When the World Shakes…Look Up! (Olivet Discourse 2)

Opening Comments

Please journey with me in your Bible to Luke 21:25-38 (pg.827 in our church Bibles)

We return this morning to the Mount of Olives as Jesus is teaching his disciples late in the day on Tuesday leading up to his crucifixion.

This portion of Luke is known as the Olivet discourse and stretches from vs.5 to vs.38.

Last week we worked our way through v.5-24 as Jesus prepared His disciples for a coming shaking of the World. He warned them about false messiahs, political turmoil, coming persecution and the not so distant destruction of Jerusalem that we know happened in AD 70.

To the disciples, this all sounded like the end of the world, but Jesus told them that all of the destruction would not be the immediate end.

Today, we pick up Jesus discourse in v.25-38 as Jesus lifts the eyes of the disciples beyond the fall of Jerusalem, to the final shaking of the world itself that will culminate in the return of Christ.

Follow along as we read God’s clarifying word.

Luke 21:25–38 ESV

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.” 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. 38 And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.

Introduction:

As Jesus moves into the second half of His discourse, the language of the passage broadens to cosmic signs, roaring seas and waves, nations in distress, and the powers of heaven being shaken as the Son of Man appears in power and great glory.

The world will respond in terror as all of this unfolds, but Jesus tells His disciples not to be afraid. Instead they are to straighten up and lift their heads because their redemption is drawing near.

He unfolds the truth surrounding His coming in four stages:

Say stage before each point

1.) The world will shake on a cosmic scale (v.25–26)

Earlier in the discourse, Jesus spoke of wars, earthquakes, famines, persecution, and Jerusalem being surrounded by armies. Here He moves beyond those things and describes a worldwide upheaval that reaches from the nations on earth to the powers of heaven themselves.

A.) Perplexing signs

Luke 21:25 ESV

“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,

Jesus is now describing events that reach across the whole created order, from the earth below to the heavens above.

He says the nations will be in:

Perplexity. That word carries the idea of being at a loss, hemmed in, not knowing where to turn.

Humanity will not have an answer for what is happening. All of its wisdom, all of its systems, and all of its confidence will give way as the world is overtaken by something it cannot explain away or control. Everything is unsettled. The order people are used to living under is breaking apart.

B.) Perplexity gives way to fear

Luke 21:26 ESV

People fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

All of these cosmic events will leave people in absolute terror, waiting for the next shoe to drop.

Foreboding speaks of fearful expectation. It is the sense that something worse is still coming.

Then Jesus says that “the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

In their world, the heavens represented order and structure. The sun rose to begin the day. The moon marked the night. The stars moved in their courses and marked the seasons.

Jesus is speaking of a crisis that reaches across the world and touches heaven and earth together.

Matthew’s account gives us a little more insight into all that will take place.

Matthew 24:29–30 ESV

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

All of this happens at the Lord’s will as Jesus returns to gather His bride and judge the world.

Application: Friends, we love to think we are in control. We put great trust in power, wealth, governments, military might, and human ingenuity. We worry about destroying the earth with nuclear war, pollution, carbon emissions, global warming,etc. but the truth is we cannot save this world and we cannot destroy it either.

It is all in the hands of its Creator. The One who made all things will bring all things to their appointed end.

That ought to humble us and steady us at the same time.

Jesus tells His disciples these things ahead of time so they will not be ruled by fear when it comes to pass. Nothing lies outside of God’s authority. None of these events will catch Him off guard. All of it will unfold according to His sovereign plan.

So when that day comes, we should not panic like the lost world around us. We are not to live as slaves to fear, because we know Jesus rules over all of it.

2.) The Son of Man will return visibly in power and great glory (v.27)

Luke 21:27 ESV

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

All that Jesus just described in v.25-26 lead up to the second coming of Christ.

The world will be perplexed at the signs in the heaven and in the oceans.

Nations will be tremble in fear.

The Sun and Moon will be shaken.

The, the Son of Man will return.

“they will see.” — The return of Christ will not be secret, or hidden. Jesus says it will be visible, public, and unmistakeable.

The world won’t miss it and then try to piece it together afterwards. The Son of Man will appear, and the world will see Him.

Son of Man-Jesus favorite title for himself and we’ve seen him use it many times throughout Lukes Gospel.

It harkens back to Daniel 7, where God gives Daniel a vision about the coming King.

Daniel 7:13–14 ESV

13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Jesus isn’t returning in secret, He’s returning as the ruling King of the universe with all the power and glory he possesses for all the world to see.

Matthew adds some more detail that makes this even clearer:

Matthew 24:30 ESV

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

The king whose rule the world rejected, ignored, denied and despised will stand before them in all of his radiant glory. And the world will mourn.

Application: Church, this verse stands at the center of our hope. With every passing day the world is moving to the return of Christ.

He came the first time to suffer, bleed, and die, as we will remember this coming Friday, and to rise again that first Easter morning to accomplish our redemption.

He came like a lamb led to the slaughter. But when He comes again, He will come in power and great glory.

We don’t have to mourn a bygone era and hope the world will one day come back to what it used to be. Neither do we have to live like fatalists, hoping the world will somehow get its act together.

We have the promise of Jesus to cling to: after the world is shaken to its very foundation, the Son of Man will return in power and great glory.

