Sermons

Let's take a moment and pray.

Let's pray.

(Prayer) Heavenly Father, we thank You for the opportunity that we have now to come and to hear from Your Word. We recognize that this book is unchanging and yet always profitable. There's not a day, a time, a season where the words of this book are not relevant. So, we ask, Lord, for the ability to understand what the text says and to see its relevance to the particular situation and calling that You have placed us in today.

We do pray, Lord, for those in our church family who have been struggling over the last number of weeks. We think especially of Carol. We think of Micah and his family as they grieve the loss of loved ones. We do pray, Lord, that You would minister to them in a way that only You can, that You would give comfort in difficult circumstances.

And we pray, Lord, for them and for all of us now as we come to the Word, that the Holy Spirit would administer the comfort of the Word to the hearts of Your people, that we may be spurred on to live in a way that would honor and please You for the glory of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen. (End)

In Jesus' day, there were already, very clearly, tensions. Tensions between the Jewish community, especially those in Jerusalem, and the occupying Roman authorities. Certain things were always being talked about. There always were questions about whether we should pay taxes to Caesar. There was a rise of really a terrorist group, the zealots amongst the Jewish population that sought to ambush, to attack, to kill where they could, Romans, and those who helped or associated with the Romans.

Public animosity was high. But the reality was after Jesus's ministry, after His ascension, those tensions rose exponentially. If they were bad at the time of Jesus, they only got worse. Josephus, we mentioned him last week, a Jewish historian, a man who recounts what took place in that particular time period, he blames the greed of the Roman administrators for what took place next.

Emperor Nero had appointed his own people, other governors akin to him, and in the province of Judea, there was a man appointed, Florus. He was the Roman governor, kind of took on that role sometime after Pilate. And he openly worked with bandits. He would let them away with their crimes as long as they gave him a cut of the loot. He would go in and strip talents from the sacred temple treasury. In AD 66, it was this scandal of the day. And when the Jewish citizens came together and began to mock him, his response was even more devastating. He unleashed his troops in Jerusalem, in the marketplace, and he killed 3,600 people, and he took a lot of the Jewish nobles, the hierarchy, and he crucified them. He made a public example of them.

Now rather than quench the uprising, all it did was radicalize people all the more. That's normally what happens in these particular types of situations. There was a deep-seated, religious, nationalistic spirit that rose amongst the Jews in that particular time period. It started with the temple captain, the Jewish leader who was really there for security at the temple, he convinced the priests at the temple to reject any gifts or sacrifices offered by foreigners.

Now, the reason that was significant was every day, the Roman authorities would bring a sacrifice to the temple, and in their mind, it was a sacrifice being offered for blessing to the emperor. And whenever the Jewish priests refused to offer that sacrifice, the Romans read that as out-and-out rebellion. They took it as a formal declaration of rejection of Rome.

The zealots, that little terrorist group that had radicalized, they grew in number. And they actually, in this particular moment, they went and they captured the fortress of Masada, kind of outside of Jerusalem in another part of Judea. But it was the place where the Roman garrison stayed. And they began to at the same time target any Jewish elites that had allegiances with Rome that worked hand in hand with them.

Rome quickly tried to crush the rebellion as so often they would. But it didn't go as they planned. In fact, the general marched towards Jerusalem, and when he really took in what was Jerusalem, the size of the walls, the type of defenses that they had, the passion and radicalized nature of the people, he realized his army wasn't big enough. And so rather than attack, he turned, and he led the army away, and it only emboldened the Jews all the more.

Rebel forces, Jewish forces, they made a move against this retreating Roman army in the narrow pass Beth Horon. And it resulted in nearly 6,000 Roman troops being slaughtered. Now that was one of those surprise victories. Neither side really thought this was going to be the outcome. But what it did for the Jews was it emboldened them all the more. They thought, no. We can do it. If we have this type of victory, if we, a small band of nobodies, are able to defeat 6,000 hardened Roman soldiers, God must be on our side and the war itself is winnable.

