Afleveringen
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Todaywe're looking at Luke chapter 22. We believe this chapter describes the eventsthat took place on Thursday of Passover Week and what we also call PassionWeek. This is the day that Jesus would prepare for the Passover with Hisdisciples because He knew He was the Passover Lamb. Remember the story of theExodus when the Passover lamb was killed, the blood was sprinkled on thedoorpost and lintel, and the firstborn would be spared. The death angel would âpassoverâ that house because the blood had been applied.
Whata beautiful picture when Jesus shows up three and a half years earlier and Johnthe Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of theworld." The next day John sees Jesus coming again and simply says, "Beholdthe Lamb of God." (John 1:29-35). Today I pray that you and I willbehold Jesus, the Passover Lamb of God, submissive and obedient to His Father andis led as a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7 - âHe was oppressed and Hewas afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to theslaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not Hismouthâ). And Who takes away our sin, gives us forgiveness, heals us, andgrants us eternal life.
ThenI pray that you will behold Jesus, the Passover Lamb of God, in His beauty,courage, strength, death, burial, and resurrection. What a beautiful picture wehave of Jesus in His great love for us, fulfilling John 3:16: "For God soloved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Himwould not perish but have everlasting life." My friend, that word"whosoever" includes you and me.
I'mconvinced Jesus Christ and God love every person on planet Earth with aneternal love, and He sent His only Son so that âwhosoeverâanyoneââcan be saved.No one is predestined to be saved or lost; we are all called to salvation. Thedifference is we must choose whether we will believe in Jesus as the Son ofGod, the Lamb of God who alone can take away our sin. When we repent, believeand receive Jesus as our only hope, we discover we are the chosen ones who believed,chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, according to Ephesianschapter 1. We have an eternal choice that everyone has: to trust Christ orreject Him. He is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
Jesusknows all this. He knows why He came into the worldâ"not to condemn theworld but that the world through Him might be savedâ (John 3:16-21). We knowmen love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. ThePharisees, scribes, and chief priests rejected Christ because of hypocrisy, andas Pilate points out, because of envy and jealousy. They loved the darkness of theirreligion and sin. And Jesus was infringing on their religious business. Jesusalways challenges religion and religious business. He came to seek and savethat which was lost. Today, trust Him.
Duringthis time of Passover, some 100,000 to 300,000 Jewish pilgrims would flood intoJerusalem. Historian Josephus said 250,000 lambs would be slaughtered for apopulation of 500,000 to a million Jewish people. On this Thursday, Jesus ispreparing for the Passover while the scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests areplotting to kill Him. Judas, filled with Satan's animosity and hatred forChrist and God, is led to betray Jesus. This is all taking place as Jesusprepares to be that Passover Lamb. We see the preparation for the supper takeplace in verses 7 through 13 as they prepare for this special commemorative meal!
Today,let us remember to get rid of the leaven of sin and bitterness in our heartsand come cleanly to the feast of the Passover with our hearts open, rememberingthe death of Jesus Christ till He comes.
Godbless!
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Webelieve the events in this chapter take place on Thursday of Passion Week, theweek that Jesus Christ will be crucified.
Thiswas the time of Passover. There were three major feasts on the Jewish calendar:Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. All Jewish men were expected to go toJerusalem each year to celebrate these, as stated in Deuteronomy 16:16. ThePassover commemorated the time when the people of Israel left Egypt, when thelamb was killed, and the firstborn could live when the blood was sprinkled onthe doorpost and lintel. God had ordained that every year the people of Israelwere to commemorate and celebrate this time of deliverance out of Egypt. Duringthis time, the leaven was taken out of the houses, and the houses were cleansedfor Passover and the Passover meal. This meal will take place on Thursday withJesus and His disciples, and then Heâll be crucified on Friday.
TheFeast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover, as noted inverse one of chapter 22. In verse two, the chief priests and scribes sought howthey might kill Him, for they feared the people. The very people who shouldhave accepted Christ and acknowledged Him, understanding the Scriptures andthat He was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah,were full of hypocrisy. Remember that Jesus warned His disciples of the leavenof the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Their hypocrisy is revealed: theycleansed the leaven in their houses but not the leaven in their hearts. TheBible says in John 8:44 that the devil is a murderer from the beginning, didnot abide in the truth, and there is no truth in him. My friend, these peoplewere motivated by satanic powers to do what they did.
Inverse three, âSatan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered amongthe twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests andcaptains about how he might betray Jesus to them. " The Pharisees, scribes, and chiefpriests were delighted when Judas was going to do it secretly, and they gavehim money.
Judaswas motivated and energized by Satan (John 13:2, 27), for he never was a truebeliever in Jesus Christ. His sins had never been cleansed by the Lord (John13:10-11), and he had never believed and received eternal life (John 6:64-71). Yetnone of the other Apostles had the least suspicion that Judas was a traitor. Wehave every reason to believe that Judas had been given the same authority asthe other men and that he had preached the same message and performed the samemiracles. It shows how close a person can come to God's kingdom and still belost (Matt. 7:21-29).
Whydid Judas betray the Lord Jesus? We know that he was a thief (John 12:4-6) andthat money played a part in his terrible deed. But thirty pieces of silver wasnot a large payment for such a great crime, and there had to be something moreinvolved. It is possible that Judas saw in Jesus the salvation of the Jewishnation and, therefore, he followed Him because he hoped to hold an office inthe kingdom. Keep in mind that the Twelve often argued over who was thegreatest in the kingdom, and Judas, the treasurer, surely participated in thoseimportant discussions.
WhenJudas understood that Jesus would not establish the kingdom but rather wouldsurrender to the authorities, he turned against Him in bitter retaliation. The"leaven" in his life grew quietly and secretly until it produced"malice and wickedness" (1 Cor. 5:6-8). When you cooperate withSatan, you pay dearly, and Judas ended up destroying himself (Matt. 27:3-5).Satan is a liar and a murderer (John 8:44), and he reproduced himself perfectlyin Judas.
Today,we need to beware of the leaven, the unconfessed secret sins and the proud anddeceitful motivations that lie hidden in our hearts. Only the blood of Jesuscan cleanse us as we confess our sins ask forgiveness (1 John 1:7-10).
Godbless!
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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This is the chapter that has Jesus'Mount Olivet discourse, His prophetic message of the end times that He gives toHis disciples. As wefinish the chapter, He gives some admonitions and has a wonderful closing tothis chapter, showing how Jesus continues at the temple to teach.
Jesus,as He told about the things that will be happening in the tribulation period,mentioned that there will be false messiahs, false prophets and teachers, butdonât be deceived. There will be wars and commotions, but donât be terrified orfearful. There will be great persecutionbut donât be worried, this will be your opportunity to give a great witness andtestimony of His love, grace, and salvation. And, He will give you the words tospeak.
Isn'tit interesting that even right now, as we went to bed last night, we heard newsthat Israel is attacking Iran and bombing their nuclear capabilities? So, thereare wars, as Jesus said there would be. We believe all these things intensifyjust before the tribulation period begins.
The message, even though it's to the Jewish people in the tribulation period, is amessage for us today. Listen, the time is drawing near, and we're not to becaught up with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life. The cares ofthis life are legitimate things that we would do, like making a living,working, taking care of our food, housing, children, and so forth. But Jesus said,as it was in the days of Noah, as it was in the days of Lot. life will be goingon as usual for most people ignoring the Gospel message and the warnings ofcoming judgment. But, my friend, thetime of the end is drawing near, and that Day should not catch us unaware. Wehave so many warnings.
