Luke 17:22-37
Wednesday, 02 November 2022
“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.” – Luke 17:30
The conversation started in Luke 17:20 with the Pharisees asking Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. Part of Jesus’ answer to them was “…the kingdom of God is in your midst.” In saying so, He was implying His presence- Himself being the representative of God’s Kingdom right there in their midst. They could neither discern it nor accept Him as bringing in God’s Kingdom to them.
Jesus’ ensuing conversation with His disciples was more on what would be the state of the world when He would appear a second time. We who look forward to His coming again, a few thoughts can be gleaned here:
1. An excessive zeal with watching for His coming (Vs.20-24)- Just as the Pharisees were calculative in their thinking about how things should be with the coming of the Messiah, the disciples and us today can become too zealous or absorbed in going after predictions, signs and wonders that precede His second coming. There is a danger in this as it could even lead us to false Messiahs and wrong teachings which will take our focus off from doing what God intends for us to do before His coming- that is to spread the gospel that others too will be brought into His Kingdom.
2. An undue preoccupation with the world (Vs26-29)- It was “business as usual” (Vs.30 NLT) in both the days of Noah and Lot when judgement fell upon the wicked. People were doing just the normal things of eating/drinking/marrying/buying/selling…etc. They did not bother with the righteous preaching by Noah or Lot when warnings were given. Even today, when men of God speak of being saved from eternal destruction by trusting in Christ Jesus- the way God has made for mankind, people ridicule and ignore them. They think the world will go on just the way it is, little aware that a day of reckoning will come!
3. An apathy that takes one by surprise (Vs.31-35)- If one is not alert about the Lord’s coming it can take one by surprise. And if you are too concerned about your life on this earth, wrapped up in your possessions…you can be left behind. The reference to Lot’s wife helps us understand that her heart was still in the possessions that she left behind than in escaping the judgment of God. Our worldly preoccupations can diminish our desire for the kingdom and dims our view of its reality. To such the second coming of Christ will become a distant reality that He may not find them ready.
Looking into all these aspects, how are we to live our lives while we await His coming? In one of the parables Jesus spoke thus: “It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. ……You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Refer Luke12:35-40). We are to be found ready, faithfully administering the work He has entrusted each one of us to do until He comes again. Instead of being too preoccupied with the signs of His coming, we are to keep our hearts sensitive to Him so that we will be ready to receive Him when He comes. And meanwhile we are to go on with the task of drawing more into His Kingdom.
If you are one who is not part of God’s Kingdom, the invitation is open through Christ Jesus to enter before He comes again to judge the world.
“The best way to prepare for the coming of Christ is never to forget the presence of Christ.”—William Barclay
Listen: 'Saviour of the world'
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