On Courage
Mar. 7, 2021
Luke 21 is an apocalyptic judgment against Israel in general, and Jerusalem in particular. Here Jesus sounds like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, or, actually, any of Israel’s prophets. They all proclaimed this message to God’s people—“Repent and turn to God; avoid the destruction that is imminent! The world is going to be turned upside down, and Jerusalem will be laid desolate. But now, even now, if you will return to God, the crisis may be avoided…”
Interestingly enough, Jesus pauses in the midst of this message to speak to the disciples—Jerusalem will be judged by God, but you will be judged and persecuted by those around you because of your faithfulness to God. Now isn’t that heartwarming? Refuse to follow God and be laid desolate by him. Follow God and be persecuted by others. Is there a good outcome for us somewhere here?
No. No there is not, and the sooner we embrace that the better.
In a few short chapters, Jesus will go from embraced by the crowds to scorned by them. He could have saved himself by simply submitting to the religious rulers. He could have said, “Yeah, no, you’re right after all! This is precisely how God would have you live. I am not from God, I am not a prophet, I am merely a lowly teacher who got caught up in the moment.” He would have lost his standing among the people, yes, but would have gained his life. The same option is before us. We can speak the words itching ears want to hear. We can assuage the fears of those around us with calming and easy words—“God loves you just as you are. There’s no need to submit to the commands in Scripture, simply live the way you think is best. God wants you to be happy, after all, whatever that means for you, regardless of the impact it has on others.”
Alas for Jesus, but lucky for us, that is not the path Jesus blazed. Jesus was as gentle with his contemporaries as he could be, but that did not always look very gentle. He spoke the words God gave him, words of judgment and destruction, desolation and captivity. The judgment was coming, whether Jesus brought it up or not. Jesus was tasked with being the final warning, in a long line of warnings that went unheeded. The result was persecution and death. This is what awaits us, as well.
Even so, in Jesus is the grounds of our hope, the source of our courage. Our hope is not in ourselves, in what we can bring about, in what success we can have, but in God’s work. Our hope is that God will use our faithfulness, even though it ends poorly for us, to further his kingdom, just as he used Jesus’ faithfulness in the crucifixion to bring about the first fruits of the resurrection, the beginnings of new creation, the beginning of God setting all things right. Do not fear what the world fears. Do not shrink from persecution. Embrace the way of the cross, and trust that God will work his resurrection.
—John Coffey
