Sermons

Now can I ask you to stand please while we read God's Word. You stand while we read Luke chapter 21, verses 5 to 19. Luke chapter 21, verses 5 to 19. Luke chapter 21, reading from verse 5:

"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.

And they asked him, teacher, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place? And he said, see that you're 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 of these things.

For these things must take place, first take place, but the end will not be at once. Then he said to them, nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes and in various places famine and pestilence. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

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. 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 from, but even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death. But you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance, you will gain your lives."

Let's pray.

(Prayer) Heavenly Father, we ask that You would help us to understand the words that we have just read. We ask, Lord, that You would help us to see the clear and very real way that You deal with sin, with judgment. We realize that so often even the things that we take pride in, even the religious habits that we have are broken, corrupt, and man centered. And so, we ask that Your Word would reveal those to us. That we may be a pure people, holy and dovoted to You. And that where we have become man-dependent, self-dependent, Lord that You break that down and cause us to seek after You while You may be found. For it's in Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen. (End)

Have a seat.

Now there's a lot going on in this particular passage and we're going to try and get our arms around the big thrust of the first part of the message and then next week we'll talk a little bit more about the second half but also how the two relate to each other because it's all one sermon or one speech that Jesus gives. The reality is that sometimes whenever it comes to certain parts of the Bible, they can feel so far and removed from where we live in the setting, we find ourselves today. So, some of us maybe... You know, this is a confession time right now.

Some of us are nerds when it comes to history. I love history, and I can get way off into the weeds and wonder. And I could quite contentedly, you know, read an article on the dust of the Babylonian, you know, courts, you know, like something really awkward, minutiae, and just get, you know, excited and delve into this and it serve no real purpose in life, okay? So, some of us are wired that way and sometimes we can enjoy the historical parts of the Bible, but then we do ultimately get to the point where all of us get to where the tricky thing is, whether you like history or not, the tricky thing is to read these passages and to work out what on earth does that mean in DFW in fall 2026.

Now the same can be said of prophecy. Not only can history feel removed and remote, but prophecy, because we're talking about things in the future, they can feel removed and remote. And so sometimes people approach prophecy like the historical sections.

There's a lot of information here and it must be true because it's in the Word of God, so it's full of facts. But the Bible says all of God's Word is profitable. It is useful for us. And so, it's designed to spur us on. It's designed to encourage us to act, to think, to live differently tomorrow. It's meant to have an effect here and now.

Not just information about then or soon to be, it's information like all of Scripture that's meant to move and affect the people of God now. So, this particular passage, we need to be able to come to it and ask not just what information is it presenting, but how does it shape our understanding of God and our understanding of His expectations of us as the people of God. And the way that you can do that, here's the... essence of what I'm trying to get at. The way that you do that is by primarily when we come to any text asking, what is it declaring about the character of God and His ways?

Because God is unchanging. So, whether it's in the past, whether it's about His dealings in the future, we are talking about an unchanging God. If God in the future is going to deal with sin, that tells us something about the way God views sin today. If God is going to love and to hold onto His people, then it tells us something about how He feels about His people today.

We can learn by whatever passage we're in; we can learn how this shapes and affects our life by primarily focusing on the person and call of God. We need to train our ears to listen to the presentation of God in these sections, and we need to train our eyes to, as we read, whether it be history, whether it be prophecy or anything in between, we need to train our eyes as we read to look up and to see God, that we would be moved to worship Him as a result. So, Luke 21 is one of those passages where we need to look up.

Next week we're going to talk a lot more about the dilemma that's here in the chapter because there are aspects of this chapter that are talking about the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. The Jews, and we'll talk about it in a moment, had been warned, had rebelled, ultimately rejected Christ. And part of the consequence of that was the destruction of the temple and Jesus will speak directly to that here in chapter 21. But there are also parts of this chapter that speak clearly about what is yet to be. About the second coming of Christ when He will come back, come to reign and again will come. And next week we'll think more about it.

