All right, well let's return to Luke chapter 21. Luke chapter 21. I'm going to read from verse 10 through 19. We're actually going to be covering verses 12 through 19. Luke 21 10, He continued by saying to them, Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes and in various places plagues or pestilences and famines. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and the prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves. For I will give you utterance and wisdom, which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. But you will be betrayed, even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends. And they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name. And yet not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives. Lord, I ask that You would give us understanding that it is You who would speak, even through my voice, that we would hear You, Lord. And that we would take from this passage what it is that You desire that we learn. And Lord, that we would be changed by this time in Your Word. So we continue this morning in Luke's account of the Olivet Discourse. And I've told you, I believe there's no sound reason not to read Luke 21 literally. And that means that at least from verse 5 through verse 24, Jesus was prophesying not of His return at the end of time. But of the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem. And God's judgment on the nation of Israel. All of which indeed did come to pass in 70 A.D. And I also want to remind us, look, there's nothing in this discourse that changes the fact that the New Testament repeatedly and clearly teaches Jesus is going to return in glory, in victory. He's going to return in judgment. When He returns, all the dead will be raised, He said. All will come forth, those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life and those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. Jesus said these things. The dead, Paul wrote, 1 Corinthians 15, the dead will be raised to imperishable bodies, fitted for eternity, either in heaven or in hell. It's all going to happen in a moment, Paul says, in the twinkling of an eye. And when all the dead are raised, death will have been swallowed up in victory. There'll be no more death. And nothing in the Olivet Discourse changes any of that. Or the fact that God's fixed a day of judgment. A day in which He will judge the whole world in righteousness. Through whom? A man He's appointed, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew's account of the Olivet Discourse, he speaks of the events of 70 A.D. through 35 verses. And then in verse 36, he turns to the time of Christ's return in judgment and glory. And in chapter 25, Matthew's account being considerably longer, he speaks of the time the Son of Man comes in glory and judgment. Matthew 25, 31. When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him. He will separate them one from another. as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. And the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And then verse 41, he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, accursed ones, for the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. Nothing in Luke 21 changes any of this. And nothing in Luke 21 up to verse 25 addresses any of this. There's several keys, three of which I've identified in understanding this discourse of our Lord. One is His reference to the time in which all of these events that He describes here will take place before this generation passes away. Second, is that it's clear Jesus was speaking to His disciples. He was speaking to His disciples about things that were going to occur before the Lord comes in judgment on Israel, on Jerusalem. And third, all of the things which Jesus said would take place before the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple, did in fact take place. Those three factors govern our understanding of this passage. Now in verses 12 through 19, Jesus focuses on the persecution His disciples would soon face. Remember, in just under eight weeks, He was going to send the apostles into a hostile world to testify of His resurrection and with the message of eternal life through faith in Him. And they were going to face opposition. Much opposition. Hostile opposition. Dangerous opposition. All but John would be martyred for his name's sake, for the sake of the gospel. These men who he's talking to are all going to be executed in the next 20, 30 years. Now he's preparing them for their mission and for what they're going to face. He told them, we saw last Lord's Day, there would be false messiahs, false prophets, deceivers. He said don't follow after them. It's going to be men come and say they're the real Messiah. Don't listen to them. He told them that before Jerusalem fell, there would be wars and disturbances. He told them, when you hear of wars and disturbances, don't be terrified. These things must take place first. But the end does not follow immediately. He doesn't say the end of the age, by the way. There are those who believe when Jesus says the end does not follow immediately, that He was here speaking of the end of the world. But they'd asked Him about the end of the age. And in their minds, as we've seen, the end of the age and the fall of the temple were the same thing. But Jesus was speaking, brethren, to His apostles about things that would occur before the temple fell. He was telling them about the end of the nation of Israel, end of temple worship, the fall of both the temple and the city. Remember, by their question, as recorded in Matthew, we saw that the disciples equated the destruction of the temple with the end of the age. Let us also remember that Jesus' immediate audience when He spoke these words was not us. He wasn't making a general statement for all time. He was speaking to His disciples. And the