The last couple weeks I’ve been shopping around, trying to find a better deal on home and auto insurance. I’d like to quit spending so much, but be well prepared in case something awful happens.
Of course there is not really any way to prepare for the sort of disaster which struck the Philippines this past weekend. Like the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 or Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it’s hard to imagine how one might prepare. These catastrophic events simply roll over human lives and people are left mourning the dead and with some aid trying to rebuild what was destroyed.
Responding to the disciples’ admiration of the Temple stonework, Jesus in our text, Luke 21:5-19, predicts catastrophic disaster of the sort which allows little preparation. The primary focus is the man-made disaster to which He points in verse 6, prophesying the stones of the Temple being torn down in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
Jesus seems to look farther ahead in verses 9-11, prophesying both more wars and also natural disasters, earthquakes, famines and plagues. These are the signs preceding His return.
In the remainder of the text, verses 12-15, there is a warning about persecution which covers both the crisis of 70 A.D. and the end times, as well as all the ages in between. This past Sunday we observed a time of prayer for the persecuted Church throughout the world.
Oddly enough, Jesus counsels no preparation of an apologia, a defense, against those who will and do arrest and try Christians. Verse 13 sees these moments as “an opportunity to testify,” but verse 14 directs His followers not to make up speeches to deliver in such times before the rulers of the world. Instead, we are invited to rely on the wisdom and words Christ will give in such moments.
What Jesus says seems to run counter to I Peter 3:15 which calls us to be ready to give an apologia, a defense, for the hope which is within us. My guess is that that Jesus wants us to forego the preparation of a legal defense. We are not to spend our time worrying about how to escape the false charges, etc. which are brought against Christians. But the very fact that imprisonment and trial is an opportunity to witness means that the sort of account Peter advises is always appropriate. And to our own knowledge of our faith and trust in Christ, the Lord will add a supernatural measure of help and wisdom when we need to speak before hostile authorities.
Ultimately, though, words run out in the face of hostility toward God and His Son, toward the truth. So verses 16 and 17 warn that even people close to Christians may betray them, and that hatred will be the order of the day. For all that, Jesus does not suggest any defense, but only the trust assured in verses 18 and 19, that we will not perish and that by enduring our souls will be saved.
It’s tough advice for people like us who are used to looking ahead and taking every measure to be prepared and ready for disaster. Jesus reminds us that our ultimate hope and defense is always God, always Himself. Staying close to Jesus is our best preparation for whatever comes.