We’re continuing through the Gospel of Luke. In my last post we saw Jesus answering the Pharisees’ question about the kingdom of God. When they leave, the Lord turns to His disciples and starts teaching them about the last days.
Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.”
Luke 17:22
Jesus begins to tell them what the Pharisees were really asking about. He told them that they would not see one of the days of the Son of Man. It turns out that there’s a special reason why He gave this teaching to His disciples. He needed to warn them that none of the disciples would be alive when Jesus Christ was to return.
“Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.”
Luke 17:23-24
The Lord knew that as soon as He died, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, there were going to be people who claimed to be the Messiah. There would be those who proclaimed, “Jesus has returned, He’s back again”.
After all, even when Jesus was ministering, the people thought He was the return of Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. He knew that there would always be those who claimed to be a new incarnation of the Christ. In this teaching, the Lord wanted to nip that heresy in the bud.
He told His disciples clearly that if anybody said that the Lord had returned, they would automatically know it was a lie. They wouldn’t have to go someplace to check it out. They wouldn’t have to verify it. He was saying, “Know for sure that I will not come back in your lifetime.”
This verse then, was specifically for the disciples. As it turned out, they were very glad that the Lord gave them this wisdom. Following the ascension of Christ, there were plenty of false Messiahs that came along. The disciples were fortunate in knowing that they didn’t have to worry about whether they were the real thing or not.
Even Paul ran into this problem. He had to write to the Thessalonian church dealing with this issue. They were all upset because somebody told them Jesus had already returned and they had missed it. Paul had to tell them, “No, it hasn’t happened yet.”
He didn’t have to go and find out. He didn’t have to call up anybody or check it out. He knew with a certainty that Christ had not yet returned.
As a matter of fact, Jesus said, “When I come, it’s not going to be in secret. It will be like lightning flashing from one end of the heavens to the other. Everybody is going to see Me.”
Even in my generation, I’ve heard about a few people who’ve claimed to be the Christ. They said that they were the next incarnation or avatar of Jesus. I can say with absolute certainty, these people are lying.
When Christ truly does return, every eye will see Him. I won’t have to pay to go to a meeting in Florida or fly to India. I’ll see the Lord perfectly fine, right where I’m at.
I also believe that we’re the generation that will see His return.
Question: How are you preparing and looking forward to the day Christ will appear?
© 2022 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 