Taken or left?
Luke the man, the physician • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Taken or left?
Taken or left?
Sack Lunch Sunday today - Is it really October 4? We are back to Luke 17 as we continue our journey through the bible.
Yeshua is on His way to Jerusalem to face opposition and later crucifixion when ten lepers who probably lived nearby Samaria heard about His healing power and came to Him.
And it happened that while He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing through Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him.
And they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And it happened that as they were going, they were cleansed.
Note how Jesus was following the law of leprosy from Lev 14 as a witness to the priests who had to inspect and certify they were cleansed. This would be a testimony as these priests had never saw healed lepers to cleanse.
Leprosy was a hideous contagious disease. You were cut off from the community and had to cover your faces and warn people “unclean, unclean”
You were forced to live in leper colonies with no hope. Nerves in your fingers, and feet would go numb and you could step on a nail and not feel a thing.
Your flesh had white patches, sores and lesions - the smell alone would draw rats or insects into the colony to feed off their numb fingers, toes, ears and nose while they slept!
So you can imagine when ten lepers heard that Yeshua could heal they cried out for mercy - Yeshua granted their wish by sending them to the priest.
No theatrics, no laying on of hands, just one command “Go and show yourselves to the priests”. - And as they obeyed His command they felt relief inside their bodies, the pain subsided, sores were disappearing, their skin was clear, sensation had returned to their limbs, tears began to flow, they realized “no more shame or isolation, no more shouting unclean”, then laughter with tears and joy, “I’m clean, I can go see my family, enter the synagogue, I can work and regain my life”! They came to the temple, laughing and crying and dancing!! As the priests inspected them, they couldn’t sit still because they were so excited, they were whole and could go get some decent robes, they were accepted, they could embrace people again!
But one of them didn’t make it to the priest. Verse 15
Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan.
Why did Luke mention this?
When the Assyrians defeated northern Israel in 722BC many settled there and intermarried. Samaritans claimed Mount Gerizim was the true place of worship because when they entered the PL the blessings were proclaimed by Joshua from Mt Gerizim. They had their own priesthood and accepted only the Torah. [first 5 books]
Therefore Jews shunned the Samaritans, avoided their homes and even traveled around Samaria to avoid passing through it.
To the surprise of His disciples, Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman who told Him “we worship on this mountain” Yet He broke the rules of their prejudice by walking through it and meeting with her and later ten lepers. And what I find so fascinating...
Samaria was where revival happened in the early church when Phillip the deacon went to preach the gospel in Acts 8! Even Peter and John also came to visit.
Yet this healed leper came back to give thanks.
Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? “Was there no one found who turned back to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”
Understand, it wasn’t the leper’s faith for healing but faith in Yeshua that saved Him. The word “saved” in Greek is sōzō = delivered. This leper received healing, but still die physically.
But Jesus said his faith gave him sōzō - deliverance from sin and judgment. Vs 20
Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘There!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
many translations use the term “the kingdom of God is within you” but the better translation is “in your midst” Why? The Pharisees, were generally hostile to Him so it would be strange for Jesus to tell his opposers that the kingdom of God was "within" them. Yet He was in their midst! Verse 22
And He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. “And they will say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go away, and do not run after them.
From this time forward false Messiah’s claim to be the Christ, many false prophets & false teachers as well. “They” may refer to the Pharisees but note he says* “you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man” -indicating various days that Yeshua will reveal signs. Verse 24
“For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day. “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
Yeshua claims “His day” will be like lightening. Now this can’t refer to His second coming because
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Yes, amen.
So what would be “His Day?” All we know is it will be like lightening...a sudden flash!
A typical lightning flash lasts about 0.1 to 0.2 seconds, sometimes in microseconds.
But I find this fact quite shocking - no pun intended... a lightning flash is likened to, the blink of an eye! Average blink: 0.1 to 0.4 seconds!
So “His day” could speak of the catching away of the church - Behold, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first and then those who are alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air!!
His day may speak of His marriage to His bride!! ...hold that thought because he’s going to give two examples from the OT.
Consider Noah’s day...
“And just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, [left] and the flood came and destroyed them all. [taken]
So in the days of Noah was 120-year window for the world to repent. God commanded Noah to build the Ark but the onlookers mocked him -
There was a 30 year window when John came telling Israel to repent for the kingdom of God was at hand. Then John led the nation to Yeshua.
