Luke Bible Study, Day 33
Today’s passage: Luke 21
Focus verse:He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.” (Luke 21:8)
When I read Luke 21, I want to focus on the opening passage about the poor widow who puts two small copper coins into the offering. Jesus affirms her and her gift.
To Jesus, our attitude about giving is more important than the amount we give. This is how things work in his kingdom.
Most of this chapter, however, addresses the end times. Frankly, I’d prefer to skip it and jump to the next chapter. Yet Jesus’s teaching is here for a reason. We must consider what he has to say.
This future-focused passage opens with a discussion about the destruction of the temple and then morphs into teaching about the end times. To his disciples, all this resides in their future.
But to us, the temple has long been destroyed, while the end times are yet to occur. Though this is confusing, we shouldn’t let it distress us. The point is that Jesus is coming back. This should be our focus.
Jesus begins by telling us to watch out and not be deceived by people coming in his name, claiming to be him, and warning that the end is near.
“Don’t follow them,” the Teacher says. Then he directly states that the end will not come right away. This seems to counter what he says in other places that the end is near. Now he says it will be a while.
Two thousand years later, we’re still waiting.
Jesus gives a list of what will happen first. There will be wars and conflicts, nations battling one another, and earthquakes, famine, and pestilence. There will be terrifying happenings and supernatural signs from heaven.
There’ll be persecution, betrayal, and hatred. Jesus says to stand firm in the face of all this, so that we can prevail.
Armies will surround Jerusalem. Those who are present should flee.
There’ll be signs in space as the heavenly bodies shake. On earth, people will be terrified in anguish.
Then Jesus will return in a cloud with power and glory, which we should embrace as the point of this whole passage. When this occurs, we’re to stand and lift our heads, knowing that the day of our redemption is near.
In this way, Jesus’s return should be our focus, not all the terrifying, dreadful events that will happen prior to it.
Given this, Jesus shares his instructions on how to best be ready for his return. He says to take care in how we live, lest our hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the worries of life.
Therefore, we should be watchful and pray. We should pray specifically that we’ll escape all that is to happen and be able to stand before Jesus at the end of time.
May we do just that—and with his help we can.
Questions:
- Do we more anticipate being with Jesus or fear what will first take place?
- What changes should we make in our life to be better ready for his return?
[Discover more about these events in Matthew 24:44 and Mark 13:32.]
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Read more about the book of Luke in Dear Theophilus: A 40-Day Devotional Exploring the Life of Jesus through the Gospel of Luke, now available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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