Jesus will Return

Luke 17:22 - 29

Last two weeks of answering the question: How does Jesus Call you to live? And what is your response?

Last Week Recap:

Jesus is the LIGHT

Jesus wants you to share and DISPLAY his light

You are healthy when your EYE is fixed on JESUS

This week we will be diving into Luke 17:22-29, and we see that “God calls us to be ready for when Jesus Returns”

“22 And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.[a] 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—”

Context/Setting the stage:

Jesus has just cleansed and healed 10 Lepers just prior to this and right after he heals theses lepers, the Pharisees ask Jesus a question…

If there was one thing the Pharisees did not like it was Jesus getting all the attention, glory, and adoration from the people… so they ask Jesus a question…

Luke 17:20 says, “20) Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he [Jesus] answered them…”

It is important to understand that when the Pharisees asked Jesus questions, it is not because they were actually interested in gaining understanding, wisdom, or guidance from Jesus. Rather, their motive was to attempt to trap and pin Jesus in a corner.

In fact, Luke 11:53-54 says that, “As he [Jesus] went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something that he might say”.

Not only were the Pharisees always making an effort to catch Jesus off-guard with something he might say, but the Pharisees also viewed themselves as the religious elite. They viewed themselves as the experts in spiritual matters and questions. The Pharisees wanted to be the ones that sought after for clarity, guidance, and direction on the scriptures and God’s Word… they did not want Jesus to receive the attention…

So the Pharisees ask this question because:

1.) They were trying to trap Jesus in what he said…

2.) They were jealous and wanted the attention for themselves…

3.) They assumed they knew exactly what the Messiah was going to be like when he returned… they viewed the Messiah terms of someone who would overthrow the political powers, restore the independence of Israel, and raise up an army to defeat all those who opposed him…

Jesus shakes and alters their entire perspective on the Kingdom of God and the return of the Messiah/Son of Man…

If we look at verses 20 -21, it says, “Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, he answered them, ‘The Kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21) nor will they say, Look, here it is! or There! for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you”.

Now that we have the stage set and context provided we can look into and dive into Verses 22 - 29.

“22 And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.[a] 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—”

POINT #1) The SON OF MAN will RETURN

The referenced term “SON OF MAN” is used 30 times in the Gospel of Matthew. But here, in verse 22, the term “SON OF MAN” = Comes from Old Testament book of Daniel (7:13-14) where the Son of Man is described as one who is given dominion, glory, and kingship so that all peoples, nations, and languages would serve him as King. And his Kingdom would not cease, it would be everlasting, never to be destroyed, and forever ongoing - never stopping!

So in verse 22 Jesus is saying is that there will be a day when you desire to see the days of the one who will be given all dominion, all authority, all power, all glory, where his kingdom will be established forever and never cease… but you will not see it.

Why wont they see it? because as quickly as lightning flashes before our eyes, is how the son of man will return.

in case you were curious, a lightning bolts travels about 270,000 miles per hour. it lasts about 0.52 seconds…

To say the Son of man is coming back quickly is an understatement..

The point is before Christ comes back, there will be no clear-cut warning signs that signal the end. In the days of Noah, it was business as usual. People were getting married, eating dinner, then suddenly the unexpected destruction of the flood… like the days of Lot: people were carrying on as they usually do, just another Sunday, just another Monday, just another Tuesday with business as usually, then as soon as Lot leaves Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all…

There will be no sign in the sky that Jesus, November 25th, The Son of Man, the Messiah, the Christ Jesus will return at 1:00 PM… no it will be sudden…

POINT #2) God calls YOU to be READY for his RETURN

A. If its important, you will prepare for it…

Example #1)

I am going to assume that all of us have been to a thanksgiving dinner. That we have all went to families or friends house to celebrate and eat a huge dinner. For those of you who been apart of a Thanksgiving dinner you know that there is a lot of food that was prepared for that single meal.

My mother-in-law literally preps for thanksgiving like a week in advance. She knows exactly what meals she is making, the ingredients needed, how long it takes for the meals to cook and just the right tempter, the house is decorated with Turkeys and fall colors, and the day before she will literally start cooking the meals so that the food will be ready when all of her guests arrive at her house the next day.

