If you pay attention to the news at all, you are aware that much of it is stories about disasters happening in places around the world. Some of them are natural disasters—volcanoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, recording breaking heat waves. We’ve heard about all of these things around the world just in recent months. And those are just the natural disasters. There are manmade disasters also—wars and terrorist plots, and genocides. Not to mention large-scale economic disasters with stock markets plummeting, huge multinational companies and banks folding, governments on the verge of bankruptcy, and high unemployment.
We live in an age preoccupied with the catastrophic, perhaps because we are globally connected to just about any place in the world through the internet. A disaster can happen anywhere in the world and we hear about it. It’s also becoming a very small world in which we are more and more connected to each other economically, politically and other ways. More and more we see how the actions and decisions taken in one part of the world can have a profound effect on people on the other side of the globe. We live in a time of global terrorism, war and random violence on a large scale. Although we hope we never have to experience such disasters, we know that tragically there are many people around the world who must endure terrible catastrophes. It makes us feel uneasy, and even heartbroken that others must face so much suffering. Sometimes we may feel the need to protect ourselves, to retreat into a bubble, away from all the bad news because it can feel overwhelming.
In Luke chapter 21, Jesus describes a great catastrophe—earthquakes and wars and famine and other dreadful things. It almost sounds like the evening news, doesn’t it? Jesus uses prophetic language, some of the same images found in Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, and Ezekiel. What is Jesus saying, and does it have anything to do with us? Does he have anything to say to us about our world, about the catastrophes of our time?
At this place in Luke’s gospel we’re only a few days before Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion. A little earlier in Luke 19:28 we see him making his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. As Jesus approaches Jerusalem and sees the city before him he begins to weep over the city. In verse 41 Jesus says, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” And then he prophesies Jerusalem’s total destruction. It will happen because, at the end of verse 44, “you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” That may be one of the saddest lines in the Bible. The longed-for Messiah has come, and Israel does not recognize him. You can feel the tragedy, and that’s why Jesus is weeping.
And what does Jesus do as soon as he enters the city? He goes directly to the temple, and in verse 45 he enacts a kind of parable of judgment in the cleansing of the temple, overturning the money changers tables and driving them out. It’s a prophetic action of God’s judgment on the utterly corrupt Temple system. God’s chosen people have turned away from God, rejected his Messiah, and denied their calling to be a light to the Gentiles. This is a tragedy!
But all is not lost. In the midst of this tragedy, God brings redemption! Even as the old corrupt system falls, there is a new order, a new kingdom. The new temple is Jesus himself, where the fullness of God dwells in our midst. A new covenant written on our hearts is made and ratified through the blood of Jesus. God is establishing a new kingdom of justice and peace that is ruled by his chosen one, the Messiah, Jesus. God has placed Jesus on the throne, and he is Lord of all.
But now let’s go back to our passage in chapter 21 verse 5. It says the people are admiring the beautiful buildings of the Temple, and again, Jesus prophesies their destruction, and the destruction of Jerusalem. The message of Jesus is cataclysmic and frightening! But in the midst of all of this tragedy there is hope and good news. Look ahead to verse 28. Jesus says, “Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Don’t despair in the midst of all of this suffering. Look up with hope, because the Lord is acting.
Our God is a God who brings victory out of apparent defeat, who brings life out of death. When it appears that all is lost, all is hopeless, that is when the Lord brings salvation and redemption to those who call upon him. Jesus has some specific teaching for his disciples and for us about how we are to live as citizens of his new kingdom, even as we are living in the kingdoms of this world which are decaying, crumbling and passing away.
First he says in verse 8, “don’t be led astray.” Many will come claiming to have answers to the world’s problems. They will try to get you to follow them. But they are dead ends. In adult spiritual formation we’ve been studying the Beatitudes, which address the problem of the human heart, which is sin. Last week we listed some modern answers to the human predicament we Christians describe as fallen creation. Human solutions might be medicine, science and technology, education, political solutions, more laws, tolerance, and even the idea that love is the answer. It’s not that these are bad things in themselves, and in fact they all may be very good things, that make the world a better place. I’m glad I can live better through chemistry. I certainly want love to be the answer. But all of these efforts are fraught with the irony that while they are supposed to bring about peace and justice and happiness, our world continues to experience suffering, war and catastrophe in epic proportions. It’s because these solutions don’t and can’t deal with the problem of sin in the human heart. So ultimately they cannot save us. Jesus says don’t put your hope in these other things. Put your hope in Jesus. Stay close him. He is the true savior.
Secondly, in verse 9 Jesus says, When you hear about these terrible things, “Do not be terrified.” Don’t be afraid because God is in control. God has a plan so we can trust him even when it seems the world around us is falling apart. Jesus’ descriptions of the time ahead of his disciples is very dark and frightening. At times we may face struggles in this world that are dark and frightening. But Jesus reminds us that God is with us in the midst of all of it, bringing victory out of defeat and redemption in the midst of hopelessness. Stay close to Jesus and don’t be afraid.
Thirdly, if you stay close to Jesus and put your trust in him, he will give you what you need, when you need it. In verse 14 he tells his disciples not to worry about preparing for the next disaster. Don’t worry about what might happen. Even if you are persecuted for your faith, let the Holy Spirit give you the words to say at the time. I like Jesus’ words, “Make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance.” Make up your minds now that you will trust God completely in the hard moments. If you make up your mind now to trust God, that will help you stay calm and trusting in the time of stress and testing. Stay close to Jesus and he will give you what you need when you need it.
Fourthly Jesus says in verse 19, “by your endurance you will gain your soul.” To have endurance means to not lose heart, to not give up hope in the Lord. Even when things are looking very bad, hang in there with Jesus. We need to stick with him the way Velcro sticks together, how the little fibers grab onto each other. Grab onto Jesus. He is the source of strength, and endurance. By our endurance with him we can know that his grace and his power will bring great good out of what may seem to be an impossible situation. We will gain our souls, our eternal lives of joy and peace and fulfillment with him, when the Lord will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
Finally Jesus says in verse 28, “Stand up and raise your heads for your redemption is drawing near.” What joy to know that whatever happens, God is bringing forth his plan in our lives and in the world which is for good and not for harm. Jeremiah (29:11) says: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord.”
Our world gives us glimpses of the great beauty and goodness of God, and yet there is also much suffering and injustice and catastrophe in the world. The beauty and goodness that we see makes us long for the day when Jesus returns to put everything right. Romans 8:19-28 say: “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.”
We long for that great day of redemption. But until that day comes, Stay close to Jesus. He is the true savior. We need never to be afraid because he will give us what we need when we need it. When we endure with him we will gain our souls. So therefore, raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.