Stand Firm Jesus is Coming

I was listening on some talk back radio this week how quite a number of people have made the decision to put up their Christmas decorations early this year.

Now I know that everyone’s got their own traditions about when the right time to put the tree up is. I know in some traditions, the tree doesn’t go up till Christmas Eve, although if you ask me, seems a bit of a waste of time by then.

When I was growing up, as my Dad’s birthday was on the third of December, we always had to wait till after that date.

For many Australians, I think the first of December has become the day when it feels socially acceptable to put the tree up.

But as some people were saying on the talk back radio - who cares about some artificial date. The feeling was, 2021 has been rotten and I need a little joy. So let’s put that tree up early and get some joy happening.

Now if you’re one of those people - good on you! They even had some expert on the radio who said it was even good for your mental health.

And I’m not going to dispute that this morning. However, I can’t help but think that the tinsel and bright colours are acting as a band aid to a much bigger problem.

You see, 2021 has been hard. It’s been hard on everyone. And it’s come on the back of 2020 which was also hard on everyone.

We’re all just getting a bit weary of the whole thing. And so if we can just find a distraction for ourselves, then let’s dive into it.

And what better distraction than the bright lights of Christmas. We might even be able to put up with the cheesy Christmas songs we hear in the shops, just because it is so preferable to the dreariness of everything else.

But the problem is, there is something far deeper going on, and while the Christmas lights might distract us for a time, in a few short weeks, Christmas will have been and gone, but those deep problems remain.

Before you know it, we’ll be in January, and we’ll still be unsure who we should be listening to and trusting. The divisive spirit is just going to get stronger. New anxieties will emerge. And the tinsel and cheesy Christmas music will feel like a distant memory.

So put the decorations up. Enjoy it while it lasts. But know that what we need is more than a few bright colours in the house.

You see, what we need to do is recognise that the much deeper reality of what is going on.

You see, the entire human history has a trajectory and the Bible plots it perfectly. As we begin to understand this trajectory, we can see where things are headed, and we can begin to see what it means for how we should be living right now.

Advent

Now as we start this advent period, we become more intentional about seeing our place on this trajectory as we await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, the part of the trajectory we are on has an end point. It’s a point that the whole Bible has been pointing to.

It’s that point when Jesus comes again.

The Bible Story

So let’s step back a moment and think about this bigger picture because as we do, we’ll be in a much better place to understand what it means for us to be anticipating the coming of Christ.

Creation and Shalom

Well, the Bible story starts with creation. God created, and it was good. On the seventh day God rested. This rest was not because God was tired and needed a breather. Rather it was an anticipation of how things should be.

In this rest, we get our first glimpse of shalom.

Shalom is a word I’ve been using a bit more this year. It’s sometimes translated as peace, but it means much more than this. It’s the state in which God intends us to live.

Breaking shalom

Unfortunately, this shalom did not last long. Evil entered the world. Adam and Eve were deceived and they broke the shalom.

By eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they turned their back on God and things quickly spiraled out of control.

God’s plan

Now it’s from this point that the Bible gives us this unique view of human history.

You see, on one hand, we see the grip that the evil one gains on this world.

Once the devil was given a foothold in this world, he digs his heels in deep . This is not a new thing, but the bible seems to suggest that he will increase his activity as his time draws near.

Thankfully, however, there’s another trajectory we see in the Bible, one that counters this negative activity.

You see, though the shalom was broken, God had a plan to bring us back to the state in which things were meant to be.

And essentially, this becomes the entire narrative of the Bible. It’s a story of God progressively revealing how he is restoring all things.

What becomes clear as you study the Bible, is that God’s plan is not some reactionary back-foot attempt to counter the evil one, rather it’s a masterful plan that strangely partners with humanity. The devil is always pulling out the counterfeit, while God is revealing the truth.

Now it truly is the most amazing plan, and if you take the time to go through the Old Testament you’ll see how it is perfectly set up. It starts with a promise to Abraham. It’s developed through Moses. It’s foreshadowed through King David. And it culminates in the person of Jesus Christ.