We'll think about where those divisions are. But as we come to the chapter today, the first part of our time of study, I want us to work hard to understand what a shocking statement Jesus is issuing. I want us to understand how this really would have shaken the foundational realities of the world that His followers, in fact all Jews found themselves in.

The circumstances of the judgment — v. 5

So, I want us first of all to notice the circumstances of the judgment that's pronounced. The circumstances of the judgment there in verse 5. Look at verse 5:

And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said.

This particular speech finds itself in a particular setting. We are on Wednesday of Holy Week. Jesus has been in the temple at Jerusalem. He's been teaching for a number of days. He's been questioned by the religious leaders. He's been questioned in numerous ways and they've tried to catch Him. They've tried to find fault with Him and it hasn't worked out.

And then right at the beginning of chapter 21 we read about how Jesus took note of that widow who brought her mite, who brought those two copper coins and threw them into the offering. And we noted last week in particular how what was taking place there was really a testimony to the nature of the religious system. That here was a woman that was coming and doing her part, giving her offering to the Lord. But a vulnerable woman like that who had nothing left, according to the design of the law, should have been taken care of by the system, by the religion. She should have been provided for, she should have been looked after, she should have been cared for, she should have been loved by the system of her day, but it didn't do that. Instead, this woman, as we were told at the end of chapter 20, was devoured by the religious system. She was one more widow that was chewed up and spat out, left with nothing.

Now, when we come then to Jesus' speech, and when we come to His statements and verses, in verse 6, about the destruction of that temple, the heart of that religious system, we think, well, it's about time. That seems like a 1 plus 1 equals 2. It's an obvious end point. It's where this was obviously going to go. But like many points in our Bible study, what I want us to do this morning is to put on the sandals of the original hearers and to consider how significant the words of Jesus are when He pronounces judgment upon the temple there in verse six to the general populace but also to those disciples. And if we're gonna understand that we need to understand the temple.

Now we need to understand that this was a religion that was grand in appearance. It was grand in appearance. The temple that Jesus is standing in is often called Herod's temple. Now you know Herod, he's no good character. We've no fond affection for a Herod. There are archeologists today that specialize in Herodian architecture. Herod had a lot of faults, but the good thing you could say about Herod was he was a builder and an architect.

And he created some of the most magnificent architectural designs of his day. The world was talking about the designs in Palestine that Herod had sponsored that were really flowing out of his desire. And the height of that architecture was undoubtedly the work he had done to extend the temple precinct.

It became Herod's temple. It was a glittering architectural wonder. About 36 acres in size, built from polished limestone and accentuated with gold. It was impressive. The Roman historian Tacitus, he called it a temple of immense wealth. So even the Gentiles in far-flung reaches of the Roman Empire talked about this particular temple in Jerusalem. It was not a small side note. In fact, it was the largest sacred worship site in the world at that time, that we know about anyway. It had no rivals. It was bigger than the Temple of Artemis.

It was significant. It had over 130 giant columns holding up parts of it. And those columns, Josephus, the Jewish historian says, you could take three men holding arms and they would just about be able to hold arms around it. These are huge columns. It was massive.

There were stones, many stones over a hundred tons in weight that were held together by really what was Herod's kind of mark, dry masonry. He wouldn't use cement; he wouldn't use clay. It was through the precision of how these rocks were cut, they were held together. Even today, you can go to some of those Herodian sites, and you can't fit a razor blade in between the gaps because there are no gaps.

So carefully was this thing constructed. From a distance, as you began to approach Jerusalem, you could look out and you would see what looked like white marble, that polished limestone and the gold plating that was all over this orifices. It looked like a shrine that glowed brightly. In fact, again, the Jewish historian Josephus describes it as a mountain covered in snow. It was just this gleaming white, visual feature right above Jerusalem. It was big, it was stunning. It's why verse five describes it as a thing that people spoke about, one that was adorned with noble stones and offerings.

