No Idle Threats


Luke 21:20-24
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22 for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23 Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

As a parent there were times when I made idle threats. I confess it. We all know it’s a terrible way to parent. But sometimes the words came out and I knew I would never follow through on the threatened consequences for disobedience. And my girls knew it too. When I read Jesus’ words to His followers just before His betrayal into the hands of the Pharisees and the Romans, I wish they could be idle threats. But they are not. We already know that Jesus prophecy concerning the Temple was 100% accurate. Almost 40 years after His death and resurrection, that Temple was indeed completely destroyed. It was no longer necessary the moment Jesus completed His sacrificial death for our sins.

The temple, Judea, and ethnic Israel become obsolete in the arrival of him for whom they prepared.
Just, A. A., Jr. (1997). Luke 9:51–24:53 (p. 796). St. Louis: CPH.

In our reading for today, Jesus promises that the entire city of Jerusalem will also be destroyed. If His prophecy concerning the Temple was accurate we have no reason to doubt what He said about Jerusalem either. Ancient historian Josephus chronicled the fall of Jerusalem in such graphic terms as to turn one’s stomach. The war was devastating.

According to Josephus, over one million died (War 6.420–21 [6.9.3]), and in his chronicles of the war this historian was loathe to describe the depths of human misery that reduced the inhabitants to the utmost vulgarity (cannibalism, etc.).
Just, A. A., Jr. (1997). Luke 9:51–24:53 (p. 798). St. Louis: CPH.

In this entire section of Luke we find that Jesus is speaking to His disciples in the harshest possible terms about the consequences of man’s sinfulness on the world. Sin causes terrible things. These consequences are a part of God’s judgment upon a people who would refuse to recognize Him and worship Him. We deserve it. But here is where we cannot allow this passage to stand alone, for to do so would leave us hopeless. As we watch the world unravel; as we kill one another for no reason; as natural disasters end thousands of lives; as wars rage around us, we simple have to hold onto Jesus Christ alone. His death and resurrection separate us from the final judgment. We stand before a holy God with our ungodliness covered in Jesus blood.

So while Jesus’ words of warning in this text are real and certainly not an idle threat, His plan for our rescue was also not an idle promise. His graces extended toward us rather than away from us and we are forgiven in that shed blood. The coming apocalypse cannot touch us for we already belong to Him.

I’ve included a video of an old hymn for you today. I love this song and the words of the chorus are perfect. I pray this little chorus will stick with you all day!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTiYLz3b8To

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!

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