Watch for the Son

Before we really dive into this morning's study, and we're going to be in Luke chapter 21.

Luke 21 · chapter mention

! If you're using the pew Bible, I would encourage you to get there.

! It's on page 881.

So, Luke chapter 21, we're going to pick it up towards the end in verse 28.

Luke 21 · chapter mention

But before we do that, I want to call attention to the fact that starting Wednesday is going to be like the 40 days before Easter.

And it's traditionally known as Lent.

And I would just encourage you to pick up in the lobby one of two devotionals.

This one is called Risen, and it's by Lifeway.

It's for those of us who have kind of teens and maybe children.

That's simpler, and it's something that you could do very easily around the dinner table.

Just reading through it, calling attention, remembering who Christ is, what he did,

and preparing our hearts for Easter.

I love this one because there are 30 lessons, and so you can do it Monday through Friday in the weeks leading up to Easter.

And you can finish this without too much pressure.

Seven dollars for this out in the lobby.

Those of you who don't have children, or maybe even you do have children, but you want to do something for yourself,

this is called Rich Wounds by David Mathis.

A little bit more content here.

You can see it's actually a book.

I think you would get this for yourself for $14, but this is $7 back there.

David does a great job, again, just leading us through who Christ is in preparation for Easter.

It might be a great way to get yourself, your own heart, and your own family ready for that important climactic event we celebrate once a year, Easter time.

This final song that we sang is to set your hope on Jesus.

That was essentially the theme of last week's message and last week's passage.

Set your hope on Jesus.

And of course, as you would expect, those of you who have actually set your hope on something,

there's going to be changes in the way that you live.

If you're expecting something to happen, then you know that there's going to be some preparation

to ensure that what you're expecting to happen, that you are ready for it to actually take place.

So, for example, you know you're going to have some company.

And it's a special company that's coming.

They're going to come for dinner.

They're going to spend the night.

And these are people that you haven't seen for a while.

They're really dear friends.

And so there's going to be some things that you do as you are anticipating and hoping for their coming.

That there are things that are going to happen, of course, in your home that are going to prepare for that coming.

Right?

I would anticipate, as I look around the room, that that would be true.

You know, you're going to be cooking a meal.

You're going to maybe be cleaning the house.

You're not necessarily going to want them to come into your home and see how things are.

You're kind of kicking things out of the way and clearing a space, a trail for them to finally get to the table.

You're going to do certain things in preparation for their coming so they feel comfortable.

You're probably going to put on some of your better clothes.

Not the grungy kind of clothes you wear on a Saturday.

Maybe brush your teeth and comb your hair.

You know, those kinds of generally accommodating kinds of things.

You know, you'll make the bed.

Maybe wash the sheets.

You'll put a towel and a rag on the end of their bed.

And you'll maybe even put a little basket with some toiletries.

Whatever it is to make them feel welcome, to show them that you've prepared for their coming.

Well, Jesus now, after helping his disciples recognize the fact that he is coming.

Remember, he said at the very end in 27 and 28 of chapter 21, he says,

The Son of Man is coming on the clouds with power and glory.

He's coming.

So don't set your hope on the things that are temporary and superficial.

Set your hope on the Son.

And as we sang, set your hope on Jesus.

What does that look like?

How does that play out?

What do we do to set our hope on Jesus?

What do we do to anticipate this coming of the Son of Man?

And that's where we turn our sights this morning.

Jesus is providing some instruction.

He wants his disciples to recognize the significance of his coming.

And there will be some things that will be true about their life.

And so in our passage this morning, he issues three commands.

Three instructions.

They're imperatives in the Greek text.

They're essentially, Jesus tells them three things to do.

And we're going to look at those this morning.

They're going to kind of be the headings of our outline.

And then kind of concluding our passage, we're going to see this example of Jesus.

Our Savior.

The Son of Man.

And where is he?

He's in the temple.

He's with the people.

He's there day by day.

He's teaching them the very word of God.

The very word of God that can shape and change their life.

And Jesus is there.

Even though crucifixion is right around the corner.

Jesus cares about the life-giving message.

And he's there to share that message with those who are hearing.

And there's a lesson in that too.

And we're going to discover that in our time this morning.

