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Gospel: Luke 21: 12-19
Jesus said to the crowd:
“They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents,
brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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We’re in the midst of one of the most difficult chapters in all of the Gospels. Here, Luke is not writing about the crucifixion of our Lord, but something – selfishly speaking – even more difficult.
Not God’s pain, but ours.
“They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name,” Jesus says.
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What inspired such dark words from the Lord?
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He’s just days from his death. While walking in the Temple with his disciples, one of them remarks how big and beautiful it is. No one expected what would follow.
Suddenly, the Lord starts turning over tables, predicting the Temple’s destruction, and warning his disciples of widespread persecution to come.
Sadly, he was right.
Much like the Titanic, which was considered “unsinkable,” the Jews couldn’t fathom God’s costly house of worship ever being toppled. Yet within 40 years of Christ’s predictions, not just the Temple, but also the city of Jerusalem was in ruins, caused by a Jewish uprising.
More than one-million people were murdered by Roman forces and another ninety-seven thousand were taken captive. In the heart of the Empire, Nero burned Rome to the ground and used Christians as garden torches during his dinner parties.
We cannot fault Jesus for being honest – or right.
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But if our focus remains solely on the pain of persecution, then we’ll fall into the devil’s trap. All of the suffering in this world – from martyrdom to war, earthquakes, and famine – are like the pangs of birth.
Out of this chaotic, fallen world, God is doing something new. As the Apostle John foretells in one of the final pages of the Book of Revelation, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away…Night shall be no more.”
As we prepare for this Advent season, we must remember what we celebrate. A savior is born to us. God has visited his people. Salvation is near.
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Image credits: (1) Dave DeSelm Ministries (2) Siege of Jerusalem, Francesco Hayez (3) Christ’s Kingdom and the End Times