Category: Devotions

Let’s not chop off any more ears!

Luke 22: 49-53 “When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” ⁵⁰ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. ⁵² Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? ⁵³ Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”

John’s gospel reveals the servants name was Malchus and that it was Peter who chopped off his ear with his sword (a dagger).

The enemy comes in the darkness and the ‘Church’ rises in the chaos and the confusion. We don’t know what the enemy is doing but we are rattled. We didn’t expect this attack, it feels like an enemy within for this crowd are not the Gentile soldiers, but we are ready. Our daggers are at hand. We have Jesus to protect, our Messiah. We have to stand for true righteousness. The manipulative kiss was unbelievable. But here now comes the pressure of the enemy. So we swing out. We react. We push back.

We hurt because we are hurt.

But wait. Here comes Jesus.

In the darkness He heals the enemies of the kingdom. Jesus heals what the Church harmed.

And a voice shouts, “No more of this!” Surely Jesus is speaking to the enemy eh? “No more attacking, I will come with you!” Surely?

I mean, He wouldn’t be speaking to the Church would he? “No more reacting. Stop fighting back.”

Maybe the Church behaves more like the enemy than we should.

Spirit, make us more like Christ!

The manipulative kiss.

Luke 22: 47-49 “While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, ⁴⁸ but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

The disciples believed Jesus was a different Messiah than he actually came to be. They had heard his words of love and sacrifice but actually were still expecting him to lead a rebellion and overthrow the Roman Gentile oppressors bringing victory to God’s people. They still believed this even after the resurrection in some form (Acts 1:6). They had swords they carried and were ready to use them.

Judas’ betrayal wasn’t trying to end the ministry of Jesus (though that is what Satan who had entered Judas wanted to do). It was to provoke it to move faster and become the revolutionary ministry that everyone wanted.

The kiss was Judas showing the same cultural respect and love for his leader. “I am with you, I am one of your team, look at who is here, they have come to arrest you so now let’s fight, let’s do this, let’s overcome the oppressors, let the revolution begin!” Later, realising that Jesus was actually going to go through with what he said and willingly die, he couldn’t cope with what he had done, he realised he had badly misunderstood his friend.

Are our kisses to Jesus true? Or are they loaded with what we want? If I kiss him then he will move in the way I want him to. He will do what I want.

I will worship Him for what I can get from Him. I want Him to bless what I am doing, to do what I think is the best action, “look Jesus here let me kiss you and show you my love, now move!”

Let’s make our kisses true and not manipulative.

Luke 22: 39-46

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. ⁴⁰ On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” ⁴¹ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” ⁴³ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. ⁴⁴ And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. ⁴⁵ When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. ⁴⁶ “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Exhausted from sorrow (NIV)

Drugged by grief (Message)

Worn out from being so sad. (CEV)

Luke has a shortened version of this account. He doesn’t include as Matthew and Mark do that Jesus could Peter, James and John with him away from the others nor that Jesus went back to the disciples 3 times and found them sleeping. Yet his account seems to reveal a greater intensity of the battle what was going on in that garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus knelt down and prayed. (We read this within Western eyes. This is shocking. He only knelt once and this is it. The battle for his will has begun and he demonstrates by choosing a posture of surrender.)

His prayer. (We can never understand the full weight of the burden he was carrying knowing that the next day he would not only endure an excruciating death but he would take the weight of the sin of the world. On top of this he brought to the surface what he wanted, his will in this ordeal, then he surrendered it, he said that’s not what is going to happen, there is no greater prayer than that! Above all in this painful prayer time he knew he would be separated from his Father which had never happened before.)

An angel appeared to strengthen him. (He was strengthened by angels after his wilderness temptations and he knew could call down a legion at any time. Maybe we don’t talk enough about angels because we don’t want to dishonour Jesus who seemed to benefit from them a lot, or maybe we just haven’t recognised them when they have arrived.)

He was in anguish. (On his face, in his gestures and in his words, he was in anxiety and agony. This was not just a struggle, this was a war. Accentuated by how he then prayed and what happened to his body.)

He prayed more earnestly and he started to sweat. (He began to sweat profusely and Luke records the sweating in terms of if someone is cut and the blood is running out and falling to the ground.)

