Mark 13:1 - Beauty and Hypocrisy

The disciples marveled at the beauty of the Temple, yet Jesus saw beyond its grandeur to the spiritual hypocrisy within. In this episode, we examine Mark 13:1-2, where Christ foretells the Temple's destruction, warning of the dangers of empty religion. Drawing from historical accounts, including the writings of Josephus, we consider the significance of the Temple’s magnificence and the sobering reality of its downfall. How does this serve as a warning to the church today? Join us as we explore the contrast between outward beauty and inward corruption, the call to true faith, and the ultimate righteousness found only in Christ.

🔗 Listen now and be encouraged in the truth of God's Word!

Transcript

86 - Mark 13:1 - Beauty and Hypocrisy

Intro

• If you have your Bibles please turn with me to Mark 13 and find verse 1.
  • As many of you know my brothers are both Baptist pastors…
    • In the last several years they have also preached through the Gospel of Mark.
    • So as I began studying and preparing to preach through this chapter I asked them how they handled it.  
    • One of my brothers looked back at his notes and told me that he preached through Mark 13 over the course of three weeks.
  • I share that with you just as a comparison because after today we will be two weeks into this chapter and we will have made it all the way through verse 1.
    • I do not think it is good or bad but just found it interesting and thought I would share that with you.
  • We have not gotten in a hurry thus far so why rush through this chapter?
• In regard to Mark 13…
  • Today we have the privilege of stepping back into this chapter as our Lord pulls back the curtain on what is to come.
• Knowing that, allow me to briefly remind you of the purpose of prophecy and how we are to understand and interpret it in our day.
• This was a big part of our overview from last week and I will be reminding you of it again in the weeks to come.
  • The purpose of prophecy is first and foremost to bring Glory to God and Christ revealing to us that our God is completely Sovereign over His Creation.
    • This is the primary reason we have been given chapters just like this…
  • The secondary reason we are given prophecy is to comfort the Church and prepare the church for the days ahead.  
    • Jesus tells us what is to come so that we will know and not be surprised by what we see.
      • This again points us back to God's Sovereignty and reminds us that as His children we are in His Glorious Hand.
    • Even as it seems that chaos is unfolding in the world around us we can know that it is not outside of God’s watchful eye or the control of His Creation.
  • Then, the final purpose of prophecy is a sort of calling to action of the church.
    • We have a general idea of what is to come in the days ahead, we know what eternity brings.
    • Both of these realities should push the church to action, reminding us that our purpose is to make disciples, to preach the Gospel, and to do so in the farthest corners of the world. 
    • Our ultimate goal is to preach the Gospel where it has not been preached, chapters like this should fuel that desire even more. 
  • Keeping these purposes for this text in our sights will only serve to elevate this prophecy as we walk through it together.
• Therefore I urge you to keep it in mind over the next several weeks we are found in Mark 13.
  • Today we will begin our reading again at verse 1 and read through verses 1-2 and make two examinations of text. 
  • First we will see…
    • The Beauty of The Temple - Vs. 1
  • Then we will see…
    • The Dangers of Hypocrisy - Vs.
• With that let us read our verses together and jump right in.  

Mark 13:1-2

• To properly understand the starting point for these verses we must step into the shoes of someone who lived during the time of Christ.
• Someone who attended the Temple, sacrificed there, worshiped there, and someone who treasured the…

