Behold, The Day Comes

Proper 28C | Luke 21:25-36

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

“For behold, the day comes,” warns the prophet Malachi, “burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all the evildoers will be stubble” (Malachi 4:1, RSV). A day of fire and wrath. A day to end all days — the Last Day, the Day of the Lord. The day when Jesus descends from heaven on a cloud to bring justice to the world and defeat evil once and for all. Just as there was a beginning, when God created everything, there is also an end — an end to this creation, and the rising up of a new creation out of the ashes of the old.

Our Gospel reading is talking about the same Day that was warned by Malachi: a day when the heavens will be shaken, the seas will roar, the sun, moon, and stars will fall, nations will be in upheaval, and people will literally faint from fear. It’s all thunderbolts and lightning, and  very, very frightening. This morning, Jesus prepares us for the Last Day. He does this by warning us about the dreadful things to come and by comforting us with a promise of redemption. That final day is a day of both wrath and mercy.

I. A DAY THAT TERRIFIES THE WORLD (vv. 25-26, 34-35)

Our text takes place during Holy Week. While Jesus is teaching in Jerusalem, some people marvel at the grandeur of Herod’s temple. Glorious stonework. Gleaming gold. A wonder of the ancient world. Jesus warns His disciples that it will be completely destroyed — not one stone left upon another. Later, the apostles privately ask when this will happen. Jesus first describes the events leading to Jerusalem’s destruction in A.D. 70. But beginning at verse 25 — where our reading picks up — He shifts to what will happen just before the end.  Before the Last Day.  Before the Day of His second coming. 

Jesus speaks of “signs in sun and moon and stars”  and that “the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26, RSV). Nothing we’ve ever experienced in this life – whether natural or manmade, whether hurricane, tornado, earthquake – can compare with what Jesus is describing. This is a picture of the world falling apart. Everything comes unglued. This is prophetic language right out of prophets like Malachi. It’s the universe itself convulsing.

What’s the effect on humanity? “Distress of nations.” “Men fainting with fear and foreboding” (Luke 21:25-26, RSV).  As terrifying as it is to witness creation unraveling — stars falling, skies darkening, and the earth shaking — nothing compares to the sheer dread of what it means. Why is all of creation falling apart? Because He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead. Because it’s Judgment Day. The holy God comes to judge sinners. God’s patience with humanity’s rebellion has run out. You can’t outrun that.  You can’t hide from that.  You can’t pretend it away. Jesus says “it will come upon all who dwell upon the face of the whole earth” (Luke 21:35, RSV).

Why tell us this? Why do we need to know this? Jesus is telling us this to warn us. “But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life” (Luke 21:34, RSV). Jesus means that we should watch carefully so our lives do not drift off course. There are things that cloud our awareness of His return and the fast-approaching end of the world.

Two things Jesus says can do this: self-indulgence and the cares of this life. Our hearts can get weighed down with self-indulgence. These are the pleasures we turn to when we’re having a bad day: living for thrills, chasing excitement, overspending, overindulging, or chasing whatever might make us happy. What begins as a moment of relief can grow into a pattern of self-indulgence until it feels like our happiness depends entirely on experiencing the pleasures of this life. Our appetites grow, our cravings intensify, our lives spin faster, our hearts become restless and unsatisfied.

Our hearts can also get weighed down with the cares of life — the grind of daily burdens. Paying bills. Keeping the job. Managing health. Caring for aging parents. Raising children. Holding everything together by sheer willpower. Your days get full. Your schedule gets full. Yet each one claims just a little more of our time, strength, and attention, until it feels like there’s nothing left to give. Our lives get filled Our hearts become heavy as rocks, filled with things that are not God.

The problem with hearts weighed down is that you can doze off spiritually. This is what Jesus warns against. Because when your heart is weighed down, “and that day come upon you suddenly like a snare” (Luke 21:34, RSV). When the big Day comes, our Lord says it will spring like a trap, and then it will be too late. No more time to rearrange your priorities. No time to repent. 

