Luke 21.5-19, 25-28

What’s that taste?

It’s the taste of poisoned Kool-Aid.

During the 1960s and 1970s, American preacher/teacher Jim Jones formed the The People’s Temple. The  purpose of The People’s Temple was to create a socialist utopia free from American capitalism.  Jones convinced his followers that social justice, racial equality, and various humanitarian causes were the answer to humanity’s woes.  After finding himself in trouble in the United States, Jones fled with his cult to Jonestown, Guyana to keep his dream alive.

In 1978, after being investigated by the United States for human rights abuses and keeping hostages, cult leader Jones led 912 of his commune members to commit a mass act of suicide/murder by drinking Kool-Aid mixed with cyanide.

False teachers exist.

What’s that smell?

It’s the smell of burning human flesh.

In the first Century following Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, Emperor Nero attempted to divert attention from his own corruption and failure as a Roman politician by falsely placing blame on the early church and her Christian members for the problems of society.

In a government led religious cleansing campaign, Nero had Christians arrested and imprisoned.  He had some of the captured Christians thrown to wild animals to be torn apart while still alive.  Nero also had some Christians hung on the walls of his palace and set on fire as human torches.

Christians are persecuted.

What’s that sound?

It’s the sound of women and children crying, bombs being dropped, buildings crumbling, and tanks rolling by as national leaders vie for more and more position and power on the world map.

Wars are happening.

Alt-rockers, Hot Water Music, look at the suffering of the world around us and conclude, 

“Our state of grace is gone;”

They are then quick to offer this solution: 

“May we combine tradition, Science and innovation. To benefit what’s ailing…”

Yes, our world is falling apart.  

But, that is not a sign that grace is gone.

And, I would argue that as humanity has tried to use tradition, science, and innovation to solve problems, those things have only exacerbated our downtrodden situation.

In this morning’s Biblical text, chosen for us by the lectionary for this 2nd-to-last Sunday of the church year, Jesus addresses all of these things.  Jesus talks about the pain, suffering, loss, and destruction happening around us.  But, Jesus also makes it clear that the grace of God is still at work for our ultimate good.

Let’s hear what Jesus has to say in chapter 21 of The Gospel According to Luke.

Luke 21:5–19, 25-28 tells us this:

[5] And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, [6] “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” [7] And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” [8] And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. [9] And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”

[10] Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. [11] There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. [12] But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. [13] This will be your opportunity to bear witness. [14] Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, [15] for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. [16] You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. [17] You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. [18] But not a hair of your head will perish. [19] By your endurance you will gain your lives…

[25] “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, [26] people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. [27] And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. [28] Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (ESV)

Our text opens with the people around Jesus standing in awe of the temple in Jerusalem. They believed that their religious monument, their worship center, constructed with the finest materials on earth, was an indestructible place of safety.  

The Jews who worshiped there and pilgrimaged there placed their hope in the strength and stability of their temple building.  They believed it was the greatest sign of God’s blessing.  They believed it was the undeniable evidence that they were God’s children.

However, for our benefit, Jesus tears down the things that we place our hope in and in fact, do not offer us hope at all.

Jesus tears down what we love in this world so that we will place our affections where they belong — on the God who gives, the God who takes away, and the God who redeems.

Jesus prepares the people in Jerusalem for the coming destruction of the temple by letting them know a day is coming when it will be nothing but a pile of rubble.  We now know that this happened in the year 70 A.D. 

And, just as Jesus prepared the temple worshipers for it’s coming destruction, Jesus helps us to be prepared for the eventual destruction of the created order as we know it.

So, as Jesus does, Jesus focused attention on what is truly important, what truly matters, and what truly gives us hope—His presence with us to rescue us from the destruction and death unfolding around us.

Jesus wants us to be ready for two things.

What does Jesus want us to be ready for?

The first thing that Jesus wants you to be prepared for is the suffering that you will encounter in this world.

If you have sat in this room for at least one Sunday morning church service, you are aware that every human being (and to be clear—that includes you and me!) is corrupted by Sin from the moment of conception.

Due to Eve and Adam’s disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden, the human experience in this world was broken by Sin and it’s effects.  The major effect of Sin for you and me is that we are separated from God and cannot, by any strength or accomplishment, find our way back into the holiness of God.  Sin takes our eyes completely off of God by making us self-centered, selfish, and self-righteous. 

On Bethel’s social media this week, I shared a quote from a book I am currently reading.

The quote goes like this:

“God is not for the little engine that could.  God is for the train wreck that can’t.”

The truth of being stuck in Sin is that we wrongly believe that we are the little engine that could.  We end up wrongly believing that with enough self-talk and focused determination, we will be be able to get ourselves up and over the hill that separates us from God.  However, Sin corrupts us so completely that there is nothing we can do to get over the obstruction it puts between us and God our Father in Heaven.

