Beginning of the End

Luke 21

Intro:

Few theological conversations will get crazier faster than when you bring up eschatology. (study of the end times) It seems like the crazies all come out for that. Jesus knew this would be so and He graciously gave us some direction on how to handle it.

RECAP AND CONTEXT - tried to question Jesus’ authority and trap Jesus with questions… He challenged their theology…He set them correct on the Messiah as the Son of David and David’s Lord.

On the way to the cross in a short amount of time. Tension has picked up...

As we open chapter 21, something happens that is connected to the end of chapter 20 as well as the rest of chapter 21.

I. The mighty faith of the widow. (v. 1-4)

Luke 21:1–4 ESV

1 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Jesus is in the temple and he’s given a warning about the hypocrisy of the scribes saying they devour widows’ houses. And he looks up and sees rich folks putting their offering into one of the thirteen offering boxes in the temple. Then a poor widow puts in two small copper coins. He remarks about the amount of her gift being more than all the others.

What seemed like a great amount given by the rich was small in comparison to their wealth whereas in comparison the widow had given the very money that would provide sustenance for her. We don’t know much about this woman but we can tell something about her faith.

She held nothing back from God. She was all in, totally surrendered. Here she was, one of the very helpless and vulnerable in their society who He had even just pointed out could fall victim to the wicked scribes giving generously and sacrificially in a way that even the rich did not, though their gift may have been monetarily greater.

Luke put this here for the purpose of comparison as we’ve seen him do time and time again in his gospel account. And I hope you notice the incredible consistency of the teaching of Jesus when it comes to widows and when it comes to money.

Note that Jesus shows His divinity in that He knows the amounts people have given and that it was all she had.

So there they are in the temple and some of them are looking around and marveling at how awesome the Temple was. It was a magnificient piece of architecture. They were enjoying the look of the stones and as they are standing there having just witnessed this poor widow give all she had, they’re marveling at lavishness and Jesus takes this opportunity to Promise judgement is coming upon Jerusalem, predict what it will be like, and top it off with a parable to teach them to observe when it happens.

Let’s begin with the Promise of Judgement in verses five through nineteen.

II. Promise of Judgement (v. 5-19)

Luke 21:5–19 ESV

5 And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” 7 And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” 10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.

Something is coming.

Jerusalem would be judged for turning their back on God and rejecting Jesus. Do you remember when Jesus was entering Jerusalem and as He gets a glimpse of the city He weeps over it. Judgement was coming for them. He promises that it’s coming.

Luke 21:6 ESV

6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

They are marveling at the Temple and Jesus tells them it’s going to be destroyed.

At this point it would be good to help you understand apacalyptic passages in scripture. When we have prophecy like this we should read it wearing bifocals if you will. Meaning, there was often a direct and fairly imminent meaning to the people there then and then also it would deal with something further off in the future as well. The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed when Jerusalem fell to Rome in 70 A.D. So we see a fulfillment of this at least in part then. So let’s just keep that in mind because there also seems to be a “in the further future” element to this prophecy as well.

In verse 7 the people want a sign for when these things will take place. My how nothing has changed. We thirst for signs. We want to read the signs and know things. One pastor wrote a book called the Book of Signs. Now, I’m not saying there are not signs. Jesus gives them some but He treats it very much different than modern day Christians do as a whole. How does He immediately respond in verse 8?

Luke 21:8 ESV

8 And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.

There are going to be a lot of people claiming to be the Messiah and try to get people to follow them. This happened back then shortly after Jesus ascended. You can read about it in the writings of Josephus I believe. And it happens today as well. People claiming to be the promised one or saying that the time is at hand so you better listen to me and my timelines and charts about why whatever big world event is happening is a special sign that the end is here. Convenient that they are always the only one who knows “the truth” about it… If someone claims special knowledge you should head the other direction.

Jesus then tells them that when they hear about wars and tumults to not be terrified because these are things that MUST first take place. And then He says what a lot of people seem to skip over:

…”but the end will not be at once.”

It’s coming. It’s going to happen. But when this stuff happens it’s a sign that it’s coming but not that its right here and now. There’s going to be a delay and you and I don’t know the date or the hour it will occur.

They are not to fear when they hear about this. These signs of the beginning of the end are not for us to be in terror but to be mindful. Everything occurs according to God’s plan. This includes all of the signs of the end that, oh by the way, mark life on this earth. Earthquakes, famines, and plagues are always popping up. Scary things happen and amazing signs will take place but none of them are definitive signals that it’s all about to happen or that the temple is about to be destroyed. They would still have to wait a few years before that happened in 70 A.D.