The Beauty of the Temple - Vs. 1

• Since the Temple was destroyed in 70AD we can only imagine the structure and read what was written about it.
  • In view of that let us turn to the words of a famous Jewish historian and priest, Josephus. 
    • Born in 37 AD he would have grown up seeing the finished temple as well as lived through the destruction of Jerusalem.
    • Consider the Temple as a structure for a few moments.
      • First, consider that the Temple in Jesus’ day had taken over 60 years to complete.
        • 20 of those years was the building of the initial Temple, we see this documented in the Old Testament
        • Then just before the time of Christ it was being expanded, and would have been completed just a few years before His ministry. 
      • The expansion itself took 46 years to complete, which is probably why the apostles pointed out its beauty.
    • It would have certainly been something to behold, so much so that it was considered one of the great wonders of the Roman world.
  • Simply knowing these things about this second Temple can help us to understand what we read in verse 1, but I feel as though we must take it a step further and read the account of someone who witnessed it firsthand.
    • From the pen of Josephus he writes about the Temple…
      • “The exterior of the building wanted nothing that could astound either mind or eye.  For, being covered on all sides with massive plates of gold, the sun was no sooner up than it radiated so fiery a flash that persons straining to look at it were compelled to avert their eyes, as from the solar rays.  To approaching strangers it appeared from a distance like a snow-clad mountain; for all that was not overlaid with gold was of purest white…”
    • Can you imagine such a structure?
      • Sitting on top of a hill in the capital city, anyone could see it from a distance and be amazed at its glissing.
      • Is there anything in our area that compares to such a thing?
        • Something that takes a lifetime to construct, that has been built over several generations.
    • More than just simply the beauty and construction we must also consider what it represented…
      • It was the central place of worship for the Jewish people.
        • It was the only prescribed place they were able to go and offer sacrifices to atone for their sins.
      • The apostles were certainly not in the wrong in marveling at the structure.
  • Not only was it beautiful, but it was also constructed of some massive stones, Josephus writes of this as well, he writes… 
    • “...Some of the stones in the building were forty-five cubits in length, five in height and six in breadth.”
      • Now, if you are like me that statement means very little to you, I have no point of reference for what the measurement of a cubit is.
    • So let’s break it down into feet…
      • The length that Josephus describes would be 67 feet long.
      • The height would be 7 and ½ feet.  
      • Then the width would be 9 feet in our measurements.
    • Can you imagine a stone used in construction that is 67 feet long, over 7 feet tall, and 9 feet in width?
      • The closest thing we could imagine in our day that would be close to those dimensions would be a modern shipping container.
      • Though it is not a perfect fit, it is not as long and not as wide but does sit a bit taller, it will still do the trick for us to consider this massive structure.
      • We have all witnessed these types of containers. 
    • Can you imagine a structure built in the ancient world with such massive stones?
      • Although it is not just the size to consider…
    • The weight of a stone that size would be, depending on the material, somewhere between 339 tons and 380 tons.
      • Or, if elephants are more meaningful to you it would be somewhere between 50 and 60 elephants or the weight of a 747 airplane.
    • Though still hard to comprehend, let me remind you that…
  • The point of sharing all of this information is to try and place ourselves in the shoes of these apostles.
    • They are walking out of this structure, maybe it is as the sun is sitting and it captures their eyes.
    • They marvel at the beauty of it, marvel at the grandeur of it.  
    • They walk beside the stones that caused them to feel like ants…
  • They are looking upon something that took a lifetime to build, it would have been a beautiful thing to behold.
• Which in of itself is a very ironic thing to consider…
  • Something that was beautiful on the outside, beautiful from a distance, but within its walls they are found opposing the God of the Temple.
    • Consider with me…
  • Jesus had just spent a day within the walls of the Temple being questioned by the religious leaders of the day.
    • They had spent a day before the Son of God within the Temple as they tried and tried again to trap Him in His words.
    • They opposed His teaching, they sought and planned to kill Him and some of it certainly took place within the walls of that beautiful place.
  • The Temple stood at this time as a perfect illustration of the hypocrisy Jesus fought against throughout His ministry.
• That is what we must turn our attention to at this time… 

