When the Stones Fall: Jesus' Stark Warning and the Call to Stand Firm

Well, I've invited Sharon up, if she would again today, to read our passage

today in Luke chapter 21, verses 5 through 38, I believe.

Luke 21:5–38

All right. Luke 21, verse 5 through 38. Some of his disciples began talking

Luke 21:5–38

about the majestic stonework of the temple and the memorial decorations on the walls.

But Jesus said, the time is coming when all these things will be completely

demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another.

Teacher, they asked, when will all this happen?

What sign will show us that these things are about to take place?

He replied, Don't let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name's cleaning. I am the Messiah!

Then saying, The time has come! But don't believe them. And when you hear of

wars and insurrections, don't panic.

Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won't happen immediately.

Then he said, Nation will go to war against nation and kingdom against kingdom.

There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and clades in many

lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.

But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution.

You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before

kings and governors because you're my followers.

But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me.

So don't worry in advance about how you'll answer the tar to de-fist you,

For I will give you the right words, such wisdom, that none of your opponents

will be able to reply or refute you.

Even those closest to you, your parents, brothers, relatives,

and friends, will betray you.

They will even kill some of you, and everyone will hate you,

because you're my followers.

But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm, you will win your souls.

And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the

time of its destruction has arrived. then those in Judea must flee to the hills

and those in Jerusalem must get out and those out in the country should not return to the city.

For those will be the days of God's vengeance.

Prophetic words of the scriptures will be fulfilled. How terrible it will be

for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days.

For there will be disaster in the land and great anger against the people.

They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world.

And Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the fury of the Gentiles comes to an end.

There will be strange signs in the sun, moon, stars.

And here on earth, the nations will be in turmoil perplexed by the roaring seas and the strange sights.

People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth,

for the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory.

So when these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near.

Then he gave him this illustration. Notice the fig tree, or any other tree.

When the leaves come out, you know without being told that summer is near.

In the same way, when you see all these things taking place,

you can know that the kingdom of God is near.

I tell you the truth. This generation will not pass from the sea until all these

things have taken place.

Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. Watch out.

Don't let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness and by the worries of this life.

Don't let that day catch you unaware, like a trap, for that day will come upon

everyone living on the earth.

Keep alert at all times, and pray that you might be strong enough to escape

these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.

Every day Jesus went to the temple to teach, and each evening he returned to

spend the night on the Mount of Olives.

The crowds gathered at the temple early each morning.

Amen. May God bless the reading of his word. Let's go to the Lord in prayer again, if you will.

Father God, I thank you again for your word. I thank you for the opportunity

we all have to grow in you and to see what you have for us today from your holy

word. In Jesus name. Amen.

Don't y'all just love that Jesus is straight up.

He tells us truth because he is truth. Amen.

And in fact, for today's message, this is kind of part one, but that you may

be able to stand In fact, in the days before his crucifixion,

Jesus, y'all, actually spent his days teaching in the temple,

and he spent the nights on the nearby Mount of Olives.

It tells us that there at that end there, which he read, verses 37 and 38.

But Luke's account of Jesus's teaching in the temple actually began back in

chapter 19, verse 45, that we've studied.

And chapter 21 today marks the conclusion of his public ministry.

It really is a harrowing chapter because with predictions of destruction that

actually alternate between the near horizon and the things that will happen in the future.

And so, first of all, in this opening slide this morning, the temple's demolition date, right?

The temple in Jesus' day was a spectacular architectural achievement with massive

stones, lavish furnishings, and

a parameter, y'all, that measured almost a mile long. Did you know that?

It was a monument to all of the strength and power and beauty and achievement

that mankind could muster.

And some of Jesus's disciples were remarking about how impressive it was,

as you heard Sharon read in verse five there of chapter 21, as she read that to us.

In fact, in light of the temple splendor, Jesus's prediction in verse six,

that it would one day be utterly destroyed. I want y'all to get how shocking that was.

I just described to you the magnitude.

The disciples perhaps chasing by watching Jesus dismantle, as we saw last week,

both the scribes and the Sadducees in that previous conversation we saw in verse

40 of chapter 20, they don't dare contradict Jesus right here.

Not his prediction at all. But instead, as we look in the text,

they actually accept what Jesus said. They accept that it's true,

and they ask the logical next question.

Verse 7. Do you see it? Chapter 21, verse 7.

When is all this going to happen, right? When's it going to throw down, right?