II. A DAY THAT DELIVERS CHRIST’S CHURCH (vv. 27-33, 36)

If all this talk of the end leaves you a bit nervous, it shouldn’t. Look at what Malachi says, “But for you who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go forth leaping like calves from the stall” (Malachi 4:2, RSV). Why such joy? Jesus does not want us to be filled with fear or dread but with hope and joy. There’s comfort in the end of the world as we know it. The end is also the beginning. As the world falls apart, Jesus will come. “And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27, RSV). This is Daniel 7. This is the divine-human King who rides the clouds like God Himself. This is Jesus. When we see all of these things coming true (stars falling, skies darkening, and the earth shaking), we know that the day is coming when our Savior will come again and take us to be with him forever. Jesus says there will be a coming Day when the world will start to fall apart. The things happening in the world will be so frightening that people will faint because of fear. 

And then Jesus speaks one of the sweetest words in Scripture: “Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28, RSV). Did you hear that? Not your destruction. Not your doom. Not your death. Your redemption. The world sees terror. You see your Savior. You see rescue. We look up because our redemption is close. All the signs point to this reality — Christ is near! 

Jesus gives a picture. The fig tree in spring and all the trees. The branches fat with sap. The buds ready to burst. “As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near” (Luke 21:30–31, RSV). The sign Jesus gives to His disciples is not a sign of death but of life. The tree buds because new life is about to spring forth. Summer is near, and winter is almost over. These are just the buds of the new creation. Not just the end of the old creation — but the birth of the new. Signs of life.

When the world looks darkest, Jesus gives you a promise. Everything is temporary. Everything is fragile. Everything is passing away — except one thing: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Luke 21:33, RSV). All that God has said will come to pass. We have God’s sure, standing, enduring, never-failing, never-erring Word. Trust God’s Word. You have that Word. Every Word Christ has spoken to you stands firm: “I baptize you…”  “I forgive you…”  “This is my body, given for you…” In those words your Savior comes to you even now.  Those words will still be true when the stars fall. Those promises will stand when all creation collapses. And if His Word does not pass away, then you, clinging to that Word in faith, will not pass away either.

Not a hair of your head will perish. Because the Judge who appears is the same Jesus who has already borne the judgment for you on the cross. Because Jesus Christ is Lord, and He will come to renew all things. One who comes to judge the world is the same One who died to save you. His blood answers the Law. His wounds silence the accusations. His righteousness covers your sin. For you, the judgment ends in Jesus, and Jesus was judged in your place. You have been purchased by Jesus’ wounds on the cross and given new life by His resurrection Life. He will return to  end all evil, and we will see Him, our Redeemer, reigning over a new creation in all His glory. 

So Jesus ends with this: “But watch at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36, RSV). To stand.  Not collapse.  Not hide.  Not cower. To stand before your Redeemer — confident, forgiven, cleansed, His own.  We watch for Him like little children, eagerly awaiting  Daddy to come home, and then rushing out with joy to meet him. Our watching is in dread at the terrible events, but in joyful expectation. Because the same Lord who gives you his enduring Word here and now is the same Lord who is returning for you. To save you. To rescue you. So, the Day when Christ returns, that isn’t a day of dread and doom for you. No, it is a day of liberation, freedom, salvation. It’s the day of resurrection. Only at the end, on that Day that ends all days, will you receive all the good things He has promised you. Salvation will be yours. Eternal life will be yours. The treasures of heaven will be yours.

The Last Day is a day of both wrath and mercy. For the unbelieving, it is a day of terror and wrath. But it is not so with you. For you who belong to Christ, it is joy — redemption, deliverance, resurrection. So when you see the world trembles, when the creation falls apart, do not cower. Do not be afraid. “Look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28, RSV). Your Jesus is coming. Heaven and earth will pass away. His words will never pass away. His words of forgiveness, life, and salvation spoken to you will never pass away. Nor will you, dear baptized believer. Not a hair of your head will perish.

May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.