Here in Jesus’ final days before his crucifixion, he is speaking about judgments to come. When we think about judgements to come from God we might have fairly vague ideas about how people will go off somewhere, but we don’t really grasp how awful that will be.
In Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus speaks about judgments to come in terms that are very real, and very painful. That said, there’s also a message of incredible hope that will actually help you today, tomorrow, and this week.
We’ll have four areas of thought: First, we remind ourselves that God really does bring just judgment. Then we’ll think about the reality of judgment. Thirdly we’ll think about judgment when Jesus returns, and lastly: So what?
These notes accompany a sermon on YouTube delivered at Bromborough Evangelical Church, Wirral in October 2023. You can find more in the series in our sermon index.
God does judge justly (5-7)
Jesus has spent time teaching in the temple in Jerusalem. He’s not at all impressed by what he sees. In Matthew 15:7-9, Jesus quotes Ezekiel 33:31 and Isaiah 29:13 “These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” E.g. scribes pray for show, and then rob poor widows.
As they pass through the temple, people pointed it out to him. Read Luke 21:5.
They weren’t exaggerating. It was spectacular. But the assumption was that God must surely be happy with them and be blessing them if they had such a magnificent temple, right? It’s a common error.
- Joel Osteen is a false prophet. His ministry keeps people from Jesus, from repentance and faith. But it looks very successful. God must be blessing it, right?
- At Mars Hill church, Pastor Mark Driscoll was a crude bully, but because the church grew, and people were saved and baptised, surely God must be pleased, right?
- God can and will bless individuals in all sorts of places, but each organisation as a whole is condemned.
Read Luke 21:6-7.
Why does Jerusalem have a temple now? What happened to it? It was destroyed by the Romans – brutally, viciously – in AD70. And Jesus is about to prophesy about it in this chapter of Luke.
Make no mistake: Its destruction was a judgment from God.
- Luke 19:44 “…because you did not recognise the time when God visited you” – when Jesus arrived.
- Luke 19:46 “..my house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves!”
- John 1:11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
God sent his son to them, and they killed him. Judgment hit.
Don’t Underestimate Judgment (8-24)
In verses 8 to 24, Jesus says what things will be like for Jerusalem when judged by God. It’s important to remember that Christians aren’t to bring about God’s judgments for him: We don’t grow the kingdom of God by aggression. Not everyone has seen it that way: Read Luke 21:8-9.
The Crusades were a later example. But the sword of the Spirit is the word of God, the Bible. The good news of Christ is the power of God to save. Not by might, nor by strength, but by God’s Spirit. Judgment will come, but it will come at God’s hand.
Read Luke 21:10-11. The historian Josephus records such things before Jerusalem fell in AD 70.
Before he describes what will happen to Jerusalem, Jesus explains what will happen to his disciples: Read Luke 21:12-19.
Christ’s followers would be persecuted by Jew and Gentile alike – something the book of Acts is full of. But Acts is also full of how Jesus fuels his people with the life and power of the Holy Spirit, defying opposition. The pain of persecution hasn’t gone away: You can still expect to be opposed even by those closest to you. How can he say in v16, “They will kill some of you” and then in v18, “not a hair of your head will be lost”? Remember Stephen, stoned to death, welcomed into the arms of Christ (Acts 7)? Persevere in Christ, and you will be saved to him.
Judgment on Jerusalem
Jesus then goes on to describe what will happen to Jerusalem. Notice this: By first explaining what will happen to Jesus’ first disciples, you can see that part of the judgment against Jerusalem is a result of their rejection of the church / Christians.
- Paul later wrote this about the Jews in Judea: 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16 the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us. They displease God and are hostile to everyone, by keeping us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. As a result, they are constantly filling up their sins to the limit, and wrath has overtaken them at last.
So read Luke 21:20-24.
- Judgment from God isn’t some vague, fuzzy “badness”.
- It’s a bitter, physical reality. A world of pain.
- The people of Jerusalem suffered horrific treatment at the hands of the Romans – it was utterly over-the-top brutality.
- If you could see it coming, you’d be wise to flee the city and not come back.
Can God really use that kind of brutality to bring about his judgments?
- Yes, as he did with both the Assyrian and Babylonian empires.
- God’s own prophets wondered at it: Habakkuk asked God directly how he could use Babylon like that.
- The answer was that Babylon would be judged too. And it’s the same here:
- “…these are days of vengeance” – God’s punishment
- “Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” – until such a time as the Gentile Romans are to be judged by God for their sin.
The future judgment
So far, we’ve seen that God has brought about judgement in the past. It’s what he does, and what he has done. We’ve also seen that judgment is painfully real, not just a fuzzy bad thing. People will flee it like they flee an advancing army.
But Jesus had more to say about the future. He goes on to speak about your future, and the further judgment God will bring about on all nations. On ours.
So next Jesus picks up on Old Testament imagery that hints at bigger, wider judgements to come.