So if you're there with me in Luke chapter 21, beginning in verse 29,

Luke 21 · chapter mention

we're going to see this first instruction.

See if you can pick it out as I read along.

He said,

And he told them a parable.

Look at the fig tree and all the trees.

As soon as they come out in leaf,

you see for yourself and know that summer is already near.

So also when you see these things taking place,

you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Truly I say to you,

this generation will not pass away

until all has taken place.

Heaven and earth will pass away,

but my words will not pass away.

What is that first command?

Did you see it?

What is it?

Look.

Right.

Look at the fig tree.

Look at the fig tree.

Okay, well,

so what does looking at the fig tree tell us?

What do we learn from this?

Well, essentially what Jesus is helping his disciples to understand

is as they look at the fig tree,

there's something to learn.

There's some discerning that needs to happen.

Be discerning.

That's essentially kind of the underlying tone of this instruction.

Look at the fig tree.

Learn the lesson of the fig tree.

Learn from its example.

Jesus has inherently throughout his ministry drawn from the landscape.

He knows the significance of these pictures

that he's pulling out of the landscape.

The birds of the air.

The farmer who's spreading seed on his crops.

The weather changes.

And the weather that comes from the south.

And you know it's going to be blistering heat.

Those kinds of things that Jesus draws from culture

to help inform his teaching.

But also serve as not just an object lesson,

but to help press it in.

To help with memory.

Jesus, of course, was the master of illustration.

And these fig trees were loved because of their sweet fruit.

And they were common in Palestine,

especially in this area around the Mount of Olives.

Earlier in the week,

it's just a couple of days from this day of Jesus' teaching,

Jesus is walking from Bethany into Jerusalem.

And on that day,

he will cleanse the temple.

But on his way into Jerusalem,

he's going to pass a fig tree with leaves,

but it doesn't have fruit.

And because it doesn't have fruit,

he will curse that tree and say,

may no one ever eat from you again.

And by the next day,

that tree is withered all the way to its root.

With that image in mind,

just in the immediate background of this,

Jesus is using a fig tree again

to serve an object lesson.

You see,

just like other trees that have leaves,

this fig tree would lose its leaves in the wintertime.

And then when those leaves began to sprout,

and a fig tree was one of the earliest of these trees

that would sprout leaves,

you would know that summer was near.

The appearance of life was particularly dramatic

in this fig tree,

as it was one of the first to sprout leaves

with the other trees around it.

This picture, of course, is clear.

The picture that Jesus is drawing from,

this discernment that he's encouraging the disciples to have,

is read the signs around you.

Be discerning.

From the fig tree,

we know that summer is coming.

So Jesus,

he's often drawing from nature

to help his audience be discerning.

In Luke chapter 12,

Luke 12:54

verses 54 and 56,

he says,

you see the cloud in the west,

and you know rain is coming.

In Luke chapter 12,

Luke 12:54

verses 54 and 56,

he says,

you feel the south wind,

and you know there's going to be scorching heat.

The coming of the Son of Man

is going to be in the same way.

Just like the weather that you feel from the south,

just like the leaves that you see on the fig tree,

the coming of the Son of Man

is going to be observable.

It's going to be unmistakable.

It's going to be verifiable.

So when you see these things happening,

he says in verse 29,

you know that the kingdom of God is near.

And for those of you who weren't here last week,

what are the things that Jesus is referring to?

What are those things that they're going to see,

like the leaves on a fig tree?

What are those things that they will see

that will help to indicate

the nearness of the kingdom

and the coming of the Son of Man?

Just for review,

follow with me in chapter 21,

beginning in verse 6.

First, the destruction of the temple,

where Jesus says that one stone

will not be left upon the other.

This destruction.

In verse 8,

we find the presence of false prophets.

Those false prophets that say,

hey, I'm the Messiah.

The end is here.

Don't believe them.

Verse 10,

we find this international conflict.

Nation against nation

and kingdom against kingdom.

In verse 11,

we find earthquakes and famines

and pestilence,

terrors,

great signs from heaven.

In verses 12,

and then in verse 16,

we find persecution.

Persecution of those

who are following after Christ,

which may involve death.

It will involve those

being hated by all

for his namesake.

In verse 20,

we find that Jerusalem

is surrounded by armies

and it's devastated.

