One Stone Remains

Thank you for reading this sermon from Christ Fellowship. I hope and pray that this sermon will be a blessing of grace and truth to you. With that said, let me encourage you not to use this sermon as a replacement for your local church. Christ Jesus did not establish his Church simply for us to consume content. Instead, He calls us to be part of a real, covenant family. 

When I was 13 years old, my family visited New York City. I’ll never forget standing at the base of the World Trade Center. Looking up from the bottom, you could see the twin towers sway back and forth in the wind. I had never seen anything so big.

I’ll also never forget the morning of September 11, 2001. It was easily the most shocking event of my lifetime, watching airplanes crash into those same towers I had seen as a boy.

I know for those of us who were alive and remember it, that is a terrible memory, but it will help us better understand our text. Luke 21 –

5 And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said,

6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

If someone told you on September 10, 2001, that terrorists were going to crash planes into the World Trade Center, you would have had a hard time believing it. That’s a shocking and monumental claim. But it still doesn’t compare to this prophecy.

Or imagine someone telling you that the White House, the Congressional Building, the Washington Monument, and the Statue of Liberty will all be destroyed by bombs in your lifetime. But it still doesn’t compare to this prophecy.

The Second Jewish Temple had been standing in Jerusalem for 500 years, twice as long as the United States of America has even existed. And it represented God’s relationship with the Jewish people for more than a thousand years.

During the lifetime of Jesus, the temple was undergoing a massive reconstruction project. It was bigger and more beautiful than it had ever been. It would be completed in 63AD, just 7 years before the Romans destroyed it.

And so, the disciples here in Luke 21 are looking up at the temple and the new additions when Jesus makes this prophecy. And it would be impossible for me to overstate how shocked they must have been.

7 And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”

8 And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.

The disciples want to know when the Temple is going to be destroyed, and Jesus responds by telling them to be careful who they trust. He’s talking about false messiahs, but there is a broader implication here.

Something we have learned from our study of Luke is that humans are prone to confusion and fear. We want safety and stability, and we often go looking for it in the wrong places.

Jesus has been warning His disciples not to seek security in human institutions or in earthly possessions. Jesus has been challenging us, all along, to put our trust in the Father and in His kingdom.

But fear is a really powerful force. We are easily led astray by anyone or anything promising a better life. History confirms this. Terrible things have been done because people trusted the wrong voices. And Jesus predicted that as well.

9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”

10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

All of this sounds really bad, especially considering the time in which Jesus lived. We refer to it as the Pax Romana. It was the peak of the Roman Empire. It was a golden age, and the empire was relatively peaceful and focused on trade.

But first of these signs was literally days away. Matthew 27 tells us about violent earthquake that happened in Jerusalem when Jesus died. In fact, there is historical and geological evidence that such an earthquake occurred around 33AD.

A major famine occurred a few years later under Emperor Claudius. And when the Jewish War broke out in 66AD, it was accompanied by a major outbreak of disease that killed thousands of people. A hundred years later, the entire Roman Empire was affected by a plague that killed millions of people.

These are all verifiable historical events, and Jesus refers to them as signs from heaven. Let’s keep reading through the end of our text.

12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.

13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness.

14 Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer,

15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.

17 You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.

18 But not a hair of your head will perish.

19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.

This would not have been easy to hear. If you were a disciple of Jesus at that time and you’re taking a stroll through the temple admiring the architecture and design, you’re not expecting to hear any of this. Things seem to be going well! The people seem to love Jesus.

But now, after telling them that the center of Jewish religion and culture is going to be destroyed and that God is going to send earthquakes and plagues and wars, Jesus continues by giving them a very personal warning. You will be persecuted for your faith. Your family is going to turn you in. You will be hated. Some of you will die.

But there is some hope there at the end. The death and betrayal will not be permanent. In some mysterious way, you won’t actually die. In fact, you will gain your life. And I want you to use the hardship as an opportunity to bear witness to the Kingdom of God.

So, what does all this mean for us as followers of Jesus 2,000 years later. It’s obvious this holds a lot of direct meaning for the original audience. The early Christians faced a lot of hardships for the sake of Christ. But there are a lot of great applications for us as well.

First, we should also be careful of placing our trust in earthly security. Human power, institutions, human traditions, human wealth – these things will fail us. Nothing we see is indestructible. Nothing we have is permanent.

Of the six wonders of the ancient world, only one remains and it’s a giant pile of rocks we call the Great Pyramid and that is basically a giant tomb. No matter how grand or well-built something seems to be, it is perishable.

The things most people place their trust in are temporary. They can be lost in an instant. Kings, governments, and leaders come and go. A job loss, a diagnosis, a verdict, or even a phone call can change our lives overnight.

But Christ is offering Himself to us as the only eternal security. God’s Kingdom is the only power that will not be shaken. No one can take away the inheritance He promises. Nothing can separate you from the love of God we have in Christ.

And part of the reason Jesus tells us that this life is going to be difficult is to shore up our hope for what comes next… that we will stop relying on the perishable and the temporary… that we will stop pining for the next thing to come along and make us feel better about life in a world of death and suffering.

Jesus clearly teaches His disciples that the terrible events of this world are signs from heaven. What is a sign from heaven? It is something God intends to use as a wakeup call! It’s something He intends to loosen our grip on things that will disappoint us.

God is actively exposing our tendency to seek security in the wrong things, because He loves us… because He doesn’t want to see us waste our affections for things that will ultimately fail us.

The natural human response to suffering is avoidance, self-preservation, and unbelief, rather than faithful endurance. But Jesus is calling His disciples to a different response.

And that first generation of Christians obviously believed Him. They trusted Him. No one hears these prophecies and commits to a life of suffering and martyrdom unless they really believed Jesus rose from the dead and that they would too.

Hundreds of disciples didn’t fake the resurrection and then all die bearing witness to it because they wanted to start a new religion. They did it because they believed. And after their faithful endurance, they received their reward. Their bodies died, but their souls are with Christ and one day they will be raised.

In 2005, a wealthy man built his dream home on the gulf coast of Mississippi. It was a beautiful beachfront house with large windows, an amazing view, and every luxury imaginable. He spared no expense in making it perfect.

That same year, Hurricane Katrina hit. The storm surge came rushing inland, swallowing homes, buildings, and entire communities. When the waters receded, the man’s beautiful house was completely gone—not even a trace of it remained.

But about a mile down the coast, there was one house still standing. It wasn’t the biggest or the most expensive, but it had been built on deep, reinforced pilings, anchored to solid rock beneath the sands. When the storm came, it survived.

The question for us is not if, but when, the storms of life will come. If our hope is built on anything less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness, then anxiety and disappointment will rule and ruin our lives.

In the end, there will be one Rock that remains. And I want my life to be spent bearing witness to His message of truth and grace. He endured suffering and death for me. He went to war against the disease of sin and death for me. And one day He promises to make all things new.