Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 21 : 34-38 "APPLICATION OF JESUS' ESCHATOLOGY"
Day 272 – Luke 21
Text: Luke 21 : 34-38
APPLICATION OF JESUS’ ESCHATOLOGY
Jesus had taught some very deep truths concerning the end times! The prophetic words that He uttered were chilling to the very bone! Jerusalem would be destroyed. And with it the Temple! There would come persecution to the believers!
These and other prophetic words were uttered! Jesus urged His hearers to believe all that they had heard! What He had said would come to pass! Heaven and earth would pass away first, before His Words could be faulted! His words would come to pass!
It was now time to bring yet another series of lessons to a close. Jesus sought to apply what He had taught His hearers!
“But take heed to yourselves,
lest your hearts be weighed down
with carousing, drunkenness,
and cares of this life,
and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
For it will come as a snare on all those
Who dwell on the face of the whole earth.”
Luke 21:34-35
Jesus knew that what He had spoken did not enter deeply into the hearts of the hearers. He knew that before too long, these solemn words would be forgotten. Many would return to the way of the world. His words would be subtly rejected!
The world offered serious temptations. It offered carousing and drunkenness on the one hand. It also offered the cares of this life on the other.
Those who were drawn to the world would soon find their hearts losing interest in things spiritual. Those who were caught up with the cares of the world would soon find their hearts weighed down!
“That Day would come on (them) unexpectedly!” Many would be caught unprepared! The world would entrap them. The world was like a snare that a hunter would carefully use to trap his game. In a similar way, the world would be a snare to all who dwelt on the face of the whole earth!
Jesus was right to say, “Take heed to yourselves”! The responsibility of hearing and responding to the Words of Jesus appropriately was placed on the shoulders of the hearers! Whether the world could ensnare them depended on the way the hearers exercised caution!
WATCH AND PRAY!
Can anyone successfully escape the snare of the world? It would be difficult and it would demand much from the earnest and careful hearer.
“Watch therefore, and pray always
that you may be counted worthy to escape
all these things that will come to pass,
and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Luke 21:36
Jesus challenged His hearers to become people who would set aside time to watch and to pray! They must become watchful that they might not become ensnared by the world. They must continue to be watchful as if they were waiting for all that Jesus said to occur soon.
They must also become more prayerful. They must recognize the need to turn to the Lord in prayer again and again. They must guard their hearts in prayer in every way possible! They must sense their dependence on the Lord in prayer.
Those who truly regarded the Word proclaimed by Jesus seriously would become watchful and prayerful! When people become watchful and prayerful they are considered “worthy to escape all these things that would come to pass.”
What does that mean? A number of thoughts come to mind. Let us consider the following passages from the Scriptures.
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress:
My God, in Him I will trust.’
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge.
A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not come near you…”
Psalm 91:1-4, 7
Take time to read this wonderful psalm that brings such comfort to the heart. Those who are worthy are those who watch and pray. Those who are worthy are also those who abide under the shadow of the Almighty. These are people who have made the Lord their refuge and their trust!
Another special passage comes to mind. It is taken from the Book of Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah was contemplating the death of the righteous and the merciful.
“The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart;
Merciful men are taken away, while no one considers that
The righteous is taken away from evil.”
Isaiah 57:1
In special circumstances God allows a peaceful, natural death to come to the righteous that they might escape tribulation! In any case, God would come to the rescue of those who are worthy in His sight! Let us be challenged to watch and pray! Let us seek to walk worthy that we might stand before the Son of Man when He returns for us.