And so, they formed a revolutionary government at that particular time. Now, realizing just how serious, how significant this uprising was, the emperor Nero at the time, he dispatched his most capable general, Vespasian. And Vespasian, along with his son Titus, they began to move, but they didn't go straight to Jerusalem. Their way of thinking was much more strategic. And they began to go around the surrounding areas and to cut them off to deal with anybody that would support the city. They led a campaign in 67 AD in Galilee and they squashed the Galileans. They wanted to stop anybody who would help Jerusalem.

And just as Vespasian had dealt with Galilee and began to move closer and closer to Jerusalem in 68 AD, geopolitical chaos broke out in Rome itself. And it put everything on halt. Nero committed suicide at that time. And what it left was one of those leadership vacuums and all of the generals, all of the potentials started to fight out to see who was going to be the successor to Nero. And so, Vespasian, who'd been leading the campaign, remember, he had to leave to go back to Rome to deal with that spirit, to try and bring order where there was no order.

Now Josephus, again, that Jewish historian, he laments this particular moment. Because the fact that the movement stalled, the fact that Rome backed down. The Jews interpreted that as divine favor and Roman weakness. And instead of using those really two years to gather food, to ensure the water supply was good, to build up the walls, to harbor weapons, to train the troops, what happened was, as so often does happen, there was civil war in Jerusalem itself. And there were four or five major factions, and they started biting and devouring one another. They started burning each other's food supplies. They started ransacking and breaking one another's troops because they wanted to be the gain or the leaders in Jerusalem.

So, by the time Vespasian was crowned emperor in AD 69, and then he ordered Titus to go back and to resume the campaign against Jerusalem, really Jerusalem had already torn itself apart. And so, in April 70 AD, the Roman general Titus encircled the city right around the time of Passover.

Now, they allowed some of the faithful Jews to enter the city. There were still pilgrims coming along the road wanting to be there for Passover. He allowed them to enter the city, but nobody got out. That was the point. Nobody got out. And in May that year, 70 AD, the Romans built these massive earthworks. They set the city under siege. They brought the heavy artillery into play. They surrounded the city and actually in May 70 AD, managed to breach the walls. After a time of underground mining and fierce combat, they took a strategic fortress in July that really from that point forward, the Romans just slowly took bit by bit the whole city.

August 29th, 70 AD, a Roman soldier threw a firebrand into the Herodian temple. Against Titus' orders, he told them not to touch it. But he threw the firebrand in, and the holy building was burnt completely. And Jews went into panic even though the Roman army was there. Many ran desperate to try and put the fire out and were slaughtered as part of that panic.

After the temple was destroyed, the upper city was finally taken, September 26th, 70 AD, and after the city had been captured, it systematically was broken down, brick by brick, so that all that remained was rubble. The people weren't left in the rubble, they were destroyed.

Now Josephus, it's hard to know with Josephus whether his numbers are right or wrong, but certainly they give an impression. He records that through the siege and then the combat that followed, 1.1 million people, 1.1 million Jews were killed from famine, disease, and the combat itself. This is massive. And 97,000 then individuals were captured. The oldest amongst them were systematically killed off in public executions. Those who were over 17 were sent to Egyptian mines to work on Roman projects. And the younger captives, those under 17, were sold into slavery.

Never, never has Jewish sacrifice taken place in the Temple Mount since. In fact, in 130 AD, Emperor Hadrian at that time he came to the ruins, and he built a Roman city, renamed it on this site of Jerusalem. And actually, went to the site of the temple and he built his own temple to the god Jupiter. And this so frustrated the Jews, and again there was a small rebellion that took place, a small uprising. Hadrian, he crushed it completely, and he banned the Jews from even entering the city.

The site then later becomes associated with Islam, 638 AD, and even today, though Israel have control of the old city of Jerusalem, the day-by-day administration of the Temple Mount is under Islamic control. Now, we know that reality, that current situation. It's in the news all the time. We treat it like a simple fact. But when Jesus spoke, the Jews who He spoke to in the temple, remember verse five, who were marveling at the beauty and scale of the stonework itself. They couldn't imagine a world without Jerusalem, and they certainly couldn't imagine a Jerusalem without the temple.