What follows, though, is an answer to their question, but also a lot more.

Jesus actually launches off here from the question, and he moves on,

church, to talk about a whole lot of the things that are going to happen in the future.

And the challenge, I think, for interpreters or people that study the scriptures

here is that Jesus actually alternates, as I mentioned earlier.

Comfortably, by the way, between the near horizon or the upcoming destruction,

in other words, of Jerusalem, as we all know happened in AD 70, right?

And the distant horizon, which actually was his triumphant return and the end

of the world as we know it.

He alternates between those two. And it is that alternation here that seems

to cause most of the confusion in this passage when people actually read these verses.

But keeping it in mind, that's why I told you, keep it in mind,

it's going to solve a lot of passage difficulties.

As we see in this next slide, those of you that are close enough to see it anyway,

we live between what Jesus fulfilled in history and what he will fulfill in glory, right?

AD 70, Jerusalem falls, and then in the future, Christ returns in final triumph.

We are actually positioned in history between these events.

That Jesus describes in this chapter here. And we can look back to the way that

the Romans obliterated the temple, but we also look forward to the day when

Jesus will return. Amen?

Any of y'all looking forward to the return of Jesus?

Are you looking forward to being caught up in the air with our Lord?

I'm telling you, that's what a day, as that song says, what a day that will be, right?

And so a non-answer answer, so to speak here, Jesus'

answer to their question does not actually provide the information they requested

about the timing of the temple's demolition and the signs that will indicate

that it's about to take place.

But instead, Jesus endeavors to prepare them for the events,

y'all, that will lead up and surround that coming cataclysmic event of the destruction there.

So in other words, as we see in this next slide, Jesus' commands come in the

form of four do not statements in this passage, okay?

In verse 8, he tells them not to be deceived because many will come in Jesus'

name claiming literally, church, I am.

And you can look back in Exodus 3 and Luke 22, verse 70, and that the time is near.

Luke 22:70

And Jesus' words are borne out by history as several Messianic pretenders,

as y'all know, y'all seen them through the years, rose up in the years leading

up to the destruction of the city back then even.

It's easy to understand how followers of Christ,

anxious for his return and frightened by the looming knowledge of Roman military

action as they were here might be susceptible to a charismatic imposter claiming to be Jesus.

Now, y'all probably look around even in your time and seeing people that pretty

much are claiming to be Jesus or, you know, they're claiming these things that

are so outlandish, right?

But as the description here in verse 27 of chapter 21 of Luke,

it indicates to us when Jesus returns, don't miss this Eastwood,

when Jesus returns, there will be no ambiguity,

or wondering about whether it's truly him. Don't miss that today, church.

If somebody tries to convince you that he or she is Jesus, you can be sure that

he or she is not because you won't need convincing. You'll know it's him.

That's what he says right here. You'll know it. There won't be any convincing needed.

Jesus bluntly, church, gives his second prohibition. Do not follow them.

Don't follow them because I'm telling you, you're going to know when it's me.

Don't follow these false people. And then the third do not statement comes in

verse 9. If you look in the text, don't be frightened about reports of wars and uprisings.

The time leading up to AD 70 would be marked by war, it says in verse 10.

Earthquakes, y'all, famines and pestilences and terrifying signs in the heaven. Look at verse 11.

All of which, y'all, took place as if it were not enough, y'all.

Jesus warned them that before any of those terrible things would take place

the disciples would be delivered up did you see that in the text that phrase

by the way has the sense of being betrayed.

Perhaps by family or friends, which I think is confirmed in verse 16, right?

They would be handed over, in other words, to the synagogues and prisons,

both the religious and civil authorities, all the way up the ladder to governors

and kings, it says in verse 12.

Y'all, can you imagine that happening? Can you imagine the betrayal that happens here?

You probably can. You can probably look around the culture today and not have

a hard time imagining families betraying one another, delivering them up to the authorities.

You look how crazy people got during COVID. My Lord, they would do anything, right?

They trusted the shot more than they trusted Jesus.

Y'all, I've told y'all this before. If Jesus wants to take you home,

you can wear 15 masks and have 25 shots and you're still dying.

Go into heaven when he determines you will, no matter what you do.

That doesn't mean you're not supposed to be smart. That doesn't mean you're

not supposed to be doing things in his wisdom. But don't live in fear.

That's what he's telling his disciples.

Don't live in fear. I'm in control. Don't go nuts. I've got it handled.

