By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
November 17, 2024
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Mark 13:1–8 (ESV)
1 And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” 3 And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” 5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
Over the past few weeks, Jesus has been speaking to his disciples about power. This course of discussion began in the far northern reaches of what was known as Israel, around Caesarea Philippi and he then slowly worked his way to the south. This was his final journey through Judea, and today is his final visit to the temple.
As he goes on this journey, he speaks a great deal about power. Often we miss the nuances of these discussion because we often break the scripture into smaller bits and do not often look at the continual narrative. But this discussion began in a city dedicated to the Roman Emperor and the Tetrarch Herod Philip, the son of Herod the Great that was the self proclaimed king of the Jews.
Outside this city is a mountain which from which the spring or the source of the Jordan River originates. This mountain had religious significance because of this. In many ancient religions the source of water was sacred. But in the second temple era of Israel’s history there was more to this particular mountain. They taught that Mount Hermon was the place heaven and earth connected, and that it was on this mountain that the rebellious spirits that manipulated our first parents and their offspring interacted with humankind.
We cannot prove if this actually occurred, but we can prove that there was religious significance to this particular place, as there are ancient shrines along the face of this mountain, and a cave known as Pan’s Grotto, or the Gates of Hell.
Jesus knew the teachings surrounding that place. He knew the significance his disciples may have placed on it, and it was there that he asked, “Who do you say that I am?”
Who is Jesus?
This question is the most important question we can ask ourselves. The answer to this question should direct every aspect of your life. Who is Jesus?
Once the disciples answered that question, Jesus then changed the focus of his teaching. Immediately after Simon answered that question, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” He answered Jesus’ question and Jesus said to him, “God revealed this to you, and you will be called Peter and on this rock I will build my church.”
History has argued about what the meaning of this statement is, but the reality of the context was that things changed from that moment on. The focus of the ministry changed. To that point Jesus had taught, healed, and encouraged people. He gathered a following and everyone was asking if this could be the one they hoped for. Jesus let them talk. He allowed them to wonder. He used that awe to tell stories and promote an interpretation of Torah that seemed new. But there is a flip side to this, people had their own ideas about what the Messiah was supposed to be.
Was he a conquering king, that would throw off the bonds of injustice that Israel had experienced under the rule of various pagan overlords? Was the priest that would bring all nations to God? The Prophet sent to reveal the teaching of God? Each question and answer holds meaning. And each is connected to each other. The answer is yes, and also no.
You see those answers all have baggage connected to them. They contain our own interpretation of king, priest, and prophet. But as Jesus revealed over this last journey what we expect is not exactly true.
Who is Jesus? Peter told us an answer, an answer upon which Jesus would establish the assembly of his people. But right after Peter said these words, Jesus told them that he was going to face death at the hands of the religious leaders and the gentiles. That he would be buried and that he would rise again on the third day. Peter piped up once again saying, “This will never happen.” And Jesus who called this man the rock, then said, “get behind me Satan.” Our expectations can at times lead us the wrong way.
They then walk south. They pass through the Galilee, and share a meal where a child illustrates the focus of the kingdom of God. Words are shared about what greatness is and is not. And they continue south toward Jerusalem. They pass through Jericho, that city known as the beginning of the conquest which is now the center of taxation. And they meet a blind man that was willing to throw everything he owned away to be able to see once again. And then then enter Jerusalem and they watch and listen as Jesus tells them that the widow that donated what little she had gave more than the abundance of the rich. Each step he took as he went south challenged the teachings of their contemporary culture. Each step, challenged their understanding and confused their expectations. Then they leave the temple.
“Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” one of the disciples, say as Jesus and the twelve exit. Just look at this. It is difficult for us to imagine the magnificence of Temple. The temple complex is said to have had a circumference of nearly one mile and covered thirty-five acres of ground. This is equivalent to twelve football fields. It is hard to wrap our minds around it, but to put this into perspective, Arrowhead Stadium is approximately a quarter of a million square feet, which is just over five and a half acres. The temple covered 35 acres, which would be equivalent to around six Arrowhead stadiums put together.
