Luke 17:26-30
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If you would, please turn in your Bibles...
...back to Luke Chapter 17.
And we’re still working our way through...
...that long prophetic discourse...
...that we still need to be careful...
...not to confuse with the Olivet Discourse.
Our discourse had begun in Verse 20...
...with Jesus discussing the inauguration of the Kingdom of God...
...with the Pharisees.
He had told them that...
...they were looking for the wrong things...
...when it came to their anticipations/expectations...
...concerning the Kingdom of God.
He had told them that...
The Kingdom of God was already in motion...
In the arrival of its Messianic King!
(Referring to Himself)
-After that, he began to clarify his remarks...
...to his disciples...
...who were presumably listening in...
...as he made that statement.
And, as far as I can tell...
...that clarification began in Verse 22...
...and goes all the way down to Verse 37...
...and of course, includes...
...the verses that we’re going to look at today.
-Alright, let’s read our text beginning in Verse 20...
...and after a bit of review...
...we’ll focus our attention on Verses 26-30...
...for this morning.
-This is the Word of the Lord:
20 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.”
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.
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—
30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
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Pray
-Let’s begin with a bit of review.
Look back up in Verse 22.
Remember:
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.
Indicating to them, that...
...the Kingdom of God...
...wasn’t going to commence...
...in the way that they were expecting.
No one was going to...
Enthrone Jesus in an earthly palace...
Rally all of the dispersed Jews together...
Head out to war against the Romans...
Watch the Kingdom grow through...
...national and political victories.
Rather...
Their King was going to depart from the earth...
Be enthroned in heaven...
And be physically absent for so long...
...that his subjects would begin...
...to ache and long for his return.
Last week we saw in Verse 25...
...why it had to happen that way:
25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
Do you remember why?
Because that was what would bring about...
His sacrificial death on the Cross...
His bodily Resurrection...
His subsequent ascension into heaven...
And it is in those VICTORIES...
...that He would, in fact...
Deliver his subjects from their greatest enemies...
Inaugurate the Covenant and Kingdom that would...
Bring glory to the Godhead
Ensure eternal blessings for God’s people.
-Now, back up in Verse 23...
...Jesus had warned his followers (disciples)...
...that while he was enthroned in heaven...
...many false prophets would...
...try to deceive his people here on earth...
And that they would do so...
...with false ideas, and false promises...
...concerning His return.
He warned them (and us by extension):
23 And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them.
And then in Verse 24...
…he gave them/us a litmus test to apply...
...to any and every such claim!
He said:
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.
In other words:
There won’t be any uncertainty WHATSOEVER!
You’ll Know!
Everybody will know!
Trust Me...
You’ll know it when you see it!
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-Now, in that, he began to...
...describe the nature of his physical return.
(i.e., when his followers would...
...once again see him face-to-face)
-And it seems to me, that...
...Verse 26 is picking back up...
...where Verse 24 had left off...
...with Verse 25 having served as...
...something of a parenthetical explanation.
(That’s partly why I gave it its own sermon)
-Let me show you what I mean in Verse 26.
Notice, that the subject is the same...
...as it was in Verses 22-24:
He’s back to taking about:
26 ...the days of the Son of Man.
i.e., those days where he’s...
...physically and bodily present on the earth.
Right?
Remember:
22 ...“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.
But yet:
24 ...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.
When they can see him again...
Because he has returned to the earth, right?
Following along?
It’s important.
-Alright, let’s read the whole verse...
...and see what it tells us...
...about the Son of Man’s Return.
26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
So, He's likening the days (plural) of his return...
( i.e., the time surrounding it)
...to the days of Noah’s earthly ministry.
Now, what event is most associated...
...with Noah’s earthly life?
The flood, right
The flood, that...
...as a judgment from God upon sin...
...destroyed most of the life on earth.
Remember what the Bible...
...tells us about those days:
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually...
7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
Ergo:
9 ...Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God....
11 ...the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
13 And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
14 Make yourself an ark...
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And we know that...
...only a small remnant...
...(under Noah’s headship) were saved...
...while the rest of the world perished...
...under the righteous judgment of God.
(As a side note: Was the flood obvious once it happened?)
-Now, I think it’s helpful...
...for us to be reminded..
...of the big picture of Noah’s day...
But, we certainly need to be careful...
...not to over-extend the comparison.
Jesus actually specifies...
...what it was about the days of Noah...
...that would be similar to...
...the days surrounding the Son of Man’s return:
Verse 27:
27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage...
Wait…
That doesn’t sound like...
...the flood of debauchery...
...that we just read about, does it?
Those are all things...
...that we all do on a regular basis.
In fact, those are things...
...that are often celebratory in nature for us!
We see them as good things, don’t we?
We see them as blessings from God!
They’re a part of normal everyday life, right?
So, what’s the point?
Why the negative connotation?
(This is insightful if we can get ahold of it)
Look at Verse 27 again:
27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark...
What’s the implication in that?
The implication is, that...
For 120 years:
Noah was building that huge ship...
...far away from the water.
Noah warned about the coming judgment of God.
