Future Days: Ready For Christ's Return

The Gospel of Luke 2  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  40:12
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PRAY
Do you ever get nervous about your future? Are you ever tempted to worry and fear about the future condition of the world for your children or grandchildren?
Intro: Jesus is our confidence in the present, and he is our assurance about the future.
What will the end look like? Will people recognize it when they see it? How should the certainty of Christ’s return impact believers at the present time?
Luke 21:25–36 ESV
“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus now turns his attention more directly to the end. - The marker for us in Luke’s Gospel was the final phrase from the previous verse, “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
Another marker in Mt & Mk is that these last signs apparently come on the heals of an abnormally severe period of tribulation and dramatic false prophecy (Mt 24:24), Mt 24:29: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days...” (Mk 13:24 is similar.)

What will the end look like? (vv. 25-28)

Vv. 25-26 While we are to expect natural disasters and calamities throughout earth’s history (Lk 21:11), in the final days before Christ’s return the cosmic signs will become dramatically different than our normal experience. Hence the reaction of “nations in perplexity” and “people fainting with fear and foreboding.” So…
There will be greater tribulation and cosmic signs, followed by a dramatic, public, authoritative return of Christ.
The picture is one of anything unlike what we’ve seen so far (similar to the description in Mt and Mk and Revelation of the final tribulation on earth that precedes these signs). What follows on the heals of these cosmic signs is the return of Christ in glory. The picture Jesus gives of his glorious return fulfills the prophetic vision of Daniel 7:13-14.
Daniel 7:13–14 ESV
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Christ now comes back with the full force of heavenly kingdom authority and divine majesty.
v. 28 What brings dread upon the world who are not in Christ (vv.25-26), brings joyful expectation of triumphant vindication for the saints at the revelation of Jesus. When he comes with the clouds, every eye shall see him (Rev. 1:7). For those who did not submit to him before this, it will mean judgment, but for us who belong to him by grace through faith (whom he has made his own), we will know that our final redemption to be with him forever is literally just around around the corner.

Will people recognize the approaching end when they see it? (vv. 29-33)

Jesus uses a nature parable about a fig tree (and other trees) sprouting to illustrate the way his people will know the end is near. Just as the beginning of spring means summer is near, and is something quite plain from observation, so the signs that precede the end will be clear evidence that the end is near.
It seems best to understand that, yes, the generation of believers who experience this should know it when they see it.
But as I will argue under the next paragraph of verses, those who are ignoring warnings of judgment will not recognize his impending return even with all the preceding signs.
v. 31 the kingdom of God is near means the kingdom in its consummation. “This form of the kingdom is related to the promise of total redemption in 21:28.” (Bock, 1688) Just as people can observe the trees and know that summer is coming, so his disciples will be able to see the cosmic signs and know that their redemption is near, that the consummated kingdom of God is near.
v. 32 Three possibilities for “this generation will not pass away until all has taken place”:
It refers to the disciples being alive when “all these things” have begun (particularly their own suffering from the earlier verses and the events of AD 70) but have not been completed. - Possible in prophetic genre, but seems unlikely in the immediate context of very last things.
genea could refer to an ethnic people, meaning the Jews, that their race would not pass away. Perhaps possible, but would be a very rare use of the term.
A reference to the generation alive at the time that all these signs begin to take place. That all of these things, from the greater tribulation onward would happen within a generation. - This may be the strongest possibility in the context, which is showing that the consummation comes quickly once it comes. These events will not drag out long.
“It is hard to be dogmatic about the meaning of this difficult text.” (Bock, 1692)
v. 33 Another (even more fundamental) Reassurance
The guarantee of Jesus coming again is more certain than the ground you walk on and the sky above you.
Why? Because the teaching of Jesus is as faithful and permanent as the character of God. Creation is less permanent than the truth Jesus is teaching. His word is more permanent than the material universe.
We put so much stock in the security of the chairs we sit on, the homes we live in, the jobs which seem to provide for our needs. We are both material and immaterial beings, and yet we tend to put faith in material things. Which side of all this will pass away? Which side remains? … God the Holy Spirit is not visible to you, and yet he is just as real and more permanently secure than what you eyes can see.
Hebrews 11:1 ESV
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Ok. In my own presentation for you of the progression of thought, this v. 33 is essential to how Jesus tells them to apply what they’ve heard.

How should the certainty of Christ’s return impact us presently? (vv. 34-36)