time of which He was speaking was not our lifetime, but theirs. That doesn't mean that there isn't great application in what we read here for us, because there is. But we must approach the Olivet Discourse bearing in mind. See, because as soon as you start saying all of these things are going to be signs of the end, you immediately are neglecting Jesus' own words. No one knows the day of His return. There aren't any signs of His return. He said there will be no signs. Matthew 24 and 36. Matthew 24, verse 44, He said, He will return at an hour you don't think He will. and 1 Thessalonians 5.2, the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. And I say to you, you can't just set those Scriptures aside when you come to this Olivet Discourse. So while it's true that false teachers, and wars, and earthquakes, and pestilences, and famines are part of the judgment that man has brought on himself by his sin. And these are, in a sense, a portent of the final judgment to come. None of these will be signs that the return of Christ is imminent. I'm going to say it one more time. Jesus said, of that day there will be no signs. No one knows. But he did say that wars and earthquakes and famines would precede God's judgment on Israel. Wars and disturbances, which would disturb and disrupt the Pax Romana, would precede the destruction of the temple. And we didn't get to it last week, but in verse 11, Jesus also said there will be terrors and great signs from heaven, from God. Now He didn't say in heaven, but He said from heaven. And most believe that what Jesus was speaking of here were astronomical events, such as comets and meteors and eclipses. Things that really, if you think about it, until the modern age, these things terrified people. Now we understand the movements of the bodies in the heavens. These have occurred throughout the history of the world. And so while such occurrences don't bring any fear on us today, we hear there's an eclipse. We all want to go see it. We hear there's a comet or a meteor. We want to see it. Try to get a video of it. For them, these were a source of terror to them. Now there's something interesting that Luke does not tell us about what Jesus said that Mark and Matthew do. Now they didn't mention pestilences. They neither mentioned terrors and great signs from heaven. We actually have very few records of such occurrences that far back. But both Matthew and Mark record that Jesus said that these earthquakes and wars and famines were the beginning of birth pangs. Birth pangs of what? Of the church. The church was being born at that time. And these birth pangs of which Jesus spoke were almost certainly a reference not only to those natural phenomena, but also to the persecution and the many struggles that those laying the foundation of Christ's church were going to face. And once again, Jesus told them ahead of time what was going to occur. He tells them ahead of time all the time what's going to occur because He's God. And in this case, so that they would not be fearful when these things took place. So what trials were the apostles going to face? Well in our passage this morning, Jesus tells them. Before all these things... Notice these words. Before all these things. Before the temple is destroyed. Before the wars, earthquakes, and famines that would precede the fall of Jerusalem. Before all these things, you apostles will be persecuted. And we all know they were. They, Jesus says, the enemies of the gospel, will lay hands upon you. Meaning, place you under arrest. And they will deliver you to the synagogues and put you on trial before the Jewish synagogue courts. Now, some would take these very clear statements of our Lord concerning persecutions the apostles would face and fling them far into the future and apply them to Christians thousands of years later. But there's no sound reason or basis for doing that. That's a failure to read the text soberly and give it its clear and natural meaning. Look at Jesus' words here. They will lay hands on you. Not on all My people. They will persecute you. They will deliver you, not to some court in Franklin, PA. They'll deliver you to a synagogues. They'll bring you before not presidents, or prime ministers, or party chairmen, or führers. Before kings and governors. The offices of rulers in the first century. It will lead to an opportunity, Jesus said, for your testimony. Jesus was speaking to His apostles about the persecutions they would face in the first century. And we see the fulfillment of the prophecy of persecution by the synagogue, by the Jews in the very earliest days of the church. Who was among those persecutors in the synagogue? One named Saul of Tarsus. We see the fulfillment of persecution by the synagogue, by the Jews, in the very earliest days of the church. And then by at least the mid-60s, the Romans became the chief persecutors of Christ. After 70 AD, the synagogue lost its ability to persecute Christians in the earliest days of the church. Here's the Jews. Here's a Pharisee named Saul. Acts 9, 1, Saul still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. Now where's he getting his authority? Well he went to the high priest and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus. Exactly as Jesus said. So that if he found any belonging to the way, referring to Christianity, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Acts 22, 19. After Paul himself, now converted, was taken into custody in Jerusalem, he was allowed to speak on the stairs. Remember, he's being taken into the barracks by the Roman soldiers. And he asks, as they're taking him up on the stairs, I want to speak to these people, to the Jewish people. He recalled an early encounter with the risen Christ, who had been sending Him to preach to the Gentiles. And here's what Paul said, "...And I said, Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed You." Now this is what our Lord is talking about here. He was warning His disciples He would send them into a hostile world with the gospel in less than eight weeks. And that the gospel would not be well received by the Jews or by the world. That wherever they went, they would meet with hostility and opposition. And they would be brought before kings and governors. Among the kings and governors who persecuted the apostles was Herod Agrippa I, who, Acts chapter 12, verse 1, executed James, the brother of John, the son of Zebedee. Herod Agrippa II, before whom Paul made his defense in Acts 26, both called kings. Among the governors before whom Paul and likely others were brought were Felix and Festus, both governors, Acts 24 and 25. And the persecution wasn't because they didn't like them or because they had something against them other than their message. Persecution was, as Jesus said, for My name's sake. The hatred and persecution of Jesus continues to this day. And He regards all persecution of His people as persecution of Him. Recall the words of the risen Christ to Saul when he appeared to him on the road to Damascus. Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Who are you, Lord? I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. All of the martyred suffered death because of their loyalty to Christ. And Jesus said that persecution and being brought before these kings and governors and being brought before the synagogue trials would lead to an opportunity for your testimony. Now remember, their defense of Christ was at the risk of their own lives. Their defense of the gospel placed them in grave danger. And any defense of Christ to this day is a testimony to Him. And their defense of Christ is to this day a great testimony of the truth of the gospel, of the truth of the resurrection. They didn't allow themselves to be executed rather than recant the resurrection. They knew whether it was true or not. And they went to their deaths rather than denying Calvin says this, "...their unshaking constancy made it manifest how firmly they were convinced of the rightness of their cause." So their ministries were a testimony of the resurrection and of the gospel and of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. They testified by their words, by their actions, by their sufferings and their hardships for His name's sake. All of their suffering was because of their faith in Him. Now Jesus said, They're going to bring you before these tribunals. But you don't have to prepare your defense. No. I'm going to give you utterance and wisdom. And it's going to be such utterance and wisdom that none of your opponents are going to be able to resist or refute. Now this wasn't the first time our Lord had spoken these words to the disciples. He said something similar when He sent them out the first time. He also spoke these same words of assurance in Luke chapter 12, verse 11. When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and authorities, don't worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. Again, He's talking to them. When they are brought before kings and governors, they need not prepare a defense. I'll give you the words and wisdom at your trial. And they're going to be unable to refute what you say, but that doesn't mean they're not going to convict you anyway. It's meant only that the testimony of the disciples would be given them by Jesus. And it would be irrefutable. But not that the disciples in every case would be set free. In fact, all of them were executed but John. And Jesus says, they're going to put some of you to death. And they did it anyway, by the way. They knew some of them were going to die. But filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, out they went. Now folks, we're not going to be brought before kings and governors. It's very unlikely any of us would be brought before a synagogue court. There aren't any synagogue courts that I'm aware of. Haven't been any for 2,000 years. So it's again clear that Jesus' words here had only direct application to the apostles. However, at the same time, we must never doubt. And this is why I read the psalm. We must never doubt our heavenly Father's paternal care for us as well. It may be manifested in different ways. In fact, it will be manifested in different ways. But as He took care of them and watched over them, He watches over all His children. And here, he's preparing the apostles for their mission. He's told them what lay ahead. Now he tells them, you've got to trust in me through every trial. And so do we have to. Remember, their mission was a world-changing mission. These were men who had upset the world, some of their opponents said. And his preparation of them, you can see it here, is taking on a very focused and intense character in these last days before he's crucified. He's been telling them over and over again about what's going to happen in Jerusalem. He knew what was coming, both for Himself and for them. So He assures them, John 14, 16. This has got to be in the next 48 hours at the most. I'll ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever. That is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it doesn't see Him or know Him. But you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. And look what Jesus says. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. He said it to them. But He doesn't leave us orphans either. Because He's given His Spirit as a seal and as a pledge of our inheritance in heaven. We have to understand the apostles were given a very special and unique mission. And that when the Holy Spirit came upon them, He filled them with supernatural power. He equipped them to perform supernatural works. Signs of the truth of the gospel message. This is what Jesus prophesied in Acts 1.8. He's talking to them. He's about to depart in a cloud. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth. Power! Acts 2, 4. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance. Peter and all the apostles. Remember, these are the men who would run and hid And Peter's case even denied knowing our Lord when the temple police arrested him. And they now preached boldly in Jerusalem, testifying of the resurrection of Jesus. Acts 2.43, Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And yes, when the apostles were brought before the ruling authorities, Jesus did, by His Spirit, give them utterance. Acts 4, after Peter had healed a lame man in the name of Jesus. "...By this name I say to you, get up and walk." Now after that occurred, the apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin. Acts 4, 5. On the next day their rulers, and elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem. And Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and all who were of high priestly descent. So here they are gathered against Peter and the apostles. And when they had placed him in the center, they began to inquire, By what power or in what name have you done this? Now, was Peter given words? Well, look at the words. Acts 4, 8, Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit. Ever wonder what that means? Well, in this case, this is what it means. That the Spirit gave him utterance. rulers and elders of the people, he said, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name this man stands here before you in good health. Oh, to be there! Oh, to have been there! When Jesus sent the apostles into the world on the day of Pentecost, it was with great power. Supernatural power. The power of the Spirit of God Himself. To do what? To attest to the truth of the gospel message they preached of the resurrection of Jesus. But as for the relationships with those who had been the closest to them, members of their own families, Their devotion to Christ and the gospel would bring division, even strife. Look at verse 16. But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. Very sad. I don't know that many of us are betrayed by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, but when we leave Adam and come to Christ, something changes. Jesus had given them this caution as well when he first sent them out to preach the kingdom. This wasn't the only time Jesus spoke these things. Matthew 10, 21, Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. And children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. And Mark records the same words in chapter 13. Why is this? Why would they be betrayed by family members? Well I think when we give it serious thought, we understand it's because there are only two groups of people in the world. Those who are now in Christ. And then those who are still in Adam. Still in their sin. And under a sentence of eternal condemnation. Your brothers and sisters, Jesus said, are those who are in Christ. Matthew 12, 46. While he was still speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to him. Someone said to him, Behold, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to you. But Jesus answered the one who was telling him and said, Who is my mother and who are my brothers? And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, Behold, my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother. Because the world hates Christ, it also hates His people, who have now been joined into this eternal union with Him. And I think we're now all convinced, people got mad at me when I first said this, but Some left here. But we now live in a time when the hatred of Christ is openly declared among the unconverted, among our rulers. That's why we must pray for them. The hatred of Christ is now an open secret. Because they hate him, they hate his people. They regard the Bible as no authority with regard to anything. And because they're ruled by Satan, they do his works. And what is his work? It's to lead people away from their only hope of being rescued from this darkness. People are either living in Christ and seeking to bring others to Christ, or they are standing in opposition to him and trying to keep people from him. As for the apostles, he told them, they're going to put some of you to death. You're going to be hated by all. Now, he doesn't mean all, all. But it's like when all Judea went out to see John. It's people from every nation, every place. It's a great majority. It's the world in this case. They're going to be hated by all because of His name. Because they believed in Him and were His ambassadors. They came in His name. And here was a clear prophecy of the persecution they would continually face in the years after Jesus departed from them, which would be in a short seven weeks. So Jesus is hated by the world, and so are those who proclaim Him and follow Him. We may as well get used to the idea because it's what Jesus said. In less than 48 hours again, Jesus would say to them, John 15, 18, If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Then he cited to Psalm 35, 19, they hated me without a cause. The persecution of the apostles is recorded in both the book of Acts and in the secular histories of Josephus and Tacitus and a couple others. Acts 4, 1 though, Here's one example. As they were speaking to the people, the apostles, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them. Where did we hear those words? In Jesus' prophecy here in Luke 21. They will lay hands upon you. And they laid hands upon them. And they put them in jail, prison, until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard the message believed, and the number of men came to be about 5,000. Hallelujah. Acts 5, 17. The high priest rose up along with all his associates... This is the sect of the Sadducees. ...and they were filled with jealousy. ... And what do you suppose they did? They