Jesus will Return

HOOK – Luke 21:5-9

A few years ago, my family took a trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado. I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains, which I still love, but always wanted to see the Rockies. The only problem was that we lived in Kansas City, Missouri at the time, and to get to our destination, we had to drive through Kansas. Now that might not sound like much, but it was an 8-hour drive through the flat prairie landscape of the sunflower state, in the middle of July. It was long, hot, flat, boring and irritating.

After we crossed the state like into Colorado, we were anticipating seeing the beautiful heights of the breath-taking mountains all around us…. Nope, just more flat land. This was not what we signed up for. And of course, our sons began asking, when are we going to get there?

We started getting close to the Colorado Springs area, when way off into the distance, what looked like a small little bump in the horizon appeared. Well, at least there was something. Definitely not the regal Rockies we wanted to see. We kept driving closer towards the bump in the horizon, and for some reason it kept getting larger. The closer we got the larger it got. This was getting us excited, but we were anticipating more than just one measly hill, or mountain, or whatever it was.

The closer we got, the more we realized there was much more in front of us than what we thought. We had not imagined the magnitude of the mountains. By the time we got close enough to realize it was a mountain peak, we were suddenly inundated with hills and mountains. And the more we were submerged into the mountains, the more we realized we were in the midst of a mountain range. Pikes Peak has greeted us, tricked us, invited us in as a sign, and then once we were close enough, totally consumed us in the mountains. It was disorienting astounding!

It was also a lesson for me in understanding the Bible and this thing called prophecy in relation to the coming of Jesus. After a long, grueling track through Kansas, we saw an entire mountain range that looked to us just like one mountain. And that is exactly what the Prophets of the Old Testament saw when they prophesied about the coming of the Messiah. They saw His first and second comings as one event, as one mountain, but they didn’t realize all the one mountain was actually an entire range with peaks and valleys, and long period of time in between them.

And when Jesus did actually come, He shocked the religious establishment because He didn’t do everything, they were expecting the Messiah to do. They didn’t realize that His first coming was but one mountain in the range. And this is exactly why His disciples ask Him when the other events would take place… when would He set up His Kingdom, when would He restore Israel, when would He defeat the Roman and rebellious nations?

Our text today, a very long and complicated one, is Jesus’ very on answer to that question my sons asked in the car: are we there yet? So today I want to listen to Jesus Himself talk about His coming, not popular fiction books or cheesy Nicholas Cage films, not charts or diagrams, or scare-tactics… but I want us to pay attention to the very words of Jesus, a prophet and more than a prophet, tell us about the mountain range that is His second coming, which appears to be one small mountain on the horizon.

And the first and most important thing Jesus has to say to us, and to His disciples who walked and lived with and knew Him intimately over 3 years is the sings on the road before the end. Now it’s important to realize that everything He said refers to an immediate future to them and a distant future to them. There is an entire mountain range in what appears to be one mountain and event.

The signs on the road in Kansas so to speak that Jesus mentions are the signs before the end: False Claims about Jesus. These are the things that would take place before the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD by the Romans. These are the things that have been happening for 2000 years. These are the things that proceed His coming. You see this did happen, are happening, and will happen.

The first thing Jesus said about the future is most important thing Jesus has to say to us: there will be false claims about Him. This is astounding to think of because He is speaking directly to His disciples, who knew Him intimately. They were very well acquainted with his accent, walk, shadow, cheek bones. They knew Jesus. Yet He says that the biggest sign to look out for are imposters to claim to be Him. Who do you say Jesus is? What’s so important here is that Jesus universalized this sign on the long, long road trip. This, along with wars, will be taking place, but none of that means the end will come at once. I mean for the past 2000 years people have been making false claims of the Messiah. People have claimed to be the Christ when Jerusalem fell and, in the USA, today. Wars have occurred, in an increasingly violent rate. But we must head Jesus’ words: do not be terrified, for these things must take place, but the end will not be at once!

BOOK -Luke 21:10-19 -

But Jesus doesn’t end there. He then lays out several other signs to be aware of. And remember, it doesn’t matter if you were in Israel before 70 AD, in China during the Communist revolution, or at the very end of the age: all of these are signs of caution and attention. The signs Jesus speaks of include social chaos and conflict, natural disasters and persecution.

