Stories from the Bible - Ep 34 The Kingdom is Near (Luke 21)

Episode Date: April 12, 2025

In this episode we look at what happened in chapter 20, exploring how Jesus clears the way for ordinary people to know God. Then we hear the stories from Luke 21.The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://netbible.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Beauty, perfection, desire, deception, rebellion, judgment, hope. You're listening to Stories from the Bible. Bible stories told in order, using the words of the Bible, with introductions to give a recap and provide context. At the end of each story, you might want to pause and take a moment to reflect on what you noticed in the story. Things you liked or didn't like. Something the story showed you about God or about people. Don't worry if not everything makes sense. Keep listening to each

episode and sit with the journey. I'm stoked to have you on the ride. Hello and welcome to episode 34. Later we'll be hearing from Luke chapter 21. But before we get there, what about chapter 20? Well, chapter 20 begins with Jesus teaching the people in the temple. Remember, at the end of chapter 19, Jesus had finally entered Jerusalem, the city of Israel's ancient kings, having been determined to go there since back in chapter 9. Now, the popular expectation of everyone who has closely followed Jesus to this point is that here, Jesus will establish himself as the powerful ruler of God's people and restore the nation of Israel to her former status as the most admired nation of the world, like how it was under King David's son Solomon, where Israel enjoyed unparalleled economic prosperity and political

stability. Back then, the reason for Israel's magnificence was because David, as God's chosen deliverer, had defeated and pushed back Israel's oppressors, the Philistines. One thousand years later, Jesus' followers are expecting him to use power and might to push back Israel's current oppressors, the Romans. But instead of focusing his attention on the Romans, Jesus has his eye on a different enemy. We see it when, at the end of chapter 19, Jesus goes to the temple and drives out the vendors who were using it as a shopping center. Jesus' top priority isn't to take down the Romans. If it was, why would he bother bringing chaos and division into the center of Jewish community life? Wouldn't it make more sense for Jesus to go to the temple and rally

all the Jews around him, great or small, in unity against their common enemy, the Romans? What is Jesus on about? What is the enemy that Jesus is going to deliver his people from? Well, Jesus knows that real freedom cannot be found in the simple absence of human oppression, but must be found in the presence of the living God. Jesus is obsessed with removing anything that gets in the way of people getting to be near God. What else has been getting in the way of people accessing God? Back in chapter 11, see episode 24 and 25, Jesus rips into the hypocrisy of the Jewish religious experts. They were the most educated people of that day. They had studied the content of the scriptures unlike anyone else.

And that privileged position meant that normal people looked up to them and trusted their wisdom when it came to God. All that the general public saw was their spotless external self-control and their crushing theological expertise. This gave them immense clout over the average Jewish person. On the inside, however, the hearts of these gurus were filthy. What they were in love with was not God, but their own importance. The tragedy was that average people had no power to see this. Jesus sums it up with his words to the Pharisees, You have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering. By their superior and condemning attitudes, these God experts have completely

misrepresented the truth of God's merciful character to those who are in desperate need of God's acceptance. What the people need to hear is the good news of God's forgiveness for any who sincerely turn to Him. And this is exactly what Jesus has been giving them throughout Luke's narrative. But the difference now is that he is speaking in the temple in Jerusalem. The temple is the center of religious authority in Israel. And Jesus, the uneducated, unofficial rabbi from the north, has walked in there like he owns the place. And he is teaching the people with such insight that they are hanging off every word he says. He is giving them a true picture of God and his kingdom. The hypocrisy of the religious experts had confused and burdened them with wrong thinking

about God. Through teaching the truth, Jesus is removing the false ideas that have kept people from coming close to God. It's not only the false ideas that Jesus is removing, he is also smashing the power that the religious experts themselves had over the minds of the people. People only listened to the Pharisees and lawyers and scribes

because they were the most authoritative voices around when it listened to the Pharisees and lawyers and scribes because they were the most authoritative voices around when it came to the things of God. But when Jesus enters the scene and starts teaching with a level of credibility no one has ever come across before, all the heads turn to him. Suddenly, the religious experts aren't getting attention like they used to. People are caring less and less what they think, and more and more what Jesus thinks. So, it is no surprise the religious leaders are filled with envy and are seeking to somehow destroy him. But so far, they haven't been able to touch Jesus because the crowds are so captivated by him. In chapter 20, the leaders come and ask Jesus straight up where he gets his authority from.

But Jesus responds with his own question. Tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? The leaders have to confer with one another before replying, and they decide that it is not in their interest to give an answer either way. So they tell Jesus that they do not know where it came from. And Jesus replies, Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. This is a brilliant answer. You see, when the leaders come to Jesus demanding he justify his authority for doing the things he's been doing,

they are putting themselves as judges of Jesus. They are assuming they have authority over him, that he ought to be answerable to them for his actions. And by refusing to answer their question directly, he is actually showing them the truth, that whatever authority he is acting on, it is above theirs. Jesus is not answerable to them. All their religious clout, which prior to this point has been so effective over others, doesn't intimidate Jesus one bit. And then Jesus starts telling the people a parable that exposes the hearts of the leaders.

It's the story of a vineyard that a man planted. The man is God and the vineyard is the nation of Israel. And in the parable, the man puts tenants in charge of the vineyard. These tenants are the Jewish leaders. When the man wants some of the fruit from his vineyard, he sends a servant in order to collect it. That is, God wants to see the fruit of repentance, the evidence of hearts that have truly turned back to him.

