Tag Archives: Eschatology

Your Visitation – Sermon on Luke 19:41-48 for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity

Luke 19:41-48

41 And when [Jesus] drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

This Gospel text takes place on Palm Sunday. The crowds have laid palm branches and coats on the road as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. They shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Lk. 19:36, 38). The Pharisees demanded that Jesus rebuke them, but He refused. Instead, He said, “I tell you, if they were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Lk. 19:40).

But while all this joy and celebration surrounded Jesus, Luke tells us here what is going on in Jesus’ heart. Christ comes to the crest of the hill that overlooks Jerusalem, and He weeps. He has come to visit Jerusalem and bring the peace that surpasses all understanding (Php. 4:7). But He weeps because the city is so twisted and corrupt that it doesn’t know or recognize the things that make for peace. Jesus predicts the destruction of Jerusalem when their Roman armies will set up a barricade all around the city to rip it apart brick by brick. All of this will happen because the people did not know the time of their visitation (Lk. 19:44).

We look forward to some visits. Especially if they live far apart, kids will ask how long it’ll be until they visit grandpa, grandma, and the cousins again. You get excited about an upcoming visit with your college or high school friends. But other visits can be uncomfortable – a visit to the dentist, a visit from the OSHA inspector, or a visit to the principal’s office. 

When Jesus says, “You did not know the time of your visitation,” the word He uses for ‘visitation’ (episkopē) is where we get our English word ‘scope.’ A couple days ago, I was talking with a woman who had a partial knee replacement years ago, but she still had continual pain. Her doctor decided to use a scope to look into her knee and see what was going on. That scope revealed that she had an infection that never showed up on other imaging or lab work. The only thing that revealed the infection was that scope. The doctor needed to get in there and see what was causing her pain.

The visitation Jesus talks about here is Him scoping things out in the city. What does that scope reveal? It reveals that the citizens of Jerusalem, the ‘city of peace,’ do not know the things that make for peace. It revealed that the Temple – God’s house, the place where God promised to deliver His mercy and forgiveness to sinners – had become a hideout of robbers. Jesus’ visitation, that scope, revealed how disordered the city was.

That’s why Jesus goes into the Temple. He drives out the infectious thieves from their den and daily fills the Temple with His teaching. Sadly, by the end of the week, the chief priests, scribes, and other leaders decide to arrest Jesus, put Him on trial, condemn, and crucify Him. And the people of Jerusalem still didn’t know or recognize the things that make for peace.

So, in 70 AD, about 40 years after Jesus’ prophecy here, the Roman general Titus came and destroyed Jerusalem. It was one of the most horrific events in human history. About one million people were killed. Titus took enough gold from the Temple to pay for the building of the Coliseum in Rome and burned Jerusalem to the ground.

All of this – the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple – should serve as a reminder and a warning to us. Judgment is coming. This world cannot and will not last. Those who do not have faith in Christ will be damned, so repent and believe in Jesus.

Don’t fall into the temptation of being comfortable and complacent in yourself and in your sin. Just because God doesn’t send immediate judgment upon your sin doesn’t mean that God doesn’t mind or care that much about it. In our Old Testament reading (Ez. 3:8-11), we heard how the people rebuilt the Temple. When the foundation was laid, the people sang responsively, “[The Lord] is good, and His steadfast love and mercy endures forever.” Yes, God’s mercy endures forever, but His patience over sin does not.

So, be warned. Be warned but also have hope. There is a purification and replacement of what is broken in this world. The day is coming when all that is corrupt, evil, and infected will be swept away and replaced with what is pure. There is a final freedom and peace from all your enemies.

As you consider this text, ask yourself, “Did Jesus visit Jerusalem to bring judgment or to bring peace?” The answer is, “Yes. Both.”

After His tears dried, Jesus’ first order of business was to visit the Temple and expel the money changers. But He didn’t stop there either. Jesus kept returning to the Temple so He could fill it with the good news that He had come to bring God’s forgiveness, life, and salvation. The whole reason Jesus had gone to Jerusalem was for the sake of peace – true, ultimate peace.

Christ visited Jerusalem to bring the very peace that was first promised to Adam and Eve even after they had fallen into sin (Gen. 3:15). Jesus visited Jerusalem so He could reconcile God and man through His blood. Christ won that peace through His cross and resurrection. And now, Jesus guards that peace with His protection.

Notice how Luke tells us that Jesus’ enemies couldn’t do anything. They couldn’t touch either Jesus or the crowds who listened to Him. Wherever Jesus’ Word is proclaimed the enemies of Christ have no control. They wanted to destroy Jesus, but they couldn’t do a thing (Lk. 19:47-48). Only when Jesus decided are they able to arrest and crucify Him. And through His death, Christ brings His promised peace.

So, dear saints, know the day of your visitation. Today is that day. Today, and every day you come to this place to hear God’s Word, Jesus is visiting you and proclaiming to you the things that make for peace. Yes, there are times when that visitation means Jesus has to remove the filth and shame of your sin. But that is how God brings about His peace.

Jesus’ visitation delivers you to the new, true, heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22-24) where God dwells with you and your enemies cannot touch you. They cannot touch you because they cannot touch Jesus. They have already done their worst to Him, and now, He lives forever. And because He lives, you live too (Jn. 14:19).

Psalm 48 describes the fortress that you have in the holy Christian Church, a fortress that is not founded on bricks that can crumble. No, the fortress Christ has delivered you to is built upon the foundation of God’s Word, which will never fade, fail, or fall. Listen to the description of your fortress from that Psalm: “Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever” (Ps. 48:12-14). 

