It's good to be together as well. I want to make oneannouncement or draw your attention to one of the announcements in our littlebulletin and it is this. Next week we have a membership class.
The elders, we've been talking a lot the last whilejust about the nature of membership in our church and it really is a specialplace. Membership, I know, can be a confusing thing to many. What membershipreally is, is a declaration by people who come regularly and know and love theLord that this is the local church that they want to be accountable to and toserve in. And it's a way, really, to verbalize, to indicate, to let people knowthat reality.
But it also is a real tool to the elders in thechurch. It allows us to know who are we accountable for? Who are we to bepraying for? Who are we ultimately going to stand before our Lord and give anaccounting of in terms of how we sought to give oversight and care for thoseindividuals? And so, it's an important thing to us, and we really want to makesure that we treat membership as a helpful tool within the context of ourchurch so that we can live out that charge well.
And so next week, That membership class is really anopportunity to explain to those who will come what our philosophy of churchmembership is here at Trinity, why we believe it's important and how itoperates and the type of accountability and expectations that we have ofmembers here at Trinity Bible Church and the care that we want to also exerciseand be accountable to you for giving as elders at Trinity Bible Church also.
And so, in the past, people have maybe registeredfor a class and come and done the application forms and everything else. Thisis what I want to say. If you, you know, have maybe filled out an applicationform and need to go to a membership class and that was what you were planningto do anyway, brilliant, you should be there, okay? If, however, you've neverbeen to one of these classes, you didn't even know we really had a thoughtabout membership in the church, it just hasn't occurred to you, I want to inviteyou to that class also as an opportunity to hear why it's important
I know sometimes, depending on what churchbackground you come from, or if you come from no church background, it allsounds a little either like a country club or a little bit like a cult. And so,I want to clarify that it's neither of those things. And I would love you tocome and have an opportunity just to hear what we believe about membership.There's no obligation, there's no need to sign up for anything, there's no needto even continue through the membership process. This is an opportunity for youto come and just hear, what do we mean when we talk about these things? Andwhat are our priorities at Trinity Bible Church?
And then afterwards, if you do want to continuethrough the process, and we want to encourage that for those who know and lovethe Lord and see this as their local church, we want to be able to facilitateyou then moving through the process, but primarily next week is an opportunityjust to hear the why, the why, and the expectations and all that would beinvolved.
So, I highlight that to you that if you haven't everbeen able to come to one of the membership classes in the past. If maybe you'renot even sure what membership is, please know you're warmly invited to that.It'll take place during the Sunday School Hour next week to try and facilitatethe opportunity for as many as possible to be able to access that. Now, withthat said, can I ask you to open your Bibles to Luke chapter 17, and then tostand as we read God's Word together.
Luke chapter 17. And I want to begin reading atverse 20. So, Luke chapter 17 and verse 20.
[Scripture reading] "Being asked by thePharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, the kingdom ofGod is not coming in ways that can be observed. Nor will they say, look, hereit is or there. For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.' And hesaid to his disciples, the days are coming when you will desire to see one ofthe days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you,look there, or look here. Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightningflashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son ofMan be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by thisgeneration.
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be inthe days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying andbeing given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the floodcame and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, theywere eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But on theday when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven anddestroyed them all.
So, what will be on the day when the Son of Man isrevealed? On that day, let the one who is on the housetop with his goods in thehouse not come down to take them away. And likewise, let the one who is in thefield not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his lifewill lose it. But whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in thatnight, there will be two in one bed, one will be taken and the other left.There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken, and the otherleft. And they said to him, where Lord? He said, He said to them, Where thecorpse is, there the vultures will gather."
Let's pray.
[Prayer] Heavenly Father, we love your word. We lovethe insight it provides. We love the instruction and encouragement and rebukeand correction that we find within its pages. But Lord, we pray and ask thatthe Spirit would move and work to make these things clear to us. We thank youthat Jesus Christ will come again in great power and splendor. And we long forthat return. But we pray and ask that the instruction in this particularpassage would give us clarity. Clarity about what is to take place and clarityabout our posture while we wait. So, Lord, help us, we pray. For it's in thename of Jesus Christ we ask it. Amen. [End]
Have a seat.
