Preparation with the teacher Luke 21v5-38

Jesus' disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones

and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said,

As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another.

Every one of them will be thrown down.

Teacher, they asked, when will these things happen and what will be the sign that they are about to take place?

He replied, watch out that you are not deceived, for many will come in my name claiming I am he and the time is near.

Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened.

These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.

Then he said to them, nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.

There will be great earthquakes, famines, pestilences in various places and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you.

They will hand you over to the synagogue and put you in prison and you will be brought before the kings and governors

and all on account of my name.

And so you will bear testimony to me.

But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.

For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

You'll be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends,

and they will put some of you to death.

Everyone will hate you because of me,

but not a hair of your head will perish.

Stand firm

and you will win life.

When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies,

you will know that its desolation is near.

Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,

let those in the city get out,

and let those in the country not enter the city.

For this is the time of punishment and fulfillment of all that has been written.

How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers.

They will be in great distress in the land and wrath against his people.

They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations.

Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

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

On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity

at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

People will faint from terror,

apprehensive of what is coming on the world,

for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

At that time, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

When these things begin to take place,

stand up,

lift up your heads,

because your redemption is drawing near.

He told them this parable.

Look at the fig tree and all the trees.

When they sprout leaves,

you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.

Even so, when you see these things happening,

you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Truly, I tell you,

this generation will certainly not pass away

until all these things have happened.

Heaven and earth will pass away,

but my words will never pass away.

Be careful,

or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing,

drunkenness,

and the anxieties of life.

That day will close on you suddenly like a trap,

for it will come on all those who live in the face of the whole earth.

Be always on the watch,

and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen,

and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.

Each day,

Jesus was teaching at the temple,

and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives,

and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.

Well, let's pray together and ask for God's help as we look at this section together.

Let's pray.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,

and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth.

Father, we pray that right now your word would be effective in our lives,

that it would go forth and bring about fruit in our lives.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So, Storm Ophelia,

Storm Emma,

the beast from the east.

What are we to make of all these extreme weather changes we've been having?

Well, some will say it's all part of global warming,

the effects of pollution.

Others will say they're signs that the Lord Jesus is going to return.

You see, there's always been a fascination, particularly among Christians,

about trying to predict the future,

when the end will come.

What do you think about all that?

Well, can we believe what people say when they talk about signs that are happening?

How do we know that it's all true?

Well, Jesus has made the extraordinary claim that he knows what is going to happen.

Look at verse 33.

Jesus says,

Heaven and earth will pass away,

but my words will never pass away.

He's saying that his words surpass everything that you can see.

My words rule over the past,

over the present,

and over the future.

So the one thing that we can trust

is what Jesus says.

But how do we know that what Jesus says is true?

Well, Jesus is now in Jerusalem.

It's about four days before his execution.

But before Jesus dies,

he wants us to be clear about the future.

Chapter 21 that we've just read

can be very confusing.

And it's very easy to get bogged down in all the detail.

But if we can keep the big picture in mind,

I think it's very clear

what Jesus is saying to us today.

There are two promised events.

There's the promise of the temple destruction.

Look at verse 20.

When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies,

you will know that its desolation is near.

Then there's the promise

of the coming of the Son of Man,

verse 27.

At that time,

they will see the Son of Man

coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

So these are the two main events,

the two headlines of chapter 21.

But there are also these two events

that are connected to make one main point.

The promised destruction of the temple

assures us of the promised coming of Jesus,

the Son of Man.

One writer put it like this

in connecting the two points,

the two main events together.

He talked of it like this.

A final but distant future event,

that's the coming of Jesus,

is prefigured in a near and realized event,

talking about the destruction of the temple.

So a final and distant future event

is prefigured in a near and realized event.

So as Jesus is teaching here in chapter 21,

as he's teaching,

at the time,

the temple is still standing.

It's not yet destroyed.

But now in 2018,

as we look back and listen

to what Jesus taught,

well, the temple has now been destroyed.

One event has already been taken place,

which points to another event,

which is yet to take place.

So that's kind of the big outline of chapter 21.

So let's look at it in more detail.

First, the promised destruction of the temple.

Let's read verse 5.

Some of the disciples,

so you've got to remember that

the disciples of Jesus

have made their way down from the north,

from Galilee,

down into Jerusalem.

They're not usually there,

so it's all kind of new,

a brand new experience for them.

So some of his disciples were remarking about,

wow, look at the temple.

