According To Luke: People Get Ready

 According To Luke: People Get Ready

Opening Illustration: The Oregon Trail

Growing up, I grew to love a computer game. I can remember receiving computer time in elementary school. I popped in a floppy disk and the computer hummed to life. What was the game? The game was The Oregon Trail. Remember that game? The game transported you and your family back in time to the early American rush out west. You were tasked with packing for the long trip, hunting for food, and you were to trade goods along the way to provide for your family. While you and your family marched slowly westward, you faced all sorts of adversity. Your wagon wheel would break. Your children would come down with terrible illnesses and you had to find medicine to cure them. Your food storages would run low and you had to hunt. If you are a child of the 80’s like me, you have great memories of this game. 

There was a word that The Oregon Trail taught me. The word is “immanent”. Phrases like “Your family is in immanent danger” come to mind. Another statement like “your food is in immanent danger of spoiling” or “without medicine, your child is in immanent danger of dying”. Immanent was always attached to danger. If I saw the word immanent, it knew it was not good and that something bad was about to happen. 

However, if something is immanent, it has not happened yet. Immanent danger does not mean that danger is upon you, it means that it is coming. It means that you can do something about it, you can change it, you can steer around danger if it is immanent. If you child is facing immanent death, it does not mean that your child is dead, there is still time, you can do something to help. 

Immanent is actually a really good word. Let me use this word in another statement. The return of Christ is immanent. Jesus is coming. Every day that we live is another day closer to His return. If His return is immanent, that means that there is still time to do something before He arrives. Christians, you know that Jesus brings judgment with Him when He returns. God is giving us time. He is giving us time to recognize the signs of Christ’s impending return. He is giving us time to repent and to renew our relationship with Him. 

So, if Jesus’ return in immanent, are you ready? Is there something that you need to get right? A broken relationship that you need to restore? A marriage that you need to fix? A sin that needs to be confessed? I tell you what, I want to make sure that when Jesus returns, that I am doing His work for His Kingdom for His good. So, are you ready for Jesus’ return?

Are You Ready For Jesus’ Return?

Background and Context

Let me set the setting for you this morning. Jesus is teaching and preaching Jerusalem. You have to remember who His audience was at the time. He was speaking to Jews. The Jews were living under the oppression of the Roman government. Rome ruled harshly and the Jews were seen as a conquered people. They had little rights in Rome, and they were looking longingly for a day when life would be better. They were hoping desperately that God would send a Savior, a Liberator, a Messiah to set them free from Rome. Was Jesus is man that they were expecting? Hard to tell. 

In Luke 21, Jesus begins to talk about the end of days. The end of time. As the day of judgement approaches, what will it be like? What signs will God give to us so that we might recognize His immanent approach? Well, Jesus gets pretty specific. He tells us what we can look for, what we can expect, when God judges man and when He returns. 

Understand that we have the benefit of hindsight. We know that Jesus is going to die on the cross in just a few short days. He would be resurrected. He would walk in resurrected form on earth for 40 days and then ascend. The disciples did not know this. What Jesus is talking about here in Luke 21 seemed very foreign. They did not fully understand His entrance into the world some 33 years earlier. They were certainly not going to understand His second coming. 

Before we get started, inevitably someone will ask me whether I think that Jesus will return sooner rather than later. So, what do I think? Do I think that Jesus’ arrival will be soon, in my lifetime, or later in the future? The answer is “I don’t know” and anyone who tells you that they know for certainty that Jesus will return on a particular date and time is lying to you. They have been deceived and they are deceiving you. How do I know this? Scripture. Matthew 24:36-44 captures Jesus’ words saying that “not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” knows when all history will draw to a close. 

However, as we read this morning’s Scripture, we will discover signs that we can look to to determine the occasion of Christ’s second appearance. So, let’s take a moment and read from God’s Word Luke 21:5-38. 

Scripture:

Luke 21:5-38 ESV

5 And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” 7 And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”

10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name's sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.

20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

29 And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

37 And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. 38 And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.

What Is Jesus Claiming About The Close of Time?

I. Church Is Everlasting vs. 5-6

Luke 21:5-6 ESV

5 And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Point:

Friends, I have some great news for you today. When it comes to the end of days, the church will outlast the building. That’s right, the church will outlast and outlive this building. That is what Jesus states. One day, this temple that all of you are standing in and marveling over will one day be gone. It will be rubble. It will be dust. This temple will one day be ash!

