Sermon Tone Analysis

Stand

STAND

Get Into The Word

Luke does believe in the “second coming” of Jesus, and I do too… but I’m not sure that this passage is totally about just that.

It seems Luke is more concerned with vindicating Jesus and rescuing the people of Jerusalem from the system that has oppressed them for so long.

Concerning Advent, The United Methodist Book of Worship, states the following: “The season proclaims the comings of the Christ—whose birth we prepare to celebrate once again, who comes continually in Word and Spirit, and whose return in final victory we anticipate.”1

And, how do you make sense of an event which involves armies round a city, the roaring of the sea, the coming of the son of man on clouds, and the arrival of the kingdom of God?

All going to happen within a generation of when Jesus was actually speaking.?

One thing to do is look at context… what was Jesus talking about here?

Look at what he was talking about just b efore this… Luke 21.20-24

Everything Jesus has said up to this point fits together.

He’s talking about a great crisis that is coming, and Israel- Jerusalem in particular- is going to be held accountable for the failure to repent and be the kingdom of God.

There’s a disastrous result coming.

Here, in the passage we’ve read today, Jesus is using a phrase “signs in the sun, moon and stars” that essentially means that the earth and it inhabitants are going through convulsions- it might be political… or it might be natural events.... but things are going to happen.

He’s drawing from Isaiah 61 to tell us something to be feared is up.

Anyone living in the roman empire during the years 60-70 Ad would have understood this.

Nero rules until his suicide in AD 68, then there are 4 successive emperors that followed him in quick succession each taken out by their own army.

So much for the peace of Rome!

The entire known world at the time would have collectively shaken at these events… and it fits Jesus’ narrative in Luke 21:25-26

you’ve got to stick with the context here.

Many people alive in Jerusalem at the time all of this was happening had become believers in Jesus almost a generation ago.

We are almost 35 years out from the crucifixion of Jesus when Luke writes his gospel.

They have been waiting for the return of Jesus.

Acts 1:11 They are older, perhaps more confused by the events of their day, but they are waiting and praying and hoping that the Savior is returning.

Instead, they’re watching the Roman empire fall apart and eventually their Jerusalem destroyed… they were an odd people in this circumstance!

In the middle of all of this… these believers in Jesus continued to meet and break bread and worship in His name.

They continued to teach each other the stories of what he’d done and said… and they taught their children.

But his coming wasn’t coming!

Drawing from Jesus’ own words, and Luke drawing from a passage in Daniel 7:13-14, the coming of the Son of Man (Jesus) had to be at the door!

A strange man named Paul, an ex-Pharisee had been here not long ago.

Some of them knew him as Saul of Tarsus… and his presence as a believer in Christ had caused a riot.

But still, Christ wasn’t coming.

And, frankly, their Christian faith was becoming somewhat of a repetitive drag.

If the gospel was making news anywhere, it wasn’t in Jerusalem.

It was happening everywhere but here.

The return of Christ wasn’t happening.

There were stories of conversions across the sea- but there wasn’t a 24 hour news cycle so the reports were sparse.

Friends who weren’t believers asked them where their Jesus was- because the way things were they could sure use his appearance now.

To tell them that they had to be patient wasn’t cutting it… to tell them the worship in their house churches was delightful was no help… 35 years was 35 years!

And Jesus hasn’t returned!

And Luke knows it.

Look at what he says.

Don’t get weighed down.

Don’t give up.

STay awake.

pray.

pray for strength.

pray for perseverance.

Pray.

wait.

wait.

Prop your eyes open with toothpicks.

Be alert.

Hang on.

What’s coming is going to require strength… pray for it.

The Son of Man will be vindicated, and when that happens you will want to be on your feet.

But...

They were getting weighed down.

They were losing patience.

They were finding it hard to persevere.

They were falling asleep.

Strength was waning.

You know.

And Luke has Jesus saying, “if you want to stand at my return, you gotta be ready”.

Oh, I forgot.

Context.

Luke came through Jerusalem about 60 AD.

He had gone on to rome… and the writings stop.

That’s because the persecutions of Nero had started.

Paul’s put in jail, Christians were persecuted… peter, james, others are murdered..

And the Jerusalem Christians had it tough.

Then the destruction of Jerusalem takes place.

And it would have been hard to stay faithful.

to pray .

to wait with patience.

To be ready to stand before the Son of Man when he returns.

God alone stands, and God establishes goodness and gives standing to the righteous.

The place of standing is before God as God grants mercy and forgives sins.

Even though people fall, or others judge them, their master can make them stand.

They should strive to do so (Lk.

21:36).

Standing is oriented to God’s act in Christ.

The bottom line:

A Faith That Perseveres Builds a Faith That Stands (abides)

For us, the fall and destruction of Jerusalem, as bad as it was at the time, sort of pales in significance to the crises we have faced in recent history.

And so, it tends to be thought of as relatively insignificant by us.

We’ve seen 2 world wars.

Several other regional wars.

We’ve had tsunamis, earthquakes, and assassinations.

We’ve known destruction too.

And that’s the reason we, people of faith, have to respond to our world in faith.

Jesus invites us to peace- and we offer that peace to our world- and no matter how long they reject the invitation, and no matter how certain to reject it will lead to disaster- it’s our responsibility to continue to offer it.

And its our job to be patient and prayerful in the meanwhile.

And it’s hard to do.

The world looks at us and says, “If your Jesus is so special, then why are things in such a mess?” Think racism, think hate groups, think synagogue and night club shootings.

Our friends think going to church is strangely odd.

Christianity is outdated, unproven, boring and irrelevant.

And oh, yeah, you Christians have some pretty ugly things in your time, you know.

The inquisition .

The Crusades.

Participation in slavery and segregation.