Devotion for March 23, 2016

            As Jesus was leaving the temple during Holy Week, His disciples commented on the splendor of the temple and its surrounding, supporting buildings. Jesus replied that no stone would be left on another.

            That might not mean much to us, but to a first century Israelite it was huge: it was like the destruction of a city’s cathedral and the city hall. Everything that identified Israel as Israel was tied up in that temple, and Jesus rather offhandedly declares its doom.

            The disciples naturally want to know when that will happen, and Jesus responds with what is sometimes called the eschatological discourse (a speech about the last thing). Other times it’s called the Olivet discourse because Matthew and Mark tell us He made the speech while sitting on the Mount of Olives, looking across the valley at the temple. I think it might be preferable to use the latter title. The first one presupposes an awful lot about what Jesus is talking about.

            Go ahead and read the speech (Luke 21:5-36), and you’ll think, “Well, it makes sense to call it the eschatological discourse. Jesus is talking about recognizing His second coming, after all.”

            Here’s the thing: I’m not sure that Jesus is talking about His second coming there. I think the horizons are different. I think He’s talking about the impending judgment of Jerusalem, which will take place within 40 years of Him uttering these words. And I think the nearer horizon of His words is the great catastrophe of Good Friday and Easter.

            It would take a massive amount of time and argumentation to prove that case and a blog is no place for that kind of work. Ask about it Bible study some time and I’ll make my case. For now, consider this: we often treat the last day as if it’s the big deal in Biblical history. But the real focal point of human history was Good Friday and Easter. On Good Friday the old age of sin and death was defeated by Jesus’ atoning death, and on Easter the new age of the Spirit dawned in Christ, the firstfruits from the dead. This is my Wednesday devotion, and I’m first posting it on Thursday—Maundy Thursday, to be specific. The Church’s liturgical tradition says that what begins tonight in the upper room and Gethsemane, what passes through the darkness of Golgotha, and what ends in joy on Easter morning is all one thing, the turning point of human history.