You see, this is what the story line of the bible is. While the devil is trying wreak as much havoc as he possibly can, God is taking us on a journey that will result us coming back to the place it all stared - that rest we find in God - the shalom!

When Jesus first came some two thousand odd years ago, he established that rest. He put the devil in his place.

But God’s plan is a patient plan. It’s one which wants the full number to enter.

And so we’ve entered this period of time that we are now in. The period we sometimes call the now but not yet. Where the kingdom of God has been established, but we await the final consummation when Jesus will return.

Jesus talks of the end

Now, with this picture in mind, let me take you to our passage for this morning.

We’re in Luke 21, which is right towards the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

He has just spent a number of years with his disciples - which again demonstrates this partnership that God has with humanity.

Over these years, he has taught with an authority like no other, he has performed miracles that left those who practices the magical arts astonished.

But as his appointed time drew near - that time when the plan for the redemption of humanity was about to occur, Jesus starts giving more specific instruction about what will happen next.

In Jerusalem

Now, which ever gospel you are in, we really start to see a focus on the last week of Jesus ministry.

You see, on the Sunday before Jesus was to be crucified, he enters Jerusalem, and over the next few days, leading up to his arrest, there is an intense period of teaching. Firstly as he counters all the questions various Jewish groups throw at him. But then more specifically with his disciples.

Well, we’re now up to the last few days before his arrest. If you look at the second last verse of Luke 21, you’ll see that Jesus has taken to spending the evening on the Mount of Olives.

This is a very special place. From this mountain you get an amazing view of the city of Jerusalem. Jesus must have looked over this place, knowing what is going to happen.

But it is from this vantage point that Jesus would have got an amazing view of the temple as well.

And it was certainly magnificent. At this point in history, the temple built by Solomon had been destroyed, but it had been rebuilt. But more than this, it had had a recent renovation to make it extra special.

And the disciples, who joined Jesus on the Mount of Olive, would have known it.

In fact, this is the very context of the chapter before us.

If we went back to the start of the chapter, you’ll see that the disciples are admiring this temple before Jesus.

A temple destroyed

But Jesus doesn’t just see what is before him. He knows exactly what is going to happen.

And so he tells them… yeah, those stones are pretty great, but don’t think that man made structures going to last forever - they’re all coming down… every one of them.

Well, as you might imagine, that sort of statement is certainly going to raise the eyebrows of the disciples who had been so fixated on the structure. So naturally they ask about when this is going to happen.

Now this is where reading a chapter like this really needs to be done with caution.

You see, as we’ll soon see, we do rightfully attribute much of this chapter to the period when Jesus is about to return. But we need to be careful and see that there is more depth to this passage than just that.

You see, on one level, Jesus is actually talking about an event that will take place less than 40 years after he spoke those words.

In the year 70 AD, it is well documented that the Romans stormed into Jerusalem and tore down the temple. When Jesus said that magnificent structure wouldn’t last, he wasn’t just referring to some end time period in the distant future, it was something that would happen in the life time of most of those there.

The second coming

But though on one level he is talking about the event we now know happened in 70 AD, it also becomes clear that he is talking about when he returns. And this is where things can be a little tricky. Some commentators will sometimes try to pin down when he’s talking about the sacking of Jerusalem, and when he’s talking about the second coming. Personally, I think it’s deliberately vague. You see, when Jerusalem was sacked in 70 AD and the temple tore down, we can actually see this as a pattern that will be followed in those very last days.

And so when we read in the earlier verses of the chapter about nations rising again nations, and earthquakes, famines and pestilences, I would suggest that these patterns that were set in that period shortly following Jesus, but will continue and even grow in intensity as that final hour approaches.

The end approaches

But I want to shift to verse 25 and following where I’ll focus my attention now.

You see, the previous verse gives us a hint that our focus is well and truly on that final time. The hint is that it’s just spoken about Jerusalem being trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. So that verse certainly seems to be projecting us forward to some final end point - that is, the day in which Jesus will return.

The Signs

And so verse 25 starts talking about the signs we can expect. It says there will be signs in the sun, moon and stars.

Now, I don’t know about you, but this is where I wish Jesus could have been a bit more specific.

