Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.highlandparkbaptist.net/sermons/95917/intro-to-olivet-discourse/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Okay, as you have already noticed, if you look at the handout that I've decided on my point! of teaching or subject of teaching for I don't know how long.

[0:28] ! It'll take us. This is a tremendous passage and not just a really easy one to not only study and understand, but to teach certainly. And what I'm talking about of course is Matthew chapters 24 and 25, those two chapters, key chapters in the Gospel of Matthew, really in the entire Bible. And so I'm going to mention this a little bit later, but imagine if you've studied this passage, read this passage, and you kind of already have an idea of its subject matter, which by the way is eschatology. It's the last things, the study of last things.

[1:10] And Jesus reveals a great deal in these two passages. And so can you imagine it not being in our Bibles? It's just not there. I mean there's so much in those two chapters that explain things that are going to be happening in the future. If you take it in the future tense, and I do. And by the way, there is a lot of, well, I don't know a lot. There are several differing views concerning these two chapters and the events that are prophesied or prophesied or described there, all the way from these things have already happened to just symbolic or to being attached to other historical things that will happen all the way to this is all, well, most of it future. So a lot of different views about it. And I take it, what would be called the futuristic view that these are things that are going to be taking place except for a few things that are mentioned at the beginning here, going to be taking place in the future and all pertain to the second coming of Christ. And so can you imagine that not being there in our Bibles? And actually,

[2:31] I guess you can make a case that if the disciples had not asked the question, then Jesus answered, would not have been recorded in the Bible. So you see there, it's important to ask questions when you've got a burning question on your mind and heart. And so the disciples did and they asked the question. So we have this passage in the Bible. So we want to study that for, I don't know, again, I don't know how long we'll take. This morning I want to just take the first three verses and use those three verses as kind of a point of introduction because these three verses do describe several things that are important, introductory to what Jesus is going to teach in the two chapters. All right, so I want to go ahead and read verses one through three. That's going to be our passage tonight. And here is what the Bible says. Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple. By the way, if you remember, you remember not all that long ago in my preaching through the gospel of Luke, that this very thing is included also in Luke, you know, the disciples looking up at the temple and say, hey, look at that, isn't it marvelous? And Jesus said to them, do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down. Now, 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? All right, so there's the question that deserves an answer, gets an answer, a big answer. And so aren't you glad they asked the question? All right, so we're going to take, again, take these three verses and use them as an introduction. And then we'll, over the next several weeks, launch into this discourse of the Lord Jesus. Now, the first thing we want to perhaps identify is the location. That's number one, the location. And, you know, several things here by way of introduction may seem a little trivial. But if we're going to study a passage, we want to understand every little part of it. And, you know, there are some interesting things to observe when you look at some of the so-called trivial things in a passage. And so we begin with the location. And it's identified very clearly for us here. Verses one, if we just kind of look again at verse one and also three, then Jesus went out and departed from the temple. So that's where this all started. And as he sat, or now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, all right, the Mount of Olives. So this tells us a little bit about the location, doesn't it? Well, I mean, it identifies it by name. Now, it really doesn't tell us exactly where, but we'll kind of get into that as we go along. So the first place, first thing I want you to notice here is the place from which they came. All right, if we're going to talk about location, let's broaden the view a little bit and not look just at the Mount of Olives where this discourse took place, where Jesus gives this revelation, but kind of broaden it to see where, you know, where it all began. All right. So the place from which they came and verse one tells us that the temple, the temple. Now the temple or the term temple, that's, that's, uh, you know, that, um,