Well, many cultures across the world and throughchurch history, but maybe, arguably, in particular, the American culture todayseems obsessed with eschatological speculation. A date setting, many of us canremember times and situations where people claimed certain dates were the timewhen things would come to a close. Pat Robertson, in 1982, he predicted thatthe world would end that year, and it didn't. In 1975, the Jehovah Witnesses,they proclaimed that that could be the year that all things would draw to anend. And it didn't. Many Christians today find themselves giddy and excitedevery time something happens in the news. They talk about the establishment ofIsrael in 1948, the potential rebuilding that might be taking place in secretof a third temple in Jerusalem, technological changes like artificialintelligence and global surveillance and digital currencies, all associated indifferent people's conversations with potential marks of the beast. Every timethere's an earthquake, famine, extreme weather, it's all thought of as thebeginnings of the end. One world government, rumors about the UN, the EU, theworld economic form, all of these things cause people lots to talk about withinChristian circles.
There's been so many people who throughout historyhave been dubbed the Antichrist. In the early church, they thought it was Nero.Many others have talked about Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin. All of these differentcharacters have been pointed to as potentials. Great recessions and wars,economic collapse, conflicts around the world. Every time Russia buys ahelicopter, rumors start to circulate that the times are happening. It's allupon us. So many, it seems, just comb the newspapers or comb the online news siteslooking for things that could be the start of the end.
Speculation about the last days is not a modernthing. It's no new thing. Rather, it's something that occupied many, even inthe days of Jesus Christ. And in this passage, we come to this morning, headdresses the folly and also the importance around this issue of how you thinkabout the end, how you understand what is to come. And before we even get toit, let me say that this tendency to get drawn into speculative commentaryabout the end times is a plague especially in Bible churches, in Bible churches.So, we need to take heed and hear what the Lord says, especially, look at verse20.
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of Godwould come, he answered them, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that canbe observed. Nor will they say, Look, here it is, or there. For behold, thekingdom of God is in the midst of you.
The first thing I want us to notice in the text thismorning is how Pharisees think about the last days. How Pharisees think aboutthe last days. This particular group, I want you to notice the particular groupthat Jesus is speaking about, the audience that is asking the question thatforces His response, according to verse 20, are the Pharisees. The Pharisees.You know, they are a group of religious people. They identified themselves asmoral. They identified themselves, we could say, as churchgoers, as theinvolved, as the ones who were committed to studying and knowing and memorizingand living out, as they understood it, the Scriptures.
And I want you to see as they contemplated the lastdays, first of all, their obsession with this topic. Their obsession with thistopic. Verse 20 begins with the Pharisees saying, when the kingdom of God willcome. They're asking when. They have a huge question, and it's a question abouttiming. They want to know when the kingdom of God would come. And the reason isbecause as they understood it, it hadn't come yet. They, through their studies,their understandings, their discussions of Scripture, like many in the days ofJesus, were expecting a time when a political kingdom would be establishedthere in Jerusalem. And at that moment, they looked around and, well, Pilatewas still the governor of Judea. And they themselves were still occupied by thepagan Romans. They still had to pay taxes to Caesar. And because theirexpectation, based on their understanding of the Old Testament, was that theMessiah would come and establish a kingdom that would turn the politicalfortunes of Israel upside down so that they would be on the top and the Gentilenations would be their footstool, They asked a very simple question, when willthis be? They were obsessed with what was to come, all the events, all thehappenings that would lead to this established kingdom.
I want you as well to notice their oversight. Therewas something, Jesus says, that they missed. Look at verse 20, how Jesusresponds. He answered them, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that canbe observed, nor will they say, look, here it is, or there.
Very simply, Jesus answers their question about whenby saying, it's not coming in ways that you can see it, ways, verse 20, thatcan be observed, that this isn't going to be something you get from the news.This isn't going to be something that comes with a signpost. In verse 21, youwon't be able to say, look here, or look there, that's not how this willoperate.
And right away we see a warning in Scripture that Ithink is so applicable to many of us, that there is a danger that comes toreligious people as they get obsessed with end-time speculation. When someonesays to you, oh, just watch what's happening in the Middle East at the moment,or they start talking about vaccines or digital currencies with a sense ofgiddiness, a red flag should immediately go up in your mind. You should beimmediately cautious.