The people ignored him...
Went about their everyday lives!
Peter described them like this:
20 ...they . . . did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared...
See, Noah was calling them to repent...
He was warning them...
...of the coming apocalypse.
But they ignored his warnings...
...and continued living their best lives now...
Until, as Jesus said in Verse 27...
27 ...until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Do you see the warning in that?
They were complacent about the things of God
They put off repentance for another day
They were hedonistic...
...and unconcerned about the future.
They were content with their earthly pleasures...
...and put no thought towards their eternal destinies.
And they rode that train of self-indulgence...
...right up until the moment...
...that it was too late...
...and the door of the ark...
...was closed and sealed up by Almighty God...
...and they lost all hope of salvation.
-And Jesus says, down in Verse 30:
30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
(More on this verse later)
-For now, look back up at Verse 28.
Jesus gives a second comparison...
...to the time surrounding Christ’s return:
28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot...
Now, Lot is a bit more...
...of a diverse character in the Bible.
But he is BEST known for his association with...
...which apocalyptic event?
The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, right?
And again, how were those men characterized?
Well...
13 ...the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
(See the similarities)
How bad was it?
49 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.
50 They were haughty and did an abomination before me...
Jude elaborates in Verse 7:
7 ...Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities . . . indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire...
This is where the terms...
Sodomy
Sodomite
...come from!
There’s probably never been...
...a more infamous group of people...
...in the history of the world...
...than the Sodomites and the Gomorrans!
(And if you think I’m being too harsh...
...go back and read Genesis 19)
(These were egregiously wicked people...
...in the truest sense of those words)
-Yet, Jesus points to this sin of theirs...
...as illustrative of earth’s final days:
28...in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building,
Living their lives
Engaging in commerce and industry
Things that, unlike sodomy...
...are NOT inherently evil.
So again, what’s the emphasis?
They were hedonists!
They were living for the pleasure of the day...
...with no concern for...
The glory of God
Their own eternal well-being.
-But, in God’s good mercy...
They too, had a testimony among them.
They had righteous Lot...
...living among them for many years...
...literally BEGGING them at times to repent...
...but they too ignored his pleas...
...and continued on living as though...
They would never have to answer to God
No day of reckoning would ever come.
But...
Verse 29:
29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—
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(Now, let me point something out to you...
...so that we can avoid...
...making a common mistake here)
Noah was preserved in the midst of/through God’s judgment.
Lot was taken away from it.
The manner of their deliverance...
...is not the point of the text.
The point is how unexpectedly...
...the Judgment of Almighty God...
Came upon the reprobate...
And overtook them.
It was like lightning!
It was decisive, visible, powerful, undeniable, and universal.
No one escaped it...
Except those upon whom...
...the grace and favor of God rested...
Except those for whom...
...Christ would later suffer and die!
That’s the point.
That’s how it was in the days of Noah and Lot.
-And again, Jesus says, down in Verse 30:
30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
-Now, this Verse warrants some further explanation.
That last word there, is...
ἀποκαλύπτω in the Greek.
It means to “Unveil”
It means. as this Lexicon says:
Lexham Theological Wordbook ἀποκαλύπτω
ἀποκαλύπτω vb.
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My Point?
This is referring to an event, wherein:
Jesus is manifested to the world!
Jesus is made known!
Jesus is revealed!
This is NOT referring to an event...
That cloaks him in further mystery
This is when the veil is lifted...
This is when...
7 ...he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him...
This is when:
7 ...the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
And this is also when...
...we who...
13… share Christ’s sufferings . . . may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
This is that Ultimate and Final Day!
Ryken says this about it:
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Example of Lot and His Wife
The thunder and lightning of divine judgment will strike without warning, right in the middle of daily life.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Example of Lot and His Wife
People will be shopping at the mall, or stuck in traffic, or taking out the trash, or reading their financial reports, and they will be overtaken by the wrath of God...
He goes on to say...
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Example of Noah
Jesus came once in the humiliation of his earthly suffering; he will come again in the exaltation of his royal glory.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Example of Noah
Someday in the future—after his sufferings—the Son of Man will come with
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 The Example of Noah
Therefore,
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-Brethren, I want to be clear about something:
Christ’s people WILL BE...
Looking for
Anticipating
Desiring
Longing for...
...His return.
The rest of the world...
...will be oblivious to it.
They’ll be blinded by their own carnal pleasures.
And for them, the revelation of Jesus Christ...
...will be utterly overwhelming.
But for God’s people...
It will be the Day of their greatest joy and peace!
-Think about what Paul says in...
1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.
2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
Is that unexpected? (typically)
Does it take people by surprise? (typically)
3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
Why won’t it overwhelm us the same way?
We don’t know when it’s going to happen, do we?
(BECAUSE WE’RE LOOKING FOR IT)
(BECAUSE WE’RE LIVING FOR IT)
5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.
6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
How can we do that?
Well, he gives a few examples:
8 ...since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
Here’s the biggest difference...
...in what the Day of the Son of Man means for us:
9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.
11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up...
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Let’s pray
