Verses: Luke 21 : 20 -
38
My thoughts about the
verses:
I have a feeling that at
this moment people were shocked. They never thought that the city of
Jerusalem would ever be out of their control. See even though the Romans
occupied the land they had allowed the Jews to continue serving God the way
they always had. The Jewish leaders felt that as long as they did not try
to assert power over the Romans and continued to pay taxes the Romans left them
alone. This is what led to the fear of Jesus. The fact that they
were afraid that he would try to be a worldly King. They felt powerless and
thought that they could not defeat the Romans so this was a threat to their way
of life.
It is amazing that even
today people fight over such a small piece of land. Recently the story of
two Americans that have both been thrown in the middle of the strife in this
small part of the world has surfaced. People are upset not because others
children of this region have been harmed but the anger is because these two are
Americans. This truly upsets me that the highlight of the whole story
involved the Americans and not the fact that youth are being killed.
The fight over Jerusalem
has being going on since the time of Abraham and I am sorry to say will
continue for many more years. I consider it the longest family feud ever.
Now you might be asking me why I believe this. To understand my
take you have to go back to the time of Moses and his two sons Ishmael and
Isaiah. Ishmael in all actuality was born first because Elizabeth did not
have the faith that God would provide Abraham an heir. She then became
jealous of Ishmael once her son was born and she feared that he would inherit
Abraham's property. From that moment things went sour and the nations
have been in war ever since.
The Jews in the
generation that Jesus was born were in what they thought was a safe time.
Their life was continuing as they planned. Yes, they knew the
Messiah would come but they never expected a babe to be born. They
thought this great King from Heaven would come and save them. They were
in a lot of ways in a comfort zone under tyranny. Jesus was shaking up
their system.
Now this Jesus is
telling them that Jerusalem would fall. That wars and pain would ravage
the land. That all this would happen before the Son of God would return to claim
his own. I have a feeling that the people that heard this were fearful
and angry at the same time. Yet, Jesus promised them something that many
missed in this prophecy of the future. This world would end, but that
would not end the Realm of God.
Many Jews did not
believe in an afterlife. Therefor Jesus was telling them that the Earth
would pass but Heaven would exist. This thought in itself had to be
something almost impossible for them to believe. I wonder how many of the
doubters when learning Jesus had risen from the grave changed their mind about
the afterlife. Everything that he had said at that point had occurred. I
can only imagine that a few of the listener’s hearts were changed and they
began readying themselves not for the luxuries of this world but the next.
Prayer:
Thank you God for loving
us so much that you sent your Son so that we could have everlasting life.
We thank you Jesus for the knowledge that you have given not only to your
people during your time on Earth but recorded it for us. Help us
understand that we must love all of our neighbors throughout this world.
Help us put an end to the many conflicts that ravage this world. We
know that all things are possible through you. Help us be your peace
keepers. Help us be there for all those in need no matter who they are.
In the name of the Messiah we pray. Amen
Questions:
Do you believe in the
world to come? Are you helping people who are in need? Are you
praying for peace? Are you being an example that shows the love of God to
all that need to hear the story of salvation? Are you ready for the
return of the Messiah?
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