get to that passage here in a couple of weeks. Fascinating turn of
events, isn’t it? That no sooner does that last
soul hear the gospel preached, the end will come. We’ll get
there. What Jesus sees here and predicts
is that there is going to be such a worldwide proclamation
of the gospel. It’s not going to take place
in just a couple of days. It won’t take place, you know,
as he’s talking to the apostles in just a matter of a few years.
He’s obviously talking about great periods of time, centuries
will unroll And the gospel will continue to be preached. People
will continually be born and there will be a continuing cause
to take the gospel worldwide as we will see. As we delve into
further into the Olivet discourse in weeks to come, this truth
that the gospel would be preached to the whole world, and it’s
the great indicator of the beginning of the end. That is it. Through natural or supernatural
means, human only or human and divine witnesses, the gospel
ultimately will continue to be preached until it reaches the
end of the world. And when it does, that is the
trigger. You ask, OK, so where are we
now on that timeline? I need to I really need to know
this. I have no idea. I have no idea. As I already indicated, it’s
God’s standard. It’s God’s timetable. I have
no idea. No one does. How this standard
can be measured of when the gospel has been fully preached to the
whole world, to every nation. God knows. It’s his standard,
the truth we want to focus on this morning is that his truth
is marching on. The gospel is and will continue
to be preached. It is an absolute certainty as
a part of God’s plan of redemption. By whom? Well, certainly by these
disciples, certainly by those evangelists and pastors and those
Christians who followed that every faithful Christian is given
an opportunity to be part of this great proclamation. Even
if you just slip a tract into someone’s hand or bring somebody
to church. Or tell someone from your heart
what it is you believe in, you have just participated in the
great plan of God. Calvin said it this way, the
gospel will maintain its ground until it be spread throughout
the whole world. This might indeed appear to be
incredible, but it was the duty of the apostles to strive vigorously
to discharge their office as to the objection brought by some
that to this day, not even the slightest report concerning Christ
has reached the distant nations. There’s always that right. Everybody
always comes up to you when you say, oh, you know, this is the
plan. Well, what about the people in such and such? And my reply
to that is always, yes, that’s true. What about you? Why don’t
you go tell them? Calvin continues and says this
difficulty may be speedily resolved. Christ does not absolutely refer
to every portion of the world and does not fix a particular
time, but only affirms that the gospel would be spread to the
farthest bounds of the world before the day of his last coming.
And you say, well, I certainly know missionaries throughout
the globe. We have never been in a day where
the gospel of Christ has been taken to such great extents. How close are we? I have no idea,
but we’ve got to be close. Fourthly. Not only the circumstances
leading to our witness and the opportunity to witness the context
of the witness, the very plan of God, but fourthly, the delivery
of the witness itself, the delivery of this testimony. And this occupies
a great portion of the data here in this. Passage. The delivery of the testimony.
Where Luke records Jesus as saying simply this, so make up your
minds not to prepare. Beforehand, to defend yourselves,
that goes against everything we’ve ever been taught since
we became a Christian, right? Because since we became a Christian,
we immediately had to start memorizing things and memorizing verses
and thinking through arguments and and shoring up our apologetics
so that we would be ready in any situation and any foe to
advance the cause of Christ. And this goes completely against
it, doesn’t it? Seems to. What he tells us is don’t worry
about this form of testimony that you’re going to bring. Don’t
worry about being elaborate. Don’t worry about exactly what
your outline is going to be. Don’t worry that it’s not alliterated. Right? I had to be honest. As one said, the right application
of this precept must not be overlooked. It was not intended to encourage
ministers in neglecting their preparation for the pulpit. He’s
not telling any of you, if you have the opportunity to preach,
oh, just get up there and speak from the heart. Well, the people
need to hear. People need to hear from God’s
word, from a skillful technician that has gone in and exegeted
accurately the passage and brings a word for the people. He’s not
talking about pastors. He was talking about those who
were the persecuted Christians caught up in the fires. of the
very end itself. And he says, don’t be anxious.
Don’t be anxious. There’s a plan when they arrest
you. Mark records not whether, but
when. It’s not like this plan is a
possibility. Things might get a little ugly
there in the end. It’s going to happen to someone. It’s going
to happen when they arrest you and they hand you over. You no
longer control where you want to go. It’s not like you can
opt out of this program. When they arrest you and hand
you over, do not worry. Don’t fret it. Don’t worry what
you’re going to say. As one said, in days of sore
trials and persecution, lying in dungeons, perhaps having been
mercifully beaten, unmercifully rather beaten, the followers
of Jesus might be wondering what they should say when they are
brought to trial. I’m sure there’s many of us that
would sit here today and begin to jot down a little speech,
right? You’re faithful, hardworking
people. You want to be prepared for anything.
Jesus says, don’t worry about this. Don’t worry about this. We have this curious habit, don’t
we? Mentally developing our arguments over time and honing those against
whatever foes we might face. The kind of arguments we never
lose, right? Well, here in this context, the warning is against
even worrying about that. Don’t even worry about it. Don’t
worry about what you’re going to say. Don’t worry about having
a well-crafted argument. Don’t worry about having a flawless
delivery. Don’t worry about it at all.
