Luke 21:5-19
“What does the future hold?”
It’s a question that grips all of us. We long to get a glimpse of what is coming.
Whether it be science fiction, futuristic gadgets, horoscopes or even just the weather forecast we
have a fascination with the future.
And Christians are just the same as everyone else.
We’re fascinated by bits of the Bible that talk about the future and Jesus’ return. That’s why
we’re so intrigued by books like Daniel and Revelation and chapters like Luke 21.
“What does the future hold?”
Well if that’s you, you’ll be glad to hear that we’re spending the next 3 Sunday mornings in Luke 21.
And if it’s your habit to read ahead you’ll no doubt have seen that it’s a fascinating and at times
puzzling chapter.
But before we begin I need to say one thing as a way of introduction that will help us begin to make
sense of what Jesus’ saying.
And that is that Jesus is speaking about 2 distinct, future events.
At some points in the chapter he is talking about the End of the Temple in Jerusalem.
And at other points he is talking about the End of the World and his return.
We see that if we compare v20... with v35-36...
And Jesus puts these 2 events together because as he looks forward to the end of the temple in AD70
he sees a foretaste of the end of the world and his return.
And this will be important as we go through the chapter.
So as we focus on v5-19 this morning, “What does Jesus tell us about the Future?”
Jesus’ message in v5-6 is clear, “The End Will Come!”
To set the scene, Jesus and his disciples have been travelling to Jerusalem, the capital city. And in
ch19 Jesus entered the city, and now in ch21 they’re walking through the city taking in the sites.
And the must-see attraction in Jerusalem in those days was the temple. It was actually still being built
at this point but even so it was an incredible building. Lavishly decorated. So it’s no surprise that Jesus’
disciples were so impressed by it.
And we’re expecting Jesus to join in and say “yes it really is a great building.”
But instead v6...
The Temple has hardly begun to be used, but Jesus is clear its end will come! It will be completely
destroyed!
And the question in our mind, and the disciples’ minds has to be “why?”
“Why would God bring destruction on this temple dedicated to him?”
Well to see the answer, look back to 19:44. Its a few days earlier, Jesus is riding into Jerusalem the
crowds are celebrating, and yet he is weeping, v41-44... (Pick out the crucial bit in v44.)
The destruction of not just the temple, but all of Jerusalem was God’s judgement on Jerusalem
for rejecting Jesus.
As John says “He came to that which was his own but his own did not receive him.”
And in AD70 Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed just as Jesus had said, 40 years before.
After the Jews rose up against the occupying Roman force, the Romans surrounded Jerusalem
and lay siege to it from AD66, until finally destroying it and enslaving or slaughtering the
inhabitants in AD70.
Such was the destruction that Josephus a Jewish historian of the time wrote, “it was so
thoroughly destroyed, that there was left nothing to make those who came after believe it had
ever been inhabited.”
And Jesus intends for us to see that the judgement of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple as a
picture of God’s final judgement on all the world.
Jesus wants us to be clear, just as the End Came for Jerusalem and the Temple, so one day the
End WILL Come for entire world.
Just as Jerusalem was held to account, so one day will all of us, when the Lord Jesus returns as
judge of all.
And just like Jerusalem, on that day what will really matter, is not whether I went to church, nor
whether I helped old ladies across the road, or gave to charity. No on that day, what will matter
most is what I did with Jesus Christ.
On that day the Lord Jesus will ask each of us,
“Do I know you?”
“Do we have a relationship?”
“Did you recognise the time of God’s coming to you?”
The fate of Jerusalem, is a warning to all of us – it matters what I do with Jesus Christ.
And friends, whoever we are, this is a warning we must heed because the End WILL Come,
Christ will return.
None of us know when that will be, but it will come, so now, today, is the day to receive Christ.
Whatever reason you might have for putting it off, please don’t, because Jesus says the End
WILL Come.
And to those of us who are Christians, who have received Christ, “doesn’t this have something to say to
how we view the world?”
You get the sense as you hear Jesus in v6 that he’s saying to his followers, “stop being so
impressed by the things of this world, they won’t last.”
Whenever I’m in London I always marvel at the Gherkin in the city.
And if you’re like me as you walk around the city of London or Canary Warf, you’re somewhat in
awe of the people, with their sharp suits eating in exclusive restaurants and all that goes with
working in the city.