Look at it.

Isn't it big?

How it's adorned with beautiful stones

and with gifts dedicated to God.

It was the most magnificent building

in the world at that time.

One historian, Josephus,

who wrote at the time,

described it.

He said,

the gate opening into the temple

was completely overlaid with gold,

as was the whole wall around it.

Just picture it.

It had above it golden vines

which hung huge grape clusters

as tall as a man.

And it had golden doors,

50 cubits high,

so that's 20 metres high,

16 cubits broad,

that's 8 metres wide.

Before these hung a Babylonian tapestry

of equal length

with embroidery of blue

and fine linen

of scarlet also and purple,

wrought with marvellous skill.

It was a magnificent building.

Stones used to build it

were 12 metres long

and 4 metres high.

The columns to support part of it

would stretch 12 metres high

and would take three men

holding hands

to reach all the way around a pillar.

It was a symbol of power,

beauty and wealth.

This temple

could not be destroyed.

So as the disciples surveyed

this magnificent building,

Jesus predicts something terrible,

verse 6.

As for what you see here,

the time will come

while not one stone

will be left on the other,

every one of them

will be thrown down.

Teacher, they asked,

when will these things happen?

And what will be the sign

that they are about to take place?

Well, yes,

certain things will happen,

says Jesus,

and they will be a sign

that the temple will be destroyed.

He tells His disciples

what some of those signs are.

He talks about

Messiah pretenders

in verse 8.

He replied,

watch out

that you are not deceived,

for many will come in My name

claiming,

I am He,

I am the Messiah,

and the time is near.

Acts 5, verse 36,

Acts 5:36

actually records

one of these kind of

Messiah pretenders.

It says this,

in Acts 5, 36,

some time ago,

Thudus appeared,

claiming to be somebody,

and about 400 men

rallied to Him.

He was claiming

to be a special person,

sent from God.

These were one of the signs.

Jesus says,

don't follow them.

He also said,

there will be the sign

of cosmic disorder,

verse 10.

Then He said to them,

nation will rise

against nation,

and kingdom against kingdom.

There will be great earthquakes,

famines,

and pestilences

in various places,

and fearful events,

and great signs

from heaven.

Again,

another historian,

Tacitus,

records what this

particular time

was like.

He said,

it was a period

rich in disasters,

terrible in battles.

Four emperors

fell by the sword.

There were three civil wars,

more foreign wars,

and often at the same time.

It was a brutal time

of history.

Nations against nation,

kingdom against kingdom.

And Acts 11,

Acts 11:28

verse 28,

tells us there was

a great famine

that spread over

the whole Roman world.

These were the signs

that Jesus talked about

would happen

before the temple's destruction.

And He said,

there will be

intentional persecution,

verse 12.

But before all this,

they will seize you

and persecute you.

They will hand you over

to synagogues

and put you in prison,

and you will be brought,

you will be brought

before kings and governors,

and all account

of my name.

Verse 16,

you will be betrayed

even by parents,

brothers and sisters,

relatives and friends,

and they will put

some of you to death.

Everyone will hate you

because of me.

Now much of this persecution

that Jesus talked about

happened under

the fearsome Nero.

He wanted to rebuild Rome,

he burnt the city

and blamed the Christians.

Again,

Tacitus,

the historian,

tells us that

Christians

were a class of persons

who were loathed,

hated

by the human race.

Read through the book of Acts

and you will see

the persecution was true.

Stephen,

stoned to death.

Lots of persecution happening.

And Jesus is saying,

these are all signs,

these are things

that are going to happen

to tell you

that the temple

will be destroyed.

And it was.

Verse 20,

when you see Jerusalem

being surrounded

by armies,

you will know

that its desolation

is near.

In AD 70,

about 37 years

after Jesus

had spoken

these very words,

the temple

was destroyed.

You can go and see

the evidence

of it today.

The Roman authorities

had had enough

of Jewish rebellion

and revolution

and under the command

of Titus,

the Romans

marched

and surrounded

the city.

You couldn't get

into the city,

you couldn't get

out of the city.

It was classic

warfare tactic,

waiting until

all the resources

in the side

of the city

had been used up

when they had

no food,

no water,

then you attacked.

And it was brutal

and violent.

You can look it up

in history.

A terrible event.

Verse 24,

they will fall

by the sword

and will be taken

as prisoners

to all the nations.

