Luke 20:41-21:28

Read along as Matthew guides us through the Gospel of Luke. In these verses, Jesus continues to teach from within the Temple in the days leading up to the Passover Festival. The city and the Temple are abuzz with energy and much of the todo is centered on this Messianic figure--Jesus of Nazareth. The religious leaders are beyond skeptical and wish to trap Jesus, to turn the crowds against him, to rile people up, but meanwhile, Jesus remains calm, asks folks to use their imaginations and warns them against being swept up in the fervent spirit of the day. Jesus is trying to get folks to see that his way of love and peace are the only way forward...war, violence, vitriol, these are manifestations of evil and this Jesus is here to save us from ourselves. Thanks be to God!

Matthew Schmidt is the Pastor of St. Paul's United Church of Christ located in the beautiful small town of Grand Haven, MI. Discover more about St. Paul's today. www.stpaulsgrandhaven.org

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Well, welcome to Bible study. Today we get Luke chapter twenty, verse forty-one to begin with. But why don't we start with prayer? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity to read the Bible today. We pray that in the hearing of your word you may illuminate our hearts with all the goodness and the love and the grace that you would have for us. We pray in particular, God, that you would point our hearts to Jesus Christ, who is the great Messiah, who is the wonderful King, who is our Lord and our Savior. And we we pray that today as we study these things, we would grow in our faith and hope and love and trust in this Jesus. Amen. So Luke, Luke chapter 20, Jesus is in the temple and he's talking and telling stories and teaching, and his authority is being questioned. Um the leaders of the temple, the religious leaders of the day don't always like what Jesus has to say. He has entered the city, though, as the triumphant king, and so eventually he's gonna have to address that. What kind of king will he be? Uh, what will that look like? Um there are all sorts of messianic expectations in the first century, uh, just like there are expectations for what salvation might be today. You know, if you survey a hundred Christians and say, you know, define salvation for me, you're gonna get a wide variety of definitions. Um well, in in the first century, if you ask people just you know, who is the messiah or what do you hope for uh in the messiah, you're gonna get a wide variety of responses. Um most of those responses will be connected to the covenant with David, and so the Messiah will be associated with David, the son of David, or um you know, or something along those lines. Um, but also there's been a ton of sons of David. You know, David had a son named Solomon. Solomon had his go at it. You know, the the reign of David and his son Solomon was pretty good. That was about the best it got for Israel in their history. Those were the glory days, and they still look back with nostalgia on those glory days when David and then his son Solomon reigned as king. Um so they're caught. People in the time of Jesus are caught between a nostalgic past and a hopeful future, and they're in the middle in the mire, and they're wondering how do we get to the good place, or who will save us, or what kind of king could actually help address the matters of the day. So uh Jesus is talking to some Sadducees. He defines uh or or challenges their their definition of what happens after death with the resurrection. Um, and then uh Jesus keeps on going talking. And I assume that some of the same people that were listening to him talk about resurrection and marriage are still listening to him talk right now. Verse 41. Then Jesus said to them, Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself declares in the book of Psalms, the Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. If David calls him Lord, how then can he be his son? Now this is the most quoted psalm by the followers of Jesus in the first century. You think about the book of Psalms and all the wonderful Psalms, uh Psalm 23, how famous that one is, that's a shepherding psalm. You know, there's so many fantastic psalms. Psalm one, I mean, how great is that? Psalm 110 is the most quoted psalm by the followers of Jesus for the very point that Jesus is trying to make, and we need to understand it. What is he saying? David says, now he's just quoting Psalm 110. The Lord said to my Lord, who's talking?

SPEAKER_00 4:46

The Lord said to my Lord God is talking to who? Is God talking to David? The Lord said to my Lord, who's talking? David is talking, and he's saying, The Lord God said to my Lord, who is David's Lord? God.

SPEAKER_02 5:38

The Lord God said to my Lord, who in the world is that? That's the question. Who is David talking about? Who would David, the greatest king of all time in the history of Israel, call my Lord? Would he call his son Solomon my Lord? No. Would any father in the ancient world call his son Lord? No. Read again what Jesus says. Then Jesus said to them, Why is it that the Messiah is the son of David? All of you are expecting the Messiah to be the son of David. Why? David himself declares in the book of Psalms, the Lord says to my Lord, who we can assume is the Messiah, whoever that is, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. The Messiah, that is the Lord, not God the Lord, some alternate Lord, will be sitting next to God until God makes all of the Messiah's enemies a footstool. This Messiah will be conquering. He's talking about the Messiah. He has to be talking about the Messiah. But he's calling the Messiah Lord. And Jesus asks the question if David calls him Lord, how then can he be his son? Answer, please.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

How can he be his son?