[6:34] pretty broad term. A temple was a very large place, uh, uh, in Jerusalem. And, uh, yet we don't really have to speculate about, uh, about, uh, what this is referring to. It doesn't mean that Jesus, uh, came from, uh, came from or was in the Holy of Holies or the Holy place or, uh, in some of those, uh, more inner sanctum portions of the temple, but he was in the, in, in the court, uh, in the place where, where the people would be. And, uh, you again might recall, uh, our study of Luke and, uh, Jesus spent several days teaching. And, uh, I really, again, kind of imagine that, uh, you know, he would teach maybe over in this corner of a very large, uh, court, courtyard, maybe walking and teaching, maybe stomping over one place and going to another spot and a group gathers around, you know, you can just kind of imagine. So he was in that temple, in the courtyard of the temple. Now, Jesus entered Jerusalem, uh, uh, on, uh, Palm Sunday. Uh, now there is some debate about that. In fact, I was a little perturbed at, uh, one kind of country preacher by the name of John MacArthur. I don't, I don't know if you, you, you, uh, have heard of him, uh, or not. Uh, but, uh, he, uh, really makes a case that actually the triumphal entry, uh, was, uh, on Monday and not on Sunday. But, uh, you can take that up with John if you want to, write him an email or something. Um, or you can read his commentary and find out why he believes that. Uh, but I, I'm going to take it from the perspective I, I understand it. Uh, and that is that Jesus entered on that Sunday, the first, first day of the week, uh, on Palm

[8:35] Sunday. And for several days, uh, he taught, taught in the temple. Uh, and, uh, in fact, if you look at the gospel accounts several times, you have, have that wording, you know, and as he was teaching or when he was teaching. And so this took place for several days, uh, uh, throughout the, the Passover of the Jewish Passover. So several days and, uh, the, the, this, uh, time of teaching ended, uh, on, uh, uh, Wednesday. Uh, now, uh, I, I have to admit, uh, that, um, it's difficult to identify the chronology when you put all the gospels together.

[9:19] And, uh, and when you do put them all together, it's, uh, uh, kind of hard to come up with enough days there. Uh, that's why some have been, uh, uh, led to believe that in a, what they call a silent Wednesday, uh, that if Jesus came in on Sunday and looking at the various accounts of his teaching, uh, times of teaching, uh, uh, maybe there's, there's, there's a Wednesday there where there's nothing said. So, so they call it a silent Wednesday. And by the way, that's one argument, uh, that, uh, MacArthur uses for Jesus coming in on Monday. But anyway, we don't want to get in those tall weeds. I think he taught all day Wednesday and, uh, gave his final words of teaching. And this is important to, to note, and we'll revisit this, uh, again a little bit later in our study. But the, this is the last time that Jesus will be teaching, uh, in the temple. And, uh, and if you go back to chapter 23, then you find out, uh, uh, uh, that those last words were pretty tough words. In fact, he pronounces seven woes upon Israel and, uh, uh, in chapter 23. So these, you know, his concluding, uh, words of teaching, uh, and admonition and were actually really many of them strong words of rebuke, uh, that last day of teaching. And also on that last day of teaching, and you can go back to chapter 23 and look at this if you want to, but also some prophetic judgment about the temple. And then he's going to reiterate that, uh, when we get here in chapter 24. And so chapter 24 opens with the word, the words, then Jesus went out and departed from the temple. All right. So this is a word about the place from which they came. And we'll, I'll, I'll say a little bit more about this phrase, went out and departed here in a little bit. But, uh, you know, Jesus left the temple and all his disciples went with him. Now, where did they go? Well, second, then I want you to notice, or be actually the route in which they took the route in which they took.

[11:43] And we could really talk a lot about this actually. Jesus, uh, led his disciples out of the temple. All right. So he's finished teaching, led them out of the temple and out of the city of Jerusalem and, uh, exiting though the account here doesn't say, uh, but it'd be the logical gate that he would exit through. And that would be, uh, well, on the map that I gave you, it would be the golden gate.

[12:11] Uh, that's how it's listed there. And it, uh, has been called the golden gates, also called the Eastern gate, uh, in Ezekiel, uh, several places there, chapter 40 and 43, 44, several chapters there. It's referred to as the Eastern gate, whether that means that's what it was called, some official name, or whether it just simply was the gate on the Eastern side. Uh, but it has been called the Eastern gate and also the beautiful gate. Uh, I don't know if I gave you the reference, but Acts chapter three is where it's referred to as beautiful gate or gate, beautiful, whatever.

[12:52] All right. So we're just kind of talking about the route, uh, they took, uh, uh, from the temple. Uh, they're on their way to a destination. And so they went out of the city, uh, through that gate on the Eastern side of Jerusalem and the gate that's closest really to the temple. And if you go into the Eastern gate, I mean, you just walk right up, right up to the, the, the doors of the temple.

