Fr. Stephen De Young:

“And he looked up,” this is continuous. He’s still here in the temple courts.

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

So mites aren’t even metal coins. They were clay coins. So they’re worth almost nothing. I mean, they’re one step up from a casino chip, right? Or monopoly money. This is what the extremely poor, when you are barely scraping by, you’d buy a handful of grain for a couple of mites. This is no money. Two pennies now is probably an exaggeration over what this was in terms of quantity of money.

What’s the point Jesus making? He sees all the rich people going and putting their money in. Well, what does that mean? That means that the rich people are going up and very visibly putting their money in. They’re sort of walking up and dropping a couple of gold shekels, and then walk out into the temple, right? You got to get the thank you. You got to get the photo with the giant check like, “Look I’m giving you a lot of money.” So they’re doing this. Now, this is an illustration of what he was just saying about the scribes with the long robes and the long prayers. Here’s an illustration of what he’s talking about. All these wealthy people are coming up and they’re throwing some money in the treasury.

But he sees this poor widow. Remember, also, what we’ve said about widows. If you’re a woman who doesn’t have a husband and doesn’t have a son, you can’t make a case in court. It’s not like you can go get a job. You have two basic career opportunities as a widow at this time in first century Palestine, that’s prostitution and begging. This woman seems to have chosen begging based on how poor she is. She comes up and takes what is all the money she has and she puts it in the treasury. Why? She’s giving it out of love for God. “Whatever I have, I’m going to give.” Whereas these other rich people, though, they’re giving a much larger amount. Are number one, doing it for show, because they could be clearly seen doing it. And number two, in terms of percentage, in terms of ratio and of what they’re giving, it’s much smaller, even though it’s a larger amount.

And the most important thing, though, here, is not so much trying to teach percentage giving. You could draw that out of here, right? You need to tithe, you need to give till it hurts. Whatever you want to say, you could legitimately draw that out of here. But the most important point here is the motivation for giving. The motivation for giving, whether you’re giving for show or whether you’re giving out of your heart, whether you’re giving out of love.

Because this is something that not only do a lot of people not understand, but a lot of people actually get upset about. They’ll see a little village in Russia where the people are living in, basically, hovels, and then they have this beautiful church in the middle because the people in that village have spent all their money to make their church beautiful. There are people who will get angry about it. “Look at that. The church is exploiting these people. It’s exploiting these poor people. It’s taking advantage of them.” Well, the church didn’t force them to do that. But what was in these people’s hearts, as poor as they were, was that before they beautified their own house, they were going to beautify God’s house. That little church in their village is the priority for them in their lives. And so they’re giving out of love.

And that’s the kind of gift that God accepts. There are plenty of, now billionaires, in Russia who could write a single check to build 20 of those churches. And some of them are mobsters who might do it to try to cleanse their conscience, and have a story on the evening news about how wonderful philanthropists they were that they built churches for these little poor villages. But which one of those is a gift that God accepts and receives? The one made by the poor villagers or the one made by…?  Because it’s what proceeds from your heart. That’s the key point that’s being made here.

This is the point that’s been made at the end of Psalm 50, David says, “Let’s not delight in burnt offerings.” God didn’t just get excited about lamb blood being thrown around. It wasn’t that he just thought that was great. Right. But “offerings to God are a contrite spirit, a contrite, humble heart. God will not despise.”

But then notice how it ends. It doesn’t say “So therefore don’t bother giving sacrifices. Just have a good heart.” The last line of that psalm is, “Then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.” Then after repentance, after offering to God a contrite heart, then we come and offer sacrifices and gifts to God. Those are connected.

Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations,

So notice again, this is another case of the people not getting it. “Oh, Jesus is talking about donations. Yeah, they’ve donated a lot of nice stuff here.” Kind of missing the point he was making. But Herod’s been working on this temple for a few decades, pumping money into it. So it was pretty huge and pretty ornate and pretty elaborate.

He said, “These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”

So he prophesies, he says, there’s a time coming when there’s not going to be a temple here again. This has happened before. Remember, the Babylonians destroyed the temple, so this isn’t unheard of, but he’s prophesying that it’s going to happen again.

So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”

So they get the picture, here they believe Jesus is a prophet. They get the picture that Jesus here is prophesying something that’s going to happen. So they say, “Well, when is this prophecy going to come true?” And then the sign, remember we’ve talked before about how this is one of the patterns in prophecy in the Old Testament is that they’ll give a sign right now to show you that the prophecy about the future is true.