In verse 25,

we find signs in the sun

and the moon and the stars

and the roaring of the waves.

In verse 26,

we see people

who are fainting with fear.

The powers of heaven

that are shaken.

On one hand,

all of these signs are helpful.

They're observable.

They're verifiable.

They're unmistakable.

We see them happening

when the word is fulfilled

and we see these things happening,

then we know

that the word that has been given to us

is a word that is true.

It's reliable.

But on the other hand,

it's not so helpful

because from the very beginning,

from the inception of the church,

of course,

we've seen varying degrees

of these kinds of things

taking place.

We've seen conflicts and wars.

We've seen and experienced earthquakes,

perhaps.

The massive earthquake

that took place at Jesus' death

would have been the first example of this,

this fulfillment.

And it tore the temple into,

you remember.

And also,

the earthquake that took place

at Jesus' resurrection,

which, by the way,

that earthquake

was described as a great earthquake,

the kind of earthquake

that shook the ground.

And it was the kind of earthquake

that opened the rocks,

that split the rocks,

and people,

graves were opened.

Of course,

there's been persecution.

Persecution that took place

as early as the beginning of Acts.

Acts chapter 4

Acts 4 · chapter mention

and Acts chapter 5.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

And then the crescendo of that,

which split people out of Jerusalem

happening in Acts chapter 8.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

The persecution that's come on the church.

And of course,

the history of famines and pestilence.

So in many ways,

Christ's words

that were given to us

are words that are true.

They're words that we have seen.

They're words that are reliable.

We have heard the words,

and we've seen them carried out.

So there must be other clues.

Are there other clues

that we can look at

from Jesus' descriptions here

that will help us know

when this is all going to happen?

And that leads us to verses 32 to 33.

Not just be discerning,

but be ready.

Be ready.

Jesus says,

Truly I say to you,

this generation will not pass away

until all has taken place.

Heaven and earth will pass away,

but my words will not pass away.

I want to key in on this phrase.

This generation will not pass away.

And what you cannot really see

in your English translation

is the emphatic nature

of the will not that is here

that's contained in this verse.

Meaning,

this is something that you can bank on.

There are two negatives

that are put side by side

that leave without exception

that this is, of course,

going to happen.

You can bank on it.

This generation, then,

we need to understand

what does it mean?

What is this generation?

This word generation

has been problematic for scholars.

And there are a number

of different ways

that we can see it

in the Gospel of Luke

and a number of ways

that scholars have tried

to describe it.

First would be

that Jesus is referring

to the current generation.

The generation of those

who are listening to his words

and that he's speaking with

in that moment.

That generation

that's listening to his teaching

will be the same generation

that will see and experience

the testimony

or fulfillment

of his prophecy.

Another option

is to see generation

as Jewish people

as a whole.

This whole nation

of individuals.

This Jewish nation.

Another way,

to see it as humans

in general.

And another way,

and there's several,

but the final way

I'll describe this morning

is the generation

that hears or sees

with their eyes

the evidence

of what Jesus is talking about

will be the generation

that will then experience

the devastating consequences

and then thus also see

the arrival of the Son of Man.

So, what do we do?

Well, throughout the gospel

of Luke,

the phrase

this generation

is consistently applied

to the audience,

the target audience,

the people

who are actually

listening to what Jesus

is saying.

For an example,

Luke chapter 11

Luke 11:29

verses 29 and 30

we find,

when the crowds

were increasing,

he began to say,

this generation

is an evil generation.

It seeks for a sign,

but no sign

will be given to it

except the sign of Jonah.

For as Jonah

became a sign

to the people of Nineveh,

so will the Son of Man

be to this generation.

The Queen of the South

will rise up

at the judgment

with the men

of this generation

and condemn them.

The men of Nineveh

will rise up

at the judgment

with this generation

and condemn it.

For they repented

at the preaching of Jonah

and behold,

something greater

than Jonah is here.

So, Jesus is speaking

to this audience,

these people

who are listening

to what he's saying.

He's applying

this phrase,

this generation,

to that group.

And by the way,

they're the ones

who are going to see

Jesus die

and rise again.

This sign of Jonah

being in the grave,

Jesus being in the grave

for three days,

just like Jonah was.

