When Times Get Tough

Luke 22:31-32 (ESV) “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

So much of the advancement in technology in the last two centuries has been to increase our comfort and decrease our pain. Medicine, transportation, entertainment, recreation, and even furniture has been improved over and over to give us the illusion that life should be pain free. So, we tend to be surprised when tough times come. Yet come, they still do. Each of us, often at regular intervals, faces challenges, whether physical, economic, relational, or emotional. These seasons can overwhelm us with no seeming hope of overcoming them.

Although each of us might feel alone at these times, we are in good company. In the midst of the Last Supper, Jesus warned Peter he was facing a tough night and season ahead. Like Job long before him, Satan was given permission to test him, to “sift him like wheat” – that process of pulling the hard husk off of the sweet edible grain inside. The season was to be very painful, and, aside from Jesus’ prayers, there was no guarantee it would go well. In the midst of the hardest, most painful, times, Peter’s temptation would have been to give up and quit. So, Jesus told him he prayed specifically that “his faith would not fail.”

As painful and seemingly pointless at the time that season of sifting would be to Peter, it was to end. “When you have returned…” indicates he would make it through to a better time. That better time brought with it a new mission for Peter: “Strengthen your brothers.” Jesus implied that Peter would not have been in a position to help his friends in their challenging circumstances had he not made it through his own.

Few of us seek difficult times, and many of us are tempted to quit when it gets tough. Yet, tough times do not last. Jesus’ prayers and the help of our friends can get us through those seasons that make us stronger so we can help others. If you are in such a season right now, don’t quit. You are getting stronger than you realize.

The Recipe to Win

Luke 22:29-30 (ESV) “I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Every one of the 32 teams in the National Football League wants to win the Super Bowl, but each year only one will. Coaches and staffs spend millions trying to determine the winning formula. Every NFL team spends between $119 million and $150 million dollars on players’ salaries alone. They seek the winning strategies, the best equipment, and the most effective training, hoping that the right combination will produce a winning team.

At his last supper with his disciples, Jesus gave them the real recipe of a winning team, and it did not involve multi-million dollar salaries and huge stadiums. In fact, it was the opposite of what they, or any of us, would expect. Yet, the promise of victory was clear in Luke 22:30.

The first ingredient is humility. In Luke 22:25-27, Jesus contrasted secular political leaders who gloried in their power and lorded it over their charges. “Not so with you,” Jesus said. We must serve those in our care for their benefit, not for our own glory.

The second ingredient is staying with Jesus through suffering (Luke 22:28). Many leave when times get tough. Too often our sanitized version of American Christianity seems to promise a trouble free life. Jesus never said following him would remove trouble from our lives. He said the opposite. “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

The third is returning after failure. Jesus followed this promise with his warning to Peter about his imminent denial. The testing came at Satan’s hands. Jesus knew that Peter would succumb, but that did not mean the end of his effectiveness or hope of ultimately winning. Jesus charged him, “When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22: 32) Only once in the history of the NFL has a team with a perfect record won the Super Bowl. Likewise, our goal should be the ultimate victory of finishing with Jesus, even if we have lost a few games on the way. We have to get back on the field, though. Jesus’ grace welcomes us back.

The day will come when the trophies that really matter will be handed out. They will not have a football or a figure on them, but unlike these temporary accolades, they will last forever. There is one with your name on it. Stay humble, hang on to Jesus through the trials, and get back into the game when you stumble so you can claim it.

Predestination or Free Will?

Luke 22:21-22 (ESV) “Behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”

One of the biggest debates throughout Christian history is: has God planned everything that will happen or do human beings have free will to shape their own destinies? There have been a lot of words from both sides. Denominations have spilt over the issue. Each perspective can wield many Bible verses that seem to speak in its favor. Yet, our passage today is one of those unique ones that speaks to both perspectives.