So,what do we do? Do we fear, worry, or be terrified? No, we look up, we listenfor the trumpet, and we believe with all our hearts that Jesus will take careof us. We do what Ephesians 5:16 says: "Redeeming the time, because thedays are evil." The world's a mess, there's anarchy in our streets,there's violence, chaos, corruption, wickedness, and evil everywhere; and it'snot getting any better. We need to remember that the Bible tells us it's notgoing to get better. It's going to get worse before the end comes. Instead ofthrowing up our hands, quitting, and throwing in the towel, saying, "Well,what can we doâ? So, we are to redeem the time. That means we buy up theopportunities.
Welive in a broken world; people are more empty than ever before. Severalgenerations are terribly biblically illiterate and have no clue what the Biblesays or who God is. But that means there's an empty void in their lives, andthey know something is missing. That's our opportunity to tell them there'sonly one answer to their need, and that's Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter whatreligion they areâHindus, Muslims, Christians, religious as can beâit doesn'tmatter. What we all need is Jesus Christ.
Jesuscontinued to teach in the temple, and at night, He'd go stay on the Mount ofOlives. He'd come back in the morning, and this is Passion Week. Jesus isgetting ready to go to the cross, but what is He doing? He's teaching thepeople. That's what we're supposed to be doing until the end comesâtellingpeople about the wonderful Word of God and the message of the gospel thatthere's hope in Jesus Christ. So, let's make sure we're doing that.
Aswe finish this chapter, I couldnât help but think about what Paul wrote in Romans13:11-14; âAnd do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awakeout of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. Thenight is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works ofdarkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in theday, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strifeand envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for theflesh, to fulfill its lusts.â
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Today, we will be focusing on verses 29-38. Jesus finishes thisprophetic discourse with a parable about the âfig tree, and all the treesâ.
First,let's summarize what we've learned. This message primarily applies to theJewish nation, and deals with the events that will take place in the Seven-YearTribulation, but it has many practical applications for each believer today aswe near the end of the age. The church age has been ongoing for 2,000 yearssince Jesus ascension into heaven and the Day of Pentecost.
Myunderstanding of prophecy and this passage, though Bible scholars may offerdifferent viewpoints, is that the next event on God's agenda is the rapture ofthe church. Jesus comes in the air for His bride, as described in 1Thessalonians 4:13-18, and 1 Corinthians 15. Also, in Revelation 2 and 3, Jesushas John write the seven letters to the seven churches in Asia, which appear topicture the characteristics of the different periods of the church age.
Thenin Revelation 4, John hears a voice like the sound of a trumpet say, "Comeup here," which we believe pictures the catching away, the rapture, ofthe church. Then, the seven-year tribulation begins when the Antichrist signs apeace treaty with Israel, as mentioned in Daniel 9, marking the start of Daniel's70th week, which is also called the time of Jacob's trouble in the OldTestament.
Onlybelievers are raptured to heaven, leaving no believers on earth immediatelyafter. Both believing Gentiles and Jews will be raptured. The Seven-Year Tribulationbegins with no believers anywhere on planet earth. However, Jesus sends His twowitnesses to preach the gospel (Revelation 11), and 144,000 Jewsâ12,000 fromeach tribeâare sealed (Revelation 7), respond to their message and get savedand they begin proclaiming the gospel throughout the rest of the Tribulation.Millions upon millions of people will be saved during the Tribulation. But ifthey donât take the âmark of the beastâ they wonât be able to buy or sell andwill be hunted down like animals and be killed. (Revelation 13:16-18).
Ipersonally believe that this passage in Luke 21:29-38 applies primarily to the believersin that period. In Scripture, the fig tree usually represents Israel (Hosea9:10), and here Jesus indicates that it comes back to life. Some studentsinterpret this parable to mean that the emergence of the State of Israel on May15, 1948 was the "sign" that the Lord would soon return. Surely it isa significant thing that Israel is now a free nation after so many centuries ofpolitical bondage. But Luke added "and all the trees" (Luke 21:29),suggesting that more than one nation is involved. Perhaps Jesus was saying thatthe rise of nationalism around the world is the thing to watch. In recent yearswe have certainly seen the growth of nationalism and the emerging of newnations, and this may be a "sign" that the coming of the Lord isnear.
However,the basic idea here is that of knowing what is going on. As the budding of thetrees indicates that summer is near, so the occurring of these signs indicatesthat the Lord's return is near (see Luke 12:54-57 for a similar passage). Theimportant thing is that the believer knows that God is keeping His promises andthat His Word will not fail (Josh. 23:14).The term "this generation"may refer to the nation or race of Israel, which Satan has always sought todestroy. The Jews are the greatest witness that the Bible is God's Word, thatJesus is the Messiah, and that God keeps His promises.
Duringthe tribulation, especially the last three and a half years, Jesus is encouragingall believers both Jews and Gentiles that they should keep looking up and avoidthe temptations of the world (vv. 33-36). Jesus is coming with great power toset up His kingdom.
Heavenand earth will pass away, but His Word will not (v 33). Trust this, and donâtget confused trying to figure it all out. Just keep looking up, as Jesus iscoming soon.
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Today,we will be looking at Luke 21:25-28. In this passage, Jesus continues to giveHis great prophetic message concerning future events to His disciples from theMount of Olives as they overlook the city of Jerusalem. He's answering theirquestion: what will the signs be of the end of the age, and when will thathappen? Here, Jesus describes what we've already discussed as the greattribulation period, the seven years between the time of the church age, therapture of the church, and the millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth.
Inverses 8-19, Jesus described some of the things that will happen in theseven-year tribulation. There will be great deception, great chaosinternationally with wars and rumors of wars, great earthquakes in variousplaces, along with famines and pestilences, and great persecution of the Jewsand Christians alike. In verses 20-24, Jesus describes the destruction of Jerusalemand the temple. Luke's account refers not to a distant event to occur duringthe Tribulation, but to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and the Romanarmy in 70 A.D., just forty years from that time that Jesus is explaining theseevents to His disciples (see Luke 19:41-44).
Nowin verses 25-28, Jesus is revealing what will happen in the last three and halfyears of the Tribulation jus before He returns. Revelation 15-19 also describein great detail the frightening judgment signs that God will send on the earthduring the last half of the "time of Jacob's trouble" (Jeremiah30:7). When these things occur, it will be evidence that the Lord's coming isdrawing near. The image of "waves roaring" describes nations risingand falling like waves in a storm (Psalms 46:1-6; Revelation 17:15). It will bean awesome time, and the population of the earth will tremble with fear, butmen will not repent of their sins and turn to God by faith (Revelation 9:20-21;16:9-11).
Matthew24:29 informs us that the sun and moon will be darkened and the stars will fall(Isaiah 13:10; 34:4; Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15). Matthew 24:30 states that "thesign of the Son of man" will appear in' heaven. We do not know what this"sign" is, but it will produce fear among the nations of the earth.However, then Jesus Christ will appear, and every eye will see Him (Revelation1:7). The nation of Israel will at last recognize their Messiah, repent,believe, and be saved (Zechariah 12:10-14; and see Mark 14:61-62).
Theseawesome signs will bring terror to the lost people of the world, but hope tothose who have trusted the Lord during the Tribulation period (Revelation 7),for these believers know that the Lord's coming will be soon. Believers todaylook for the Savior, not signs. However, as we see "coming events castingtheir shadows," we believe that the Lord's return is near.
Christ'sappearing will be sudden, glorious, and with great power (Luke 21:27). Theimage here is taken from Daniel 7:13-14, a messianic passage that must havebeen familiar to the disciples.
Thereare those who ignore and even ridicule the doctrine of the return of Christ.After all, the church has been waiting for the Lord for 2,000 years, and He hasnot returned yet! Peter answered that accusation in 2 Peter 3. He pointed outthat God keeps His promises whether we believe them or not, and that Godmeasures time differently from the way men measure it. Furthermore, the reasonHe waits is so that unsaved sinners may repent, be saved, and be ready whenJesus comes. While His seeming delay is a trial to the church, it is anopportunity for the lost.