But there are

some places

throughout the Gospel

of Luke

where the generation

seems to correlate

with the Jewish nation

as a whole

in general.

For example,

in Luke chapter 11,

Luke 11:50

verse 50 and 51.

So that the blood

of all the prophets

shed from the foundation

of the world

may be charged

against this generation.

From the blood

of Abel

to the blood

of Zechariah

who perished

between the altar

and the sanctuary.

Yes, I tell you,

it will be required

of this generation.

Now, the struggle

with this is

these individuals

who Jesus

is speaking to

weren't actually

a part

of that process

of those prophets

that were put to death.

And yet,

the responsibility

is applied to them

and applied to them

as a nation

as a whole

because the testimony

of that people

is that they rejected

the things of God.

And here Jesus was again

the ultimate prophet,

the greater prophet

as Moses would indicate,

this greater prophet

that's coming.

And here Jesus was,

another prophet

and they're rejecting

him as well.

Of course,

the final possibility

is that generation

could refer to

that generation

that sees the signs

that Jesus is referring to

and then

they will experience

the repercussions

and the testimony

of the rest

of those things.

So how do we decide?

How do we decide

which generation

we're talking about?

Well,

Jesus himself

informs our hermeneutic.

Okay?

And that's just

a fancy way to say

that Jesus is the one

that gives us

a template

for interpretation.

Jesus gives us

the answer key

as it were.

Jesus gives us

the cipher code.

Jesus helps us know

how we're supposed

to interpret

the words that he says.

He says this,

you will see this.

You're going to

experience this.

Look at the fig tree.

Everything that's

going to happen

is observable.

It's going to be verifiable.

It's going to affect

nations

on a global scale.

It's going to impact

the earth itself.

It's going to impact

the heavens as well.

So it can't be

replicated

and it can't be

manufactured.

You know this is

coming from God

himself.

And those things

that Jesus is

sharing with him

will happen

just the way

that Jesus

has said

that will happen.

That's the answer key

as it were.

That's the cipher code.

That's the template

for interpretation.

What I say

will happen.

It's predictable,

observable,

verifiable.

It will be global.

And arguably

within a generation

of these words

in 40 years

from when Jesus

spoke these words

the city of Jerusalem

would fall.

It would be decimated

in AD 70.

So armies

would surround

Jerusalem

as Jesus predicted

in verse 20

when you see

Jerusalem surrounded

by armies.

And 1 million people

would fall by the sword

as Jesus had said

in verse 24.

They will fall

by the edge

of the sword.

And 97,000

of people

were led captive

just like Jesus

said in verse 24.

They will be

led captive.

And Jerusalem

was trampled

underfoot

as we find

in verse 24.

And the temple

was destroyed

just like Jesus

had predicted

in verse 6.

All of this

seems to be

an apparent

fulfillment

of Jesus' prophecy.

It was observable.

It was unmistakable.

It was verifiable.

It was physical.

And it was preceded

by several

of the signs

that Jesus gives

within

these verses.

The template

for interpretation

was confirmed.

And Jesus

was validated

as a

true prophet.

But there's one

more interpretive

clue

that Jesus

leaves with

his disciples

that requires

more consideration.

He says

in verse 33.

Heaven

and earth

will pass away

but my words

will not

pass away.

Meaning

the event

of AD 70

was missing

one

climactic

one

ultimate

one supreme

final

peace.

And that was

the coming

of the son of man

in clouds

in great glory.

He was going

to bring redemption.

And so we realize

that while

the destruction

of Jerusalem

was significant

it lacked

one of the elements

that Christ predicted

which clarified

for us

throughout the prophets

and the book

of Revelation.

And there are things

in the book

of Revelation

that helps us

understand

that however

traumatic

and great

and severe

those things

were leading

up to AD 70

they were nothing

on the scale

of what we find

in the book

of Revelation.

