Bible Discussion — Luke 21

May 14, 2008, 12:30 pm; posted by
Filed under Bible, Connie, David, Josh J, Mike J, Steve  | No Comments

This week, Bweinh.com looks at the next chapter of Luke, Luke 21.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS:
Genesis: 1-4 | 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-18 | 19-22 | 23-26
27-29 | 30-32 | 33-36 | 37-39 | 40-43 | 44-46 | 47-50
Exodus: 1-4 | 5-8 | 9-11 | 12-14 | 15-18
19-22 | 23-26 | 27-30 | 31-34 | 35-40
Romans: Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 (I)
Ch. 8 (II) | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | Ch. 11 | Ch. 12 | Ch. 13 | Ch. 14 | Ch. 15-16
Luke: 1:1-38 | 1:39-2:40 | 2:41-3:38 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14-15 | 16-17 | 18 | 19 | 20

 
INTRODUCTION:
David:
Starting in 20:46 and carrying through to verse 6 here, Jesus dealt with the wrong attitudes people had about ‘mammon,’ and the things of this world. Pharisees playing at religion for profit, a widow’s gift of a penny worth more than the overflowing bags of the wealthy, and his disciples’ inordinate affection for the beauty of the Temple building. None of it mattered — especially in the face of what is coming to pass, God\’s judgment on the earth.

Mike:
Jesus encourages His disciples to be ready for the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God.

Steve:
This passage seems to me to be directed not only to the disciples, but also to those who would read it throughout the ages, wondering about the signs that would foretell the return of Christ. The advice Jesus gave is just as valuable now as it was then. Do not be frightened when you hear of wars and revolutions, destruction and pestilence, for it will come in God’s time, just as it did on a smaller scale in the years following His ascension. And meanwhile, Jerusalem will be “trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

 
SOMETHING YOU’D NEVER NOTICED BEFORE:
Josh:
“. . . and they will put some of you to death . . . but not a hair of your head shall be lost.”

I assume the second statement refers to spiritual salvation, since a cure for baldness would offer little comfort after hearing that your own mother was going to kill you.

Connie:
v.19 — “By your patience possess your souls.”

Mike:
How Jesus leads into the coming-of-the-Kingdom story with the jarring image of the Temple being destroyed ”” how powerful and unsettling that must have been to the original hearers!

Steve:
Jesus compared the day of His return to a closing trap, but not just toward the unrighteous — toward those who believed, yet let their hearts become “weighed down” with the things of the world.

 
BEST BAND NAME FROM THE PASSAGE:
Mike: Flee to the Mountains
Josh: Another Fig Tree
David: onestone
Steve: Delayed End
Connie: Trampled by Gentiles

 
DEEP THEOLOGICAL MEANING:
Steve:
I don’t believe that Jesus wanted His disciples — either at the time of his sermon, or 2000 years later — to have a complete understanding of the end of the world. And so with that in mind, I find most of the speculation and modern ‘prophecy’ that surrounds the end times to be a tremendous waste of time and resources — which could be far better spent on evangelism and humanitarian work.

God is in control of the end. I don’t need to know details.

Josh:
“Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.”

Despite the lack of much physical persecution in our country, many of us spend a lot of time thinking about how to defend ourselves from slights against our faith. Like Gideon, we think we must prepare our own defense for God\’s purposes. But it\’s for His glory that we must remember that the battle belongs to the Lord.

David:
Judgment is coming.

 
STORY IT REMINDS YOU OF:
Connie:
Towards the end of the chapter, Jesus mentioned how important it is to remain on guard, and not to become caught up with the worldly lifestyles all around us, even for a little while. No one knows when the Day will come. This reminded me of Natalee Halloway — what if she only made one wrong choice in her whole Christian life, but it cost her that whole life?

David:
The accounts of the Roman general Titus destroying Jerusalem and the Temple, and Josephus\’s account of the Jews’ attempts to rebuild it.

 
RANDOM THOUGHT:
Mike:
What exactly did Jesus mean when He said “this generation will not pass away” until the Kingdom has come in? The passage forces us to think differently about what it means for the Kingdom to come in ”” either Jesus was wrong, or the Kingdom has already started to come in. (I think the latter.)

Steve:
The word translated ‘generation’ in verse 32 (genea) could conceivably mean ‘race,’ to predict the continued existence of the Jews as a people. I have trouble with any interpretation that suggests that all the signs Christ mentioned here were accomplished in the next 40 years — especially in light of v.27 (“At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory”).

 
VERSE TO REMEMBER:
Josh; Steve:
21:33 — “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

David; Connie:
21:19 — “By your patience possess your souls.”

 
PORTION YOU WOULD MOST LIKE EXPLAINED IN HEAVEN:
Mike; Steve:
“This generation will not pass away”¦”

Connie:
v.23 has always bothered me. “But woe to those who are pregnant and nursing…” Seems like it would have been a detriment to family planning over the years: why single them out? Wouldn’t crippled people and the elderly have just as hard a time here?

David:
A fuller account of what it means that a generation would not pass away until all those things came to pass.

 
LESSON TO TAKE AWAY:
Mike:
Be prepared at all times. We don\’t expect the world to end, but no one ever does. Live as if it could at any moment; live a life you and God can be proud of!

David:
It isn\’t how much you give, it’s how much you keep that matters to God.

Josh:
Who are we trying to impress? And who impresses us?

 
CONCLUSION:
Steve:
The end is on the horizon. Next comes the Last Supper, the betrayal and arrest of Christ, Peter’s denial, and Jesus being led to Pilate. And before the month of May is over, we will see the ministry of Christ in Luke come to a sudden and violent — although ultimately glorious — end.


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