(Audio)
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand
We get so worried about the things that are going to happen in the future. The temple is going to be torn down. There will be "wars and insurrections," and "earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky." Can we be blamed for wanting to know all we can about such things so that we can be as ready as possible?
"See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
'I am he,' and 'The time has come.'
Do not follow them!
The trouble is that the future is an unsolvable problem for everyone except Jesus. When we try to plan for it without him we end up replacing a role only he is meant to play. In one way or in another we chase false prophets in order to quench the fear we feel.
do not be terrified
The only way to avoid being deceived, to avoid following false prophets, to avoid succumbing to terror, is to keep at the very center of our lives the name of Jesus.
because of my name.
Following Jesus and hallowing his name is not necessarily a recipe for peace and prosperity, at least not immediately. The wars happen anyway. We are still handed over to synagogues and to prisons. We are still led before kings and governors.
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.
It is only by being firmly fixed in the truth of Jesus, by being living examples of the testimony to his name, that we can be safe. It is not safety on a human level, but rather one much deeper and more permanent.
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.
So let us fear the name of the LORD so that the "sun of justice with its healing rays" may arise for us as well. When this is the basis of our lives we are able to return in a new way to that which before seemed old and mundane.
We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a
disorderly way,
by not keeping busy but minding the business of others.
Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly
and to eat their own food.
We can work, in spite of the craziness of the world. We can perform the task at hand, though it is now performed not for bread that leaves us hungry again, but for the sake of the Kingdom. The very routine of our daily lives is elevated as we ourselves are given wholly over to Jesus.
Before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth,
he will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
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