At the Last Supper, Jesus knew his time to die was imminent. He knew his crucifixion had been prophesied nearly 1,000 years earlier (See Psalm 22, especially verses 16-17). He knew that God’s plan included him being betrayed by a close friend (Psalm 41:9) who ate bread with him. Jesus reiterated the fact that God’s plan would be fulfilled. One man’s efforts cannot stop what God has planned. Yet, notice Jesus’ next words: “Woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”

That statement could make Judas an unfortunate, helpless victim of an unfair God who placed on him the most wicked responsibility of all human history and then punished him for it. However, it could mean something else. The alternative is the key to understanding the mysterious “AND” and “not OR” of God’s will and man’s will. Mordechai’s words to Esther in the book with her name echo this sentiment. When her brave action was the key to saving the lives of thousands of Jews, he said to her, “If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)  Esther had a choice to do or not do God’s will, yet God’s plan would be fulfilled no matter what she chose. She chose for good. Similarly, Judas had a choice. I believe he could have said no and another would have betrayed Jesus, but he did not. Yes, Jesus knew what Judas would do before he did it, but that does not mean Judas could have chosen another path.

You, too, have a choice, and you will be accountable for it. Actually, you have many free choices every day: where to go, what to eat, how to treat the people you meet, and so on. Yet, one choice matters above all others. Have you believed in Jesus and received the eternal life only he can bring?

So, which is it? Predestination or free will? In this case, at least, the answer is, “Yes.”

Jesus’ Friends

Luke 22:15 (ESV) And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

It was the hardest night of Jesus’ life. He knew what was coming the next day. He knew he would be falsely accused, abandoned by those he loved, and suffer the most painful death imaginable. Yet, he had one intense desire before that happened: to have dinner with his friends.

Both the Aramaic that Jesus likely spoke and the Greek that recorded his words use a special method to show how intensely Jesus wanted to be with his disciples. They put a noun and verb with the same root immediately next to each other. In a literal translation it would be: “I desired a desire.” That sounds weird to us, but the message was: “I intensely desired…” Jesus pushed language as hard as he could to communicate how much this last supper with his disciple meant to him.

In verse 16 and beyond Jesus talks about how the Passover would be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God at a future time. In many ways, Passover was a great picture of what Jesus’ work on the cross was: The Hebrews were slaves in Egypt when God brought freedom and deliverance. Each family killed a lamb for one last meal before leaving Egypt and put its blood on their doorpost so the Angel of Death would pass over that house. The connections between Passover and Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection are many, but we can miss something else about Jesus if we pass by verse 15 too quickly: He wanted to be with his disciples.

Jesus loves his friends. As such, he loves to be with his friends. Although a guarantee of eternal life is the greatest benefit of being a Christian, let’s never forget the King of Kings wants an intimate friendship with us.

Divine Guidance

Luke 22:10, 13 (ESV) He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters… And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Twice in the last week before his crucifixion, Jesus gave specific instructions to his disciples that were confirmed by miraculous coincidences. The first was a donkey’s foal on Palm Sunday. The second was a man with a water jar on Maundy Thursday. The situations Jesus prophesied were normal for that day, yet were so specific in their details that they could not have “just happened.” We know these were unusual occurrences because they are recorded as such in each of the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). The fact that Jesus was able to describe the circumstances in such detail before they happened showed his omniscience as the Son of God and gave his disciples specific instructions of what to do on those occasions.

A lot of us would like to have that kind of divine guidance on a daily basis, wouldn’t we? I know I would like to know for sure I am doing exactly what God wants me to in every decision I make. Early in my spiritual journey I met some more mature believers for whom, “The Lord told me…,” was a regular part of their vocabulary. I longed to have that kind of miraculous direction.

Yet, part of the reason Luke and the other Gospel writers go to such detail on Jesus’ description of these events is that they were unusual – even for the disciples. If specific, supernatural direction was unusual for the Twelve who walked with Jesus every day, should we expect it for every one of our decisions? Yet, the same Jesus who gave such direction when it was needed can and does still give it today. I can think of dozens of occasions in my own life that my Lord has unmistakably helped me make a decision. So, although I do not get specific supernatural direction for every decision, the wisdom I have gained from God, education, and experience can help me decide well in its absence. Let’s be open to divine guidance, obey it when it comes, but not be paralyzed or ridden with guilt when it does not.

Used by Satan

Luke 22:3 (ESV) Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.

Judas has to be one of the most despised people in history. It is hard not to hate him. He was the one who handed Jesus over to the Jewish leaders in an out of the way place so there was no risk of the crowds revolting. He traded the Savior for money. After getting what he wanted, he hung himself. On a quick glance it can seem that he must have been evil from the beginning. He must have been an especially bad person. There is no way any of us could be like him. Yet, in one short verse, Luke gives a scary warning: any of us could become like Judas.

