25/11/04 Luke 21:20-28

Luke 21:20 "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 25 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

In one months time it will be Christmas Day! Are you ready? Have you: bought all your presents; given a Christmas list to your family and friends; ordered the turkey; made the cake and pudding; got the cards, tree, decorations, wrapping paper, cranberry sauce, stuffing, etc etc!!

Today's reading is about being ready for two events. One which happened in Ad 70, one which has yet to happen.

Jesus words in verses 20-24 were fulfilled in A.D. 70, when the Romans under Titus completely destroyed Jerusalem, its inhabitants and the temple buildings. They had encircled and laid siege to Jerusalem for two years. Stones were even prised apart to collect the gold leaf that melted from the roof when the temple was set on fire. Excavations in 1968 uncovered large numbers of the stones, toppled from the walls by the invaders.

There were few if any Christians because they knew of Jesus' words in verses 20-24. 20 "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Christians escaped from Jerusalem before, or during its siege. Many of them went across the River Jordan to a town called Pella.

Jerusalem was punished by God because it had rejected Jesus whom God had sent to save them. He was the Messiah that they were so eagerly looking forward to, but they rejected him.

This pattern will be repeated when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead. Those who have rejected Jesus will have to bear the condemnation that this brings and be separated from God forever. Christians will not be condemned, Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The resurrection of the righteous will be the beginning of a new phase in every believer's relationship with Christ. Their resurrection bodies will be incorruptible, glorious, and spiritual (1 Cor 15:35ff.) and like Christ's glorious body (Phil 3:21).

The motivation for every Christian rests on the certain hope of his return. Of the 260 chapters in the entire New Testament, there are 318 references to Christ's second coming. That averages one out of every 30 verses. Furthermore, 23 of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event. Only four books do not refer directly to the Second Coming and three of these four books are single-chapter letters which were written to specific persons on another particular subject.

As we approach Advent and Christmas time we will, once again, see how the birth of Jesus was foretold by prophets hundreds of years before his birth. There is only one, major prophecy in the Bible that has yet to be fulfilled, the return of Jesus. The evangelist Tony Campolo said, 'I've no idea when Jesus is coming back. I'm on the welcoming committee, not the planning committee.'

25 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. Tribulation will occur immediately before Jesus returns. The scope of these crises is global, not just in Judea. Recently parts of the South West of Britain were affected by strong winds and the coast was lashed by enormous, powerful waves. Evidently the disturbances in the heavens will affect the tides and waves causing great insecurity. Global catastrophes will precede even greater trouble to come for those living on the earth and people will be terrified. The universe will appear to be about to break up.

27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When conditions are at their worst people living on the earth then will see the Son of Man, Jesus, coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When Jesus returns he will be seen by everyone who will witness his power and that he is God. What a contrast to his first coming when, as a baby he was helpless, seen only by a few, privileged people, and his deity was hidden.

28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." This cosmic disturbance may result in some people being afraid, cf verse 26, but the believer is called to have a different attitude. They should be prepared to meet with their Lord. The standing up and lifting of the head conveys readiness, hope and rejoicing.

Jesus words about Jerusalem were fulfilled some 40 years or so after his resurrection. The second part of this passage has yet to be fulfilled. We do not know when it will happen. We can be confident that it will. We are to trust in Jesus and look forward to the day that we meet him face to face.