And it is so easy. Church history is littered withexample after example after example of the church community getting pulled intospeculative ideas about eschatology, and it ruins and robs our focus. And we'llsee more of that caution that's needed as we continue through the passage. Butrecognize the danger. Recognize the danger. The danger of end-time speculation.
The Pharisees show us why that speculation can be sodangerous, because in their oversight, there was also a great omission. A greatomission. Jesus says, doesn't He, in verse 21, for behold. He's gonna tell uswhat's at risk here. He's gonna tell us what they are missing here. And whatdoes he say? For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. The"is" there is emphatic. He says, in effect, for behold, the kingdomof God is presently in the midst of you.
Now, their mind's sitting on the end, and he says,no, friends, you're missing relevance here and now. And what had they missedabout the kingdom of God? Well, is it not obvious? The king was standing infront of them. They were talking all the time about their hope in the kingdomof God that would be, so much so it had caused them to miss the fact that thekingdom was standing in front of them. Jesus isn't saying, look, the kingdom ofGod is something spiritual that exists within you, because remember who He'stalking to. These are Pharisees. They're not believers. There's no kingdom ofGod in them. He's not even appealing to them with the gospel, like, if you justcome. Now, he will appeal to the Pharisees in many other places. In fact, wesaw that a few weeks ago whenever we looked at the parable of the prodigal son,that older brother. It is a wonderful appeal that Jesus gives to the Phariseesto respond and to come. But that's not what we have here. What he is declaringis very simply, the kingdom of God has started because the king is here. And hehas come to establish his kingdom. And very explicitly, verse 20, he says, itis not observable. There's nothing dramatic about this. It's akin to Luke 13.The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that will slowly grow into somethingsignificant, or like the leaven in the dough that causes the bread to rise.It's not dramatic. There's a subtlety to it, but it's real. It started. It'sgrowing.
That there is, in the kingdom of God, in the work ofChrist in this world, an already component. That's what he's saying. You'relooking for what is coming, but friends, it is present. It's here. The kingdomof God is something that has already begun. It's already growing. It's alreadytaking shape. Because the king that the Old Testament longed for has comealready has walked this world, has accomplished his great victorious fight atone level.
And so, you see here the disastrous omission,ultimately, of the Pharisees was though they talked so much about the kingdom,they missed the king. It's so possible, it's a real thing to be so obsessedwith the last things that you miss the main thing. That's the warning thatJesus is issuing here. The Pharisees had rigor, but in all the wrong areas. Andthe problem with it wasn't just that it was misguided. It wasn't just a wasteof time. It was a deadly mistake. Their obsession with eschatology it caused themto miss the very Messiah in whom salvation was to be found.
Jesus has proclaimed already, the already, that Hehas already come. But then what happens in the rest of the chapter as Headdresses not the Pharisees but the disciples, He begins to unfold the not yet.There is an already and there is a not yet. There is more still to come in thiswonderful story of God, this wonderful story of the kingdom.
So, the second, and really this will take up therest of our time this morning, the second big thing I want you to see in thetext is how disciples then are to think about the last times. We've been warnedhow Pharisees think, now I want you to notice how disciples are to think aboutthe last days. Notice what we've already just said, the change in audience inverse 22. It begins, and he said to the disciple, or to his disciples. And so,what follows from that point forward all the way through the end of the chapteris advice. Jesus is talking to those who are following Him, those who've made acommitment to Him. those who are His disciples, and to them He speaks about howwhat will take place should affect them in the here and now
And so, how are disciples to think about the lastdays? Well, first of all, He says, don't be deceived. Don't be deceived. Lookat verse 22. And He said to the disciples, the days are coming when you willdesire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. Andthey will say to you, look there, look here, do not go out or follow them.Jesus anticipates a time in the future, an immediate future for His discipleswhere they will be consumed with a desire, with a longing, with a deep yearningwithin for the days of the Son of Man. They'll be filled with this desire forthat time when Christ will establish his earthly reign. when he will come andhe will sit upon that throne in Jerusalem, and he will rule over his people, hewill protect his people, he will deal with the enemies of his people, he willestablish a rule of justice and righteousness and perfection here on earth. AndJesus says that there will come a time, disciples, when you will long so deeplyin your bones. for that, for the days of the Son of Man, the days when He willreign. And because of that longing, there will be some false teachers,opportunists, who will sweep in to prey upon that desire while it burns within.