3.) Believers should look up with hope because their redemption is drawing near (v.28)

In v.28, Jesus now tells his disciples how to respond when they see all of this taking place

Luke 21:28 ESV

Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

The world will fold in on itself in fear but christians are told to have the opposite posture: “Straighten up.” “Raise your heads.”

Where the world will see terror, we will see the final approach of our ultimate redemption.

Titus 2:13 ESV

Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Application: This is why believers can face the future without panic. The return of Christ is the arrival of our hope.

That is why He says, “raise your heads.”

Lift your eyes above the confusion of the nations.

Lift your eyes above the instability of this age.

Lift your eyes above the fear that so easily creeps into the heart.

Lift your eyes to Christ.

Your redemption is drawing near.

The return of Christ means the completion of all that salvation has promised.

The dead in Christ will be raised.

The saints will be glorified.

Faith will become sight.

The battle with sin will end.

The kingdom will be openly displayed under the reign of Christ.

But this isn’t just “pie in the sky, sweet by and by talk.”

Some of you are carrying heavy burdens.

Trouble in your home.

Discouraged by what you see in the culture.

Weary in your fight against sin.

Frightened by the direction of the world.

Raise your head.

Christ is not absent.

Christ is not indifferent.

Christ is not late.

And Christ is not uncertain.

Your redemption is drawing near.

4.) Therefore, live awake, discerning the times and guarding your heart (v.29–36)

A.) Read the signs rightly (v.29–33)

Jesus now gives His disciples a simple picture.

Luke 21:29–31 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.

When leaves begin to appear, you know a season is changing. The tree does not tell you the exact day everything will happen, but it tells you something real. Summer is near.

The Apple Blossoms here in Winchester or the Cherry Blossoms in DC.

When we see them we know that spring has come and summer isn’t far behind.

That is how the signs Jesus has given his disciples function.

Like road signs to alert you to what is ahead.

When you see the signs know that the king is coming.

B.) Rest in the certainty of Christ’s word (v.32–33)

Jesus has told His disciples how to read the signs. Now He anchors them in something even firmer than the signs themselves: His word.

Luke 21:32 ESV

Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place.

Verse 32 is one of the more difficult statements in this passage.

At the very least, it includes the destruction of Jerusalem, because that did happen within the lifetime of that generation exactly as Jesus said it would.

But they didn’t all come to fulfillment then.

The fall of Jerusalem was a real historical judgment, and it also symbolically pointed ahead to a greater judgment still to come.

In other words, the nearer fulfillment confirmed the certainty of the greater one. Jesus was right about the city, and He will be shown right about the end.

And that is exactly why verse 33 is so important.

Luke 21:33 ESV

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Everything men think is permanent will one day be gone. Heaven and earth in their present form will pass away.

But the word of Christ will never fail.

Every promise He has made will stand.

Every warning He has spoken will prove true.

Every event He has foretold will come to pass.

Just as Jerusalem fell, so to will the end of the world take place just as Jesus said it would.

Conclusion:

As Jesus sits on the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem still stands. The temple still shines. The city still looks secure. But he can see what others can’t

The destruction of Jerusalem is looming.

The shaking of creation is on the horizon.

The Son of Man coming in power and great glory is eminent.

The final redemption of His people is drawing near.

So he draws it all to a close by issuing this warning:

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 let your heart be weighed

Don’t let indulgence dull you. (Dissipation and Drunkenness)

Do not let the ordinary cares of life crowd eternity out of view.

Do not drift through life spiritually half-awake.

Stay awake. Pray. Seek strength from God in the midst of tribulation. Live in such a way that when the Son of Man appears, you are ready to stand before Him.

Jesus did not give these words so His people could build speculative timelines or pin current events to a date on the calendar. He gave these words so His people would recognize the kind of world they live in, fix their hope on His return, and remain faithful and be ready when He comes.

Invitation

If you are here this morning and you do not know Jesus Christ, then you’re are not ready to stand before the Son of Man in your sin.

The good news is that the same Christ who will come again in power and great glory first came in mercy. He came to suffer in the place of sinners. He went to the cross, bore the wrath of God, and rose again from the grave so that all who repent and believe in Him can be forgiven and saved.

So stop putting your hope in yourself. Stop trusting in religion, morality, or good intentions. Turn from your sin and come to Christ. Call out to Him in faith, and be saved.

And Christian, respond to this passage by taking Jesus seriously.

If your heart has grown heavy, wake up.

If your eyes have dropped back down to this world, lift them up again.

If sin has dulled you, repent.

If the cares of this life have crowded eternity out of view, bring that to the Lord.

If fear has been ruling you, confess it and ask God to steady your heart.

Jesus is coming. So be found watchful. Be found prayerful. Be found faithful. Be found looking up.

Prayer:

Father,

We thank You for Your Word. We thank You that You have not left us in the dark about what is ahead, and that in a world that shakes, Your truth stands firm.

For those here this morning who do not know Christ, open their eyes to their need for Him. Show them the emptiness of trusting in themselves, in this world, or in outward religion. Draw them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, who suffered, died, and rose again to save sinners.

And for those of us who belong to You, keep us awake. Guard our hearts from spiritual dullness. Keep us from being weighed down by sin, by distraction, and by the cares of this life. Teach us to live watchfully, prayerfully, and faithfully as we wait for the return of Christ.

When fear rises in us, steady us. When our eyes drift downward, lift them again. Fix our hope on the promise that our redemption is drawing near.

We ask all of this in Jesus’ name, Amen.