And here in Luke's second volume in his history, we're going to see down the

road in the book of Acts serves as a commentary on these verses as well.

This is exactly what happened to the disciples.

They were delivered up, if you read on in Acts chapter 5 and Acts 12.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

But while these are fearful events, Jesus is saying in verse 11 of chapter 21.

Jesus purposed y'all, church, in forewarning the disciples here is not to encourage

the disciples to wildly speculate about the end times.

Instead, you know what he wants?

He wants the disciples to be reassured by these things he's sharing.

In fact, the trouble is not to be understood as a disaster, but a God-ordained

opportunity, Eastwood, to bear witness to him. Look at verse 13.

In those moments, the disciples are not to worry about their defense strategy.

They're not to worry about their defense strategy.

And then the fourth do not in this passage, you see it, don't worry beforehand,

Jesus is gonna give you words and wisdom, right?

Jesus himself, in other words, the Greek word order here in this text is emphatic.

He promises to give them words and wisdom in that moment, which cannot be contradicted.

Look at verse 15, see Acts 4, verses 13 and 14 as well.

Acts 4:13

As we've already seen Eastwood, Jesus is the very best person to have on your

side if you're involved in a verbal altercation, okay?

Luke 20, verse 26, verse 40, we see it.

Luke 20:26

The great news though, as we see in this next slide, is that we can have this

same confidence whenever we

have an opportunity to testify to others about Jesus. Did you know that?

Who wants to testify to others about Jesus, amen?

You wanna share Jesus with people, to testify.

Many a Christian church has had the experience of being in a situation that

was overwhelming and probably intimidating, right?

Until God provided, see if this is you in the past, God provided just the right

words at the right moment. You ever been there?

You're not required, I'm not required to be the cleverest and most articulate and educated person.

When God puts you in a situation to testify about him, you are called to be

faithful. I'm called to be faithful.

And you can be confident, church, that he will help you and that Jesus,

don't miss this, he really is enough. Amen?

Jesus is enough. He is enough in every situation.

Now, this does not mean, of course, that everyone you speak to will be convinced

by the truth of the Christian message, does it?

Though some will be. Some will be. In fact, Jesus' promise here,

he promises his disciples that, first of all, they will be betrayed, right? We saw that.

Hated, betrayed, hated, and even put to death for his sake.

Look at verses 16 and 17 of chapter 21. It's all there.

Let me say it again. He promises his disciples they will be betrayed,

hated, and even put to death for his sake.

Jesus had a great marketing strategy, didn't he?

How many wants to sign up for it? You got to count the cost, church.

Jesus lays it out. He's not hiding anything. You come follow me.

You're going to be betrayed.

You're going to be hated. You're even going to be put to death for my sake.

And some of those very people who

are going to betray you will be your own closest as friends and family.

But even in all of that, not a hair. Did you notice it there?

Some of you may be scratching your head.

Not a hair on your head will perish, it says in verse 18.

That seems kind of weird, doesn't it? Right? To look at that.

In fact, look at it here on the next slide. Not a hair on your head will perish

because in light of verse 16.

And that statement obviously cannot mean that believers will never be harmed

physically, can it? Because he just told them they would be.

Instead, church, we should understand that Jesus is promising here his people

a far more important kind of protection.

Jesus guards what matters most, Eastwood. Not immunity from suffering,

not escape from hardship, troubled times, but the Lord's watch over your soul.

In fact, by your endurance, verse 19, you will gain your lives.

Jesus guards what matters most. What is that? your soul, your soul.

The Lord's watch over their souls. The loss of one's life here on earth is relatively

insignificant in light of eternity.

And by enduring hardship and by persevering, not giving up, through times of

persecution, the disciples put themselves in the hands of who? God Almighty, right?

Who will save their souls to eternal life.

I hope today you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your soul is saved to

eternal life. Do you know it?

Doesn't matter what happens in this world, your soul is saved to eternal life.

They're not commanded to do what they can't do, save their own physical lives.

How many of you have control over the day you die? Nobody.

But by God's help, they can stand firm.

That's where that comes from, that you may be able to stand.

Stand firm faithfully, church, to the end. See it in verse 19?

And so be what? Saved. There it is, church.

Persevere. Those who persevere in their faith to the end will be saved.

It's a genuine faith, church. It's a faith that has counted the cost.