SPEAKER_02 7:20

People need to redefine their expectation for the Messiah, Jesus is saying. Maybe, I mean, this is wacky, maybe the Messiah is more than what you've been hoping for. You're expecting a descendant of David's bloodline, who will be a human being that could categorically be slightly lower than David, but still good enough, a great ruler. You know, not quite Abraham Lincoln, but if we could get 99% of the way to Lincoln, boy, would we avoid a civil war. You know what I mean? Like we're expecting a human, say they were expecting a human descendant of David, king, savior, who will drive out the enemies, conquer Caesar. And Jesus is just calling that whole paradigm to account. And he's saying, Yeah, what if it's way better than that? What if it's not a son of David? What if it is a son of David and also something more? And Christians get really excited about this in the centuries following Jesus. It's the most quoted psalm in the New Testament. Why? Because Psalm 110 is anticipating Jesus the Christ, who is in the bloodline of David, technically. Technically. Matthew makes a big deal about that. Luke makes a big deal about that, technically, in the bloodline of David, counts heritage-wise as a descendant of David. And yet, who is his father? Who is Jesus? And for 300 years Christians debate this until they finally come up with just the answer, which is an impossibility. Jesus is fully God and fully human. He can be a son of David, he also can be a Lord of David, because he is divine. Jesus is God. Jesus is God's son. And that's why this unique example of a Messiah could be categorically called David's Lord.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

While also being David's son. Does that make sense? Jesus asked the question, David calls him Lord, then how can he be his son?

SPEAKER_02 9:55

And that hangs there in the room, and you can feel the crowd trying to do the gymnastics in their mind. What does he mean? What's he saying? Who's the Lord? What do we hope for? What's going on? While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. But they devour widows' houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely. So while the people are thinking about who David's Lord might be, and who this messianic figure might be, and what happens to your imagination when you do the what if he's more than a human paradigm? Well, then he becomes immensely powerful. Then he becomes divine in nature. And as you start to wonder about that, if your mind is like mine, it's like, wow, what are the limits to this messianic figure? He could be he could do anything, he could be great, he could make our whole nation amazing. He could, he could really do whatever he wants. Oh my word. And while these people's imaginations are getting puffed up about who the Messiah really is, it's better than we thought. Then Jesus goes right over to a real life example of people with power, and he says, uh, look how horrible they are. So the Messiah has to be more than a person of power. The Messiah also has to care for the what makes this Messiah more than David is he will actually serve and love and bring mercy on a level that David was never able to. He will lift up the widows. That's his strength. He will forgive the sinners, that's his might. He will suffer alongside you who are suffering. That's his superpower. He will love. So, right as people's imaginations are expanding with power and wonder about who this mighty, mighty Messiah might be, Jesus says, before you get too excited, look at these Pharisees. Look at the people, the teachers of the law. They walk around in flowing robes. They like to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces. They have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. Do you see how you're treating these important people? Now look what they do. They devour widows' houses and for a show, make lengthy prayers, these men will be punished most severely. I mean, he's is that a threat? Go back to what we talked about last week. Is that a threat? I mean he It's a warning. Right as you begin to make the Messiah more powerful, then he goes and speaks about the people who currently have power and says, look at how hypocritical they are. They love it when you puff them up. They love it when you worship at their feet. They love it when you grovel. But guess what? They're not actually helping you. It's a sham. It's a lie. You've been duped. Those powerful people, they don't care about you. They care that you worship them. They care that you respect them. They care that you fall into line. And they'll do a nice dance to make you think that they care about you. But look at their actual actions. They're not serving the widows. They're devouring the poor. And the messiah will here's a warning the messiah will exert authority over them. They won't be allowed to do that anymore. And also know that the Messiah, if you define the Messiah by power, has to be a different kind of power than those in power.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

It has to be a different kind of power.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

Chapter 21. As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. Truly I tell you, he said, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had to live on. There's two or three or four meanings here. What does Jesus mean when he he turns to the temple again, uses, uses a live, it's happening in front of you example? Rich people putting their treasures to support the church. And then a widow putting in just two very small copper coins. And he says that this poor widow has put in more than all the others. Math. Has the widow put in more than the rich people? It depends on how you're doing the numbers. From just a sum, summative amount? No, not even close. One person just gave a ten thousand dollar check to church, and one person gave two copper pennies, that'd be two cents. Who gave more? The widow, because she gave a higher percentage. Those were her only two coins. She gave a hundred percent of her wealth. This was not a ten percent tithe. She scraped and found coins in the cracks of her floorboards and brought them and gave everything she has to God. Now, is that a good thing?