This was not a pleasant sight. Watching someone suffering isn’t. When you cannot enter into their battle and fight for them it can cause emotional tiredness.

Even though they didn’t fully know what was going on they were ‘exhausted from sorrow’ for their friend and master.

And Jesus’ response? “This is not the time to drift off. Just as you have seen me battle to not fall into the temptation of not doing the will of the Father, so you too will have your own battle. You should be following me. You should be doing what I am doing.”

We all are in a battle for the will, our will. We want what we want. We are followers of Jesus but we come with an agenda. That agenda is us. Within all of this battle is the temptation to say No to the Father and Yes to us. The only way through is prayer. That is where we lay down what we want and our ideas and say we are not going to do it my way but YOUR way.

Watching someone battle with this is not easy. The grief can be overwhelming. It becomes like a sedative. We need to keep watch because the battle may move quickly into a new chapter and our involvement may increase. We must not fall away.

The Power of your Holy Communion

You will have taken part in this short ceremony many times in your Christian life. Whatever you call it, the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper or Communion, you have the same elements before you, the plate of bread and the cup of wine or juice.

There are many instructions and declarations that you have heard during this time. Exhortations to look to Jesus who forgives all our sins; to surrender your life as he surrendered his; to be thankful for all Jesus has done in His finished work on the cross; to receive by faith your healing. There are many and all are good and helpful.

This morning I am taken in a direction I haven’t seen before. The direction of battle.

Jesus had been eager to eat this Passover for a long time. He was going to Jerusalem as the new Moses, the Redeemer Messiah in a final showdown with the powers of evil. Just as the angel of death would sweep over Egypt so the judgment of God was coming and Jesus’ blood would be the Lamb’s blood sprinkled on the doorposts saving and commencing the Exodus. His death would enable the great escape from the power of sin.

The Passover meal that Jesus had with the disciples is not only a dramatic re-telling of the Exodus; it is not only a prophetic display of future blessings; it is an indicator of the battle that all of us will travel in as we follow Jesus.

Here is the passage:

Luke 22: 16-38 “For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfilment in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁷ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” ¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. ²¹ But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. ²² The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” ²³ They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. ²⁴ A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. ²⁵ Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶ But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. ²⁸ You are those who have stood by me in my trials. ²⁹ And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, ³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ³¹ “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. ³² But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”  ³³ But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” ³⁴ Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” ³⁵ Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered. ³⁶ He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. ³⁷ It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfilment.” ³⁸ The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.” “That’s enough!” he replied.

The battle- lines are drawn:

The Kingdom has a King, the ruler of everything.

The sacrifice. The cup of blood, a sacrifice for a new covenant replacing the sacrificial system of the old covenant. A body given (broken).

The betrayal has a betrayer who came near in order to betray. The internal war within the camp.

The argument and the arrogance from people who had previously had their feet washed by a servant.

The trials that have already taken place and will lead to more before the weekend is over.

Satan and his purpose to sift which involves judging us for not being who we should be.

Failing faith that needs prayer.

Denials that replace the promises of commitment.

Swords for the fight.

Judged as a sinner.

 

This is our life’s battle. This is our Holy Communion life.

We will falter many times. But the One who made it, who perfected the Holy Communion, who battled and defeated Satan, will lead us home.

Make Him King; Thank Him for His sacrifice; Pursue integrity; Serve don’t strive with others; Hang on in the trials; Fight not flesh and blood but with the evil powers; Keep the faith; Don’t give up, back off, walk away; Choose the right sword; align with the sinner.

That is your Holy Communion. Take it today.

For Simon …

Luke 22: 7-13 “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸ Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” ⁹ “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked. ¹⁰ He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, ¹¹ and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹² He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.” ¹³ They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”

 

Go and make preparations …

Where do you want us to prepare for it?

They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. (“I’ve prepared everything for your preparations”)

They prepared the Passover.

This involved the selection of a lamb, searching for any dropped and hidden leaven which needed sweeping out of the house, getting the basins of water ready for the foot-washing, wine, candles for the table, vegetables, herbs etc. All these have their own significant meanings even for us today.

Jesus was eager to celebrate the Passover, to take the journey of the Exodus and to demonstrate that he is the Lamb of God.

As followers of Jesus this is the central message that we are trying to communicate. The God of the Exodus, the power of the blood of the lamb to deliver and redeem from the power of sin and how it all culminates in the life of Jesus who gave his life as a ransom for us.

