Be Ready!

Series on Luke

V The Imminence of the Kingdom

L Termination

Text: 21:5-38

Introduction

Jesus said to his disciples in John 14, I go to prepare a place for you and if I go I will come back and take you to be with me that you may be where I am. This has always been the great expectation and unassailable hope of true Christians. Jesus is coming back for us. As the year 2000 approaches there is naturally increasing speculation about the return of the Lord. Even though we may not always agree with all that is said, this is good because it reminds men to repent and put their lives in order. A few decades ago Hal Lindsay wrote a book called, “The Late Great Planet Earth.” I disagreed with much of his interpretation of what the Bible says about the last days, but i am grateful that it served to wake many people up to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of the books and sermons being written today will have the same affect. I want you to understand no one can teach you all the Bible has to say about the last days in a single sermon. I cannot analyze the teaching of whole books on the subject whether, Hal Lindsay’s or Harold Campings 1992 volume entitled,“1994?” Some of these books are more and others less congenial to what we believe as Reformed Christians. My task is to teach you what this text says, and that will have the same effect that books on the subject have, namely, that it awaken us to the reality of Jesus’ return and move us to change. This i submit to you was Jesus’ primary concern as he prophesied concerning the end times, that men might get right with God. This is a long and involved text but I believe it has a simple united theme, patient readiness for the Lord’s return. Consider with me the principle of patient readiness, the parallel of patient readiness, and the practice of patient readiness.

I The Principle

The principle of patient readiness is taught by Jesus in relation to the primary prediction that he made during his ministry. The most important warning that he had to give to his own generation was the impending destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in verses 5 and 6, Some of his 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.” This is the starting point of our text. He has declared that the temple will be destroyed as He does many other times. this would bring an end to Judaism as it then existed. It was the final rejection of the Old Testament system to be replaced by the fulfillment in the gospel for all people instead of only the Jews. It was terribly important. The prophecy is anchored to the physical temple at the beginning and to the physical city at the end as he says verses 20-24, “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 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. 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. Now what I want you to see is something very simple. The disciples wanted to know when, they wanted a sign as is stated in verse 7, and then Jesus goes through a whole list of things in verses 8-19, things which will happen and He says they are not the sign! “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 revolutions, 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 and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. “But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. 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 will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life. False Messiahs, natural disasters, persecution and betrayal, judgment and imprisonment will come and all of these things occurred in the Apostolic age. But, again, they are not the signs, they are the order of the day and they may be repeated in our own time, but that is not what Jesus is talking about. Jesus says that they should be patient because the only sign is when it happens. He says when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies you know it has come. Let us understand. There would be no sign until the Romans were there. When they surrounded the city, then they would know for sure.

II The Parallel

Jesus now moves to the future in verses 25-34. First he speaks of the fear of the ungodly, “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. Men 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 and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” It is at this point that Matthew and Mark also record his words about gathering His elect people, His church. It is the day of resurrection and judgment. They are to look up because Jesus is coming, and their looking up is tied to a single event which is the cataclysmic return of the Lord, It involves the whole world, not just Jerusalem. It involves the revelation of Christ’s power and glory, consistently associated with His second coming. The parallel is that in this situation of the end of the world there are no preceding signs exactly as is the case in the destruction of Jerusalem. One does not know until it begins. We are to lift up our heads in contrast to those who flee in terror because for those who trust in Christ this is a great day of deliverance. When Jesus refers to all the trees sprouting leaves in verses 29-33 He implies that the spring is already here, 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. “I tell you the truth, 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. Dear friends, I have some trees to be trimmed, fruit trees to be pruned. Each year i determine i am going to do this before the sap rises. I get distracted and guess what? Before i know it the leaves are out and its too late. It will be too late for those who are not ready when Jesus comes. When you see these things is not a future reference, it is already spring. When Jesus the Messiah came the end of all things began. When Jesus died it was truly finished, not just His suffering, but the redemption of all things as we read in Colossians 1:18-20, And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Paul tells us in II Corinthians 1:20, For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. We must get the perspective of the New Testament that everything has been brought to a head in Christ’s saving work. Nothing more remains to be done except to publish the good news. The end is guaranteed in the beginning. Spring has sprung. i have read at least 25 different commentaries which debated endlessly about what the word generation meant, 30 or 40 years, or the Jewish people or the human race. The simple answer is found in Hebrew parallelism. Jesus is not saying all these things will happen while those standing there were still alive. He is saying the same thing in the first half of the verse that he says in the second. His word is eternal. The heavens and earth are not. These are the generations of the heaven and the earth says Moses. This generation, the heavens and the earth, will remain until these things happen says Jesus and then they will pass away and my words will remain. Are you ready dear friend? God is not going to send you a special delivery letter. God is not going to call long distance. When the armies come the city is destroyed. When the Lord comes the earth is destroyed. That’s it because there are no further warnings and no signs to be read.

III The Practice

This is summed up for us in the concluding verses 34-38, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on 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. Jesus never suggests that the day of His return will be different for His own people. It will come as a sudden surprise to, “all who live upon the earth,” according to our text. The difference between the saved and the lost is not in their knowledge of when, but in their reaction when it happens. The unbeliever hides and cries for the rocks to fall on him and cover him, but the believer looks up with joy because his redemption has come. Some of those who will be lost when Jesus comes are lost because they are distracted by bad things. Others will be lost because they are distracted by good things. It doesn’t make any difference which, if you are lost. The only way you can be ready is by repenting of your sin and trusting in Jesus Christ as the only Savior, now. The Bible teaches that Jesus came to save us, and He is the only Savior. Our sinful rebellion against God and our disobeying His commands cannot be atoned for by our actions. Only the Son of God dying on the cross could pay for our sins. Moral teachers, and refined and upright behavior cannot save you. All have sinned and Jesus may not be the only teacher, but he is the only sacrifice for our sins. Readiness has to do with trusting in Him alone for our salvation. Patient readiness has to do with trusting in Him and sticking to it until the end.