“Look…what wonderful stones.” The disciple says. We are not told which of the disciples said this, but I want us to consider what he means by the words. He is in awe of the temple. He is basking in the glory of the magnificence of his people. The Parthenon in Greece, that glorious building tourist flock to every year is only 25,000 square feet a tenth of the size of Arrowhead. The Great Colosseum of Rome is about the same size as Arrowhead. These we consider to be marvels of ancient architecture. The temple to Artemis in Ephesus was a bit smaller than the Parthenon and it was considered to be a wonder of the ancient world. These all pale to the greatness of the Temple. Even the great pyramid of Egypt, which is twice the size of Arrowhead Stadium is smaller than the Temple complex of Jerusalem, if we are to believe the writings of the historians. This was arguably the greatest complex devoted to religious worship ever constructed in history. And the disciple said, “Just look at that!”
Like so often over the past few weeks, as we followed Jesus from Mount Hermon to Jerusalem, the disciples just do not quite get what Jesus is saying. They think that he is their king, their messiah, and He is. But their expectations are not based on truth. Their minds are revolving around the things of mankind.
James and John seek places of honor and power, and Jesus tells them that the rulers of the gentiles lord power over others, and use force to bring people to submission. “It shall not be so among you,” Jesus tells them. The kingdom of God will not use force to convince people to believe or the offices of governments to legislate righteousness. Instead, Jesus says that the law of God will be written in their hearts. It will be bound to the forehead, and wrapped around their wrist. It is through our thoughts and our actions, being driven by the core of who we are that we will convince people of righteousness.
But today they gaze up at that wonderful building devoted to God. The building Jesus called a den of robbers. And the disciples are not thinking of God’s kingdom, they are looking at the things they built, the things their ancestor constructed. They say to themselves, surly we are great. And Jesus tells them, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” Without another word he walks away.
Imagine the shock that would have visited the disciples at that moment. As Americans we still mourn the loss of the twin towers. When I was a child I never believed those iconic buildings could come crashing down. Imagine Egypt without the pyramids, Rome without the Vatican, London without Big Ben, Russia without the Kremlin, or China without their Wall. These are more than just amazing buildings they are icons to the greatness of an empire, or the strength of a god. And Jesus said not a stone will remain.
We look at Jerusalem today, and as beautiful as the Dome of the Rock is, I cannot picture in my mind something as glorious as the Temple. I cannot picture it because very little remains.
Jesus dropped a truth bomb on them and walked away. He walks to the Mount of Olives across from the temple, and they sit together looking toward it. And the disciples ask him privately when this will happen.
I want us to try to consider what might have been going through their minds. The words that Jesus spoke were devastating. He was not only speaking of the loss of a great building. This was the collapse of an entire culture. What went through your mind when the twin towers fell? It was not just the destruction of a building but it was a wound to the American identity. We felt exposed, vulnerable, and weak. And we responded.
That is just a small percentage of the dread that engulfed the disciples at that moment. Jesus was telling them that everything they built their life on was about to crumble. The foundation of their culture was going to fail and come crashing down, and scattered to a degree that it would be unrecognizable.
We often look at this passage and we see it as Jesus’s Apocalypse. We see this as Jesus speaking of the End of time. My entire life I have listened to sermons about the end. I have been encouraged to say the sinner’s prayer so that I will not be left behind. I once spent an evening in a tree in tears, wondering if I had been left behind because my parents were not home and the sunset was very red.
I want us to take a step back. Jesus has been telling them for the past few days that their concepts of power will not be what the kingdom of God is like. He has told them that if you want to be first, you need to be last. If you want to be great, you should be a slave to all. Then he says that the temple will come crashing down. The disciples are rightfully scared, but I want us to consider the context. Consider power, honor, and glory in the kingdom of God.
“See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.”
What is Jesus speaking about?
Power, honor, and glory.
Jesus, as he and his disciples look across the horizon toward the temple, is encouraging his disciples to consider what they think is important in this world. What do we see as success? Yes, there are apocalyptic elements to the discussion because Judea was unwittingly walking straight into their own destruction. When we think of the glory of the Roman empire what is it that we see? We often think of the Colosseum and games within. They did not break ground for that building until after the fall of Jerusalem. Some would make a case that the Colosseum was built using the treasure looted from Jerusalem’s temple.
