Mark 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto him Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
If you live in America like I do, you probably live under the illusion of stability. By that I mean you expect your electricity to work, you expect your institutions to work, and you expect the Constitution to work every day. Now, I’m not going to give you gloom and doom this morning, but stability is sometimes an illusion. When the power goes out for fifteen minutes, I keep flipping the light switch even though I know it is not going to work. I am so accustomed to that stability, that when I flip the switch the light comes on. But, during a storm a couple of nights ago, I realized how fragile many of the things are that we think to be stable.
If you go to Washington, D.C., you are struck by the permanence of everything. The huge granite or marble blocks that make the buildings give this illusion of stability and permanence. But that is really not the case. Our country is less than 250 years old, which in the grand scheme of things is not very old. So, much of what we take for granted as stability and permanence is not.
Likewise, the disciples took the stability they knew for that which is permanent or eternal. That is where the disciples were in Mark 13. Jesus had just come out of the temple, a magnificent temple built by Herod that seemed like it was there to stay, and one of Jesus’ disciples said to Him, “Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!” It was like going to Washington D.C. “It has always been here and will always be here.” At least that is what we think if we are limited as to our perspective. Jesus answered him, “Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” “It is not eternal,” Jesus was saying.
There is a difference between permanent and eternal. I have a marker in my desk that says “permanent marker.” Will it be around in another thousand years? No, it may be permanent, but it is not eternal. Much that we think is permanent is not. Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus what He meant. They wanted to know what and when. What follows is a lot of teaching from Jesus, some of which is history for us and some of which is future for us.
One of the touchstones of the chapter is in verse 31 where Jesus says, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” I think about the Bill Rice Ranch. We’ve been here for almost seventy years. Before that, people had a ranch here called King Ranch. Before that, the Haynes family lived and died here in the mid 1800’s. Before they lived here, it was the natives. Before that, how many thousands of years of history happened on this very ground that we think has always been the Bill Rice Ranch!
Jesus’ disciples are asking Jesus about this, and Jesus says, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not…” Nothing, save the human soul, on this planet right now is eternal save the words of the Lord. If you are looking for stability that comes from that which never changes, you are not going to find it in any institution or building that you have known. I’m not saying that tomorrow Washington D.C. will be gone. It doesn’t matter if it is or is not. In the grand scheme of things, your life is just a blip on the screen. The only thing apart from the human soul that is always going to be here is the Lord’s Word. What does that mean for you and me?
First, know God’s Word. In verse 5 Jesus says, “Take heed lest any man deceive you.” The way to protect yourself from deception is to know the truth, and the way to know the truth is to know what Jesus has said.
Second, trust God’s Word. Verse 7 says, “Be ye not troubled.” So, don’t be deceived and don’t be troubled. Life’s circumstances and our feelings change all the time, but Jesus’ words will not and do not. They cannot be destroyed. In verse 23 Jesus says, “But take heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.” So, I don’t need to be worried or taken by surprise. I need to rely on the everlasting words of the Lord.
Lastly, act on God’s Word. Verse 33 says, “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.” Verse 35 says, “Watch ye therefore.” Verse 37 says, “And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.” I am very thankful as an American living in 2020 for the stability I know and enjoy right now, but regardless of where you live or what your perspective is, the words of the Lord are the only things on this planet that are eternal. We can know them, trust them, and act on them. And we should.