It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.

Luke 21:1-28 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. ² And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. ³ And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; ⁴ for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”

⁵ And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, ⁶ “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”

⁷ They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”⁸ And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. ⁹ When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”

¹⁰ Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, ¹¹ and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. ¹³ It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. ¹⁴ So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; ¹⁵ for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. ¹⁶ But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, ¹⁷ and you will be hated by all because of My name. ¹⁸ Yet not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ By your endurance you will gain your lives.

²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. ²¹ Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; ²² because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. ²³ Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; ²⁴ and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

²⁵ “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶ men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Yesterday the Christian church and believers around the world celebrated the resurrection of Christ. On the cross, Jesus conquered sin, redeeming us through His sacrifice and death. Through the resurrection, Jesus conquered death. Neither sin nor death, have power over those who believe. Today’s text procedes the resurrection in the timeline of Luke’s gospel. We then, having celebrated and fully believing in the resurrection, can look at what Jesus said before the crucifixion and resurrection through the lens of the empty tomb.   

The text says:  Some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.” They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”  And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”  Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.  So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;  for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name.  Yet not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.”   Jesus says:  “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”  I believe we are entering a time when the church that has been built by man over the last 2000 years will be torn down. Around the world we are seeing the physical structures of Christian churches being vandalized and destroyed. We are also seeing the foundations of our society and culture, which was established on Judeo / Christian values being torn down. We live in a time when one political figure who is homosexual is held in higher regard than another who holds to Biblical values and principles, by the media and our society. It seems as though the only thing that is not to be tolerated in our culture and society is Biblical standards and values. Here’s the thing, while the church built by human hands may not survive the coming times. In Matthew 16:13-19, we read about the church that Jesus will build:    Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”  The church that Jesus builds is not an ornate structure. It is not built upon the traditions of men. The church that Jesus builds and is building is built upon the revelation that Jesus is the Christ. While human buildings and institutions may not survive, the gates of Hell will not overpower the church established by and in Christ. Jesus says: “By your endurance you will gain your lives.”  The victory we have through the resurrection is ours through enduring with Christ.

Jesus says:  “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them.”   Surely today many have come and teach a different gospel and a different message than the one Jesus taught. We must not be mislead. Some teach that beacause of grace, sin no longer matters. Jesus victory over sin is not that sin no longer matters. It is that we are freed from the power of sin to live righteously. In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus says:   “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Some today preach a message that because of the resurrection of Christ, the victorious life of the believer should be a life of abundance and without difficulties. If that were the case, why would Jesus encourage us to endure? It is not hard to endure what is easy. We must not be mislead.

The beginning of today’s text reveals a key for us to live victoriously in the times that we are in. It says:  And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins.  And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”   The heart of the poor widow, to give all that she had, is more than just an example of how we are to give of our finanaces. It is an example of how we are to live. In the same way that it is easier to give out of abundance than poverty, it is easier to testify of the victorious life in Christ from a mountain top than from a prison cell. Yet, Jesus says:  “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.”  We are not assured a life free from difficulty because of the resurrection power of Christ. But, if we live for Him, in every situation and circumstance, He will make everything an opportunity for our testimony, that through Christ we have the victory over the power of sin and death.

After Jesus was resurrected from the grave, in Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus says:  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”   Our message is to be a victorious message, that because of the cross and the resurrection, we too have victory over sin and death, victory to endure and live the resurrection life of Christ.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; thank You that because of the resurrection, I too have victory over sin and death. Thank You, that as the resurrection song says:  Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Holy Spirit teach me and guide me that I might never be mislead. Empower me to live the resurrection life of Christ, enduring whatever the world may bring. May I find every opportunity to testify of Your victory, knowing You are with me always.   Amen.