Just think about those for a moment. First Jesus prophesies Social Chaos and Conflict. Jesus specifically addressed Nations and Kingdoms, what did He mean by those two categories? Aren’t they the same thing? Actually, they are different. Nations refers to ethnic people groups. Kingdoms refers to socio-political governments. He said there would be social chaos with the different ethnic groups, and that there would be social conflict with the different political nation-states. Now of course, there have been conflict between ethnicities and governments for millennia. But He seems to imply that there will be an ever-increasing nature to these conflicts.

Second, Jesus prophesied of Natural Disasters. He specifically mentions earthquakes, famines, diseases, and astrological terrors. Think of those categories, they involve everything about our human existence: geological troubles with the earth we live on, biological troubles with our health and nutrition, and then astrological troubles with the universe and space we reside in. From the group up, He said there would be troubles and signs. It’s as if the world itself would be falling apart. Now of course, these things have been happening for millennia. But He seems also to imply that there will be an ever-increasing nature to these troubles.

Third, Jesus prophesied of Persecution. Notice, however, that there is an important chronological point here: Jesus said in verse 12: “But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you.” Notice that: before the social chaos and conflict, there will be persecution! And what will this persecution look like: “delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.” These are very helpful details because it situates us back to the first century before the destruction of the temple in 70AD. If we simply read the book of Acts, we see the Apostles and early church persecuted, brought into synagogue courts, bound in prisons, and appearing before kings and governors. So, do we just look at this and say, ah, that already happened, we don’t have to worry about it? I don’t think so. Are Christians still being brought before courts, bound in prison, appearing before rulers? Yes, they are.

Why? Because look at the next verse… What’s the purpose for these persecutions? “This will be your opportunity to bear witness.” The very purpose for such sufferings, is for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that speaks to every time and age through history. It’s the mountain that hides an entire mountain range again.

And such dogged determined witness to the gospel will get the followers of Jesus into trouble with the law and with the in-laws. In verse 16 Jesus said, “You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.” The persecution isn’t just outward from society, it is from the inside of your own family, and it can even include death itself! The key word here is the word "some." "Some of you they will put to death." John Piper has soberly pinpointed that “What this word does is put the earthly life of the disciples in great uncertainty. Not all will die for the cause of Christ. But then not all will live either. Some will die. And some will live. This is what I mean by risk. It is the will of God that we be uncertain about how life on this earth will turn out for us. And therefore, it is the will of the Lord that we take risks for the cause of God.”

And I think the natural byproduct of this type of commitment and witness is found in verse 17: “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.” It’s not just the social structure that captures, it’s not just the family members that seek to kill you, it’s all people hate you… for what? Not because of your political positions, or social media posts, or protests, but because of Jesus’ name’s sake. You see all of this goes back to Jesus. Too many people claim persecution for everything from social media censorship all the way to wearing masks… but according to Jesus, those are not elements of persecution. True persecution involves a relational, social, and political rejection of you… because of Jesus.

And one day, all people will hate the followers of Jesus, because of Jesus. And that’s why this entire passage can’t be entirely fulfilled in 70 AD, because the Romans did not attack the Jews, demolish the temple and destroy the Israelite nation because of Jesus’ name’s sake. Once again, this is the mountain range hidden by the mountain.

LOOK – Luke 21:20-24

Now you might be wondering, why do I keep mentioning 70AD and Jerusalem? What’s the big deal with that date and place? Well, there is something very important that happened there and then, that Jesus Himself prophesied of right here. And I think it is a picture of what the end of the age will look like. This is Jesus’ own illustration of the end of the age: the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Just listening to Jesus’ prophecy, you can see how urgent and specific it was, because it was directly describing what would happen 40 years later. Jesus said, “When you see the city sieged—” That happened when Roman soldiers came and surrounded it, around AD 70. This is a historic fact. For months the Romans sieged the city of Jerusalem and surrounded the temple. They cut off food, water, and supplies from the city to literally starve people to death.

Josephus, who is an ancient Jewish historian, and Tacitus, another Roman historian recorded the history and confirm that all of this happened just like Jesus prophesied. The people starting starving to death. Nursing mothers were so malnourished that they could not feed their newborn children. Josephus wrote that people became cannibals and would even eat the dust of the ground. He also recorded that a million people died while Tacitus says that perhaps it was 500,000. Either way, it was a holocaust and when the Romans decided that they would finally invade, there was no resistance. Dead bodies were already everywhere, emaciated, malnourished people stood in the city, starving, dying and hopeless people were everywhere. And then the city was taken. And to climax it all an ‘accidental’ fire was started by a soldier that destroyed the temple. So, to finish the job, an order was given to raze the city to the ground. Thus, the city of Jerusalem was laid waste. The temple was torn apart stone by stone, exactly as Jesus said.