[13:19] Say a little bit more about that Eastern gate. The Eastern gate, uh, really, and it depends on which scholars are reading and their viewpoint. Uh, but, uh, the Eastern gate is one of the most significant gates in biblical prophecy. Book of Ezekiel, uh, contains several references, as I mentioned a moment ago. And I don't, I didn't put this in your notes. You can jot this down.

[13:48] There is, uh, quite a bit of debate about, uh, whether or not, uh, what I'm about to share with you is, uh, is correct. Um, um, scholars on both sides, plenty of, uh, interesting argument both ways. Uh, but I, I, I, I really think it's, um, uh, seems pretty clear to me in scripture, but the book of Ezekiel contains several references to the Eastern gate of Jerusalem. And some have interpreted these passages in Ezekiel as prophetic references to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I'm in the very first place. We, we already know a couple of, uh, very important key things that took place at the Eastern gate. And, uh, and there are those who see those two, as well as a third, very important, uh, event, uh, uh, in biblical prophecy in Ezekiel. In Ezekiel chapter 43 verse 4, uh, the prophet said, in the glory of the Lord came into the temple by way of the gate, which faces toward the east.

[14:57] And, uh, and so those who really study biblical prophecy and, uh, take the literal, um, uh, approach, futuristic approach, uh, say that this is a reference to the triumphal entry of Jesus. And Jesus indeed did enter in through the Eastern gate, uh, as he came from, from, uh, Bethany. And, uh, so on that Palm Sunday, he came through the Eastern gate. And so Ezekiel 43, 4, uh, there are those who see a, a, a prophetic statement about that. And then Ezekiel chapter 44 verse 2, and you can jot these down. You can read Ezekiel for yourself. Uh, the Bible says, and the Lord said to me, this gate, speaking of the same gate, the Eastern gate, this gate shall be shut. It shall not be opened and man shall enter by it. Man shall enter by it. Uh, that man shall enter by it because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it. Therefore it shall be shut. And, uh, there are those who see this as a reference to the condition of that gate today. It's shut. In fact, it is, uh, shut up. It's walled up. Uh, the Eastern gate is. And, uh, this, uh, uh, uh, uh, the Eastern gate was sealed, shut during the time when the Muslims had control of Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem. And, uh, in 1540, AD 1540, 41, uh, by order of the Sultan, uh, of the Ottoman Empire, his name is, uh, Salih, uh, Suleyman, Suleyman, Suleyman, you can say it however you want, the Magnificent. All right. So we'll just call him the Magnificent.

[16:51] And he had it walled up and it's believed that the reason for closing it, for walling it up was, uh, he, uh, understood from the Jews and their, their expectation, they expected the Messiah when he came to come through the Eastern gate. And so this, uh, this Muslim, uh, thought, uh, well, we want to keep him from coming, coming and ruling. So we'll wall up the gate, the Eastern gate. I mean, get that.

[17:25] I think you could thwart the plans of the Messiah by say 16 feet of concrete or something. Uh, and, uh, so this has, has actually happened. So the Eastern gate has remained sealed now for a little over 500 years. And then finally, uh, Ezekiel 46 and verse 12 is a reference, uh, to the second coming.

[17:47] Now, when the Prince makes a voluntary burnt offering or voluntary peace offering to the Lord, which our Prince did, the gate that faces toward the East shall then be open for him.

[18:00] And, uh, this is where, uh, many see a reference to, uh, the triumphal, the second coming of Christ. So Jesus left this earth by way of the Mount of Olives, right? That's Acts chapter one.

[18:16] Jesus will return to the same place, uh, at his second coming. Remember Acts chapter one, verse 11, this same Jesus, angel said, this same Jesus, which was taken up, uh, into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven. Uh, so he's going to come back to the Mount of Olives when he comes a second time. And this also is prophesied in Zechariah chapter 14, verse four.