Every day we go into the ‘city’ of our world, we do life, but we do it preparing the way for the Lord, living our life as an example, laying our life down for others, living unselfish lives so that people may see Jesus the Lamb.

We do it knowing that if we hold on, even in the difficult seasons, we will soon be at another table with the Lamb. v28-30 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. ²⁹ And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, ³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

And of course we do it knowing what Jesus had already told the disciples previously, (John 14: 2) “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?”

Simon, my friend, a member of my team, an energetic leader and enthusiastic Pastor of a Christ-centred Church finished the preparations yesterday.

He demonstrated in his life and especially in his trials what it was to demonstrate and honour Jesus.

He finished the race yesterday, earlier than normal. He prepared the way for the Lord. His preparations sat in the hands of a God who prepares everything.

Today he sits around a prepared table in a prepared place.

Today I speak the Passover Psalm (118) for him:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
The Lord is with me; he is my helper.

I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my defence^; he has become my salvation.

Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
He has not given me over to death.
Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

And so it happened …

 

Luke 22 v7 “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.”

 

It was the day of Passover and the lamb had to die.

By the end of the week the day would come for the Son and the Lamb HAD to lay his life down.

The day came and what had to happen then happened.

It still does.

Let it be.

Amen.

 

Whatever is approaching does not need to be feared.

Luke 22: 1-7

Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, ² and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. ³ Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. ⁴ And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. ⁵ They were delighted and agreed to give him money. ⁶ He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

 

The Passover was approaching. Jesus is the new Moses. Etched in the memory of everyone was the judgment and the rescue of the Passover. The angel of death passed over the homes sprinkled with the lamb’s blood. This is what was in the minds of all the pilgrims, the Jerusalem citizens and the religious leaders. They didn’t know what they celebrated was a shadow of what was to come. This Passover is the real event. Judgment would be known in their generation. At the same time a new Exodus would commence.

Judgment and deliverance were approaching hand in hand.

 

The allies were approaching. When you have found a cause it is amazing how even people who don’t like each other come together. The chief priests served for 1 year on rotation in the Temple and they increase their wealth through fraudulent money-changing and selling of animal sacrifices. The teachers of the law were either Pharisees or Sadducees responsible for the correct understanding of the Law of God. Officers of the Temple guard are Levites who prevent unauthorised people entering the Temple lest they make it unclean.

Leaders of Worship, the Word and Holiness were approaching.

 

Judas approached the allied forces. Many have speculated the reasons why Judas betrayed Jesus. Clearly we are told that he received money. But the money he did receive wasn’t a great deal so maybe greed wasn’t the real motivation. No one really knows why someone who had been chosen to be so close to Jesus would try and hand him over to the allies and finish him off. But the betrayal sat in the hands of God who used it to advance Jesus forward in the plan of salvation.

Major disappointment was approaching.

 

Satan approached Judas. He had managed to sow a destructive idea into his mind. He brought manipulative temptation and Judas was hooked. The early Church believers knew full well of the works of evil. That behind the stories of our lives lies an evil one seeking to exploit opportunities. Apostle Paul wrote, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Spiritual forces were approaching.

 

Jesus at the centre of a cosmic battle. The coming together of spiritual forces, a major disappointment, a gathering of leaders of worship, the law and holiness was approaching the Son of God. But we know how the story ends. We know the closing chapter. We know of the judgment and the deliverance.

If this was the battle of all battles then whatever is approaching you today, whatever you are facing you can know:

It sits in the palm of God who is in control of everything and is with you.

 

 

Work/Life balance

Luke 21: 37-38 “Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, 38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.”
The last week of Jesus’ life was spent in a pattern of behaviour. Work and rest.
Every day, he would wake up early and begin to work.
At the end of the day, he would walk away from his work to rest for the night.
There is a lot of talk about the need to rest. But you can only rest after you have worked. Otherwise it isn’t rest.
Work/life balance is often talked about, but the first word is important because otherwise there wouldn’t be a need for balance.
Today get your balance.

