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᛭ INI ᛭

(5. Oops!: Look at what’s coming!)

Oh, great! Another end of the world text! But don’t tune it out. Don’t let it be like yet another “breaking news” headline or notification or click-batey headline you ignore. Look at what’s coming. Christ is very clear!

There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Sounds like the making of a good movie, but it will be the making of fear and great terror when it actually comes. And it will, as Christ says, “Come upon all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.” Fear and “terror on every side.”

In fact, we see the fear taking over many already! There’s fear over what’s coming on the earth. Fear over what’s going on among the nations. Fear over what’s going on in the economy. Fear over what’s going on in the climate or the environment.

All that pales in comparison to what’s actually coming. When the Son of Man finally comes, then it will be complete and abject (maximum) fear! Revelation tells us that, when it finally comes, all those who are not Christ’s will “[hide] themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and [say] to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” (Rev 6)

(4. Ugh!: What are you looking forward to seeing?)

What are looking forward to? What are you expecting to see? There’s a great many things that fit that bill. But what are you afraid of seeing? The Last Day often fits that bill. It’s hard for us sometimes “to look for”—look forward to—“the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” For one, we expect that day to be far off. Death often comes unexpectedly—“It’s supposed to be when I’m older…”

But more often than not the temptations of the world attack us. We too get caught up in the cares of this life. We, like the world, are looking forward, watching out, worrying about the next fear! The next war, the next turn in the economy, the next disaster, the next diagnosis…

And maybe we long for Christ in that moment, but our flesh with that stirs up great fear. And then we wonder: “Am I worthy to stand before the Son of Man?” Are you? Christ says to pray that we “may be counted worthy to escape and to stand,” which indicates is possible to be counted unworthy… That leads us to the conclusion, to the truth behind why we’re not looking forward to Christ’s coming all that much in reality.

(3. Aha!: When all these things begin, your Redemption—Christ!—is near.)

But the thing is, that’s getting us all sideways. Christ isn’t just telling us all these things to scare us straight. He’s saying something wholly different in this portion of Luke.

Don’t look at the sun, moon, or stars. Don’t fixate on finances or politicians. Don’t wonder about weather or climate or environment. When you see anything that Christ’s talking about, He’s saying don’t look there, but rather look up. Look up, because that means Christ’s coming. He’ll be here soon. His arrival for us who trust in Him isn’t scary. As He says, “Look up because your Redemption draws near.” At the first moment the “news alert” pops, don’t get heavy shouldered, downcast. Look up! Christ your Redemption is near. In fact, Christ is saying, as it were,

LOOK UP AND SEE!—CHRIST WHO WAS HANGED ON THE TREE!

(2. Whee!: LOOK UP AND SEE!—CHRIST WHO WAS HANGED ON THE TREE!)

That’s who were looking for, CHRIST WHO WAS HANGED ON THE TREE! That’s what it means that He is your redemption. You don’t have to be afraid of His coming. The Son of Man who sits on the throne to judge you is the same one who was crucified for your sins and raised for your justification. The Lamb who brings wrath on those who reject Him is the Lamb who looks like He was slain, slain for you, and for everyone else, too, even those who rejected Him.

LOOK UP AND SEE!—CHRIST WHO WAS HANGED ON THE TREE! And when He was, there were indeed “signs in the sun, moon, and stars.” When He, your Redemption, was born a miraculous star shone in the heavens. (Mt 2) When He was crucified, the sun hid its face, “darkness was over the whole land from the sixth hour to the ninth hour.” (Mt 26) Signs in the heavens when your redemption first drew near.

Now, who’s really going to condemn you? “Will IHS Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us?” (Rom 8) Seems like that’s off the table for those who fear and trust Him! As Malachi said today: “The day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” Leaping out of your graves!

LOOK UP AND SEE!—CHRIST WHO WAS HANGED ON THE TREE!

And that also fits with “being counted worthy to escape and stand before the Son of man.” That is what gathering together is really all about! Christ getting us ready for the Last Day—both the last Last Day and your last day. For this He gives you His body to eat and His blood to drink in and through the blessed bread and wine. (They are what He says they are.)

They are blessed and held up for you that you would see Redemption drawing near for you to eat and to drink. There you see the bread held up—Christ’s body given into death for your redemption. You see the chalice—Christ’s blood shed for your redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Both together for you—the very way “The peace of the Lord [is] with you always.”

LOOK UP AND SEE!—CHRIST WHO WAS HANGED ON THE TREE! He gives you the fruit of the tree—His body and blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. After all, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”

(1. Yeah!: He comes to bring you to Himself forever.)

And so, LOOK UP AND SEE!—CHRIST WHO WAS HANGED ON THE TREE! That’s how it will be forever. You will behold Him in everlasting life as the Lamb who was slain, slain for you. He is eternally CHRIST WHO WAS HANGED ON THE TREE!

And He will come to bring you to Himself forever. And when that happens, there will again be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. Or rather “The city [has] no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.” (Rev 21) He is your light. And the stars? Oh, well, those who trust in Christ, “those who fear My Name,” as Malachi, well, “those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.” (Dan 12)

LOOK UP AND SEE!—CHRIST WHO WAS HANGED ON THE TREE!

So it was, so it is now, and so it shall be forever.

᛭ INI ᛭