So, this long speech that Jesus gives in Luke 21, it's seeking to press that all of this is going to go. And Jesus wants to help what would soon be the early church avoid getting caught up in the carnage when that judgment came against Jerusalem and especially against the temple.

Can I ask you please to stand? And though we're going to study this morning verses 20 to 28, I want to begin reading at verse five to remind us of the speech to this point. Luke chapter 21, reading from verse five.

(Scripture reading) "And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, as for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. And they asked him, teacher, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place? And he said, see that you're not led astray, for many will come in my name saying, I am he, and the time is at hand. Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must take place, but the end will not be at once.

Then he said to them, nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilence, and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer. For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends. And some of you, they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.

But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. And let those who are inside the city depart. And let those who are out in the country enter it. Let not those who are out in the country enter it. For these are the days of vengeance to fulfill all that is written. Alas for women who are pregnant, and for those who are nursing infants in those days, for there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth the stress of nations and perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves. People fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now, when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near."

Have a seat.

Now keep your Bible open a moment. What I want to do is I want to give you a quick overview of the text and then we'll break down our particular section. Again, this is tricky because rather than study the sermon or the speech in one, we've broken it down really into three parts: last week, this week, and funny enough, next week. That's how we're going to do it. And really next week we turn to the practical application. Jesus is going to spell out the how do you respond to this? What do you do? How do you think through these things? And the relevance I think is very important for us.

But these first two parts, verses five through 28, this is the bit that is difficult because it's hard to know what exactly is being talked about. This is one of those passages where I'm going to lay out to you in a moment how I think it should be understood, but this is not a hill to die on. Now, I wouldn't go to the stake for my understanding of these verses. I would go to the stake for the understanding that Jesus will return, that every word of God's Word is true. Those are things that are crystal clear. This is not crystal clear. Many different commentators, many different conservative Christians, evangelicals, disagree about what exactly is being referred to at the individual parts of this particular speech. So, I think that caveat is important.

Now, you may have heard somebody else say something slightly different. You may, yourself, have studied and come to slightly different conclusions. I'm not worried about that. That's part of Bible study. And there are certain parts of Scripture we have to accept are not as clear as others. I want to present to you how I think the text should be understood, and I want you, like the men of Berea, to go away to study it for yourself and to come up with your own clear conclusions. But it's important that you don't let this become something, this particular passage and the interpretation of it, be something that we fall out over. That's important to understand.

But here's how I believe the text should be understood. If you remember back in verse five, the situation is one where the people are looking and commenting at the grandeur of the temple. The primary focus in the eyes of the original hearers is the nature of the temple. This magnificent, impressive, significant building. And Jesus shocks them all in verse six by saying, it's all going to go. The temple is going to be destroyed. And people in verse seven are shocked by this. And naturally their heads are spinning. And they ask in verse seven, and this controls the answer that Jesus will give, two questions. They ask the questions, when will these things be? Speaking of the destruction of the temple. And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?

In other words, they're asking, when is the temple going to be destroyed, and what's going to be the clues or the signs of the buildup to that? How are we going to know that that catastrophic event is about to take place? How are we going to understand? How are we going to see it happening? And in verses eight to 19, really what we have is Jesus explaining the buildup, the signs, of what will be in the run-up to the destruction of the temple, what's going to happen in general society, what's going to happen to the soon-to-be Christian community, that they're going to be persecuted, that they're going to share the gospel, that they're going to be arrested, some of them will be killed, all of those things in the build-up to this momentous event.

So, the buildup is explained in verses 8 to 19. And now the bit that we enter into in verses 20 to 24, first of all, we have the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple explained. So, you see that? Verses 8 to 19, the signs of the buildup, verses 20 to 24, this is what it's going to look like, or when it's going to take place. This is what's going to happen. It's going to happen, if you notice, at the beginning of verse 20, but when you see Jerusalem, here's the answer. I've told you the signs, and here's the when, okay?

Then we have the bit that gets confusing. Because in verses 25 to 27, we clearly have allusions to something that is in the future yet to be. If you look at verse 27, then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Very clearly, that is talking about the second coming of Christ, when He will come back to reign. When He will return. So, we're talking about that second coming. And this is where most of the interpretations get confused. Maybe because at what point does the text talk about the second coming, and at what point does it talk about the temple? And commentators, this is where the debate is. Some of them kind of go back and forward, one verse, one verse, one verse, one verse, and it's kind of, you have to work out which verse applies to temple destruction, which verse applies to second coming.