laid hands on the apostles. Where did they put them? In a public jail. ...During the night, though, an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out, he said, You go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this life. Acts 540. They took his advice. And after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus. Notice the similarity in the language between what happened and what Jesus had prophesied. And then, of course, the case of Stephen, who they saw as an enemy of their law, the temple. Acts 7.58, When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him. The witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Acts 8 records the persecution by Saul. Acts 8.3, but Saul... And again, look at the similarities of the words. began ravaging the church, entering house after house, dragging off men and women. He would put them in prison. Acts 13 and 14, we read about the beginnings of the persecution against Saul in Antioch, in Iconium, in Lustre, in Derbe. Acts 14, 19, Paul stoned and dragged out of the city and thought dead. Acts 14, 22, Paul said through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God. Acts 16, 22, with Silas imprisoned and beaten in Philippi. Acts 17, a man named Jason dragged through the city of Thessalonica. And Paul had run out of the city. And other than John, every one of them was killed. Now look at the places where the apostles were executed. Matthew in Ethiopia. Thomas in India. Peter and Paul both in Rome. Luke and Andrew in Greece. Mark in Egypt. Others in Galatia. Some so far as Britain. Some in Jerusalem. Nathaniel in Turkey. Paul summed it up pretty well. 2 Corinthians 6, 4, in everything, commending ourselves as servants of God in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships and distresses, in beatings and imprisonments, in tumults and labors, in sleeplessness and hunger. 2 Corinthians 11, 23, and imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. You'll be hated by all, all who do not believe in Me, Jesus said. And as we've seen, it was the case with Jesus' prophecies of wars and earthquakes and famines before the fall of Jerusalem. All these prophecies were fulfilled during that generation. Our Lord then gives His disciples a word of encouragement and exhortation. Puzzling little verse here. ...Yet not a hair of your head shall perish, By your endurance, you'll gain your lives. This does not mean that in the resurrection you'll get all your hair back. Or that you'll appear as you did on the day you died. Though they would be killed, he says, not a hair of your head shall perish. Our Lord's language here, we must understand, is partly figurative. He means that when the disciple suffers persecution, even death through wicked men, let him not think that God has forgotten him. And that's why I say this has great application to us. That he is in God's care and keeping. And his life in Christ is forever secure. The meaning is that he who, in spite of persecution, remains loyal to Christ shall enter into glory. It could happen to us. It could happen to any one of us that we might face persecution. That we might be called to deny Christ. Or in fact, it's already happening. It's happening in Canada. It's beginning to happen in America. No Christians need apply. So here Jesus was speaking to the apostles, but we may rightly apply these words of exhortation and encouragement and caution to all who persevere in the faith until His return, or until He calls us home. We must never lose courage. We must never lose heart. But we must always remain faithful, no matter the opposition of the world. And it's out there, no matter how fierce the persecution may become. Do you know there have been more martyrs in the last 100 years than in the preceding 2,000 years? People who will not renounce Christ in Pakistan, Afghanistan, a number of places in Africa are executed, beheaded. In the last 100 years, more martyrs than in the previous 2,000 years. We just don't see it here in America because we've been protected to this point. The message is certainly one of perseverance. And by God's grace, His children will persevere. And though these words of our Lord were spoken to His apostles concerning things they would face in their time, we must know and trust that as the world opposed Christ, as the world opposed the apostles, the world will oppose all who are in Him, who trusted Him. This ends up being a very relevant message for us today. Jesus says to us all that we too may cast all our cares into the bosom of the Father, Trusting always in Him, in His wisdom, in His ways, in His purposes, and in His promises. 1st Peter 5, 6, Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. And I would add, no matter what happens in this life. Psalm 47, You've put gladness in my heart more than when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety. And then Psalm 27, and I want to read it. At least the first five verses. Listen to the words of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life. Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear. Though war arise against me, in spite of this I shall be confident. One thing I have asked from the Lord... I guess David could look beyond all of this earthly stuff. ...One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple. Well, let's take a moment and reflect on these words our Lord has spoken into our hearts this morning, and then give thanks to Him. And then we will close in song. Well, Lord, we thank you that we can gather in your name, that we can hear from you that you have placed in our hearts a trust in your word, a trust in your sacrifice on the cross. Lord, I pray that this word has reached into the hearts of each and every one of us this morning. And Lord, that we will respond gratitude, worship, obedience for your kingdom and for your glory. In Christ's name.