Good morning. Stick out your Bibles. Let's turn to Luke chapter 21. We continue in our study through Luke's gospel. More specifically, through Jesus' teaching to His disciples on the Mount of Olives, what's sometimes known as the Olivet Discourse, the scene has shifted from the temple where Jesus had several interactions with the Jewish religious leaders and then saw the poor widow putting in her offering, that ends in chapter 21, verse four. Now to the Mount of Olives, which is across the Kidron Valley from where the temple sits, starting in chapter 21, verse five. And then everything from chapter 21, verse five, all the way down to verse 36 is one long teaching or discourse on that Mount of Olives, Hence the name, Olivet Discourse. Well, today we pick it up in the middle of that Olivet Discourse in verse 25. But for the sake of context and continuity, let me start reading back in verse 5. Luke chapter 21, verses 5 through the end of the chapter, we hear the word of the Lord. And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, And they asked him, Teacher, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place? And he said, see that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name saying, I am he, and the time is at hand. Do not go after them. And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once. Then he said to them, nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places, famines and pestilences, and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be our opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You'll be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you, they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake, but not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance, you will gain your lives. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 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. For these are days of vengeance to fulfill all that is written. 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. 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. And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud of power and great glory. And when these things begin to take place, Straighten up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near." And he told them a parable. Look at the fig tree and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But watch yourselves, lest your hearts be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth, But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man. And every day he was teaching in the temple. But at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. And early in the morning, all the people came to him in the temple to hear him." Brothers and sisters, this is the word of the Lord. So Jesus and his disciples, they're on the Mount of Olives. From the Mount of Olives, you have a pretty clear view of the city of Jerusalem and its temple. Some of the disciples are looking at that temple. They're commenting on its glory, on its splendor, on its beauty. But as they're admiring the structure, Jesus tells them that all of that is going to be destroyed. As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. In response, the disciples ask him, teacher, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place? These things clearly refers back to what Jesus was just talking about in verse six, the destruction of the temple. Jesus, when is that temple going to be destroyed? And what's going to be the sign when the temple is about to be destroyed? Jesus' response to those two questions is the Olivet Discourse. He starts by warning them about things that are going to take place before the temple is destroyed. There's going to be false teachers who are going to try to lead you astray. There's going to be persecution from enemies of the church. He warns them so that they would be prepared, so that they're not surprised, so that they would remain steadfast. And then starting in verse 20, this is the passage that we covered last week, he begins to answer their questions. When is the temple going to be destroyed? And what are the signs when the temple is about to be destroyed? Well, When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. And we talked about how all of that was fulfilled exactly as Jesus describes it here in the years leading up to AD 70, when the Romans came and destroyed Jerusalem. We also talked about how there was a period of time, about a year, between when Vespasian began surrounding Jerusalem and when his son Titus came back to complete the siege and the destruction, a time period of about a year when people could still leave Jerusalem. And so Jesus warns his disciples, when you see that the city is beginning to be surrounded, flee. Get out. Keep your distance. That's exactly what the Christians did. But many Jews remained in or even fled into the city. And that, as Jesus warned, was a disastrous decision. Because when Titus and the Roman army came back to Judea, they began a siege of Jerusalem. And for four months, They broke through, they entered the city, and exactly as Jesus foretold, they did not leave one stone upon another. They completely destroyed the city. As Jesus says in verse 22, these are days of vengeance to fulfill all that is written. It was God's judgment on the nation, on the Jewish religious leaders, on the people, for their rejection of the Messiah, because you did not know the time of your visitation. That brings us now to verse 25. If you've been in an emergency room, then you understand the concept of triage. It applies to who gets seen. life-threatening conditions are high priority, a sprained ankle is not. If you're a