My point is a lot of preparation goes into hosting and providing a Thanksgiving meal. If my mother-in-law did not prepare for Thanksgiving before it arrived she would not be ready for it. She would be completely caught off-guard, she would be stressed out of her mind, she would not be able to feed all of the guests.

She has to prepare in advance for Thanksgiving because she knows its coming…

Example #2)

I have a son who will be here in Feb. Literally 3 months from today, my son will be in my arms… My wife and I have done a lot to get ready for him to arrive… The nursery is finished, I have put the crib together, we purchased a dresser and put it together, we have organized his clothes in his closet, we a stack of diapers already to go, we have 14 bottles for him to use, we have 6 pacifiers locked and loaded, he has books, toys, blankets, socks, and shoes!

I have imagined my life with my son, the things we will do, how I want to pray with him every night, how I want to be his best friend, and I can not wait for him to be here with me… I have thought about what he will look like, how his voice will sound, the color of his eyes, how tall he will be, how much he will way, and I have prayed that the Lord would save him…

I listen to a podcast about parenting, I am going through a book, I am doing all the things because I want to be prepared for when my Son arrives. I look forward to it and I strive to make sure that my wife and I are ready for him…

My point is my wife and I have prepared for our son… we don’t know the exact day he will be here with us, but we know it is soon…

Question to think about and consider is, are you prepared for Jesus to return? Would you be ready if he arrived today in this moment? Would you be caught off guard, or would you be expecting him?

A. If it is important, you will prepare for it…

B. If you love it, you will wait for it…

Psalm 130:5-6 says, “5) I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope: 6) my soul waits for LORD more than a watchmen for the morning…”

WAIT = “To look forward to the occurence of or arrival of”

Watchmen stood on a wall or in a tower and looked out for dangers coming from far off, such as enemies on their way to attack a city.

The word Watchmen in Hebrew means = Keep watch, guard, protect

The point is we are not just suppose to know that Jesus is going to return, we are suppose to KEEP WATCH for him, be focused on his return, to wait eagerly and watch carefully for the return of Jesus…

Question do you love Jesus to the point that you look Wait & forward to his arrival?

Do you KEEP WATCH or have your eyes set and focused on the return of Jesus, eagerly awaiting his return?

I can remember when I was in middle school and kids started dating each other for the fun of it… and I can remember thinking to myself, I just don’t want to date anybody… I want to date somebody who loves Jesus… I can remember the first time I saw the most beautiful girl in the world at a middle school youth group service… I can remember talking and texting this girl all day and night because I was so fascinated by her, impressed by her, and thought she was the coolest person in the world, and all I could think about was getting to know her more and the next time we would talk… I can remember the first date we had at a drive in movie theater where I got to stay up until 1:00 AM and watch 2 movies with her… I can remember asking her to be my girlfriend in my parents driveway… I can remember going to her school dances and thinking this girl is way out of my league… not just because she is pretty but because she never ceases to amaze me… I can remember when she left for college and how devastated I was that my best friend was 7 hours away… I can remember her coming to visit in me in college and surprising me… I can remember when I proposed to her and asked her to marry me… I remember waiting 7 years just to ask her to marry me… I waited so long to be with her… and each day I longed to be with her, I kept a watch for her, and I waited and looked forward to the day that she would arrive and walk down the ale to be my wife…

my point is I looked forward to and kept watch for the day that Brooke could be my wife… I was desperate and eager for that day… and friends today in the same that I looked for and longed for Brooke to be my wife I look for and long for Jesus to return and to be with him in eternity forever…

Why? because I remember the love that Jesus displayed on the cross for me - a sinner and at my worst when I was 17… and since then I long to be with him… I long to stand before him… I long for him to come back and take me home… I long to be with him forever and I will wait and keep watch for him until he calls me home or until he returns…

Question: What about you?

POINT #3) SEEK Jesus while you still have TIME

Isaiah 50:6-7 says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Rope analogy