Illustration:

A couple of years ago one of the most heartbreaking things happened. Maybe you saw it on TV. Notre Dame in Paris, France burned to the ground. I have been in that church two times in my life and the experience is something that I will never ever forget. It was one of the most beautiful peaceful places that I have ever entered. I truly felt that I was in the presence of God when I was in that place. I was awestruck by the sheer size and beauty of Notre Dame. If ever there was a holy place, it had to have been there. There was a restoration project going on in the interior of the great sanctuary. Sadly, a fire sparked out of control and caught some highly flammable materials on fire. The fire spread to the beams, then to the tapestries, then to the pews. Moments later, the entire structure was engulfed flames. 

I. Was. Heartbroken. The church had just burned down. 

Then the Lord reminded me that the church had not burned down. The building did. The church lives on, never to die, only to live forever. If this is your first Sunday in church or you are new to Christianity, let me explain some terms for us. The people of God are the church of God. We’re just simply meeting in a building. In other words, this building is not the church. It’s the people of God that come to the building that make up the church.

Point:

So, let’s talk about the temple for just a second. Depending on the translation of the Bible that you have in front of you it may use the word sanctuary. That’s really how this word would be better interpreted. Let me tell you something about the word sanctuary. A sanctuary is a safe place. We use the word sanctuary to describe where you would go to protect animals or people. You would set up a sanctuary, a safe place, for them. Jesus is saying, “Your safe place is about the no longer be safe anymore.” When the sanctuary is no longer safe what really is safe? Jesus uses a discussion about the Temple. In Jesus’s day here’s what the Temple looked like. It was a massive structure on the top of a hill. It was made out of white stone. The stone was so white that most of the ancient rabbis said the building looked like snowcapped peaks from a distance. That’s how big it was. It was covered with gold all over the place. Lots and lots of money was invested in the Temple in gold. So much gold, that when the sun was shining on it people really couldn’t look directly at it because the gold would reflect the sunlight. This was an equivalent to one of the wonders of the ancient world. That’s how significant this building was. The rabbis taught you really haven’t even seen a beautiful building until you’ve seen the Temple.

Point:

Here’s what Jesus is saying. There’s coming a day when this whole building is going to cease to exist. Now for Luke this is so important to Jesus’s followers that he has told us three times this is going to happen. He’s briefly hinted at in chapter 13. He talked about it in detail in chapter 19. Here we are in chapter 21 and Jesus is saying, “This is coming soon so prepare yourself!” Church historians teach that this Temple would soon be overwhelmed. When the city of Jerusalem was seized and ultimately destroyed by the Roman army, the Temple would be completely dismantled. Notice Jesus is saying something shocking today. Jesus is saying, “As massive as the structure is, as impressive as the structure is, it’s not going to exist for much longer.” People would’ve been shocked.

Then what he said next would’ve been to some sacrilegious because they believe the Temple to be the dwelling place of God so why would God let his building be destroyed, especially by some pagan army? I think Jesus is reminding us of something. Buildings don’t contain the people of God. The dwelling place of God is now inside his people. In fact, the New Testament teaches that the temple of the living God is where the Holy Spirit dwells and the Holy Spirit dwells inside of you the follower of Jesus. So the Bible tells us that now your body is the temple of the living God. Your body is where the Holy Spirit dwells. It’s no longer a building that you go to.

Point:

We are God’s temple. We are God’s church. Jesus says don’t get too comfortable here because it’s relationships that go with you into Heaven. Everything else that you see around here: wood, hay, and stubble. It will all be burned up at the end. Don’t put your hope in the building because the church will outlast the building.

