Luke 21:5–19 sermon on signs, persecution, and trusting God over fear
Reverend Harry Newton preaches at SumRed Church on July 20, 2025.
Summary
Reverend Harry Newton preaches on Luke 21:5–19 at SumRed Church, working through Jesus' so-called eschatological discourse — his predictions about the destruction of the Jerusalem temple and the persecutions that would precede it. Newton grounds the passage in detailed historical context, showing how the earthquakes, famines, plagues, and strange portents Jesus described were recorded as having occurred in the decade before the temple's destruction in AD 70, and that the early Christians who remembered Jesus' warning largely survived by fleeing when they saw the signs. He then turns to the second half of Luke 21, which he argues is still future even for 21st-century readers, acknowledging openly that he finds this eschatological material difficult and that Anglican lectionaries routinely skip it. His central pastoral argument is that while Jesus took these end-times realities seriously and so should his followers, the appropriate response is not fear but faith — a deliberate trust in a God who has shown himself trustworthy throughout history, and whose final word over humanity is love rather than condemnation.
Key Takeaways
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Scripture Reading: Luke 21:5–19
Rev Harry Newton: Luke 21, verses 5 to 19.
"Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, '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.'
'Teacher,' they asked, 'when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?'
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. When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.'
Then he said to them, 'Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. But before all of this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, all on account of my name. So you will bear testimony to me. But make up your mind now not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you the words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but not a hair of your head will perish. Stand firm and you will win life.'"
Setting the Scene: Jesus in Jerusalem
Rev Harry Newton: We'll crack into it, because this reading is a bit weird, and if you're not much of a church person or you haven't been around church for long, I just want to give you a fair warning — this is going to get a tad wild. We'll get there in a minute.
At this point in the story, Jesus is in Jerusalem, the Jewish holy city. And if you were here last week, you might remember how Rowena shared with us about the widow's mite — the woman who takes a couple of coins and puts them into the box. Anyone remember that story? It's a pretty impressive story, pretty amazing.
Jesus has, two chapters before this, just arrived in Jerusalem. Over the course of 18 chapters, Jesus has been building up to this point where he's going to arrive in Jerusalem for a final showdown with the authorities. In chapter 19, he rides in on the back of a donkey — it's all very dramatic. Then in chapter 20, there's a bit of an argy-bargy with the religious leaders, as we heard about over the last two weeks. And then this week, chapter 21, we have what's called the eschatological discourse. That's a weird word — I can't even say it properly. It's really important, and we'll come back to it in a minute.
We need to understand the context, because Jesus is standing in the temple. Other accounts tell us that this interaction happens just as they've left the temple. It doesn't really matter — he's been in the temple courts, teaching, arguing, debating, doing all sorts of amazing things. And then he goes either just outside the gate or just inside the gate, depending on which account you're reading. And he hears some people speaking about the temple and how it's adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God.
The Temple: What It Meant to First-Century Jews
Rev Harry Newton: A bit of historical context. The Jewish temple is considered at the time to be one of the great wonders of the world. It covered the Temple Mount area — somewhere between 25 to 27 rugby fields worth of space, including the dead zones. That's a lot of space. The temple itself was adorned with gold. We're told by historians that in full sunlight, if you looked at it, it was like looking into the sun — it would blind you because of the dome covered in gold. Around the edges, they had adorned the structure with layers of gold and silver. The limestone they used varied enormously — some of the stones were quite small, and some of you who have been there will have seen the limestone. Some of them are huge, talking bigger than a van, weighing tons, and we still don't know how they managed to move them about. Others are adorned by being carved — not into deities, nothing like that, but into intricate patterns that bring a huge amount of beauty.
Now, imagine you are a first-century Jewish peasant who lives in a mud hut with your whole family. If you're lucky, you might have a couple of rooms. There's a communal dunny for the whole village. Those of you who have been to a village in East Africa or somewhere like that will know what I mean. For those who haven't — they're not pleasant. You live in squalor, essentially. You're not sure where your next meal is coming from beyond a day or two in advance. And then you come to the city and you see this amazing spectacle, which would have been awe-inspiring even by today's standards.