So, even though we think we are the little engine that could, the truth is that we are the train wreck that can’t!

Like I said, you are probably familiar with the effects of Sin on the human being.

However, you may not realize that with the entrance of Sin into the world in the Garden of Eden, the created order was also cast in corruption and decay.  As an example of that, Adam is told that the ground will now produce weeds that will make his work difficult.  

Did you know that?  After God’s creation, the earth was perfect in every way which meant that there were no weeds in the garden, only healthy plants!  However, because of the brokenness of Sin, weeds now grow as a sign of God’s judgment.

(I bet those of you with green thumbs have just a little more disdain for Adam and Eve now!)

We hear that Sin effects the created order, not just the human being, in Romans 8:19–22.

[19] For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. [20] For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [22] For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. (ESV)

Because of the effects of Sin on humanity, we destroy one another through persecutions and wars.

Because of the effects of Sin on Creation, decay and imbalance causes natural disasters—earthquakes, flooding, tornadoes—that often result in things like famine and pestilence.

The second thing that Jesus wants you to be ready for is the end of space and time and you know it.

In his book, Overcoming Life’s Sorrows: Learning From Jeremiah, R. Reed Lessing makes the observation that:

“It’s liberating to feel and grieve our suffering and our losses. They are serious. They are weighty and difficult. They are real. They will never stop being a part of our lives. Nevertheless, we are not the primary carrier of those losses. Jesus is. And Jesus is coming again. On the Last Day, Jesus will return and our bodies will rise out of the grave. We will be more alive than ever before. Our eyes will see God in His glorious splendor. We will rejoice over the new creation in all its majesty and perfection. Colors will burst forth in plants and animals with a rainbow of beauty. There is more. We will reach out and hold the hand of that person we so dearly loved—taken from us by death. What a grand reunion. And our taste buds? You think chocolates on Valentine’s Day are delicious now? Just wait until Jesus gives us redeemed bodies. Our tongues will explode with tastes and flavors like never before. And the sounds we will hear! Songs of praise, music, birds, laughter—all the happiest sounds, amplified in ways that will fill our hearts with joy. [Luke 6.21 gives us this hope:]

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh”.”

In the context of today’s Biblical verses, it is freeing to recognize and sit in sorrow over the destruction that Sin is causing in us and in the world that we inhabit.  This is freeing because it put reason to the rhyme of chaos.  And, it let’s us rest in the truth that God knows, God cares, and God is still in control moving all things together for our ultimate good—our redemption and salvation.

In Scripture, we are told that “…we are strangers before You and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding” (1 Chronicles 29:15, ESV). 

Throughout both the Old and New Testaments we read that this world, as wonderful as it can be, cannot sustain our deepest yearnings.

C. S. Lewis once said, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” 

Amen to that—for we were made for a world that shall not pass away.

False teachers exist and will continue to exist.

The fallen and corrupted world, with the devil and his minions prowling around, has and will continue to persecute Christians in an attempt to annihilate God’s people.

Wars have happened and will continue to happen.

These things are signs that Sin is real and has the power to kill and destroy.

These things are signs that the world is in a downward spiral of decay.

These things are signs that the world as we know it has an expiration date.  

There are no caveats or escape clauses here.  The world that we inhabit today will not exist forever.  It is all coming to an end.

However, none of this is a sign of losing our state of grace under God’s sovereign care.

Jesus’ eschatological teaching reveals that wars, suffering, and death have no ultimate meaning or hold on Christians.

These things are warning signs for you and me to run to God and place our hope in His forgiving, saving, and redeeming love.  

Uncertainty and fear should lead us to focus on Jesus’ redemption.

It is not tradition that will save you or the world.

It is not science that will save you or the world.

It is not innovation that will save you or the world.

It is only the redemption that comes from faith in Jesus Christ that will save you and the world by making you and the world completely new creations untainted by Sin and it’s corruption that leads to death.

This morning, know that the end of life as you know it is eventually coming.  

Don’t drink the poisoned Kool-Aid of false teaching.

Don’t hide your faith and deny Jesus because of the threats made against the Christian Church.

Don’t cower in fear every time you turn on the news.

Instead, trust and hope in God’s grace.  Straighten up and raise your heads, Jesus is your Redeemer.  Jesus’ Sin forgiving death on the cross and resurrection from the grave will bring you home to the re-created perfect heavens and earth where pain, suffering, tears, and death do not exist.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

November 16, 2025.

Prayer:

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen. 

(Proper 20 — BCP p. 234) 

Benediction:

Go, in peace today.  In Jesus Christ, your redemption from the troubles of Sin, both in you and in the world, has come and is coming fully.  Amen.