36 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
36 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
|
+++
|
|||
|
|
title = "Luke 17:20–37"
|
|||
|
|
date = "2023-01-10"
|
|||
|
|
+++
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk17.20-37)
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
It's funny how most people expect the world to end, at some point, in some way.
|
|||
|
|
The Pharisees knew from the Old Testament that God would judge the whole earth
|
|||
|
|
one day, so some of them asked Jesus what they should look for to see it coming
|
|||
|
|
ahead of time. In typical Jesus fashion, He lets them know that even the
|
|||
|
|
premise of the question is wrong. They were expecting the Messiah would arrive
|
|||
|
|
to set up God's kingdom on earth (and He will), but Jesus tells them the
|
|||
|
|
kingdom of God is already present.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
He repeats the warning to His disciples against following anyone who says,
|
|||
|
|
"Look, here!" for either the Messiah or the kingdom of God. Just as the kingdom
|
|||
|
|
of God is already among men and we don't have to go anywhere in particular to
|
|||
|
|
see it, when Jesus returns to the earth, He will be visible to everyone at once
|
|||
|
|
somehow, and no one will have to announce His presence to anyone else.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
His return will come suddenly, because people will be going about their
|
|||
|
|
day-to-day lives, just like they did before the Flood and the destruction of
|
|||
|
|
Sodom and Gomorrah. I had written "without warning", but that's not actually
|
|||
|
|
true. The Bible is full of warnings of God's wrath being poured out on sinners.
|
|||
|
|
Heed the warning, trust in Jesus, and be saved! Asking for a sign to know when
|
|||
|
|
the day of judgement is coming is like asking when the inspector will arrive so
|
|||
|
|
you can procrastinate cleaning up. The point is not to get things ready at the
|
|||
|
|
last minute, but to be ready all the time. Noah and Lot were just as sinful as
|
|||
|
|
their neighbors. They weren't rescued because they were good on their own, but
|
|||
|
|
because they loved the Lord and He made them righteous.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
* * *
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Make us ready, Lord, so that we may be found blameless upon Your return.
|