parent, then you understand the concept of triage as it applies to where you direct your attention. The child who just stuck a marble up his nose, that's high priority. The child who's looking for a battery for his toy, that's lower priority. And if you're a Christian, then you should understand this concept of triage as it applies to how we think about different theological issues. Al Mohler's written helpfully on this topic, and so you can read his stuff if you want to think about this more deeply. But here's the basic idea. You have what we might call primary issues. These are like the essential truths of the Christian faith, high priority topics, if you will. Things like the Trinity, or the deity of Christ, or the authority of the scriptures, God's authoritative word, or the gospel of our salvation. So for example, the gospel that Jesus, the son of God, took on human flesh by being born of a virgin, lived the perfect life that we never could, died for our sin, rose again from the dead, ascended to heaven, sat down at the right hand of the Father so that we who repent and believe in him might be saved. That's a first order, primary, high priority issue. Like all Christians must agree on that. Like Paul says in Galatians chapter one, even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one which you have received, Let him be accursed. It's not like, well, you have your view of the gospel, that salvation is of works, and you have your version of the gospel, which is that salvation is about just feeling near to God. And I have my view of the gospel, that Christ died for our sins, and that's okay if we have different understandings of the gospel. We just need to love each other. No. Paul says that if anyone's preaching another gospel, let him be accursed. So that's a first-order issue. These are the kinds of things that people must believe in order to be Christians. Then there's what we might call second-order issues. These are things that genuine Christians can disagree on and still recognize each other as genuine Christians, but the disagreements are significant enough that they lead to different denominations or different churches. So, for example, what you believe about baptism, or what you believe about the practice of certain spiritual gifts, These aren't first order issues, like disagreements on these things, they don't necessarily mean that the other person is an unbeliever, but these second order disagreements are of a significant enough nature that two Christians who acknowledge each other to be Christians might not worship together at the same church. Then in this idea of theological triage, you have what we might call third order issues. Third order issues are things that you can disagree on with your brothers and sisters and yet still fellowship together closely as members of the same church. Do you homeschool your kids? Do you ever partake in a glass of wine? Do you wish we sang more hymns or do you wish we sang more contemporary songs? Who exactly are the Nephilim? Those will be examples of third-order issues that even members of the same church can disagree on and yet maintain close fellowship and unity in the same body. I think these distinctions and kind of categories of theological triage, they're helpful for us to think about as a church for several reasons. One, it helps us, it guards us from falling into one of two traps. One trap is to think that every theological issue is a third order issue. This is what happens in liberalism. Like, it doesn't really matter what you believe. It doesn't really matter what I believe. We just need to love each other. Well, then the church is no longer a pillar and buttress of the truth. Like even essential truths, like who God is and what he's done for us in Christ, all that kind of gets muddied and obscured in the kind of mishmash of ambiguity and compromise. At the other end of the spectrum is the trap of making every theological issue a first-order issue. This is a problem in some fundamentalist churches where seemingly everything, even issues of conscience and Christian liberty, like everything becomes a first-order, like, are you even a Christian kind of issue. So theological triage helps us from falling into those two traps. It also reminds us of our need for humility and charity, especially when it comes to those third-order issues. Like if we believe that not only genuine Christians, but also genuine Christians with whom we fellowship in the same church, genuine Christians with whom we've covenanted to live out the Christian life can disagree on certain things, well, that reminds us that whatever our view on those things is, We need to exercise both humility and charity, treating those who would disagree with us with charity. So what's all this triage stuff got to do with anything? Well, what you believe Jesus is talking about here in Luke chapter 21, that would fall into the category of third order issues. Or were we as members one of another in this church, might disagree. We might have different views. We might have different takes. Like maybe you're going to disagree with some of the things that I'm going to say today, but that's okay. We can still love one another as brothers and sisters. We can still be members of the same church. We can still strive side by side for the faith of the gospel with both humility in our own views and charity toward one another. So with all that in mind, what's Jesus actually talking about in our passage, specifically verses 25 through 33? Now, most believers will say that he's talking about the second coming here. And they'll say that because of the language of, look at verse 25, of these cosmic signs of the