Jesus's predictions here were not only realized in the experience of the early

church, by the way, where many were persecuted, they were martyred for their

faith, but we've also, they've been realized in Christians in every age since that time.

You've probably seen news clips on TV about people being slaughtered because

they're Christians, right? Lined up and executed.

To follow Christ, Eastwood, is to be an exile and a sojourner in this world.

In a world that frequently, by the way, opposes believers with violence and persecution.

Y'all remember 2 Timothy 3.12, right? All those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus.

How many a promise, you will suffer persecution.

Not maybe, you will. It's a promise.

In the end, we can never be sure what part our individual lives play in the

big picture of God's plan.

If you stop and think, it was persecution that actually forced the church to

take the gospel to the entire world as God's plan and as people fled for their

lives as part of his plan.

That persecution made them stop staying all together in their comfortable little

room area there together and made them spread out all over to share the good news.

I think sometimes, y'all, we can get comfortable being behind our four walls.

God has called us to go, not set, to go, to go into this world,

to preach the gospel, to disciple, right? All of that.

He's called us to fulfill the great commission. And let me just say this morning,

it may be that God's plan for your life is for you to glorify him by running

a relatively smooth course.

But it also may be that God's plan for your life is for you to magnify him in your suffering.

Let me say that again.

It may also be that God's plan for your life is for you to magnify him in your suffering.

I didn't hear a lot of amens.

You know, two things were promised. We know Jesus, salvation, suffering.

And you'll learn more about this, but by the way, not a bad thing.

It's graciously given to us, or it may be a mixture of both,

but either way, in these verses, Jesus was utterly certain of God's sovereignty.

God is in control. I am not. You are not.

You cannot thwart the plans of God. But what he told his disciples about their

future had a remarkable correspondence to what actually happened in life.

And the only way he could make such predictions, by the way,

is because he knew what his father had ordained to happen.

These words, they don't amount to Jesus' best guess, Eastwood, about the future.

He's not reading tea leaves or judging the way the wind blows, right?

He's not doing that. Instead, he is telling us what God will sovereignly bring to pass.

And while that will include suffering for many of his followers,

it will result, church, in their ultimate salvation and the spread of his kingdom.

This is a good truth, by the way, as we see in this next slide,

to have in place before suffering comes into your life.

Stand before the storm comes. How many of you are in a storm right now in your life?

It's okay. You can admit it. If you're not in one today, I can promise you will

be in one down the road sometime.

Stand before the storm comes. Put truth in place now.

Jesus is saying, so fear doesn't lead you, but truth leads you.

Jesus leads you, right? And this passage is here that we're looking at.

Jesus promises both future suffering, but also, don't miss this church, future triumph.

Man, God, get it firmly established in your mind this morning so that when you're

faced with trouble or the threat of trouble, you will be ready.

I will be ready to respond with faith and confidence in God Almighty.

The two things, again, that are promised in this passage are future suffering and future triumph.

Y'all, the church, the end is coming, y'all.

The end is coming, as we see in this next slide. Jesus moves on here in verses

20 through 24 to give his disciples more details on the topic of this coming

destruction, this coming demolition of Jerusalem.

They had asked about the timing, remember? and indicators of when these things would happen.

And now Jesus gives them some specific details. Look at it.

When they see Jerusalem surrounded by foreign armies, at that point,

Jesus told them, they will know its desolation is near. Look at verse 20.

In fact, y'all, in AD 66, a revolt led by Jewish zealots led to a final war with the Romans.

And by A.D. 70, the city had fallen and the people were killed or taken off

as prisoners. Look at verse 24.

Jesus' instructions are a remarkably practical field guide, by the way,

to surviving a foreign invasion.

When the city is surrounded, get those in the city. They got to get out, right?

Those in the country should not make the mistake of fleeing into the city for protection.

But rather all the people of the region should flee to the relative safety of

the mountains. See it, verse 21.

The fate of those, church, who cannot escape will be genuinely terrible.

You probably heard this read earlier.

Jesus expresses special concern for those who will have to suffer the extra stress and fear.

Think about it for a minute, of trying to deal with those circumstances.

He gives some illustrations.

With while pregnant, for example, or having responsibility for small children. Look at verse 23.

And y'all, we must not make the mistake of thinking that Jesus is vengefully

delighting in the suffering that's coming to his enemies, because he's not.

Remember what he's doing?

He's actually weeping over the city as we saw in chapter 19, verse 41.