Havinganswered the disciplesâ questions concerning âthe end of the ageâ, the Lordthen "applied" the message to their hearts by giving them this closingadmonition in verse 28: âNow when these things begin to happen, look up andlift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."
Today,we should also be waiting, watching, and working! Jesus is coming again!
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Today,we will be looking at Luke 21:20-24. In this passage, Jesus gives His greatprophecy concerning future events to His disciples from the Mount of Olives asthey overlook the city of Jerusalem. He's answering their question: what willthe signs be of the end of the age, and when will that happen? Here, Jesusdescribes what we've already discussed as the great tribulation period, theseven years between the time of the church age, the rapture of the church, andthe millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth.
Nowin verses 20-24, Jesus describes the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Thispassage is peculiar to Luke; there is no parallel description found in Matthewor Mark, in spite of the similar language in Matthew 24:16-21 and Mark13:14-17. However, it is clear that both Matthew and Mark were referring toevents in the middle of the Tribulation when "the abomination ofdesolation" would be set up in the Jewish temple and the Antichrist (theworld ruler) would begin to persecute Israel (Dan. 9:24-27; Rev. 13). That iswhere Jesus warned the Jewish people, to flee and go into hiding, for"great tribulation" was about to fall.
Luke'saccount here in verses 20-24 refers not to a distant event to occur during theTribulation but to the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and the Roman army in 70A.D., just forty years from that time that Jesus is explaining these events toHis disciples (see Luke 19:41-44). This terrible event was in many respects a"dress rehearsal" for what will happen when Satan vents his anger onIsrael and the believing Gentiles during the last half of the Tribulation (Rev.12:7-17).
Whenthis event in verses 20-24 historically took place in 70 A.D., the Jewishhistorian Josephus claimed that nearly a million people were killed by theRomans, and over 100,000 taken captive, when Titus captured the city. And theJewish people and nation was scattered throughout the world.
Butthis was not the first time Jerusalem would be "trampled by theGentiles," for the Babylonians had destroyed the city in 586 B.C. andtaken the people captive to Babylon. This is basically when, what is called "thetimes of the Gentiles" began. The Jewish people went back into their homelandin 1948 at the end of War World 2, and in 1967 recaptured and occupiedJerusalem in the Six Day War.
Butwe believe that this significant time period of the Gentiles did not end then. Becausein the middle of the Tribulation the Antichrist will break his peace treatywith Israel and again take over Jerusalem after he kills to two witnesses in Revelation11. In God's plan, the âtimes of the Gentilesâ will end when Jesus Christreturns to the earth, destroys all Gentile power, and sets up His own righteouskingdom (Daniel 2:34-36, 44-45; Revelation 19).
TheApostle Paul also spoke of this time of the Gentiles ending in Romans 11:25-27.He called it the âfulness of the Gentilesâ, speaking of the time at the end ofthe Tribulation when Jesus comes again and there is a national spiritual salvationfor the Jewish people.
Todaywe need to remember that believers are looking for their Lord's return shouldnot apply Luke 21:20-24 to their own situation. Jesus was talking aboutJerusalem in 70 A.D.. In Matthew 24:15-28 and Mark 13:14-23, He was speakingabout Israel's situation at the middle of the Tribulation. Since our Lord'scoming for the church will take place "in the twinkling of an eye" (1Cor. 15:52), no one will have time to go back home for a coat; nor will we haveto worry about traveling on the Sabbath or caring for nursing babies.
Myfriend, we are getting closer every day to the return of Jesus Christ! Makesure you are ready!
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Today,we will continue looking at Luke 21:8-19. In this passage, Jesus gives Hisgreat prophecy concerning future events to His disciples from the Mount ofOlives as they overlook the city of Jerusalem. He's answering their question:what will the signs be of the end of the age, and when will that happen? Here,Jesus describes what we've already discussed as the great tribulation period,the seven years between the time of the church age, the rapture of the church,and the millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth.
Remember,this is primarily a Jewish prophecy for the Jewish nation, but there areapplications we can make for the church today. As we see these events and signsintensify, it simply means it's getting closer. In the book of 2 Timothy 3:1-5,it says as you see these things approaching, in the last days perilous timeswill come, men will be lovers of themselves, blasphemers, lovers of pleasure.And so, there are indications that we're getting close to the end of the age.
Wealso need to remember that the second coming of Christ happens in two stages:the first stage is when He comes back in the air to rapture the church (1 Thessalonians4:13-18), and the second stage is when He sets His feet down on the Mount ofOlives and establishes His kingdom (Zechariah 14:4-5). Before that is aseven-year tribulation, described here in Luke 21:8-19.
Jesussays during that age, "Take heed that you do not be deceived, for manywill come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and the time has drawn near.Therefore, do not go after them." False teachers, false prophets, andfalse messiahs will come and claim to be Jesus or the Messiah. Even now, inplaces like Israel, there are signs on the back of buses and billboardsclaiming the Messiah is almost here, pointing to a rabbi who they believe willbe that Messiah.
Inverse 9, Jesus says, "When you hear of wars and commotions, don't beterrified, for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not comeimmediately." Wars and chaos will happen and are already happening,but they will intensify in the first part of the tribulation period. This iswhy the Antichrist, the man of peace, will be able to bring peace amid theseevents. Jesus continues, "Nation will rise against nation, kingdomagainst kingdom." There will be international chaos, but in verse 11,He adds, "There will be great earthquakes in various places, famines,and pestilences, and there will be fearful sights and great signs fromheaven." Not only will things take place on earth with pestilences andearthquakes during the tribulation, as described in the book of Revelation, butthere will also be signs in heaven, indicating that the seven years of tribulationare nearing their end.
Inverse 12, Jesus says, there will be tremendous persecution during this time. Jesusspeaks of the abomination of desolation, when the Antichrist breaks his peacetreaty with Israel and persecutes them. He tells them they will have to flee tothe mountains, but He assures them they will be given words to speak as theyare brought before courts, the Antichrist, and the rulers he sets up. This willbe an occasion to be a great witness. I believe thousands and millions ofpeople will come to know Jesus Christ during the tribulation period, thoughthey will be persecuted for their faith.
Thisis Jesus' description of what it will be like in the tribulation period,especially for the Jewish nation. God bless you as you think on these things,and remember the application for us today: God gives us the words to speak whenwe are persecuted in this age, through the Holy Spirit giving us the thoughtsof God through His Word.
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We'recontinuing in Luke chapter 21, looking at verses 8-19. Jesus has been asked byhis disciples, as they're sitting on the Mount of Olives overlooking thebeautiful city of Jerusalem and the great temple that Herod built. They askedbecause Jesus just said, "There will not be one stone left upon another ofthis temple that shall not be thrown down." In verse 7, they said,"Wow, when is that going to happen? When will these things begin to happenthat you're talking about, and what will be the end of the age?"
Ineed to remind you, as we look at this passage of Scripture, Jesus is speakingto a Jewish group of people, His disciples, prophesying about the Jewishnation's future. We need to understand that Scripture has only oneinterpretation but many applications. There are things in this passage thatyou and I can apply to the church age. I was sharing yesterday with myson-in-law, Chris, in Roanoke, Virginia, and as you can see in the video chat,we're back in Sneads Ferry. I have a makeshift studio because we have companyhere with our grandchildrenâabout six or seven grandchildren with us for a fewdays. It's a makeshift studio here in my dining room, and I hope you can adjustto it as I'm trying to.