In this context of his glorious return, and reassurance of its certainty, Jesus has given his disciples the big-picture obvious signs that will precede the end… but does not give them a precise time when these things will take place. In fact, compare what he tells them in Matt 24:36 = Mk 13:32.
Mark 13:32 ESV
“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
And again the same context as the verses we have now come to in Luke, Mt. 24:42...
Matthew 24:42 ESV
Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
It is at this point in the discourse that Jesus shifts from what would be the obvious evidences to what they do not know, which is when. And because they do not know when, they must live in such a way as to always be prepared for his coming.
I want to stay with the parallels for a moment to be sure we catch in the context that there are those who will, in spite of the obvious signs, go on living as if they have nothing to fear concerning the judgment of God.
Some will be caught unprepared at Christ’s return.
Let’s look at Mt 24, beginning at 37, right after the verse which identical to the one we just quoted from Mark. (Be aware that Luke quotes this same teaching from Jesus concerning the end back in ch. 17 of Luke, suggesting, as we have noted with other teachings, that Jesus taught similar things more than one time in various contexts.)
Matthew 24:37–44 ESV
For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Note that the “surprise” of judgment was for those who ignored the warnings. And in the context (here and in Luke 17:22-37), those who are being taken by surprise are those who are being judged, not those whom God is saving (like Noah… and later Lot and his family at Sodom and Gomorrah).
So you too must heed the warning! (Luke 21:34)
Take heed for yourselves - to be on one’s guard, be cautious or wary about, or be alert to. Do not act as if the day of the Lord (his return and his judgment) will never come, or as if it doesn’t matter how we live in the meantime. We must realize that he is certainly coming and that he will bring universal judgment.
See the reminder in v. 35 that this conclusive tribulation and the cosmic signs and the return of Christ and the final judgment—that end is universally applicable to “all who dwell on the face of the earth.” But it will only be a complete surprise, like a sudden “trap” (v. 34b) to those who are living like the cares of this world weigh them down, in the sense of getting caught up in the worldly view that this life is all there is.
The expression of this way of thinking and living, Jesus expresses as a Hendiadys - two words so closely associated that they modify one another, but stated this way in order to be emphatic. Hearts weighed down by dissipation and drunkenness.
Dissipation is partying to the point of excessive indulgence leading to inebriation and later the hangover; and drunkenness is the inebriated state from consuming too much alcohol.
Here’s the idea: Remember Jesus’ warning in the parable of the Rich fool who just kept storing up things for himself in this life in order that he might just live the good life now?
Luke 12:19 ESV
And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’
But look at the conclusion from Jesus: Luke 12:20
Luke 12:20 ESV
But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
Because we do not know precisely when these last days will come, and because even the signs themselves aren’t what change people to submit to Christ, people must heed the warning of judgment against sin, repent, and turn in faith to Christ.
What difference does it make that we don’t know the precise time of his return? - What’s the difference between knowing room check is Wed and the possibility of room check being any day, so you must always have a clean room? … Or “I’ll be back to check on your progress in two hours” versus “I could come back at any time to see if you are diligently working the whole time”?
If you knew exactly when Jesus was coming again, how might you be tempted to live until close to that deadline?
Furthermore, then, we who claim to be His followers must be careful not to get caught up in worldliness. We must “stay awake.” In other words… What you do know (or at least have now been told) is that Jesus is coming again in power and glory (in full divine authority). How should you respond and live?
(What we have seen is that) First you should respond in repentance and faith right now. Submit to Jesus immediately.
And secondly…
Believers of every generation must live ready.
Even before we talk about v. 36, here’s a NT example of how we should live that contrasts the wordly weight of pretending the end isn’t coming:
Heb 12:1-2a
Hebrews 12:1–2 ESV
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Also take time on your own to go read Eph 4:17ff, which describes how we must no longer live “like the Gentiles do” (here meaning those who behave as if there is no God) “in the futility of their minds […] due to their hardness of heart” (Eph 4:17-18). Instead, what we have been taught to do in Christ is to put off this “old self” with its “corrupt” and “deceitful desires,” and through spiritual renewal “to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph 4:21-24)
Ok, so we must be ready to not be caught up in worldliness, but to live lives separated to God.
So too, we are to be ready, prepared for Christ’s return, by staying awake in constant watchfulness. (I will not be too dogmatic about it, but I believe the indication here is that this watchfulness is not about trying to read the signs but rather about living with expectation of his return.) In context, this is an expectant and eager watchfulness for the returning King. And so when he comes, we want him to find us pursuing holiness and being faithful stewards.
And this is something we know we cannot do in our own strength, so we are must be dependent on God, relying on his help. How does the believer express that dependence and request that help? Through prayer. - Again, in context believers are praying for his strength to help us endure the pressure from all sides (conceived of here as escaping/fleeing), including sin from within and persecution from without, and including the difficulties of the end for the last generation of believers.
So we pray for endurance through all that is going to take place, and we pray that he will help us to live holy and faithful so that when we stand before him, we will hear, “Well done, good servant.” That similar idea, which Luke recorded Jesus telling them previously (in Lk 19) in the parable of ten minas, Jesus says again in this context in the parable of the talents, recorded in Mt 25.
We want to live in such a way as to hear our Master say, when he returns, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’ (Mt 25:23) And we do not want what happened to the wicked servant who behaved as if the master was the problem and like he wasn’t ever coming back: ‘And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Mt 25:30)
The fact is, Jesus is coming again the way that he left, and we must all be ready to answer to him. Acts 1:6-11
Acts 1:6–11 ESV
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Conclusion: We eagerly and expectantly await Christ’s return, and we aim to have him find us pursuing holiness and being faithful stewards of the gospel of grace.
…which is that through Jesus Christ God offers to restore hopeless sinners to himself.
For saints of the past, and saints of the present, and saints of the future—Christ in us is our hope of glory (Col 1:27). Our hope is in God. There is no other security more sure than hope in God.
1 Timothy 4:10 ESV
For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
1 Peter 5:10 ESV
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Philippians 1:6 ESV
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Finally, let’s end with Paul’s benediction in…
Romans 15:13 ESV
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
***
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