[18:43] And in that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the East, which it is on the East. And Jesus will then enter Jerusalem by way of, uh, reopened Eastern Gate into the city of Jerusalem. Uh, Psalm 24, uh, I believe speaks to this, uh, Psalm 24, verse seven, lift up your heads, O you gates be lifted up, you everlasting doors and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, the Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory. And I think as a reference to the second coming, you know, come through that Eastern Gate. So Eastern Gate's pretty important, um, in my, in my view. All right. So let's get back to the route in which they took. Uh, so they left the temple, went through the gate of the temple, out through the Eastern Gate, uh, which would lead them then across over the Kidron Valley, uh, Kidron Valley. And again, you can look at the map and you see the Kidron, uh, Valley named, uh, also a little stream that runs through it, not, not a river by any stretch of the imagination runs through that. And, uh, pretty significant place by the way, and biblical history, it's named a number of times. Uh, but they cross over the Kidron Valley.

[20:12] Valley. So down from the temple mount, and it's while they're going down from the temple mount, which would have been quite high. Uh, that I believe is when the disciples looked back and said, just look at that. I mean, isn't that amazing? This temple. Yeah. Hey Jesus, isn't this great?

[20:27] It's wonderful. This temple, this wonderful thing. And, and of course, then Jesus says, well, yeah, but, uh, guess what? Uh, not a stone's going to be left standing on another. So they go down from the temple mount into the valley and across that small brook Kidron. Uh, and by the way, uh, a thousand years before this, King David also left Jerusalem and crossed over the Kidron Valley and up to the Mount of Olives. And the reason why he did was because of Absalom, who was, uh, was, uh, dethroning his own father. Uh, and, uh, the Bible says that he went across and wept, uh, interesting, you know, that he, uh, he did that. And, uh, a thousand years later, Jesus would, uh, ultimately do the same, wouldn't he?

[21:15] And then up the side of the Mount of Olive or Mount Olivet, uh, and you can see that on the map. So you see the proximity of these things. You can see where it mentions, where it lists, uh, or identifies the Golden Gate and, uh, then across the Kidron Valley and then up the Mount of Olives, which by the way, there was a garden there, Garden Gethsemane, very key place. And it could be that they went to the Garden Gethsemane. You know, Matthew didn't mention it here. It says that he sat there on the Mount of Olives and, uh, and then, uh, answered the, the question of the disciples. All right. So that was then the route in which they took. Then next, or finally under the location, the site at which they stopped in, because I've already mentioned it, verse three says the Mount of Olives. All right. Now say all,

[22:18] I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll say that not because there's any, you know, necessarily any spiritual significance to that location. There's some significant things that have happened prior to this time and a very significant thing that will happen just before Jesus is arrested and crucified. But I mentioned the location, uh, because, uh, the location, uh, because of the location, scholars typically refer to all that Jesus says in these two chapters, Matthew 24 and 25 as the Olivet Discourse. Okay. So if you ever see that as you're reading or studying for a Sunday school class and, uh, you know, the writer of the Sunday school lesson mentions the Olivet Discourse, then if you didn't know before, now you know, it's referring to what Jesus said here in Matthews 24 and 25. And, uh, depending on who you're reading, uh, it's refers to, uh, much of it, uh, the majority of it to events that are yet to take place, uh, many of them, uh, even for us. All right. So the location. Now, number two, the occasion, the occasion. And, uh, the three points of interest here, I think. First, you have Jesus departure,

[23:39] Jesus departure, his departure from the temple. That's what verse one says. Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple. Now I said we'd get back to that because, uh, those words are, well, we need to take that, uh, um, you know, for more than just simply, uh, uh, that Jesus left the temple. Um, it's, it's stronger than that. And there is an emphasis here because the use of the verbs went out and departed. And to put both those things in one sentence, uh, to the Greek way of understanding and the way that they wrote, it was meant for emphasis, to emphasize something.

[24:21] And basically the Jesus is making a strong statement about the future of Herod's temple. He's making a strong statement about that. Now he's going to make a more explicit statement about it, uh, uh, uh, just right after this. He's going to say everything you see here is going to be destroyed.

[24:39] Uh, but this, this clues us in that, uh, Jesus, first of all, will never return to this temple. He's never going to go back to this temple. Uh, he's done. He, he, he went out, departed, and, uh, though the words aren't included here, the idea is included here. He's never going back, never going back, not to this temple. Okay. And, uh, we'll, well, well, let's just go on. Second, what does he say? He's saying that he's done talking to the Jewish nation. That, that, that's it.