Jerusalem will be

trampled on

by the Gentiles

until the times

of the Gentiles

are fulfilled.

The temple

was destroyed.

just as Jesus

had said.

It's an undisputed

historical event.

And those

who had listened

to Jesus

would not have

been surprised

when it happened.

But this just

wasn't about

the might

of the Romans.

This was

God's judgment

on the people.

Verse 22.

For Jesus

says,

this is the time

of punishment

in fulfillment

of all

that has

been written.

How dreadful

it will be

in those days

for pregnant women

and nursing mothers.

There will be

great distress

in the land

and wrath

against this

people.

Now,

we mustn't think

that God

is some

vindictive tyrant

who takes delight

in such terrible

violence

for the Romans

coming in

on Jerusalem.

Remember

earlier

what Jesus

said

as he

approached

Jerusalem,

as he

was on the

outskirts

of the city

and looked

over the city

and saw

the temple

in all its

grandeur.

Have a look

back at

chapter 19

verse 41.

Acts 9,

Luke 19

Luke 19:41

verse 41.

As Jesus

approached

Jerusalem

and saw

the city,

he wept

over it.

Here is a

man full

of compassion,

desperate

for the

people to

turn to

him,

to run

to him.

And Jesus

said,

if you,

even you,

had only

known on

this day

what would

bring you

peace,

but now

is hidden

from your

eyes.

The days

will come

upon you

when your

enemies

will build

an embankment

against you

and encircle

you and

hem you

in on

every side.

They will

dash you

to the

ground

and the

children

within

your

walls.

They will

not leave

one stone

on another

because you

did not

recognize the

time of

God's

coming

to you.

Hard

words,

but true

words from

Jesus,

longing that

the people

would turn

to him

and accept

him as

the Messiah,

as God's

saving

king.

But because

they had

refused to

listen to

him and

accept him

as their

savior,

a terrible

judgment

fell.

but those

who had

listened to

Jesus'

words

would not

have been

surprised.

So first

we have

the promised

destruction

of the

temple.

Second,

the promised

coming of

the Son of

Man.

Remember,

there's two

big events

in chapter

21.

The first

event we've

just looked

up,

the temple

destruction,

but it's

a sign

of the

second

event

to come,

the coming

of Jesus.

You see,

Jesus is

making it

very clear

to those

he's speaking

to.

Look back

at verse

9.

He says

to them,

when you

hear of

wars and

uprisings,

don't be

frightened.

These

things

must

happen

first.

But what

are these

things?

What are

these things

Jesus is

talking about?

Well,

he's just

been talking

about the

temple being

destroyed in

verse 6.

So,

end of

verse 9,

these things,

the temple

being destroyed,

must happen

first,

but the

end will

not come

right away.

So,

when you

see the

temple being

destroyed,

it's not

the end

of the

world.

It's

just a

sign

that the

Son of

Man is

coming.

Verse 29,

he told

them this

parable.

Look,

the fig

tree and

all the

trees,

when they

sprout leaves,

you can

see for

yourselves and

know that

the summer

is near.

The leaves

in spring,

well,

they're a sign

that summer

is just

round the

corner.

Verse 31,

even so,

when you see

these things

happening,

you know

that the

kingdom of

God is

near.

Again,

these things,

when you

see the

temple being

destroyed,

you'll

know that

the end

is near.

As we've

said in

AD 70,

the temple

was destroyed,

just as

Jesus said.

And as we

now look

back in

time to

that true

and

undisputed

historical

event,

so we are

now to

look forward

with absolute

certainty

that Jesus,

the Son of

Man,

is coming.

there is

a sign

and that

sign has

taken place.

The Son of

Man is

coming.

Now,

the Son of

Man is

a title

which comes

from Daniel

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7,

which Jesus,

his favourite

title for

himself as

he speaks

about himself

being the

Son of

Man.

Here's a

quote from

Daniel 7

where it

comes from.

Daniel has

a vision

and he

says,

there before

me was

one like

the Son

of Man

coming on

the clouds

of heaven.

He approached

the Ancient

of Days,

that's God

the Almighty.

He was led

into his

presence and

was given

authority and

glory and

sovereign power

and all the

nations and

the peoples of

every language

worshipped him.

His dominion

is an everlasting

dominion that

will not pass

away and his

kingdom is one

that will

never be

destroyed.

Now the

coming of

the Son

of Man

is going

to be an

awesome event

as Daniel

had that in

his vision

of one

coming with

great power

and great

authority

coming to

this earth.

