Perspective

Jesus helps us see things the right way. Luke 21:1-28

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Recap

If you remember just a couple of Sundays ago, we finished up Luke 20. Little bit of a mini series within the full series of Luke. And those to message over chapter 20 were all about Jesus turning the tables. People had one way they thought things should be and Jesus presented the exact opposite. He’s questioned about his authority to reclaim the temple as a house of prayer rather than a market place, and Jesus doesn’t answer their request. Then he tells a parable or allegory, in which one of the characters represents God the father. And in the story the father sends his son…his son is rejected and killed. Eventually, His murderers are put to death and what they had is given to someone else.

Jesus does not make new friends with that story. 

Those who really didn’t like Jesus, wanted to trap him in his words and have him arrested. They tried to get him to speak out in rebellion against the Roman government. He simply said, “Doesn’t this money belong to the government anyway? Give it to them.” Specific religious groups tried to corner him in something they didn’t even believe. He navigated it well and that put an end to their sneaky questioning.

Jesus decides to ask a question, wanting to know if they were thinking. If their hearts were open to ponder the scriptures: “How can the Messiah be the Son of David, when David himself referred to Him as ‘Lord’ ?” We don’t get a response from his audience, but a warning about teachers of the Law. 

They are the guys who should recognize the Messiah when they meet him. They should know the scriptures not just in their head but in their heart, but Jesus says they are greedy, self-serving and vain.

And that catches up to chapter 21.

The Widow’s Offering Luke 21:1-4

Jesus was already in the temple. At the very least, all of chapter 20 takes place in the temple, possibly on the same day. Jesus went and taught each day (19:47)

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

This is not merely a parable or a phrase or good saying from Jesus. This is a teaching that arose from what Jesus saw. What He saw in the worship of the people. 

The Wealthy had much and gave out of their wealth…or excess. But for this woman, she gave all she had.

There’s a story of a farmer and some of his farm animals. He had cows, sheep, chickens and pigs. It was the farmer’s birthday and the animals wanted to do something special for him. One cow said, “I’ll give him some milk to enjoy.” A sheep took some of her wool and said, “I’ll knit him some socks. Just as soon as I learn to knit.”

The hen balked at that idea. “Just give him the wool, his wife and she’ll figure it.” 

The pig looked at the chicken, “What are we going to get him?” 

“What about a nice breakfast of Eggs and bacon?”

The pig looked at the hen, “for you to give that gift, it would be an offering. For me, it would be a sacrifice.”

There is a BIG difference between an offering and a sacrifice. Sacrifices ought to be costly, but not necessarily expensive. Abraham was commanded to take his son, Isaac, and sacrifice him. He almost succeeded. Abraham laid his future ancestors on that altar when he laid Isaac there. He tied up his future and control of it when he bound his son with ropes. And his will was on that altar too as he submitted to God and God stopped him from following through.

Sacrifice ought to be costly. The woman that Jesus saw gave her last coins into the temple treasury. It was an act of worship and supported the worship of God. She might go hungry until she was able to get money again, but at least she gave her all to God.

Signs of the End of the Age (Or Disciples Ogle the Temple)

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.”

The Temple treasury talked about in the previous verses were used for improvements and repairs of the Temple. Think of it kind of like a building fund. Jesus just got done telling the disciples and anyone who would listen that the widow’s small gift was greater than the greatest donation of those who could afford it. But even what those funds would be used for, adorning the temple of the Lord…keeping it looking and functioning as a place of worship, didn’t matter in the long run.

The temple would be torn down. Not a stone Left on another stone. 

Today, if you go to Jerusalem, you can go to the temple mount. The foundation is all that remains. The temple is gone. Just the “Wailing Wall” remains. Jews from all over the world make pilgrimage to the wailing wall, praying and leaving little scraps of paper in the wall with prayers written on them. To this day, the Jews still mourn because 70 AD Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple with it.

Jesus, knowing what would happen, had a special perspective that his disciples did not have. He led his disciples to go deeper.

Guys, it’s not about the temple, the building or how beautiful it looks. 

In Acts 7, Stephen made this point about the temple of the Lord.

47But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

48“However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

49“ ‘Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house will you build for me?   [says the Lord.]

Or where will my resting place be?

50Has not my hand made all these things?’

The temple was a place of worship, it wasn’t to be the object of their worship.

Luke 21:8-11

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.

Sometimes people claim to be something great when they are really not. There were others prior to or around the time of Jesus that people thought of them as their Savior.  They Rebelled against the Romans and they were put down. We have records of some of the people who tried to be “somebodies.”

In Acts 5 Peter and the apostles were told a second time to stop preaching in Jesus’ name. Their response? “We must obey God rather than human beings!” The High priest and his lackeys really wanted Peter and the other apostles dead. But all of a sudden someone, well respected among the Sanhedrin, tried to reason with the counsel.

Acts 5:35-39

“Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

Theudas and Judas the Galilean thought themselves to be “somebody” but in the end, they became DEAD bodies.

And the one who reasons with the Sanhedrin about all this?

Gamaliel, likely the rabbi to Saul of Tarsus, was wise and not driven by emotion unlike his colleagues. I point out the examples Gamaliel pointed out, because there have been many since the time of Christ that have said “I am He” or “the time is near.” 

In more recent memory, in the 1970’s -1990’s you have Jim Jones, David Koresh, and Marshall Applewhite all held sway over their members and all ended in suicide or murder. They were Charismatic characters that kept control of their followers. They claimed to be Christ or at least their followers believed they were. 

News flash: they were not.

Here’s a bit of a summary of the signs in Luke 21:12-24.

• Wars
• Natural Disasters
• Widespread illness
  • This so far sounds like every era in mankind.
• BUT before you endure any of that, you get to be persecuted! You’ll be betrayed by those closest to you. On the upside, when you are on trial, you’ll get a chance to witness to the highest leadership of mankind.

Let’s look at verses 25-28 it says:

 “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.”

Lift up your heads. 

Not cower in fear. Not scare people to death. Not cheat them out of their life savings. 

All of these have been people’s approach to the signs of the times and the return of Christ. But Jesus tells believers: “…Lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near.”

Conclusion

If you’ve read through the book of Luke before, you know some challenging things are coming up in the next couple of weeks. Things that challenged so many expectations. 

Jesus wasn’t the king they thought he would be. He didn’t play ball with the Pharisees and Sadducees. He made time for the little children and held them in high regard for their faith and trust. He had compassion for the crowds and desired to help them. He was not like any other charismatic leader that ever was or any that ever would be. The simple fact is that He was and is the Son of God. He is the Messiah, the son of David coming down from heaven in a cloud. And if anything the disciples could have taken away from these experiences and teachings that Luke later recorded, if anything we could learn today, nearly 2000 years later, is that Jesus’ perspective on things is the right perspective. And for us to really begin to gain that perspective, we’ve got to get to know Him better. We’ve got to fellowship with him. When he points out things in our lives, it’s not an opportunity to make excuses or bring explanations. It’s simply for us to watch, listen, learn, and live like him in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

He wants us to know him and be changed by him. As the Last supper and Judas’ betrayal loom over next week’s message, I want to finish with this verse from Revelation 3:20

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”