Doriani, Bayer, and Schriner are helpful here:

Matthew–Luke (Comment) Jesus discourages the disciples from seeking to calculate when the temple will be destroyed by reading the tea leaves of history. Calamitous events do not necessarily signify that the time of judgment has arrived. Jesus’ disciples should focus on living faithfully instead of attempting to unravel when prophecy will be fulfilled. We should likely see a typological connection between the judgment on the temple and the end of the world. The same principles apply: just as the destruction of the temple cannot be calculated from world events, neither can the end of the world be discerned by reading the signs of the times.

Prepared to Suffer

Jesus’ disciples weren’t supposed to be making charts and predictions but getting ready for suffering and persecution.

They were going to be delivered to the authorities and even family members would turn on them. Some would even be put to death.

Followers of Jesus must be ready to die for the name of Christ. We must be prepared to suffer for the name of Jesus. This has been a consistent teaching of Jesus in Luke.

Luke 6:22–23 ESV

22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

Jesus tells them that this would be their opportunity to bear witness. v. 13-15

Let me address verse 18.

Luke 21:18 ESV

18 But not a hair of your head will perish.

You might look at that verse and wonder if that means they won’t really die. No. Christians have been and will be killed for their faith in Christ. However, though they die physically they will not ultimately perish but will be eternally with the Lord. Those who persevere may lose their earthly lives but will be saved. Not because of persevering but because they love and serve Jesus and He gives them persevering faith.

III. Prediction of His Return (v. 20-28)

Luke 21:20–28 ESV

20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Someone is coming.

Even though these signs don’t point clearly to the end of the temple. There was still a coming day when the city of Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies. At that point, the people could know that the destruction of the city was close at hand. He says not to go to the city for protection. Difficult days are coming.

The suffering is going to be intense on that day when Jerusalem is surrounded. Rome indeed did surround it.

God will pour out His wrath on the people of Israel.

And then something happens in verses 25-26. Remember your bifocals. Jesus did not physically return in AD 70.

There is an interesting piece to this when we understand the way OT prophecy works. The example one commentary gave was in Isaiah 40-46 where the end of Israel’s exile is predicted adn there would be a new exodus, new creation, and a new david with a new covenant. Much later Israel did return. The Jews did not read that and think that the prophecy was unfilfilled. The Israelites believed in an inaugurated fulfillment. It started but would be realized in its fulness in the future. That’s different than how modern English speakers think of these things. When the temple was destroyed it was clear to the early church that there would be an interval of time between that destruction and Jesus returning to earth.

We see in the passage that there is a sequence of events will happen, even though it’s not specific on timing. Signs will certainly appear in the heavens. But don’t freak out every time there is a blood moon. It may have nothing to do with it. These seem to be cosmic phenomena and events in the world that will be so frightening people will faith of fear. They will freak out about what is to come because the very cosmic order seems to be dissolving. Things happen that aren’t normally happening that way. And that’s when we get to that change in verse 25. The world is falling apart and that is when Jesus comes. He will come “with power and great glory”.

on a cloud - represents God’s presence.

We see an allusion to Daniel 7 here and again are struck with the consistency of the prophecies of the end and the return of Christ.

The final events are not a cause for fear but for anticipation and exdciting because our final redemption draws near. What we have hoped for and believed will be reality. What a day that will be indeed!

IV. A Parable (v. 29-37)

Luke 21:29–37 ESV

29 And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” 37 And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet.

Jesus then turns to His common teaching method of story. He tells a parable about a fig tree. When it’s winter the leaves fall off. But the fig tree is one of the first to bud in the spring. When it buds, you can know that summer is coming. When Jesus’ disciples observe the things mentioned in verses 25-26 happening with the world falling apart in the skies and the seas they should be provoked to lift their heads in expectation knowing that their redemption is at hand.

How you prepare is not with charts and timelines...

Conclusion:

We see in Jesus’ teaching a hint that there will be a delay before His coming and instructions for us to be watchful. Be attentive. Don’t let other things capture your hearts.

Luke 21:34–36 ESV

34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Don’t do things that dull your senses. Be ready. Be alert. Be faithfully waiting.

Suffering to come

Persecution was coming

Perseverance

Jesus is so faithful and gracious to prepare His disciples for their coming suffering. He also is gracious to prepare us.

For years, the favorite past time of many evangelicals was to play a rousing game of “Who’s the Antichrist?” It was suggested that it was everyone from the Pope to JFK to Rush Limbaugh. Every person who thought that ended up being wrong.

Do not fear.

Be prepared.

Take the opportunity you will have to witness.