The servants he sends to the vineyard are the prophets God sent to Israel before the time of Jesus. But in the story, instead of listening to the servants and giving them the fruit, the tenants beat them up and kicked them out with nothing. Finally, after three servants have been beaten up the vineyard owner decides to send in his beloved son to collect the fruit The owner seems really to want to give these terrible tenants every opportunity to respond to him in the right way A different owner, one with less patience would have stormed in with the police after the first servant got beaten up and removed the tenants by force. But this owner doesn't want to do that.

He hopes that the noble act of sending in his beloved son, alone and without protection, will finally win the respect of the tenants. But instead of admiring the mercy of the vineyard owner and the courage of his son, the miserable tenants think to themselves, here's a great opportunity to get the property for ourselves. Because of course, the son of the vineyard owner is the one who is destined to inherit everything. So the tenants kill the son to get rid of him. And Jesus finishes the story by saying, and what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. The people are shocked by what Jesus has told them about God's plan, but he directs their attention to consider an old prophecy from the Jewish scriptures,

which says, The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. To the builders of Israel, the religious leaders, Jesus is an annoying stone in the shoe. He keeps embarrassing and exposing them, showing the world that their ways are wrong. They can't wait to get rid of him. But in God's plan, their condemnation of Jesus will only fall back on their own heads. God's plan, though, is not something the people can

understand yet, just as the disciples haven't been able to understand Jesus' far more direct words about his upcoming rejection in Jerusalem. See back in chapter 18. In the minds of his followers, Jesus is only supposed to be hailed and exalted, not rejected and killed. While the people are astounded by the vineyard story, the religious leaders are fuming. They have perceived that Jesus told the parable against them. Even now, they could repent of their jealousy and start listening to Jesus, but they don't. Despite all the evidence, they can't admit he is right and they are wrong. They have too much to lose if they do. So they desperately want to kill him, but they can't do it openly. It would look too wrong in

the eyes of the people. They're afraid. So they conceal the violence in their hearts with smooth words. They send in some spies to flatter Jesus in order to trick him into saying something that will get him in trouble. If they can get Jesus to condemn himself, then they won't be guilty of murder, will they? Jesus will be responsible for his own fate. But he is not about to fall for it. Jesus sees straight through their stunt and silences them with his answer. Their trick backfires and the people are filled with even more admiration of his wisdom. It is impossible to trap Jesus with human cunning. When the initial attempts by the chief priests and the scribes to discredit Jesus fail,

another faction of the religious leadership, the Sadducees, approaches him with a query. This group is certain that in the future there will be no resurrection of the dead. They feel very confident in their position. And as they lay out their argument, in the form of a question designed to ridicule the very idea of the resurrection, they're sure that their reasoning will silence Jesus. Again, Jesus foils the plan. He answers their question with such clarity that even some of the religious experts, the scribes, admire how well he responded. And from that point on, Luke says, no one dares ask Jesus any questions. It's indisputable that Jesus has a level of wisdom and authority that far surpasses the religious leaders of his day. Jesus is passionate to remove anything that hinders ordinary people from accessing God, like having no choice but to depend on the teaching of powerful hypocrites.

Jesus gives everyday people a revolutionary alternative to the crushing burden of human religious tradition. He gives them his words. And chapter 20 finishes with Jesus giving his disciples a warning, in the hearing of all the people, to beware of the scribes, the highly literate scripture experts who interpreted God's word to the people. What is the basis of Jesus' warning? Well, the scribes are not what they appear to be. They make themselves look like sources of wisdom from God, but the reality is they should be avoided. There is no love of God in them. What they love is status symbols, the clothes, titles, and positions that mark them out as more important than others. The scribes use whatever influence and resources they

have to serve their own interests. The needs of the poor are invisible to them. In fact, they don't think twice about feeding themselves from the assets belonging to vulnerable widows. And their relationship with God is completely insincere. When they pray, it is a total farce designed to make people admire them. It is deadly for Jesus to expose the hypocrisy of the established religious elite, but he will stop at nothing to give people the truth they need to really know God. Today's stories from Luke chapter 21 start here. Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box.

He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, But she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had to live on. Now, while some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and offerings, Jesus said, As for these things that you are gazing at, the days will come when So they asked him, He said, Watch out that you are not misled, for many will come in my name saying, I am he and the time is near. Do not follow them. And when you hear of wars and rebellions, do not be afraid, for these things must happen first, but the end will not come at once.

Then he said to them, But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will be a time for you to serve as witnesses. Therefore, be resolved not to rehearse ahead of time how to make your defence. For I will give you the words, along with the wisdom, that none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends,

and they will have some of you put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of my name, yet not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Those who are inside the city must depart. Those who are out in the country must not enter it, because these are days of vengeance to fulfill all that is written. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days,

for there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away as captives among all nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars. And on the earth, nations will be in distress, anxious over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves. People will be fainting from fear and from the expectation of what is coming on the world,

for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man arriving in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to happen, stand up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near. Then he told them a parable. Look at the fig tree and all the other trees. When they sprout leaves, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near. So also you, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. But be on your guard, so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap, for it will overtake all who live on the face of the whole earth. But stay alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that must happen, and to stand before the Son of Man. So every day Jesus was teaching in the temple courts. But at night he went and stayed on the Mount of Olives. And all the people came to him early in the morning to listen to him in the temple courts.

Today's story ends here. Thank you for joining us for today's chapter. You might like to take a moment to pause and think about what you noticed. Things you liked. Things you didn't like. Something the story showed you about Jesus. To read it for yourself, it's in the book of Luke, chapter 21. If you can find someone willing to read it and talk about it with you, even better.

You've been listening to Stories from the Bible. I'm Jen, and I look forward to sharing more stories with you. 시청해주셔서 감사합니다.