You can imagine, can't you? There's certain features in our world, man-made features that are just breathtaking. Like the Taj Mahal. You can imagine a tour guide going day after day after day taking people around the Taj Mahal and still every time, they approach it they think, what a building.

Their breath is still taken away. Well for the people of Jesus' day, this is where they stood. Not a po-dunk temple that was thrown together, but something that would take your breath away. Something that had taken decades of construction to get it to where it was. It was something that they were still working on that was always in progress. It was a stunning building, and it was used for a religion that the people were proud of, proud of.

Now again, get out of your own head. When we think of the religion of Jesus, we think of a mess, don't we? Pharisees and self-righteous and all problems. And those are all right, okay? But we're trying to work out how did the original people listen to this? They thought they were doing good. When you set this time period beside every other in Jewish history, people still went to the temple.

That already sets them apart. They were offering sacrifices regularly. That sets them apart. It never was the giving to the temple as good as it was then. That sets them apart. The Jews were ostracized by the Romans for living distinct lives, living according to a different moral code. And that sets them apart from many others in history. The point is, from their perspective, they weren't perfect, but they were doing better than most of their history.

In fact, the Pharisees were really an institution within Judaism that was established to stop the rot, to hold back the moral decay, to keep the people pure so that judgment wouldn't fall on their head again the way it did back when the Babylonians came. And they were sometimes harsh, but they were committed.

Like unlike most of their history, there was no Baal worship at the temple. There was no Asherah poles around Jerusalem. They were controlled by strong leaders. And the temple was really busy. Most of their history, it was a dusty kind of side note in Jerusalem. But in this day, it was a place that was thriving with activity.

In fact, Jesus is gonna talk about how this was used by God. But there was a spirit of national uprising that kept coming. The people wanted to fight to kick out the Romans, and they thought it would happen because God obviously would like them. God obviously would fight for them because they were the committed. They thought God was on their side. So, this is a time when very much the building, but also the self-assessment of their religiosity was at an all-time high.

At least that's what they thought. But notice how Jesus, and again just remember the context, He's been exposing two faults with this religion.

One, first of all, that it was one that, it was a religion that abused their neighbor to better themselves. If the law, you know, is designed to cause you to love your neighbor as yourself, here was a religion that abused their neighbor to better themselves. You think back to chapter 19 verse 45.

Jesus, he comes into what's called the court of the Gentiles. A place were foreigners; non-Jews could come. And the design of the court of the Gentiles was they could come and they could hear about God. They could hear from Scripture. They could be witnessed to. It was a place to be a light to the Gentiles. That they could come seeking and find information about the one true God.

And yet we read in 19:45 that Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, it is written, my house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers. They disregarded the Gentiles. They disregarded that ministry. They had no time or space and so there was money to be made and they had allowed, at the expense of the Gentiles, a marketplace to exist there. Then we talked already about chapter 21 verses 1 to 5, a great example of how they devoured the widow.

Verse four says, all the other people that gave, they contributed out of their abundance. But she, out of her poverty, put in, and this is a condemning part of the sentence, all that she had to live on. She was left destitute because the system did not love neighbor as self. Did not care for the vulnerable, did not provide for this woman that the law, God's law, made provision for. So, God's law called them to love their neighbor as themselves, but instead the religious system of the day that they were all so proud of, it had the effect of devouring the vulnerable to promote those in power. So, it wasn't good at loving their neighbor.

But secondly, this was a religion that rejected the presence of God with their heart, soul, mind and strength. If the law of God can be summed up like this, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, here is a religion that rejected God with their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Why did I say that?

Because Jesus is standing in the temple, the Son of God, and all He experienced in the temple that day was rejection. Chapter 19, verse 47. He was teaching daily in the temple, and the chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him. Chapter 20 verse 1, one day Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel.

The chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, tell us by what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority? Chapter 20 verse 13, in the middle of His parable, then the owner of the vineyard said, what shall I do?