Luke starts the verse by saying, “Then Satan entered into Judas.” Judas did not start out possessed. The bible does not give us any reason to believe that Judas’ initial motives for following Jesus were not good. To be clear, there are several references to Judas’ mission to betray Jesus being prophesied in advance (See John 6:70, 13:18 & 17:12 referring to Psalm 41:9). Yet, that does not mean Judas understood his role that way. In all likelihood, he started out with a sincere, earnest desire to usher in the Kingdom of God, because he was “of the number of the twelve.” Twelve was a very significant to the Jews. There will twelve tribes of Israel and twelve sons of Jacob. Twelve represented completion. Being in the twelve meant one was in the inner circle.

Something happened from the time Judas first became one of the twelve until the time Satan entered him. We get a hint that greed was an issue for Judas in John 12:6. Perhaps he was one of those Jesus warned about a few verses earlier in Luke 21:34, whose hearts get so weighed down by the cares of this life that they get trapped and unable to see how God is at work. Trading Jesus for money could have helped his financial situation. Jesus may also have not met Judas’ expectation of what the Messiah was to be. Perhaps Judas believed Jesus was too much of a risk to the nation of Israel and that Jesus’ death would spare a devastating backlash by the Roman Army.

Whatever the change, it opened the door for Satan to enter Judas. Demonization is not fully understood, but it is very real. Although this is not seen as often in the Western World as in the Majority World, Satan and his demons can take over a person’s life. I have witnessed it first-hand. A demonized person is no longer fully in control. I will not say that a Christian can become demon possessed, but this passage is a clear warning that those who start well do not necessarily end that way.

Being “of the number of the twelve” – a full recognized member of the Good Club – does not protect you against evil influences. Starting your adult life with good motives does not guarantee they will not stray. Horrible things have been done by those who started well but finished badly. Let’s pray we all stay the course and “not give the devil a foothold.” (Eph 4:27) 

Warned

Luke 21:20-22 (ESV) “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.”

If you ever go to Jerusalem, you will undoubtedly get to visit the Mount of Olives. There are many spots on its west face that give incomparable views of the city of Jerusalem, especially the Temple Mount – the large built up flat area that used to house the Jewish Temple but now is home to two mosques. During the last week before his crucifixion, Jesus had a memorable conversation with his disciples looking over this same view. They were captivated by the beauty of the temple, but Jesus warned them, “The days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” (Luke 21:6)

This prompted the disciples to ask, “When will these things be?” (Luke 21:7) Matthew’s account adds another question: “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3) The disciples must have thought they were asking the same question. However, Jesus gave answers for two distinct events: His return is still yet to happen, but the destruction of the Jerusalem temple took place less than forty years after his words.

With amazing prophetic detail, Jesus described the advance of the Roman army against the rebellious Jews in 67 AD. This lead to a three year siege with a horrible amount of starvation and loss of life. Read Josephus’ Jewish Wars for a graphic, firsthand account. On June 30, 70, the Romans finally destroyed the city and ultimately the Temple, fulfilling Jesus' words. No temple has been built there since.

One of the earliest church historians, Eusebius of Caesarea, records that the early Christians who were living in Jerusalem remembered Jesus’ words when the Roman army advanced. They escaped across the Jordan River to a city called Pella, where they established one of the earliest known dedicated church buildings. (Historia Ecclesiastica, 3.5.3) Jesus warned his followers in Luke 21:20-22, written above, to flee Jerusalem when they saw it surrounded by armies. Jesus’ words of warning were recorded in three of the four Gospels, and his message was no doubt passed on orally, as well. So, when the Jewish Christians living in Jerusalem in 67 saw the Roman army come, they left. Unlike the Jewish Zealots and other residents of Jerusalem who were caught in the disaster, the Christian Jews survived because they took Jesus’ warning seriously. They stayed alert. When the time came, they took action, and they were saved.

If Jesus’ words were fulfilled so exactly in answer to the first question, we would be wise to follow the example of the early Christian and be ready for what he describes has yet to happen. “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Luke 21:44) Are you ready?