Actually, this is a point on which you’ll find much discussion amongst Christians.

Personally, I’m of the opinion that Jesus was trying to be not too specific with his exact details of the signs because he wasn’t wanting us to be spending all of our time on trying to close in on his timing.

Rather I want to suggest that his purpose for talking about the signs is to help remind us that the trajectory of human history that is outlined in the bible is still occurring and that we can still trust every promise in the Bible.

So what is the sign in the sun, moon and stars? Well I don’t know exactly, but we’re talking here of the most visible things in our world - something that everyone sees.

Where then told nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.

I wouldn’t get too caught up in the specifics of the sea here - rather the sea was often pictured as the chaotic element of this world.

Well, we’ve certainly had our fair share of anguish and perplexity in recent times. But I wouldn’t say this is necessarily giving us any indication of the nearness or otherwise of Jesus return, rather it is reminding us that we are still on this trajectory.

There will come a time, however, when all of this will come to a head - and it is at that point, that as it says in verse 27 we will all see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory”.

What do we do?

Well, we’ve got to this point, and as fascinating as all of this is to think about, there is actually a reason it is important to discuss it.

You see, understanding all of this should be prompting something in us to action.

So what is it that we should be doing as a result?

In fact, the question should be stated more broadly, that is, knowing that there is so much turmoil in this world… knowing that this fits exactly with the trajectory that the Bible has pointed to right from the beginning, what should we be doing?

Stand up and lift up your heads

Well, in verse 28, Jesus actually tells us. He says: “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads”.

In other translations, you’ll see it also says “look up”. So what does this mean?

Well, when we look at the Greek, it’s not talking about gazing up into the sky.

The Greek word translated here as “stand up” more literally means straightening yourself up.

Actually, the Greek word if anakupto, which has the root words “ana” meaning to come up, and “kupto” meaning, from a stooped position. In other words, get out of that stooped over position your in, and straighten yourself up.

It’s saying, don’t let any of this turmoil of this world bring you down, because you don’t belong to this world. Your redemption is coming, and so you can stand tall and proud knowing that this is drawing us near to the time when the kingdom of this world will have passed, and we’ll now be living entirely in the kingdom of God.

Be careful

But in verse 34, Jesus gets even more specific with the advice.

He says: “Be careful or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life”

How true this is.

In fact, this is that stooped down position that we so easily fall into.

The carousing and drunkenness is the escape that is calling us.

The anxieties of life - well, they just come on us.

But Jesus is calling us to be careful. We don’t have to fall down this trap.

When Jesus tells us in verse 36 to always be on watch, I don’t believe this is necessarily a call for us to convert the signs into a timetable for the return of Jesus.

I believe instead that it is actually a call to watch your life in light of the fact that there is a heavy weight on this world.

In fact, it is such a heavy weight that you cannot withstand it on your own strength.

This is why verse 36 goes on to tell you to pray that you may be able to, firstly escape what is about to happen, but also to pray that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.

This is the full thrust of the bible. God is reconciling humanity, despite the grip the evil one has. He is enabling a way for us to stand, but we need to be on our guard that we stay with Jesus.

Conclusion

A great promise of the Bible is that we know that the evil and chaos of this world has a time limit. We don’t know exactly when it will be. It might be in our lifetime. Or it might be after all of us have long passed. But it will come.

And whether we’ve tasted death in this life or not, we’ll each get to enjoy a life when the consummation of Jesus victory is fully realised.

We’ll get to a point where Covid-19 is behind us, but I can tell you, unless Jesus has returned, the chaos will remain.

Our hope is not in mastering any specific problem in this world, although we might take momentary relief from it.

Our hope rather, is tied up with this idea of Advent - that Jesus is coming, and that all things will be made right.

This is our ultimate hope. Not a vain and flimsy hope - but a sure and certain hope that the one who has always remained true to his word, will continue to stand true.

As surely as the sun will rise tomorrow morning, and I can say with great confidence, Jesus is coming back.

Our job is to stay true to Jesus. Don’t become weighed down by this world, but rather be lifted by his Spirit. Straigten yourself up because there is great hope.