[25:19] Okay. After this, uh, God will speak not in words, but in judgment. All right. So, first, Jesus will never return to it. Second, Jesus is done talking to the Jewish nation. Third, Jesus will be crucified within hours of this. So that might explain one reason why he's not going back.

[25:46] Uh, is he going to be dead, uh, very shortly? Though you might say, well, he was resurrected, and he could have gone back after that. Uh, but he didn't. Uh, after, so he was crucified within hours of this, after which he was raised, after which he then ascended up to heaven. And you say, well, he's coming back again. Remember, you say he's coming through the eastern gate. Uh, but everything be changed then. Uh, in fact, the same temple, not there today, is it?

[26:16] Uh, and so that's the fourth thing. It will not be there for Jesus to return to. The temple will not be there for, this temple will not be there for Jesus to return to. The temple, along with Jerusalem, will be destroyed, uh, within 40 years, uh, of when, uh, uh, Jesus, when, when this passage, the time this passage is referring to. Within 40 years, everything there's going to be destroyed, uh, uh, uh, uh, the Jerusalem that the Messiah will enter into when he comes a second time, uh, will be a rebuilt Jerusalem. It won't be the same one. And, uh, as a matter of fact, that's why some have, uh, made an argument about this eastern gate business and, uh, those references in Ezekiel, because they claim that, you know, that today it's not the same gate. And in a sense, it's not the same gate. Uh, the original eastern gate that Jesus came into on his triumphal entry and then exited after he was finished talking to the Jews. Uh, uh, uh, that gate, uh, uh, today is, uh, I, I forgot, uh, just how deep you'd have to go, but quite a number of feet under the gate that exists today. All right. In fact, that's true of all of Jerusalem. Uh, when the Romans came in and destroyed Jerusalem and left it just rubble, uh, you know, they rebuilt Jerusalem, uh, but they didn't have bulldozers and, you know, push all that, all, all that debris away and then start over on the same foundation. They just built on top of it.

[28:04] And, uh, so, uh, today you walk the streets of Jerusalem, most of it. I mean, there, I think there are some exceptions to this. You're not really walking on the street that Jesus walked on because it's, it's quite a number of feet underneath, uh, just, just the way it is. Uh, and that's true of most cities, uh, those ancient cities, uh, not just in Palestine, but in other places. I remember several years ago, uh, when, uh, I was, uh, traveling to Ukraine, actually traveling back from Ukraine from a teaching time and, uh, I had a layover in Vienna and had a whole day, which was a real blessing. And so we went down to the old part of Vienna, walked around there and, uh, uh, saw some of the sites and there was a, uh, on a brochure, it was, uh, uh, uh, telling me about a, you can go and see an actual Roman road. I mean, one of the original Roman roads. I thought, well, this would be exciting.

[29:04] I'll go see it. And so I get to the place and there's the sign for it. I had to go down steps. In fact, I had to go way underground down through the subway system. And, uh, I could either go over there and get on a subway or I could look over this, this kind of railing another 20, 30, 40 feet down.

[29:26] And, and there was a Roman road down there. You could see just a little part of it. You could go down there and stand on it. And I'm thinking, my goodness, you know, we're a hundred feet or more underground. Uh, but you see, uh, that's the way, uh, things were in antiquity. Uh, cities would be conquered and destroyed and rebuilt on top of the old and then again, and on top of the old and again on top of the old. And, and, uh, that's the way, uh, uh, to an extent it is in Jerusalem today.

[30:00] All right. So Jesus departure, his departure B on your outline, the disciples questions, really two basic questions, two primary questions. Verse three, tell us when will these things be?

[30:20] Notice I left a question mark off there. And what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? It should be question mark after that. If you former teachers are looking, you'll catch me there. All right. So there's the question there. Those are the questions. Tell us when will these things be or what things, what things Jesus has just been talking about? Uh, actually in the immediate sense, the, the, the most immediate thing Jesus said, you know, look, do you see all of this? Uh, the day's coming, uh, when not stone will, not one stone be left on top and not this all be destroyed. I mean, one minute, the disciples are admiring the, the temple and the next man, Jesus next second, Jesus is saying that's all going to be destroyed.