Now notice here why the disciples are susceptible tothis particular false teaching. Why they're susceptible to this type ofinfluence in such a degree that Jesus explicitly warns them about it. It'sbecause they're filled with a desire for that coming earthly reign. And they'refilled with that desire, I think, contextually, as we look through the rest ofthe chapter, because this present stage is full of hardship. Difficulty andsuffering. Verse 25 speaks about the fact that the Lord who sets the example,He will suffer many things. Verses 26 to 29 will speak about the days of Noah,the days of Lot, that fosters images of the righteous being few in number,experiencing hardship, being surrounded by wickedness. In fact, you think ofLot, the hands of wicked men seeking to grab a hold and to have their way withhim, the oppression that they face. Verse 33 talks about the need to lose one'spresent life. In other words, that there is something uncomfortable about thehere and now, something hard, something sacrificial that is called for in thehere and now.
And so, the idea is that there will be disciples,followers of Jesus, difficulties that come in your life that will fill yoursoul with a deep desire. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Maybe you can relate to thatfeeling.
But Jesus always goes further. And so, he says, inthe present world, where Christians will stand out, where they will attractscorn, where they will even attract persecution, it is natural to long for thecoming of the Lord, but in that natural longing, you are susceptible todeception. Look how the opportunists come in to see verse 23. And they will sayto you, oh, look there, or look here. They prey upon that longing within. It'samazing, it doesn't matter how quirky, how crazy, how many decades it's beensince you brushed your hair, but you can in America gather a following aroundyou simply by saying you know when He's coming. Why is that? Well, it's becausepeople haven't heeded the warning of Jesus here.
Christian, don't get pulled into the influence ofthose fraudsters. Look, it is not wrong to desire the coming of the Lord. Come,Lord Jesus, come! But it is wrong to be deceived concerning it. And the reasonyou don't need to be deceived, the reason you shouldn't be deceived is becauseof what the Word itself says. Look at verse 24. For as the lightning flashesand lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be inhis day. But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by thisgeneration."
Jesus really, in each verse, gives us a reason whyyou should not get deceived by these fraudsters, by these opportunists. Inverse 24, he says, Look, Christ is coming and it's going to be so obvious.Like, could you imagine lightning that goes east to west? The whole sky, onepshh of lightning. And the idea is everybody sees it. Everybody knows. Nobodymisses it. Everybody will be stopped in their tracks. This is not subtle. Soyou will not be left wondering Did that happen or not? I wonder if Jesus came backand I missed it. That's not a question believers will ever have to ask becausehe says, verse 24, as bold and clear as lightning that traverses the whole sky,so clear to the believer, to the disciple, will the coming of our Lord be.You're not going to miss it.
And then also, why you shouldn't be deceived as yousuffer and struggle here and now while longing remains unsatisfied? Well, verse25 says, the hardships that we face in this life follow the pattern of ourLord. We're told in verse 25, he must suffer many things and be rejected bythis generation.
Now, this is the fifth of six passion, the crossworkpredictions that Jesus gives that appear in Luke's gospel, and I think it fallsin this context. It seems a little unusual at first, but it falls in thiscontext because Jesus is saying to His disciples, look, this is what'shappening to me. I'm going to suffer before I receive my glory. And the ideais, so you shouldn't be surprised that this life will be hard before yourglory.
Look, if he had to be obedient to death, even deathon a cross, and then he was exalted, Christian, you're going to have to beobedient. And it's going to be hard. It may even involve death in a horrificway. But then there will be glory, then there will be exaltation. He's saying,look, this is the pattern. It's not an easy pattern, but it is a pattern forwhat is yet to be.
He says, look, don't speculate about the end.Rather, his great call is to endure to the end. That's what he wants. Don't getcaught up in trying to observe this or that or whatever. Rather, be faithful.That's what he's saying. Endure. Press on.
So, you see the point so far? The end won't comeaccording to some human calculation, some code-breaking, some observation. It'sgoing to be something clear that's visible to all. Nobody is going to miss it.And as you think about that, he's telling us Christians, this life will bemarked by difficulty. It will be hard. And because of that, you need to be onyour guard. Because those very difficulties can make you vulnerable, morereceptive to dangerous people who want your money, who want to influence you,who want to have power over you, so don't buy into their schemes.