These judgments will come when Jesus himself returns to the earth from heaven. What kind of day will that be?
Will Jesus’ return be judgment or joy? (25-33)
Read Luke 21:25-26.
Still, nation rises against nation. And more, the world has anguish from natural phenomena that cause damage and fear. In our times, that’s global warming and climate change. In earlier times, it might be plague, or mini ice-ages, or volcanoes or tsunami or drought.
This world won’t know peace in itself. It is in all sorts of turmoil, and those things are like the contractions of a pregnant woman: They mean something is going to happen!
Read Luke 21:27-28.
- Jesus is the Son of Man. In the Old Testament, it was God who appeared in cloud, and the Son of Man is the Son of God who will come to the earth in power.
- He will come to judge. He will raise the dead, and all who have known him in this life will rise to eternal life.
- Those who reject him in this life will rise to eternal punishment.
Christians will often quibble over the details of how and when Christ will come, but we all agree he will return in judgment. But look at the way Jesus speaks: “stand up and lift your heads, because your redemption is near.”
Redemption 1
What does he mean? The Bible speaks of redemption for Christians in two ways, two stages.
What is redemption? It’s about buying someone’s freedom. If someone is in slavery, you can redeem them by buying their freedom. You pay the price, and declare them free.
If you have never acknowledged your sin before God, you’re a slave to sin. It controls you. You naturally do wrong. You like it, and choose sin. Even if you wanted a whole day as a “good person” you’d fail. Sin controls your desire.
You might object! As God’s creature, in God’s world, you’re subject to him as your ruler. You choose otherwise, because you’re ruled by sin. That makes you an object of wrath, deserving the terrible judgment that will come to everyone who rejects God – when Jesus returns.
But remember:
- Jesus is the Son of God who came into the world to seek and save the lost. He came to save you.
- You need have no fear of judgment. You can have a glorious anticipation of joy with God, not fear of him.
- And he invites you to that.
In short, he will redeem you from your sin. The price he pays is to take the punishment – the judgment – due to you. Christ died in your place, punished by God.
His blood is the redemption price to free you from sin.
Redemption 2
That’s the first redemption. But Christians await a full redemption too.
Christians are still subject to illness, and death. We can still fall into poverty. All Christians still sin. Age creeps up slowly, stealing vitality and youth one day at a time. And when Christ returns, he will grant all his people an incorruptible, unwasting, undying, unageing body. We will be redeemed from this bondage to decay, and granted eternal life in physical bodies with him forever.
In case you didn’t get it: This is very good news indeed!
It’s easy to get a bit put off or overwhelmed when people start speaking about Christ’s return, the end-times. But for Christians, it’s something to look forward to with eager anticipation. Just as, if you don’t know Christ, it’s something to dread with mortal fear. Turn to God now for forgiveness, and enter into his joy.
But Jesus didn’t just teach about this stuff for your head-knowledge. It’s easy to let the discussion cloud something really important: All this affects how you’re to live today:
Be on guard, alert, and praying (34-38)
You’ve already been told to “stand up and lift your heads, because your redemption is near.”
- The state of the world is awful, and yet there’s an encouragement too: Christ is coming, so head up, shoulders back, get on.
Read Luke 21:34-35.
- It’s true that the Bible doesn’t condemn alcohol; wine is often used as a symbol of rejoicing and celebration.
- But drunkenness is always condemned; self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, and you can’t be self-controlled with half a bottle of wine in you.
- Don’t be dulled by living as the world lives – living only for physical senses, living in escapism, or overly attached to ‘things’.
- Be on guard against temptation to worldliness.
You don’t want to live a life looking over your shoulder, hoping the Lord doesn’t return now and catch you doing something.
You want to live a life in joyful anticipation, looking forward to his return, waiting to stand before him: Read Luke 21:36.
Alert and praying
Be alert and praying for strength:
- Alert to opposition and persecution.
- You’ll pray, remembering your complete dependence on God.
- Pray for strength to keep going.
- And pray for those who persecute you, especially those closest to you.
- In prayer, draw near to God. You are nourished by him, strengthened by the Spirit in you.
- If you choose not to pray, you’re denying the strength of the living God, and saying (wrongly) that you’re ok, that you can do this in your own strength.
God is love, and there is no darkness in him at all. He is perfect justice, and no sin goes unpunished.
We all want justice in the world, and God will bring it perfectly.
- He has, does, and will judge all sin justly – including yours.
- Don’t underestimate judgment. It’s not a vague “bad thing” – it’s a painful, awful reality. Without faith in Christ, it’s an eternal reality for you.
- Will Jesus’ return be judgment or joy? That’s something you can answer now. Come to him in repentance and faith, and you’ll joyfully anticipate the redemption, freedom from all this world’s pains, with Christ.
- So be on guard against the sin the drags you back; be alert and praying for strength every day – in living dependency and life with Jesus every day.
The more you do that, the more you’ll look forward to seeing him.