sun and moon and stars. Verse 26, the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Verse 25, the tumult in the waters, the roaring sea and the waves. Verse 27, the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Those are images and phrases and words that we typically associate with Jesus' second coming. And so they'll say that Jesus, well, he was talking about the destruction of Jerusalem, like in verses 20 to 24. But now, starting in verse 25, he's talking about his second coming. And this, I think, within evangelicalism is a pretty common view. But there's some major problems with that view. Let me point out three. First, consider the questions. The questions. Jesus' disciples, at the beginning of the chapter, ask him two questions. Again, verse 7. I want you to see this in your own Bibles. Teacher, when will these things be and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place? So the disciples ask Jesus two questions about the destruction of the temple. Jesus, in his response to those questions, is clearly talking about the destruction of the temple, the destruction of Jerusalem, in verses 20 through 24. So then why would Jesus, still responding to those same questions, all of a sudden change the subject to his second coming with absolutely no notice or warning or transition? It's like if you were to ask me questions about my son's birthday next month. So what are you guys gonna do when Haddon turns two? Yeah, well, we've been thinking about what we're going to do for his birthday. Maybe we'll decorate the house with trains because he loves trains. And we're going to give him some candy. Kid loves chocolate. His grandmother is going to come by and bring him a big balloon number two. I hope the weather is nice for his wedding ceremony. I wonder what kind of cake we're going to have at the wedding reception afterwards. You say, what? you'd be so confused. Like why did I completely shift topics many years into the future from his second birthday to his wedding day in the middle of my response to your initial question without any notice? But that's kind of what you have to think Jesus does here if you think he's talking about his second coming. So first, consider the questions. Second, consider the audience. Remember what we've been saying for the past several weeks. Proper hermeneutics, properly interpreting and understanding this teaching requires us to remember who the original audience is that Jesus is speaking to. He's talking to his disciples. Verse eight, see that you are not led astray. He's talking to his disciples. Verse 20, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, he's talking to his disciples. So in the same way, verse 31, so also when you see these things taking place, he's not talking about something that's gonna happen thousands of years down the line, his second coming. He's talking about something that's going to be relevant to and experienced by his original audience. So first, the questions. Second, the audience. Third, consider the timing. Look at verse 32. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Now, a plain reading of that verse, well, it means that all of this that he's describing here in our passage is going to happen within a generation, which back then would have been viewed to be 40 years. But the second coming didn't happen within 40 years. And so those who would hold that our passage is about the second coming, they've come up with a bunch of different explanations as to what verse 32 might mean. Some would say that this generation refers to the Jewish people. And so the verse means that the Jewish people are still going to be around at the second coming. Some say that this generation is referring to those who would oppose the kingdom of God. Kind of like when Jesus said, this generation seeks a sign, he's referencing their unbelief. And so this is just a way to refer to unbelievers. And so the verse means that unbelievers are still gonna be around at the second coming. But in those two views, whether this generation is referring to the Jewish people or to unbelievers, well, it's not clear at all what Jesus's point is. Like, how does giving the disciples this indefinite time frame that stretches to the end of history, how does that answer their original questions in any way? A third view is that the word all, as in this generation will not pass away until all has taken place, Well, the word all doesn't refer to everything that Jesus has talked about in this chapter. It's only referring to the destruction of Jerusalem stuff. And so Jesus is essentially saying, anything that I've said with regards to the destruction of Jerusalem, that's going to happen within your generation. But anything that I've said with regards to my second coming, that doesn't apply. It's like so convoluted, it's almost without meaning. Like, let's be honest. The only way you'd come up with that interpretation is if you're starting with the presupposition that this is about the second coming and you're trying to explain away what's otherwise a tricky verse. So, if Jesus is not talking about his second coming here, which I don't think he is because of the questions, because of the audience, because of the timing, Well, what do I think he's talking about? I think he's still talking about AD 70, the destruction of Jerusalem. Let's think again about the three problems we saw with the second coming view of our passage and see how they resolve rather nicely if we see this entire passage to be about AD 70. First, consider the questions. The questions the disciples ask. are clearly about the destruction of the temple. And so this whole chapter is one continuous teaching in response to those questions about the destruction of the temple, including verses 25 through 33. He doesn't change topics in verse 25. He doesn't fast forward at least 2000 years into the future without giving any notice. He's still answering those same two questions about the temple's destruction. Second, consider the audience. Verse 28, now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads. Verse 31, so also when you see these things taking place. Verse 36, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place. All three of those statements are addressing his original audience. the disciples, some of whom are going to be alive to do all of those things in the year 8070. A third, consider the timing. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. If this whole chapter is about the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, then we have no problems with that verse. Because that all happened in AD 70, which is a little less than four decades or a generation after Jesus said this. This generation then means this generation. And all then means all. But now you may be wondering, What about the imagery? What about the language? The astronomical disturbances? The coming on the clouds? All of that. Well, consider that in the Old Testament, and we know that Jesus draws a lot of his language from the Old Testament, a lot of his imagery from the Old Testament. Consider that these were common images in the Old Testament to describe contemporary judgments of the nations. Let me show you that. Let's start with the astronomical stuff. In our passage, look at verse 25, Jesus talks about signs in sun and moon and stars. Sun and moon and stars. Consider how Isaiah describes the judgment of Babylon in his day. He uses the same exact imagery of this sudden violent change in the cosmos. Isaiah chapter 13 verses 9 and 10. Behold, the day of the Lord comes cruel with wrath and fierce anger to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. Here it is, verse 10. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark at its rising and the moon will not shed its light. These astronomical disturbances, they didn't literally happen when Cyrus and the Persians conquered Babylon in 539 BC. That's what Isaiah is talking about there. Stars, sun, moon, all of that is figurative language to describe the intensity of God's judgment. A little later in the same passage, Isaiah chapter 13, verse 13. You see how that's very similar to what Jesus says in Luke 21, verse 26. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. And it's not just Isaiah. Ezekiel, he also uses the same kind of like astronomical language, catastrophic stuff going on in the skies to describe God's judgment. Ezekiel 32. Ezekiel tells us at the beginning of the chapter that this is a lamentation over Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Like he's describing judgment that God brought on Egypt in that day. And this is what it says in verses seven through nine. So you see how That kind of language is used to figuratively speak of God's judgment. It doesn't necessarily have to refer to the second coming. How about the language of verse 25? Distress of nations and the roaring of the sea and the waves. That language is very similar to Isaiah's in Isaiah 17. He's describing the judgment coming on Damascus again in his day. And this is what he says in Isaiah 17, 12. Compare it to Luke 21, 25. Ah, the thunder of many peoples. They thunder like the thundering of the sea. Ah, the roar of nations. The distress of nations. They roar like the roaring of mighty waters. The roaring of the sea and the waves. What about the language of the Son of Man coming on clouds? Well, coming on clouds, riding on clouds, again, this is imagery we see in the Old Testament referring to God's judgment on the nations. Listen to how Isaiah describes God's judgment on Egypt. Isaiah 19, an oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. No one thinks that that was a physical manifestation of Jesus coming to judge Egypt. No, it's figurative language used to describe God's judgment on that people. Also look at Psalm 104 verse 3. God lays the beams of his chambers on the waters. He makes the clouds his chariot. He rides on the wings of the wind. So when Jesus says in Luke 21 that the Son of Man is going to come in a cloud with power and great glory, He doesn't mean literally, or visibly, or physically. He means that he's coming in powerful judgment the same exact way the Old Testament uses that imagery through the Roman army in the year AD 70. And so just Jesus tells his disciples. He tells them the parable about the fig tree. Look out for the signs. We talked about what those signs were last week when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies. Look out for those signs so that you know that the destruction is near. Just like one would look at a fig tree coming out in leaf and knowing that the summer is near. And this isn't some like far off hypothetical thing for his original audience of the disciples. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place, which is why they need to be ready. They need to, look at verse 34, watch themselves lest they be unprepared. And they need to, verse 36, stay awake that they might escape this judgment. And like we talked about last week, many of them were prepared. Many of them did escape because they listened to Jesus's words here. They fled to Pella before Jerusalem was destroyed. So that's why I think Luke 21 is talking about AD 70. The destruction of Jerusalem, the destruction of the temple. Hopefully that explanation was clear enough that you can then go think about these things on your own. But let me be clear on one thing here, lest I be misunderstood. I completely affirm and believe what we confessed together today. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe that This Jesus who, in saving sinners like us, took on human flesh, lived a perfect life, died in the place of sinners like us, rose again for our justification, then ascended to the right hand of the Father where He sat down. I believe that this same Jesus will, in the future, literally, physically, personally, gloriously, and bodily return, the second coming of Christ. I believe that because there's a lot of New Testament texts that talk about that. I just don't think Luke 21 is one of them. I think Luke 21 is exclusively talking about what happened in AD 70. Now, my view here, it does not diminish in any way my desire for the Lord to return. If anything, I think it brings more clarity to his return because we're not confusing ourselves by mixing up his return with some of the things that have already happened. Now, you may agree with me. You may not agree with me. I'd say as long as your disagreement is based on the Bible and sound principles of exegesis, I'm okay with that. Nobody's sticking a marble up their nose here. This is one of those issues where I think believers in the same church who strive side by side for the faith of the gospel, we can disagree. But as we close, I want us to think about what Jesus says there at the very end. Because I think there's application here for every believer, like regardless of what you think Jesus is talking about here, whether this is fulfilled in AD 70 or not, like here are some things that I think we can all agree on. Look again at verse 34, but watch yourselves. So that's a warning that, in my understanding of this passage, applies primarily to the disciples in the days leading up to A.D. 70. They needed to watch themselves. But that's also a warning that can be applied to believers today, anticipating the second coming of Christ. That's a warning that's relevant for every single Christian in this room, that we need to watch ourselves. We need to watch ourselves lest our hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness. That word dissipation, it's a word that literally refers to a hangover. I think most of us would find that command to be pretty straightforward. Like yes, of course we need to be on guard against drunkenness and hangovers. Like for some of us, that kind of worldly behavior was who we used to be. And our being watchful about that, our repentance on that front, our obedience by the grace of God in that regard, was one of the fruits of salvation that we saw early in our walks. No drunkard will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. But notice that Jesus doesn't stop there. He also calls us to watch ourselves with regards to the cares of this life. So we're not only to watch ourselves with regards to, like, egregious drunkenness or blatant debauchery or flagrant dissipation. We're also to watch ourselves with regards to these subtle and sneaky and much more under the radar danger of being consumed by the cares of this life. Maybe it's money. Maybe it's health. Maybe it's possessions. Maybe it's pleasure. Maybe it's our jobs. Maybe it's our families. These otherwise good gifts that God has given to us to enjoy for his glory, but can so easily become all-consuming cares. Friends, to the extent that those things are our master, to the extent that those things are what we worship, to the extent that those things have become our God, They're just as deadly for our souls as flagrant drunkenness. If you've got a good memory, you'll remember that this isn't the first time that Jesus addresses this topic in this gospel. Luke chapter 8 verse 14, this is in the parable of the soils. You remember what Jesus said, as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life and their fruit does not mature. The cares of this life can choke the seed of the word because the cares of this life can weigh our hearts down so that we're unprepared for the Lord, so that we're unprepared for judgment. And that's kind of terrifying, isn't it? That our enemies, the enemies of our souls, aren't just the blatant sins that are obvious and visible, but also the subtle sins that can hide themselves in the deepest recesses of our hearts. Like, what hope do we have? We who can be so anxious about the things of this world, the cares of this life, We whose hearts are so prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love. Well, dear saint, let me leave you with the same encouragement that Jesus left his disciples with. It's all the way down in verse 36. It's to pray. Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge. Take it to the Lord in prayer. To pray that God would grant you grace to seek first his kingdom and trust that all of the things that can so easily become cares of this life will be added to us. To pray that the seed of God's word would always find good soil in our hearts, bearing much fruit. To pray that God would take our hearts and seal it for his courts above. To pray that the God who began a good work in us, he will not leave us nor forsake us, but he will complete the work that he began in us. Watch yourselves. Yes, we must. But let's never forget The reason we will persevere to the end if we are in Christ is not primarily because we're watching ourselves. It's because our Father in heaven is watching over us, his children. Let's pray. Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit would work in the hearts of your people to apply this passage to our hearts for your glory. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.