Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, April 21, 2024

Don’t Be Afraid of Tomatoes! Today, Pastor Michael discusses the importance of not fearing as a believer. He draws a parallel from history, when people in the past, many centuries ago, were afraid of tomatoes because they were called ‘poison apples.’ They believed tomatoes were lethal, but in reality, the acid in tomatoes was reacting with lead from pewter plates used in those days. Just as a prepared soul has no fear of the end, we, too, should not fear the unknown. Remember, this message is not just about tomatoes; it’s about our faith and how we face the unknown.  It’s Wednesday evening, and the apostles are leaving the temple, having spent three days there. They are commenting on how impressive the buildings were there.  By this time, the sun is going down in the west, silhouetting the temple and making quite the impression.  Jesus told the apostles that not a stone would be left of these buildings, and this made the apostles question the reasoning of that statement, asking Him privately when that would happen. They mistakenly equated the end of the buildings with the end of the world.  Jesus replied, in His longest teaching on the end times, describing events and conditions that are the beginnings of sorrows.  The early indicator that something major is coming.   Getting back to our theme, don’t be afraid; the problem is not the end times, the problem is the fear in us.  If you are a follower of Jesus, you do NOT have to be afraid! (CSB Notes) Jesus prophesied (announced, not merely predicted) the destruction of the great buildings. Symbolically in the withering of the fig tree (11:12-14,20-21) Jesus had already prophesied their end. Some question the accuracy of not one stone will be left upon another because some stones remain today in the Western Wall, but this was not part of the temple itself but the foundation that supported the platform on which the temple stood. Verses can be found in Mark 13: 1 - 8.  Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.