Remaining Steadfast

Discipleship Group Questions for November 14, 2004

Scripture:

Luke 21:5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” 7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” 8 He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” 10 Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. 12 “But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 This will result in your being witnesses to them. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 All men will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By standing firm you will gain life.

Questions for Reflection:

1. The Lord says: “My plans for you are peace and not disaster; when you call on me, I will listen to you, and I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you. (Jer. 29:11,12,14). How much do you and I really believe this? Please discuss.

2. In the Scripture above we witness the disciples overwhelmed with the wonder of the Temple. This is very much like us who are infatuated with the wonders of our culture. The religion of Secularism would have us believe that “this is all there is” and it’s so very easy to “buy” into this. How much have you been seduced by this culture? Please discuss.

3. Luke 21:5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” Think about what Jesus just said . . . what was He revealing about Himself? He was no mere mortal – no mere carpenter – but is there such a thing as a mere man anyway? But certainly Jesus was revealing His capacity to see into the future. In fact, Jesus was seeing the eventual annihilation of Jerusalem – remember that verse “Jesus wept.” He wept over what He saw as the end of Jerusalem in just 40 years in 70AD. Do you think Jesus, our Lord, can see into your future and mine? Please discuss.

4. Look at verse 7 and listen for the all too natural tendency to control what could be frightening. What they’re really saying is “OK Lord help us to get ready for this eventuality – how much time do we have? Listen to their questions:

Luke 21:7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” Can’t you hear yourself – “When Lord are you going to bring me home? What’s ultimately going to take me? Is it going to be easy or hard? And so on – OH how we want to control our lives. Please reflect together on this.

5. How does Jesus answer their questions? Luke 21:8 He replied: “Watch out that you’re not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ What He’s really saying here is that some will answer that question – the when and who and what questions – but they’re charlatans – false gods! Don’t listen to them. How can we live our lives really entrusting them to our God?

6. Now let’s focus on the persecution that will come to us as Christians: Luke 21:12 “But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 This will result in your being witnesses to them. What’s Jesus telling us here? Yes, persecution is an inevitable part of our holy pilgrimage. How much have you been persecuted for your belief lately? But perhaps more revealing – How many people even know that you’re pro-life and don’t at all believe in same-sex marriages? How many people around you know that every Sunday you eat God incarnate’s blood and eat His flesh? Do you get my meaning? How visible are you in “your” marketplace as a Christian? For you will most certainly be persecuted by the world who hates the fact that you, by your very presence, point beyond their world to the real and glorious world beyond – to a Kingdom of God which is inexorably coming and establishing itself here on earth!

7. But now let’s listen to the closing 3 verses – for it’s here that we learn our role in all of this: 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 All men will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By standing firm you will gain life. What does all of this mean? What is Jesus saying here? They may kill your body but I will give you back a resurrected body with all of the hairs on it that you had before – they can’t ultimately take away from you what I can and will preserve!

8. God does all of the “Heavy lifting” but we have a role. We must stand firm: But we must “Stand Firm!” - hypomone - is the capacity to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances — ‘endurance, being able to endure.’

Plato and Aristotle analyzed hypomone and established the conception of it that would hold for the entire Greek tradition. Plato asked, “In what does courage (andreia) consist?” and answered that it is “a certain endurance of soul (karteria tes psyches ) . . . one of the noblest things. . . . It is endurance (karteria ) accompanied by wisdom that is noble.” So there’s a nobility associated with endurance – with our staying!

For Aristotle hypomone is a virtue, because it’s a noble thing to keep to the mean in difficult circumstances: “one endures (hypomenon ) despite the fear that one feels . . . for the beauty of the deed.”

This word implies self-mastery: one contains oneself, one bears, endures, and perseveres, It also has about it the sense of expectant waiting or of patience motivated by hope. It “hangs in there come” hell or high water!

And so Jesus is calling you and me to “Stand firm” to hang in there to the end! What do you hear our Lord saying to you today?