The End: Luke - Part 12

Written by Ed Allen
Saturday, 28 August 2010 23:00

Sermons - The Gospel of Luke - That You May Know

2 IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW {background to passage}

1. The Jewish nation’s fate was tied to its reaction to Jesus.

• Luke 19:41-44
  • (41) As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it (42) and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. (43) 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. (44) They will dash you to the ground, you 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."
• Luke 20:9-18
  • (9) He went on to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. (10) At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. (11) He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. (12) He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. (13) "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.' (14) "But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. 'This is the heir,' they said. 'Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' (15) So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? (16) He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When the people heard this, they said, "May this never be!" (17) Jesus looked directly at them and asked, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written:" 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone? (18) Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

2. Along with all of his other spiritual capacities, Jesus was a prophet.

• Had prophetic gifts
  • Both broadcasting God’s word
  • But also seeing into God’s future plans
• Spoke with a prophetic voice
  • Prophets used imagery and metaphors
    • We understand metaphors – last week I said can’t get a hit unless you take a swing Biblical imagery is somewhat unfamiliar to us; we don’t speak this way
    • Primarily includes:
      • numbers
      • Nature images (mountains called to witness, calamities are portrayed in the heavens as well as in human affairs, are these to be taken literally? Probably not)
      • Typology (eg Moses as a type of all of God’s delivery)

TWO THEMES TO THE PASSAGE

1. The first part of the passage addresses the destruction of Jerusalem.

• Verses 5-24 – this entire section is addressing the impending destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.

  • (5) Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, (6) "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."

    (7) "Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"

    (8) 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. (9) When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."

    (10) Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (11) There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

    (12) "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. (13) This will result in your being witnesses to them. (14) But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. (15) For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. (16) You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. (17) All men will hate you because of me. (18) But not a hair of your head will perish. (19) By standing firm you will gain life.

    (20) "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. (21) 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. (22) For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. (23) 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. (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 Siege of Jerusalem was a decisive event in the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders since 66 AD. The city and its famous Temple were destroyed in 70 AD.
  • Interestingly, the destruction of the Temple is still mourned annually during the Jewish fast Tisha B'Av.
  • And the Arch of Titus, depicting and celebrating the Roman sack of Jerusalem and the Temple, still stands in Rome.
• Jesus warned them that when the battle started they should flee to the mountains. Fleeing to the mountains was counterintuitive. Usually in the ancient world you would want to stay within the city walls. This would be the safest place. But there is good evidence that Christians did flee to the Transjordan Mountains outside of Jerusalem during the Roman invasion and were saved.

2. The last part of the passage addresses the second coming of Christ.

• Verses 25-28
  • (25) "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. (26) Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. (27) At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (28) When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
    • Are these signs literal? It’s hard to know. In some cases yes and in some cases probably not.
    • What is being described here is the single most important and the single most cataclysmic event in human history. This is, in fact, the end of human history. This is the second coming of Jesus.
    • While the OT prophets did not differentiate between a first and second appearance of the Messiah, the Lord himself and his apostles made this very, very clear. Jesus referred to his return more than once, including in our passage. We also see it referred to in Philippians, in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, in Titus and in Hebrews, not to mention that much of the book of Revelation is written about it.
    • And what is being suggested by this future event is a kind of completion. God is going to end what he started back at creation. He will usher in a new kind of age.
• So what is our response to all this? Verses 29-36

  • (29) He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. (30) When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. (31) Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

    (32) "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. (33) Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

    (34) "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. (35) For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. (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."

    • This generation (could mean “race” or could be talking about the temple events at this point)
    • Watch and pray! This is Jesus’ application to the teaching

SECOND COMING OF JESUS – THREE TAKEAWAYS

1. We must take his coming very seriously.

• His only application is to be vigilant and to watch. In other words, take this very seriously.
• Matthew tells us that this will be a time of judgment. (24)
• After the second coming, there is no more. It’s all over. And we will be judged based on how we have viewed Jesus.

2. We must not take our ideas about his coming very seriously at all.

• We don’t have that much information.
  • Luke doesn’t say much about it.
  • John says even less (John 14:3).
  • “We are on the preparation committee, not the date and time committee.”
• Almost all of the information we have is in the prophetic voice
  • Highly susceptible to misinterpretation
  • Many contemporaries of Jesus missed him because they were overly committed to their interpretation of OT prophecy.
• • What do the terms mean? How are they to be applied?
  • 4 main schools of thought

3. We must take his coming very seriously.

• 1 John 3:1-3 – When we take this seriously we purify ourselves.
  • (1) How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (2) Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (3) Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
• When we take this seriously we affirm reality.
  • We don’t believe what we believe because it works for us. We believe it because it is true.
  • The universe is not infinite. It had a beginning – creation. And it will have an end – the second coming!
  • This is a call to make sure we have acknowledged him for who he is!