Luke 21:5-19

No one who is serious about his or her relationship with Jesus is happy about the current state of our world. The moral decay with its ‘in your face’ boldness combined with the rumor of wars is more than sufficient to echo the cry of the early church, ‘Maranatha’ (Come quickly, Lord Jesus!)! But the toll the personal attacks are exacting is cause for even greater concern. There is a sense that one can endure, perhaps even hide, when the attacks do not seem to touch the individual believer personally. One may hear of the struggles of other believers and feel indignant but still remain aloof because there is no personal investment. It is a far different story when one begins to feel and believes they are being persecuted because of his or her beliefs.

One is supposed to have the right to the free exercise of religion, but sometimes the definition of what is determined to be ‘free exercise’ is different for different religions, particularly for the Christian. Some may be aware of the heated debate that took place in a Senate committee this past week as senators questioned the Secretary of the Air Force and a couple generals about incidents that have been taking place on military installations, including the Air Force Academy. The reason such events are of interest at all is because the same things happen everyday without ever garnering any type of media attention. It is a great concern because the pressure to conform is only intensifying and the cause of the deception or the falling away of many.

Responding to the temple admiration of his disciples, Jesus begins to teach about the signs of the times. It would be interesting to know how many times in the more than two thousand plus years since Jesus walked this earth these words have been taken to reference specific events believers saw around them. Far too much energy has been expended trying to determine dates and times or interpreting events and disasters. The truth of the matter is that no one knows the date of our Lord’s appearing, not the Son or the angels, only the Father. What is also true is that the people of God will continue to suffer. Just as the disciples had an idealized view of the temple, so many believers today have an idealized view of the faith. They would like to believe that faith in Jesus comes without struggle, and perhaps that is what the disciples were thinking as they witnessed the miracles and experienced the teaching. In contrast to this idealized view Jesus offers a timely dose of reality. We would do well to note it today.

1. Your faith will cause you to be persecuted (vs. 12).
2. Your persecution will result in your being witnesses to your persecutors (vs. 13).
3. You will have the words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict (vs. 15).
4. Those closest to you will betray you, or even out you to death (vs. 16).
5. All people will hate you because of your faith in Jesus (vs.17).
6. Not a hair of your head will perish (vs. 18a).
7. By standing firm, you will gain life (vs. 18b).

There is no need to shrink in fear of either what we hear about, see for ourselves, our experience. There is no need to fear what we might lose or how we might be marginalized. There is no need to fear bodily harm or imprisonment. The promise of Jesus is this, though we will be hated, though some of us will even die, though our friends and families will betray us, not a hair of our heads will perish. By standing firm we will gain life.

© All Rights Reserved – Dr. James H. Logan, Jr.