SPEAKER_00 16:24

Yeah, why does she feel like she had to?

SPEAKER_02 16:33

So uh I I asked, is it a good thing? And and one of you said uh maybe she felt like she had to give everything to the church. She wanted to. I mean, we can we can wonder about her motives. Maybe she wanted to, maybe she's totally benevolent and she wants to give over a hundred percent to God, and then we lift her up as an example of, you know, we talk about a 10% tithe, how about how about a 50% tithe or a 70% tithe or a 90% tithe, you know, and and this is one of the most preached on texts for stewardship Sunday. It comes around every year. Here we are in November talking about those widows might that widow's mites, you know. Um so maybe, maybe that's part of what's going on. It's this inspiring story about somebody who's really scraping the bottom of the barrel to give it all to God. So that's a good that's a good line of thinking, Lady Joey. What does she receive by giving to the temple? What did Jesus just accuse the temple of? If you go back up one paragraph before, how is the temple treating the widows and the poor? They're not. Read it again. Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplace and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the place of honor at banquets, but they devour widows' houses. They devour widows' houses. How are they devouring widows' houses? By accepting all of the widows' money. And the widows can't afford a house anymore. The widows are giving everything to the church or the temple in this situation, or the synagogue, or some form of religious institution, and and then they have nothing left. And what are they getting out of it? What are they hoping to receive? They're hoping to receive blessing from God, good fortune, and goodwill. They're hoping to receive support from these powerful men with flowing robes that maybe they'll be extra nice to me because I gave everything. Or maybe you then do the own the jumping jacks in your own mind, but I only gave two cents, and that rich person gave a big gift, and so maybe they won't even see me, but I'll still do it because it seems like the right thing to do, and maybe the system will take care of me. This poor widow has put in more than all the others, Jesus says, and I'm asking, is that a good thing? From one angle, it is a beautiful thing because she's giving everything to God. And we can lift that up, and that's what almost all the stewardship Sunday sermons will be about. From another angle, Jesus is exposing injustice. And he's saying, look at the temple devouring our poor. They're giving all the money to the temple, and that money to the temple is just flowing right up to Caesar. The poor are funding the empire, and they don't even know it. Because the teachers of the law have done jumping jacks to convince them that their money is going to God. It's not going to God. It's this is flowing right up to Caesar himself. They're funding the enemy empire.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

Is he asking the widows to stop? Wait and hear what he says next.