Ephesians 2:20-22 ESV

Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

II. Cheats Are Everywhere vs. 8

Luke 21:8 ESV

8 And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.

Illustration:

Have you ever heard of the boxer Norman Selby. Norman did his boxing at the turn of the 19th century. He did not think his name was very threatening, so like other boxers, he went under a different name. He took the name Kid McCoy. Kid McCoy was a tenacious fighter and a gifted boxer. He was known for taking famously hard punches but he was known for delivering haymakers that could knock out even the biggest opponents. Selby himself was not a very large man, he was actually quite small. Even still, he is known to defeat much larger opponents. There is a story involving Norman “Kid McCoy” Selby. He had just entered into a town where he was going to fight. Before heading for the hotel, Selby went to a local bar to get a drink. As he saddled up to the bar, a large man who had had a few to many to drink approached him. He began to pick at Selby and make fun of his stature. People in the bar warned the intoxicated man that he was poking fun at the legendary boxer Kid McCoy. The larger man did not heed their warnings, he took a swing at Selby and missed. Selby, after dodging the blow, threw a strong right into the man’s jaw. He was knocked out, jaw broken. After he came to, the hurting man commented that was indeed the “real McCoy”.

Today, the real McCoy is symbolic of something that is not counterfeit. It is true. It is real. It can be taken to the bank and trusted. If it is the real McCoy, then it is bonafide. 

Point:

As the last days approach Jesus warns His followers that there will be many who look like the Messiah, talk like the Savior, do miracles like the Son of Man, and even teach teachings similar to Jesus. Yet, they will not be the real McCoy. They will all be counterfeits. Jesus tells His followers not to trust them and to be sure not to follow these wolves in sheep’s clothing. 

Point:

This is not the only time in Scripture where we are warned to not follow the teachings of false prophets, false teachers, and false Messiahs. 

Matthew 24:24 states, 

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Paul speaks to Timothy about false teachers in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, 

2 Timothy 4:3-4

3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Point:

Here’s what Jesus is saying to us today. Don’t buy the lie! Don’t believe the counterfeit! Eusebius was a fourth century historian who said that 20 years after Jesus’s resurrection there were already many false teachers who had already showed up claiming to be Jesus. Many had already claimed to be bringing the end of the world with them. Luke writes this passage for us years after Jesus’s death and resurrection. There’s already been many false teachers on the scene. Luke tells us don’t believe the counterfeit. Don’t believe the lies. Don’t get tricked by believing false teachers. How do you not fall into the mistake of believing the lie? The answer is you become so familiar with the original that you can easily spot the counterfeit.

Point:

It was not to long ago that I was in a bank. I was cashing a check and I was speaking with the teller. She was counting out the cash and after she gave it to me I asked her if any of the bills were counterfeit. She told me no. I asked her how she could be sure and she said easy. I have been a teller for 34 years. I have worked in the banking industry for 40 years. I have counted and touched millions of real dollar bills over my career. When you spend time with the real thing, looking at the real thing, touching the real thing, counterfeit bills are easy to find. 

Point:

How familiar are you with Jesus? How much of His Word do you know? How much time have you spent with Him? Would you easily be fooled or could you spot the not easily?

I John 4:1 ESV

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

III. Clues Are Examined vs. 10-28

Luke 21:10-11,16,20-26 ESV

10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.

20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Point:

So, what does Jesus have to say about the end of time, judgement day, His second coming. Well, before we examine Christ’s words, what do you think about His second coming? Christian, do you believe that Jesus will return? Do you really believe that He is coming back? Will He come back in our lifetime? Good question. Here is what I have learned from Scripture about Christ’s return: as long as people are looking for His return, He will not come. As long as people are predicting His return, they will be made to look foolish. Saying that, I believe that we are getting closer and closer to His return. I believe this because of what Christ says in Luke 21, the signs are all there that He may well return sooner rather than later. 

Let’s break down some of words of Christ regarding the end times. He covers what we can expect, the signs, when we begin to approach His return. 

First, there will wars. Nation versus nation. Kingdom against kingdom. The warfare will be global and it will be catastrophic. Currently, the weapons of war are creatively brutal. I believe that nothing will be off the table. I believe that biological warfare along with nuclear warfare will be something that people will experience. Notice that Jesus says that His followers will be there to experience this horrible war among the nations. 

Next, not only will there will national disasters, but there will also be natural disasters. There will be earthquakes. There will be disease and famine. Men and women, boys and girls will live with want. Their will be tremendous hunger like the world has never seen before. The Greek word for pestilence is loi-mo's. When it is translated into the Greek it means plagues. The world will be thrown into terrible disorder and food shortages will cause men to rise up against men and there will challenges to feed families. 

There will be war, there will be want, there will also be wrongs. Jesus tells us that because of our faith in Him, we will be dragged before the courts and wrongly prosecuted. He even says that we will be put to death for our faith. 