But Jesus says, “Don’t be impressed by the “temples” of our age and all that goes with them, they won’t
last, the End WILL Come!”
It can be so easy to be sucked into marvelling and chasing after the things the world values, but Jesus
says, “Don’t bother, they won’t last!”
“If you’re going to chase after anything,” says Jesus, “then chase after me and my kingdom,
because that’s all that’s worth having, it’s all that will last!”
Well understandably this news comes as a shock to the disciples. You can picture them, as they stop
having their photos taken in front of the temple and they gather round Jesus and ask v7...
“And that’s just what we would ask isn’t it?” It’s what we want to know, “When will the world end,
and how will we know? What will be the sign?”
But slightly disappointingly for us and the disciples Jesus is less concerned with information about the
end, and more concerned with how we wait for the end.
He’ll give us a bit of information later on in the chapter so come back next week for that.
But Jesus’ priority in the rest of our passage today, is to answer the question the disciples didn’t
ask...
“The End WILL Come, so How Should We Wait?”
“How should we live knowing that the End WILL come?”
And in v7-19 Jesus tells his followers to do 3 things while we wait for his return.
And the first is there in v8, “Don’t be Deceived by Fake Christ’s”...
And I guess we can all think of people who at one time or another have claimed to be Jesus Christ.
There is Sun Myung Moon the founder of the Moonies who claimed to be the Messiah the
Second Coming of Christ.
And there is David Icke, the former TV presenter who claimed to be the Son of God.
Or more recently David Shayler the former MI5 officer who has claimed to be the Messiah.
And this week when I typed into Google, “When will the world End?” It came back with 267million
results.
Name any day in the future and someone can tell you why they think the world will end on that
day.
Recently December the 21st 2012 seems to be popular, based vaguely on Nostradamus and a
Mayan Calendar. In fact last year there was even a film called 2012 all about the End of the
World.
And you will even find well meaning Christians with their theories and ideas about exactly when Jesus
will return.
And I know it’s all fascinating, but Jesus says, “Don’t be Deceived!” “Don’t follow them,” “Don’t
waste your time.”
Because Jesus himself said that “no-one knows about that hour or day.”
“He’ll come like a thief in the night.”
But when he does come, there’ll be no doubt, v27...
I guess when we see someone on TV claiming to be Jesus we dismiss them straight away.
But please don’t then automatically dismiss Jesus and what he’s saying here as well.
He will return, the End WILL Come, and so we need to be ready, we need to respond.
And if you’re a Christian if you’re like me we cringe when we see these folks claiming to be Jesus.
But don’t despair, if anything be encouraged. Because Jesus said these people would come.
It’s just another sign that history is going according to Jesus’ plan.
So stick with Jesus, stick with what he says, “Don’t be Deceived.”
And secondly while we wait, “Don’t be Frightened by World Events” v9-11...
Notice what he said in v9, “These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
In other words Tsunami’s, Earthquakes, Wars are not signs that the end is close, they are just
signs that the end IS coming.
But, “why does Jesus say that Christians shouldn’t be frightened by World Events?”
Surely events like the Holocaust and Haiti prove that God has lost control, and so surely they’re
very good reasons to be Frightened?
But read carefully that next sentence in v9, “These things must happen first.”
These things must happen because the Bible says that our world is a fallen world. It’s a world tarnished
by our sin, our rebellion against God.
Our conflict with God has affected creation. It’s sadly the case that in so many conflicts innocent
parties are affected.
You see it in Afghanistan as innocent children are maimed by roadside bombs.
And so creation has been dragged down with our sin. It is now out of joint, it’s not as it was
meant to be.
As Paul says in Romans 8, creation is frustrated, it groans as in the pains of childbirth.
In fact labour is a helpful picture of the state of our world. In labour there is pain now, but you
know that there is great joy to come.
You know the labour will end, and there will be something far better!
And so it is with our world, there is pain and groaning now, but there will be joy later!
So when we see wars and natural disasters we should rightly mourn the state of our world. We should
mourn our rebellion against God and the devastating affect it has had on the world.
But at the same time we must not forget that these terrible world events speak not just of our sin,
but of God’s promise!
Something better, something perfect is coming.
And in the Lord Jesus Christ and his resurrection from the dead we get a glimpse of what is to come.
