Passion Week Devotion #6
Text: Matthew 24:1-14
Pastor Adam Batts
“Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 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.”
3 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 end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 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. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
9 “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. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 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.”
The last two verses from yesterday’s devotion told us of Jesus lamenting over the nation of Israel because of the desolation that was sure to come to Jerusalem’s house, the Temple and the leaders and authorities associated with it, because that nation had rejected the Son of God.
Now, here in chapter 24, we see Jesus physically leaving the temple before it’s destruction (that eventually takes place in AD 70). And he heads for the Mount of Olives.
This is pretty significant considering what the prophet Ezekiel saw and recorded in Ezekiel, chapter 11. Right before the Babylonians decimated Jerusalem and the first Jewish temple in 586 BC, the Glory of God left the city and went east to a mountain - the Mount of Olives.
Now, Jesus leaves the second Jewish temple and takes the same route that God’s glory did back then, revealing that the grandeur of the second temple will soon end also. And Jesus tells his disciples as much when he says to them, “there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down”.
I want you to consider what Jesus is saying here about the coming destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in light of His own coming death in just a few days. The two are closely related.
Jesus Himself made this connection in John 2, when He cleansed the temple. John 2:19–21 “Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.”
Jesus is leading us to the truth that this physical structure, the temple, will soon be replaced. In predicting the end of the temple, He’s bringing to light the fact that it will be replaced by something else; by someone else, by Jesus himself.
Revelation 21:22 connects these even more while describing the New Heaven and the New Earth, speaking of The New Jerusalem: “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb”.
As the disciples consider all they’ve been told about the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, they have questions. They come to Jesus privately to find out when these things will take place and what the signs will be for Jesus’ coming and the end of the age.
But Jesus doesn’t necessarily answer their questions. He knows that the most important thing for his disciples isn’t that they might know when “these things” would be, but that they might be prepared for and preserved from the peculiar evils of the time, no matter when they came.
His message to them then (and by extension, to us now) was this:
Many false prophets will arise and seek to lead you astray, don’t let them.
There will be wars, famines, natural disasters, and things like the COVID-19 virus; but don’t be alarmed, these are just the beginnings of the pains.
·You will face tribulations, and many will hate you for my name’s sake, and many will fall away and betray and hate one another.
BUT, the one who endures to the end will be saved.
And this gospel (good news) of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
What a promise! He doesn’t tell them the gospel could be preached, or should be, or might be. He tells them it WILL be preached. And it will be preached to the whole world, all the nations.
Isn’t that what we’re called to do as His followers? Proclaim the gospel in all the nations. What is the gospel? Well, at least part of it begins with Good Friday.
I believe it’s fitting that we end today with verse 14, speaking of the GOOD news on this GOOD Friday.
Others may call it Holy Friday, Mourning Friday, Silent Friday, High Friday, Sorrowful Friday, or Long Friday. Why so many names? Well they all seem to describe a different thought or emotion attached to this particular Friday. Because it is a day that should be filled with a wide range of thoughts and emotions.
Let’s quickly recap the events that took place on the Friday before Jesus’ resurrection.
Probably sometime just after midnight, Jesus was betrayed and arrested. Then He was tried by the Jews before Annas, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin. He was also tried by the Romans before Pilate, then Herod, and then by Pilate again. While Herod and Pilate could find no wrong in him, Pilate ultimately delivered Jesus over to the people to be crucified. Jesus was crucified on the cross from approx. 9am to 3pm. Around 3pm, Jesus breathed his last breath and yielded up his spirit. Later that evening, He was buried in the tomb.
We read in more detail in Isaiah 53 that:
Jesus “was pierced for our transgression and crushed for our iniquities”
Jesus “was oppressed and afflicted”
Jesus “poured out his soul to death”
it was the will of the LORD to crush Jesus and put him to grief”
And then in Matthew 27:46 we read that God forsook his own son while the sins and transgression of His people were laid on Jesus. There was a separation between the Father and Jesus that took place. The physical pain He endured paled in comparison to this separation. It’s unimaginable what Jesus endured…
After being reminded of what took place on this Friday, we should be appalled. I hope the severity of what Jesus endured hasn’t been lost on you. I hope it hasn’t become so familiar to you that the thought of it doesn’t make your stomach knot up anymore.
Naturally, after hearing all of this, many would now ask the question…. “Why in the world would someone call this GOOD FRIDAY?!?!” What’s so GOOD about the Friday when Jesus sacrificed His life for us? Well… Everything!
Because Isaiah also tells us that “He bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors”. In other words,
Our iniquity was laid on Jesus
Our transgressions were placed on Him
And the result of this bearing of sin and pain and suffering is that “many will be accounted as righteous”. It is only through Christ’s sacrifice that one can be counted as righteous, and therefore be reconciled back to God.
And though Jesus’s soul was anguished, it was out of the anguish of His soul that he saw this result and was satisfied.
Yes, it was the will of the Lord to crush him. But we’re also reminded that when Jesus offered himself up freely as an offering for our guilt and sin, that he would see his offspring and prolong his days and that the will of the Lord would prosper in his hand.
And the Father said, my servant, Jesus, my Son, shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.
And He was and is now worthy of all our praise and all our adoration.
So, what’s GOOD about Good Friday? Everything. Because on that Friday, God sacrificed His only Son to accomplish his GOOD purposes, to atone for our sin, and bring about salvation for His children. There is no greater love that could be shown than the love that was shown on that Friday, the day which refer to as GOOD.
That is the Good News of Good Friday that we are called to proclaim to the whole world and all the nations.
We hope you’ve been encouraged and challenged today during this devotion.
We’d like to encourage you in some ways to pray:
Pray for courage and endurance through these difficult times.
Pray that the gospel will continue to be declared to the ends of the earth and that hearts would be softened to receive it.
Pray that many who come to Oak Valley Church in the days ahead would turn from their sin and destruction and toward the love and grace of our Savior.
“May the Lord bless you and keep you and give you peace…”