A story from the last week of Jesus' life on earth
(From the Gospel of Mark, chapter 13)
It was a few days before Jesus was arrested. He and his friends were in the Temple in Jerusalem to pray and be together.
The Temple was a huge, beautiful building. Its walls were made out of great, big stones. Most of them were almost 40 feet long, 18 feet wide, and 12 feet deep. The building was solid and strong. It was built to last for a very, very long time.
One of Jesus' friends noticed this. "Look, Teacher! Look at how huge this Temple is! Look at the size of the stones they have used to build it!"
Jesus looked around at the Temple. "You are right. This Temple is enormous and magnificent. But one day this building will be destroyed. It will be a huge pile of rocks."
The disciples could not believe what Jesus was saying. Surely he was mistaken! The Temple was the most special place on earth for God's people. It was where they went to be especially close to God. The idea that it could be destroyed was crazy!
Later that day, Jesus took his friends to the Mount of Olives. It was a large hill outside Jerusalem. Jesus went there to be quiet and rest. Sitting on the Mount, they had a perfect view of the Temple.
Peter said, "Jesus, what you told us today scared me. None of us can imagine the Temple being destroyed."
James spoke up. "Teacher, who would want to break down the Temple?" His brother, John, added, "Who could possibly do such a thing? The Temple is huge!"
Andrew asked, "When will these things happen?"
Jesus gathered them all together. He could tell that they were upset and worried. "I have many enemies in the city of Jerusalem," he said. "There are powerful people who want me to stop preaching about God's Kingdom. They believe that there can be only one kingdom on earth, and that kingdom must belong to Caesar, the Roman Emperor."
Jesus continued. "But you and I know that God's Kingdom is already beginning to come onto earth. Someday – I don't know when – God will be on earth as clearly and powerfully as God is in heaven. When that happens, everything will be different from how it is now."
"I hope that day comes soon, Jesus," Peter said. The others nodded in agreement.
Jesus said, "I do, too, Peter. I do, too. But only God knows when that will happen. Between now and then it is going to feel like the world is falling apart. Wars will be fought. Earthquakes will happen. There will not be enough food for everyone."
"It sounds awful," said Andrew.
"It does. You are right," Jesus replied. "But I want you to remember this: it will feel like everything is ending, but really it is a new beginning – God's Kingdom will be on earth as it is in heaven."
Questions to think and pray about:
- Have you ever heard someone say something that scared you? What did you do?
- What do you think it would be like if God's Kingdom were on earth just like it is in heaven?
- Do you see any clues that that may be happening already?