When it comes to how disciples should think aboutthe last days, don't be deceived. And then secondly, don't lose hope. Don'tlose hope. Look at verse 26,
"'Just as it was in the days of Noah, so itwill be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking andmarrying and being given in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark.And the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the daysof Lot, they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting andbuilding. But on the day when lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rainedfrom heaven and destroyed them all. So, it will be on the day when the Son ofMan is revealed.
Jesus immediately gives his followers, hisdisciples, two illustrations from the Old Testament that show how Jesus treatshis followers as judgment unfolds. He picks Noah, and he picks Lot. Twoindividuals, you may have questions about Lot, but the New Testament describeshim as a righteous man. So, at minimum, he is one who found favor in the eyesof God, who was, though he sinned frequently, a follower of God, who had arelationship with God. And they both lived in terrible times. Noah's situation,it's described in Genesis chapter 6 verses 1 to 8, and we're told about thattime period that the population general, every inclination of their heart wasevil always. That's not good. And then you know a Lot. He finds himself livingin Sodom. And even today, Sodom and Gomorrah are a kind of nickname that wegive to the worst and most sinful places. We're the most grotesque, activity istaking place, the greatest departure from the patterns laid down in the Word ofGod, and he's there, and it's a mess, and both these situations call out forthe judgment to come from a righteous God.
The verbs in verse 27 and 28, they depict continualaction. In the run-up to that judgment, it's saying that people were alwayseating, always drinking, always being married, always buying, always selling,always planting, building continually. But then, verse 27, God destroyed themall. Verse 29, God destroyed them all. It's a picture, isn't it, of Godstepping in, of their normal routines being broken by the devastating judgmentthat came.
And yet notice in the two examples, it's not the sinof the people. He could talk much about the sin in the days of Noah. He couldtalk much about the sin in Sodom, but he doesn't. That's what we think, butthat's not what the text stresses, is it? Rather, what are these people doing?They're eating, drinking, buying, selling. Now, this week may have beendifferent with the ice storm. But the week before, I could ask for a show ofhands. I won't because we're conservative and that scares us. How many of youate? How many of you drank? How many of you bought something or sold something?It's not unusual behaviors, is it? It's normal things. It's daily secularactivity. It's just the normal affairs of life that are being spoken of here.
And also remember, who is he talking to? He'stalking to good, his disciples. So, I don't want you to look at the storiesthat Jesus is illustrating here and just think, oh, Sodom got it. Oh, thosewicked in the days of Noah, got it. He's talking to his disciples and he'ssaying something to them. And I think our picture, our idea of what they'rehearing is sometimes a little bit off because what he's highlighting to them isnot about the wicked. He hasn't even told us they are wicked in this context.We know that from the rest of Scripture. What he is saying here is that beforejudgment came, verse 27, Noah entered the ark. Verse 29, Lot went out fromSodom. In other words, the big emphasis here is not judgment but deliverancefor the righteous.
Now, that doesn't dismiss the fact that Sodom gotjudged, people in the days of Noah got judged. They did for their sin,absolutely. But He's talking to His disciples, and He's saying that though theworld deserves judgment, and it does, He never fails to deliver the righteous.He never is slow to save His own. That's how God works. We need to understandthat there is judgment coming to this world, but no disciples, there is nocollateral damage in that judgment. If you are safe in Christ, you are safe inChrist. That's the point in the passage. While the end does bring judgment tothe wicked, it marks salvation. It is the clearest expression of salvation tothose who belong to God.
Really, for those of you who are curious and herewithout trust in Jesus Christ, this is the distinction. Judgment will come. Youcannot escape the judgment of God. But there is salvation to those who arefound in Jesus Christ. Those who acknowledge their sin, who repent of it, andput their hope in the finished work of Jesus Christ, there is always salvation.There is no collateral damage that hits the people of God. So don't lose hope.
When it comes to how disciples should think aboutthe last days, don't be deceived, don't lose hope, and don't get too attached.Don't get too attached. In particular, it's don't get too attached to thethings of this world. The things of this world.
Look at verse 31. On that day, let the one who is onthe housetop with his goods in the house not come down to take them away. Andlikewise, let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife.Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his lifewill keep it.
