The Coming of the Son of Man

Gidday everyone,

My name is Joe, I’m one of the Pastors here at Abbotsford, it’s great to be with you this morning. A special welcome to those on the live stream, I know that a few from New Zealand have tuned in this morning, so Kia Ora and welcome.

please join with me in prayer as we respond to God’s word read to us this morning.

Dear God,

We come before you today, with troubles on our minds, concerns on our hearts. Lord we ask for peace and understanding that what we heard in your word today will impact our hearts that we would live lives that honor you.

Praise your name and thank you for your word.

Amen.

NIn little old New Zealand, there is a rugby team that has faced the worst thing to ever happen to sporting team. The worst thing by far… Now I’m not just talking about losing a game or even a competition. Nor am I talking about doing something dodgy like bowling an underarm in the games final moments.

No, this rugby team.... lost their stadium. (Slide)

It was demolished due to the 2011 Earthquake in Christchurch. (Slide) Now no lives were lost in the stadium’s demise, but hearts were certainly broken and lives were disorientated. The effect of the loss, genuinely impacted the well being of local Christchurch folk who love their team, people who love their stadium and love their sport. It was a huge loss to a core part of their lives.

The point is, for this rugby team and its fan base, the heart of their game was lost. For a long time, they did not have a major part of their identity and it was felt deep within the community of Christchurch. (Slide)

Now similarly for those in this story from Luke’s Gospel they faced not a loss of a stadium but the prophesy of the loss of their temple. The prediction that the heart of their worship was going to be destroyed. and you have to ask yourself, what would that have been like to listen to?

Well, to understand today’s passage we are going to look to the heart of it all. Last week Darryl talked us through how we need to understand the heart of our worship in the giving of our lives to God. This passage continues to look at the heart of worship but now Jesus takes our attention to the place of worship as we find him with his disciples looking at the beautiful temple.

To help us understand the place of our worship, (Slide) we will look to heart of Israel, (Slide) then look to the heart of persecution, (Slide) and finish by looking to the heart of God

The heart of Israel (Slide)

The heart of Israel is undoubtedly the temple. (Slide) Because the temple is where heaven meets earth. It’s where God dwelt among his people. Moses was instructed to build a tent temple. King Solomon built the first brick and mortar version. Ezra rebuilds the temple after the first was destroyed, King Herold adorns the temple with wonderful courtyards. The point is, Israels temple is more than just a building for God’s people, it’s the heart of worship. It represents the heart of Israel’s identity.

And in the passage we have heard this morning, Jesus targets first the demise of the temple (Verses 5-9). Then the demise of Jerusalem (Verses 10-28).

Now, typically when nations wage war against nation in Jesus’ day, the soldiers were largely using swords and shields, maybe some archers and a few catapults. However, in order to destroy a temple, one would first have to destroy the city. It isn’t logical to assume it could happen the other way

Which is the point. You see Jesus here is highlighting the the loss of what matters most to Israel. Because something very significant is about to happen.

Very soon after this interaction Jesus is about to instigate the New Covenant which will be administered through his blood by his death and resurrection. This morning we will experience that as we partake in communion. Jesus will explain this in a few days times with his disciples during his last supper.

Therefore what Jesus is prophesying here is that the heart of God’s interaction with his people is going to have a fundamental shift. There will be nothing left of the old covenant administration. (5-9) That is to say the brick and stone temple as Israel knows it will no longer be the heart of Israel and its worship.

For this is what the author Luke has been saying from the beginning of his book, that Jesus has come to redeem his people, to be the savior of Israel, and to be worshiped accordingly.

You see the gospel of Jesus is for Israel, it’s not that Jesus is simply replacing everything Israel has known about it’s worship to God. Rather Jesus is the promised fulfillment of all of Israel’s worship to God. Everything from sacrifice, to purification is fulfilled in Jesus, not replaced by Jesus. And so also it is with the temple and it’s place of worship.

For us today, we can almost read this little segment too quickly and pass over its significance because we as Christians don’t have a lot of experience with Israel’s temple understanding.

So understand that this is massive!

Far bigger than your local football team loosing their stadium. This is the fundamental interaction between Israel and the God of creation.

And so picture the moment here, Jesus is saying to his disciples, and anyone else around that the heart of Israel’s faith is going to be totally and utterly destroyed…

And so it’s a fair question to ask in verse 7 (Slide) … When will this happen? What will be the signs?

Which leads Jesus to enter his long speech about persecution and wars covering verses 10-24. Which is addressing the heart of persecution that is to come.