SPEAKER_02 20:22

He's pointing out a fool's errand. He's pointing out an injustice. Some of the disciples, verse five, were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on one another. Every one of them will be thrown down. We have to know the context of the temple. King David, the greatest of all time, goat king, his son Solomon builds the temple. David doesn't have time to build the temple because he's busy fighting wars. He's a warrior king. But he takes more territory than any king in the history of Israel. And as you grow in the territory, you grow in prosperity, and the Israel becomes the closest thing they get to being an empire under David's rule. Now, Solomon is the wise ruler because he holds it all together. Part of what wisdom is in the Old Testament is being able to manage that power with thoughtfulness, with integrity. And Solomon does that. Solomon also actually builds the temple. And Solomon's temple exists from the 10th century BC until an empire comes by and wipes it out. Okay, the Babylonian Empire takes over and wipes out the temple. And then the temple doesn't exist for really a long time. It gets rebuilt, but it doesn't really get rebuilt to Solomon's glory until Herod comes along. And then the second temple, which was piecemeal put together, you know, over the centuries. Herod, with the backing of the Roman Empire, expands the temple to be the most glorious form that it's it's ever had. It becomes bigger than Solomon's temple. He beefs up the platform on the mountain itself so that you can widen the entire structure. And he makes the temple as gorgeous as you can. And the temple is under construction for, and I don't, you can Google this, it's it's something like 62 years. There are scaffoldings and uh and carpenters, and it's not like he he did a temple renovation and it took three months. It's like for over a generation of human beings, Herod the Great has been building this temple. And and now, as people are entering the temple in the time of Jesus, they're seeing this rebuilt temple that's so gorgeous and so beautiful. I mean, it's a marvel. It really is. If you have never been to Jerusalem before and you're just a peasant and you haven't seen big buildings, and then you step into this city and you see how big these rocks are, how'd they haul those rocks? I mean, it it'd be it's not as dramatic as like the pyramids of Giza, but it would be similar to like walking into Egypt Egypt for the first time and being like, how did they build that? How did you can't do that with a hundred skilled laborers, it would be thousands, right? And so this is what the disciples are remarking at. They're in Jerusalem and they're marveling at Herod's temple. And they're saying, uh, it's a it's adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God. Is that a good thing? Is it a good thing that Herod rebuilt the temple and adorned it with stones and gifts dedicated to God? Is that a good thing? Why not? Somebody says, no, it's not. Why not? It's a good thing if it's also a house for the poor and the widows. It's a good thing if those poor and those widows get to benefit from those that beauty. Beauty in and of itself is not a bad thing. Beauty is remarkable and great. But if we build a giant cathedral and you have to pay, I don't know, like at St. Paul's in London, gorgeous cathedral, in order to go inside, you have to pay $45 to tour the facility and see it. And does it benefit the poor? Can the poor come in and have soup at the altar? Or is it just rich tourists that go around and snap pictures of it? Like, what are we doing with our cathedrals? Are they for God or are they for the institution? And that's a that was what the Reformation was all about. The Catholic Church in the 1500s wanted St. Peter's Basilica to become pretty fantastic. And so they spent their time fundraising all up and down Europe trying to get money to make that thing which had been decaying and decrepit and wasn't as gorgeous and as prominent as it used to be in its glory days, and they're gonna rebuild it. And so much of Europe hated that hypocrisy that an entire Reformation breaks out, and half of Christendom leaves the Catholic Church, and you know, reformed churches like ours become a thing because we don't want to put our coins in the coffin to save the souls of our ancestors in order to build a big temple over there or a big cathedral over there. And so it's not a good thing, but it could be a good thing, but it's not, it's complicated. Exactly. It's gorgeous. Is it a bad thing that Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel? No, it's awesome, it is awesome. I want to go and look at it and stare into that art. I am so glad I went to St. Paul's Cathedral in London. I'm glad I could afford the 45 pounds or whatever it was to go in and tour that place because it's gorgeous and it makes my heart filled with joy. But I also lament that it's not benefiting all people equally. Yeah. Yeah. It so that the temple has to be, if it's for God, it has to be accessible. It has to be, uh it cannot be a place that oppresses the poor. It just cannot be. It has to be somehow common wealth, common goodness shared by all. Right? And that's that's just really hard to do. It's really not a true anymore that's because they have a service for everybody who wants to come in, then for who? At the temple? Or what? No, at St. Paul's? No, you can come in for prayer. Yeah. Yep. You can come in for prayer. There's a certain there's certain times where people can come in if it's a service, and you come in for the service and you get a little sticker badge that says you're here for the service, and then if they see you walking around five minutes after the service, they kick you out. Yeah. But if you pay the $45 and you get a little a green badge instead of an orange one, you know, the tour guides will say, Yes, I'll take you up to the top so you can see the bell tower, or sure, let's go into the labyrinth to see where the saints lay in in their glory. And yeah, so it's sort of not a it's not a bad thing. I don't want a dog on St. Paul's Cathedral. It's a cool spot. Go visit it in London. But it also is sad that it's just not free. We haven't figured out how to do both beauty and art and accessibility for all. We just haven't. For some reason, when we trend towards beauty and art, it also becomes elite. It just does. Look at the Oscars. You know, the history of the Oscars. It there's been times when the Oscars has trended towards for everyone, and then there's times when the Oscars just slance right back to like, wow, everybody here is in a tuxedo, you know. And it's become less. Yeah. Well, and it's this amazing historical monument. Uh, the United States helped to rebuild St. Paul's Cathedral after World War II because it was bombed in World War II. And so there's this phenomenal uh altar behind the altar dedicated to the United States, like U.S. veterans, basically. And it's it's just this gorgeous. If you're a history buff or if you're somebody who loves America, go there and check it out. It's awesome. It's a cool historical spot. And it's and it's them saying thank you to the United States for giving them, I don't remember what it was, but like $50 million to rebuild the historical sites in London uh back in back in the 1940s. Um back when people that's part of it, yeah. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

But thank goodness, I don't know if they're learning that they're uh outside. Yeah, we're saying that's a good thing.