Jesus, again, is still talking to his disciples. Inverse 31, he is still talking about that day, that day when judgment comes. Andhere he warns about a great temptation that can grow in the heart of thereligious, of those who claim to be His disciples. He warns about a greattemptation to look back to be drawn to some of the things of the here and now,to want to go back and grab something.
He has these two great illustrations, one of anindividual on the rooftop. Don't think of a roofer coming in and fixing yourtiles after the ice storm. In those days, the rooftop was the social area ofthe house. A warm, hot climate. It was the place that people reclined, wherethey had dinner, where they mixed, where they talked, where they enjoyed. Thehome itself, the inside of the house, was dark. It was for sleeping. Theupstairs, the rooftop, was where you spent your time with your guests, where youtalked, where you mixed, where you lived.
And so, he talks about somebody who is there, andJesus comes back, and oh, they're almost ready to go, but they want, I don'tknow, the photo album. They want that, you know, special brooch. They want thattrinket attached to whatever. And the idea is that they run in to get it. Or inthe second illustration, there's somebody out in the field and they've beenworking hard and then the Lord comes and they think, oh dear, I've got to goget changed. And they run home to maybe get dressed or to grab something thatthey want.
And Jesus is saying that's the wrong response. Thatthere should not be something that we need in the here and now. There cannot bea love that sits in the heart that supersedes the glorious reality. Our Lordand Savior is returning. If something else demands our attention first,something's wrong. That's what he's saying. Something's off.
And then he underlines that danger with one of themost graphic illustrations in Scripture, verse 32. Remember Lot's wife. Do youremember that story? The angels come two angels into Sodom. They warn Lot andthe family. And in fact, even as they hesitate, they grab their wrists and theydrag them out of the city. They drag them to salvation. But in the heart ofLot's wife is such piercing longing that as she's moving towards salvation, shelooks back herself and becomes that pillar of salt. She was so close, and yetbecause of the cares of this world, because of the life that she was losing inSodom, her longing caused judgment to fall on her head even as she walkedtowards salvation.
What's he saying? Well, it's that point that sooften Jesus has to make in the Scripture, because so often we don't get it. Doyou remember this? The seed, the good seed that's sown on the soil, and thereis that seed that falls on certain soil, and it grows, and it looks like it'sproducing real life. It looks like it's about to produce fruit, and the thornscome up and choke it. And it dies, and it never becomes fruit-bearing plants.Why? Well, Jesus tells his disciples, the thorns are the cares of this world,and they choke out all potential of genuine growth.
Remember that other great New Testamentillustration? Paul writes about one of his band of missionaries serving withhim, enduring persecution beside him, Demas. And he's right there in the workdoing it, serving, being entrusted with great responsibility. And in one of thelater letters Paul writes, he proclaims, Demas has left me. Because he lovedthe things of this world.
Friends, this is a danger Jesus is warning us about.You can be drawn to Christ at one level, not in a truly salvific way, but in aninterest. You can want to know these things well. You can step deeply intothese things. You can want to know the Scriptures. You can love ideas abouttheology. You can begin to even show signs of what others will perceive asgenuine life. And yet, the love of the things of this world chokes it out.
Again, remember the verbs that we already saw inverses 27 and 29. We're not talking about gross sinful practice here. We'retalking about that potential to be saved truly by God, being choked out becauseyou love eating too much. You're too devoted in that sense, if you can say itthis way, to your spouse, to work. Again, those adjectives, eating all thetime, marriage all the time, buying, selling all the time. The idea is, singleladies, that you would have an interest in the things of God, but it gets crushedby a longing for a spouse that becomes all-consuming in your mind. Or men, someof you will become so consumed with longing for the success in work, thepromotion that would come, that even though now you are, you would say,genuinely interested in the things of God, it gets choked out because of thatobsession with the things of work. Or even just your next holiday, your nextvacation, eating and drinking. You know all the restaurants in Dallas, and youknow them too well.
There's nothing wrong with eating a good meal andenjoying time with family. Marriage is a glorious gift from the Lord. And atthe same time, the warning here is that these things supersede the priority ofChrist and being with Him. Jesus is warning His disciples of that great danger.
