Jesus is With us at the Beginning, Middle, and End
[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.
Luke 21:10-19 ESV
These statements by Jesus are in the context of the disciples being in awe about how huge and majestic the temple is, remember?
A rough outline of this part goes like this:
* Disciples are impressed and amazed at the temple
* Jesus says it’s all going to pass away
* Disciples get excited about the end of the world coming
* Jesus tells them not to get too excited because there is a bunch of terrible stuff coming first
So this isn’t a news cast or even a prophetic vision. This is Jesus trying to calm down these young fiery guys (see The Chosen, Season 2 episode 1) into not being in a big rush for the end of the world to come. Sure, long for it and hope for it, but realize it’s going to be bad for a lot of people. Abraham didn’t get the s’mores together when he saw Lot fleeing from Sodom.
We have heard and it is true that things are really good when you become a Christian. The problem is, we carry our un-redeemed definition of *good* with us into our salvation. If you get saved and think that means you beat the bad guy, save the day, and get the girl… you are in for a surprise.
The good news of all of this bad news that Jesus describes is that God is with His people throughout. Your siblings may sell you out (happy Sibling Day yesterday btw) but God will be with you. You’ll be turned over to the authorities and really persecuted, but God will be cheering you along and giving you the right words to say.
You will be hated by all kinds of people and maybe even killed, but by God’s miraculous power, some will walk right out of prisons (Peter and John!) and you’ll all come dancing out of your graves.
If the disciples (and we) thought that the Christian life was all worldly victories, we’d lose our faith when things went bad. Jesus tells us ahead of time: His presence with us during hardships will be our best witness to the world that He Saves. Don’t just cheer for the big ending. Celebrate His present presence.