And today, it’s exactly the same. There is no temple, no priests, no sacrifices. The only thing left remaining is a retaining wall, which is the Wailing Wall you see people pray at. This was a horrible judgement and Jesus said it would happen, all the way to the minor details. Was that true or false? It was all true. Jesus is truth. Jesus also said there would be the time when non-Jewish Gentile people would worship the Lord God. Is that true or false? It’s true. Jesus is truth. Over a billion Christians are scattered around the globe, from every nation, tribe and language. Jesus is truth. And all of this was His own illustration of what will come. We look back in horror at what happened in the past, to get a glimpse of what will take place again. And you might say this was all fulfilled back then, but I tell you, if I’m in Jerusalem and it get surrounded again, I’m heading Jesus’ words! This is a picture of what will take place all over the earth. It’s the mountain range hid behind the peak.

TOOK – Luke 21:25-28 -

If Jesus’ words were true then, they are true now and will be true in the future. What Jesus did here was offer us a vision of violence so that we might be drawn through it to come closer to Him. Because the most important thing to remember here, is that suffering will come. It may be suffering through the every-day sickness and disease, suffering that leads to death, or suffering at the end of the age. Suffering is coming, and one of the jobs of a Pastor is to get you ready for suffering. And the most important thing to gain through suffering, is a closeness to Jesus.

And that’s the exact point Jesus is making here. The end of the age is about Jesus, not anything else. You see the problem here is that everyone gets captivated by figuring out the events of the end times. People look at these predictions and start to interpret them like Ouija boards. But knowing when they will happen is not as important as knowing that they will happen. And when they happen, who’s side will you be on? Jesus prophesies these things to draw us closer to Himself, not fear or figuring it out. Jesus invites us to look through the suffering and see Him.

Think about all of your suffering, Jesus still provides comfort. In upheaval throughout history, God has sustained His people. When we are persecuted, Jesus will be with us. When some Christians are killed for Jesus, their lives will be the most powerful witness. And though some of us may be destroyed, not a hair of our head will perish! Why? Because Jesus is the Lord of all things and will renew all things.

This is a call to waiting and endurance. The Christian life involves longing for Jesus to return and waiting for the return of Jesus. We continue to live in these fragile bodies in a creation subject to suffering. Our message is opposed by the world, despised by the flesh, and fought against by the devil. Yet Jesus does not yet remove the reality of suffering, sorrow, and persecution in this present age. Instead, He enables us to rejoice in the midst of tribulations, knowing that his purposes are working for our good even in circumstances we do not understand. Today my friends, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, and in so doing, we can endure in faith and abound in hope, no matter what is coming our way. We can be confident that a day is fast approaching when sin and sorrow will be no more! Jesus is coming back!

CHRIST CENTERED CLOSING

And that’s the point my friends. Jesus made it very clear that there will be signs in the heavens all around us when He returns. There will distress in the nations when He returns. There will be chaos in the waters when He returns. People will be fearful when Jesus returns. The universe will be shaken when Jesus returns. It is as if all of creation will be coming undone, at the end of its rope, waiting for Him to make it all new. And in the midst of all of this, Jesus, the Son of Man, will come on the clouds with power and great glory.

Don’t miss what He is saying about Himself there. That phrase is an exact quote from the book of Daniel 7:13-14 “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. 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.”

You see, Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, but Jesus did not come back then. This wasn’t all fulfilled then, but one day it will be. There is a mountain ahead of us that hides an entire mountain range. It’s the Kingdom of God. And it is coming soon. Jesus will return and set up His Kingdom over the entire earth. It’s what He lived for and what He died for. And when hell or highwater comes, when sin or suffering afflicts us, when pain or persecution comes our way… When the journey is long, waiting is hard and the road trip through Kansas is wearying to our souls… We know can see through it all, and see Jesus. He will return. He will renew and restore all things. And as He said, “when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

And those of us, today, who have trusted in Jesus can boldly lift our heads in hope and confidence, because when He was on the cross, Jesus purchased the final product. What we await was secured through His death. And the redemption that was initially made will be completely fulfilled. Why? Because as Hebrews 9:28 says “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” So those of you who eagerly await Him can cry out “Come Lord Jesus Come” because Jesus Himself cried out eagerly over you “it is finished!” Amen.