In the days of Noah, the wicked were taken away in judgment -Noah’s family was left within the Ark!
Jesus suffered many things and was rejected by that generation. But He left His disciples on earth to preach the gospel. Verse 28
“It was the same as in the days of Lot—they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
“It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. “On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out, and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back.
“Remember Lot’s wife. “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
So first: in days of Noah - but 2nd, “on the day of Lot” Keep in mind, this message was to Israel not the church.
Before the judgment of Sodom could be destroyed the angelic men seized Lot’s hand, his wife and two daughters, claiming the judgment couldn’t happen until they “left”. Lot’s wife looked back and it wasn’t an accidental glance! The Hebrew verb implies a deliberate, longing gaze, to regard with pleasure, She had an inner attachment to Sodom’s world and values. Her judgment was immediate: she became a pillar of salt. She was taken.
But on the day of Lot, he and his daughters were left. The eldest daughter said to her sister. “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of the earth. Gen 19.31
They thought they were the only ones “left”.
So in both examples the Lord warns them both of coming judgment. [being taken]
"in days of Noah - “on the day of Lot” - both likened to life going on as normal but with the old world, the sign was the ark and Noah and his family were left in it! On the day of Lot, the sign was Lot’s family being removed before judgment could fall. They were left.
In the days of the Son of Man He warns of deception but on His day “a flash of lightning or blink of an eye!” So then...verse 34
“I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. “There will be two women grinding grain at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left.
[“Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.” - ] And answering they said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.”
Now pardon this morbid thought: In the flood and Sodom & Gomorrah millions of lives were taken and their bodies were left for the vultures yet Noah and his family were left in the Ark; and Lot and his daughters were left on the earth.
So too, we as the church are the only entity left on earth to deliver this world before it is taken by the power of darkness.
So the future of the kingdom of God happens in the days of the Son of Man. Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, Deception will take over, look here, there He is, the will crown this man as the Messiah etc...!
But Jesus warns when the AOD takes place the man of sin will claim He is God in the temple and survival will be a 2 to 1 ratio.
But Jesus define “His day” as lightening, sudden, in a blink of an eye we who are left on earth will not be taken but changed!!
In the tribulation many will be taken in judgment but a remnant will be left. Both Jews and Gentiles will survive.
At His coming we see the same kind of scenario as Noah & Lot.
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, saying to all the birds, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of strong men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.”
They will be taken! .… I’ll tell ya - Yeshua was a radical who spoke truth without compromise. He didn’t pussyfoot around with what it meant to be a genuine believer.
Today the church is loaded with false converts who come to church buildings to hear a feel-good self-help messages of how special they are!
Without any mention of sin, sacrifice or accountability.
But Yeshua never said “I came to make your life carefree and simple. And you will find much happiness and feel good!”
He told us upfront “we will have tribulation in this world but we’re to be of good cheer because He’s overcome the world”.
Now granted, we’ve found abundant life, forgiveness of sins, joy in the HS, a purpose and calling to serve God to bear fruit for His kingdom.
His commands were clear: “take up your cross daily, die to your self, and follow Me, your loyalty to Me must take priority over your family, friends and life decisions. You must love your enemies, and do good to those who despitefully use you, and pray for those who hate you! Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, [taken] and whoever loses his life will preserve it. [left] to share the whole counsel of God! That’s why we’re here but I believe His day is coming.
He doesn’t promise personal success, supreme health, unlimited wealth, a godly family, a perfect church or a handsome pastor!
And by the way: “His day” is a narrow gate that’s difficult to find and then we have to shimmy through it! Many will give up and claim “I didn’t sign up for this”. We were left on this earth until “His Day.” In essence, we are that lone leper who realized “in Jesus, there’s no more shame or isolation, no longer leprous” but “clean, a new family in Christ, a new creation, delivered from my sin and judgment. [Sam - come up]
So In His Day I don’t believe the church will be taken or left but on His Day “changed in a blink of an eye” to ever be with the Lord.
So like that cleansed leper let us give thanks and give glory to God for cleansing our sins of leprosy!
And cry: Maranatha, come quickly Lord Jesus!
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