I wish we’d all been ready

Luke 21: 20-28

²⁰ “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. ²² For this is the time of punishment in fulfilment of all that has been written. ²³ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. ²⁴ They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. ²⁶ People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. ²⁷ At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

 

I find it so difficult to read these verses with a first century perspective. I am immediately thinking of some end-time battle, apocalyptic destruction and Jesus riding on the clouds to earth. I have to debunk my brain in order to understand.

So here goes ….

The city of Jerusalem was being starved, imprisoned in their own city, they had been let in as pilgrims but unable to leave. The armies of Rome surrounded them. This was it. This is what Jesus had prophesied. It was AD70. The Temple would be burnt to the ground, the city destroyed and the Son of Man would be vindicated.

Jesus paints a graphic horrible picture of trying to survive the onslaught. He uses apocalyptic imagery that the people would understand and especially as they went through the violence their world would indeed be shaking. Now here it is, the verse 27, “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Which is of course Jesus not talking about his return to earth but it is still in the context of the downfall of Jerusalem. So what is it then?

The title ‘Son of Man’ as we have seen on a number of occasions is the prophetic title given in Daniel.

Daniel 7: 13-14 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” Daniel prophesied it in the context of the oppression of the beasts of the earth coming against God’s people.

The Son of Man (Jesus) v the beasts (the religious leaders and the Romans)

Mark records Jesus’ words to the High Priest at his trial in 14:61-63, “Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” ⁶² “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

What did Jesus mean? Clearly the High Priest and Jerusalem would not see Jesus coming on the clouds.

We need to see this as the vindication from God.

The downfall of Jerusalem was the sign that Jesus had been proven right and was enthroned in heaven.

The destruction of the Temple which refused to recognise the kingdom was the fulfilment of the kingdom Jesus came to bring. This had to happen in the Jesus’ generation.

But that didn’t happen till approximately 40 years after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.

So what was happening before?

What was life like for Jerusalem and in particular for the followers of Jesus post resurrection and pre-destruction of the city?

Can you imagine?

The city was still held and oppressed by the Romans. There would have been many false Messiahs trying to raise a revolution, they were subsequently squashed. The Temple carried on. Where was the vindication? God was seemingly moving across the world through the Apostle Paul and the other apostles, but where is Jesus in the city, where is this sign from heaven? What happened to the prophecy?

Jesus had also said these words in v 34-36, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Jesus was saying, be ready. Live well. Be alert. Pray.

I am at the moment listening in the car to my Larry Norman albums, the father of Christian Rock Music, he wrote so many songs on the return of Christ. The famous one being “I wish we’d all been ready.”

It is 2019, people around you may not believe what you hold to. The followers of Jesus are struggling across the world. Where is the vindication? When will this end? Where is Jesus?

Luke in his gospel is referring to the Son of Man coming as the vindication mentioned in Daniel’s prophecy and the city did fall. But Luke also knew that Jesus would return again. In his Acts book he recorded in 1:11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

And so we wait and we are still waiting, far more than 40 years, 2,000 years later. Will he return in our lifetime? As we look around our world we see that people are not anticipating this at all, even in the Church! Maybe we will be singing ‘I wish we’d all been ready’. The end will come, the vindication will be over, just as He said it would.

What’s the worst thing that has ever happened to you?

Some people go through horrendous times. Even now, around our world, only a few hours away, immense persecution and suffering are taking place on people simply because of the colour of their skin, their tribe, their belief and their lifestyle.

We are going to read the words of Jesus as he prophecies of huge suffering to come on his followers and on Israel, resulting in the fall of the Temple.

His followers could probably believe they would be caught and imprisoned perhaps. But for the second Temple to fall after being built for hundreds of years. This was unthinkable.

In April this year, the world watched in dismay as fire engulfed the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. The horror on the faces of those there was tangible. This was news that reached right across the world and it captures something of the shock and trauma of the Temple’s possible downfall.

Yet that is obviously what happened.

Life leading up to that wasn’t good for the Christians or the Jews.

There was constant persecution and suffering for the followers of Jesus since the resurrection. On the day of Stephen’s martyr in AD34 a great persecution broke out against the Christians but it certainly wasn’t the greatest.

In AD64 Rome had a huge fire break out that lasted nearly a week and burned three quarters of the city. The people blamed the Emperor Nero for the fire and he in turn blamed the Christians. The Romans rounded them all up and in a savage and brutal way killed them. Torn apart by dogs and burned as street lights for Nero’s garden parties even the Roman people thought the torturous deaths too much.