A world where God will be with his people.
As a loving Father he will wipe every tear from our eyes.
There will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain, because the old way of things will
have been destroyed!
So Jesus says to his people, “Don’t be Frightened by World Events.” God hasn’t lost control. Something
far better IS coming!
And thirdly while we wait for his return Jesus says, v12-19, “Don’t be Worried by Persecution”
Jesus is clear, if we let everyone know that we follow Jesus then we can expect persecution from all
corners, even death!
And what amazed me this week when I read this were Jesus’ words in v13, (from v12, “They
will...”) literally “this will be an opportunity to witness."
Surely being hauled up in front of kings and courts is the perfect opportunity to go quiet not to
speak out?
But Jesus says, v14-15...
And that’s just what we see in Acts when the Apostles and Stephen are on trial, Acts 6 says of
Stephen, “they could not stand up against his wisdom, or the Spirit by whom he spoke.”
Jesus assures us here and elsewhere that as we face persecution we’re not alone. The Holy
Spirit stands and speaks with us!
But notice v14, if we’re going to take the opportunity and witness for Christ we’ve got to make up
our minds, get our thinking straight before the hostility.
It might well be that being a Christian now is relatively easy for us.
Jesus says “get ready!”
If we stand up as a follower of him then hard times WILL come.
And so we need to get our thinking right now, if we’re going to be a witness then!
And v16, we shouldn’t be surprised if opposition comes from very close to home, even from family.
I can think of one lady I know, she was from a very ordinary, respectable, Middle Class British family.
But when she became a Christian her family reacted so aggressively that for many years she
actually had to hide from them.
All because of her stand for Christ.
Or a friend, again from a middle class family, who became a Christian at University and decided that
rather than go get a high paid job in the city as his parents wanted, he would go and work for a church
instead.
His parents didn’t disown him, but they did cut all financial support.
Jesus says, v17-18...
If we stand for Christ, then persecution will come often from unexpected places.
But Jesus says “Remember, no matter what happens, God is in Control!”
If we are Christ’s then nothing not even death can snatch us from his hand!
On 16th October 1555, Bishop Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were lead out onto Broad Street in
Oxford to be burnt at the stake. They like many under the reign of Queen Mary were killed for their
Christian faith.
And as the fires were lit below them, Latimer turned to Ridley and said, “Be of good comfort
master Ridley, and play the man, for we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in
England, as I trust shall never be put out.”
And the question is, “how could Latimer, Ridley and so many others face the agony of being burnt at
the stake with such confidence?”
Because they knew, God is in Control!
“Not a hair of your head will perish!”
In Christ, their future was secure!
Because Christ had been raised, Latimer knew that he too would be raised. God would not abandon
him!
The resurrection of Jesus is the guarantee and demonstration of what is to come for all who trust
in him.
Someone once said it’s like watching slow motion footage of a dam bursting.
At first there is only a slight bulge in the dam as the water presses against a weakness in the
structure.
Then a crack appears, followed quickly by a small spurt of water.
The spurt becomes a jet and before long the entire section of the dam wall gives way and the
whole lake empties through it.
It started with just a small spurt, but where it went the rest was sure to follow.
The same is true of Christ and all who have united themselves to him. Where he goes, we will follow!
If we are in Christ our future is secure, no amount of opposition not even death can separate us from it,
because Christ has won the victory.
By his death and resurrection sin and death are defeated, our future is secure.
Anna and I were away in Edinburgh last weekend, and so on Sunday morning we went to church. And
as we went in someone on the welcome team handed us a notice sheet and on the front was the
churches motto – “Conspicuous for Christ”
And really when you think about it, that’s the challenge of this passage to us as a church. “Will we be
Conspicuous for Christ?”
“While we wait for Jesus’ return, will we stand up and be known as his?”
It won’t be easy! But then Jesus never promised that! Hard times WILL come!
But God is in Control! And no matter what you and I might be facing now, or what we might face in the
future, it doesn’t change the fact that God is in Control, “Not a hair of your head will perish!”
And so what a great promise v19 is...?
So, “What does the Future Hold?”
Jesus says, “The End WILL Come!” He will return as Judge of all.
The Question is;
“Will we be ready?”
“And will we stand firm for Christ as we wait?”