This Lord’s Day we continue our study of Luke’s account of the Olivet Discourse. Jesus explained that the current age that climaxes with his Second Coming will be characterized by persecution. It is not easy to follow Jesus. But the seasons of persecution bring opportunity to bear witness for the Name of Jesus.
The sermon passage for this Lord’s Day (Luke 21:5-11) introduces Luke’s account of Jesus’ extended teaching about his Second Coming. It is known as the Olivet Discourse. It extends through 21:36. We will work our way through this important passage in a series of six messages. Each of our hymns was selected because it anticipates…
The sermon text for this Lord’s Day is Luke 20:41-21:4. At first glance, it seems to contain three unrelated mini-stories of the events that occurred during Christ’s Passion Week. Upon closer examination, they are related. The religious leaders had been questioning Jesus, attempting to entrap him so that they could condemn him. In Luke 20:41-44,…
This Lord’s Day is traditionally known as “Palm Sunday,”—the day Jesus entered Jerusalem at the beginning of his Passion Week. It is fitting that our sermon text describes an encounter Jesus had with his opponents near the end of that week. They approached Jesus with a question about the resurrection. It was an attempt to…
In the sermon text for this Lord’s Day (Luke 20:20-26), Jesus’ enemies plot to trick him into saying something they could use to condemn him. Jesus did not take the bait. Instead, he replied with the famous words, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” This…
In the sermon text for this Lord’s Day, Jesus tells an extended parable that describes the plot made by tenants of a man’s vineyard to get rid of their master’s son and take ownership of the land. Their treacherous plot ends up in the murder of the master’s beloved son and the master, as expected,…
Luke 20:1-8 begins Luke’s account of the third day of Jesus’ passion week. It also begins his account of a series of challenges Israel’s rulers made to Jesus’ authority. They sought to trap him by goading him into saying something they could us to condemn him. In this exchange, Jesus turns the tables, catching them…
The morning after Jesus’ so-called “Triumphal Entry,” Jesus returned to the temple. He angrily expelled those who irreverently used the holy place for common and shameful deeds. Jesus’ opponents were all the more determined to do away with him, but they couldn’t find the right time.
In the sermon text this Lord’s Day (Luke 19:28-44), Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem reaches its climactic end. He will ride into the city on the colt of a donkey (an intentional connection with Zechariah 9:9) as the crowds cry “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Just before Jesus entered Jerusalem as Israel’s King, he told a parable that made it clear to his listeners that his kingdom will begin when he returns following a long absence. In the meantime, his true followers must serve him faithfully. The parable ends with an ominous declaration of the ruin that awaits those who…