So look at

verse 25

of Luke

21.

There will

be signs

in the

sun,

moon and

stars.

On the

earth nations

will be in

anguish and

perplexity at

the rousing

and tossing of

the sea.

Now this is

apocalyptic

language.

I don't think

we're to get

concerned about

blood moons

and the

alignment of

stars or the

beast from

the east.

Rather Luke

is saying to

us,

look when the

Son of Man

comes, it

is going to

be unmistakable.

Verse 26.

People will

faint from

terror, apprehensive

of what is

coming on the

world, for the

heavenly bodies

will be shaken.

At that time

they will see

the Son of

Man coming

in a cloud

with power

and great

glory.

When the

Lord Jesus

comes again,

the world

and all its

people will

fall silent.

People will

bow in

fear,

acknowledging

that yes,

Jesus Christ

is God's

King.

Justice

will be

done.

Evil will

be judged.

There will

be no

hiding.

There will

be no

escape.

And each

one of us

will have

to stand

and give

an account

before the

one with

absolute

power and

supreme

authority.

God's

will

will

be no

will

be no

will

will

be no

will.

But we

don't need

to fear.

For the

Christian,

this is

something to

welcome and

be joyful about

as we think

of the Lord's

return.

Verse 28,

will

stand up,

lift up

your heads

because your

redemption

is drawing

near.

Every day

that passes

is a day

closer to the

Lord's return.

Every war

that rages,

every natural

disaster that

falls,

every opposition

and persecution

that is

endured,

is a sign

that our

redemption

is getting

close.

That one

day our

great and

glorious King

is going to

fill the

earth with

his glory,

his might

and his

power will

end all

suffering and

all things

will be made

new.

And God

is going to

dwell with

his people and

we will reign

with him.

You see,

for the

Christian,

this is not

something to

fear,

the great

and awesome

Son of

Man coming

with all

power and

all authority.

This is

something to

welcome and

to rejoice

about.

Lift up

your heads

because your

redemption is

drawing near.

Yes,

one day

the Lord

Jesus will

return.

the sign,

well,

the temple

has been

destroyed,

just as

Jesus said.

And the

Son of Man

is coming,

just as

Jesus said.

So third,

we must be

prepared to

stand before

the Son of

Man.

Just as sure

as the temple

was destroyed,

so the

Son of Man

will come.

And the

question is,

are we

prepared to

meet him?

Look at

the end

of verse

36.

Jesus is

saying all

of this,

end of

verse 36,

that you

may be

able to

stand before

the Son

of Man.

We will

face him.

Are we

ready to?

Well,

two things

by way

of preparation.

First,

be

careful.

Look at

verse 34.

Be

careful,

or your

hearts will

be weighed

down with

carousing,

that's

fueling your

life with

drink,

drunkenness

and the

anxieties

of life.

It's funny,

why is Luke

talking about

people

drinking and

getting drunk?

drunk?

Why do

people drink

and get

drunk so

much in

this country

anyway?

Why is it

that people

live for

the weekend

so that

they can

go out

with their

mates and

get drunk

or sit at

home alone

with a

bottle of

wine?

Why is it

that there

are so many

teenagers?

Near where

we live,

there's a

little wood,

nearly every

weekend you

could have

up to

40 teenagers

drinking away,

getting

absolutely

wiped out.

Why?

Why is it

in our

culture?

Why do

we do

that?

Well,

because we

have nothing

to live

for.

Getting

drunk is

simply a

way of

trying to

numb the

worries of

this life

because there

is nothing

beyond this

life.

For some

it's to

dull the

pain of

today in

all the

struggles

that people

may face

and at

the same

time to

somehow

create a

happiness

for the

moment.

Isn't

that why

people drink?

Dull the

pain of

today?

To get

rid of

the worries

and to

create a

false kind

of happiness

for the

moment?

So Jesus

says,

be careful.

Be careful,

verse 34.

because that

day will

close on

you suddenly

like a

trap,

for it

will come

on all

those who

live in

the face

of the

whole

earth.

Be careful

that we

don't get

caught up

with the

world who

only live

for the

now,

who are

only living

for today,

because the

future,

well,

they've got

nothing to

look forward

to.

When you

die,

you die,

and that's

it.

There's

nothing to

come.

Be careful,

we don't

get caught

up into

that kind

of thinking.

Mike

McKinley

has a

little book

on Luke's

Gospel,

recommend you

to read

it.