Well, the way I want to argue is just what we said, verses eight to 19, build up to the temple destruction. Verses 20 to 24, temple destruction, Jerusalem destruction. And then verses 25 to 27, Jesus adds, and there is still more to come. There is still a second coming. And actually, you will see in a moment, there's a time reference in there that I think helps to make that make even more sense. The reason Jesus is explaining that is because the original audience, they, again, could never imagine a world without Jerusalem and a Jerusalem without the temple.

And so, Jesus is having to clarify something in their mind, that the temple is to be destroyed. That's His main argument. It's going to happen. And what He's presenting in this second bit is, and there'll still be more after that, there is going to be a world without a temple. There is still going to be more that's to be anticipated. There is still to be a second coming in the future.

So, He's almost combating the broken thinking of the people. They would assume a destroyed temple was the end of the world. And He's saying, uh-oh, no. Here's the signs and the buildup, here's the destruction of Jerusalem, and there's going to be much more that comes before the second coming. Jesus is laying all of that out, really an explanation. And then you come to verse 28, where we'll finish this morning. And it says, now when these things begin to take place, straighten up, raise your heads, because your redemption is coming near. He again kind of goes back to the original question of when and the signs, and He ties together some response that then He'll elaborate more next week in verses 29 to 38.

So, you see the big picture that I'm kind of arguing for. Let's now come to the text itself and think in particular about verses 20 to 28. Verses 20 to 28.

Don't get in the crosshairs of God's vengeance v. 20–24

And in this first section, where Jesus talks about the destruction of Jerusalem, verses 20 to 24, the point I want to make is don't get caught don't get caught in the crosshairs of God's vengeance. Don't get caught in the crosshairs of God's vengeance.

Look at verse 20. But He's been talking about the buildup, all of these things that are going to take place, He's encouraged His people in the buildup to endure, and then He says, but, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.

He tells His followers, His people, those who are going to press and endure during the persecution and build up, that there is a moment when Jerusalem will be judged, and it will be seen in the city being surrounded by armies. Verse 21, then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it.

He gives a call to disassociate. He's talking to His followers and He's telling them about the destruction of the temple and He's saying to them, you shouldn't be there. Don't be found in the midst of that city when judgment comes. Read the signs so that you can get out of jail free. That you cannot be found in the wrong place at the wrong time. Armies are going to get together, they're going to surround this city, and then He gives the advice in verse 21, flee to the mountains. Depart the city. That's the opposite of how the community normally functioned with Jerusalem.

The rural communities, the rural towns and villages, the people in the mountains, whenever disaster came, when armies came, what they were meant to do was to come into the city. Get in before the gates are locked, before the city is shut down, get in so that you would be protected. That was the normal way people should respond. That was the logical way to move forward.

But Jesus says the opposite, get out while you still can. He's not calling for a cowardly retreat. Rather, He's calling His followers to break all ties with Jerusalem. Because we're going to see in a moment, vengeance is coming. God is going to judge them, so break all ties. Don't have confidence in the city. Don't have confidence in the temple. Don't have confidence in the fact that this is Israel that we are talking about. Rather, He tells them, get out while you still can.

He calls what will become the first Christians, He calls them to separate, to be distinct, to come out from that broken religion and broken city because judgment is coming. And no measure of public confidence was going to change that. Just because the Jews believed God had given them the Romans into their hand. Just because the Jews believed by popular opinion that this city would never be conquered, that the temple would never disappear, just because they believed it didn't change the reality of what was coming.

Eusebius, one of the early church fathers, a historian as well, he writes about this time period and he says there were many Christians in Jerusalem who left before the Romans came because, in his writings he says, the oracle that they received. I think the oracle he's referring to is this. Jesus had told them exactly what was coming. They knew, they were able to read the signs. And so, they knew they were meant to disassociate because Christ had called them to do just that. And they were meant to disassociate for two reasons.

