Teachings of Jesus (Part 39) When the End Comes By Ben Fronczek

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Teachings of Jesus (Part 39) When the End Comes

By Ben Fronczek

As one reads about Jesus in the Gospel account there are only a few instances where the writers speak of Him having an outburst of emotion. The three that come to mind; first, is when He cries at the tomb of His friend Lazarus. But then He raises him from the dead.

We also read how He made a whip and overturned the tables of the money changers in the Temple because the Jews had turned a holy sacred place of prayer into market place and even a den of thieves as He put it. I am not sure if Jesus was expressing anger, frustration, or out of His zeal for our God.

And then again we read that weeps as He begins to enter Jerusalem for the last time in Luke 19:41-44 where we read this, “41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

As He was leaving the Temple for the last time with His disciple, His disciple could not help but admire and say something about the beautiful structure. But again Jesus has something to say about the future of the Temple they were so awed with. Beginning in 21:5 we read, “Some of His disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”

For them what Jesus was saying must have seemed almost unbelievable; but then again this is Jesus their Lord making this prediction. And so rather than doubting what He said, they ask, 7 “Teacher, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”

What Jesus was about to tell them was similar if not a continuation of what He told them as He wept on His way into the city. Now at the Mt. of Olives He warns them by saying,
“8 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. 9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”

10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

2 “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 And so you will bear testimony to me. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.

20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

5 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

Different scholars interpret this text in different ways. Some see all of it being applied to the Jews and the destruction of the Jerusalem in AD70, as well as the Jewish nation. But still others think part of the message here is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, and part of it refers to His 2nd and final return and the final judgement. Either way, He lets them know that trying and difficult times were ahead.

I consider Luke’s account here almost like a Reader’s Digit condensed version of Matthew Chapter 24-25   (Click on verse to read) which ends with Jesus judging the world and the separation of all mankind; separating them like when a farmer separates his sheep from goats. In Matthew’s account it also talks about the final destiny for some is heaven and others eternal punishment in hell.

And yes you can read of the horrors that took place in AD 70 when Jesus prediction here came to pass; and it was as bad as he predicted it would be.
In Vs. 20, He told them that when they begin to see Jerusalem being surrounded they’d better run for the hills. Unfortunately, history lets us know that most of the Jews in that area did quite the opposite. Every one rushed into the city and hence it was filled with people when the Romans laid siege to it which began a time great suffering. It was also reported by the historian Eusebius that Christians congregations in Jerusalem heeded the revelation and warnings that had been received by reliable men and they migrated to the city of Pella in Perea to escape what was about to happen.

Concerning the Roman conquest of Jerusalem, the historian Josephus writes that 1.1 million Jews were slain and that 97,000 were carried off as captive slaves, and the city was totally demolished. And yes, it was the end of the Jewish nation, and the end of Temple worship for the Jews.

And as frightful as all this must have been for the disciple to hear, and maybe even for us who do not know when the end will come, the message that Jesus wanted to communicate was not so much about the terror that was, or is to come, a much as it was about what to do and how to be prepared.

The first thing He says in verse 8 is, “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ He said, ‘Do not follow them.’

I believe it is imperative that we know God’s word. To many people throughout the ages have be led astray and have followed false prophets and those who predict the world would end on a certain day. And way too many have follow false religious leaders and practices because they themselves do not know what God’s word actually teaches.
Proverb 10:21 says, ”fools die for lack of understanding or wisdom.”

Don’t let anyone deceive you, especially in regards to spiritual matter because your eternal destiny depends on what you know and believe in.
The 2nd thing He says begins in verse 14, He says,  14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 Everyone will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.”

So, #2 Know it’s going to happen. Realize that if you accept Jesus as your Lord and choose to serve Him you may even be persecuted by your closest relatives. Jesus said to make up your mind beforehand not to worry or fret.

He lets us know that all of us need to stand firm no matter what others think or do to us because He has our back and we will win out in the end. Simply put, we need to trust Him; that he’ll work things out to those who love Him.

#3. Jesus also lets us know that if we can escape a bad situation beforehand do so. Do what you need to escape before it’s too late, before you are trapped in the conflict. Sometimes we just need to walk away rather than get involve in a fight that will enviably happen.

#4. And then His final warning here is seen starting in verse 34 which says, “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”

There is parable after parable, and teaching after teaching that we don’t know when the end will come, but we do need to be prepared to meet our maker.
The Lord may come tomorrow, or you may suddenly die in a car crash. The question I have for you is are you repaired? He said here, Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth.”
Do what you need to do to be right before Him. And finally, He ends this by saying, “And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”

Pray. Pray that you will be strong enough. And pray that you will be able to stand before Him with confidence.