By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
November 16, 2025
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Luke 21:5–19 (ESV)
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.” 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. 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. 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.
I am not one to speak a great deal about the end of the age. I heard enough about this when I was growing up since I was coming of age during the year 2000, which places me firmly in the Xennial generation, not quite Gen X or Millennial. I heard nearly every Sunday in the late 90’s messages to prepare me and everyone else in our community for the turmoil that would soon be upon us at the turn of the millennia. I do not want to cast shade on the leaders in those days, they were being diligent in their proclamations, they were honest in their concern, and I was right there with them. In hindsight though, it became clear that we took things a bit too far.
This is why I tend to shy away from proclamations on the end of the age. We do not know and we cannot know when that day will come. At best all we can do is what Jesus tells us to do, be ready for the return. Which he spoke about in the parable of the ten virgins, the ones that brought extra oil for their lamps were the ones that accompanied the bridegroom, those that were not prepared were left in the darkness.
Jesus does, however, speak in apocalyptic terms.
To be able to understand this portion of scripture it is important to consider the wider context of scripture. Christian leaders speak a lot about context. We encourage those that study scripture to refrain from taking one verse from within a passage and develop a theological stance on that one verse. We discourage this because that verse is part of a wider literary work. There are sentences and paragraphs that go with that one verse that will give us more information on what is being said. The more we get into study it becomes even more difficult. You begin to learn the original language and how certain words were used in other instances, and suddenly what seemed easy to understand becomes more layered. Even veteran pastors can misinterpret passages, I am not an exception to this.
We speak of context and usually we think of this in a literary sense. When we are learning to read our teachers tell us to use the words before or after the word we might not understand to derive the meaning from the context. Usually this is enough. But when we consider scripture we also need additional information.
Our world is different in comparison to first century Judea. There are some similarities, because most societies have similarities, but there are nuances within a time and place that can change what someone might mean with their verbiage.
I will admit that when I am reading anything, it does not matter if it is a contemporary novel, Greek mythology, or scripture, everything takes place in North Central Kansas in my mind. When they speak of a town or city, it is my hometown or maybe Hays. If it happens to be a large city, I might think of Kansas City or Wichita. I cannot imagine anything different because I have no reference to it unless I happen to have seen a picture of the scenery depicted in the story. For the most part this is not a problem, but it can be an issue.
Take for instance the parable of the good Samaritan. We are told that the priest and the Levite went across the road to avoid the man who had fallen victim to the robbers. In my mind, I imagine this to be like a skunk that was hit by a car and I would just move over on the wide roadway to avoid getting a filthily disease, because my grandmother taught me well. If we do not know what the terrain of the road going from Jerusalem to Jericho was like we would completely miss something important to the story. That road was a narrow mountain trail, wide enough for camels and donkey’s to carry goods through, but still treacherous. Those men by crossing to the other side of the road, were likely risking their lives to avoid the man.
The context of Jesus’ apocalyptic speaking is important. The temple of Yahweh was not a small church building, it was not even a grand cathedral that we might see in pictures on the internet. Our minds cannot even fathom the grandeur of this complex because there is not a building around today that comes close to it.
There is a restaurant in Independence, called Jerusalem Cafe. It is a very good place to eat if you like Mediterranean food. In this cafe they have a panoramic picture of Jerusalem. Nearly two thirds of that image is the Temple Mount on which the Dome of the Rock currently resides. Imagine a city where the vast majority of what could be seen from the distance was a single building? For those of you that have visited Israel you understand this better than most of us. The Dome of the Rock is impressive, but that building only occupies a fraction of what the original temple occupied.
The Temple of Yahweh was the single greatest religious structure in ancient history. It was so fascinating that many academics believe that the depictions were exaggerations. They do not believe that one building could be so awesome. But I want us to consider something. When you think of Rome what is the first image that pops into your mind? It is likely the Colosseum. That structure did not exist at this time. Nothing that we can think of as iconic to Rome existed during this time frame, and it can be argued that the wealth plundered from the Jewish Wars is what financed the construction of Rome as we know it.
