Severe Damage

Luke 12:54-59

⁵⁴He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. ⁵⁵And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? ⁵⁷“And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. ⁵⁹I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

Last week we rented a car while traveling and in the rental garage they had several of these traffic control strips that were preceded by these signs.

I’ve always been slightly disturbed by those metal teeth that will most certainly do just as the signs say – they will “severely” damage your tires most likely to the point of immobility. And I didn’t see a single person disobey those signs. None of us were willing to test it out to see if “severe tire damage” would result from disobedience. There was no need. We believed the signs.

Jesus uses common knowledge to make a similar point in His Words for us today. Pay attention to the signs, recognizing what He says is true. Remarkably, it is easy for us to look away from Jesus and what He wants us to know about Himself and His Kingdom. We seem to have the strange ability to think like a 2 year old who believes that if she shuts her eyes, no one can see her. The signs are there, but we choose not to recognize them.

The immediate audience for Jesus Words is His own disciples and the crowd gathered to hear what He had to say – or more likely, to watch as He performed another miracle. Here in the flesh was the Messiah they had been promised and yet they refused to heed the prophecies that were fulfilled in their own presence. As He shared His message and called out for their repentance and faith, they were so very slow to read the signs and heed His words. Instead, they chose ignorance. Jesus warns that there will be ways for us to know that His return is eminent. Yet we live in a world where people would rather ignore the signs of His presence and power; a choice that will lead only to destruction.

I think it is always important to realize that Jesus shares these signs because His greatest desire is that all would come to see the signs and interpret them in terms of belief in His saving grace. If He didn’t care about us, He wouldn’t bother with the signs. Every time I hear about floods, earthquakes, hail, or even our inhumanity for one another, I sense a sign that Jesus is preparing for His return. I see a world that is being warned of God’s wrath over our sin. And when we look back upon the Cross of Calvary, we are reminded that God’s ultimate desire is for our salvation. There’s no need to drive over those spikes to see if your tires will be destroyed. They will. There’s no need to disregard every gracious sign that the Father sends our way because His heart truly wants us to see Him and His grace rather than our own destruction.