[31:09] And, uh, and so they're asking the question, when, when will that take place? Now, again, I would point, make this point, I've already made it, but can you imagine what we'd be missing in the Bible if the disciples had not asked the question? I guess, uh, it's a pretty much a moot point because, uh, Jesus had every intention of teaching all these things to them.

[31:36] Uh, and, uh, so maybe unwittingly they asked the question and Jesus might say, oh, I'm glad you asked that. I'm going to tell you anyway. Uh, he had every intention of taking them out across to the Mount of Olives and some, some secluded spot, sit down and to be with them and them alone and to teach them the things that he's going to be teaching us in this passage.

[32:01] Uh, but still, I'm glad they asked the question and, uh, you know, uh, I, in my sort of sanctified imagination, I can imagine the disciples kind of huddling together and one of them saying, you, should we ask the question or not? I mean, it might be a stupid question. You know, it's kind of like us in a classroom back in the day when, uh, you know, our teacher said there are no dumb questions or stupid questions or wrong questions. I guess they didn't say stupid or dumb, uh, as I recall when I was a kid, uh, there are no wrong questions, you know, uh, or silly questions or something like that. And, uh, actually, uh, uh, I've discovered there are silly questions, but can you imagine them kind of deliberating, uh, it's kind of the upper, upper echelon of Jesus' disciples that are, that eventually come to him and ask the question. But imagine if they decided, nah, I think we'll not ask that question. Anyway, they did. And we get Jesus' response. That's

[33:01] C on your outline. Jesus' response. And, uh, that's what we're going to be studying for the next umpteen weeks. Uh, but verse four says, and Jesus answered. So they asked the question and Jesus answered. And, uh, uh, by the way, Jesus answered to the disciples' questions represents the longest answer to a question, uh, recorded in the Bible. Longest answer. Uh, and it is a long one.

[33:36] And it's packed full, uh, of things that we really have to dig deep to understand. Uh, but again, aren't you glad they asked the question? All right. So the location, the occasion, and third, and finally, uh, tonight, uh, the expectation. There's an expectation, uh, present with the disciples that we really need to understand, uh, understanding where they are coming from when they asked Jesus the question concerning the end of the age. Need to understand that.

[34:10] What was their expectation? And, uh, it's interesting, uh, to note that pretty much all the substance of their, their, their kind of eschatological, you know, last things, expectation, all of those, the substance, all of that, uh, was right, uh, primarily. Uh, so what was the problem? The problem was the timing. Uh, uh, uh, the problem with their eschatology was the timing, that is when these things were going to take place. That was the problem. Uh, as we're going to see that many of the things that they believed were going to happen based upon their understanding of Old Testament scripture, uh, primarily all those things, uh, are going to happen. Uh, the only problem was they thought that they were going to happen right then. And, uh, uh, they, many of them have not happened yet. Uh, in fact, all the major points of their eschatology have not even taken place today, uh, for us. There's still future for us. All right. So we want to consider then, first of all, or A on your outline, the disciples' present tense expectation.

[35:30] They had a present tense expectation. And, uh, and you can, you, you get this from, um, um, something they, they, uh, said in verse one and the questions they asked in verse three.

[35:43] So in verse one and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple. And then verse three says, tell us when all these things will be and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age. All right. So first of all, we need to, uh, maybe notice this word when they said, when they said, when will these things be? Now the question when was in their minds concerning certain events they believed would be happening in the next few days. So when they're asking when will these things take place, it's not even in their thinking that it might be years or millennia before it happens. They're thinking when in the next few days will this happen or, you know, or maybe possibly weeks. All right. But certainly not beyond that. I mean, it, they think it's come now. And so they just kind of need to know when's it going to happen.