The Dangers of Hypocrisy - Vs. 1

• We can look back on the Temple as an example of the dangers of hypocrisy and the final outcome of it.
  • Think about the Words of Christ from Matthew 23…
    • Matthew 23:27-28 - “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
  • It would do us well to consider the context for these verses that I just read.
  • Matthew gives us the indication that Jesus spoke those words from the Temple on this same day that He tells us of the destruction of the Temple.
• What an interesting connection, the people that opposed Jesus and worked within the Temple courts knew how to “outwardly appear beautiful”, but inwardly they were full of “all uncleanness”.
  • This stands as a warning for us today, let us not be as they were, let us not be hypocritical.
    • We have talked about this a lot over the last several weeks but that is because it keeps coming up within the Gospel of Mark.  
  • So let us not be wiser than the Word of God and instead give pause once more to this warning…
    • If we are merely putting on a show week to week without a real relationship with Christ then we are no different than those who Jesus was most critical of.
      • We are nothing more than a beautiful Temple for which the Son of God has departed from and for which is only awaiting judgment.
    • Individually this is a terrifying thought and a terrible thing but even more so when it is a corporate problem.  
      • Let us realize that there does exist extravagant church buildings today that are nothing more than beautiful tombs.
      • J.C. Ryle makes this point well in his commentary on Mark, he writes…
        • “Let us learn from this solemn saying, that the true glory of a Church does not consist in its buildings for public worship, but in the faith and godliness of its members. The eyes of our Lord Jesus Christ could find no pleasure in looking at the very temple which contained the holy of holies, and the golden candlestick, and the altar of burnt offering. Much less, may we suppose, can He find pleasure in the most splendid place of worship among professing Christians, if His word and His Spirit are not honoured in it.”
      • In other words, if Christ was displeased and unimpressed with the Temple in His day how much more so would He be in our day if we are guilty of the same sins.  
        • I assure you there is not a religious building in our day that compares to the glory that was found in the Temple of old.
      • Therefore, if Christ was unimpressed with its beauty the only way that He will not have the same displeasure for us is if we glory not in our outward beauty but rather in our obedience to Him.  
    • However, let us not swing so far in other direction that we neglect carrying for what we have been given.
      • Just as our Lord is not honored in our empty beauty He is also not honored in our careless neglect of what He has entrusted to us.
        • We must be good stewards, using our resources wisely while at the same time those very resources not becoming a white washed tomb.
      • The balance is found in the final words of the quote I just shared by Pastor Ryle…
        • We must be about yielding to His Spirit and honoring His Word.
    • Not simply in our speech but also in our deeds, may we be known as the people of His Book because we obey His commands.  
  • There is one final caution that exists in these opening verses regarding the Temple. 
• It was beautiful on the outside but empty within, as we have discussed, but the final consideration we must make about this wonderful building was that it did not last.  
  • In the same way, hypocrisy will find its swift destruction one day as we step into eternity.
    • If we are play acting…
    • If we are not genuine believers…
    • If we are merely putting on a show…
  • We are nothing more than a beautiful Temple that is headed toward swift and total destruction.
  • Again, this massive and magnificent Temple was completely laid bare…
    • Jesus says of it in verse 2…
      • “There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
        • Jesus’ words were fulfilled in 70 AD as Titus conquered Jerusalem.
      • It is worth considering how completely they destroyed this structure.
    • It is reported that his soldiers, driven by greed, pulled the stones apart to reclaim the melted gold. 
  • Jesus' words were indeed fulfilled in this way and so continuing in our illustration we must consider that the same end will be found for the beautiful hypocrite. 
• They will not be able to stand.
  • On the day of Judgment standing before the King of kings and Lord of lords they will be laid bare.
    • It will not matter how beautifully they lived if they lived separate from the Son of God.  
  • You see, church, let me remind you that the dividing line on that day will not be whether or not we are worthy…
    • The Bible is clear, none of us are worthy to stand before our Creator.
      • All of us, without exception, have sinned against our Good God and are due only His Just Wrath.
      • Yet, we are told, by the Grace of God, there will be those who will not be counted as sinners but be counted as saints before Him.
    • I remind you today that the dividing line between those who are welcomed into Glory versus those who are condemned to His eternal wrath is whether or not that person is found in Christ.
      • There is only one Way to stand before God with clean hands and a pure heart and it is by faith in Christ alone.
      • Upon the cross He took upon Himself the sin of man, and there He died suffering under the wrath of God for sin not His own.
        • Which is why Paul writes in…
        • 2 Corinthians 5:21 - “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