I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him. But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, this is the heir, let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours. And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. When they heard this, they said, surely not. But he looked directly at them and said, what then is this that is written?

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them. And even after this speech, where He talks about the destruction of the temple and He talks about His second coming. After that speech, chapter 22, verse two, this is the response we read. The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death. You see the problem? It looked great. It looked moral. It looked ethical, but really, it was a twisted religion that was being practiced.

It did not love neighbor and did not truly love God. It reversed that call to love and put self at the heart of its system. It was a devotion to self that drove everything in this whole system. And yet, it was a system that the Jews prided themselves in. They thought they were doing good. They thought they were the most pious, the most sincere. They had it down. They had a temple unlike anywhere else.

The nature of the judgment — v. 6

And it's why then the nature of the judgment shocked them. Look at verse six. 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. Again, I'm trying to help you to get this, the significant confidence they had in their system and in their building. Today, in Dallas, there's so many Jewish people that live here and work here, maybe meet in synagogues here.

They have a way of living and acting and worshiping without a temple. But in Jesus' day, they couldn't imagine a system without a temple. The temple was central to everything they did. The temple was a place of sacrifice. The temple is where you went for intercession to be made on your behalf. The temple was where offerings were brought. The temple was where the religious authorities resided. The temple was central in everything that was the Jewish system.

They didn't have a category for no temple. In fact, even after Jesus ascends into heaven later, the early church at first will meet at the temple courts. They don't know what else to do. That's just autopilot. Where are we going to gather? Well, we gather where we always gather, the temple courts. Why would you not? It's so ingrained into the way they thought and lived.

And so, we've got to understand that when Jesus in verse 6 talks about bricks being broken apart, it's not simply bricks being broken apart. This is the end of the religion that they had been dependent on, that they had built.

This is the end of the religion, remember, that they thought was faithful. They didn't think they did everything perfect, but this temple was the heart of faithful religion. They didn't have a category for loyal, true religion without a temple.

You see that description in verse 5, how this temple was adorned with noble stones and offerings. People had sacrificed for this temple. You think of some older churches that you find, you know, and you go in and they have a plaque on everything. You know, this was donated by this family, this was donated by this family, this was donated by this family, and it's a monument to all these sacrifices that were made. Well, this temple was marked by those stones, those ornaments, those artifacts, those sacrifices that have been made in the past. It was a magnificent building that the people were invested in, and they did not have a category for it not being there.

We're gonna see next week, that's part of why immediately the people are asking questions about the end times. Because they don't have a category for a time with no temple. So, if there is no temple, it must be the end times. That's the way they thought. We'll talk about that more next week. But it was going to end. This is a big deal.

Here is a people that are committed to God, but they had really lost their first love. And even their most pious deeds, their giving, their sacrifice, it was all soaked in pride. God is the One that's consistent here. He wanted to spit them out of His mouth. And the result was there would be no more priests to intercede on their behalf, no more testimony of God's presence in the midst of the people, no more sacrifices for atonement. The greatest foundations of their religion are about to be snapped away, broken, smashed. It was a judgment they didn't see coming. It's amazing, isn't it? Because you think of, how could they be that blind? Well, friends, we do the same, don't we?

We get so fixated on patterns of religion; we forget the heart of religion. We'll argue about the regularity of the quiet time as the essence of holiness, or about the particular study Bible that you must utilize. or about some other church, this church that you must come to. And we begin to obsess and think about it as if these are the only things that work. And they subtly become the confidence for our religion.

Now don't get me wrong, see a regular quiet time is so helpful for your walk with God. You see a good study Bible, if you don't have a study Bible, a good study Bible is an amazing tool to have on the shelf. I love this church. Getting to be part of this is a privilege.