[36:48] And, and, and no doubt through them for a little bit of a loop when Jesus said that temple is going to be destroyed. Well, when's that going to happen? I mean, if, if the things we've been expecting based upon understanding of scripture, our expectation concerning the end of things, the end of the age, if that's coming right now and how, I mean, how is that, how's that work in, uh, with, uh, the temple being destroyed and that certainly has to take a little time to do that. And, uh, and so forth, I guess they probably could have conceived of the Romans doing such a thing or some, invading conqueror doing that kind of thing, but still that would take some time. And so they, so again, but their win is not, it's not even a part of their thinking that we're talking about, uh, hundreds, thousands of years. Uh, all right. So, so here, here was the problem when Jesus came the first time, which, which, which is what we have here, uh, in, in the gospel account.

[38:02] The Jewish people, including the disciples, uh, it had already been, you know, already pretty settled in their heart about, in minds about what was going to take place, uh, and, and, and all of that.

[38:20] It was kind of programmed in the hard drive of their, uh, of their minds. Uh, so it was so difficult for them to break out of, uh, of what they had been taught all those years and had concluded about, uh, how things were going to happen and when they'd happen and who would do it and when he came, what he would do and when he would do it. It was so ingrained in them that it was, it was just difficult, even for most of them impossible to, to see it any other way. They believed it only one way. Yeah. And that's why, uh, I've kind of listed here nine things they believed concerning eschatology. And as soon as we kind of go through these, you're, you're, uh, especially if you have studied, uh, um, the Olivet Discourse and other passages concerning end times, you're going to say, well, uh, those things are going to happen. Uh, uh, the problem again is not the substance of what they believed would happen. I mean, to an extent, I mean, they did have some wrong beliefs, certainly concerning, uh, the purpose of Christ coming the first time. They didn't even see a first coming. Uh, but it was not the substance, it was the timing of it, uh, that, that they couldn't get.

[39:42] And some, obviously you have to add to that some gaps in their, in revelation that they had available to them, the Old Testament, and some things that are a mystery of the Old Testament, uh, which explains why they had such a problem understanding, uh, what Jesus was trying to teach them about in things, the end of the age and the things that were going to happen. So here are nine things. They believed that the coming of Messiah would be preceded, preceded by a time of intense tribulation.

[40:13] Well, yeah. And, uh, for the Jews in Jesus day for them, including his disciples, that oppression or tribulation they thought was going on, uh, under the oppression of the Roman empire. All right. So that, they, they had that on the checklist, that check, that's happening. All right. So you can see why in the day in which Jesus came though, that, that, that age and the timing when Jesus came, that they fully expected Messiah to come at any moment. I mean, they, they were under, they were in tribulation because of the Romans. All right. So that made sense to them.

[40:52] Number two, they believed that during this time of tribulation, one like Elijah would announce the coming of Messiah. And, uh, for many Jews, John the Baptist fit that expectation. Uh, and, uh, they, to an extent they were right. Um, of course we have this passage quoted in the New Testament in John, uh, but Isaiah 40 verse three, the voice of him that cries in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. So one in the spirit of Elijah, one like Elijah and Elijah like person, uh, in their understanding of eschatology was going to come and announce the coming of Messiah. And they were right, but, but not completely right. They were right and they were wrong. Number three, they believed that shortly after Elijah's announcement, their Messiah would appear, declare his right to rule the nations and establish his kingdom. And, uh, that was of course, especially on the part of the disciples, that was when they, the, you know, when, uh, the people threw down the palm branches and articles of clothing, remember for Jesus to ride over on, on the donkey as he entered into the city of Jerusalem. And this was their thinking, here comes our King, uh, the King we've been looking for. So they believed first would come tribulation. Then comes Elijah make way for the, for the Lord. He's coming. And then here's Jesus. In fact, uh, remember John the Baptist said, behold, the Lamb of God, they didn't quite understand what he meant by all of that. And so here's Jesus coming into the city. And so it's all kind of falling into place, isn't it? In their way of thinking. And before they believed that an alliance, and this is where we go beyond, uh, some of the events that were taking place in their day. So they didn't have anything to add up here. I mean, these, even for them, they were thinking, well, this is going to be happening shortly, but they believed that an alliance of Gentile nations would fight against Messiah and his army. And that will happen one day. They're expecting it to happen in their day. Number five, they believed that the Messiah would destroy all those nations that opposed to him. He would conquer them. And he will. Uh, but again, they're believing this is, this is about to happen. Number six, they believed that Jerusalem would be made new either by renovation, uh, or a new

