Year 1, Day 230: Luke 21

Last Teaching Before the Beginning of the End

Luke 21 is the last great chapter of teaching before the plot to kill Jesus gets in full swing.  I find it interesting to note that the last thing Jesus talks about as a truly free man is focused on the world.  As the last public teaching of Jesus on this side of the crucifixion this would no doubt stick in their minds. 

We know that when we are given a list we remember the first and the last the best.  So in one sense we can say that this teaching is important because Jesus holds it off to the end.  On the other hand, there would have been little time for questions once this day was over.  We know the disciples were notorious for taking a long time to understand Jesus’ teaching – and we’re absolutely no different.  So if the details were all that important then Jesus picked a poor time to pull this teaching out. 

In general, what I think we can learn from the place Jesus gives this teaching is simple:

Humanity is not going to ever understand the return of the Son of Man.  Simply know that it is coming and prepare yourself as best as you can.  Things will happen that will make you afraid, but all is okay.  They are scheduled to happen and God’s got it under control.  Rather than fuss about not understanding all the details, know that God is there.

Widow’s Mite

Now we are freed up to talk about the content of this chapter.  Up first is the widow’s mite.  Most of us use the term “widow’s mite” to think of something small.  Unfortunately that shows an error of perspective.  Actually, the widow’s mite is a term that Jesus uses here to indicate the very most that we can give.  We have given the widow’s mite only when we have emptied out the storehouses of our wealth and there is quite literally nothing left to give.  It is not some small offering; it is the most we can give. 

This way of thinking demonstrates God’s view of giving.  God sees more than quantity, God sees proportion.  We see how much the gift is, God sees what we have left after the gift is given.  That’s what makes this understanding of the widow’s mite story so powerful.  When all the rich people came by and dropped their offerings in the plate, God knew what they had kept back.  When the widow came by, God knew that she had kept back nothing.  Hence, the widow’s mite is not a term for a small gift, but a term for when a person gives so much that there is nothing held back.  Now there’s a bar that is set pretty high!

Persecution

Jesus then talks about the future of the Church.  Jesus tells the disciples that they will be persecuted.  They will be handed over – some of them even by their families!  They will be made to fear wars and destruction. 

Why does this happen?  Quite simply, this happens so that they will bear witness.  The lives of these disciples will find torture for the sake of God’s name being praised.  That’s right, folks.  This is the God that I serve.  This God is not a God who is interested in protecting His people from temporal harm; rather He is interested in protecting His people from eternal harm. 

God knows we will be put in difficult places and rather than prevent it God chooses to go along with it and use it.  God is willing to sacrifice you and me so that His name will be praised.  God is willing to allow us to be sacrificed in the temporal so that we might know the life of the eternal.  This is the God I serve.  God did not spare His own Son, why should we think He would spare us?

This is a difficult concept for most Christians, and it is this concept that really keeps our mouth shut the most.  We value our temporal safety.  We want tomorrow to be a safe day for us.  We don’t like to think of God as bidding us to come and die for Him.  So we go to churches where we know our words will fit in.  We go to Bible Studies where we know our questions will be met with genuine assurance.  But we don’t often speak out in public because people might look at us strangely and things might go badly for us. 

We love God, but we have difficulty accepting that God bids us to come and sacrifice for His sake.  But that’s precisely what Jesus tells us will happen.  When’s the last time you or I faced persecution for our beliefs?  What does that say about our true response to God according to Jesus’ prediction of what will happen to His disciples?

Destruction of Jerusalem

Jesus then talks about the destruction of Jerusalem.  I am not one who takes this passage as talking about the End Times.  I believe in this passage Jesus is talking about the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of Titus in 70 A.D.  Jesus tells His disciples that Jerusalem would be trampled under the Gentiles’ feet until the time of the Gentiles has been fulfilled.  We know that the church is vastly made up of Gentile believers in Christ, and I see this passage as a sign of Jesus predicting that the Gentiles would take over the proclamation of God’s grace. 

{In this instance I agree with some scholars who think that Luke 21:20-24 is speaking to a different point than Matthew 24:15-28 and Mark 13:14-23 and thus should be read separate from one another.}

The Coming of Christ

The next passage is on the coming of Christ.  There are many that doubt Christ’s coming.  After all, the Church has been waiting for Christ to return for 2,000 years.  They use that vast amount of time to say that God has forgotten His promise. 

Yet, remember how long it was for the Messiah to come in the first place!  We know that the time from Moses to Christ was roughly 1,400 years.  Add to that the time the Hebrew people spent in Egypt and then the time from Abraham to the 12 sons of Jacob heading to Egypt and you end up with about 2,000 years.  Clearly the evidence of the Hebrew Scriptures is that God will take His time in patient waiting for people to come to Him.  If God can wait a few millennia to bring His Messiah the first time, why shouldn’t God be able to wait a few more millennia to give as many people as possible the opportunity to turn to Him?

Know.  Watch.

In the final passages we are told to know and to watch.  Knowing involves study and discipleship.  Watching involves evaluation and judgment.  Jesus is telling us that if we wish to avoid being sucked into the world and it’s temptations we must be assertive about our discipleship.  We must be proactive about studying God’s Word.  we need to be proactive about relationships that help us draw closer to God.

We cannot sit back and wait for someone to come along and spoon feed us.  We must want it for ourselves and go get it!  Then we must also want to evaluate.  We must desire to make those hard choices about what to allow into our lives – or perhaps more difficult, what “fun things” to eliminate for our lives because they draw us away from God.

Jesus’ last words are simple when you think about it.  Pay attention.  Be proactive.  Don’t be afraid.  I will return for you, don’t fall astray.

They are simple, sure.  Unfortunately, these are words that are more difficult than they appear.  Look around you.  Are the majority of people you interact with following Jesus’ advice?

<><