Aswe said yesterday to our son-in-law, there are three agendas that God seems tohave in Scripture for three different groups of people. First, there's theJewish nation, and God has a specific agenda for them, their purpose, and theirfuture. Then there are the Gentile nations, which include you and meâanybodythat's not a Jewâand these are the nations that make up the different peoplegroups of the world. Then, of course, in this age, beginning at Pentecost, wehave the Church, the body of Jesus Christ. God has an agenda for the church.
It'sreally important, as you look at Scripture, that you make the proper interpretationand applications concerning each of these groups. The Church is made up of bothJews and Gentiles, and we become a part of that group, even though, at the sametime, God's agenda for the Jewish nation will be fulfilled.
Webelieve the next thing on God's agenda is the rapture, the catching up of thechurch, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians chapter 15:50-58,and other passages of Scripture. We are caught up to heaven before thetribulation begins. Shortly after the rapture, when the Antichrist signs apeace treaty with Israel, the seven-year tribulation begins to take place.That's the seven years prophesied in Daniel's 70th week. We see that justaround the corner too.
Whenthe Bible speaks of the second coming of Christ, it's speaking of His coming atthe end of the tribulation in great power and glory, bringing us, His church,his bride, His saints, with Him. He throws the devil into the abyss for athousand years and the Antichrist and the false prophet into the fiery pit, thelake of fire, as the Bible says. Then we rule and reign with Christ for athousand years on the earth (Revelation 19-20).
That'sGod's agenda for both the Jewish nation and the tribulation period, preparingthem for the end of that period when they will see Him whom they have piercedand receive him, as prophesied in Zechariah 12:10 and Revelation 1:7. Jesus isspeaking here in this passage of Luke 21, particularly about the tribulationperiod, the agenda for the Jews, the time of Jacob's trouble, as we see in OldTestament and New Testament scripture.
Asyou read this passage, remember one interpretation, mainly for the Jewishnation, but many applications for us because, before Jesus comes again at Hissecond coming, seven years earlier, He comes for His church.
Myfriend, we need to be looking up because these things are beginning to happen.Jesus is coming again. He said, "If I go away, I will come again" (John14:3). And Jesus always keeps Hispromises.
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8 And He said:"Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name,saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time has drawn near.' Therefore do not go afterthem. 9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified;for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not comeimmediately."
Todaywe're looking at Luke chapter 21. Jesus has been asked by His disciples inverse 7, "When will these things be, and what will the sign be when thesethings are about to take place?" In Matthew 24:3, they also asked,"When will be the end of the age?" As they were looking over at thetemple, Jesus had said, "This temple will be destroyed. Not one stone willbe left upon another." This took place in 70 AD, when Titus, the Romangeneral, moved into Jerusalem, slaughtered the Jews, tore down the temple, andscattered them. Only in 1948 did the Jews return to the land of Palestine.
Jesuscontinues to answer their question, but we must remember that the signs andevents He talks about here in Luke 21, Mark 13, and Matthew 24-25, are notprimarily about the rapture but the return of Christ seven years after therapture. Most of these signs and events relate to the events that take place inthe Tribulation that we read about in the book of Revelation, starting inchapter 6.
Therewe find out that the Tribulation is divided into three parts: the first threeand a half years, the middle of the Tribulation (read about that in Danielchapters 9 and 10), and the last half of the Tribulation, which Jesus calledthe Great Tribulation in Matthew 24:21; âFor then there will be Great Tribulation,such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, norever shall beâ. Which also last three and a half years, a total of sevenyears. These signs point to His return when He comes in great glory, judges theearth, and sets up His millennial kingdom. Too many of us are looking for signswhen we should be looking up for the Savior, living for Him, and reachingothers.
InLuke 21:8-19, Jesus gives three main messages in response to the disciples'questions. In verse 8, He said, "Take heed that you do not bedeceived, for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The timehas drawn near.' Therefore, do not go after them. When you hear of wars andcommotions, do not be terrified, for these things must first come topass, but the end will not come immediately." Two key points here: donot be deceived, and do not be terrified.
Mostof us are very interested in end-time events, and as these signs intensify, itindicates the end of the tribulation is near. Since the rapture happens seven yearsbefore then, Jesus says, "Lift up your head; your redemption drawsnigh." We need to be living, working, and serving, not deceived, becausethere have always been false Christs, persecution, and wars.
Inverses 12-13, Jesus also talks about persecution. In verse 14, He says, "Thereforesettle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you willanswer." Jesus is encouraging those who are true believers during thistime that as they see these things happen, âdonât be deceived, terrified,afraid, or fearful, but also donât worryâ. I love what He says: "Not ahair on your head will be lost." This doesnât mean people wonât die.In the tribulation, believers may die by the hundreds of thousands, perhapsmillions, under the persecution of the Antichrist.
But,my friend, when you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you donot dieâyou simply change places. He takes care of you, and not a hair of yourhead will perish. In your patience, possess your souls.
Weall need this message today! Donât be deceived, terrified, or worried. Keeplooking up; Jesus is coming soon, and we look forward to that day.
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Luke 20 ends with Jesusgiving a scathing rebuke to the Pharisees, scribes, Sadducees, elders, andleaders of Israel about their religious hypocrisy. Matthew 23 gives thismessage of âWoesâ that Jesus pronounced upon them in greater detail. Now inLuke 21, Jesus notices the poor widow giving her offering of two mites andcompares her sacrificial heart to their greedy and selfish ones. Compared tothe gifts of the rich men, her two copper coins seemed insignificant, but Jesussaid that she gave more than all the others combined.
Now it was thedisciples' turn to ask the questions! Their attention was on the temple infront of them which was a beautiful structure, embellished with many costlydecorations that a poor widow could never give, and the disciples mentionedthis to Jesus. But our Lord was not impressed, and He responds by telling themthat the day would come when the beautiful Jewish temple would be demolished(Luke 21:5-6). Remember Jesus had already announced that the city would bedestroyed in Luke 19:41-44, but now He specifically mentioned the destructionof the temple.
Jesus left the templeand went to the Mount of Olives, and it was there that Peter, James, John, and Andrew(Mark 13:3) asked Him three questions: (1) When would the temple be destroyed?(2) What would be the sign of His coming? (3) What would be the sign of the endof the age? (see Mark 13:3-4; Matt. 24:3) The disciples thought that thesethree events would occur at the same time, but Jesus explained thingsdifferently. Actually, the temple would be destroyed first, and then therewould be a long period of time before He would return and establish His kingdomon earth (see Luke 19:11-27).
Our Lord's replycomprises what we call "The Mt. Olivet Discourse," the greatestprophetic sermon He ever preached. It is recorded in greater detail in Matthew24-25 and Mark 13, and you will want to compare the three passages. Weespecially need to remember that since Luke wrote with the Gentile reader inmind, he omitted some of the strong Jewish elements of the sermon whileretaining the essential truths that we must consider and apply.
We also need to keep inmind that this was a message given to Jews by a Jew about the future of theJewish nation. Though there are definite applications to God's people today,the emphasis is on Jerusalem, the Jews, and the temple. Our Lord was notdiscussing His coming for the church, for that can occur at any time and nosigns need precede it (1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Webelieve in the âimminent return of Jesusâ when we are speaking of the âraptureof the churchâ. We read in 1 Corinthians1:22 that: "âŠthe Jews require a sign"; while the church looks for a Savior.In Philippians 3:20-21 we read: âFor our citizenship is in heaven, fromwhich we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who willtransform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body,according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things toHimself.â
This âMt. OlivetDiscourseâ focuses on a period in God's program called "theTribulation" when God will pour out His wrath on the nations of the world.Many Bible students believe that the Tribulation will begin after the Lordcomes in the air and takes His church to heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11). Timewise, the seven-year tribulation actually begins when the Anti-christ makes hispeace treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:24-27). It will climax with the return ofJesus Christ to the earth, at which time He will defeat His foes and establishHis kingdom (Rev. 19:1-20:6).