To give you another example of this, remember way back in Luke, chapter two, where the angels appeared to the shepherds. Angels said to the shepherds that a king is born this day. So the Messiah is born, and they say, what? “This shall be a sign to you. Here’s how you’ll know that this is true, that the Messiah has been born today you will find a baby. We’re after swaddling clothes, lying in a manger”. You wouldn’t expect to find a newborn baby sitting in a food trough, right? That’s a little bit of an odd thing to find. So the angels say, this will be a sign to you. So when they went and they found Jesus in the manger, just the way the angel said, they said, oh, well, they told us this, and that was true. So this prophecy that this child is the Messiah must be true also.

This is the same kind of thing they’re saying, “Well, okay. Yeah, okay. This is a prophecy. When is it going to happen?” Number one, and number two, “Give us some sign. Give us some sign so that we know that we know that it’s true.” Remember what Jesus said before about asking for a sign? That example I just gave with the angels at Luke 2, did the shepherds ask for a sign? No. Isaiah 7. When Isaiah says, “This will be a sign you. A child will be born and calls the name Emmanuel.” Did they ask for a sign? No, because when you ask for a sign, what does that mean? You doubt it, right? You doubt it. They made this prediction to you. You’re like, I don’t know about that, right? You give me some sign now, then I’ll believe you. So, it’s an expression of disbelief.

And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them. But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”

So notice, there’s two pieces here. Number one: He predicts people will come claiming to be me but he says that does he mean people will show up claiming to be Jesus. Who is me? “Me” is the messiah, right? So Jesus is here identifying himself as the Messiah, I’m the Messiah. People are going to show up claiming to be the Messiah. We know that happened. That happened in the 60s. That’s what got the temple destroyed that happened with Bar Kokhba happened a few other times in between he says. “When you see these people coming saying they’re the Messiah. Don’t go following them,” Jesus is saying he’s the Messiah. Don’t go following after these other ones.

“But when you hear of wars and commotions.” I like the “commotion”; I don’t think the Roman armies marching on Jerusalem was a commotion—that might be a little understated. But that’s the idea when you hear about this, “tribulation” or something would be better. But when you hear about this happening, don’t panic. Don’t be terrified because these things are going to happen. I’m telling you now that these things are going to happen, but the end will not come immediately. Notice that’s important Jesus is here differentiating between the end, his return and what’s going to happen in AD 70. They aren’t the same thing. There’s going to be some period of time before he returns. Why does he have to make the point to not follow other Messiahs and that he’s the Messiah? Well, not to spoil, but if you turn a couple of pages he’s going to be crucified, right? So what Jesus is saying here is, “When I’m crucified, I’m still the Messiah. The end isn’t going to come right away there’s going to be a period of time before I return and during that time other people are going to show up claiming to be the Messiah don’t go chasing after them. Don’t go chasing after them but when the Romans start showing up. When you hear about the trouble coming also on the other side. Don’t panic. Don’t be terrified because I’m telling you that this is going to happen.”

Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.”

All these things are going to happen. So have any of these things happened in the past? Are any of these things happening now? Yeah. Do you think they’re going to happen in the future? So the point here is many people will take this some of our friends, like Jack Van Impe who’s Belgian, not Dutch, I have to point that out. But Jack Van Impe, who takes this kind of text from the Bible in one hand and the newspaper or the other, they say, “Oh, this is the end times.” Why? “Because there’s wars” like that just started just now, right? Well, “There’s earthquakes” like that just started just now. “There’s famines,” like that just started just now. Because it’s interesting because as you go back in history, you find that in just about every generation of Christians, there’s been somebody saying, “This is the end times. Because look, there’s earthquakes and there’s floods and there’s famines and there’s wars.” Jonathan Edwards was doing it in the 18th century, Martin Luther was doing it in the 16th century. People were doing it in the 11th… in the 11th century, it was so bad because they’d figured out our current dating system by then, so they knew that it was the year 1000. You think Y2K was bad? The year 1000 is so bad. All over Europe, people sold their farms, sold their homes, abandoned everything they owned, were trying to take pilgrimages to Rome and to Jerusalem because Jesus was coming back. It’s year 1000, right? Millennium, 1000 years. This is boom.