      • Just as He took upon Himself our sinfulness and paid our debt before God in full so also those who are found in Him will stand before God in Righteousness not our own.
    • We will be clothed in the Righteousness found only in Christ.
  • This, my friends, cannot be faked, God cannot be fooled.
• What we are talking about causes me to think of the parable of the wedding feast found in Matthew 22, please turn there with me.
  • In Matthew 22 we find Jesus teaching in the Temple, again on the same day that He spoke later of its destruction.
• To the masses He spoke a parable, which we will read and connect to our scripture today…
  • Matthew 22:1-6
    • Here we see our Lord illustrating with this story the outright rejection of the Messiah.
    • Jesus speaks these words in the earshot of those who are represented in these first six verses…
      • The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Scribes, the High Priestly family, and the Herodians.
      • They together rejected the coming of Christ even though He came in power and authority.
    • Now, pay close attention to the next verse keeping in mind that the words in Mark 13 were spoken later this same day.
  • Matthew 22:7
    • A simple verse looking ahead to the destruction that was to come.
    • The detailed version of this verse in Matthew is found in Matthew 24 and in our main chapter Mark 13.
      • The Temple will be destroyed, the city will be burned.
      • Judgment is coming upon the people of this city, for they have rejected their God and King.
    • Look with me though what follows in this parable.
  • Matthew 22:8-10
    • What an interesting thing that Jesus pointed out.
      • “...both bad and good…”
    • Those who seemed worthy and those who were clearly not worthy.
      • The gates were thrown open to the Kingdom of God.
      • We see this unfolding in the book of Acts as the Gospel is proclaimed in Jerusalem, Judah, Samaria, and among the gentiles.
    • All were invited, praise be to God, and it mattered not their background, their lineage, or even prior sins.
      • However, we must consider what happens next, look again with me…
  • Matthew 22:11-14
    • The closing verses of this parable have caused many questions.
      • Some have taken these closing verses to mean that our salvation in Christ is not a secure thing.
      • That if we are found to not be worthy then we can be cast out.
    • However, a cultural understanding of these verses will make a big difference.
      • In the ancient world when someone was invited to a wedding like this garments would have been provided.
      • Which means that everyone who was invited was also provided the necessary garments to wear to the wedding.
    • This is a parable that illustrates the righteousness of Christ that has been offered to us in the message of the Gospel.
      • What a beautiful thing to consider that it is not by my own righteousness that I will stand before God.
        • Rather it is the righteousness found in Christ that I will be clothed with.
      • It is not of ourselves but rather of God.
        • Which is why we read in Romans 3:26b that God is both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
        • He maintains His justice because our sin debt was paid upon the Cross.
      • He is the justifier because He is the provider, initiator, and sustainer of our salvation.
      • Therefore man is silent and without excuse, this man in the parable who has been invited has been given everything that he needs to be clothed in righteousness.
        • Yet he still stands before this King in his filth.  
        • It is also why he has no excuse and stands in utter silence.
    • It is also why we see the parable unfolding in the way that it does.
      • The man had heard the invitation, yet he refused to be truly clothed in what was offered him.
        • Considering the context of this parable I would even take this a step farther and say that the man in this position is one who thought his own clothing was good enough.
        • It was not, it never is, it is a reminder that any supposed righteousness we have is not enough.
      • It is also a reminder that we cannot play the part…
        • Which is why the man in the wedding hall that was not clothed is an example of someone who is just playing the part.
          • Maybe this man in this story lived a beautiful life…
          • Maybe he looked good when he compared himself to others…
          • Maybe he thought his own morality was enough for the wedding feast he was attending…
        • Or, if it ended up not being enough maybe he could argue his way into the banquet.;
      • Yet, these verses remind us of the tragic end of one such as this, judgment and wrath.
    • Or, as it is reflected in Jesus’ parable, the man was cast out into outer darkness where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
  • Again I feel the need to point out that Jesus taught this parable minutes or hours before He sits opposite the Temple and tells of the coming destruction. 

Closing

• It is here that we will close out our time together…
  • As we consider the beauty of the Temple we must remember that it did not last, it did not stand.
  • The same is true for us today, we may live a very moral and beautiful life, we may check all of the religious boxes but just like that Temple it will not last.
    • There is but One way to stand before God and be counted as Righteous and it is only by the blood of Savior.
    • I urge you today, consider your own life and be sure that you are found in Jesus.
  • If you are not found in Him today, place your faith in Him, repent of your sins, and be forgiven forevermore.  
• Let us pray.