As we study Luke 21over the next few days, we will find that Jesus answered the disciples'questions by discussing four topics relating to the future of the nation ofIsrael.
Today, as believers weshould be looking up and at the same time doing all we can to prepare othersfor the Lordâs return!
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Today, we're looking at Luke chapter 21, but we need toremember how chapter 20 ends. Jesus had just asked the Pharisees and scribesabout who is the son of David in Psalm 110, and they refused to answer becausethey would have had to acknowledge that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is indeedthe son of David. The people had already recognized that. Then he gave ascathing rebuke to the disciples in front of these Pharisees, scribes,Sadducees, elders, and leaders of Israel about their religious hypocrisy. Hefinished chapter 20 by saying, "Beware of the scribes who desire to goaround in long robes, love the greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats inthe synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses andfor a pretense make long prayers. These will receive the greatercondemnation."
Thenchapter 21 starts. As he makes this statement about the scribes and Phariseesbeing devourers of widows' tables, he looks up and sees the rich putting theirgifts into the treasury. Here are the elite, the people with money who ownvineyards, orchards, and businesses, sometimes even the tax collectors, tryingto be religious now, putting their money and gifts into the treasury. At thesame time, Jesus saw a certain poor widow putting in two mites, hardly anythingat all, a couple of pennies. He said, "Truly I say to you, this poorwidow has put in more than all, for all these out of their abundance have putin their offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all thelivelihood that she had." Jesus is making the statement that sheoutgave them all because God is not looking at the portion, how much we give,but the proportion, not only how much we give but how much we keep forourselves.
He'salso teaching that everything is the Lord's. The earth is the Lord's and thefullness thereof. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the wealth in everymine, and we are his stewards of his resources that he has given us. He givesus the breath we breathe. The book of Deuteronomy says it is God who gives uspower to get wealth. In the book of Malachi, the last book of the OldTestament, thereâs a stinging rebuke of the people of God who were back in theland, yet they were bringing offerings that were not the kind God wantedbecause they were just practicing outward religion while inwardly robbing God.He says, "You have robbed God." They respond, "Well, where havewe robbed you?" In Malachi 3:7-12, God says, "You've robbed me inyour tithes and in your offerings." Again, he's teaching that he owns itall, and your offerings are beyond the tenth, the tithe, that you give off thetop as an act of worship to remind yourself, as the Old Testament teaches, thatGod gave you everything you have, and the least you can give is a tenth back tohim.
Somepeople say, "Well, the tithe is under the law, we're under grace, we don'thave to tithe." But I remind you that Abraham paid tithes before the lawwas given, and Jacob said, "I'll give you a tenth," before the lawwas given. Tithing is a spiritual principle in the scripture that teaches us weare worshiping God when we recognize and set aside the first fruits at thebeginning of every week of all that God has given us the previous week, showinghim that we honor him.
Jesussaid of this widow, "She gave more than them all because they gave out oftheir abundance, but she gave all her living." God doesn't want just apart of our lives; he wants 100% of our lives. Men see what is given, but Godsees what is left, and by that He measures the gift and the condition of ourhearts. Winston Churchill said, "We make a living by what we get, but wemake a life by what we give." He may have learned that from Jesus (Luke6:38) or perhaps from Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:1-15.
Let'sstart off chapter 21 of Luke by knowing God is the Lord, it's all his, andlet's keep him first in every area of our life.
Godbless.
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I think it is interesting that thischapter begins with a question by the priests, the scribes, and the elders.They asked Jesus by what authority did He cleanse the Temple and was teachingthe people. Then the chapter ends in these last verses with Jesus asking them aquestion.
Whilethe priests, scribes, and elders were still gathered together, Jesus asked thema final question: "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son isHe?" (Matt. 22:41-42, NKJV) This is the key question for everygeneration and each individual, for our salvation and eternal destiny aredependent on what we think about Christ and how we answer this question. (1John 2:21-25; 4:1-6; 5:1).
Ofcourse, these religious leaders knew the expected reply: The Christ, theMessiah is "The Son of David." They based this on such verses as 2Samuel 7:13-14; Isaiah 11:1; and Jeremiah 23:5. God had ordained that theMessiah should come from the family of David and be born in David's city,Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
Jesusthen referred them to Psalm 110, which is quoted in the New Testament more thanany other psalm. The Jewish religious leaders in that day identified Psalm 110as a prophetic psalm and said that David was speaking of the Messiah. But ifthe Messiah is David's Lord, how can He be David's son? The only explanation isthat Messiah must be both God and man. As eternal God, Messiah is David's Lord,but as man, He is David's son (Romans 1:3; 9:4-5; Acts 2:32-36; 13:22-23).
OnPalm Sunday, the multitudes had acclaimed Jesus as the Son of David, and He hadnot rebuked them (Matt. 21:9; Mark 11:10). By applying Psalm 110:1 to Himself,Jesus claimed to be Israel's promised Messiah, the Son of God. Then why did thePharisees not believe in Him? Because their minds were made up, their heartswere hardened, and their eyes were blind (John 12:37-50). They did not have thecourage to confess the truth, and they persecuted those who did affirm faith inJesus Christ. And it was out of envy and jealousy that they delivered Jesus upto Pilate to be crucified (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10). Christ's questionsilenced His enemies (Matthew 22:46) and ended their public challenges, butthey would not admit defeat.
Inthe last verses, 45-47, Jesus warned the people about the hypocrisy anddishonesty of the scribes and Pharisees (see Matthew 23). Men see the outside,but God sees the heart (1 Samuel 16:7; Hebrews 4:12). These religious leadersdid not desire personal holiness; they wanted public recognition. Therefore,they wore special garments, expected special titles and greetings, and lookedfor special seats at public gatherings.
Thereis a double tragedy here. First of all, their deliberate hypocrisy was only acover-up that enabled them to fool people and exploit them. Of all rackets,religious rackets are the worst. The religious leaders had turned the temple ofGod into a den of thieves and religious devotion into playacting. The generalpublic actually thought that their leaders were godly men, when in reality theywere defiling and destroying souls (Matt. 23:13-36).
Thesecond tragedy is that they rejected their own Messiah and voted to crucifyHim. They led the nation into ruin because they would not admit their sins andconfess Jesus Christ. Keep in mind that these men were "experts" inthe Bible, yet they did not apply its truths to their own lives. Their religionwas a matter of external observance, not internal transformation. How sad it isthat we see so much the same in many of our churches and religious institutionstoday.
Atthis point, according to Matthew (Matthew 23:37-39), Jesus once again uttered alamentation over the blind unbelief of the nation and their unwillingness totrust in Him. He had given them many opportunities, but they had wasted them.Now it was too late.
Andone day it will be too late for us if we donât repent!
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The Sadducees, a group ofJewish leaders who do not believe in angels, resurrection, or spirits pose a hypothetical question about a man who marries a woman and dies, andaccording to the law of Moses, his brother must marry her. Seven brothers endup marrying this woman, all die without children, and the Sadducees ask, inheaven, if there is a resurrection, which one of these men will she be marriedto? They think they have Jesus in a dilemma, but He answers them.
InMatthew 22:29, Matthew records Jesus immediate response to their question. Jesussaid, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power ofGod." Jesus points out their ignorance of the Scriptures and the power ofGod. They only recognize the first five books of Moses, while Jesusacknowledges all 39 books of the Old Testament in the Septuagint (the Greek translationof the Old Testament available in the time of Jesus). Yet even from the Law ofMoses, Jesus affirms there is a resurrection.