And then nothing happened. Nothing happened. There’s a really interesting book by a history author named Tom Holland called The Rise of Christendom, where he theorizes that essentially the whole medieval Western Europe, that whole society that developed, was a response to this huge disappointment in the 11th century, where everybody had been so sure that the end of the world was going to come when it didn’t come. That that’s ultimately what got Europe out of the Dark Ages. They said, “Well, I guess we better build civilization since apparently we’re not going anywhere anytime soon,” to summarize it. But this is continuous, right? And why? Because remember what Jesus just said, the end will not come right away. So Jesus is describing what is going to go on between the time of his death and resurrection and ascension to heaven and his return. All these things are going to happen. And just like with the armies coming to Jerusalem, when you see all those things happening, don’t panic, don’t be terrified. This is part of the plan. This is part of the plan. There’s going to be this period of time. During the period of time, bad things are going to happen. Men are going to continue to be wicked during this time,

Interlocutor: We had the same thing in 2000 with the computers. Everybody was sure there was going to be economic collapse.

Fr. Stephen: There was going to be a Y2K apocalypse, and it sort of didn’t happen.

Interlocutor: Would you say there has been since the beginning of time fear mongers that amplify bad things in order to serve their own special needs?

Fr. Stephen: Well, that’s why Jesus is telling them not to be terrified. That’s why he’s telling them not to fear, because, yes, that’s how the Romans rule the world at this point in history. It’s fear, terror. That’s why they’re crucifying people en masse. You don’t kill someone in that horrible, painful, humiliating way, letting them hang there naked to die slowly and then rot… you do that to strike fear into the populace, to strike terror into the populace. That’s why you do things like that. So, yeah, that’s how they govern. That’s how the Romans rule the world, is through fear. So that’s why Jesus started not to fear. That’s what all the kingdoms of this world do.

Because as we were just saying, the only power that the kingdoms of this world have is violence, is death. That’s the only power they have is the power of sin and death. And so, if through Christ, we no longer have to fear death, the kingdoms of this world automatically have no power over us. This is going to be a major theme in St. Paul’s letters, right? This is why the martyrs are so important to our faith. Because if you’re not afraid to die, no one can control you. No one has any power over you because all they can do is kill you. And if you’re not afraid of that, they have nothing left. They have nothing left.

“But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.  But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.  And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost.  By your patience possess your souls.

Now, notice he starts this section with before these things, right? So he’s been talking about the period of time between his ascension into heaven and his return. So when he says, “But before these things”, what he’s really meaning is, “Okay, that’s long term future.  Here’s the imminent future here’s, what you, my disciples, could expect here in your short term.”

Remember, all of his, other than Judas, of course, all of the other disciples except St. John are going to be martyred. They’re all going to be killed. But you also notice here that St. Luke, remember, gospel according to St. Luke is part one, is volume one. Volume two is the Book of Acts. What is going to happen in the book of Acts, particularly with St. Paul? He’s going to be brought before kings and rulers and synagogues, to condemn him, to put him on trial. And what is St. Paul going to do? It’s going to be an occasion for him to give testimony to Christ. Remember, when we get toward the end of Acts, when St. Paul is standing before Herod Agrippa. He’s there on trial for his life, literally. And he sits there and he lays out the gospel for Agrippa. Remember, Agrippa’s response is, do you seek to convert me in such a short time?

So, St. Paul isn’t sitting there worried about whether he’s going to be executed. He’s there trying to convert the judge, trying to convert the audience, who’s hearing the trial, who’s witnessing the trial, right? That’s what St. Paul’s concerned about. Why? Because he doesn’t fear death. He doesn’t fear death because he knows he has this promise. Not a hair of your head, shall be lost. That doesn’t mean they won’t kill you. That means even if they kill you, you’re under God’s protection. Going back to Abraham. Isaac and Jacob are what? Alive. And so even though they martyr you, you will still be alive. In fact, you’ll be more alive because you’ll be alive to God.

Interlocutor: Does that mean hair is restored in the resurrection?

Fr. Stephen: Is that what you’re hoping for? I can’t guarantee it, but we’ll see what we can do. And at the end, “by your patience, possess your souls” that word “possessed”, Probably “keep” would be a better meaning. Possess your souls, don’t lose your soul. And the patience there is talking about endurance when you face these things, because you’re going to face these things, if you’re really staying true to following Christ, you’re going to alienate people in your life. There’ll be people who are going to turn on you.

And if doing that, if those losses, those betrayals that they caused you to instead abandon Christ in order to save those relationships with your family or your friends or your status, or even to save your own life in this world, what Jesus is saying here is that when you make that decision, you lose your soul. Better to lose your life in this world than to lose your soul.

Now he returns to talking about the temple and about Jerusalem.