For example

we find

that this

is not

going to be

a localized

conflict

not just

centered

in Jerusalem

but it is

going to be

an international

global

conflict

nations

warring

against nations

and we find

that the

earthquakes

however

great

they might

have been

leading up

to AD 70

are nothing

on the scale

of what we find

in Revelation

Revelation 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

where every

mountain

and every

island

on the earth

is going

to be moved

and the

earthquake

we find

in Revelation

Revelation 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16

where every

island flees

away

it crumbles

into the sea

and every

mountain

collapses

into the

landscape

or the

terrors

that we find

in Revelation

Revelation 8:7

chapter 8

verse 7

8

the terrors

that are

so severe

that one

third

of the

earth

is burned

and a

third

of the

trees

and all

of the

green

grass

or the

stars

falling

from the

sky

falling

onto

rivers

and falling

onto

oceans

that we

find

in Revelation

Revelation 8:8–11

chapter 8

verses 8

to 11

where a

third

of the

fresh water

becomes

bitter

a third

of the

living

creatures

of the

sea

will die

and a

third

of the

ships

will be

destroyed

or the

sun

and moon

and stars

that are

struck

a third

of the

stars

so that

a third

of the

light

is darkened

in Revelation

Revelation 8:12

chapter 8

verse 12

or the

scale

of the

death

that takes

place

that we

find in

Revelation

Revelation 9:13–19

chapter 9

verses 13

to 19

so that

a third

of mankind

is killed

at the

sounding

of the

sixth

trumpet

and you

just

do the

math

if there

is 8

billion

people

in the

world

today

that

one

third

would be

about

2.6

billion

people

that would

almost

be

the

population

of

China

and

India

combined

that's

the

kind

of

scale

and

severity

of

the

signs

that

we

need

to

look

for

that

will

be

the

final

evidence

of

the

coming

of

the

Son

of

Man

it

needs

to be

fulfilled

in the

exact

same

way

as

what

Jesus

had

predicted

so

to

which

generation

was

Jesus

referring

I

wonder

if

it's

possible

that

instead

of it

being

an

either

or

it can

be a

both

and

meaning

that

Jesus

is speaking

to his

audience

those who

are

listening

to

Jesus

in that

moment

and

Jesus

is

speaking

these

words

as

prophets

always

did

to the

audience

that were

there

present

with

them

and

that

in

the

foreground

in

the

proximity

of

their

lifespan

they

would

actually

see

these

things

unfold

in

front

of

them

which

would

include

the

destruction

of

Jerusalem

and

the

destruction

of

the

temple

but

it

was

only

a

preview

of

that

final

cataclysmic

event

when

the

son

of

man

would

actually

follow

up

in

the

clouds

with

power

in

great

glory

so

we'll

find

in

verse

31

when

you

see

these

things

taking

place

you

know

that

the

kingdom

of

God

is

near

and

because

it's

near

we

be

ready

so

how

do

I

ready

myself

well

that's

a good

question

I'm

glad

you

asked

that's

where

Jesus

turns

in

verses

34

and

35

he

now

provides

some

instruction

on

how

these

disciples

with

all

of

this

information

are

to

respond

how

are

they

ready

themselves

well

verse

34

says

this

watch

yourselves

lest

your

hearts

be

weighed

down

with

dissipation

and

drunkenness

and

the

cares

of

this

life

and

that

day

comes

upon

you

suddenly

like

a

trap

for

it

will

come

upon

all

who

dwell

on

the

face

of

the

whole

earth

watch

yourselves

that's

the

command

watch

yourselves

specifically

Jesus is

referring to

the kind

of watching

that is

internal

if

looking

is

external

you're

looking

at the

signs

you're

looking

at the

fig

tree

you're

looking

at the

things

that are

happening

around

you

and

you're

being

able

to

gauge

the

nearness

of

the

kingdom

as a

result

of

that

now

there

is

an

introspective

look

a

watching

of

yourselves

in

preparation

of

your

heart

for

that

future

day

specifically

that your

hearts

be not

weighed

down

this

word

to

weigh

down

is

to

be

burdened

to

be

troubled

to

be

overcome!