Look at verse 33 as He sums it up. Whoever seeks topreserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. Look,if you're trying to hold on tightly to the here and now, you're going to loseeverything. You cannot have an attachment over and above that devotion to JesusChrist our King.
The Curry's, we've been really thankful in thekindness and goodness of the eldership as they planned for us to arrive. Theyorganized this beautiful home for us to be in, and work was done to try and getit ready. It was so kind and so thoughtful and genuinely we are, I want you toknow this, so thankful for that provision. That's been wonderful and such ahelp to our family.
But here's my point. I thought the other day about,you know how sometimes people put those signs up, you know, home sweet home? Iwould love to get a sign, but I'm worried it would be misunderstood that I putup on the front of the door that says, this is not my home. Now, I don't wantyou to get, I'm very thankful for this home. But this is not my home. Andactually, because it is so comfortable and nice, it would be easy for thatobsession with it to be cultivated in the heart. And that's exactly what he'swarning about. The normal, ordinary graces, common graces of life could becomethings that choke out our affection, first and foremost, for Christ.
When it comes to how disciples should think aboutthe last days, don't be deceived. Don't lose hope. Don't get attached. Andlastly, don't be worried. And especially don't be worried about where you'llgo. Look at verse 34. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed.One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grindingtogether. One will be taken and the other left. And Jesus reminds us that whenthat day of judgment comes, there will be separation. There will be distinction.His people, His disciples, His followers will be treated differently. They willbe taken. Two in the bed, one taken, the other left. Two out working, they'regrinding, one will be taken, the other left. It's a reminder in those twoexamples, it doesn't matter where you live, it doesn't matter what work you do,that's not where the distinction comes from. The distinction comes from thefact, are you a disciple of Jesus or not? That's what makes the distinction.That's what separates these individuals, not where they live. They could be inthe same bed, and one is taken and the other not. They could be in the sameworkplace, one is taken, the other not.
We're being told here, when it comes to that finalmoment, you don't get to jump up and say yes. You don't get to volunteer.There's no magic word you get to say. Jesus simply takes his followers. This isa passive verb. He does it. He's the one taking. Not you. You don't opt in. Hetakes. And then we read verse 37. And they said to him, Where Lord? He said tothem, Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
You're gonna have to work with me really hard, and Iknow we're tired, you're hungry, but you gotta stay with me in this bit. Thisis one of the most confusing verses in Scripture. It's hard to translate, andit's hard to interpret. One commentator I looked at this week, he listed 20different options. 20! That's not normal, that's excessive. But what helps, Ithink, to see what I believe is the right interpretation is the whole flow ofargument to this point. That's why I wanted to do this section as one, becauseI think the contextual argument's flow makes clear the best sense of thisverse. So, look at it with me. And they said to him, who are they? Say itagain. Yes, good. His disciples. So he's talking to his followers. Not thePharisees, his followers. And what is their question? Where, Lord? Not when,that was the question of the Pharisees. Their question is where. That's a weirdquestion, isn't it? We don't ask where very often. But think of what we justread in verse thirty-four and thirty-five. Two in the bed, one will be taken.Two milling, one will be taken. What's the obvious question? Where are theytaken? Do you see that? That's important if we're going to understand thisverse. Where are they taken? And he says, where the corpse is there the vultureswill gather.
Now, this is where we have to do some hard workagain. Where the corpses, now, my Bible has a little number beside corpse, andit puts a wee footnote. Yours may do that, may not. But it says in thefootnote, Greek body. In other words, that's what the word means. It doesn'tmean distinctively a corpse. It's not saying a dead body, it's just saying abody, like this vessel. The thing, the physical entity of your body. Could bealive, could be dead, you know, it's your body. That's all its saying. It's notmaking a pronouncement about how much life is left in it. It's just saying thisthing, this physical entity that is you, your body.
And it's an important term in Luke's gospel, becausemost often it's going to be used to describe Jesus' body, this is my body,broken for you. They come to the tomb to perceive where the body had beentaken. When He appears to the disciples and to the men on the road to Emmaus,He presents His body. He eats and drinks with them in His body. The body isvery, very important in Luke's gospel, and it will be very important throughoutthe early church because our resurrected Lord is not a ghost. He eats, He drinks,He mixes because He has a body. We have an incarnate Savior. Jesus is stillbody and soul. The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us, and He is flesh.