[43:49] Jerusalem would come down out of heaven. And, uh, that's future, some sense of that. Number six, seven, they believed that all of Israel scattered around the world, Jews all around the world have been scattered, the diaspora, the, those dispersed around the known world, that they would be gathered together again into the promised land, the land of Israel. And, uh, that had not happened yet, but they believed that would happen very shortly. Now there were many today who look at, you know, over the last few decades, uh, history of people, Jews coming back to the land, land being established as a nation again. And so that's why many of the prophet, prophetic guru people, and those really don't study it so much, but they're just kind of novices that they say, well, it means that Jesus is coming. Amen.

[44:47] Uh, but this, this is what they believed would happen and will happen, uh, is happening. But they believed it happened in their day. They believed that, uh, Jerusalem, number eight, would become the capital city of the entire world with the Messiah as King of Kings and all nations and leaders of nations would answer to him and would come to him and all judgment would be done by him in the capital city of Jerusalem where Jesus, or the Messiah would sit on the throne. Uh, and, uh, that will happen one day. Um, but this was their expectation. And then finally, they believed that with the coming of Messiah, his kingdom would usher in an age of peace and righteousness, a millennium. And that's, that will happen, uh, one day. All right. So, uh, you kind of, you get down to the bottom line is the Jews of Jesus day, and again, including the disciples could not conceive of two separate comings of Messiah. They couldn't conceive of that. And, uh, to a large part, they, you have to, you have to, you know, they come by that honestly because, um, the Bible's pretty silent about that, though. I think there are prophetic references, uh, to his second, first coming and second coming in Daniel for one. Also, you could say that the Jews of Jesus day could not conceive of the Messiah, their Messiah dying. That was not part of their eschatological construct. They, they didn't have that. The Messiah dying, suffering and dying. Now, they should have understood that from, uh, the suffering servant in Isaiah. They, they couldn't conceive of that, uh, of the Messiah coming and dying and dying as a sin bearer to save them from their sins.

[46:51] They could not conceive of any need for salvation, actually. Uh, the Jews, they thought they were saved. We don't need salvation. And we could also say the Jews of Jesus day could not have conceived of the church age. And again, they have to give them that because the church age is primarily a mystery, uh, mystery. The age of the Gentiles is a mystery in the Old Testament.

[47:16] Uh, in fact, Paul said, uh, Romans 16, 25, he said, which has been kept a secret for long ages past, but now is manifested. Uh, so I think this helps explain why the disciples were, well, explains a lot of things about the thinking of the disciples, explains a lot about, uh, Judas and, uh, what he was looking for.

[47:43] And when he didn't see it, he's ready to betray this, this, uh, this false prophet, Jesus. Uh, and it explains why the disciples, you know, looking up at the temple in there and kind of in a state of euphoria, uh, when they look at that magnificence, that magnificent temple, uh, explains why they did.

[48:05] I mean, you can imagine if they thought that Jesus, they believed he was true, the Messiah. And then they would have to connect that to everything they thought they understood about not only what he would come and do and when he would do it. So that means he, they thought he would do it right now. All those things I just mentioned, that's right now. He's going to do this now. Then you can imagine, uh, that, uh, they, they're looking at, uh, the, the castle of the palace of their new King, you know, his throne would be there and, and perhaps they, you know, they know they're going to serve with him. And, uh, you know, maybe they've already in their minds picked out where their office is going to be inside that beautiful temple, you know, whatever. But you can understand their thinking. And then Jesus quickly let the air out of their balloon, um, rained on their picnic. And so notice finally, Jesus future tense revelation for Jesus and his disciples at this very moment when all this is taking place, everything Jesus says to them is future. It's all future.

[49:26] And, uh, much of it, uh, you know, maybe 99.9% of it, uh, is still future for us. And the things he's going to be revealing to them, they will never see, never see, not as inhabitants of this planet. So verse two, and Jesus said to them, do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down. And that really is just an introduction to all that he's going to be telling them about the future. He's going to talk about that, uh, more specifically again. And, uh, uh, and we'll get to, get to that, uh, next time. And, uh, several next times after that, as we kind of walk our way through the Olivet Discourse.