Persecution has continued to this day throughout the centuries. It has centred on the same battle, that is, who is Lord? The early Christians refused to say Caesar is Lord. One amazing story comes out in history of an elderly bishop named Polycarp, who knew the Apostle John personally. He could have saved his life if he had simply put a pinch of incense on the altar as worship to Caesar. He refused, “Eighty and six years have I served Christ, and he never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?” So in AD155 he was tortured and burnt to death. But the reason for his death continues today. Caesar was called Lord and Saviour. So who will it be, Jesus or Caesar? But even more than that the early Christians refused to recognise the pantheon of gods in the Roman culture, they were remarkably called atheists as a result. One of the great attacks on Christians today is that of the demand to tolerate other Lords and Saviours alongside that of Jesus. The challenge remains for us that Jesus is and will always be Lord.

For the Jews, leading up to the dreadful year of AD70 they had been quite successfully in fighting off the Romans. For example, the revolt in Masada where the Zealots killed 3,600 Roman soldiers. In solidarity with Masada, the Temple sacrifice to Caesar was stopped and then Judea and Galilean Jews were encouraged and started to rebel against Caesar. Caesar was not Lord and the Romans hated them even more.

After the Passover in AD70 the Romans had permitted pilgrims to enter the city of Jerusalem but then prevented them leaving. Nero began the starvation of the city. The Jewish historian, Josephus wrote first-hand accounts as he was Nero’s interpreter and mediator. He wrote of up to 500 hundred crucifixions of prisoners every day and the famine resulting in cannibalism. But the Jews remained strong, this was their culture, their history, their land.

Titus, the son of Nero, finished what others had attempted to do before him. At first he wanted to save the Temple but he could not stop the frenzied attacks from his own soldiers. There is no need for me to write of the cruelty and barbaric treatment from the soldiers on the innocent people. But let me quote Josephus, “No one, can conceive a louder, more terrible shriek than arose from all sides during the burning of the temple. The shout of victory and the jubilee of the legions sounded through the wailings of the people, now surrounded with fire and sword, upon the mountain, and throughout the city… Yet the misery itself was more terrible than this disorder. The hill on which the temple stood was seething hot, and seemed enveloped to its base in one sheet of flame. The blood was larger in quantity than the fire, and those that were slain more in number than those that slew them. The ground was nowhere visible. All was covered with corpses; over these heaps the soldiers pursued the fugitives.”

Who would have thought this would ever have happened? Who could have imagined this?

There was one of course! Let’s read now the passage before I give some simple devotional thoughts to carry with us today:

Luke 21: 5-19 “⁵ Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, ⁶ “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” ⁷ “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” ⁸ He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. ⁹ When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” ¹⁰ Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. ¹² “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. ¹³ And so you will bear testimony to me. ¹⁴ But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. ¹⁵ For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ Everyone will hate you because of me. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ Stand firm, and you will win life.”

 

Clearly Jesus’ prophetic statement was for that generation. Not only did the resurrection vindicate Jesus but the destruction of the Temple proved He was who he said he was. He is Lord and Saviour not the Caesars of this world.

However, the instructions contained within the prophecy have comforted and encouraged many throughout the persecuted history of the Christian Church, even today.

Let me ask the question again: What’s the worst thing that has ever happened to you?

Perhaps you are going through that today?

Jesus would say, during this time:

1. Do not be deceived, v8 “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.” It is easy to follow people with huge personalities and over inflated egos. Confidence is a magnet but do not follow the ones who draw people to themselves and not to God. In the moment of your vulnerability do not run to man claiming this and that.

 

2. Get ready to tell your story, v13 “And so you will bear testimony to me.” Even in the despair you can give evidence of Jesus, you can testify of what He has done and who He is. Force out your praise.

 

3. Receive wisdom, v15 “For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.” Jesus promises to give ideas of what you can say and how to respond to the circumstances. In your hell choose the words of heaven to come out of your mouth.

 

4. Be patient, v19 “Stand firm, and you will win life.” Don’t give up, give way, remain in position, fixed on ‘Jesus is Lord’ and you will come into victory. You may lose the battle of the flesh but win the war of the soul.