Leave it to God. Why? Luke says Luke records Jesus
giving us the answer, for I will give you utterance. I’m going
to give you the words to say I will give you the wisdom. I’m
going to tell you what to say and when to say it. I’m going
to give you the right moment. The spirit’s going to direct
you and you’re going to be able to speak and say exactly what
I want you to say. And I know this scares some of
you to death, it sounds so charismatic, doesn’t it? That utterance refers to the
power of speech, wisdom refers to the choice of matter and form.
As one said, the promise is reminiscent of that given to Moses when he
drew back from the task of uttering God’s message. Remember, Moses,
oh, no, you know, I’ve got a speech impediment, not me. What this
includes is not only the inward faculty of thought and the outward
power of uttering thoughts in words, God says, you know what,
I’m going to give you the message, I’m going to move you to speak. Jesus says that he will be the
one doing it. God is going to send a message
through us to whoever it is he deals with. And why should we
be that surprised at this when this is exactly what God has
done with the prophets throughout the history? Of redemption. Think of Moses again. Moses,
in Exodus four, eleven and twelve, the Lord said to him, who has
made man’s mouth? Who are you to say you’re not a preacher?
Who are you to say that, boy, you’re you don’t know how to
alliterate, you don’t know how to you know, you haven’t had
the oratory classes. Quiet, who makes him mute or
deaf or seeing or blind, is it not I, said the Lord. Now, then
go, God says to Moses. Enough excuses, enough discussion. Go. And I even I will be with
your mouth and teach you what you are to say. What about Jeremiah? What about Jeremiah? Jeremiah
wasn’t exactly eager for this deal. And it says the Lord stretched
out his hand and touched my mouth and the Lord said to me, behold,
I have put my words in your mouth. It’s always been the case with
God’s servants. Isaiah six. Isn’t this the first
one that you thought of? One of the seraphim flew to me
with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar
with tongs. And he touched Isaiah’s mouth and boom, he was off in
ministry. I don’t know how it’s going to
happen. Is it going to be dramatic like that? I don’t know. But
what Jesus tells us is don’t worry about it. If you are placed
in that situation under these particular circumstances, Let me handle it. I will give
you utterance and get this utterance, which none of your opponents
will be able to resist or refute. I was watching an old movie over
Christmas. And it was funny as I watched
this deal, this one actor had all the great lines. And then
as I got to the end of it, I realized Yeah, I mean, this guy had, remember
like in Dragnet, Joe Friday, remember? His was the last word
in any conversation. And then they moved to the next
scene. That’s how you knew they were going to move to the next scene.
Oh, Joe, he’s talking. Well, now we’re going to move.
The funny thing was, I got to the end of this deal and noticed
that not only was he an actor, he was one of the writers. Not
only was he an actor and a writer, he was one of the directors.
I thought, how perfect. No wonder he had all the perfect
lines. See, we do that, too, don’t we?
We rehearse these kinds of scenarios and these conversations in our
minds, right? Because we want to be able to
have the last word. Especially after the fact, after
we blow it or after we stammer or stumble, we think of these
great comebacks and oh, man, if I ever get in that situation
again, I know exactly what I’m going to say. Here’s your opportunity
right here. All you have to do is nothing. All you have to do to get ready
to do this is nothing. Don’t prepare. Don’t rehearse. Just wait. Wait. And God, if
he puts you in that predicament, will give you the utterance,
the right words to proclaim. And once you have spoken, it
is the last word. Better than any Hollywood writer
could ever do. When you speak, it’s over. No wonder Luke rather Mark says
whatever is given in that hour. Say what is given in that hour,
for it is not you who speak, it is the Holy Spirit. What Jesus
commands here is that his followers in those given moments of opportunity. Obediently speak what is given
to them, there is no provision for inserting their own material.
There is no opportunity here for allowing us to adjust the
form of the message or to insert our own ideas. We are to speak
what God provides. Point five. In considering this closing testimony,
the final witness of the saints, not only the circumstances leading
to our witness, And the opportunity itself, the context of the testimony,
the great plan of God, the delivery of the testimony. With all clarity
and confidence, fifth, the reaction to the testimony, how is this
going to go over? How is it going to go over when
you speak the last word? Well, let’s consider Matthew
records the briefest and most succinct. In verse 10 of Chapter
24 of Matthew’s Gospel, it says at that time, and I part this
verse right exactly here at that time. Many will fall away, there
are many that are not going to open their mouth, there are many
that are already going to be in the process of falling back
and falling away and they will betray one another and hate one
another. Well, now this has taken a very unfortunate turn, hasn’t
it? Matthew records Jesus simply
characterizing the advent of the last days as apostasy, betrayal
and contempt. First of all, apostasy, when
he says many will fall away, Christianity for some is going
to become a liability. It’s going to become uncomfortable
and difficult. And, you know, I signed up for
something pleasant and nice. And I like going to church and
dressing up and I like singing and I like being in the choir
and I like these things. And this is not what I signed
up for. To drag on my lifestyle, it cramps
my style, I can’t handle the persecution, the hardships, the
heartaches that come with this Christianity. The problem is
they didn’t count the cost. They never thought it would get
this bad. And so they are tired of the
hassles associated with Christianity, tired of the persecution, the
loss of social standing, the loss of friends, they quit. They
turn their back on it all, or if they don’t abandon it completely
in reality, that’s what they do, they quit. They no longer
passionately follow Christ. Christianity is no good to them
anymore. It is troublesome, problematic,
outmoded. As one said, they had professed
to be Christians because of the peace and joy that they found
in a difficult world, and instead they find persecution. In such
a situation, nominal Christians readily find faith a trap and
they seek to get out of it promptly. They found Christ to be a stumbling
block in time. Either from the new truth that
they discovered or the new scenario that they find themselves in
or the fact that he is delayed so long in returning, where is
he anyway? Not only apostasy, but betrayal.
