Week 16: Expecting the Unexpected...when we Least Expect it!

This week, the Bible reading plan is as follows:

*Sunday: Joshua 11:1-12:24; Luke 17:11-37; Psalm 84:1-12; Proverbs 13:5-6
*Monday: Joshua 13:1-14:15; Luke 18:1-17; Psalm 85:1-13; Proverbs 13:7-8
*Tuesday: Joshua 15:1-63; Luke 18:18-43; Psalm 86:1-17; Proverbs 13:9-10
*Wednesday: Joshua 16:1-18:28; Luke 19:1-27; Psalm 87:1-7; Proverbs 13:11
*Thursday: Joshua 19:1-20:9; Luke 19:28-48; Psalm 88:1-18; Proverbs 13:12-14
*Friday: Joshua 21:1-22:20; Luke 20:1-26; Psalm 89:1-13; Proverbs 13:15-16
*Saturday: Joshua 22:21-23:16; Luke 20:27-47; Psalm 89:14-37; Proverbs 13:17-19


Scripture: Luke 17:28-37
"One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, 'When will the Kingdom of God come?
"Jesus replied, 'The Kingdom of God can't be detected by visible signs. You won't be able to say, "Here it is!" or "It’s over there!" For the Kingdom of God is already among you.'
"Then he said to his disciples, 'The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won't see it. People will tell you, "Look, there is the Son of Man," or "Here he is," but don't go out and follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.
"'When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
'"And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building—until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Yes, it will be "business as usual" right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. Remember what happened to Lot's wife! If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.'
"'Where will this happen, Lord?' the disciples asked.
"Jesus replied, 'Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.'"

Observation:
I made a connection today that I don't think I’ve ever made in the past. (At least I don't remember making this connection!) There is a marked difference between how Luke frames Jesus' teaching about the Second Coming and the so-called parallels in the Gospels of Matthew (Matthew 24) and Mark (Mark 13). Both Matthew and Mark include references to the Temple in Jerusalem and other details that don't really have to do with Jesus' return, like how bad it will be for pregnant women and how they should pray that their flight doesn't happen in the winter or on the Sabbath. In both Matthew and Mark, the discussion starts with the disciples' marveling about the magnificence of the temple and its large (seemingly indestructible) stones. In Luke, the conversation starts when a Pharisee asks Jesus when the Kingdom of God will come.

The bottom line is this:

Both Matthew and Mark treat two instances of divine judgment at the same time: (1) the destruction of Jerusalem (and its Temple), which ended up happening in AD 70, and (2) the Second Coming at the end of time as we know it. It is not unusual for the inspired writers of Scripture to telescope "in-time" judgments with the ultimate "end-time" judgment. And so it is in Matthew and Mark's Gospels.

Luke's Gospel treats this material with only one focus: end-time judgment. The conversation is occasioned by a question about the Kingdom of God, not by the disciples' marveling about the Temple. Jesus in Luke's account does not even mention the Temple, and says nothing about the need to pray that their flight does not happen in the winter or on the Sabbath. And in Luke Jesus uses the extra example of the days of Lot (in addition to the days of Noah).

Application:
I love this insight because it gives me permission to read Luke's account of Jesus' teaching about end-time judgment as just that. Everything in this passage points to Jesus' Second Coming and the end of time. I do not have to sort out which parts apply to Jerusalem and which parts point to the ultimate end. Luke, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, shows how Jesus nuanced his words differently when focusing only on the final end. For example, when Jesus in Luke talks about how a person on the deck should not go down into the house to pack and the one in the field should not return home, he is emphasizing the need for us to be detached from the things of this world. Lot's wife looked back, longing for home, and became a pillar of salt! When Jesus says that one will be taken and the other left, he is talking about how at the end of time some will be saved (the ones that are "left") and others lost (the ones that are "taken"), as in the days of Noah, when those in the Ark remained and those outside the ark were "taken away" by the floodwaters. (My apologies to the fans of the Left Behind series. In all three Gospels the hope is in fact to be left behind!)

I am particularly impressed with Jesus' statement about how the Second Coming will occur when everything is "business as usual." That's now! When the disciples asked where (and when) will this happen and Jesus said, "Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near," he was essentially saying, "Like I said, you need to expect this when you don't expect it!"

My takeaway is this: Be ready!

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus will come at a time when the unbelieving world least expects it. I pray that I would live in a constant state of expectation, knowing that Jesus' Second Coming is a matter of "when" not "if." Please help me live my life with a healthy detachment from the things of the world while attending faithfully to the work of your Kingdom, which, as Jesus said, is all around us. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen!

Have a great week!

Faithfully,
Chuck