Jim's Sunday School Lesson from November 29th

Text: Luke 21:25-36

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. 26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is 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 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” 29 Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. 31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

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 catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be 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.”

Question: It sure looks like Jesus is saying the Kingdom of God will come before the passing of the generation to whom he was speaking. That generation has been dead for almost two millenia, and the End Times haven't yet arrived; so what gives?

Possibility #1: The word translated as "generation" should have been translated as "race" or "age." Some people argue that the Greek word "genea" should be translated here as race or age. If you have a New International Version, you will see a footnote suggesting "race" as an alternative translation. According to this theory, Jesus was reassuring his Jewish listeners that despite their current persecution by the Romans, God's people (as a race) would survive to see the Second Coming. Problem: The word "genea" isn't translated as "race" anywhere else. It really is the Greek word for generation, and the alternative translation seems to be less an attempt at proper translation and more of an attempt to escape the problem of understanding this passage.

Possiblity #2: "This generation" in v.32 isn't the generation to whom Jesus is speaking at that time, but is instead the generation in v.31 that "sees these things taking place." According to this theory, Jesus is reassuring his listeners that once a generation (some future generation) sees the signs of the Second Coming, the actual event will take place quickly, before that generation passes away. Problem: That seems like a strained reading of vv. 31 and 32. Moreover, even if we could accept that Luke 21:32 is talking about some future generation, Jesus makes other predictions of an imminent Second Coming. In Luke 9:27, Jesus says that "there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." That pretty clearly addresses the generation to whom he is then speaking, not some future generation.

Possibility #3: What the generation will see is not the Second Coming, but the destruction of the Temple or Jesus's own death. The conversation in Luke 21 begins when the disciples are admiring the majesty of the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus tells them that it will eventually be torn down stone by stone. In Luke 21:5-24, Jesus certainly predicts the fall of the Temple and Jerusalem. This could easily be the thing that the generation to whom he is speaking will see. Indeed, the Temple fell in 70 A.D., about 40 years after Jesus was speaking. Many alive when he spoke would still have been living to see the fall of the Temple. Jesus is almost surely talking about two other things as well: (1) his own death and resurrection and (2) the Second Coming and the fulfillment of the kingdom of God. Jesus uses the Temple as a metaphor for Himself and the church on more than one occasion. Certainly, those to whom he was speaking would live to see Jesus crucified and resurrected. Jesus also makes pretty unmistakable references to the End Times and the Second Coming. In v.31 he says very clearly that when certain things happen, "the kingdom of God is near." Problem: Jesus very likely IS talking about his own death (in about 29 A.D.) and the fall of the Temple (in 70 A.D.). But he is also pretty clearly talking about the coming of the kingdom of God. Even if we could read Luke 21 to be exclusively about the Temple or Jesus' crucifixion, we still have Luke 9:27 to deal with, which certainly appears to be a very straightforward statement that some of those standing in front of him would see the coming of the kingdom of God.

Possibility #4: Jesus is just flat mistaken. Some have suggested that Jesus is just wrong about the timing. But wait a minute. Jesus is God, right? And God knows everything, right? Well, maybe. Proponents of this theory take cover in the mystery of the Trinity and point to verses like Mark 13:32, in which Jesus declares that no one -- not the angels or the Son (i.e. Jesus Himself) -- knows the hour of the coming of the kingdom of God except the Father. So God the Father knows when the end will come, but God the Son does not. Problem: We don't even have to tie our brains in knots thinking about the nature of the Trinity to find a problem with this approach. Jesus may say in Mark that the Son does not know the exact hour, but the very same Jesus says in Luke 9:27 and Luke 21:32 that it will happen before those standing in front of him (Lk 9:27) and "this generation" (Lk 21:32) pass away. So even if we were to admit the possibility that Jesus could be wrong, how do we know WHICH statement by Jesus is wrong? Was he wrong in Mark 13 or in Luke 9 and 21?

Possibility #5: Jesus is 100% right. Maybe the kingdom of God arrived while those to whom he was speaking were still alive. "But wait a second," you say. "We're all still here. I read Left Behind, and that stuff hasn't happened yet!" Well, maybe. We can think of the coming of the kingdom of God as a single point in time in which Christ returns to earth and starts sorting us into sheep and goats; and that certainly doesn't seem to have happened. But maybe that's the wrong way to think of it. Maybe the coming of the kingdom of God is more like the coming of an oak tree. The end goal is a towering, mighty oak tree, but the tree begins with the planting of seeds. Think back to Jesus' parable of the seeds. The kingdom of God -- grace, forgiveness, love -- were there for the taking as Jesus was speaking and they are here for the taking now. The timing of the final, ultimate achievement of God's will may be unknown, but we can participate in the kingdom of God right here right now. The story of our salvation through Christ doesn't begin at Calvary. It began in a manger in Bethlehem. The kingdom of God is the same way. It is an ongoing, ever-present possibility that we can experience right now.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent means "coming." During Advent, we celebrate the coming of Jesus -- both his coming as a baby 2,000 years ago and his future return. But we also need to celebrate the ways that he comes into our lives every single day. Stay awake! Be alert! The kingdom is here right now. Don't miss it.