The heart of persecution (10-24) (Slide)

So given what Jesus has prophesied to happen to Israel’s heart, may I ask, How do we expect people to react?

In England, I understand that football team fans will actually get into fights with people if you speak against their team. Maybe that happens here in Australia with Rugby league. It’s fascinating seeing how people react when others stand in opposition to the heart of a belief.

The temple was a sign to the world that God’s people had his favor, his protection, his presence. And very soon it will be utterly gone.

So let me ask, How will the world think of God and his nation when the symbol of Israels faith is destroyed?

According to Jesus’ description of the persecution, Israel will be seen to be weak, and leaderless. (Slide) Verse 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.”

Seemingly the loss of the temple creates an opportunity for other nations to rise up and claim to be stronger, more powerful than Israel’s God.

The earth itself will be in uproar, (Slide) verse 11 “great earthquakes, famines and pestilences.”

Jesus describes this as “fearful events and great signs from heaven.”

Then he dives in and cuts to chase, in (Slide) verse 12 “before all this they will seize you and persecute you.”

And we ought to ask why? Why will it be so bad?

And this brings us to the heart of persecution. (Slide)

For this persecution is in the context of the fallen temple. This is persecution in the shift in how God interacts with his people. We know this is coming because Jesus has been speaking for his last three years about how he is now God’s place of worship. (Slide)Jesus says in John 14:6 “That no one will come to the father except through Jesus. “

That is no longer to God’s people come to him through the temple. And you know what, that’s going to enrage a lot of people. The first to be angry will be Israel who don’t recognize Jesus as God, (Slide) verse 12 they will hand you over to the synagogues and put you in prison. Secondly, kings and governers will enraged, those who expect to be worshiped as gods themselves.

See Jesus is preparing his followers for a time of great persecution for believing in him as the heart of worship.

Jesus is telling the truth about the reality of the persecution to come. Which is Truely ghastly, persecution is not a pretty picture. That Jesus lays on our hearts with Slide) verse 23. “How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!...”

Imagine being pregnant in Palestine today. Imagine being a nursing mother in the Ukraine today. I mean What kind of security and safety can you ensure you're providing for your newborn? (23)

My wife is 18 or so weeks pregnant today, and I am truly grateful to be in a safe, society that I’ve not really thought of many difficulties that Ness might face in giving birth.

So understand that what Jesus is saying here is that persecution is horrible, and possibly hardest most for those who have dependents such as babies.

And the reality is that all of this persecution happened, and it continues to happen,

In 70AD, Jerusalems temple was completely and utterly destroyed. It no longer exists, not even as a stone. If you went there today (Slide) you will find a mosque and the only thing remaining from the old temple (Slide) is the wall of an outer courtyard that was an addition made by king Herod.

But not only then did the persecution happen, even today, we still witness persecution. All we have to do is read about the church in India, North Korea, Sudan, Iraq and many other places. (Slide)

See the problem arising for all this persecution is if Jesus could just simply be another god among the rest or if he could be just a prophet or a good guy, then all would be fine. But this is the problem Jesus is not just another god, he’s not a just a prophet nor just a good guy. Jesus is Lord of all, God above all, and Jesus does not share his worship.

And so Jesus is calling for us to bear witness to him. That is basically, Jesus is saying when persecution arrives and the gun is facing you and someone asks, who is Jesus? The answer is always and only going to be. (Slide)Jesus is God. Which, I imagine is a hard answer when your life is on the line, when the lives of your family are being threatened.

And so while Jesus is giving this scary picture of the future, he gives us the hope that we desperately need to be comforted by. Which comes back to the original question asked of Jesus, when will this take place? What will be the signs?

Which brings us to understand the heart of God (Slide)

The heart of God (25-38)

To answer this question Jesus presents us with the parable of the fig tree and the sprouting of the leaves. (Slide)

Now much ink has been spilled trying to nail down a date that corresponds to the sprouting of leaves. In order to predict when Jesus will return. (Slide)

However, the encouragement I want to give you as a result of this parable is that we can clearly see all of the events that Jesus has described here. Earthquakes, famines, persecution and much death as nations have risen against nations.

And so as Israel and the nations around the world grow and get stronger, even as we watch it today. Know that the kingdom of God is near and he has given us everything we need. (Slide) Verse 33 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Everything will be gone except the word of God, for that is eternal and good.