SPEAKER_02 29:29

That's right, yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And and you're right, you know, in Europe there is a bit of a uh, you know, when the Church of England leaves, the Catholic Church, there's a little bit of a like who's got a taller tower kind of a competition that happens. That's again, that's something that human beings do. Our church is nicer than your church or not. I'm just saying, is it a good thing? And the answer is it's complicated. Art and beauty and being adorned in stones is not inherently bad. It is actually awesome, but it becomes warped and twisted and bad when diamonds are considered more valuable than something else just because of the economics of it, right? Everybody should be able to have a diamond or wear a diamond. Why does it, you know? I'm just saying. So the disciples are remarking about how gorgeous this place is. And listen to what Jesus says, which has been built by the widows giving their two coins. It has been funded by the Romans, yes, but also funded by the people, right? And so they see all this. Was it a fool's errand for the woman to the widow to put in her two small copper coins and for the rich to give their gifts? Here, listen to what Jesus says. He says, As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another. Every one of them will be thrown down. Y'all have given all your money to build this place, and guess what? It's gonna be destroyed. It's going to be destroyed. You gave all your money to build this, and it will be destroyed. That's like a punch in the guts to most people in the time of Jesus because this temple seemed like a good thing. It seemed like the right thing to do. It's there's a lot of people invested in this thing. Now, there's also a growing edge of people concerned that it's become a den of thieves and not a house of prayer. And so there's a lot of hot button, you know, if if politics were a thing in the first century, the temple would be a hot button political issue. And it would divide people over whether to keep constructing its beauty or to cut that out and give the money to the poor, or to, I mean, you would have news networks reporting on it 24-7 if that was a thing back then. Teacher, they asked, verse 7, when will these things happen? I mean, the destruction of the temple would be the most dramatic thing. And so they rightfully ask, well, when will that happen? What will be the sign that they are to take place? I don't know, could the sign be that the Messiah has entered Jerusalem and has cleared out, you know, the like are we watching the sign right now? What will be the sign? They ask. Jesus replied, Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming I am He, and the time is near. Do not follow them. If you have someone, he's saying, Come after me, that says, The time is now, the time is here. In general, distrust that. Which it cuts against human intuition. When somebody walks in and says, Urgency, urgency, urgency, your human intuition says, Oh, I better pay attention to this or something bad might happen. And so he's saying, when that urgency comes across your email inbox, it might be a scam. It literally might be a scam. Be patient. Most things aren't as urgent as what that person is saying. Take a deep breath. Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away. How do you whip up a society into a war frenzy? Does that happen overnight? No. You chip away at it, and the people in power have to propagate a war message. You can go to Jerusalem and you can tour the Holocaust Museum. It's a fascinating place. It's worth going through that museum to see the propaganda that Adolf Hitler was using to promote the Nazi Party. It's amazing. From just like a purely uh amazing as in gross, I did not mean amazing as in good. Uh it's it's scary how effective it was for the people in Germany. Uh, the bright red banners, you know, in a colorless world, these bright red banners, his logo is effective. His the pomp, his delivery, the way he spoke would would rile up a crowd. Uh he was a great marketer and a great salesperson in the worst of ways, right? In the worst of ways, for the worst intentions. But you you can't look at him and not think, man, that was effective, what he did. But it took a long time to build up to that. And Jesus is saying, when you hear of wars and uprisings, don't get too excited and don't be too afraid. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away. He's he's basically telling us that the world won't end in a war. Which is the opposite of what the people in power want you to think. They want you to think that the world will end in a war. Usually you being on the victorious side of the war. Right? How will the messiah drive out the pagans? Well, people will come in the name of the Messiah saying, I am he, and we're gonna do it with insurrection. We're gonna do it with war. We're gonna go to war with Rome. And if all of us pick up our pitchforks, if all of us donate our money, if all of us band together, we can brave heart style defeat the emperor. And Jesus is saying, don't get too excited about that stuff and don't be afraid, that's not the way. It's not the way. It's not the way. Then he said to them, Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, and fearful events, and great signs from heaven. I mean, what was the question? The question was, what will be the signs that this is to come? And Jesus is naming everything that is not the sign. Right? The question, what will be the sign that the temple will be destroyed? Is a fair question. And then Jesus lays out all the expected signs earthquakes, pestilence, portents in heaven or on the earth, wars, rumors of wars, all the signs of the times are not the sign of the times, is what he's saying. Right. But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison. Notice that slip there. The synagogues will be the ones in power when this happens. Okay?

