Luke 21:25-38

Hidden Reality

Luke 21:25-33  -  The Coming of the Son of Man

25 There will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars;
on earth distress among nations
at the confusion and roar of the sea and the waves,
26 people’s hearts giving out from fear
and apprehension about what will come upon the world,
for the powers in the heavens will waver.

The tenor of the discourse changed again. Jesus moved from the surface, as it were, to the deep; from historical events to the hidden meaning of history. The mystery played out with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple was an expression of the ongoing conflict of cosmic good and evil. The figures of speech used by Jesus were common apocalyptic fare, and understood as such by his hearers. In the cosmology of the time, the sun, the moon, and the stars were all controlled by the powers of the heavens, angels or demons.

27 Then they will see the 'Son of Man coming in cloud'
with power and great glory. 
28 When these things begin to happen,
straighten up and lift your heads,
because your redemption has come close.
 

The Future Coming of the Son of Man in Christian Maturity

The classic apocalypse was of course the Book of Daniel. It was Daniel who had first spoken of the “Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Daniel 7.11-14). In Daniel’s vision the mysterious Son of Man was depicted not just as an individual but also as the symbol of faithful Israel. Likewise the followers of Jesus would come to see themselves sharing the same risen human life of Jesus. Though Luke would not make the point himself, by the time he wrote his Gospel Christians had come to a profound realisation of their own incorporation into Christ. Through their baptism they knew themselves to be christed (or christened). The future “coming of the Son of Man in glory” could well, therefore, refer to their eventual perfection in Christ, the final realisation of God’s Kingdom.

Their call and destiny were to grow into Christ, to become fully human like him, to actualise to the full their God-given capacities to trust, to love and to forgive. To the extent that they would realise this destiny, they would show forth in and through Christ the beauty and power (that is, the “glory”) of God to the world. The transformation was in process. In Luke’s mind the daily challenge to every Christian was to be alert to the “coming of the Son of Man” within the context of their ordinary lives.


Whatever about Daniel, the conclusion to the apocalyptic part of Jesus’ discourse was irrepressibly positive. The fate of the temple and of the system that it embodied was not bad news for disciples. Whatever took place happened under the guiding providence of a God who loved them deeply; it would always be occasion to straighten up and lift your heads.

Jesus’ accurate foretelling of the destruction of the temple and the city, as well as the persecutions before and afterwards, gave Luke’s community an assurance that the further comments of Jesus were trustworthy.

29 He told them a parable.
"Look at the fig tree and indeed all the trees.
30 Already when they begin to shoot,
when you see that, you know that summer is close.
31 In much the same way,
when you see these things happening,
know that the kingdom of God is close.

The constant interplay between good and evil, worked out across the centuries against a background of wars, revolutions and natural disasters, remains always a challenge to every disciple to see more deeply with the eyes of faith that the kingdom of God is close. Nothing new – it was the original message of Jesus in Galilee. Whatever disciples might experience in life, everything simply would become the context in which they could grow and mature into living images of Christ, the classic Son of Man.

32 I tell you clearly, this generation will not have died
before all these things have taken place.
33 Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will never pass away.

Luke had lifted this discourse from the Gospel of Mark. For Mark, the coming of the Son of Man happened symbolically at the moment of crucifixion. That was why he was able to say that this generation will not have died before all these things have taken place. Luke needed to interpret the comment differently. For him, this generation was the period of the Church lived across history. The eventual triumph of Jesus will happen. How long it will take does not matter. The known world can dissolve. The resurrection life will continue.

 

Dealing with Complacency

Luke 21:34-38  -  Jesus Warns Disciples to be Alert

34 Be careful that your hearts do not get weighed down
by drunkenness or drugs or worldly worries,
and that that day not come on you unexpectedly 
35 like a trap. 
because it will come to all who live on the face of the earth.
36 Be constantly alert,
praying that you are strong enough
to escape all the things that are going to happen
and to stand erect before the Son of Man.”

The disciples’ destiny was to grow into the likeness, indeed the reality, of the Son of Man, to stand erect before that perfect exemplar of fully mature humanity, Jesus. But for this to eventuate, their cooperation with God’s enabling grace was essential.

Luke was concerned that the fervour of Christian disciples might grow cold. The very fact of being unable to see the nearness of the kingdom of God except through the eyes of faith would present a constant temptation to grow lax and to lose all sense of urgency. His answer was the unrelenting pursuit of the inner journey, the constant drawing near to the source of all insight and love. Be constantly alert, praying .. Only through genuine love and sensitivity to truth, learnt through the unrelenting practice of prayer, would disciples be able to see beneath the surface of the terrors or attractions of the world to the mystery spoken of in the song of Zechariah about the mercy of God at the beginning of Luke’s narrative (Luke 1:78-79).

37 During the day he was teaching in the temple,
and when night came,
he stayed at the place called the Mount of Olives.
38 Early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple
to listen to him.

Jesus continued to reach out to the people through his ministry of teaching. His time of illustrating the presence of the kingdom by works of healing had ended. Now he chose to address the hearts and minds of the disciples, for as long as he had time. 

Jesus’ daily withdrawal to the Mount of Olives was significant. That custom would be the means by which his betrayer would be able to find and identify him despite the darkness.

Next >> Luke 22:1-6