And yet, you see what I'm trying to say? There is a danger that even good things can become places where we allow a self-centered, self-aggrandizing heart to grow. Even good things can become fertilizer to grow arrogant personalities. When it comes to the Lord, He's not looking at the surface. He's not simply content with your study record in those quiet times. He's far more concerned about the heart towards Him during that time of the day. Do you love Him? Do you love Him? Do you love Him? Joshua back in Joshua 24, he calls the people, doesn't he, incline your heart to the Lord. It's not about the practices; it's about the heart. And is your heart inclined towards the Lord?

The build up to the judgment — v. 7–9

Jesus then begins to unfold the buildup to this coming judgment. So, the judgment is the temple is gonna be destroyed, what a big thing. And He describes then the buildup. Look at verse seven, we'll talk more about it next week as well. But verse seven asks two questions.

They asked him, teacher, when will these things take place? And what will be the sign when these things take place? In other words, when? Give us the date. and what signs, give us the things that are gonna prove this is of God and not just a misfortune. And He does that; He talks about signs that'll be part of the buildup to this disastrous event.

Look at verse eight. And he said, 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. He says, first of all, there will be many who say, I am. Remember the I am sayings of Jesus in Luke's gospel?

It's a reference to divinity, messiahship, that He is of God. And there will be many who come claiming to be the Messiah and claiming to be the Christ. We know from Jewish history there were a lot of pretenders that appeared at this particular time. We know in Christian circles as well there were Gnostic heretics that in the buildup to the destruction of the temple were prevalent in the Christian church seeking to lead people astray by claiming that they were a Messiah, a divine source, a bit like a Joseph Smith, able to give extra insight into the things of God.

This is just part of history. Again, the Jewish historian, not Christian, Jewish historian, Josephus, he talks about many claimants and so does the Bible. The Bible speaks about them too. Acts 5:36, it notes one of them who gathered 400 followers and claimed to be somebody. Josephus says of him, he was an imposter. In fact, Josephus tells us he ran around claiming to have parted the Jordan and to walk across it with a few followers in order to gather others around him. Josephus also talks about an Egyptian, a Jewish Egyptian that arose who was also a false prophet. He mustered a bigger army, about 4,000 according to Acts 21:38, again testified to in Scripture. He attempted to storm Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, and Felix came in and he stamped out that rebellion.

There were many of these characters. In fact, whenever the Roman invasion came, the siege of Jerusalem just before its destruction in 70 AD, Palestine witnessed again according to Josephus, a Jewish historian, an increase in the number of deceivers and imposters who under the pretense of divine inspiration fostered revolutionary changes. There were lots of people rallied a group to them by claiming to be the Messiah. They used religion as a way to harbor people to themselves. Lots of pretenders would arise.

The other mark in the buildup to this destruction in 70 AD was a lot that would foster fear. Look at verse nine. 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. There's actual war, there's rumors of war, everything's going on here. Verse 10 talks about national fights, one nation coming against another nation. Verse 11 adds to earthquakes and pestilence and famine. So, you've got man-made disasters like war, and you've got natural disasters like earthquake and famine as well. Again, history speaks of all of these things as being prevalent in the buildup to 70 AD.

But the point here in the text is Jesus says all these things can scare you. They can cause terror. They could cause you to be worried. So, there's a lot of false teachers, false messiahs trying to rally people to themselves. There's a lot of things that could foster fear, and there's a lot that appears to be the end.

Look at the rest of verse nine. 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. In other words, there's a distinction. The destruction of the temple in 70 AD, that's not the end. Verse 10, then he said to them, nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom.

There will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and pestilence. There will be terrors and signs from heaven. So much of the things that will also be true at the end appeared then. There's a lot of end times stuff that you think of revelation, you think of earthquakes, pestilence, famine, war. All of these things are true about the end times, but what Jesus was saying is they're true of the judgment in that time too. Don't get confused, don't blur those things together. This is a significant judgment; it bears a lot of the marks of divine judgment. This is of heaven, absolutely, but there's an even greater one to come.

