Monthly Archives: March 2020

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – A GLORIOUS WELCOME

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A GLORIOUS WELCOME

“‘It will seem like all hell has broken loose — sun, moon, stars, earth, sea in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking.

“And then – then! – they’ll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style – a glorious welcome. When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!'” Luke 21:25-28.

What a glorious, terrifying moment! It will be glorious for those who have taken Jesus’ words seriously and terrifying for cynics, sceptics, agnostics, atheists and everyone who chose to believe and follow the counterfeit rather than the truth. So cataclysmic will Jesus’ return be that even the natural world will reel with the enormity of it.

Earth’s population, past and present, will be split right down the middle; those who love Him will welcome Him with overwhelming joy and relief; those who rejected Him will cringe in horror when they discover to their loss that He was telling the truth all the time.

The Apostle Paul wrote to encourage the Thessalonian believers who were suffering at the hands of the Roman emperor (probably Nero) because they refused to acknowledge that Caesar was Lord.

“God is just. He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled…This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power on the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marvelled at among all those who have believed.” 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10a (NIV).

Jesus made enormous predictions. How do we know they are true? Many people have prophesied over the centuries. What are the credentials for believing what they say? In order to verify their trustworthiness, we have to examine their authority, their character and their accuracy.

On what authority did Jesus say these things? He claimed that His authority came from the Father. “‘For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man.'” John 5:26-27 (NIV).

When we examine the character of Jesus, we must find that He was a liar, a lunatic or flawless. He asked His opponents a question that they could not answer: ‘Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?’ John 8:46 (NIV).

As for the accuracy of His predictions, if He foretold His death and resurrection in uncanny detail and then fulfilled every detail to the letter, is there any reason to doubt any of His other words, prophecies and promises?

In every way Jesus fulfilled the qualifications of an authentic prophet. He foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and it happened. He even told Peter that he would suffer a violent death and Peter died by crucifixion. Accurate fulfilment of His prophetic words gives us reason to take everything else He said seriously, including what He had to say about His return and the consequences of rejecting Him and disregarding His words.

For those who believe in Him, it will be a moment of celebration and vindication. We will experience delirious joy for our union with our Master, release from the obstacles and hindrances of our sinful nature, and vindication that our faith in Him and perseverance in spite of opposition was not in vain.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – VENGEANCE DAY

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VENGEANCE DAY

“‘When you see soldiers camped all around Jerusalem, then you’ll know that she is about to be devastated. If you’re living in Judea at the time, run for the hills. If you’re in the city, get out quickly. If you’re in the fields, don’t go home to get your coat. This is Vengeance Day – everything written about it will come to a head. Pregnant and nursing mothers will have it especially hard. Incredible misery! Torrential rage! People dropping like flies; people dragged off to prisons; Jerusalem under the boot of barbarians until the nations finish what was given them to do.'” Luke 21:20-24.

Why is it that this one city should have experienced more war and destruction than any other city in the world? What does Jerusalem have that makes it the focus of so much conflict? It has no strategic geographical significance, no major economic or industrial function, some historical and archaeological interest, perhaps, but not enough for nations to have fought over it for more than three thousand years.

Once again the issue is a spiritual one. Three major faiths claim Jerusalem as their own. Judaism claims it because Jerusalem was the City of David, their greatest king. It was the capital of their Promised Land and the Temple the symbol of God’s presence among them. Islam claims Abraham as the ancestor of their race; their great Mosque of Omar occupies the place where he offered his son and where the Temple once stood. Christians love Jerusalem because it was the city where Jesus was crucified and rose again.

Jesus’ answer to His disciples’ question, ‘Teacher, when is this going to happen?’ takes in two major events, the destruction of Jerusalem under the Roman general, Titus, in 70 AD and the tumultuous events preceding His return. It is not easy to separate these two happenings because, in His predictions, they seem almost to run together. Perhaps He did this on purpose to prevent people from assigning dates to the ‘end of the world’.

When we read about the fall of Jerusalem, it fills us with horror because God appears to be cruel and heartless, subjecting people to terrible suffering out of revenge for not taking Him seriously. But that is not God’s way. From the beginning of their history He made it clear that their protection lay in their trust in Him and obedience to His word. He showed His love for them by rescuing them from slavery and by giving them a good land but they chose to reject Him and worship the worthless idols of the surrounding nations.

It was their choice, not God’s, that brought destruction on them. “Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking the Lord your God when He led you in the way?” Jeremiah 2:17 (NIV).

The Jews sealed their fate by thoughtlessly calling God’s judgment upon them at Jesus’ trial. “When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood.’ he said, ‘It is your responsibility!’ All the people answered, ‘Let His blood be on us and on our children.'” Matthew 27:24-25 (NIV).

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to claim His rightful kingship of His people, the sight of the city reduced Him to tears because He saw the outcome of their rejection of Him.

“‘The days will come when your enemies will build an embankment against you and will encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognise the time of God’s coming to you.'” Luke 19:43-44 (NIV).

