Luke 21 "The Coming of the Son of Man" In one sense there is a lot going on in this passage. But it is all one sermon. There is only one point. Jerusalem is going to be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles. The temple will be destroyed. The coming of the Son of Man is the coming of judgment against Israel. After all, the road to Jerusalem is ended; the King has come; and because the Kingdom of God is at hand, therefore judgment is at hand. The day that Isaiah had spoken of the vindication of God's people, and the destruction of God's enemies the day of the coming of the LORD to his temple has come. Introduction: The Widow and the Temple (21:1-4) This is the day that every faithful Jew longed for. The Pharisees thought that this day was their hope and joy. The priests served in the temple to remind the people to look forward to this day. And as the rich put their gifts into the offering box in the temple, they doubtless did so with devout and pious intentions. This was, after all, the temple of the LORD, and their gifts would go a long ways to maintaining the service of the temple the sacrifices by which Israel was purified. Jesus does not condemn the rich for their giving. Even though the temple is about to be destroyed, it is still the place where God's name dwells on earth. The early Christians in Jerusalem will continue to worship in the temple, and the book of Acts tells us that even Paul offered sacrifices in the temple. Rather, Jesus points out that the significance of the gift is not in its size, but in the heart that is behind the gift. Yes, the wealthy wish to see the kingdom come, so they are giving their tithes and firstfruits. They are following the law of Moses, but they give out of their abundance. Perhaps they are being careful to follow the letter of the law, but their religious observance is oriented toward the minimum. We do this, too, don't we? We go to church on Sunday morning, and maybe do one other "religious" thing during the week We scrupulously give our 10% and pat ourselves on the back because we have done our duty. We pray at mealtimes and maybe even maintain regular family worship or private devotions. But the center of our life is elsewhere. We give to God out of our abundance. Our time, our energy, our resources these are primarily devoted to our own kingdoms. But then this widow comes along. She has only two lepta (perhaps around $2-3 in today's economy). Jesus says that it is "all she had to live on." And yet she put it in the offering box in the temple. There is a certain irony in Jesus' comments. Here is this poor widow who gives her last two coins to the temple the very temple that is about to be destroyed! the temple that Jesus has come to replace! And yet Jesus praises her. Her gift was given to maintain a priesthood that was corrupt and apostate, and yet her gift is not in vain. She has understood the meaning of what Jesus had said just a few minutes before: Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. All that she has and all that she is is devoted to the Kingdom of God. 1. The Question: What Will Be the Sign of Judgment? (21:5-7) And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said: As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down Jesus is prophesying the destruction of the temple. The disciples are amazed at the glory and majesty of the temple. But Jesus reminds them that God is going to bring judgment upon the temple, and upon Jerusalem. By now this does not surprise the disciples. They understand that because the king has come, therefore the coming of the kingdom will result in judgment upon the faithless, and vindication for the faithful. So they ask, Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place? How will we know that judgment is at hand? God had always before provided signs to demonstrate the coming of his kingdom. In Noah's day he destroyed the world with water, and set his bow in the sky. In Abraham's day he sent fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and alone passed between the animals that were cut in half. In Moses's day he performed great signs in Egypt, and sent his glory to dwell in the tabernacle. In Joshua's day he drove out the nations before Israel. In David and Solomon's day he defeated his enemies, established his kingdom, and sent his glory to dwell in the temple. So it is fitting that the disciples would now ask, so what are the signs that demonstrate the word that you now say? 2. The Answer (21:8-38) Jesus' answer has three parts. The opening warning in verses 8-9, the detailed description of the signs of the coming of the Son of Man in verses 10-28, and the parable of the fig tree and a closing admonition in verses 29-38. Luke separates these three parts by the phrases, "And he said" (verse 8) "Then he said to them" (verse 10) "And he told them a parable (verse 29). a. Warning: Do Not Be Led Astray (21:8-9) Jesus' response starts by pointing out that there will be some delay. See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and 'The time is at hand!' Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once. (21:8-9) Jesus is talking about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The disciples ask what will be the sign of these things, and Jesus answers with this. You might wonder, Why does Jesus refer to the destruction of the temple as "the end" in verse 9? Well, the destruction of the temple is "the end" for the whole Mosaic era. It is the end of the sacrificial system and the priesthood. And as such it functions as a picture of the end of the whole world. Think about it: Why did God create the world? The heavens and the earth were designed as a place for God to dwell with his people. God created a cosmic house where he could live with us. But we screwed it up! And with the entrance of sin, the cosmic house became a house of death and decay. And so God gave to Israel a microcosm of that cosmic house a tabernacle in the wilderness, and later a temple in Jerusalem. The temple was the holy place in the midst of an unclean world. This was the one place on earth through which you could catch a glimpse of the way things should be. Through the earthly temple and through the law God gave us a picture of the heavenly temple. But now the tenants of the vineyard the priests who misused the temple and the scribes who misinterpreted the law are going to be thrown out. And when that happened, what would happen to the temple? Israel had always assumed that this would lead to the restoration of the temple but Jesus elsewhere makes clear that he is the true temple (John 2). He is the place where God dwells with his people (Immanuel). b. The Signs of the Coming of the Son of Man (21:10-28) But Jesus does not go into all this detail yet. These are things that the disciples will come to understand later. For now, they have asked him about the sign that will tell them that the destruction of Jerusalem is at hand. And Jesus lays these signs out in verses 10-28. The basic sign is that nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Warfare. The kings of the earth battling against each other. I cannot help but remember what Jesus just said in the previous chapter. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. Or for that matter, The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." The Kingdom of God has come. The kings of the earth are not merely battling against each other, they are also waging war against the Lord and his anointed. The worst thing you could do would be to read the newspaper these days and read it as the Christian West against the Muslim Middle East. If all you do is see the earthly kingdoms, then you will miss the point. (Don't get me wrong, I prefer to the US Constitution to Sharia but the point is that the United States government is not trying to further the Kingdom of God.) There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. There were great signs from heaven in the days of Moses, when God brought his people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. And now God will do this once again. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. So the first thing that will happen before the signs from heaven is the persecution of those who believe in Jesus. The book of Acts (Luke's second book) records this in great detail. And so Jesus urges them: Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. (21:14-17) And then, in spite of the fact that he just said that some would be put to death, he says, But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives. (21:18-19) What does this mean? Some will die, but not a hair of your head will perish? Death in the service of the kingdom is nothing to fear! As Jesus says it in John 11, Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. So Jesus says that persecution will come first, and then the common signs of judgment will be revealed in various places. These things are signs of the coming judgment but they are not the judgment itself. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. (21:20) This would happen in AD 69 as Titus, the Roman general, brought his armies over the Mt of Olives, following the path of Jesus from Jericho to Jerusalem. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. We are told by ancient historians of the church that as soon as rumor came of the armies of Titus, the Christians all fled from Jerusalem, and so very few perished in the siege of Jerusalem in 69-70 AD. Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. In the ancient world it was common for pregnant women to be killed by soldiers, so that their child would never see the light of day. After all, that would mean one less "rebel" in the next generation. For the same reason, nursing infants would be brutally murdered. A people without children is a people without a future. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. This is what happened in 70 AD. Jerusalem was captured; the people exiled and the Gentiles took over the holy city. And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Notice here the three parts of creation: the heavens, the earth, and the seas. There are signs in the heavens remember that the sun, moon and stars were given as signs. While astrology (trying to read your future in the stars) is a wicked and faithless practice, nonetheless, when you see the signs that God has placed in the heavens, you are to tremble! And the roaring of the waves of the sea calls you to remember that judgment is at hand! And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. This is a quotation from Daniel 7:13. Where is the Son of Man coming in Daniel 7? If you look at it, you will see that very clearly it says that the Son of Man is coming on the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days. Because it is only when the Son of Man comes on the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days, that the Son of Man is given dominion and glory and a kingdom. So it would make no sense for Jesus to be coming to earth in Luke 21. Rather, the coming of the Son of Man on a cloud is the coming of the Son of Man to the right hand of God. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because you redemption is drawing near. The road to Jerusalem is ended. But Jesus has one more road to climb. He must ascend to the right hand of the Ancient of Days in glory so that he can receive his kingdom. Why is the destruction of the temple in AD 70 such an important sign? Well, if you are ever tempted to doubt the resurrection, if you ever wonder, did Jesus really ascend to the right hand of God? After all, while the apostles saw Jesus after the resurrection, and while they saw him going up into the clouds (indeed, Acts 1 will tell us that a cloud took him away Jesus was riding the clouds of heaven so that he might come to the Ancient of Days!) how do we know that Jesus ever got there? Plainly, the gift of the Holy Spirit is the chief witness. But there is also a witness in the plain facts of history: when you look at Jerusalem the place where God had made his name to dwell where is the temple? The destruction of the temple the end of the Mosaic age is the historical demonstration of the ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father. c. The Parable of the Fig Tree (21:29-38) In conclusion Jesus tells the parable of the fig tree to remind them of these things. Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, This generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. The ascension of Jesus happened nearly forty years before the destruction of the temple. But the destruction of the temple is a witness to the ascension of Jesus. With Jesus at the right hand of God, the temple became obsolete. God and man now dwell in perfect harmony in the person of Jesus. And so he becomes the cornerstone in a new temple the new humanity in Jesus. But just as Jesus warned the disciples in verses 8-9 not to be led astray, so also he concludes with an admonition: But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. I've been emphasizing the importance of 70 AD to this passage, because Jesus is talking about the destruction of the temple. But in closing, we also need to remember what the destruction of the temple means. Remember that the temple was a picture of the created order God's cosmic house. The destruction of the temple was not only the end of the Mosaic age, it was also a picture of the end of the Adamic age. And so we need to see Jesus' warnings to the apostles as pointing beyond AD 70 to the end of the age. Even as AD 70 came suddenly like a trap upon the unsuspecting in the first century, so also the end of the age. Stay awake. Do not be lulled to sleep by the cares of this life. And pray to God that he would give you the strength to escape the coming wrath, and to stand before the Son of Man. Conclude with the widow and Theophilus