The first one's in verse 22, for these are days of vengeance to fulfill all that is written. The Christians knew that what was happening was not because the Romans were strong. What was happening was because God was acting. God was judging. God was moving against Israel, against His people. And these were days of vengeance. That's a phrase that appears many times in the Old Testament, not to speak of terrible things taking place, but judgment that came from the hand of God. God was dealing or was going to deal with this rebellious city.

This isn't a picture of an unfortunate turn of events. This isn't a prophecy about something sad that would take place. This is a Sodom and Gomorrah story. Because of how wicked and how rebellious the heart of the people were, God moved in decisive judgment. God was acting here.

You remember in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the angels come in and they grab Lot and the family, and they run them out of the city. They've got to disassociate, they can't be there or judgment will hit them too. Get out while you still can. Well, that's the idea of Jesus' words here. You've got to get out while you still can because so decisive is the judgment of God that He will bring upon this city.

Secondly, we see as well they should disassociate because there is no future for this people, at least this immediate generation. Look there at verse 23. Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days, for there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against these people.

Why the picture of pregnant women and those nursing babies? Well, it's not simply because it's extra sad, that they would be destroyed along with everybody else in the city, it's because more than anybody else, moms who are pregnant, moms who are nursing, are filled with aspirations about the future, the world that these children will be brought up in, what their life will look like, what the future will bring. But alas, for there will be no future for that generation. They will be cut off. So, believers, Jesus says, get out because God is acting and there is no future for anybody who is caught in the crosshairs.

Look at the description in verse 24 of what is about to happen. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all the nations and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. There's going to be pain, the edge of the sword doesn't sound comfortable. There's going to be scattering. They're going to be led captive among the nations. You think of that 97,000 that were taken captive, those that weren't killed. Many taken to the mines of Egypt and many sold all across the Roman Empire into slavery. Scattered because God had judged.

They were oppressed; they were trampled underfoot by the Gentiles. Their capital city was never going to be theirs. The Temple Mount that they were marveling at, even as Jesus spoke, was going to be gone. And this isn't going to be something that just happens and then it's all sorted out. This is prolonged. You see that idea mentioned at the end, until the time of the Gentiles are fulfilled. There's a prolonged time period being described here.

Now that time of the Gentiles being fulfilled, I believe is that time of gospel proclamation to the whole world. I say that because the corresponding passage, Mark chapter 13, especially verse 10, makes clear this is a time where gospel proclamation to the nations is to happen. Well, we know from the end of Luke, from the end of Matthew, that the gospel is to go to every tribe, kindred, and tongue. Well, the time of the Gentiles, the time for that to be fulfilled, it's this time where the gospel is being preached and expanded. And let me state the obvious, that isn't quick. It takes time. It has taken time.

We're at point now, 2,000 years down the line where I think we've got the gospel to every country. Still not every tribe and every tongue. We're still in the work. There's still more to do. But this must be done before Jesus comes again and the other events are unfolded.

Before we go to the next paragraph though, do you notice very simply how God takes sin seriously? This is a wayward people, but His people. This is a sinful city, but it was the holy city. This was a temple where half-hearted religion was practiced, but it was still the temple described and positioned and established by God Himself. And the fact that God would move against the city in such a clear and decisive and full way, at minimum, shows us that God takes sin seriously. And that He loves His people. The fact that He would call them to get out of town while they still can. That He doesn't want them to be caught in the crosshairs. That He doesn't want them to be caught in man-centered rebellion. That says something about the nature of God.

It makes me think of Lot's wife, doesn't it? Lot's family and Sodom and Gomorrah. God comes in, or the angels come in sent by God, they take their hands and they run them out of this city. But remember Lot's wife? She looked back to the city that was burning. She looked back with longing, and she turned into that pillar of salt. It's a testimony to all generations about the futility of having a heart set on the things that God will ultimately consume.

Jesus is saying something, a similar warning to His followers. Get out of the city and don't look back. Don't look back, because it's all going to be consumed. And the fact that Jesus has to say it tells us something about the tendency of our heart. We love our sin. We love our convenience. Even though we know it's broken, we love this world so often more than we love Christ. Don't get caught in the crosshairs of God's vengeance.