Asa young pastor, I sometimes preached at funerals, stood by the casket, andsaid, "This is just a body." I wish I could go back and tell thosedear people I was wrong. God created us individually, uniquely, with a body wewill live in for eternity. Your spirit, soul, and body are eternal in a sense.According to Scripture, such as Job 14:14; 19:25-27; Psalms 16:9-10; 17:15; Isaiah26:19; Ezekiel 37; and Daniel 12:2, the bodies of both the lost and the savedwill be resurrected one day. These bodies will either go to heaven or to aneternal lake of fire, where they will be tormented day and night forever. Jesusand the Bible teach this truth. My friend, Jesus believed that God has thepower to raise us from the dead.
Inheaven, we will have glorified bodies, with no need for procreation. Regardingthe Sadducees' question about the seven brothers, Iâve always thought after thethird or fourth brother, Iâd say, "Iâm not marrying her; Iâm not takingthe chance of dying like the rest!" When we question Scripture and try tofigure it out logically, we miss the point and like the Sadducees we will misinterpretand wrongly apply the Scripture to our lives.
ButJesus went beyond logic and referred them to the Word of God, particularly whathappened to Moses as recorded in Exodus 3. There God identified Himself withAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and thus affirmed that these three patriarchs werevery much alive. But if they were alive, then they were "out of thebody," for they had died (James 2:26). There must be a real world ofspirit beings or Moses would not have written these words. (By the way, Mosesalso affirmed the existence of angels: Genesis 19:1, 15; 28:12; 32:1.)
ButJesus is also basically saying that Exodus 3:6, 15-16 teaches not only thetruth of life after death but also the reality of the resurrection. In whatway? Not by direct statement but by inference. God is the God of the wholepersonâspirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23), because He created thewhole person. He does not simply "save our souls" and ignore the restof our being. Inherent in the very nature of God's creative act is His concernfor the total person. Hence, He will not keep us disembodied spirits foreverbut will give us glorious bodies to match our heavenly perfection.
ForGodâs covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to be fulfilled, they willneed resurrected bodies to rule and reign with Him in the millennial reign ofJesus Christ. We have something to look forward to. God knows our future. Ilove what Job says in Job chapter 19, verses 25-26: "For I know that myRedeemer lives, and He shall stand on the earth. And after my skin isdestroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God."
Godis not the God of the dead, but of the living and He made us wholeâsoul,spirit, and bodyâand He knows how to take care of all of them.
Godbless!
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InLuke 20, the Jewish priests, elders, scribes, and the Herodians confront Jesuswith different questions or situations seeking to find a reason to have Himkilled (v.19). They have questioned Him about His authority and Jesus respondswith a question for them about the authority of John the Baptist and also aparable (vv. 1-19). The spies, sent by the Pharisees and the Herodians (Mark12:13), question Him about paying taxes to Caesar and Jesus shuts them downwith His answer (vv. 20-26).
Inverses 27-40, we find next in line were the Sadducees with a hypotheticalquestion based on the Jewish law of "levirate marriage". You willfind where they get this teaching from in Genesis 38 and Deuteronomy 25:5-10.The word levirate comes from the Latin levir, which means "a husband'sbrother." The Sadducees accepted as Scripture only the Five Books of Moses.Also in Acts 23:8 we are told they did not believe in angels, spirits, or theresurrection of the dead. They claimed that Moses did not write about any ofthese doctrines.
Itis interesting to also note that the priestly party in Israel during the timeof Jesus was mostly composed of Sadducees, which explains why the priestsopposed the Apostles' preaching of the Resurrection (Acts 4:1-2) and why theywanted to kill Lazarus, who was raised from the dead (John 12:10-11).
Jesuspointed out that His opponents were wrong and that their question revealedassumptions that limited God's power and denied God's Word. Resurrection is notreconstruction; it is the miraculous granting of a new body that has continuitywith the old body. Paul compared our present body to a planted seed and thefuture resurrection body to the glorious flower and fruit (1 Cor. 15:35-50).Our Lord's resurrection body was the same as before His death and yetdifferent! Remember after Jesusâ resurrection His disciples recognized Him andeven felt Him; He could eat food and yet He could also walk through closeddoors, change His appearance, and vanish suddenly.
Thefuture life with God is not a mere continuation of the present life only on"a higher scale." We will maintain our identities and know each other(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), but there will be no more death-hence, no need formarriage and procreation. Christians do not become angels.
Inheaven we will share the image of Jesus Christ and be much higher than theangels (1 John 3:2). Angels appear in Scripture as men, but they are spiritbeings without sexuality. It is in this regard that we will be like them; therewill be no need for marriage or childbearing in heaven.
Isnot God powerful enough to raise the dead and give them new bodies suited totheir new environment? If today He can give different bodies to the variousthings in creation, why can He not give people new bodies at the resurrection? (1Corinthians 15:35-44). In their attempt to be "rational," theSadducees denied the very power of God!
Paulunveils the mystery of when and what takes place concerning the believerâsresurrection body in both 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:47-58. Ibelieve that Jesus is coming back soon and âin a moment, in the twinkling of aneyeâ the living believers will experience a great change! Our perishable bodywill put on the imperishable, and our mortal body will put on immortality.
Hallelujah!!!What a day that will be! Are you prepared for that great day! It could betoday!
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InLuke 20:20-26 the Jewish priests, elders, scribes, and the Herodians continueto confront Jesus seeking to find a reason to have Him killed (v.19). On thisparticular occasion, Jesus knew that the men who questioned Him were spies sentby the Pharisees and the Herodians according to Mark 12:13, but He patientlylistened and replied.
Thesetwo groups were usually fighting each other, but now they had a common enemy,and this brought them together. They wanted to discuss taxes and Romanauthority, hoping to provoke Jesus into offending either the Jews or the Romans.If Jesus said, âpay the Roman tax,â they knew that He would offend and angerthe Jews who hated the Romans ruling over them. If Jesus said, âdonât pay the Romantax,â He would be considered an insurrectionist by the Roman rulers and couldbe put to death. But Jesus lifted the discussion to a much higher level andforced the spies to think about the relationship between the kingdom of God andthe kingdoms of men.
TheBible teaches that governmental authority is instituted by God and must berespected (Prov. 8:15; Dan. 2:21, 37-38; Rom. 13; 1 Peter 2:11-17). Yes, ourcitizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20), and we are strangers and pilgrims onearth, but that does not mean we should ignore our earthly responsibilities.Human government is essential to a safe and orderly society, for man is asinner and must be kept under control.
Whenyou read the book of Judges you find what it is like when there is no authorityover the people. Because there was no king in Israel, âevery man did what wasright in his own eyesâ (Judges 21:25). The land was filled with anarchy,violence, murder, stealing, confusion, and chaos! God knows we need human governmentfor peace and order.
Inverses 20-26, Jesus was not suggesting that we divide our loyalties between Godand government. Since "the powers that be are ordained of God" (Rom.13:1), we live as good citizens when we obey the authorities for the Lord'ssake. When obedience to God conflicts with obedience to man, then we must putGod first (Acts 4:19-20; 5:29), but we must do it in a manner that is honorableand loving. Even if we cannot respect the people in office, we must respect theoffice.
Thecounsel that Jeremiah gave to the Jewish exiles in Babylon is a good one forGod's "strangers and pilgrims" to follow today. âAnd seek thepeace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and prayto the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.â (Jeremiah 29:7) Todaywe are instructed in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, âTherefore I exhort first of all thatsupplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for allmen, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet andpeaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptablein the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come tothe knowledge of the truth.â
Caesar'simage and name were on the coins, so it was basically his currency. To pay thepoll tax meant simply to give Caesar back that which belonged to him. God'simage is stamped on us; therefore, He has the right to command our lives ascitizens in His kingdom. We should seek to be such good citizens that God willbe glorified and the unsaved will be attracted to the Gospel and want to becomeChristians (1 Peter 2:9-12; 3:8-17).