In fact, there's a pattern here that you see come all the way through the age of the church. Imposters are no new thing, are they? How many false teachers have risen within the church and drawn people to themselves? There's much that scares us. And there's much that is made out to be end times. Remember when I was growing up, there were books flying around all the time about how Russian helicopters were signs of the world was gonna end very soon. And now there's books that fly around saying because of AI, the world is gonna end very soon.

This is terrible advice to be given from the pulpit. That should be a good place for self-check, shouldn't it? Here's my bad advice. If you wanna make a quick buck, write a book on the end times without using the Bible, okay? Write a book on the end times based on reading the current situation. Pick the things that people are scared of and make that out to be a sign that the world is about to end and you will make a fortune. And then of course, remember to give to the church.

Why is that? Why is that? Because people are scared and they buy into it. And Jesus is warning His disciples because they were about to see some of the judging hand of God move in that world. He's telling them the same thing that we need to hear today.

Don't just assume end times. The reality is God is going to judge and it's gonna be bigger and fuller and clearer than anything you can think and imagine right now. You're scared of AI? What do you see what he's gonna do? That's so true. Every generation we need to remember that God is in control. He's doing exactly what He said He would do. And what are you meant to do? Trust Him and walk faithfully.

The faithful during the buildup — v. 12–19

And that's exactly what He calls the disciples here to do. They're about to see a judging hand of God and the destruction of the temple. And what does He call them to do? To be faithful. Look at verse 12.

But before all this, they will lay their hands on you. Before the destruction of the temple, 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. Followers of Jesus, you will be persecuted, He says. Before this temple is destroyed, they're going to come after you. He wants them to know exactly what's going to take place.

And also, it's not just all bad, there's going to be gospel proclamation. The faithful during that time will share the gospel. Verse 13, this will be your opportunity to bear witness. 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 the adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. It's hard to read that and not remember Acts chapter 4. Do you remember Acts 4?

Peter and John, and they're preaching about Jesus, and they're arrested in the temple, and they're pulled in, and they're told, look, you can go, but you're never to mention the name Jesus. And they say, we've got to obey God rather than man. And they go about their business of preaching. They will share.

So, the faithful in this time, they will be persecuted, they will share the gospel, and they will be betrayed. Betrayed. Look at verse 16. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends. And some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. He tells his followers in that crowd, look, the normal place that you should feel safe. Families meant to look after family, aren't they? Friends are meant to take care of their friends.

But you see when you make an alliance with Christ, you see when you unite or He unites your heart with His, it can cause animosity from even the people who biologically are meant to be closest to you. That's what He's saying here. It is an unnatural hostility because it's a spiritual hostility. Allegiance to Christ is so offensive.

I remember one of the sweet ministry opportunities I had was there was a lady who had originally come from Jordan, Muslim, and she'd been won to Christ. Christ had done a work in her life. And she came, I've never been asked this question this particular way before. She came and she asked me, Pastor, could I get wet? Do you know what she was saying? Can I be baptized? She didn't know the word baptism, but she'd seen videos and she'd seen it happen in church. So, pastor, can I get wet?

And it was one of the sweetest things, but also one of the most confusing things because we had to cut the live stream. We had to be very private in terms of, we had the church family there, but very private about how we did it because she had been warned, if you become a Christian, we're gonna kill you.

There is still real cost to following Jesus and often it comes in the form of betrayal from those who theoretically should be committed, and the disciples are being told this and yet look at the call and all of this heat and all of this hostility. Verse 19, by your endurance you will gain your life.

Jesus says you gotta endure. Steadfast endurance, that's the call. Judgment is gonna come, God is gonna deal with it, God's gonna do right, and in the build up to that, in the in between, you gotta endure. One foot in front of the other. Like friends, again, next week we're gonna see more about what he says about the judgment to come. But there's something in that buildup that we find ourselves in right now. There is persecution, there is hostility, there is betrayal, there is opportunity to proclaim the gospel, and what you are called to is endurance. Now endurance implies it's hard, doesn't it?