The people were speaking of the temple. They were remarking on the awesome architecture and wealth represented by it. In their minds the God and the people represented by that amazing structure were great. And they were great. For the size of the nation Israel has influence beyond reason, even today. That a nation representing 0.12% of the world population is allied to some degree with every major nation, and their needs often dictate global policy is astounding. The size of that nations is less than Hungary, Greece, and Sweden. It is even less than Cuba. Yet everyone know of this one nation, yet few people know of a similarly sized nation Azerbaijan.
This was a powerful and influential nation. It has always sat between great empires. Egypt and Assyria, Babylon and Greece, Rome and Persia, as well as the United State and Russia. They have been conquered and ruled over, yet have always remained autonomous to some degree, even when they have not occupied their land.
The context surrounding this interaction is that. Israel with its grand temple is occupied by a great empire. Israel is unique in the empire. Most conquered nations were required to adapt to Roman rule, yet Israel maintained some degree of self rule. The people were not required to worship the Roman pantheon and they did not have to offer sacrifices to the Emperor as many others were required to do. They refused this, and they stood in opposition, even violent opposition when anyone tried. That had these unique rights that other people groups did not have, and yet they were still defiant. Rome tried to appease them, because they needed that land. They needed control over Israel because the silk road, the spice route the historic veins of trade all passed through this one nation. And Rome want, Rome needed these luxurious items. But Israel pushed back against their overlords. They did not like that they were subject to someone outside their culture. They did not think it was proper for them to live under any law other than the law given to them by God through Moses.
Each year they lived like this. Each year the tension grew between the Emperor and Israel. Riots would break out at times, and one side or the other would make concessions to restore order. And Israel remained defiant. And this magnificent building, this beacon of wealth and power stood as a testimony in the face of the empire.
This temple was more than a religious site. It was more than a cultural icon. It was a testimony of power. Every time the light of the sun glinted off the gilded structure it sent laser beams of defiance to the heart of the empire. It screamed that there is a power greater than Rome at play in the world. Israel knew this, Rome knew this, even today’s world knows this. Everyone knew that eventually there would be a clash. And this is what Jesus speaks of in today’s passage.
The sides are gathering, the tensions are rising. Each side has in their minds a divine mandate to proceed. Both sides are unwilling to compromise because in their mind to compromise is to defy their deeply held beliefs, beliefs they feel as justified and right. The tensions did continue to rise.
Jesus tells those that were in awe of the temple, that the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” These words shocked those that heard him. They plead with him to tell them when these things would come to be. They asked him to tell them what signs would warn them.
Jesus answered them, “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. 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.”
See, Jesus says. He commands us to watch carefully, to observe, and consider what is going on around us. He encourages us to listen carefully at the words being spoken by those in seats of power and to not be led astray. Observe so that you are not mislead.
This is something that is very important. The idea of being mislead would mean that somewhere along the line, those within hearing had been distracted from the main objective. At some point some lessor issue had replaced the one thing that is paramount. The main objective has been so skewed that those involved would be willing to take up arms against the people around them to force change.
See that you are not led astray.
What is the most important thing? What are we supposed to be focused on in this world? Your answer to these questions are important. Every decision, every vote, every time you make a purchase, or head to your job is colored by those answers. The answer that we give is how we interact with the people around us.
We often miss what Jesus is saying as we read this passage. He is telling them that their focus is on the temple. Their focus is on the people that built the temple, the greatness of the society that could pull off such a remarkable feat. They are in love with themselves, and the works of their hands. The same could be said about their opposition. Israel has a great temple. Rome has a great empire. Israel has an abundance of wealth and people dedicated to the preservation of this wonder of human construction. Rome has might, and an army that has conquered the known world. They have legions dedicated to the preservation of the empire.
We have the kingdoms of the world, a clash of cultures, and the serenade of societies. One is built on strength and the other is built on religious philosophy, but neither is focused on the things that are most important to God. They have been led astray.
The people look at Jesus in shock. And he continues by telling the that everything we have built our lives upon will come crashing down, everything we once thought was unmovable will be moved. Jerusalem fell within a generation of Jesus’s words. Rome also fell. There is nothing in this world immune from an end. But Jesus does not stop. He said, “This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”
“This will be your opportunity!”