SPEAKER_00 37:38

And they're gonna hand you over because you are not going to be a person in power. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison. You will be brought before kings and governors. Now this is Rome.

SPEAKER_02 37:58

Governors and kings, this is Rome. So the synagogues are in cahoots with Rome, and Rome is gonna put you on trial, he's saying. All on account of my name. And so you will bear testimony to me.

SPEAKER_00 38:17

What does it mean to bear testimony to Jesus?

SPEAKER_02 38:34

What will it mean to bear testimony to Jesus when kings or governors or judges put the followers of Jesus on trial? What will that look like? It will take courage and faith and hope and love. It will take a kind of fortitude. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Why are you not going to serve in this draft that we are requiring all citizens to serve in? And they get arrested. And the people in power say, you have to. All pitchfork-bearing males shall serve. And you're sitting there in that room and you bear testimony to Jesus. And what does that look like? You say, uh, I don't think Jesus picked up a pitchfork. And and I and I don't think that this is how God wins the world. I don't this this isn't the path of salvation. This isn't the way it goes down. And so I'm going to not participate in the war. That's that's a you don't participate in the war because of Jesus. Here's an example from 200 years after Jesus. In North Africa, this is a true story. Uh there was a season when Christianity and and Judaism for that matter become illegal. As they're they spread like wildfire. Christianity, especially, spreads like wildfire uh around 100 AD, and all of a sudden, like 60, 70% of the Roman Empire is becoming Christian. Why? Because 60, 70% of the Roman Empire is poor, and this is good news for the poor. And so that good news for the poor spreads like a populist message would spread, right? As a as an evil dictator tries to manage his kingdom. And uh and what Caesar used to do is he would send soldiers into a town to make sure that they pledged loyalty to his flag, to pledge allegiance to his flag, to pledge allegiance to his kingdom. And so the soldiers would bring in a picture of the Caesar, and everyone in town would have to line up and pledge allegiance to the Caesar by taking a pinch of uh of ash and blowing it in honor upon the Caesar's image. And these women in town who thought Jesus was Lord and not Caesar, because Caesar killed people and was a rotten, evil dictator, and Jesus killed no one and promised to bless the poor, they say, I'm not gonna do it. And they burn these women at the stake. They burn them in front of the whole town. And guess what happens to the whole town? They all become Christian because they see what happens. You pledge allegiance to Caesar over here, or you pledge allegiance to Jesus over here, and look at what courage these martyrs, and so there's this long line of like martyrdom in Christianity. Now that can be over-sentialized and over like glorified in certain seasons where it's like the church, when the church asks you to be a martyr, watch out. Like, I'm not asking you to be a martyr. Um, but if you if you in your heart sense the time is now for me to testify that Jesus is Lord and not you, or you, or you, or that over there, then that's your moment. And and I can't tell you what that will be for you or for me. It looks different for everyone. The minute the church asks you to be a martyr, that's the wrong thing, right? Because then the church is probably the emperor. But when your heart guides you to say, No, I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and my savior, and I don't care what you do to me. That's the moment. And Jesus is saying this to his disciples. Look, a lot of crazy stuff is gonna happen. And people are gonna be mean and people are gonna be violent, and people are gonna be frothing at the mouth. And your job is to somehow be like reasonable and patient and steadfast in love and caring for the poor and merciful and faithful to the end. Yeah. Yeah. Christian nationalism is on the rise right now. The emperor is asking us to worship the nation. And the church is separate from the state, period. The Church of Jesus Christ is separate from the state, period. So you will bear a testimony to me, but make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For you will give your words, for I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. That's like those women in Africa. People can't resist their love. They can't resist their humility. They can't resist that they're just they're not gonna bend the knee to that thing over there. They're gonna stand up for what's right. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. And everyone will hate you because of me. Why will everyone hate you because of me? I mean, it's such strong language. Why will people hate the followers of Jesus? Why will moms and dads think their kids have lost their rockers? Why will uncles think that there's something wrong with their niece or their nephew? Why will families be ripped apart? Yeah, that could be. That could be. I you know who's who's to blame here for all of these signs that Jesus is articulating? Who's the ones that are chanting like Yeah, uh the evil. Evil is real. Let's just name it. Evil is real, and when evil infects itself into humanity and into society and into kingdoms, you get things like an evil Roman Empire, right? You get people who are propped up and think too highly of themselves, and they will do anything to maintain their power, to maintain their status, to grow their power, to grow their status. And then people underneath them have a choice to make get on board or get off. And more and more people get on board because you lose the imagination of some alternative way. You it it infects you. Like Jesus talking about money. Uh we've been talking about money a couple times here, when he says, give to Caesar what is Caesar's, give all that power back to Caesar and then live an alternate way. And and we don't even have the imagination to do that today. We don't. If you gave away all US dollars to the US government, how would you live? What would you do? We we you don't even know, we don't even know. And so all of us on a certain level, sometimes just low grade, are tying our futures up to, I don't know, like let's say oil. The US dollar is inextricably tied to oil. So all of our fortunes are tied to one commodity, which is nuts. Yeah, well, we like the money. I mean, I want to get paid right. I mean, it I don't know how to do this, is what I'm admitting, humbly. I don't know how to follow Jesus in 2026. And following Jesus in the ancient world, I like to imagine it was easier because you didn't have all the distractions that you had today. But but really you do because the distraction is certainty, the distraction is power, the distraction is you're going to be okay. And Jesus is saying all these things that will frighten you, all these things that will frighten you, all these things that will spike your anxiety, they aren't the thing. I am the thing. I am the way, I am the truth. All these other things are the