Therefore, we are not to loose ourselves to counting the days and coming up with predictions but rather we are to watch ourselves. Guard our hearts. (Slide)

Because what matters most about when it will happen, is not the exact date but rather the fact that Jesus will indeed return.

I was taking my son for a bike ride. I had no destination in mind, I just wanted to spend time with my boy. And so when he asked me, dad how far till we get to the end? My answer wasn’t in minutes, nor distance. Rather I answered by saying, Don’t worry about that son, just enjoy the ride.

Which is in a small way, similar to what Jesus is saying as a response to ‘when is it going to happen?’

Jesus is saying, don’t worry about that. There will be signs, but trust me, I am coming back.

We see that the answer Jesus gives is rather more indicative of God’s heart. For God removes the element of time that we are so focused on, and rather gives us an answer that requires our hearts to trust him. Which is such a valuable lesson from Jesus here,

Imagine for a moment, God said, Yup all this persecution will happen, but dont worry, I’ll be back in 10 years time, or 100 years time, or 10 thousand years.

Our hearts would not cope.

Let me ask, when you get a deadline for a job at work that is for 8 months time, do you work hard on it the next day, does the task sustain your focus and would you be able to effectively work at it diligently? Or would you save it for later and get on with tasks that are due sooner. Not focus on it for a month or two.

You see God wants his people focused on the heart of God and worship him all days of their lives. God’s not concerned for when he comes again, he’s concerned for the hearts of his people. (Slide) Verse 34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap”

Jesus says this because he knows us all too well!

When life gets hard, what do people do? We seek some kind of escape.

During a season of difficulty, I’m sure you’ve sought some kind of release from the pressure. Maybe it was alcohol, or maybe it was computer gaming, maybe it was travelling the world.

Whatever the escape we might seek, we must ultimately recognize that the anxieties of life can be very consuming. Our anxieties can take us places we dare not tell others about.

Which is why Jesus is warning us of this. Because he doesn’t want us lost in our minds, trapped under the pressure of life.

Jesus wants us all to escape the difficulties of life, not by being weighed down by it. Rather by being alert to the reality of what is weighing us down and praying to God to rescue us from it. (Slide) Verse 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.”

And so in order to place the right emphasis of this, we need to see that all this speech arose from Jesus declaring that the heart of Israel’s worship, the temple, will be utterly destroyed.

Jesus is preparing the people to focus on the heart of worship, A heart of worship that is going to receive a great deal of persecution. A heart of worship that is going to last until Jesus returns in his Glory. (Slide)

so take care dear friends, take care that your heart is not captured by the troubles of the world. but rather that your heart is captured by God. Now I wouldn’t say that Australia is a place of persecution. Not like Places around the world where Christians are currently getting killed for their faith. In Australia today, you might loose a friend or a job opportunity on account of your faith but that's not persecution. Rather Australia is in a place of opposition. Opposition that will no doubt grow stronger and stronger as the years roll on.

Currently there is legislation that is potentially going to impact the way we talk to our children about good and healthy, God ordered relationships. Now that concerns me deeply.

But let us listen to what Jesus is saying, don’t fall into the trap of worry. Don’t get bogged down by it. Rather pray for those involved and focus our hearts on worshiping God that we don’t get weighed down by what may or may not happen.

So when persecution, and difficulties arise. May we trust Jesus, and escape the difficulties by turning to the only thing in this world that is eternal, which God’s word. (Slide) Verse 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Know that life is difficult. And being a Christian doesn’t make life any easier, being a Christian simply refocuses our hearts to worship the one we were made to worship. Which is Jesus Christ our God.

So what are we to make of this passage and our lives today?

(Slide) we are to Trust that God is coming soon and focus our hearts on Jesus,

When we feel the worries of this world creeping up on us. Put it in perspective. Is this issue going to last forever? No. it won’t. What if the issue threatens my job? what if it threatens my life? And that’s a serious question. We will face many issues, many challenges. However, the Christian is not to loose focus on what matters most and that is the hope we have in Jesus who is coming again.

So therefore, pray each day that we would not be swept away with worries and anxieties of this world. but standing firm in the glory of Jesus Christ, awaiting and watching for the day of his return. For Jesus is our God, he is the blessing to all the world.

lets Pray

God bless your word on our hearts this morning, may you give us strength to trust you in good times and hard times. Lord may we not be distracted by the difficulties of life but may we rather rejoice in Jesus each day knowing that ultimately you will return one day and all things will be made new in you.

Lord we praise your name, the name of Jesus,

For you are our lord and we worship you alone.

Amen.