December 1, 2024 Sermon
Sermon title: “Look at the Fig Tree”
Scripture: Luke 21:25-36
(Other lectionary suggestions include Jeremiah 33:14-16, Psalm 25:1-10, and I Thessalonians 3:9-13.)
Luke 21:25-36
The Coming of the Son of Man
25“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
29Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
Exhortation to Watch
34“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, 35like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Welcome to the first Sunday of Advent! A strange Scripture reading, to be sure, for the Season. But that’s one of our lectionary choices. Another was from the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, who talks about a righteous branch springing up for David. A passage from I Thessalonians 3 doesn’t really sound like an Advent theme, either. So, we have what I read from Luke.
What’s going on? First of all, what we heard today is not about the Second Coming of Christ. It’s about the time of Jesus or shortly AFTER the time of Jesus. Remember that Luke’s Gospel was written soon after 65 or 70 A.D. The Romans will destroy Jerusalem and the Temple in the years 66-70. So, Jesus’s words are for his contemporaries, or those who followed shortly after. Jesus wants the movement that he started to continue, but if that’s to happen, his followers need to pay attention to the signs, including what happens to fig trees and other trees!
Says N. T. Wright, Jesus was not urging his followers to go down with the ship, but to get out of Jerusalem if they had the chance! “Just as the Israelites were commanded to leave Babylon in a hurry before God’s judgment fell on her (Isaiah 48:20 and Jeremiah 50:8), so Jesus’ followers are to leave Jerusalem while there is still time.”
When Jesus talks about the coming of the Son of man, what does he mean? Again, we are not talking about the Second Coming here. There is a figure in the book of Daniel in the Old Testament, and Jesus’s listeners would be familiar with it. Jesus is talking about the fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel 7. “One of the most popular prophecies of the day, this passage was believed to speak about the time when God’s true people would be vindicated after their suffering at the hands of the ‘beasts,’ the pagan nations who had oppressed them.....The judgment that falls on the pagan nations is the same judgment that vindicates ‘the son of man,’ who is then brought on a cloud to share the throne of God himself.”
Please note that there is no talk of NOT SUFFERING here! You don’t want to suffer, and I don’t want to suffer. But we may not have that choice. To quote Professor Wright, “The best way of understanding this passage in Luke is then to see it as the promise that, when the Jerusalem that had opposed his message is finally overthrown, this will be the vindication of Jesus and his people, the sign that he has indeed been enthroned at his Father’s side in heaven.”
That’s a lot to believe. But if Jesus truly was the Prince of Peace, and if he truly came on the scene to refuse the sword, as I believe he did, there was no way he would not DIE for his efforts!
((Read Daniel 7:13-14 – 13As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. 14To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.)) When Jesus refers to “one like a son of man,” he is speaking to the people of his day. Jesus is talking about his own vindication “and the rescue of his people from the system that has oppressed them.” So, what are his disciples to look for? First of all, the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus and God’s kingdom have come near, but the city rejected Jesus. So, it must be destroyed, and it WAS. “All must take place within a generation,” says N. T. Wright, “because Jesus is after all the last prophet....”
That was a long time ago. What does that story mean for us? We still use wars to get what we want. How do we stop that? I have no idea, other than to practice peace and to have patience. What do you think? Amen.
Pastor Skip