In this tower, the only danger, the only threat you face is if you would leave its protection. Dear saints, God has and is visiting you here, now to bring you His true, abiding peace. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

…And I Feel Fine – Sermon on Matthew 25:1-13 for the Last Sunday of the Church Year

Listen here.

Matthew 25:1-13

1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It’s the end of the world as we know it…REM
It’s the end of the world as we know it…
It’s the end of the world as we know it…
And I feel fine.

That feeling fine ended up being a problem for the five foolish virgins. A big problem. They came to the bridegroom’s house feeling fine, but for no good reason. They were totally unprepared. They took no oil which meant that when the bridegroom was delayed, they could not light their lamps. And their fine feeling faded very quickly when the call came to come meet the bridegroom.

They go to trim their lamps, but they realize they don’t have any oil. So, they end up making a midnight run to the market to try and buy oil from the dealers who would had all closed up shop and gone to bed hours before. For these five foolish virgins, it was too late. While they were away, the bridegroom came, those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, the door was shut, and the five fools were left on the wrong side of the door.

Their knocking and begging and pleading for the bridegroom to let them in is met with the cold response, “Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.” Their foolishness meant that they were kept from entering the feast. They had felt fine, but when the end came, they were left outside in the cold.

Jesus tells this parable as a warning for us to be ready for His return. Jesus has promised that He will return and that we believers will live forever with Him. But Jesus didn’t tell us when He would return. So, in this parable, He commands us to watch because we do not know the day or the hour. Jesus wants us to be ready. When the feast begins, Jesus wants us there. Jesus wants you there. So be ready. Have oil. Don’t be left outside.

But be honest. This parable probably doesn’t strike that much fear in you. If you summarize the parable, it is a story of ten silly girls who fall asleep waiting for a party. Five of them are able to light an oil lamp and get to go into the party. And five can’t, so they don’t get into the party and have to go away. And if your high school experience was like mine, if you aren’t at the party, you just end up at home sulking and feeling a little lonely.

So, when Jesus tells us that the purpose of this parable is to get us to watch for the day of His return, why did He use this analogy of a wedding party and ten silly girls? If being ready for His return is so important, why not tell a parable with more urgency and more horrific consequences than simply missing out on a party? If I were Jesus, I’d tell a parable like this:

chicken-littleThere were ten fishermen – five wise who wore their life jackets the whole time they were on the boat and five foolish who drown because they figured they would have enough time to put them on when the storm hit.

Or, I’d tell a parable about ten soldiers – five wise who kept their hands on their sword hilt at all times and five foolish who got slaughtered when the enemy attacked because they left their sword lying around all the time.

Or, there were ten single parents – five wise who had instructions about where their children should live if something were to happen and five foolish who don’t leave any instructions so their children end up in terrible living situations.

In any of my parables, there is no good reason to be unprepared. The foolishness of the fools in each of those parables is much more apparent than in the parable Jesus tells, and the consequences are much more dire and horrific. But that is precisely why Jesus’ parable is different.

In each of my parables, the return of Jesus is a terrible, tragic, evil event – a storm at sea, an ambush by an enemy army, a death of a parent. But in Jesus’ parable, the thing to be ready for is the greatest day ever – the day of the arrival of Jesus, the Bridegroom and Savior of all mankind. A day of feasting, joy, merriment, and bliss for those who are ready to enter with Him. It is a day of escape, and the day we are looking forward to.

Christian, Christ’s return is not something you need to be worried about. Not at all! Christ’s return means that you will be in eternal bliss, happiness, joy, and contentment. There will be no more pain, no more tears, no more sorrow. Christ’s return is something anticipate – more than a child anticipates the arrival of her favorite aunt and cousins. Christian, your prayer is always, “Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly” (Rev. 22:20). And it is that same anticipation that Jesus highlights in this parable.

In our Epistle lesson (1 Thess. 5:1-11), we do hear both sides – both the dire consequences of unbelief and the joy of deliverance. Paul says that the day of the Lord will come upon unbelievers like a thief in the night. People will think they have peace and security, but then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains come upon a pregnant woman. And Paul warns, “They will not escape.”

But Paul continues. You, believer, are not in darkness. And that day will not surprise you like a thief. You are children of the light. And God has not destined you for wrath. Instead, He has destined, chosen you to obtain salvation though our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, yes, Jesus’ parable is a warning for us. Our lamps can run dry. Faith must be continually fed. Your faith will not survive without the Word and the Sacraments. Repent and believe. Have faith in Christ.

Faith trusts God to do what He says He will do, but without God’s Word, that faith will dry up and go out. You need, constantly you need, God’s Word. You need to hear God’s Law which calls you to repentance, and you need to hear God’s Gospel which tells you of Christ’s love, His sacrifice, His cross, His death, His resurrection. You need to be in fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. You need to be built up and you need to build others up and encourage one another.

Look UpAnd remember that as the end approaches, as you continually see signs of Christ’s return, remember what that means for you. Christ says it means your redemption is drawing near (Lk. 21:28). The bridegroom is coming, and you are His bride. Jesus has purchased and redeemed you so that you are without spot, wrinkle, or blemish (Eph. 5:27).

This world is ending, good riddance. You have Christ. Your redemption is secure. Your eternity is certain. So, yes, it’s the end of the world as we know it. But you, you Christian, you believer, you saint, you feel fine. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.