distractions that will draw you from me, not towards me. We're gonna argue and fight in our world about the flag or about nationalism or about economies or about rich and poor, and all of it is a distraction and propaganda from the way of Jesus Christ, which is, you know it. We've been reading the Bible together for a decade. It's to love God and love your neighbor and care for those widows. Make sure your kids have something to eat in their lunchbox and make sure their friends have something to eat in their lunchbox. Right? It's really not that complicated. Human beings know how to structure society, but then we get excited about making society all that much better and wealthier and more efficient and all that. But we do know how to love each other. And Jesus appeals to our higher consciousness and asks us to trust your guts, follow your heart, know that Jesus is Lord. Oh, it'll get worse though. When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you know that its desolation is near. Okay, so all this wasn't yet the war. In 66 AD, the Jewish people get whipped into such a fervor that they go to war with Rome. Four years then into a war, 70 AD, this happens. The Roman War finally comes to Jerusalem. The soldiers surround the temple and they destroy the temple, and the war is over. So this is this is decades after Jesus that this takes place. Okay. Then when you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. He's saying, get out. Evacuate. That's not the time to double down and fight harder. That's not the time to become a martyr. That's the time to flee. Right? Those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those in the cities get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment and fulfillment of all that has been written. It's like that Sodom and Gomorrah moment where Lot just needs to run. Because the whole city is so far gone, it's gonna burn. And Lot just needs to run. And what does Lot's wife do? Can she run? She can't. She has to turn on Fox News and watch what's happening. She has to. She can't turn away from the train wreck. She has to keep watching, and she dies. Humanity will have an opportunity to say, this is fiddle defunct. This is not the way. I know it's super dramatic, and my uncle's in there. And that kid that I went to high school's in there, and I want to watch what's going to happen. And Jesus is saying, flee, go to the mountains, live in caves, live the good life, love each other, get out. And so many people won't be able to do that. Young men will pick up two pitchforks instead of one because they think this really is the moment to be a hero. Oh, Lord, help us. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers. Why? Because it just would be extra hard to flee if you've got a baby in your hands, too. I mean, right? There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 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. 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. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. I mean, this sounds like UFOs landing from outer space. The heavens are shaking, and all the terror and all the fear is all coming to a head, and everything is collapsing and crumbling. It's anarchy. It's war. It's the end time. What Jesus is describing. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. They've asked for a sign, and now they've gotten the sign that the whole world will feel like it's collapsing before your very eyes. And then you'll see the Son of Man up high in the clouds. Now, here's what's so cool about this prediction. On one hand, this does seem to happen to Jerusalem a couple decades after the life of Jesus. On the other hand, if you are a follower of Jesus and you're trusting that this Jesus is the Messiah, this actually seems to happen to you in the chapters that follow. NT Wright is famous for saying he thinks Jesus is teaching his disciples about what's going to unfold in the next couple of days in front of their very eyes. Their whole life will flash before their eyes. All their fear, everything that could be the worst will happen. Jesus himself, God himself, will be arrested, will be put on trial and have to testify to the truth. And the trial will be a mockery of a trial, and it will go south quickly, and they will whip him and they will beat him and they will spit. And if you are hoping that this is your one great hope, your heart is shattered. The whole world is ending. The Gospels will even describe the signs in the sky and the heavens taking place as he dies. Darkness comes over the land from noon until three o'clock, as if the heavens themselves are shaking, and the disciples are so terrified. And of course, Jesus is in profound agony. And everything he's saying about humanity and about the temple someday actually falls into an apex or a deep valley of himself, that he takes upon himself apocalypse. And at the center point in history, the crisis happens. This is Karl Barth. At the center point in history, the crisis happens, and God gives his life for humanity. And every possible thing that we could ever be afraid of happens to God Himself. And it kills him and it crushes him. And it wrecks us. And it ruins all of our hope and all of our joy and all of our lives. But it doesn't last forever. Three days later, this crucified Messiah walks out of the tomb. This Jesus comes back to life. And every worst thing that evil could ever do through societies or through individuals collapses and falls apart into nothingness. And God wins. God wins with sacrificial love. That's from here to the end of the story. You don't even have to read the rest of Luke now. That's what's going to happen. Two disciples will be walking away from Jerusalem after the big event, and they'll say, We had hoped that he was the Messiah, and their hearts are crushed. And then this stranger walks up beside them and talks with them for a while, and just with words spoken, and then the stranger eats with them and breaks bread. And right as he breaks bread, their eyes are open and they realize their hearts have been burning. And it's Jesus Christ resurrected right before them, and then flash, he's gone again. But it's enough for them to hightail it back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples, He is risen, that the moment of death has been overcome by the God of life, who is the God of the living. And so some people read all these signs about the temple being destroyed, and they think someday, and they think it's Jesus predicting the great Jewish-Roman War. And I kind of roll my eyes at some of that and say, that's going to come and go and come and go and come and go as it's always come and gone. But the center point in history is it did happen, and it happened in Jesus Christ's own body and in his own life. And he showed us the way. Sacrificial love. And love wins. And death can't defeat this Jesus ever again. Death has lost its sting. So when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. So we'll pause there this week and then read about another parable next week. Friends, Grace, and peace. Oh, you want to talk about verse 14? But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourself.