At this point Luke gives us the second command from Jesus in today’s passage. The first was See. The second is Settle, or resolution. He says, “Settle it therefore in you minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.”
Do not resolve what you will say. This seems contrary to wisdom. How are we supposed to prepare ourselves to face the end of an age without formulating a plan? This is where the early Friends derived their understanding of worship. Our spiritual ancestors rejected the clergy, they opposed the idea that one person could speak for God, which makes it difficult to be a pastor within this tradition. Where do we gain our authority, how are we to lead those among us?
Jesus is not saying that we should not study. He does not advise us that we should not seek out wisdom and understanding. He is simply telling us that we are going to face the unexpected. And because we will face the unexpected we should not rely on our own understanding, our own wisdom, our own supposed greatness to carry us into the future.
We should instead recognize who we are. Each of us is a child of God, created in his image, and given a task to bring the world under his influence. We are image bearers. We are not God, only individuals that reflect that of God to those around us. We should not settle it in our minds to formate an answer because we do not know exactly what we will encounter. But we should settle and meditate on who we are to God, and who the people around us are as well.
See that we are not led astray. Settle it not to meditate on an answer beforehand, but be ready to respond in a moment to reflect the light of God.
This is at the heart of our mission statement here at Willow Creek. Our statement is that we are a people loving God, embracing the Holy Spirit and living the love of Christ with others. This statement of purpose, this mission we have dedicated our community to is one that reflects the life of our savior. Jesus loved God as he made it his custom to worship with the community. He withdrew often to isolated places to pray and embrace the Holy Spirit. And after he prayed, he would reengage the community through service and teaching.
The apostle Paul saw this life and lifestyle and encouraged the church to it on themselves. Put on the full armor, he says. Or follow me as I follow Christ. Or again, putting away the old and taking on the new life that is offered through Christ. As Paul taught these things he also told us to submit to the authorities and to do good for those around us because against such things there is no law.
See, Settle not to give an answer but live an answer, and finally the last command is to Gain your lives.
We are going to face struggle. Some will appreciate the good we do in the name of Christ. Some will like what they see, and may even respond and join us. But there will be others that will hate us. I have felt this many times in my life. In high school, I was called a freak for four years because I refused to go to the parties with everyone else in my class. This was so much a part of my life at the time, that I took the name on for myself, putting a license plate frame on my car proudly displaying it, and it was my email address until I started applying for jobs when I graduated from college. My classmates could not stand that I did not join them in their illegal activities. I went to a small school, and it got pretty lonely taking a stand, yet when I was in college many of my classmates told me how much they appreciated my stance, because it gave them the strength to say no themselves when they wanted to.
It was not always bad, I enjoyed most of my time in school, and to be honest I could care less what my classmates were doing, I had my reasons for my choices and I was not going to change. Mainly because I lived so far from town and I was not about to lose my drivers license and ride the bus again. I never retaliated and instead continued to treat them as I always would. But I would be lying if it was not hard.
What is the most important things in life? Is it the power of a worldly empire? Is it the size and grandeur of our meeting spaces? Or is it the people, the fellow image bearers of God?
God so loved the world that he gave his unique son not to condemn the world but to save it. God loved us so much that Jesus left heaven for a human lifespan, he experienced a complete human life with and for us. He showed us what life with God truly was in how he lived among us. And he said we are his friends if we join him in his mission and enact his teachings. We can face the end of our age, we can face abuse, rejection, war, and famine with joy because we know that Jesus is with us in it all. That God is with us in it all. And he did not shy away from any of it as he faced rejection, loss, torture and death for our sake. Not only did he face it, he counted as joy because he had the opportunity to redeem.
This will be your opportunity to bear witness. But what will people see and hear? Will they see the hope of Christ through you?
Previous Posts:
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By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 29, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 3: Do you attend regularly the services of your church and participate in them actively? Do you prayerfully endeavor to minister, under the guidance of the Holy…
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By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 15, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Ephesians 5:8–14 (ESV) 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit…
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By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church February 22, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Romans 5:12–19 (ESV) 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all…
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