Know that the greater judgment is still to come v. 25–27

Secondly, know that the greater judgment is still to come. Know that the greater judgment is still to come. That's what's being talked about in verses 25 to 27. 25 to 27.

You notice at the beginning of verse 25, depending on what version you have, it's not in the NASB. But it is in the ESV, it isn't in the legacy, it starts with the word and, it starts with a conjunction. And that's right, that should be there. That there is a connection between what has just been said and this paragraph. And to separate it out too distinctly is to miss that connection.

Again, Jesus is speaking to a mindset that couldn't conceive a world without a temple. It believes that, yes, there's reformation to be done in this temple, but still, it's a reformation work. They couldn't imagine a religious work without the temple. And so, the destruction of the temple was the same in the mind of the people as talking about the end of the world. We must have the King back to set all things right. How can we live without a temple?

Now, do you remember the original question asked back in verse seven? If you look back to verse seven, we have that question. They said, teacher, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when these things are to take place? And what Jesus is doing here, I've already said, is to make a distinction. The temple, here's the signs and here's its destruction, and now He's basically making clear, but that's not the end. The end is something different. The end will come beyond that.

Jesus is bringing clarity to the fact that there will be life after the temple. There will be gospel work after the temple. And what He's saying here about this end times, it'll come after a work like never before. There'll be a preceding work like never before. Look at, again, the end of verse 24.

The end of verse 24. It says, they will fall by the edge of the sword, be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, and there will be signs. So, there is a time period specified. The time where the work among the Gentiles is fulfilled, and then all this stuff about the end comes. There's a deliberate connection in the text, there's a link, that and is important. The time of the Gentiles are fulfilled and then more will take place. Again, you think of what He said about the time of the Gentiles being fulfilled, it's this gospel proclamation, Mark 13:10, to all ends of the earth, and then Christ is coming.

There is time in between. The temple is going to be destroyed, and then there's this period of gospel proclamation, every tribe can return, and then Jesus will return. So, there is a preceding work like never before. There is a growing fear then at this end like never before. There is a fear that settles amongst the world like nothing that has ever been seen. Look at verse 25.

And there will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and the skies, those things that are unchanging. The sun comes up; the sun goes down. The sun comes up; the sun comes down. The sun comes up; the sun comes down. That's what happens. The moon shifts, doesn't it, in shape, but you know what it doesn't do? Stop. It does the same cycle all the time. In fact, the Jewish calendar was really based around the lunar cycle. It was predictable, it was known. It was dependable. The stars were used for navigation because they were set in place.

And on the earth, it says, verse 25, distress of nations and perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves. You think of how many people freak out today about climate change and the rising seas. This is a time where the very things that are assumed to be consistent are in turmoil and upheaval, that there's an evidence to it, that there's a clearness to it.

Verse 25, I don't often quote the Message, but I'm about to quote the Message. That was a confession before we got there. I think the Message may have the best dynamic equivalent translation of verse 25. What it says is this, all hell has broken out. That's the idea. There is going to be something about the buildup to this final coming that is undisputable, that is obvious to everybody, not just the followers, but to everybody. Look at verse 25 or verse 26.

There will be people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. This is so dramatic. The word there, the phrase that's used for fainting is basically the breath going out of them. It's almost like they just can't gasp anymore. They've lost their breath. They're so terrified. They're shocked. They can't catch their breath. They're so scared. They know something is coming. It's not talking about Jerusalem. In fact, verse 26 says, on the world. The whole world has this feeling. Doesn't necessarily bring them to Christ and repentance, but there is a sense where even the world feels the judgment is about to fall. And I have nowhere to hide. And then, verse 27.

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. The Son of Man is that title that begins, it's first mentioned in Daniel chapter seven, verses 13 and 14. It speaks of not a human, but a king. A mighty warrior king that will descend and come to earth to fight for and deliver His people and trample His enemies under His feet. It's the conquering King who is coming to reign victorious. Then there's that reference to Him coming, not in the clouds. Some other accounts will mention the clouds; I think an allusion to the ascension. But here in particular, Luke mentions a singular cloud. I think picking up that Old Testament imagery of how often God's presence was revealed in the cloud. The cloud descended on the temple as the presence of God came. The cloud led the people through the wilderness. This is testimony to the fact that the One who comes is coming with divine authority as a representative of God. And He's coming with power, with a crushing power, and He's coming in great glory.

