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Continuing our focus of Luke’s Gospel, this week please read Chapter 21 verses 8 to 24 every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 21:20-24 (NIV)
‘”When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfilment of all that has been written.
How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.’
I’m aware that I talk about sport a lot in these devotions but it is amazing to see how everyday life is reflected in many ways within a sporting arena. Some great things are seen on the sporting field but the worst of humanity is on display also.
I remember one rugby game that I was involved in where our captain was giving the pre-match speech. He was basically giving us a motivational gee-up based on the last time we played this particular team. We had lost to them quite heavily in a very ill-tempered match. There were 2 red cards for my team and there could well have been more than that if it wasn’t for incredibly lenient refereeing. Most of the team were bruised and bloodied as we had to endure the onslaught of bigger and fitter men who regularly played in a higher league than ours.
The speech centred on the most fundamental of emotions – revenge. There was no way were any of us going to walk off that field having given less than 100% and we were to ensure that our opposition numbers knew that they’d been in a game. Our captain then went on to say that whatever happened, no-one else was to touch this one particular player. In the previous game, our captain had been beaten up quite badly by this one guy and so he was determined that he would get even, enjoying every moment personally. Well, he could barely contain himself and I thought that he would be throwing punches on the way to the pitch. We’d only played a few minutes before the first scrum was awarded, and our captain, a prop, was almost foaming at the mouth. Just as the ball was away from the base of the scrum, he started hitting the opposition player. It was pretty brutal but he was grinning from ear to ear as the ref sent him off. He’d had his revenge even if it meant losing the game – and we did.
When I look at our verses today, there is so much that we could discuss, but I just want to highlight one thing. Jesus was predicting the downfall of Jerusalem and it wasn’t going to be a pretty sight. Jesus was just a few days away from being horribly beaten, tortured and crucified and yet His words don’t have any kind of animosity nor do we see any thought of revenge. Jesus is predicting an outpouring of wrath on Israel and yet He is taking no delight in it. We’re told that the war of 70AD was particularly cruel. Thousands of men, women and children were murdered regardless of their physical condition. The elderly and the young were mercilessly slaughtered. I’m sure that many people who were going to be killed in the manner in which Jesus was killed would just say ‘good enough for them’. However, even though Jesus was fully man, He was without sin and His heart was full of compassion for those who would suffer. At the conclusion of this week, may this example of love, mercy and compassion be evident in our lives. We do not seek revenge nor do we repay evil with evil. May we love as He loved.
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