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.”

So notice what he’s saying there, because it’s a little subtle. He’s talking about armies, whose armies are these going to be? Rome, right? It’s Rome. Rome does not represent God. But whose vengeance are they taking? Because he says, “All things which are written may be fulfilled.” Meaning the prophets who spoke to Jerusalem, who spoke to Judea, who spoke to Israel, the Old Testament said what would happen if they remained in sin and wickedness and evil. If they oppressed the widow, as he just accused the scribes, if they oppressed the poor, if they oppressed the weak. What did he say would happen? One of the things he would set upon them were invading armies to destroy your city and take what was given to you. Why? Because it’s not their city, it’s not their land. It’s not Rome’s land either. It’s God’s. Because it’s God’s land. He decides who lives on it.

So remember, God is going to say, “Vengeance is mine, vengeance is mine,” saith the Lord. He doesn’t say vengeance is nobody’s. He doesn’t say there’s never going to be any justice in the world. He never says, all these wicked people who are oppressing the poor and the weak, they’re just going to get away with it because I’m just super merciful and I love everybody. It’s not what he says, he says, vengeance is mine. He says, you don’t take vengeance because God is going to handle it. And as we saw as we saw in the Old Testament again and again, God referred to, for example, with the Canaanites, the cup of their iniquity being full. God in his patience allows sin and evil to progress to a certain point. Why? He doesn’t care about the people who are the victims of that wickedness in the meantime? No, because he is merciful. He is merciful and patient. He wants to give a chance for those wicked people to repent. For them to repent and come to the knowledge of the truth, because that’s what God desires for everyone. It is that all men turn for wickedness and come to the knowledge of the truth.

But there’s not an unlimited period of time for that to happen. God will not allow injustice to go on forever. And so there comes a time where he, again in his mercy, in his mercy on the victims of that evil, where he comes in and puts a stop to the evil. And Jesus is saying that point for Jerusalem, for the people here who run this temple, these Sadducees, these chief priests, these scribes, that time is coming and it’s coming quickly. And so when you see it happening, when you see Rome coming and Rome destroying God’s temple, don’t think, oh, Rome is more powerful than God, right? Rome can’t do anything unless God right. The only authority Rome has is God. Comes from God.

Realize that when they come here, they may not know it, they may not admit it, but they’re actually executing God’s judgment on this people not their own.

“But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.  And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

So you notice the “trampled by Gentiles”, right? What happens when the city is ultimately destroyed? It’s plowed over and another city is built on top of it, a Roman city full of pagan temples. Even that, even that Jesus is saying is part of God’s judgment on the city. It’s part of God’s judgment on the city. What does it mean, “The time of the Gentiles are fulfilled”? There’s going to be justice for Rome too, right? Don’t think they’re going to get away with what they’re going to do either. The time is going to come when their cup of iniquity is full and where they’ll be held accountable by God for what they’ve done.

So there’s two pieces here. One is that I’ve said this before, but nobody gets away with anything from our perspective. We look around and we see people who we think are getting away with things, right? “Well, they seem to be happier than me. They’ve got more stuff. Look how they’re living their life.” We think they’re getting away with it. There’s a time that comes for everyone when there’s an accounting, individually and corporate, and also, although occasionally, unfortunately, this is happening more and more in Orthodox circles, you will hear people talk as if God has no wrath and no justice, and God’s just all mercy. There’s no condemnation.

There’s even some folks who are universalists now who say, “Oh, just everybody goes to heaven, it doesn’t matter.” Well, I don’t see how that could be the case. We could have all kinds of theoretical theological discussions about what God’s wrath means, well, it’s the flip side of his love. It’s this, it’s that. Okay, if you were living in Jerusalem in AD 70 and a Roman ran you through with his sword, God’s wrath, his judgment on your sinfulness were not theoretical, right? These were not abstract concepts. This was very real. The wickedness and the sinfulness, when those chief priests were put to death were executed, many of them tortured to death by the Romans. God’s wrath was not theoretical for them. They were assuming the consequence of the wickedness, of the evil that they had done.