It's

the

same

word

that

Paul

will

use

of

the

afflictions

that

he's

experiencing

in 2nd

Corinthians

hearts

that are

weighed

down

often

also

in the

scripture

refers to

insensitivity

or this

careless

attitude

a heart

that is

burdened

and

kind of

overcome

it's

desensitized

you know

Jesus is

referring to

some hard

times that

are coming

times of

persecution

being delivered

over to

court and

prison and

kings of

being betrayed

by

friends and

family

those that

are

closest

to

them

of

being

killed

for

the

sake

of

Christ

of

being

hated

by

all

so

he

says

in

verse

19

that

endurance

is

required

he's

already

covered

this

subject

your

endurance

will

gain

your

lives

he says

and

now

coming

back

to

it

this

watching

of

yourself

so

that

your

heart

is

not

weighed

!

down

this

is

what

endurance

looks

like

!

this

awareness

this

alertness

this

readiness

that

will

help

you

to

endure

the

significant

difficulties

that are

coming

your way

Jesus

then

refers

to

three

different

ways

in which

a heart

can be

weighed

down

first

by

dissipation

and then

drunkenness

in the

cares of

this

life

dissipation

is that

unrestrained

behavior

when

drunk

it's

kind

of

the

after

effect

of

drunkenness

whether

it's

a

hangover

or

headache

or

throwing

up

whatever

it is

it's

the

consequence

of

that

reckless

abandon

and then

drunkenness

are those

who

participate

in

excess

of

drinking

it's

often

connected

in the

scripture

with

a

lack

of

moral

restraint

that

drunkenness

kind

of

gives

way

to

all

manner

of

carnal

things

and

appetites

in one's

life

and

then

the

worries

of

this

life

refer

to

the

issues

or

struggles

or

temptations

or

cares

that

bombard

individuals

this

side

of

glory

what

Jesus

is

referring

to

or

what

Jesus

is

trying

to

address

is

this

question

of

what

do

you

do

when

hard

things

happen

what

is

the

general

way

that

you

respond

when

life

is

difficult

now

I'm

turning

that

question

on

you

because

Jesus

turned

that

question

on

his

disciples

and

I

think

there's

one of

several ways

that we

can

respond

but

one of

them

is to

want to

retreat

is to

want an

escape

is to

try to

deaden

your

senses

as it

were

it's

to

cover up

the pain

it's

to find

ways

to

come

out

of

and

pull

out

of

reality

in some

way

whatever

that means

for you

whether

it's

watching

movies

or

playing

games

or

engaging

yourself

in

that

hobby

or

working

extra

hard

so you

can

kind

of

forget

the

pain

whatever

you

need

to do

to help

deaden

your

senses

and

overcome

the

difficulties

the

other

way

that we

often

deal

with

this

kind

of

pain

is

we

run

headlong

into

sin

the

cares

of

this

life

and

so

our

thought

process

is

maybe

along

the

lines

of

this

well

it's

not

worth

it

anymore

I

deserve

to

have

some

fun

and

whatever

that

fun

is

God

will

just

forgive

me

and

so

I'll

just

run

headlong

into

sin

I'll

do

what

I

need

to

do

to

undo

this

suffering

and

pain

that

I'm

feeling

and

so

they

chase

this

temporary

pleasure

and

Jesus

is

warning

his

disciples

to

watch

themselves

because

God's

word

is

true

the

coming

of

the

son

of

man

is

imminent

it's

that

day

of

judgment

that

will

come

suddenly

that

Jesus

describes

here

that

day

will

come

suddenly

like

a

trap

in other

places

it's

described

as a

thief

in

the

night

it's

not

going

to

be

expected

it's

going

to

take

you

by

surprise

and

not

only

does

Jesus

care

about

this

but

the

apostle

Paul

kind

of

plugs

in

and

develops

this

a

little

bit

more

in

1st

Thessalonians

chapter 5

verses 2

and 3

he says

this

for you

yourselves

are fully

aware

that the

day of

the Lord

will come

like a

thief

in the

night

when

people

are

saying

there

is

peace

and

security

then

sudden

destruction

will

come

upon

them

as

labor

pains

come

upon

a

pregnant

woman

and

they

will

not

escape

where

are you

this

morning

is there

a readiness

in your

heart

are you

aware

of the

fact

that

the

son

of

man

is

coming

and

that

his

coming

could

be

any

second

in

the

first

way

that

we

prepare

our

heart

especially

if

we're

not

disciples

is

that

that

we

need

to

be

those

who

have

dealt

with

our

sin

we've

come

to

a

place

of

recognizing

that

we

stand

before

a

holy

God

and

that

all

have

sinned

and

come

short

of

the

glory

of

God

and

so

because

none

of

us

measure

up

to

his

perfection

and

I'm