It's not like the first coming. Jesus comes, remember, born in Bethlehem, laid in a manger and visited by shepherds. No, no, no. The whole world will feel it happening. And the whole world will be struck by the power and the glory, the great glory of the One who arrives. Christ will come that second time in a clear and decisive way. Nobody's going to miss it. There's going to be no questions, did it happen or not? It's going to be so obvious to everybody. And it very simply causes us to ask, are you ready? He's coming and He's coming for some to judge and for others to gather. He's coming and some have all the reason to fear Him. And others have all the reason to be excited about His coming. And it all depends on whether you know Him or not. Do you know Him? Don't get caught in the crosshairs of God's vengeance. Know that the greater judgment is still to come.

Stand with confidence v. 28

And lastly, stand firm with confidence. Stand firm with confidence. Look at verse 28.

Now, when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads because your redemption is coming near. When these things, that phrase, these things, has been used all the way through the text. In verse seven, when will these things be? When are these things about to take place? In verse nine, they were terrified, for these things must take place. Verse 28, now when these things begin to take place. And we'll see it again, verse 31. When you see these things taking place, know that the kingdom of God is near.

And so, Mark has been answering the when, or sorry, Luke has recorded Jesus is answering the when, and He's answering the signs that accompany. And Jesus has done that so clearly, but what He finishes with is instruction about the so what. He doesn't just give information; He tells them what to do with that information. And as you have heard something of the blueprint of God's plan. Now, if what He would do in Jerusalem in the temple and what He will do in the coming of the Son of Man again, what are we meant to do? How are His followers meant to respond?

Well, we're meant to respond by not looking down. Verse 28, Jesus says, first of all, straighten up. That's the same phrase used in Luke chapter 13. Where there's a woman who is bent over and Jesus comes and He causes her to straighten up. And when questioned by the Pharisees, He says in verse 16, ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, who Satan bound for 18 years, be loosed from the bond, her bond on this Sabbath day? It's a very visual picture of this woman who is bent down, who's drawn down, who's held down, and through the work and action of Christ, she's caused to stand up straight. And it makes us realize the tendency to collapse, to look inward, to fall down, to fall into old patterns, to be held by Satan's deception and work. Don't get pulled down, straighten up, have confidence. Don't get full of despair and despondency, or don't get pulled into a condition of sin. Straighten up, don't look down.

And then He says instead, look up. Look at verse 28. Raise your heads. That was going to have so much more significance after the ascension. Raise your heads. Look up. Christ went up to heaven. He will come back. We look up with anticipation. Will we move through this world anticipating His return? This world is bad. This world is broken. But the King is coming soon. Come Lord Jesus, come. That's the sentiment. Look up and look forward.

It finishes verse 28 by saying, because your redemption is drawing near. It's not talking about salvific redemption. If you're a follower of Christ, if you're trusting in Him for the forgiveness of your sin, you are forgiven. Nothing at this moment can separate you from the love of God and Christ Jesus, our Lord, but there is a redemption that will take place for you, a redemption from this sinful world, and that redemption is coming.

Now that means more, remember what Jesus told His disciples, persecution is coming. You're going to face hostility as you share the gospel. Even your family and friends will betray you. Straighten up, look up, and look forward with hope knowing that He will bring redemption. He's going to bring redemption from all the muck of this world.

Judgment is a God work. It is a God work. And either you are going to be found in the end scared, fainting, because it's coming for you, or excited, because redemption, He is coming for you. Is He coming to judge you or is He coming to be with you? It all depends on your position in Christ.

Let's pray.

(Prayer) Heavenly Father, help us to discern these things, to discern the condition of our heart, to ensure that our hope and confidence is in Jesus Christ. We thank You that in Him, the One who will judge the living and the dead, there is forgiveness to be known, there is hope, and there is redemption. May we be found trusting in Him alone. For it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. (End)

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