Lamenting over the city. He wants them to come to his father.

But while Jesus doesn't take sadistic delight in these realities at all, don't miss this.

It's clear that they are realities that are ordained by God and sent in accordance

with his sovereign will.

The demolition of the city will be the time of punishment for its inhabitants'

failure to acknowledge the Messiah that God had sent to them.

Y'all remember the other week as we wrap this up, just as the owner of the vineyard

was completely justified in destroying the wicked tenants who had killed his son,

so the Lord was only doing what was right when he sent the Roman armies into

Jerusalem as a punishment for the people there.

All of this would be in fulfillment of all that's been written,

he said, in verse 22, Luke 21, verse 22.

Luke 21:22

What was written in that Old Testament prophets repeatedly warned about the

dangers, y'all, of being unfaithful to the Lord.

And significantly, Jesus' public ministry, as I said, began with a proclamation

that his acts of miraculous mercy were a fulfillment of the scriptures.

Now, in his final public disclosure, y'all, he declares that the scriptures

will also be fulfilled when God's terrible judgment falls on Jerusalem.

So these verses, as we see in this next slide, give us a window into attention

in the Bible's revelation of God's character here that we got to acknowledge.

And I hesitate to kind of describe it in that way for any sense of tension or

even worse inconsistency in the character of God. It's only a perceived tension.

It must be a function of our lack of perfection and understanding.

But in any event, what we see in these verses is that God is both compassionate and just.

He is patient and merciful.

Compassionate and just. He's merciful. He warns them, church.

He calls people to flee. He extends patience.

But he's also just. He fulfills scripture. He judges sin, and he holds all accountable.

He's patient, merciful, warning people to flee the destruction that's coming.

Think about today, Eastwood.

Hasn't God done that for us, warning us time and again? Man,

we have so much access to hear the gospel.

Warning after warning, mercy, grace extended.

Yet there still will be many that will refuse to listen and they will be destroyed.

Even Jesus mentioning that the city would be trampled until the times of the

Gentiles are fulfilled.

In verse 24, it indicates that God will use these events, Eastwood,

as we see in this last slide, to further his saving mission,

or it is next to the last, I think, his saving mission to the non-Jewish nations,

after which time there's going to be a renewal, y'all, of Israel's spiritual fortunes.

Man, God's going to bring the renewal.

But God's mercy doesn't mean that he will delay forever in giving people the

justice they deserve for their sins.

Somebody's going to pay for your sins.

Either you will or Jesus will.

We got to make a choice, y'all.

Can leave here today without knowing Jesus and you can die in your sins.

That's not what he wants. He wants you to repent. He wants you to flee the destruction

that's coming in our case.

You know, I can't side with hellfire brimstone preachers who sometimes make

out God to be a bloodthirsty monster bent on revenge of some kind, right?

But neither can we side with meanly mouth preachers, which is basically what

we got today in our world, who cannot imagine that God will one day hold people

accountable for their sins.

I want y'all to know today, we have a God that is faithful to his word,

y'all, and he is sovereign, amen?

He will fulfill, every bit of it will be fulfilled. And you guys need to know

that. God is gonna hold us accountable.

Either Jesus takes the punishment in our place, we repent, put our faith and

trust in him, or we drive our own little bus and it ain't going to a cool place.

We do our own thing and we pay for them.

I want y'all to know the truth today. In fact, people that think God is not

gonna punish sin, you know what they're doing?

It's the oldest sin in the book, y'all.

Idolatry. They're creating a God in their own mind to suit their sins.

One who looks over those sins.

It's their God you know what it is basically

themselves right the oldest sin in the book but I want you to know the real

God of the Bible he has spoken and his word will be fulfilled in fact God is

far better as we see in this next slide than any either of those one-sided characters can convey to us.

He is both perfectly loving and perfectly just church.

What's the main takeaway today as we wrap up? Faithful endurance for us.

Jesus is enough for every pressure, every witness, and every storm, y'all.

Just like he was telling his disciples.

And I want us to see today, what's our response in this last slide? What is our response?

Will we stand? That's the challenge. Will we stand? Do not be deceived.

Don't follow false hopes.

Don't be frightened. Don't worry beforehand. Trust Christ.

Bear witness, church, stand firm.

That was the challenge. I want to invite you right now, if you would,

stand with us, every head bowed, eye closed, just to shut out distractions today.

And I want to encourage you today, where do you stand with Jesus?