On top of all this, the temple is the heart of what it means to be Jewish. It is a symbol of their civic, religious, political, and spiritual identity. Everything happened through that place. And we know that by this time in Jewish history it had become intensely corrupt — and yet, despite that, the faithful still went there to worship. Why? Because many Jews believed that in what's called the Holy of Holies — this inner room right in the middle of the temple — was where heaven and earth physically met. They believed that God literally dwelt there in that room in the midst of Jerusalem.
So this is a very important place that speaks to their identity, both individually and corporately. And then Jesus hears them saying, "Holy moly, this place is awesome," and he turns to them and says, "The days will come when not one stone will be left upon another — every one of them will be thrown down."
That's a weird thing to say. It's also very offensive. Some people still get a little bit upset when we mention the Christchurch earthquakes and the cathedral falling down, because it was bad. Can you imagine, though, having something so symbolic in your life, and someone telling you it's going to get ripped down? That's just a weird and offensive thing to say.
The Disciples' Question and Jesus' Answer
Rev Harry Newton: But at this point in the story, his disciples have heard Jesus say some pretty wacky things. They've also seen him do some pretty amazing things. So rather than jeer at him or argue, they turn to him and ask what I think is a really fair question: "When will this be? What will be the sign that this is about to take place?"
And Jesus answers in the way that Jesus answers. Have you ever met someone who doesn't answer the question you actually asked them? My mum. "Mum, would you like a cup of tea?" — "Well, it is cold." "Mum, would you like dinner now?" — "Well, I haven't eaten since lunchtime." I'm not entirely sure if that means she wants dinner now or not. Jesus does something similar. He answers the question, sort of, but also doesn't.
He starts off by listing terrifying things: wars, insurrections, famine, plague, heavenly portents, signs from heaven. These are all going to happen — but then he does a quick double-back and says, "But by the way, before all that occurs, something else is going to happen first. You're going to be persecuted terribly, and it's going to be horrific. Any of you who want to follow me are going to endure some pretty horrible things."
The Persecutions: History Confirms the Prediction
Rev Harry Newton: Here's what's really interesting. This whole chapter is divided into two key parts. The bulk of our reading this morning looks, from Jesus' perspective, ahead at something that from our perspective has already happened. The other part of the reading — which we'll get to in a bit — is looking forward even for us. But at this point, he's talking into the comparatively near future, and he says that there are going to be these terrible persecutions.
And we know that's exactly what happened. In between the dates of Jesus' resurrection — approximately AD 33 to 35 — and the destruction of the temple in AD 70, a whole bunch of terrible things happened to the Christians. Peter and John, two of the early Christian leaders, were arrested. There's Stephen, a young man, the first martyr for the Christian faith, stoned to death by his own people outside the gates of the city. Then we hear of how Saul of Tarsus went from house to house, ripping men, women, and children from their families to have them imprisoned. Many of them were tortured and killed. Many of the notable early Christian leaders were murdered for their faith.
We heard about James a few weeks ago — he gets a one-liner in the text: he was slain with a sword. That's the end of James. He was one of the early leaders. We also hear about how many others were ridiculed and ostracised in their communities. And that might not sound so bad, but imagine having everything taken from you. Imagine your spouse wants nothing to do with you. Your kids are not allowed to see you. You're not allowed to go into your home. You lose your job. You can't use public transport. You're not allowed to have a licence. Everything is stripped from you. That is what happens to some Christians around the world today. Just the other day, there was a massacre in Nigeria — over 500 Christians were rounded up and murdered for their faith. This was happening back then as well.
And so Jesus takes it even further and says, "Some of you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers." We know, sadly, that came true in AD 64. Who's heard of Nero, the crazy emperor? As Rome burned, he apparently played his fiddle. After that happened, he needed someone to blame. He blamed the Christians, and he couldn't get enough people to bring testimony. So he paid people to bring testimony against their own family members, claiming they had prayed for Rome to burn. So that came true — they were handed up to authorities by their very own kin.
