Saving Race (Mark 13:9-13)

Every year in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee, there is a race called the Barkley Marathon. It is widely known as the toughest in the world. It’s been dubbed “a satanic running adventure.”^[1]

It was started in 1986 by Gary Cantrell.^[2] Everything about the Barkley Marathon is a trial. The application process is notoriously secretive. You must answer a series of strange questions and write an essay on why you should be allowed to compete. Only 40 are allowed each year.

If accepted, you are told the starting day, but not the starting time. There’s a 12 hour window where you must listen for the blowing of a conch shell, which signals the race will begin in one hour. It’s billed as 100 miles, but it’s not so simple. The course is unmarked and changes every year. You must run 5 loops of the course in 60 hours. Runners estimate that each loop is actually somewhere in the 26-28 mile range, which ends up being another marathon on top of 100 miles.^[3]

If you complete the course, you will have traversed over 60,000 feet of elevation gain. That’s two times up Mount Everest. One section of the race takes you through a sawbrier thicket which will shred your clothing and your skin. You’ll have to be on the lookout for wild boar, snakes, bears, and poison ivy while you deal with severe swings in the weather, including snow and hail. Oh and half of the race is run in the dark of night.

It took 10 years for a runner to even finish this race. For perspective, one fellow who completed a 7 marathons in 7 continents in 7 days in the fastest time ever fished just one loop of the Barkley.^[4]

As Jesus continues the Olivet Discourse, He explains to Peter, Andrew, James, and John that their race is going to get very difficult. He says, “Guys, you and disciples after you are going to go through some serious hazards. Unfair treatment. Imprisonment. Pain. Suffering. Even death. You’ll face it at the local level, the regional level, and the national level. You’ll face it in your communities and in your own homes.”

Seeing the course mapped out might make us quickly retreat to the fact that Jesus’ main focus in the Olivet Discourse is the Great Tribulation. “This doesn’t have to apply to us, right?”

And it’s true that the ultimate fulfillment is yet future in that time of trouble, which will be unlike anything the world has ever seen – a time we will not be on earth for.

But we know from verses 14 and 37 of this chapter that there is application here for all of us. Why? Because though we are not yet in the final seven years of earth’s history, we are in the last days. We know that because of what the Bible says. Hebrews 1:2, “In these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son.” In Acts 2, Peter explains Pentecost by saying, “The prophet Joel said this would happen in the last days.” John said, “Guys, the spirit of the antichrist is already in the world.”^[5]

So, we are not in the Last Days (capital L, capital D), and the capital A Antichrist is not yet in power. But the warnings Jesus gives here became a reality as soon as He ascended. Acts gives the record of persecution Christians face. That opposition is not limited to the 12 apostles. It’s happening today in places like Nigeria. China. Kazakhstan. And many other places around the world.

But Jesus’ words are not meant to scare us. Instead, they show there is hope even during terrible suffering. There is power given from heaven when the Church is persecuted. And something truly magnificent is waiting for us at the end of the race.

Mark 13:9 – ⁹ “But you, be on your guard! They will hand you over to local courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them.

We start with another command to be spiritually awake. What does He mean by “be on guard?” Does He mean we need to be ready to fight? Ready to escape? Become preppers of one kind or another? Some suggest that this is a command to not try to escape persecution,^[6] but that doesn’t line up with what we’ll read in verses 14 through 16. And we see there were times in Paul’s life where he escaped persecution legally, other times clandestinely, other times he willfully endured it.

The command is to have spiritual sight. “On guard” here literally means: To have the faculty of sight.^[7] Seeing your life circumstances according to what the Lord desires.

In this case, the Lord says His desire is for these individuals to be witnesses of the truth of the Gospel and the power of Jesus Christ.

Now here’s what I find amazing: God establishes governments. Many of those governments not only turn away from God, but violently oppose His Word and His people. And so what does God do? He sends witnesses to share the Good News with the governors. With the kings. Consider Nineveh and what lengths God went to so they could hear the message of salvation.

Now, when they still reject Him, the witnesses now are not just to the rulers, but are actually against those governing rulers. One day they will be on trial before the Judge of heaven and earth. The language used for “witness” can mean either witness to or witness against.^[8] But first there is grace. How can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher?^[9]

There’s another grace here. We imagine the rulers of these synagogues cruelly flogging a Christian – something that happened to Paul many times. The rules were that a person would be struck 13 times on the chest and 26 on the back, being struck as hard as possible.^[10]

But did you know those who endured the lash in the synagogues did so in order to be able to remain part of the synagogue? Otherwise they could just be thrown out.^[11] So what we’re seeing here is a Christian, like Paul, so willing to share the Gospel with the lost that they willingly endured the pain of flogging so that they would be allowed to stay so they could preach to them again.

Mark 13:10 – ¹⁰ And it is necessary that the gospel be preached to all nations.

This verse has led some to the conclusion that Jesus cannot come back until the whole world has been evangelized. As one scholar wrote, “The sooner the gospel is preached to all nations, the sooner the kingdom will arrive and all suffering will cease.”^[12] But this is not at all the case.

You and I are not responsible for the culmination of global evangelism. Remember, the primary setting of the Olivet Discourse is the Great Tribulation – a time when the Two Witnesses, the 144,000, and even angels will be covering all the globe with Gospel preaching.