Itis unfortunate that some Christians have the mistaken idea that the moreobnoxious they are as citizens, the more they please God and witness forChrist. We must never violate our conscience, but we should seek to bepeacemakers and not troublemakers. Daniel is an example to follow (Dan. 1).
God bless!
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Theseverses 17-19, continue the confrontation that Jesus has on Tuesday of PassionWeek with the scribes, the priests, and the elders, just days before He iscrucified. Jesus has just finished telling a parable to the people that thesereligious leaders were also carefully listening to. It was the story of the ownerof a vineyard who finally sent his beloved son to receive the fruit, but he isrejected and killed by the vinedressers. They realize Jesus is claiming to bethe son in the story who is being rejected and killed.
NowJesus turns back from the crowd to these leaders of the Jews and speaks directlyto them and quoted Psalm 118:22. The rulers knew that this was a messianicpsalm, and they had heard some verse from this same psalm shouted by the crowdwhen Jesus rode into the city (compare Luke 19:38 with Ps. 118:26). By applyingthis verse to Himself, Jesus was clearly claiming to be the Messiah. The"builders who rejected the stoneâ, were of course, were the Jewishreligious leaders (Acts 4:11).
Inthe Old Testament, the "stone" is a familiar symbol of God and of thepromised Messiah (see Gen. 49:24; Ex. 17:6; 33:22; Deut. 32:4, 15, 30-31; Isa.8:14; 28:16; 1 Cor. 10:4). Because the Jews did not believe, they stumbled overHim and were judged. Those who trust Jesus Christ find Him to be the foundationstone and the chief cornerstone of the church (1 Cor. 3:11; Eph. 2:20).
ButJesus is also referring to Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45. This is where Daniel is interpretingthe dream of King Nebuchadnezzar where the Messiah is pictured as a"smiting stone" that crushes all that gets in its way. He was warningthe Sanhedrin that they would only destroy themselves if they condemned Him. Weneed to realized that this same principle applies today, and unbelievers shouldcarefully heed His warning.
Youmight think about it this way. When the rulers rejected John the Baptist, theysinned against the Father who sent Him. When they crucified Jesus, they sinnedagainst the Son. Jesus had told them that they could sin against Him and stillbe forgiven, but when they sinned against the Holy Spirit, there could be noforgiveness (Matt. 12:24-37). Why? Because that was the end of God's witness tothe nation.
Thisis the so-called "unpardonable sin," and it was committed by theJewish leaders when they finally rejected the witness of the Spirit of Godthrough the Apostles. The evidence of their rejection was the stoning ofStephen (Acts 7:51-60). Then the Gospel went from the Jews to the Samaritans(Acts 8) and then to the Gentiles (Acts 10). Even today the Jewish people havea double veil over their eyes that keeps them from acknowledging that Jesus istheir promised Messiah (2 Corinthians 3:7-18).
Inthis parable of the vineyard and vinedressers who rejected the servants of theowner and kill his son, Jesus illustrated the insidious nature of sin: the morewe sin, the worse it becomes. The tenants started off beating some of theservants and wounding others, but they ended up becoming murderers! The Jewishleaders permitted John the Baptist to be killed, they asked for Jesus to becrucified, and then they themselves stoned Stephen. They sinned against theFather and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and that was the end of God's witnessto them.
Itis a serious thing to reject the message of God and the messengers of God (seeJohn 12:35-43) Remember the warning we read in Hebrews 2:1-4; âFor if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and everytransgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape ifwe neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by theLord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
Today,if the Holy Spirit is dealing with you heart about salvation or some sin inyour life, respond in humility and repentance, trusting and receiving theforgiveness that only Jesus can give you!
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The priests, scribes,and elders have been listening to this. And when you read John 11:47â54, it isobvious that Jesus knew what these religious leaders were thinking. When hetells this parable, they know heâs speaking of the vineyard, which is Israel. God,in the Old Testament, had sent prophets to call the nation to repentance. Read Jeremiah7:25â26, where Jeremiah said the Father, who has this vineyard sent prophets toask you to repent, to turn back, but because you have not repented, judgment iscoming.
Also, in Nehemiah 9:26,Nehemiah, after the captivity in Babylon, in one of the longest recordedprayers in the Bible, prays a public prayer before the remnant that returned toJerusalem. In this prayer he mentions how that God sent prophets, teachers, andpeople calling the people to repentance, but they rejected and killed them.
In John chapter 11:47-53,we read: âThen the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council andsaid, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Himalone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come andtake away both our place and nation." And one of them, Caiaphas, beinghigh priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, nor do youconsider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people,and not that the whole nation should perish." Now this he did not say onhis own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesuswould die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He wouldgather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. Then,from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.â
Jesus knows what thesereligious leaders are thinking when He shares this parable. They know He issaying that He is the Son that the owner of the vineyard sent to claim His vineyardand they are rejecting him. Jesus is proclaiming that judgment will surely fallupon them, and thatâs why they said, âCertainly not.â
Jesus, the Messiah, isthere, presenting himself openly, and religious leaders know that if the peoplereceive Christ and accept Him as the Messiah, it is all over for their religioushypocrisy, and thatâs what they fear. Already, when John the Baptist baptizedJesus, and the Spirit came upon Jesus, and people saw this. They also heard thevoice from heaven say, âThis is my beloved Son.â Now, when here Jesus inthis parable said, âHe sent his beloved son,â they knew He was speakingof Himself. And these scribes, lawyers, priests, and elders knew that He wasspeaking of them rejecting him as the Messiah. And that Godâs judgment wouldcome upon them and the âvineyardâ would be given to others.
What a powerfulparable. My friend, it is a costly mistake to reject Jesus as your only hopefor salvation. He is your only Way to avoid the judgment to come. Donât be likethese religious Pharisees, hypocrites. Trust Jesus, focus on him, and live forhim every day.
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InLuke 20 we are looking at what happen in Passion Week, the Jewish Passover. At this point in this chapter, we're onTuesday. where Jesus is confronted by the chief priests, elders, and scribes.They ask Him the question: "By what authority are you doing thesethings?"
Whatauthority did He have to cleanse the temple, and what authority did He have tobe teaching? Who made Him a rabbi? Where did He get his credentials? Whatseminary did He go to? Of course, Jesus didnât go to any seminary, and basicallythey are rejecting Him. Theyâre threatened by Him. Heâs disrupting their religiousand political power. And their profits, as they have been in charge of the merchantsselling things in the temple area called the Gentilesâ Court. They should haveknown who Jesus was!
So,when Jesus is asked, âBy what authority are you doing these things? Who gaveyou this authority?â He has already told them on many occasions that Hisauthority came from the Father. But He answered and said to them, âI will alsoask you one thing, and answer me: The baptism of John, was it from heaven orfrom men?â In other words, who gave John the Baptist the authority to bebaptizing people and calling them to repent of their sins? They got in a littlehuddle and reasoned among themselves, put their heads together, and said, âNow,how are we going to answer him?â They said amongst themselves, âIf we say fromheaven, he will say, âThen why didnât you believe him?â But if we say from men,all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.âSo, they answered that they did not know where it was from. Jesus said to them,âNeither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.â
Amazingly,Jesus turns the tables on them. By answering them with a question, by giving aparable (vv. 9-16), and then offering a prophecy (vv. 17-18), He reveals thesins of the nation of Israel. Their main sin right now is that they arerejecting their own Messiah. Jesus takes them back to John the Baptist for tworeasons. First, John had pointed to Jesus and introduced Him to the nation, sotheir rejection of John was actually a rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Theyshould have recognized who Jesus was based on the message and presentation ofJohn that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Second,it is a spiritual principle that if we disobey truth we already know, Godcannot reveal new truth to us (see John 7:14-17). Why answer their questionwhen they had refused to submit to John's message?