What is important to us in this world?
“And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” What is a nation? There are various ways to answer that question. But in this context it is a people group. Today we might consider it an ethnic group, maybe a race. It is some group of people that are joined together under one unifying idea or trait. Jesus is telling us that people are going to rise up against other people. They are going to struggle and battle for dominance.
“Kingdom against kingdom.” In the American mind we often equate nation and kingdom as being one in the same, but there is a difference. A nation focuses on the people, where the kingdom usually refers to the scope of influence. There can be several nations within a kingdom.
Nations and kingdoms will go to war. We will hear of it, and we will hear people talk about the possibility of it. People will use force to exert power over others. We see this every day of our lives, because that is the kingdoms of men. It is easy to see it when we look at the news and hear commentary about the front lines in Ukraine, but that is only one traumatic aspect of war. There are other form of power manipulation present in the kingdoms of men, we have just finished a battle of power that happens every four years in the United States. Sure it is peaceful for the most part, but it is a struggle for power.
But what about other nations, nations we do not think about? The nation of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Burger King and McDonald’s, or between Facebook and Twitter (I mean X). We do not necessarily see these as nations, but they have people who passionately follow and identify as loyal to the brand. We will get into arguments over the Chiefs and Raiders, or KU versus Mizzou. These are nations and we go to war. You probably think I am being overly dramatic. But not too long ago our nation was in a recession where the failure of banks threatened our civilization.
This is what Jesus is speaking about. What are we focused on? From where do we gain our identity? What will we do to maintain and promote what we find important? And what will we do if that all comes crashing down?
Nations will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. We will hear of wars and rumors of wars. We will read about corporate take overs, and bankruptcies. Bitcoin and NFT’s. Schemes and projects. “Look at the wonderful stones and buildings!”
We have become too focused on the end times when we read this passage. We want it to be far in the future so we do not really have to worry about it. Or we want it to come soon so we do not have to worry about the consequences of our actions today. But we often miss the point of what Jesus is saying. My YouTube feed is filled with videos explaining why churches are in decline, videos trying to tell us why there is such a struggle to find pastors to lead the church. We are worried about the culture war and fight against woke and other groups we see as promoting sinful lifestyles. I understand, but I want us to see it for what it really is. It is wars and rumors of wars, its nations rising against nations and kingdom against kingdom. It is man’s quest for power, influence, wealth and honor. And we have let those things grip our attention and distract us from the teachings of Jesus.
That is not how it will be in the kingdom of God, Jesus tells us. The things our world sees are great will be brought low. The things we see as powerful will be proven to be weak. The things we see as worthy of honor could be revealed as dishonorable if our attention is turned and we are lead astray. If we are to look at the Revelation of Jesus at the end of our bibles, what does John tell us the streets are made of? Gold.
We strive for wealth and power, and in the kingdom of God the things that measure wealth in the kingdoms of men is pavement, not even pavement, but packed earth or dirt. The things we strive for in the kingdoms of men are not what we should focus on.
That leaves us with a huge question. If we should not strive for wealth and power. If what everything our world says is important is not, what should we do?
Look at the things not mentioned by the world.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor, the meek, the persecuted, those that hunger and thirst.” He said, “Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the prisoner, and comfort the widow.” Jesus taught us to look toward the least of these, and in their faces you will see God. The world says, “Look, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” and Jesus says, “the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.”
Society will crumble. But people will remain. Will you be there to encourage them to walk? Or will we be the ones that they see as the source of their frustration? Let us not seek the things of this world but become people loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit and living the love of Christ with others. Let us reflect the light of God, so that those dwelling in darkness can see the image of God living in our lives. “Do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet.” We still have work to do.
Previous Messages:
Living Stones
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 03, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 2:2–10 (ESV) 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have…
Endure
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 26, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 4 (Faith and Practice of EFC-MAYM pg 61) Do you provide for the suitable Christian education and recreation of your children and those under your care, and…
Ransomed to Love
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 19, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:17–23 (ESV) 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time…
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