Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

November 18, 1978 was the single highest deaths of Americans from a non-natural cause until 9/11.

This event was the “Jonestown Massacre’ in which over 900 followers of a man named Jim Jones, led a mass poisoning of his followers in Venezuela

This group was not a fringe group either, in the 70’s they had thousands of people in membership and it was so big that local San Francisco politicians like Harvey Milk, who was a rising progressive in San Fran, tried to get their help

In fact Jones was so much in the San Francisco landscape that he helped get George Moscone elected as Mayor, and then afterwards appointed Jones to the San Francisco Housing Authority, which was used to help line Jones’ pocket and helping his people instead of the people of San Fran

This passage reminds and warns us directly to not flock and trust in people that are not Jesus, no matter how charismatic their leadership might be!

So how are we to treat the kingdom of God and our returning Messiah?

Well, we start with those that are unaware of the basics of this kingdom, that is is both already here, but not yet here!

The Pharisees Can’t See It (v.20-21)

When Jesus is asked about the kingdom of God by the Pharisees we have to ask if they really want to know

Jesus had been doing ministry for several years at this point, and the kingdom has been part of what Jesus is doing now

We first see this all the way back in Luke 4:17-19 in which Jesus speaks to his purpose

Luke 4:17–19 (CSB)

17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written:

18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set free the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

This is Jesus’ statement of what he has come to do, and even says in Lk 4:21 “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”!

Jesus is all about the kingdom of God, and a major part of his ministry is to bring that Kingdom about

In fact in Lk 9:2, we see that Jesus empowers his disciples to proclaim The Kingdom of God and heal the sick as a sign of the kingdom being there already

So if this was true why would Jesus point to the fact that ‘the kingdom of God is not coming with something observable?”

The Pharisees expected a literal physical kingdom on earth.

They wanted an earthly ruler.

They didn’t understand the nature of God’s kingdom.

If Jesus was the Messiah, he was not living up to the primary view of a Messiah, one that would come and overthrow Rome

This is why Jesus points to the Kingdom of God in your midst!

The healings, the demon’s being cast out, the multitudes fed, are evidence enough of the Kingdom of God come among the people

Yet, this is also before the founding of the church and the full revealing of the New Covenant, they are in a state of partial revelation

The reason that I bring that up is that for you and I, we don’t have to look for far off places of the Kingdom of God, it is in our midst

It is in fact in our very being, the Spirit of God dwells within us, part of Jesus’ promise to never leave us or forsake us

If you want to be a part of that Kingdom, you can as well

You just need to come to Jesus, confess your sins and realize what Jesus in dying for you on the cross

If you do this, you become part of God’s kingdom rather than an onlooker

The Disciples Can’t Miss It (v.22-25)

Jesus turns from the Pharisees who cannot see the kingdom of God in their midst, to the Disciples, the ones who are helping Jesus bring about this kingdom in their midst

Yet, you see Jesus expands and shows the twofold meaning of the kingdom of God

There will be a time that in which Jesus will return, not on a colt of a donkey, but on the clouds in victory

You see when Jesus says, “days of the Son of Man”, he is invoking a clear call back to the prophet Daniel 7:13-14

Daniel 7:13–14 (CSB)

13 I continued watching in the night visions, and suddenly one like a son of man

was coming with the clouds of heaven.

He approached the Ancient of Days

and was escorted before him.

14 He was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,

so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away,

and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.

So Jesus does two things

First he corrects the Pharisees on their misunderstanding of God’s kingdom

Then he corrects and elaborates the Disciples’ understanding of the Son of Man

Why does Jesus say ‘You won’t see it?”

Well the clearest answer is that none of the Disciples would be alive when it happens.

Because the point is found in what Jesus is telling them about

People will claim that Jesus has returned!

Look He’s here!

Look he’s there!

Yet Jesus is saying, there is no missing His return!

It will be flashes across the sky, no one will miss it

Yet, that will happen after Jesus is rejected and killed by the religious leaders

This is much of the same message Paul writes to those in Thessaloniki

In Pauls 2 Letter to them, he says this in 2 Thess.

2:1-3

2 Thessalonians 2:1–3 (CSB)

1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him: We ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, alleging that the day of the Lord has come.

3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way.

This is also a great and difficult reminder to us in engaging in cults, and their false promises

Think of how many cult tragedies would never have happened if people would take seriously these two verses.

There would be no Jim Jones at Jonestown.

There would be no David Koresh and the Branch Davidians in Waco.

There’d be no Heaven’s Gate cult massacre.

All of these people died because they listened to someone say, “The kingdom is over there!” or “Look!

There’s the messiah!”

If someone tells you they know the secret path to the kingdom, point to Luke 17:22 and refuse to believe them or give them a hearing.

Yet, these things move us to the next section

The World Won’t Expect It (v.26-30)

So continues to elaborate and goes into stories from the Old Testament to show how God has worked before

The first story we have is Noah

In the days of Noah, people did not change or repent

Noah recieved the command to make the Ark, and there were 120 years of Noah calling people to turn back, yet they did not

We see this in both Hebrews 11:7

Also in 2 Peter 2:5

So wee see that Noah was a prophet, who was obeying God in building that Ark

What is the point of Noah’s mention?

Even though people could see the building of the ark, they did not care what crazy old Noah was doing

They went on with their life as if life would continue on indefinitely!

The second story is that of Lot, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah found in Genesis 19

In this story, God destroys Sodom for their wickedness

Wickedness so great that when the Angels come into the town to meet with Lot, they attempt to sexually assault them

Instead of hospitality, they are seeking to use them for their own evil, perverse desires

These were not good people by any stretch of the imagination!

God called down fire and sulphur (brimstone is burning sulphur)

What happens when the Son of Man comes?

It will be like the days of Noah when people continued on with life

It will be like the destruction of Sodom, in which people were suddenly destroyed

I suspect this was part of the teaching that moved Peter to write this in 2 Peter 3:3-7

Do you see the parallels in this passage to what Jesus is saying?

People following their evil desires- much like Sodom and Gomorrah

Where is the coming?

Nothing has changed since my grandparents!-

Much like Noah

From Water, Through Water, Flooded World- Noah