Have you ever run? I've thought about it before. Have you ever run a long race, a marathon? It's not the same as a sprint. Anybody can do a sprint. Some just do it faster than others. But a marathon, that's discipline, that's endurance, that's a mind game.

Every step telling yourself to take one more. Well, that's the call here. If you're going to keep making progress, if you're gonna remain faithful until the judgment comes, one step in front of the other, be faithful. It is hard.

The reason for the judgment — v. 11b

But here's what I want you to notice as we conclude. The reason for judgment. The reason for this judgment. Again, remember how the disciples, the followers are hearing this. It's scary for them.

They didn't have a concept for religion without the temple. Like, this is big. It would be like Jesus telling us today, you'll never be able to meet in church again. Or I'm gonna take your Bible from you again. The things that we're so dependent on as part of our religious expression. Like the disciples, this is a big, big, big deal.

And ultimately, Jesus is saying all of this to them and giving them advice about how to endure and everything else, but he's saying it to them under the umbrella that ultimately this is God's judgment. This is not just a bad thing that's happening. This is God's judgment. You get that idea in the end of verse 11 when we're told there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. In other words, this isn't man-made. Yes, there'll be Romans, but this is of God. This is His work. This is His hand that is moving and because of that, disciples, it is His hand that is working out His plans.

The disciples, they needed to hear this message because a time was coming when the temple would be destroyed, when all of the pressures would be upon them and they needed to know that this was not outside the controlling hand of God. That their faith did not need to fall apart because God is the One that's still driving the ship. Look at verse 18. That's why they're able to be encouraged by knowing not a hair of your head will perish. Why? Because God's in control.

Now, that was a Hebrew kind of saying that was common in the day, not a hair of your head will perish. It didn't mean that you'll never experience hardship. It didn't mean that you'll never experience hurt. In fact, the very last verse, the first that comes just before this one, we're told that some of them would even die.

But what it means is that not one thing will happen to you outside of that controlling hand of God. Nothing will happen by accident. Nothing will happen by mistake. There'll be nothing that afflicts you outside of His purpose and design. And that design, according to verse 19, is that by endurance you will gain your lives. Verse 17, you'll die and gain your life through it.

Even death, sickness, persecution, whatever, it's all under the hand of God. So, the followers don't need to panic when judgment comes? When God acts? When the hand of God moves against a sinful and rebellious nation? No, because the same God who's moving in judgment is the same God who is safeguarding His people and ensuring their lives, ultimately their eternal lives are established.

So, this is an important passage. Again, remember, we're trying to lift our eyes beyond just the immediate thing being spoken about to the God who is unchanging. And as a Christian, we can remember in good days, hard days, all days, God is faithful and true. He will judge righteously. He will deal with sin. And you can trust in the unfolding affairs of life as He does that. Not one hair on your head will perish.

And if you're not a Christian, again, as you think about the consistency of God in this passage, He is a God who takes sin seriously. If He would take the monument, the highest monument of religious devotion to Yahweh of that day, that place where even Christ Himself ministered, and smash it apart so that not even one stone sat upon another. Does that not tell you God takes sin seriously? That He cares about your pretense? That He cares about your abuse of your neighbor? That He cares about your lack of love for Him?

You will be judged. The consistent God will judge. He will destroy, unless you come to know the One who stood in the temple that day, that two days later would go to the cross to bear the punishment of all who would turn to Him in repentance and faith. God takes sin seriously, so much so that He sent His Son that whosoever believes should not perish but have everlasting life.

Let me pray.

(Prayer) Heavenly Father, we don't love You as we ought, but we pray and ask as we have had a glimpse at the seriousness with which You deal with sin. Lord, that You would foster in us a greater desire for holiness, for everyday endurance, that we would run with endurance the race that is marked out for us. And we thank You, Lord, that where we falter and where we feel the glory of the gospel is our confidence is never in ourselves, but in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Help us in these closing moments of our service as we sing, and then eat and drink in remembrance of Him, to do so with thankful hearts. For it's in His name we pray, amen. (End)