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“once the time of God’s judgment came, it would
be too late”
Story 128
“The dividing line of the Great Battle would be drawn at the
foot of the cross.”
The Day of the Lord is going to come and even as Jesus walked
the earth, He longed for it.
It will be the great Day of Salvation for all who put their
faith in Him.
It will also be a Day of Judgment and fire against rebellion and
the darkness of this world.
It will bring a final end to the curse, and will usher in a new
era of everlasting joy and light. The Bible says we are all to long for
that Day to come.
Jesus had come to earth on a rescue mission to save His chosen
ones from the grip of the Kingdom of Darkness.
In order to do so, He was going to offer Himself up as a
sacrifice in obedience to His Father.
This is what He said:
“‘I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were
already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until
it is completed.’”
Do you hear Jesus speaking about His dread as He prepared to
die?
Imagine the agony that Christ went through in that time. He knew
that in the next few months, He would be offering Himself up to bear the
horrific suffering of death on a cross.
He would allow these malicious, selfish rulers to have Him
beaten and nailed to wood.
All the while, He would be bearing the terrific force of God’s
cataclysmic wrath against the sin and evil of humanity.
The cross loomed over His life like a constant shadow. What He
was preparing to do as He went about teaching and healing is incomprehensible
to us.
What a wonderful Savior, that He would bear that burden for us.
It is just another reminder of the unimaginable good of Jesus, magnificently
selfless… utterly worthy of our love and devotion.
With His life and death and resurrection, Jesus would forge the
way for the glorious path of God’s grace. He was purchasing salvation, and
making a way to Heaven for all who believe in Him.
How could anyone refuse His gift? But then again, how could Adam
and Eve reject their God?
Why does anyone turn from God and cross over the line of His
will into sin? Why do you and I sin? It isn’t rational…it doesn’t make sense.
Humanity is utterly sinful, and Jesus knew many would not
receive the gift that He purchased with His blood.
He knew that they would not only refuse His mercy and grace but
they would join the ranks of God’s great enemy and fight against Him.
With Christ’s victory on the cross, Satan was utterly defeated,
but that wasn’t going to stop him from doing as much damage as possible until
Christ returns.
Jesus knew that Satan was going to do everything he could to
wage war against the expansion of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
He was going to deceive and draw as many people into sin and
darkness as possible so he could use them to wage war against God.
From the time of Christ’s life on earth to the time when He
would return, there would be a deep divide in the human race between the
Kingdom of Darkness and the Kingdom of Light.
This is how Jesus described it:
“‘Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but
division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other,
three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against
son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against
mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against
mother-in-law.’” Luke 12:50-53
The dividing line of the Great Battle would be drawn at the foot
of the cross.
The great distinction in humanity would be between those who
received the sacrifice as a covering for their sin, and those who refused this
marvelous grace.
The great division between the two would drive right through the
most intimate relationships, invading even the heart of families.
It would divide through the heart of each person as well, as
they wrestled with the purity and faith that Christ commanded.
It was the same divide that was working through the listeners of
Jesus during His time and during our time as well.
As Jesus preached through Galilee, He kept coming up against the
foolishness of the people. Here He was, their own Messiah, and they refused to
recognize it.
The Kingdom of God was near, and the time for great revelation
of God’s Salvation was on the way, but the people were completely missing it.
This is what Jesus said:
“‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say,
“It’s going to rain,” and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say,
“It’s going to be hot,” and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the
appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to
interpret this present time?’” Luke 12:54-56
Jesus was rebuking the people. How could they be so sensitive to
something as fleeting as the weather, yet so dull to the great and mighty work
of God among them?
The storm clouds were rising over Israel. Judgment was on the
way. The nation of Israel would not stand if it rejected the Messiah!
These people were living in an illusion if they thought they
could go on after so great a sin! Can you hear Jesus’ frustration? Can you hear
Him trying to prod them awake?
Then He said:
“‘Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are
going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him
on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to
the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not
get out until you have paid the last penny.’” Luke 12:57-59
In this little story, you have to imagine a man who has been
accused of a crime.
He is guilty, and his accuser has full, complete proof. Once
they get to court, that accuser is going to show the judge all the evidence and
the man will surely go to jail.
What is the smartest thing for the man to do?
·
Should he lie and pretend to be innocent?
·
Should he fool himself into believing that the judge might let
him off in spite of his crime?
·
Should he carry false hope that there is some other legal system
that he can go to?
·
Should he reject and abuse his accuser on the way to the judge?
·
Or should he plead with his accuser, confess his sins, and hope
for a more lenient punishment?
As Jesus spoke to the Jewish people, He was calling them to
repent and seek God’s grace before it was too late.
God had full proof of their sin and their need for grace, and
Jesus was there, willing to give it.
But once the time of God’s judgment came, it would be too late.
JENNYGRACE777
There
are many things about Christianity that are so arrestingly beautiful...a God
who came to die for His people, for example, that I have never been able to
move away from a love for Jesus. However, I had a number of years when many
parts of the Bible were terribly confusing, even angering to me. How could God
tell Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? How could God command the Israelites to commit
genocide against the Canaanites? At times I used these questions as a reason to
walk away from the faith entirely. Then I had the privilege of going to a
university with scholars who understood God's story. They helped me see His
goodness and justice as he has worked over thousands of years to reach a dark,
fallen, sinful race of humans with His plan of salvation. My deep desire is to
give others a chance to see God's glory in His story...the story that is our
story...as well.
http://hisgloryinourstory.com/2015/02/10/story-128-the-war/
Luke 12:49-13:9 English Standard
Version (ESV)
Not Peace, but Division
49 “I came
to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a
baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is
accomplished! 51 Do you
think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather
division. 52 For from
now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two
against three. 53 They will
be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against
daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Interpreting the Time
54 He also
said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say
at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when
you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’
and it happens. 56 You
hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Settle with Your Accuser
57 “And
why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go
with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on
the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the
officer, and the officer put you in prison.. 59 I tell
you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
[a]
Repent or Perish
13 There
were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose
blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he
answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than
all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I
tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those
eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think
that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I
tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6 And he
told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and
he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he
said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit
on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the
ground?’ 8 And he
answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put
on manure. 9 Then if
it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it
down.’”
Footnotes:
a. Luke 12:59 Greek lepton, a
Jewish bronze or copper coin worth about 1/128 of a denarius (which
was a day's wage for a laborer)
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