Thursday, November 28, 2013 - If the end were to come today would you be able to hold your head high fearlessly? If No, what will you do about it today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Dan 6:12-28; Lk 21:20-28

The text of today, continues the Eschatological Discourse, but speaks now of the destruction of Jerusalem and other cosmological signs which announce the coming of the Son of Man. Josephus the Jewish historian recorded the horrors of the Jewish war, which lasted from April until August of the year 70 C.E. It was a terrible for all the inhabitants and many were killed during it. The Romans razed the whole city to the ground.

The texts states that once this happens and the other signs have come to pass signalling the end that is at hand, the Son of Man will appear in a cloud, with great power and glory. When he does appear, others might faint from fear, but the disciples are asked to hold their heads up high, because their salvation has indeed come.

In Luke, the focus remains on the significance of the coming of the Son of Man and the way the disciples are to receive him. For the disciples, his coming means an end to the persecutions and terrors that have been described earlier. Whereas the Son of Man will come to judge the wicked, his coming means deliverance for the faithful.

The Gospel thus teaches that beyond the end of time stands the Lord, who has come among us in the person of Jesus. Those whose lives are lived under Jesus’ Lordship can live expectantly, filling each day with activity that is meaningful because of its divine mandate and its contribution to the fulfilment of God’s purposes for human life. Similarly, the end of time or the end of life holds no terror for those who know God’s love because they know the one who determines the reality that lies beyond what we can know here and now.

Thus those who know Christ as the Son of God can approach the end with heads raised high, knowing that their redemption is near (21:28).

These verses also provide encouragement for the faithful when the very foundation of life seems to be shaken. Reading Jesus’ words on the coming of the Son of Man brings assurance that in the worst of times the Son of Man is near at hand, coming “with power and great glory” (21:27). The message of the eschatological discourse is one of hope: “Your redemption is drawing near” (21:28).