And the correct response from them when they had been receiving it would have been not to curse and spit at the Romans, right? The correct response from them would have been to repent, would have been to say, as they said in Nehemiah, remember in Nehemiah the exiles who have returned from exile in Babylon and are still suffering while they’re trying to rebuild the city and rebuild the temple, they’re still being attacked from all sides. What do they say? They say God is just in all he has done to us. It’s important that sometimes you get these modern translations who want to say done for us. That’s not what it says. Says “done to us”, saying, you know what, being sent into exile and Babylon is what we deserved because of our wickedness, and we repent of it. And you know what, coming here and still suffering and still being under attack, we still haven’t repented, we’re still wicked, we’re still far from God, and so we deserve this too. That is the way they should have received it. That’s not the way they’re going to receive it, because God’s wrath and his punishment on his people. When God’s punishment comes on his people, it’s corrective, it’s disciplined. St Paul’s going to say, God disciplines every son whom he loves.

My dad disciplined me, and when I was a kid, I didn’t like it, and I thought he was mean and horrible, and I probably told him that a few times when he was disciplining me. And “he hated me” because I didn’t like it. But why was he doing it? He was doing it to try to correct me. He was doing it for my good. He was doing it so that I could repent of the way I was living and live a better in a different way, to protect me, to save me. And that’s why God does it.

Interlocutor: And now you’re in the priesthood instead of jail.

Fr. Stephen: [Laughter] Not for lack of trying. So, this is important here. What makes the difference is how we receive it. How we receive it when these things come into our life, do we receive them as discipline from God that leads us to repentance? Or do we receive them with anger? I’ve gotten sick. Do I stop and think, “Well, I don’t eat right, I don’t sleep enough, I don’t live right. I never thank God for my health because I don’t think about it, now that I’m sick, I need to repent of the way I’ve been living and my ingratitude towards God.” Or when I get sick, do I get mad and say, “Why is God doing this to me?”  Pray, “God, please heal me. God, please heal me. God, please heal me.” And then when he does, never say thank you. It’s how we receive these things. The same way that God transforms evil that we bring into the world into good that we were just talking about. We can take these negative things, these horrible things that come into our lives, and transform them for our salvation by using them as occasions for repentance.

Interlocutor: What does it mean “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled”?

Fr. Stephen: That’s talking about the fact that the Romans, too, are going to be held accountable. Jerusalem’s time is coming now, right? But the Romans time is going to come, too, right? They’re going to come into Jerusalem and do all these terrible things, and that’s God’s judgment of the people, but they’re going to be held accountable for those horrible things that they do as well.

Interlocutor: So we can’t project that into 2017?

Fr. Stephen: The way we project it to today is for each of us, our time will come, too, for you and I. The time will come when you and I will stand before Christ, before his judgment seat. And we’ll be held accountable for our actions, right? So Jerusalem had its time. Roman Empire had its time. We’re going to have our time when we have to give an account for what we’ve done, that we’re held accountable for those things.

Interlocutor: But I’ve heard some people say that until all tribes in the world hear of Jesus.

Fr. Stephen: Well, there’s another passage that… We’ll talk about that, related to that. So Jesus continues:

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;  men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

So you notice Jesus has been moving back and forth. First he talked about AD 70, the destruction of Jerusalem. Then he talked about this time period, when he said the end won’t come right away. And he talked about this time period before his return. Then he went back to talking about the army surrounding Jerusalem. And now he’s talking again about the signs before he returns. So when he says, “your redemption draws near,” your redemption from what? From all of the evil that’s been going on on the earth and the persecution and everything that’s been going on all this time. So not only is there going to be a time for the Romans and a time for Jerusalem, but there’s going to be a time… this isn’t going to go on forever, the earthquakes, the famines, the persecution, that’s not going to go on forever. That’s going to have its time of ending too. And when it reaches its end, that’s when Christ is going to return. And he’s going to return in glory. And that is going to be it. And that’s going to be the transition from remember he was talking to the Sadducees, this age, the age to come and the resurrection.

Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

So he gives them an example. Most of these people are farmers. He says, you look at a tree, you see it starting to blossom. You say, “Oh, it’s almost summertime”, right? So he’s saying, when you see these signs, you know the kingdom of God is near. Now, notice they asked Him for a sign. This is the sign. When he says the kingdom of God is near, he’s not talking about his return. He’s saying, when you see all these things unfolding, you’ll know that what I’m telling you is true. It will serve as a sign, meaning you will know that I am the Messiah. Right, which is where he started. You will know that all these things I’m now telling you are true when lo and behold, in AD 70, everything happens when you’re being persecuted. So what Jesus is saying here is that when these things he predicted would happen, happen, when members of your family turn on you and betray you, when you’re persecuted for your faith, when you see earthquakes and famines and floods and all these things, when you see all these things happening, they should not make you afraid, they should do the opposite. They should confirm your faith to you. You should look and say, “This is exactly how Jesus said it would be.” They should confirm your faith to you, rather than making you afraid.

