Luke 21,25-33. 2nd Sunday in Advent

In the Name of Jesus

Luke 21,25-33

2. Sunday in Advent Ad te Levavi

Crispina, Martyr in Africa 304

5. December 2010

1. O Ever Faithful and Merciful God, we render praise and thanksgiving unto You, that, by Your beloved prophets You have promised to the Patriarchs of old the gift of Your beloved Son, whom You did send into the world in the fullness of time, so that, by Him, Your holy will and counsel might be fully revealed unto us. He crushed the serpent’s head and has redeemed us from sin and death. All generations wait upon Him, and in Him are all the nations of the earth blessed. Prepare us, Good Lord, so that we may serve Him with undefiled hearts; and, when He arrives, to receive Him with joy; and, for this, we will thank You eternally in heaven (Löhe 443-4). Amen.

2. Our sermon text for this morning, dear brothers and sisters, is from the Gospel according to St. Luke where the holy evangelist writes: And Jesus told the disciples 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 reign 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.“ This is our text.

3. The liturgical season of Advent is about the arrival of the Son of Man in glory. This glorious arrival has a two part emphasis: 1. from the 1^st Sunday in Advent to December 16^th the emphasis is on Jesus’ eschatological ministry, and 2. from December 17^th to 24^th the emphasis looks forward to Christ’s birth. Jesus’ nativity is the guarantee of His second advent. Eschatological, apocalyptic signs will surround people and place people into chaotic situations during these advents.

4. Our Gospel Reading this morning from the Gospel according to Luke is the conclusion of a much longer teaching pericope of Jesus to His disciples. This teaching discourse in the 21^st chapter occurs during Holy Week and it was Jesus’ detailed answer to the disciples seemingly simple question: ,,When will the temple be destroyed, and what will be the sign that this is about to happen?“ (21,7).

5. Jesus tells a parable about the timetable for the destruction of both the temple and Jerusalem: Just as you can determine when it is summer based on the fruit of the fig tree, so can you determine when Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed, namely when »there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, people losing heart from fear and the foreboding of the things which are coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken« (21,25-26). Furthermore, Jesus tells His disciples that this devastating event will occur in their lifetime, yes, in the very generation that was living when Jesus was on the earth.

6. A series of events occurred that lead up to the destruction of the temple. The tensions were already brewing during Jesus’ lifetime. The Sadducees and the priests worked with the Romans to keep the peace in Jerusalem. As such they enjoyed Rome’s favor and privileges. The Pharisees, lawyers, and scribes chaffed at the coziness between Rome and the Levitical priests and furthermore resented Roman occupation, but they swallowed their pride because they were afraid were that Rome would punish any Jewish uprising with further occupation of the city and the raid the temple of its wealth. Various Jewish men sided with the Zealots who fomented rebellion against the Romans. During Holy Week the Romans were planning to crucify three Jewish Zealots whom they had caught attempting to overthrown Roman rule in Judea. History and tradition give us their names: Barabbas, Gestas, and Dismas. Jesus took Barabbas’ place in the execution and all three were crucified on Good Friday with Dismas joining Jesus in Paradise. For a time, Jewish revolt had been cooled, but thirty years later, in A.D. 66, a sizeable group of Jewish Zealots revolted against Rome. The emperor sent in his legions, and in A.D. 70 General Titus besieged Jerusalem and subsequently destroyed the temple and the city. Wealth and art was plundered, many Jews were taken as slaves, and a band of captives was paraded before the emperor in the Eternal City of Rome. Some rebels refused to lay down their swords, and they decided to make their final stand in King Herod’s impenetrable fortress known as Masada. The emperor was not impressed nor deterred by this action; he sent in his legions to besiege the fortress. In A.D. 73 the Roman legions conquered Masada, and the Jewish revolt was put down once and for all. To this very day there is no Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

7. Jesus comforted His disciples with these word, »When you see these things taking place, you know that the reign of God is near« (21,28). As Jesus prophesied, Jerusalem was destroyed (Gibbs 204). This shows that Jesus, the Son of Man, is in heaven at the right hand of God (Gibbs 204). Jesus’ description of Himself as »the Son of Man arriving in a cloud with power and great glory« (21,27) refers to His ascension and exaltation at His Father’s right hand, and from the throne of God Jesus rules over His Church and all creation. When these things have taken place, Jesus tells us to look up, for our redemption is drawing near (21,28).

