Lesson 32

STUDY NOTES on previous study

The End is Coming! (Luke 21:5-38)<= /b>

This is lik= ely the most controversial passage in the gospel of Luke. What exactly did Jesus me= an when He said “this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened”? Did He expect the end of the world to oc= cur in that first generation after His death and resurrection? Atheists have lo= ng claimed this statement alone demonstrates the Bible is an inaccurate fraud.=

=

         While this passa= ge is not easy to understand, it can be understood (there is an answer to the accusation above) and it contains a very important message for us. The whole issue of the end was raised by a group admiring the temple and the gifts le= ft by the rich. Jesus remarked that all that was admired would be completely destroyed.

=

         This naturally brought the question of “when will this happen?” (that is, “when will the te= mple be destroyed?”) Jesus&#= 8217; response is initially against the false prophecies and messiahs who would s= ee any calamity as a verifying sign of their own power. He tells of the many things that would happen as history continued to unfold that could be used = by false messiahs as signs of the end. Jesus then foretells the persecution th= at will come for those who were faithful, but this would be a great opportunit= y to bear witness for the name of Jesus. Jesus promised to provide the words they would need, words which would confound and defeat all possible opponents. M= any would be persecuted because of betrayal by family and friends, but just the same, they should not fear, for God would keep them safe. The true disciple= s of Jesus would be hated and some killed, but by their courageous stands they w= ould be saved. Divine protection would be given to all who stood firm.

=

         Then, in amazing accuracy, Jesus told of the happening before the destruction of the temple.= The Romans would indeed lay siege on Jerusalem (66-70 C.E.) before it destroyed the city. Jesus warned all to flee to the mountains immediately, for terrible days were to come. The Gentile armies would be us= ed by God to render judgment on J= erusalem. Traditional history tells us that all of the Christians in Jerusalem at the time of the great sieg= e were indeed able to escape the impending doom. Josephus, the Jewish historian, t= ells in detail of the great devastation brought by the Roman armies.<= /span>

=

         The key to understanding the construction of this chapter is the last phrase in verse = 24, “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” Here Jesus cha= nges His focus. As Jerusalem will be judged by the action of the Gentiles, the Gentile nations themselves also face an ultimate judgment. In verse 25 Jesus begins to speak of the universal judgment which will come after Jerusalem is judged. As Jerusalem was destroyed for her unfaithfulness, so too would all the nations be subje= ct to God’s judgment at a future date. It is the awesome coming of the S= on of Man that will signal the end of the nations and bring ultimate redemptio= n to those who are faithful to God. But, of course, this begs the question that = has already been asked about Jerus= alem’s destruction, “When will this occur.” Jesus answers this with an illustration. As the leaves sprout on a fig tree thereby signifying the beginning of summer, so shall all these events point to the coming of the S= on of Man. The full realization of the kingdom of God is near. Then we have the problematic statement, “I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.̶= 1; While we know Jerusalem<= /st1:City> was indeed destroyed within the next 40 years, what about the end of the wo= rld? Clearly, this has not yet happened.

=

         There are several ways of working around this problem. Some have suggested that “this generation” is not a reference to an actual generation but an “era” or “age.” That is possible, but it is not the natural meaning of the word. Another possibility is that Luke was convinced, having done his careful research of the teachings of Jesus, that all this w= as indeed supposed to happen within a generation. This calls into question the accuracy of the text. And, similar statements are found in the other synopt= ic gospels. I believe Jesus said what Luke recorded. I do not believe Jesus was mistaken. In fact, this is where we need to carefully heed this message. As= Jerusalem was ind= eed destroyed within a generation, the truth of all these happenings has been confirmed. This world has been judged. As the exact “when” of t= he ultimate end, we do not and cannot know (Matt. 24:36). But we do know what = will happen. As sure as we know the heavens and earth will pass away, we are also confident that Jesus’ words are true. No one will escape the judgment= of God.

=

         That is why Jesus ends this segment of teaching with the warning to be on guard so that our hearts are not weighed down with the sins and worries of this life. We are = to be alert at all times, praying that we may have the strength to escape all these things and instead be able to stand confidently before the Son of Man= .

=

         Luke closes this segment of the last days of Jesus by describing His daily activities — Jesus would teach all day from the early morning hours and then go out and sleep on the Mount of Olives. The “passion narrative” is about to begin.

=

         Let’s revi= sit, for just a moment, what Jesus teaches us in this passage about the nature of our lives. We have marveled at how the religious leaders manifested a complete lack of faith in God. Their focus on their own well being and their own power led to the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. The “beautiful temple” was like a tomb of death. For all that it co= uld have been, it became a symbol of Israel&= #8217;s well deserved judgment. We are told that one day the world will be likewise destroyed. Does that have any impact on the way we live? Do we continue to = invest our lives in that which we know will not last? When will the end come? We do not know. We do know that life is fragile, and whether the Son of Man retur= ns within the next few minutes or we die suddenly and unexpectedly, the end has come. We are not called to live in fear of judgment as much as we are calle= d to continual faithfulness. Many placed their faith in the temple as the ultima= te sign of God’s presence in their nation, thinking mistakenly that God would never desert His building. With their confidence in their approach to= God rather than God Himself, they continued to live self-focused lives which led them to crucify the author of life. Might we, too, be guilty of the same si= n? With confidence in our approach to God, we allow our lives to be directed by our fleshly desires. While we sing and pray of our faith in God, for too ma= ny of us our faith is in the financial dealings on Wall Street. We think we ha= ve our religion taken care of, but our hearts remain unchanged and focused on = this world.

=

         This world does = not deserve our trust. As surely as Jerusalem was judged, so shall this world be destroyed. On= ly God merits our faith and trust. When this world begins to shake and tremble as = it meets its fate, will we be “weighed down” by its weight, or wil= l we “stand up and raise our heads”, knowing our full redemption is near?

=

=

=

After having read the st= udy, answer the following questions:

1. Do you often think ab= out the end of the world? How does the thought of it impact your thinking and y= our life?

  <= /span>

2. Have you had a close = brush with death? Or do you have a friend who has? How did that experience change your or your friend’s life?

=

3. What have we seen tha= t is made by man that impresses us? Do you naturally think of its temporary natu= re? Why or why not?

=

4. List at least three t= hings you want to accomplish in the kingdom during your life and consider what you need to do to pursue those plans. Discuss in your home churches how you can help each other do these things.

=

The Supper! (Luke 22:1-23)

=

Read Luke 22:1-6

1. What is the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

=

2. What did the religious leaders want to do and why?

=

3. What motivated Judas = to betray Jesus?

  <= /span>

4. Why were the religious leaders delighted with Judas?

   <= /o:p>

Read 22:7-16<= /span>

1. What did Jesus ask Pe= ter and John to do and why?

=

2. Why the detail about = the man carrying water?

=

3. What is significant a= bout verse 13?

=

4. What was Jesus’ attitude toward this supper and why?

=

Read 22:17-19=

1. With what did Jesus b= egin “the Lord’s supper”, the bread or the cup?

  <= /span>

2. What did Jesus mean w= hen He said He would not drink that cup again until the kingdom came?

=

3. What did the bread represent?

=

4. What is most meaningf= ul to you as you observe this sacred feast at God’s table?

=

Read 22:20-23=

1. What did the second c= up represent?

=

2. Why did Jesus mention= His betrayer at this point?

=

3. Note the question the disciples asked among themselves and what discussion it leads to (which we = will study next week, God willing).

=

4. Close your eyes and t= ry to picture yourself at that last supper. What do you think the disciples were thinking?

=

<= o:p>