We’ve talked before about what “generation” there means. And when we talk about the parallel passages of the other gospels, a lot of people want to interpret this generation, “Well, that means 40 years, right?” Remember, this is the word genos, which could also mean the equivalent of an ethnic group, a people. So he’s saying this people, his people he’s talking about, they’re going to face persecution, they’re going to be put on trial, they’re going to be executed, they’re going to be betrayed. There’s going to be earthquakes, famines, all these horrible things are going to happen, this is part of that promise. Not a single hair of your head will perish. This is part of that promise, genos, my people are not going to pass away. My people will not be destroyed in all this. This persecution, these things are going to come, but you’re not going to be destroyed before my coming, I am going to return and there is going to be redemption at that point, notice heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. These words that he’s speaking right now, these are going to come to pass for a certain, for certain.

“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.”

So he’s been speaking in the big picture, the widescreen right? These are all the things that are going to happen, the destruction of Jerusalem. Wars in different places. Earthquakes…. this big scale stuff about all these things that are going to happen before his return. Now this is the application. He takes it down to…. “Okay, I’ve told you not to be afraid. I’ve told you these things should confirm your faith. Let me give you the real practical what this means, what this means for you. You need to think about yourselves, lest you go out carousing, partying, lest you get weighed down in drunkenness. Lest you get so involved in life in this world, you get so involved in life in this world.” What’s going to happen if you do that? You get distracted, but not just will you get distracted, not just will you forget, not just will you forget, but what’s that going to…? What does he tell you not to do? He’s saying this should confirm your faith, should not be terrified, because what’s going to be the consequence of you forgetting? You’re forgetting that Jesus prophesied this. You’re forgetting that this is a sign of the Kingdom of God.

The consequence of that forgetting is that you’re going to be what? You’re going to be terrified. You’re going to live in fear. You’re living in the fear of death, right? When you come to the point where you’re in survival mode, where you’re just trying to survive, right? You can read all kinds of horrible stories. People will do almost anything to try to survive. And so if you’re consumed with the fear of death, you will do almost any you will live like an animal to try to survive. So he’s saying, don’t forget this. Don’t forget what I’m telling you. And fall prey to the fears and everything going on in this life.

For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

What will? Jesus’s coming. He’s saying they’re not going to be prepared for it. So it’s going to be like a trap. It’s going to be like a pit in the ground that’s covered with leaves. They’re going to be walking along, not thinking about anything, and they’re going to fall into it, right? And what is the “it” he’s talking about? He’s talking about his return. He’s talking about the Day of Judgment. They’re going to arrive at it unprepared.

So, if we’re going to use that judgment metaphor, imagine you get a text message, “Hey, come to this room, this building, on a certain day.” You walk in there and you find out you’re on trial for murder, and it’s the death penalty. This is what he’s talking about with a snare. They’re going to come before the throne of judgment completely unprepared.

“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

So you need to watch, pray. You need to be aware. You need to remember Christ’s words. Keep them in remembrance. Live in faith, live in prayer, so that when that day comes, you are prepared. You’re prepared for it to come at any time. If you don’t wake up tomorrow morning and you stand instead before the judgment seat of Christ, you’re prepared for that to happen. That’s pretty difficult. That’s a job unto itself, trying to be that attentive every day. So you could honestly say that if right now I stood before the judgment seat of Christ, I’m prepared for that. And I wouldn’t have any regrets. I wouldn’t have anything I wish I had done to prepare. I wouldn’t have anything still weighing on my conscience. That’s very difficult.

So he concludes there and then there’s this summary statement.

And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet. Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

So we’re in the early part of the week that we’re going to later refer to as Holy Week. And Jesus is staying outside the city, on Mt Olivet, on this little hill with his disciples at night. And then during the day he comes into the city and he preaches in the temple and the people sort of gather to hear him. This is sort of the end of a section here. So this is a good place to stop for the evening. And it’s actually a chapter break. It’s been quite some time since we actually stopped at a chapter break. So this is the end of this is what we’ve just read. Remember back when we were going through St. Matthew’s Gospel? We got to chapter 23 we talked about that was referred to as the eschatological discourse, where Jesus talks about the end times or the last things. This is St. Luke’s version. As we saw, there are some different themes and emphases. Not contradictory, but just different emphases on our way through there. So next week we will pick up here in the beginning of chapter 22. Thank you, everybody.