8. The redemption Jesus is talking about is the preaching of the gospel to the nations (the Gentiles). After Jesus pummeled Jerusalem with His judgment in A.D. 70, He then offers salvation to the all the nations, including Judah. Cosmic events herald the preaching of the gospel to the nations that culminates in the destruction of the Jewish temple and the gathering in of the Gentiles begins in large number. With the temple gone, Jesus has shifted the focus of the reign of heaven from a people and a nation tied to a specific geographic location on the map and begins spreading the reign of heaven on a world-wide and global scale where individuals from all nations are brought into the Church, which is God’s chosen bride.

9. Christ’s holy Church is found around the four corners of the earth and she is comprised of people with many different and various cultures, customs, and languages. Nevertheless (dennoch) in this Church only one true and pure gospel is preached, and that gospel is the precious proclamation that Christ was crucified for us in our place and on the third day He rose in victory from death and the grave. This gospel is so powerful and so majestic that it makes devils shake and the temporal powers of this earth quake with fear and foreboding. This gospel declares that sin, yes, all sin, even the very sins we struggle the most with, are forgiven and forgotten by our Heavenly Father on account of His Son’s merit. This gospel takes the devil by his lapels and shakes him and proclaims, ,,Mr. Satan, your rants and accusations against Christ’s holy Christians have no claim or merit before the throne of Yahweh!“ In challenging and uncertain times when the economy is weak, jobs are scarce, and the horizon looks bleak with a weakening dollar, the gospel assures us that although we may suffer lose in this world, there is awaiting us in Paradise a rich and abundant wealth of Yahweh’s treasure that will not lose value.

10. We live in times of great uncertainty, especially as nature seems to rise in frequency in rebellion against men and women. Famine and torrential storms ravage the earth. Signs in the heavens draw our attention. The pagan ideology of this world is to run around like Chicken Little crying, ,,The sky is falling! The sky is falling!“, but Jesus reminds us today in Luke 21 that these very cosmic events are evidence that His reign is in our midst and that His gospel is spreading throughout the earth under the very capable hand of the Holy Spirit. We turn on the news and hear rumors and threats from Muslim jihadists who want to damage our property and kill our citizens. Their frenzy is a spiritual response to the gospel that is gathering in people for Christ and His Church. The devil marshals his forces to counteract the gathering in of people to the Christian faith. These are signs that the gospel is being preached throughout the earth, and that the Holy Spirit is bringing the reign of heaven to places where it has never been and He is reviving places where the Christian faith has grown cool or cold.

11. On this 2^nd Sunday in Advent we therefore rejoice! Jesus promises us, »Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away« (21,33). With these words, Jesus affirms the enduring validity of all that He has said (Gibbs 206). Jesus’ words are more sure than the heaven and the earth (Gibbs 206). Our Heavenly Father promised to send His fallen creation a Savior. His words are trustworthy and true. When the time was right, God the Father sent His only and beloved Son to this earth in order to save fallen men and women. Jesus prophesied that Jerusalem would be punished for rejecting their Christ. His words are sure and certain. When the time was ripe, Jesus pronounced judgment upon Jerusalem and the temple from His throne in heaven, bearing witness in power and glory that He, the rejected King and Messiah of Israel, was now reigning all creation at the right hand of His Heavenly Father as King and Messiah. Jesus promised to return again for His holy Church and her Christians who suffer at the hands of this wicked world. Jesus’ words will never pass away. When all has been fulfilled according to His will, Jesus will arise from His heavenly throne, march down from the heavenly heights with legion upon legion of angels, with the archangels at either side of Him, and He will gather up His Church and His Christians, give them back their physical bodies in resurrected form and vigor, and parade us into His heavenly reign with great pomp and circumstance. This heaven and earth will pass away at Jesus’ command, but He will renew this creation and create a new heaven and a new earth for our eternal and everlasting dwelling with Him. Amen.

12. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, Who will judge the world in Your righteousness and the peoples in Your faithfulness, You counsel us with the promise that Your words are more certain than the very heavens and earth so that we may endure the trials and tribulations of this fallen creation knowing that You will return and You will usher us into everlasting glory. Amen.

One Message: Christ crucified and risen for you!

   All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4^th Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 27^th Edition © 1993 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the New Testament Greek Manuscripts, Luke © 1995 by Reuben Joseph Swanson.
   Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Jerusalem and Parousia: Jesus’ Eschatological Discourse in Matthew’s Gospel. Copyright © 2000 Jeffrey A. Gibbs.
   Löhe, Wilhelm. Evangelien-Postille für die Sonn- und Festage des Kirchenjahres. Copyright © 1859 Samuel Gottlieb Liesching. A sermon preached on Luke 21,25-33 for The 2^nd Sunday in Advent. The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind, Tr. © 2010.
   Löhe, Wilhelm. Seed-Grains of Prayer: A Manual for Evangelical Christians. Wartburg Publishing House, Chicago circa 1912. Concordia Publishing House; Concordia on Demand.