46 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
46 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Luke 21:29-38"
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date = "2023-02-02"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk21.29-38)
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The parable of the fig tree is pretty easy to understand. Fig trees grow their
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leaves in the spring, like most trees, and when you see them, you know that
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summer is coming soon. In the very same way, when all of these signs and
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wonders are seen, you will know that the end of the current age is coming to a
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close. What is harder to understand is the statement that "this generation will
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not pass away until all has taken place." (_v. 32_) Certainly everyone who was
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alive in the first century have passed away, so how could Jesus say "truly"?
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The answer is that the Greek word translated "generation" has more than one
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meaning. The most common is what we usually think of for "generation": everyone
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alive at a particular time. But it can also mean a type or kind of person, like
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wicked or righteous, and it can also mean "race", which would refer to the Jews
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in this case.
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Jesus's next statement is also interesting to think about. "Heaven and earth
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will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (_v. 33_) People tend to
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think that the earth they stand on and the skies above them are unshakable and
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everlasting, but Jesus tells us that's not true at all. Even naturalists
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understand that the Sun can't burn forever and the universe would eventually
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grind to a halt. But our lives seem so short in comparison that such knowledge
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doesn't affect us. However, this view is wrong too because the Bible teaches
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that we shall all last for eternity, either living in the light of the Lord's
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glory or dying forever in the lake of fire.
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Because of this reality, Jesus warns His listeners to live their lives in the
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expectation that He will come back at any moment. If we waste our lives on
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useless pleasures that are only good for the short moment we experience them,
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then that day will come upon us like a trap springing closed. Or, if not that
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day, then the day of our deaths could come at any time, and the end result is
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the same. Beloved, be ready for your Lord to come home, so that He does not
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find your service wanting.
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Finally, Luke gives us a note on how Jesus spent His days during this time. He
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would come into Jerusalem to teach in the temple each day, but then at night He
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would leave to stay on the Mount of Olives.
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* * *
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Keep us watchful, waiting patiently for Your return. Let us not grow weary in
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doing good.
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