He says

this,

no one

ever looked

at pornography,

flirted

with someone

who was

not their

spouse,

or ran

up credit

card debts

on things

they can't

afford,

with their

heart set

expectantly,

on the

reality that

Jesus would

return.

You see,

if we're not

focused on

the Lord

Jesus'

return,

we're focused

on the

here and

now,

trying to

fill our

life with

all kinds

of things

to dull

the pain

and create

a happiness

because we've

got nothing

to look

forward to.

Be careful

that we

don't get

sucked into

thinking this

life is all

that we

have.

Set your

hearts on

Jesus,

who gives

us life

in all

its fullness.

Look back

at verse

19.

Stand

firm and

you will

win life.

True

life is

found in

him.

The

Son of

Man is

coming.

Be

prepared,

be careful.

careful.

The second

thing by

way of

preparation

is watch

out.

Verse 36.

Be always

on the

watch and

pray that

you may be

able to

escape all

that is

about to

happen and

that you

may be able

to stand

before the

Son of

Man.

We're to be

on the

lookout.

Watch

out.

Wait

patiently for

the Lord's

return.

And the

way to

keep watch,

do you see

it there

beginning of

verse 36?

Watch out

and pray.

Pray.

Pray.

You see,

the signs that

Jesus spoke

of earlier

are signs

or things

that still

happen today.

There are

false

messiahs,

those who

try to lead

us away

from Christ,

come up with

notions telling

us that,

oh, the

time is

near,

oh, the

beast from

the east,

Jesus is

coming next

week.

Wars and

threats of

wars,

famines and

earthquakes and

natural disasters,

opposition and

persecution.

We can see and

experience all

these things in

the world today

and the danger

is they can

cause us to

think,

well, where

is God?

All this is

happening.

Where is he?

Doesn't God

care with all

the trouble

that's going

on in the

world?

All these

wars in

Syria?

All the

persecutions

that are

happening in

Asia?

What's God

doing?

And the

temptation for

you and

me is to

give up

this promise

of Jesus

coming.

I mean,

2,000 years

have passed.

Don't believe

it anymore.

We might as

well go and

get drunk

with everybody

else.

No, says

Jesus, watch

out.

Be patient.

Keep

looking.

And pray,

verse 36,

so that you

may be able

to escape

all that is

about to

happen.

That doesn't

mean we'll

escape the

terrible things

in this life

and that we'll

have a

suffering-free

life.

It means we

will escape

the coming

judgment

of God.

We continue

to look to

the Lord

Jesus,

trusting in

him.

That's why

Jesus came

to give

us life,

to bring

salvation.

And so

the encouragement

for us is

to pray.

Be a

people of

prayer.

Ask God

in the midst

of this

chaotic

world and

life to

keep us

focused on

the promise

coming of

the Lord

Jesus.

Ask God

that you

will not

fall into

temptation,

but that

we will

be faithful

and obedient

until he

comes.

Ask God

that we

would be

faithful in

our witness.

Do you

see what it

says in

verse 15?

He says,

I will

give you

words and

wisdom that

none of your

adversaries will

be able to

resist or

contradict.

Pray that

as we wait

for the Lord

Jesus, we

will be

faithful.

And that

we will

maintain our

witness, that

we will

not fall.

Be careful.

Watch out

so that you

may be able

to stand

before the

Son of

Man.

I'm going

to pray a

prayer.

It's a

prayer that

Saint

Patrick, or

maybe we

just call him

Patrick, he

was a saint

in the right

sense.

But here's a

prayer that

Patrick prayed.

let's read,

let me pray

this as we

close together.

I now

entrust my

soul to

God, who

is most

faithful, and

for whom I

am an

ambassador in

my humble

station, for

God has no

favourites.

I ask God

therefore for

perseverance, to

grant that I

remain a

faithful witness

to him, for

his own sake

until my

passing from

this life.

For on

that day we

will undoubtedly

rise in the

brightness of

the sun, that

is in the

glory of

Christ Jesus

our Redeemer, as

sons of the

living God,

joint heirs with

Christ and made

in his image.

From him and

through him and

for him we

will reign.

we will

remain forever

as Christ

remains forever,

who reigns

with God the

Father Almighty

and the Holy

Spirit, before

time began, and

now for all

eternity.

Amen.

Well, we're

going to sing

together.

It's a great

hymn, an old

hymn.

Amen.