SPEAKER_01 58:47

So make up your mind not to prepare.

unknown 58:50

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 58:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:57

I mean, if you can't believe we will be in Christ, how would we not be able to do that?

SPEAKER_02 59:05

Yeah. So the reason he's saying make up your minds not to prepare yourself is you won't know the moment when it's happening until it's happening. If you spend your days preparing for the moment, you're going to spend your days worried for the moment. Like imagine him saying to the disciples, like, I don't know, at a Last Supper meal and saying, Okay, I'm going to die in 24 hours. I'm going to die. Prepare. How would they do it? How would they prepare? How would they prepare for that cataclysm, that chaos, that certain death and that fear? How would they prepare? You wouldn't be able to. And so you just let it happen. He's saying, let it happen and God will be faithful to you. Let it happen and God will be faithful to you. He's not saying to the preacher, don't prepare for your sermon the next before the night before or the week before, uh, just show up and God will give you the words to preach. That's not what he's saying. He's not saying to you, never study the Bible and prepare yourself for life in general. That's not what he's saying. He's just saying when the apocalypse actually happens, there's nothing you can prepare for except trusting that God is bigger than this nightmare that is unfolding. And then God will carry you through, and not a hair on your head will be harmed, and you're going to be okay. This is not achieved by human efforts and human means. It's not. The world is not one when enough human beings stand up and do the right thing. The world is already one in Jesus Christ. And when we do the right thing, we're just following his lead. Yeah. When we love one another, we're participating in the victory that he has already inaugurated. Yeah.

unknown 1:01:08

All right.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:08

Grace and peace, everybody. Have a good week.