And so, where the corpse is, there the vultures willgather. Now, again, that word vultures is tricky, too, because it doesn'tspecifically say vultures. There's actually another Greek word, technical word,for that particular bird, the vulture. Well, the word that's used here is justeagle or big bird. Okay, big bird. And, you know, somebody who did zoology mayobject to this, but the days of Jesus, they didn't have a differentclassification for a vulture and an eagle. They were all big birds. They were allone. Those big birds of prey. That's what the word is that's here. And really,eagle, I think, is a more fair translation. And I think it's important becausethe idea is not a picture of death. The reason vulture was chosen because inmany versions’ corpse was chosen, and so they just tied the two togetherbecause we think of death, we get vulture. But actually, if the word is allowedto be what it is, just eagle, that fits in with so much imagery in the Bible ofthe righteous being carried along by the things of God.
Exodus chapter 19, verse 4, you yourselves have seenwhat I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought youto myself. Christ said, 40 verse 31, but they who wait for the Lord shall renewtheir strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles.
So, we've done a lot of detective work. Let's comeback to the verse. What is it saying? The disciples ask him, because they'rewondering where are these people taken? Where, Lord? And he said to them, Wherethe body is, speaking of His body, there the eagles will gather, there theywill bring the people. What is He saying? He's saying, look, when that judgmentcomes, all of those who are in Christ will be snatched up, taken. And wherewill they be taken? To Him. You don't need to worry. Disciples, you're notgoing to an unknown place. You're not going to somewhere where you need topanic, where there's a great test or an exam for you to take, a great scalesfor you to be weighed upon. You're gonna be with Him, your Savior. You're gonnabe taken to the incarnate Jesus Christ, gathered to Him.
You know, all of this together is making a verysimple point. The end times is not about a chart. It's about going to be withHim, with our King, and with our Savior. And because of that, you don't need toworry, because they will all be taken. No man left behind. They'll all be takento be with him. I remember Pastor John MacArthur sharing a story with me abouta prank he and his friends played in college. You often hear stories about JohnMacArthur playing a prank. He went to a college that was a Christian college,but a Christian college that was particularly obsessed with the end times. Andthere was one boy on the floor that the group of young men lived on that wasparticularly nervous that the rapture would take place and he would be leftbehind. And so, they made a great plan and they kind of like ruffled theirbedclothes and they kind of set shoes awkwardly as if they were walking downthe corridor and all these things. And then all the boys went out at the sametime when the other one was asleep, and they set off the fire alarm. So, theboy got up and he came running out and all of a sudden everything was not whereit should be. And he thought, they've all gone and I've been left behind.
Now, what's my point, if we come back to the text?Nobody gets left behind. Jesus is saying all of this to the disciples, so theydon't worry. Here in Christ, you will not get left behind. You may not be ableto draw the chart or answer the questions about every aspect of eschatology. Itdoesn't matter. You're not going to get left behind. That's the point. And evenbetter, not only are you not going to get left behind, but you know the oneyou're going to. You're going to be gathered to Jesus, to the body, to Him.We're going to be with Him.
So don't fall into that trap that catches so manymembers of Bible churches. Don't get caught in that trap of obsessing overend-time speculation. And at the same time, don't worry either. Our King, ourJesus, is in full control, and you can trust Him. You can trust Him to takecare of you now, and you can trust Him to take care of you in the end also.
Let's pray.
[Prayer] Our heavenly Father, we thank You so muchfor the full, sovereign control of You, the Almighty. We thank You that KingJesus will come back, and He will gather His people to be with Him And in themeantime, Lord, we ask that You would help us to remain faithful, to suffer ifYou call us to suffer, to be persistent in our proclamation of the gospel, tocontinue to pursue a life of godliness wholly and pleasing unto You, so that inthe end we would be found faithful. And may, Lord, our confidence sit in thefact that He is coming, and He will do all that He has said He will do, and Hewill not leave His people behind. for all His ways are perfect. Lord, help usnot to get caught in that dangerous speculation that would remove our focusfrom Jesus Christ, and help us neither to become a people of despair. Fill uswith great hope because of the greatness of our Savior now and forevermore. Forit's in His name we pray, amen. [End]
