His love and His Word endure Forever {Luke 21}
10:30 PM
By Mari Sandoval
We start off
today’s reading as Luke describes Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem, while He
observes something that no one else had noticed: “Looking up, He saw the rich people putting their gifts into
the treasury. 2 And He saw a poor widow putting in two [a]small
copper coins.3 He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has
put in [proportionally] more than all of them; 4 for they all put in gifts from their abundance; but
she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” While some were talking
about the magnificence of the Temple and probably the wisdom and skills of the
people who built it, Jesus was more concerned about the contrast in the
intentions of the hearts of the poor widow V.S. the rich people. Such a small contribution from the poor widow had a greater meaning to
Jesus!
Do you ever feel your contribution to your Church is
not enough or less than what others offer? Well isn’t it awesome that Jesus looks at what a man is, and not at what a man has, and this should let our
hearts be filled with contentment, because nothing
is overlooked by Him! "All
things are naked and opened to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."
(Heb. 4:13.) He measures littleness and greatness by a very different measure
from the measure of man. This is also true in our day to day: there are events in
our own daily life, to which we give no importance, BUT are often very relevant
and serious matters in His sight!
As we
continue in vs. 5-6 we find some people praising the beautiful Temple they were
in. To which Jesus said: “As for all these
things which you see, the time will come when there will not be one stone left
on another that will not be [c]torn down.” Imagine their surprise as
He spoke these words foretelling the destruction of the Temple which was object of idolatrous veneration from Pharisees and
scribes! His words were spoken in order
to teach us the mighty truth that the
true glory of a place of worship does not consist in outward ornaments. "The Lord sees not as man
sees." (1 Sam. 16:7.) Man looks at the outward appearance of a building.
The Lord looks for spiritual worship, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. In
the temple at Jerusalem these things were definitely lacking, and therefore
Jesus Christ could take no pleasure in it!! .
(“The refurbishing of the temple was begun by Herod the Great in 20 b.c. and was completed in a.d. 64 by Herod Agrippa . In a.d.
70, just six years after the temple was completed, it was destroyed by the
Roman general Titus and his army, who thoroughly devastated Jerusalem”. –Bible
Gateway-)
The temple in which the Lord Jesus delights most, is a broken and
contrite heart, renewed by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus continued telling his disciples about other major events to come; the persecution, the scattering of the Jews and the long period of time
before His second advent. “17 and you will be continually hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name. 18 But not a hair of your head will
perish. 19 By your [patient] endurance [empowered by the Holy Spirit] you will gain your souls.” (Amp)
The
world may deprive a believer of property, friends, country, home, liberty,
health, and life. But one thing the world cannot do to any believer: it cannot
deprive him of his interest in Christ's love. It cannot break the union between
Christ and his soul. "I am
persuaded," says Paul, "that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate me from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:38-39.)
Regarding
the fulfillment of the prophecies and His second advent, our Lord said to His
disciples: "Heaven and earth shall pass away--but my words shall not pass
away." (vs.33) Because He has said it, He will do it! (1 Peter 1:24-25)
Finally our Lord Jesus concludes with the
following advice: "Watch out! Don't let me find you
living in careless ease and drunkenness, and filled with the worries of this
life. Don't let that day catch you unaware, as in a trap."
“The exhortation before us should teach us furthermore the great
importance of an unworldly spirit. The "cares of this life" are
placed side by side with surfeiting and drunkenness. Excess in eating and
drinking is not the only excess which injures the soul. There is an excessive
anxiety about the innocent things of this life, which is just as ruinous to our
spiritual prosperity, and just as poisonous to the inner man. Never, never let
us forget that we may make spiritual shipwreck on lawful things, as really and
truly as on open vices. Happy is he who has learned to hold the things of this
world with a loose hand, and to believe that seeking first the kingdom of God,
"all other things shall be added to him!" (Matt. 6:33.) We are to "pray always." We are to keep up a constant habit of
real, business-like prayer. We are to speak with God daily, and hold daily
communion with Him about our souls. We are to pray specially for grace to lay
aside every weight, and to cast away everything which may interfere with
readiness to meet our Lord. Above all, we are to watch our habits of devotion
with a godly jealousy, and to beware of hurrying over or shortening our
prayers.” –Ryle-
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