Remembersomething else and this is so important. We go back to the Old Testament toExodus 12, where the Passover lamb had to be set aside for ten days to ensureit was without spot and without blemish. It had to be thoroughly checked beforeit was slaughtered for the sacrifice, for the blood to be applied to thedoorpost and lintel. Picture Jesus as that Lamb of God who has come to takeaway the sin of the world. Jesus is now being examined by these people duringthese three days of Passover week. Heâs being questioned: âWho are you? Wheredo you get your authority?â This fits so well because Jesus is now going to berejected, slaughtered, and crucified because he is going to take away the sinof the world.
Nowit was the religious leaders who were in the dilemma! No matter what answerthey gave, they were in trouble, so they decided to "play dumb" andnot answer at all. They were deceitful in asking the question and dishonest inthe way they avoided answering it. Even if Jesus had given them an answer,their hearts were not prepared to receive it. If they had disobeyed God'smessage given by John the Baptist (Luke 7:24-30), they would disobey themessage given by God's Son.
Theyshould have already known who Jesus was and received His message! And so shouldwe!
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Aswe come to this chapter, we need to remember several things. It's Passoverweek. Jesus has finished almost three and a half years of ministry, healing thesick, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, feeding the hungry,preaching to the multitudes, teaching His disciples, confronting the Pharisees,scribes, and hypocrites. All this has taken place now for three and a halfyears.
Jesus has publiclyrevealed Himself as the Messiah. He's come into Jerusalem on Sunday of Passoverweek. He is the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sin of the world. Thecrowd, the multitudes, believed and trusted that He was the Messiah to deliverthem from the Romans. When the Pharisees asked Jesus to rebuke them, Jesussaid, "Even these stones would cry out if they didn't recognize who Iwas." He had publicly revealed Himself. Yet, there was a group whorejected Him, and they were the spiritual and political leaders of the Jewish nation.
On Sunday, Jesus ridesinto Jerusalem. On Monday, Jesus cleanses the temple. Now on Tuesday, Jesus isconfronted by the scribes, the high priest, the lawyers, (thatâs who thescribes are), and the elders. Three groups of people, representing thereligious and political leaders of the day for the Jews, confront Jesus.
Verse 1, âNow ithappened on one of those daysâ. We believe the day was Tuesday specificallyin this passage, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel.Jesus has come back on Tuesday of Passover week. He is teaching and preaching.He's loving the people, teaching them the gospel. âThe kingdom of heaven is athand; the King is hereâ. He is telling them wonderful things about who God is,who the Savior is, and how salvation and peace can come through trust andbelieving in Him.
He is preaching thegospel about Himself. Isn't that amazing? Because the Gospel is all aboutJesus.
So, Jesus is preachingand teaching the Gospel, and that's when the chief priests, the scribes, andthe elders confronted Him. These people are incensed. The fact that Jesus ispreaching and teaching and the crowd has received Him, brings them to the pointthat they have to do something about Him. It says âthey confronted Himâ,means they came upon Him suddenly. They hope to catch Jesus with a questionthat will humiliate Him, and expose Hm to be against the leadership of theRomans politically. Then He could be crucified, stoned, or killed.
They'd already tried tostone Him on several occasions. Now they're going to use the tactic of getting Himto break one of the laws of the land so that the Romans will put Him to death.Of course, that fulfills the Old Testament scripture about how Jesus would die,not by stoning but by crucifixion. Read Psalms 22, and Isaiah 53. Theyconfronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authorityare you doing these things, or who is he who gave you this authority?"
The priests had theirauthority from the law of Moses; they got their authority because the Leviticaltribe had been set apart to be the priests of the people, and the high priestcame from that tribe also. The scribes, these were the lawyers who had beentaught by the rabbis. They understood the law, they interpreted the law. So,the lawyers had their authority from the rabbis. The elders, these were theleaders of the different clans, the different tribes. They'd been chosen fortheir wisdom, leadership, and ability to lead. Probably on Monday night, thesethree groups of leaders have gotten together determined how they would confrontJesus on Tuesday.
But Jesus is ready forthem. When they ask, "Where did you get your authority?" they'resaying, "We have authority, but who are you? Where does your authoritycome from?"
We can't wait to talkabout the answer the gave them and how He turned the table on them over thenext few days.
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Weneed to remember that this what we call Passion Week. Jesus rides intoJerusalem on Sunday morning, and the people cheer Him, celebrate Him, andbelieve that possibly He is the Messiah who has come to rescue them from theRomans. Jesus sees the city and weeps because He knows they will truly rejectHim. Then He goes into the temple according Mark 11:11, âAnd Jesus went intoJerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, asthe hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.â
Didyou notice that it says that after Jesus rode into Jerusalem, He went into thetemple, and when He had looked upon all these things, as the hour was alreadylate, He went out to Bethany with the twelve. Also in Mark 11:12, we are told, âThenext day, they went out from Bethany, and He was hungry.â So, on Sunday,Heâs in Jerusalem, theyâre cheering Him, He weeps, makes His proclamation aboutthings to come, and then goes to Bethany, where He spends the night. The nextmorning, He goes back to Jerusalem, and thatâs when He goes to the temple, asyou see here. So we conclude that the event that takes place where Jesus iscleansing the temple for the second time is on Monday of Passion Week.
WhenJesus comes to the temple on Monday morning, He must have gone first into theCourt of the Gentiles, the only place where pagan Gentiles are welcome to comeinto the temple area, which is outside the main temple area. This is the placewhere the Jews are supposed to be doing evangelism, witnessing to theseGentiles, and telling them that God is the one and true God and can only be knownby faith. But instead, the chief priests, priests, and many of the Levites haveturned it into a den of thieves. Theyâve turned it into a place where theyâreselling goods and sacrifices to people who have come from other lands.
Thesepilgrims didnât bring their animals, like pigeons, goats, and sheep for theirsacrifices with them. So, they would have to buy these sacrifices. The chiefpriests and the religious leaders allowed the merchants to set up their littlestores in this area of the court of the Gentiles. This area was being used fora "religious marketplace" where Jews from other lands could exchangemoney and purchase approved sacrifices. The priests managed this business andmade a good profit from it.
Jesusgoes into this area and proclaims, âMy house shall be called a house ofprayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.â quoting from Isaiah 56:7. InIsaiah 1:11-20, we read the prophesy that people were bringing sacrifices, buttheir hearts are far from God. Jesus said, âThis shall be called the house ofprayer,â but youâve made it a den of thieves. A den of thieves is the placethieves run to hide from the authorities. Theyâve made the house of prayer,where God wants His people to pray, into a place where theyâre hiding undertheir religious cloaks to do their business of taking advantage of people.
Insteadof praying for and with the people, theyâre preying on them. Doesnât that sayso much about religion even today? We run to the place of religion, and therewe hide in our sins, try to act religious, yet at the same time, weâre doingthose things with a heart full of sin, not repenting. Our churches, where weshould be praying and seeking the face of God, has become a place where we tryto hide our sins under the cloak of religion. Said to say, our churches havebecome a âden of thievesâ.
MayGod help us today to do what Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 1:16-18: "Washyourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from beforeMy eyes. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke theoppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. "Come now, and letus reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are likescarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, Theyshall be as wool.â
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