God’s word makes it clear that whatever fate we suffer is the end result of our own choices. He has given us the option to receive the mercy He offers us because Jesus died in our place. He honours our freedom to choose right up to the choice of our own destiny. For those who honour Him, there is mercy, forgiveness and a new life which never ends; for those who reject His offer, the eternal rubbish heap of wasted opportunity.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – STAY WITH IT

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STAY WITH IT

“‘You’ll even be turned in by parents, brothers, relatives, friends. Some of you will be killed. There’s no telling who will hate you because of me. Even so, every detail of your body and soul – even the hairs of your head! – is in my care; nothing of you will be lost. Staying with it – that’s what is required. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, you’ll be saved.'” Luke 21:16-19.

How terrible, that a parent will betray a child and siblings each other for the sake of an ideology that has no foundation in truth! Such is the power of deception that it even overrides family loyalties.

There are countless stories of these kinds of betrayals from the Communist era, for example, that ripped family and friends apart. There are devotees of other religions today that are equally ruthless in the name of their god and teach that anyone who is not one of them must be destroyed.

But, unlike the gods who ‘require’ this kind of behaviour to protect them, Jesus assured His followers that He was in charge and would protect them, even down to the hairs on their head! Herein is the difference between lies and truth. If a god cannot take care of himself and demands that his followers go on the rampage, and riot and murder to guard his name, does he sound like the sort of god that attracts both trust and security?

What if you did something to annoy him? If he requires you to kill even your own family for him, what guarantee do you have that he won’t take you out for some infringement? How much security is there in a god who is capricious and unpredictable?

Once again, Jesus was utterly truthful. He faithfully warned His followers that there was trouble ahead for them if they remained loyal to Him. He gave no guarantee of physical safety if they followed Him but He did assure them that no part of them would be eternally lost. How many times have we already seen that He always viewed life from the perspective of eternity? Life did not end at the grave. It was only a part of the whole, a preparation for what lay ahead beyond death.

Persecution would not destroy them, however tough it was, but it would weed out those who were only in it for what they could get out of it. It would be part of a refining process by which faith in Him would be stripped of props and false expectations and would be anchored in His trustworthiness alone.

Jesus wanted His followers to trust Him so completely, in His character and His promises, that they would stake their very lives on what He had said. And they did! History reveals the story of many thousands during the first three centuries of the church who gave their lives rather than deny Jesus, and they did it joyfully because they believed His promises.

People foolishly follow the words of someone who claimed to speak for their god with no proof of their authenticity. Jesus Himself spoke these words, “‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'” John 11:25-26 (NIV).

Once again we are left with a choice – to believe and follow the teachings of a god who never speaks for himself, who offers no infallible proof or his existence, and has to rely on fallible humans to speak for him, or to believe in the one who said He would die and rise again and did it, not for Himself but for us, so that we can entrust ourselves to His proven trustworthiness.

LUKE’S GOSPEL – BECAUSE YOU CARRY MY NAME

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BECAUSE YOU CARRY MY NAME

“He went on, ‘Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Huge earthquakes will occur in various places. There will be famines. You’ll think at times that the very sky was falling.

“‘But before any of this happens, they’ll hunt you down, arrest you and drag you to court and jail. It will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You’ll end up on the witness stand, called to testify. Make up your mind right now not to worry about it. I’ll give you the words and wisdom that will reduce all your accusers to stammers and stutters.'” Luke 21:10-15.

Reading Jesus’ words is like reading today’s newspaper. Both parts of His prediction are happening all around us – conflicts and natural disasters on the one hand and persecution of His followers on the other.

Wars, earthquakes, and famine are so common that only the biggest make world news. As for persecution, how much of it is ever reported in the mass media, and yet it goes on all over the world, from petty personal and family vendettas to national political policy to exterminate those who follow Jesus and refuse to embrace the official religion of that country. Jesus warned that it would happen “because you carry my name.”

Much of Jesus’ prophetic warning was fulfilled in the generation after His death, when Titus and the Roman army invaded Israel in AD 70, reducing the temple to rubble and slaughtering thousands of Jews across the land. Israel ceased to exist until its rebirth in 1948.

Why is there such animosity against the name of Jesus? What has He done to cause such hatred against Him and His followers? Was He so evil that He and His disciples had to be obliterated? On one occasion He told His disciples, ‘I did not come to bring peace but a sword,’ implying that His coming would produce a sharp division between people.

To understand the reason for this great divide we have to go behind the scenes, back to the beginning. Before the creation of the earth, Satan made a bid to oust God. His rebellion was so serious that it resulted in the establishment of a rival kingdom. Satan and one third of the angels were evicted from God’s presence and exiled to the earth where they would operate until judgment day.

There are two unseen kingdoms at work in the world, God’s rule of love and freedom and Satan’s dominion of fear and force. Every person is influenced by one of these powers. That does not mean that Satan shares equal power with God. His presence on earth is part of God’s way of fulfilling His plan to build a family who freely choose to love Him for who He is and what He has done. Satan, on the other hand, uses deception to ensnare people into slavery to him.