Watch this. The sickest thing to me of all
of this whole subject is that as I understand it, as it seems
to me, It is the formerly professing Christians who will take the
lead role in betraying other Christians. Many will betray
one another. Look at the passage, many will
fall away and will betray one another. This is one of the one
and others that we didn’t really bank on, right? We like love
one another. We like serve one another. We
didn’t really count on betray one another. But it’s not a command. It’s a sad turn. They will play
the role of Judas towards God’s people. First, they fall away,
and then since Christianity is no good to them, it’s no good
for anyone. It’s troublesome. And anyone involved in it should
be outed. Like I said, this is just a sick turn. It is Judas
multiplied so far, said one. from fulfilling their function
as the servants of God, they will actively assist the evil
people of the world by handing them over those with whom they
have been associated in the church. I mean, it’s shocking stuff.
Now, Mark and Luke both greatly expand on this idea of betrayal.
And as if the news as if the news couldn’t get any worse,
I mean, after all, it’s once professing Christian brothers
who will betray you. The other gospel writers proceed
to inform us that not even blood will be thick enough. To preserve
relationships, look at what Luke says, you will be betrayed even
by parents and brothers, relatives and friends, they will put some
of you to death. Mark says a little bit differently.
Brother will betray brother to death. The father, his child,
the children will rise up against parents and have them put to
death. This is an ugly scene. Here’s the list, as I understand
it, parents will betray children, children will betray parents,
brothers will betray brothers, and it’s only reasonable to conclude
that sister will betray sister. In fact, any and all family relationship
is captured up by the term relative, right? Nobody is safe from anybody. Nobody can be inherently trusted. It goes without saying that friends
will betray friends. One pastor said so frightful
will be the hatred against believers because of their faith in the
Lord Jesus, that even some of their relatives will join in
the opposition. And it’s serious. This is serious
stuff. It’s not just that they turn
others into escape trouble themselves, although that will be a motivating
factor to receive a reward that has been a tool that has been
used throughout the centuries. They don’t even just turn someone
in to be punished or fined. Look at what it says. They betray
them to death. To a death sentence, to be murdered
in Christ’s name, like I said, it is gravely serious. But that’s
not even all. Apostasy, betrayal, contempt,
and we end exactly where we ended with that other list. Hatred.
You’re going to end this list with hatred. It’s exactly what. Jesus had already declared in
this context, 24-9 said you will be hated on all nations because
of my name, Matthew 24-9. Hatred, I mean, it seems. Simple
after all that we’ve been laid out, but it’s a great thought.
It’s a great way to sew up this thought. As one said. Universal popularity
is not a thing Christians should cuff it, it’s not what we should
seek. And yet a great, great portions
of the contemporary church is absolutely fixated on this one
great goal of being relevant. Non-offensive, we want to be
liked. By our current culture. And all of this. In the midst
of all of this, there’s still good news. Not only the circumstances, opportunity,
context, delivery and reaction. But the blessing of the testimony,
Luke records Jesus as comforting his followers with these words,
and I’ll close with this. Yet not a hair of your head will
perish by your endurance. You will gain your lives. All
of this. And still there’s good news.
There is good news. It is a divine blessing in the
midst of all of this that not only the privilege to proclaim
Christ, but in doing so, divine preservation and eternal salvation. God’s not going to let you go.
That’s not going to let you just wander aimlessly and. All for
not. Mark simply records it this way.
The one who endures to the end, he will be saved. We have a great privilege. We
have a great privilege. As Christians to live in such
an exciting time when so much of the gospel witness has gone
forth and what a great call to be faithful right up to the end,
we don’t know that all of us will be there. We don’t know
that all of us will last until that day, but we know it’s close. We believe that it’s close. It
must be. And all the more a cause for
us to cry out for the grace to be faithful in that day that
we, too, would have a closing testimony. A testimony of faithfulness
and a testimony of Christ, let’s pray for that grace. Our merciful God, we know. Like any. Thing that we might
accomplish in this world, we know that we could never do this
on our own. Lord, there is even great trepidation
in our hearts at the very prospect of this. Should it come to unfold
in our lifetime as we believe that it may? Lord, we pray to
be faithful. We pray for the grace to be faithful.
And if given that opportunity in that dark day, we pray that
you would be glorified, that Christ would be proclaimed. We
thank you and we praise you in Jesus name. Amen. you