Jesus says you are going to get persecuted by the Jews. He’s talking about persecution in the synagogue. You’re going to get persecuted by the Jews. Then you’re going to get persecuted by governors, this is a Roman term. The Gentiles are going to hurt you. Basically everybody is going to try to hurt you because you claim to be Jesus’s follower. Right now all over the world (go to persecution.org) millions are suffering greatly because they claim the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus says, “Don’t freak out about it! Don’t worry. God knows exactly what you’re going through. He didn’t forget. He didn’t leave the throne for just a second. God knows what you’re about to experience.” By the way, don’t worry ahead of time about how you are going to answer them. God will give you the exact words to say so that what you say will go deep into the heart of the people around you.

There will be war, want, wrongs, and next is waste. People will be killed. Horrible things will take place and atrocities on genocidal levels. There will be an attack on women, pregnant women. There will be an attack on the unborn. Jesus says that innocent children will be trampled under foot. Is any of this sounding familiar? People will flee their homes. They will seek refuge in the wilderness and the mountains. People will be taken captive as slaves. Oppression will be the norm of the day. Do I think that Jesus is going to return? Yes. Will His people undergo horrible events in the lead up to that return? Sadly yes. 

Lastly, letter E is Wonders. God’s people will see unusual astronomical events. People will see the sun, the moon, even the stars doing things that are unusual and abnormal. I imagine that we will see solar and lunar eclipses. We will see shooting stars and meteors will pierce the skies. Because of what happens to the sun and moon, the waves will be affected. We will see drastic changes in the tides. Scholars have said that Jesus is using terminology that refers to a rise tsunamis and hurricanes. Tornados. Volcanos. Eruptions. The world will be thrown into geographic and astronomical chaos.

So there will be war, want, wrongs, waste and wonders. This all sounds like terrible news and it is. There is no sugar coating it. These will be discouraging and difficult days.  Paul speaks to Timothy about the last days in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. I am going to read that Scripture for you this morning and then I will give you some good news.  

A. War vs. 10

B. Want vs. 11

C. Wrong vs. 12, 16

D. Waste vs. 20-24

E. Wonders vs. 25-26

2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

IV. Christ Will Endure vs. 27-28

Luke 21:27-28 ESV

27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Point:

There is the destruction of Jerusalem Jesus is talking about today and then you have these disasters that Jesus is describing for us. Then he talks about the darkening of the sun, the moon, and the stars. You can’t miss that. Everybody is going to see this one when it happens. Jesus says when that gets close hang on to your faith. When that gets close don’t throw in the towel and don’t give up because Heaven is waiting for you on the other side. Heaven is worth it. Literally the language that he is using today is look up stop looking down and being enamored by your problems and by the difficulties around you. Put your focus on Jesus and on Heaven because that’s what’s coming for you. I sometimes think Jesus is speaking to my heart in this passage. He’s saying, “Jeff, be careful that you don’t fall in love with the stuff that you see around you. Don’t fall in love with the stuff that this society and this culture offers you. Don’t let it steal your heart away because all of this stuff is going to be gone. The only thing that lasts are the things of God. Fall in love with that. Put your focus on that. Don’t focus on the stuff that’s around you. Don’t get your head down when the problems get bad. Put your head up. Stand up. Sit up straight in your chair and focus on Heaven because it’s totally worth the wait.

Point:

Jesus is telling His disciples that when everything falls apart, it is really falling together for Him. When things are at their darkest, the dawn is about to take place. When suffering is at its maximum, the Savior is about to return. Yes, bad things will come, terrible in fact. Jesus will end all of that. When Jesus returns, it will be a global event and no one will miss it. For the record, no one will doubt it either. No one will have to guess who this is that is parting the clouds. Isn’t that going to be something. There will be people that do not believe in Jesus, people that have said their entire lives that Jesus is a myth, a figment, a story, but they will automatically know in their heart that it is Jesus who comes riding on the clouds. In a world that demands recounts, court proceedings, and protests, when Jesus returns it will be definitive and defining. His return will bring an abrupt end to human history, human governments, and human sin. His will be a reign that will last forever and ever and ever. 

People get ready, Jesus is coming. 

Revelation 22:12 ESV

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.

People Get Ready, Jesus Is Coming!