God is not hemmed in by our activity. We are not responsible for the culmination. But, here’s what is true: We are Christ’s Body on the earth today. We are His ambassadors. We are the light of the world. We are commanded to go and make disciples. So we are responsible not for the culmination, but for cooperation. And see what Jesus says: The Gospel must be preached.

We cannot compromise on the Gospel. We can’t hide it away and just make our churches more entertaining and hope people figure it out on their own. We must preach that human beings are sinners, dead in trespasses and sins, condemned to hell for all eternity unless we are saved from our sin. And that the only way to be saved is through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. That He was crucified for our sins, to bear the penalty of all the wrong things we’ve done. And that He was buried and then rose from the dead 3 days later in victory over sin and death. And that whosoever will believe on Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Because we are not saved by any works of our own, but by grace, through faith.

We are the witnesses today. Praise the Lord that we don’t have to witness through the brutal sufferings of persecution. But we are the preachers sent to sow the seed and work the harvest.

Mark 13:11 – ¹¹ So when they arrest you and hand you over, don’t worry beforehand what you will say, but say whatever is given to you at that time, for it isn’t you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

The point is not that skipping preparation is good. That’s not actually the command. The command is not to worry. How can we not worry if we’re being beaten and arrested and brought before a corrupt judge who holds our fate in his hands? Well, because he doesn’t hold our fate, does he?

One of the great encouragements from these verses, tense though they are, is the reminder that God’s plan cannot be thwarted. He says here, “In moments of extreme persecution, you will have My extraordinary presence. The Holy Spirit, right there on the courtroom floor with us.

Gary Cantrell, the designer of the Barkley Marathon discussed how he loves to make things harder for applicants to the race. “Anything that makes it more mentally stressful for the runners is good.”^[13] Runners are given a general map, but are expressly forbidden from using any kind of GPS help.

What does the Designer of our race do? He says He’ll run with us. He’ll show us the way. He gives us His own strength so we can continue. He not only directs, He lives in our hearts, in our minds, to fill us with joy, with contentment, with knowledge, with all we need for life and Godliness.

Mark 13:12 – ¹² “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.

It’s not only about social hazards. There will be even familial breakup over Jesus Christ. Certainly this will be very true in the Great Tribulation, as total war is being waged on both Christians and Jews. But remember what Jesus said in Matthew 24. As the last days continue and especially at the very end, “the love of many will grow cold.”^[14] Haven’t we see an increase of that kind of behavior? Whether it was during COVID or today when we see people so obsessed over politics that they say things like, “I don’t talk to my family anymore because they voted for this person for president.”

The love of many is growing cold. But what are Christians called to? Never a chilling of love. Never! Rather, our love is supposed to grow and deepen toward an ever-widening family of brothers and sisters that are brought into the Church. A love that overflows,^[15] not drains away.

Mark 13:13 – ¹³ You will be hated by everyone because of my name, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Let’s deal with that scary, closing phrase first. The one who endures will be saved? Does this mean that if I’m not a good enough Christian I’ll lose my salvation? Quick answer is: No, that is not what this means. Jesus said in John 10, “My sheep know My voice and follow Me, the Father has given them to Me, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”^[16]

Salvation is not received by works and it is not maintained by works. An example that has always been very vivid and encouraging to me was one I once heard about Noah’s ark. When God had Noah build the ark, how was Noah saved? By going inside the ark God provided by design. God did not say, “Noah, a flood is coming. On the outside of the ark, place one six inch peg for your feet and another 6 inch peg up higher for your hands. And Noah, as long as you can hold on, you’ll be saved. You won’t drown!” No. The Lord closed Noah in. With all the supply necessary. And the Lord brought them out safe and sound on dry land.

The endurance shows us who a true disciple is. We might ask: Was Judas a true disciple? Why not? Because in the end it was revealed. Back to 1 John, we see how ton identify true Christians, “They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. They went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.”^[17]

In these verses Jesus has described a difficult race course. Beaten. Arrested. Betrayed. Killed. Hated. “Lord, I don’t know if I can finish a race that hard. It seems as though I’ve lost everything.”

You know, if you do finish the Barkley Marathon, there is no award. No prize money. No medal.

For a persecuted Christian, the race is hard. It may cost a great deal. Our race has trials and troubles even if we don’t live under persecution. But what do you receive at the end? You will be saved. Those who lay down their lives for Jesus receive a crown of life. But even if we aren’t called upon to die as martyrs or even be really persecuted, consider what we receive at the end of the race: Everlasting life. Eternal reward. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived what God has prepared these things for those who love Him.”^[18]

The mistake is if we see difficulty and then turn from our Christian calling. Jesus said if that’s the quality of our faith, we’re not worthy of Him. He said, “Listen, if you refuse to follow Me and run this race and instead try to save your life, you’re going to lose it.”^[19]

So tonight, we recognize, soberly, what faces those who come to faith in Christ during the Great Tribulation. We recognize that there are many, many thousands of our brothers and sisters who face these realities today in parts of the world. We thank God that He has shown us such mercy and grace that we get to live in a land where we can freely worship and freely gather and freely proclaim the Gospel. And so let’s remember that and take advantage of how clear the path is for us right now. The Gospel must be preached. We are the preachers. These are the last days. We do not need to worry, but we need to be awake. We run the race to win the race.