Jesus came to expose his lies and defeat him at the cross, inviting people to return to His Father by believing the truth about Him and His Father, receiving His forgiveness and submitting to His rule.

Satan’s hatred for God is expressed through those who are enslaved by his deception. He sows lies about God and His Son which turns them into God-haters. So vicious is people’s hatred for Jesus that they will stop at nothing to destroy those who carry His name, even murdering their own family members if they convert to follow Jesus.

And the reason? Because they “carry His name”. In Hebrew thought a name is a prophetic utterance of character. Everything that Jesus is, is enshrined in His name. To carry His name implies to be like Him. Christians who carry the name of Jesus are such a threat to Satan’s dominion that he will do everything he can to destroy them. Since people who do not love God are under his influence, they are his tools to do his dirty work.

But Satan’s doom, and all those who follow him, is already sealed. God has appointed Jesus, to whom He has given the highest name because of His victory through the cross, to be Lord. To Him, including Satan and all who believe his lies, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord! (Philippians 2:5-11)

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – DOOMSDAY DECEIVERS

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DOOMSDAY DECEIVERS

“They asked Him, ‘Teacher, when is this going to happen? What clue will we get that it’s about to take place?’

“He said, Watch out for the doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities claiming, ‘I’m the One,’ or, ‘The end is near.’ Don’t fall for any of that. When you hear of wars and uprisings, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history and no sign of the end.'” Luke 21:7-9.

Every generation has its doomsday prophets and its reasons to believe that the end is near. Wars are one of them. But, if we are honest, has there ever been a time when there have been no conflicts in the world? Wars are not so much a sign of the immanence of Jesus’ return as a reminder of the nature of man. Jesus called it “routine history”.

Greed for money and power has driven men and nations into conflict since the beginning of time, from strife in the family to the two world wars of the twentieth century and, in between, the localized tribal struggles that result in genocide.

A far more subtle problem is what Jesus called “doomsday deceivers”. They are often unwittingly a tool of Satan. His most potent weapon is deception, and his tactic, distraction. These false prophets arouse fear through their Biblical misinterpretations and draw our attention away from our Master. They draw a following by their plausible explanations about what is happening in the world and what is going to happen..

Jesus’ earnest counsel: ‘Don’t pay any attention to them.’ Instead He gave us His take on the ‘end of the world’, watch and be ready! There is no question about the fact of His return. It’s the ‘when’ bit that bothers us but, if we heed His counsel, when He is to return should be of less importance than whether we are prepared no matter when it happens.

‘Watch’ does not mean resign your job, leave home and sit on a mountain waiting for Jesus to come. Jesus told us how to watch – be faithfully carrying out His instructions when He returns. Don’t get lazy or sloppy. You’ll be caught off guard.

“Be ready” does not mean holing up underground with enough provisions for a siege! It sounds funny but some of the latest books and movies portraying the end of the world give us that impression.

We have to turn to the Bible for answers.  Since the Bible is the story of a betrothal and a wedding, the answer to the question, ‘How can I be ready?’ is found in the imagery of Jewish wedding culture. I cannot go into detail here except to focus on the purpose of marriage and the interval between the betrothal and the wedding ceremony.

God intended marriage as a picture of the unity in the Trinity, and His purpose for creating man – that we would be one with Him. God’s plan for marriage is expressed in three words (Genesis 2:24), “leave…cleave…one”. Union of man and woman in marriage mirrors the essence of God’s image – “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

The purpose of the betrothal was to separate the bride from all other men in preparation for the wedding when she was joined to the bridegroom to become one with him. The interval between betrothal and the wedding had two purposes; the groom prepared the bridal chamber and the bride prepared herself.

Her preparation was reflected in the feasts God commanded His people to celebrate every year. They were a prophetic picture of Messiah, the Bridegroom who would win His bride by self-sacrifice, and the bride, who would make herself ready to become one with Him. In the interval between Pentecost, the last of the spring feasts and the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) the people were called to do three things:

  1. Tephillah – prayer, not asking God for things but changing their awareness from self-awareness to God-awareness.
  2. Teshuvah – repentance, not from sin but returning to their original state of goodness; in other words, changing the way they thought about themselves to think God’s thoughts about them.
  3. Tsidaqah – acts of righteousness, practising generosity because it is the right thing to do as a duty towards God. Whatever we have has been given to us by God and we have a duty to share our resources because God has been generous to us.

Now consider this Scripture: “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

‘Hallelujah!                                                                                                                                              For our Lord God almighty reigns.                                                                                                    Let us rejoice and be glad                                                                                                                    And give Him glory!                                                                                                                                For the wedding of the Lamb has come,                                                                                          His bride as made herself ready.                                                                                                      Fine line, bright and clean was given her to wear.’

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Revelation 19:6-8 (NIV).