The Silver Lining: Testimony Without Preparation
Rev Harry Newton: But Jesus says, as terrible as all that sounds, there is a silver lining. And you can imagine them looking sideways, thinking, "There better be a good silver lining there, Jesus."
Does anyone remember what the silver lining is? You'll get to testify about who he is. You'll get to testify for your faith. And don't worry about what you'll say when the time comes, because he'll give you the words. You don't need to be articulate. You don't need to be smart. You don't have to be educated. You don't need to be a professional Christian, or be ordained, or have a degree in theology. All you need to do is be faithful, and he will give you the words to speak and to share about what God has done in your life.
The Sign of the Armies — and the Christians Who Survived
Rev Harry Newton: Then, when he's finished detailing all these terrible persecutions — the question was asked back in verses 5 and 6, and he doesn't actually answer it until verse 20 — Jesus returns to the answer as to what the actual signs will be that the temple, and by extension Jerusalem, is about to be destroyed. He says, "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near."
That's a pretty clear sign, isn't it? There's an army standing around you. You're just kind of stuffed.
Interestingly, when that happened, almost all the Christians survived. Because they remembered what Jesus had said that day in the temple courts. When they started seeing these things begin to happen, they fled to the hills, just like he told them to. Interesting, isn't it?
But I hear you say — well, that's all good, the army is a pretty clear sign. But what about the earthquakes, the famines, the plagues, the pestilence, the portents, and the heavenly signs? What's all that about?
Here's the really interesting thing. In the decade preceding the destruction of the temple, a lot of those things — just like the persecutions — also happened. In AD 61, there was a huge, devastating earthquake in the region next door. Then in AD 63, there was an eruption that destroyed half of Pompeii. Then there was a severe famine across not just their region but the whole wider area. Historians have found grain grown in Egypt distributed across that region — as far as they can tell, people ran out of food and the Egyptians were shipping it north to help feed the people, yet there was mass starvation across the region. Then, to top it all off, a bunch of Jewish zealots got together, had a rush of blood to their heads, and thought it would be a good idea to kick off a revolt against the Romans in AD 66. And that was the beginning of the end for the Jewish state as it was then.
Josephus and the Portents Before Jerusalem's Fall
Rev Harry Newton: So that all sounds relatively straightforward. But what about the portents? What about the heavenly signs? This is where it gets a little bit wild.
Interestingly, these were seen before Jerusalem was sacked and the temple destroyed. Josephus, who was a first-century Jewish historian and a Jewish priest — he helped revolt against the Romans, was caught, said, "Oh no, sir, I was always pro-Roman," and for some reason the Romans believed him and let him live, and he became a historian aligned with the Romans — he was a turncoat. He records a bunch of eerie, spooky things that happened in the year preceding the destruction of the temple. He actually writes in his book, The War of the Jews, that his claims are going to sound fanciful, and that he himself would not believe them if it were not for what happened next.
Here's what he says. A sword-shaped comet was seen above the city each evening for a year. He says that in the days preceding the Romans arriving outside Jerusalem and beginning their siege, chariots and soldiers were seen in the clouds marching around. Take that with a grain of salt if you want — it's not gospel truth, I'm just saying this is what he recorded, and he himself said it sounds far-fetched. There was also a brass door — one of the doors going into part of the temple. It took 20 soldiers to open and close it, it was so heavy, fastened into the ground with bolts that went into one solid slab of limestone. One evening, the bolts raised and the door opened. The soldiers saw it happen and had a bit of a panic, which is kind of fair. Allegedly also, one evening the priests were all doing worship in the temple and they heard a voice saying, "Let us depart from this place." An eerie light shone from the Holy of Holies for about 30 minutes, and then nothing.
Once again, you might want to take that with a grain of salt. But to those who witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem that followed, the signs started to make a lot more sense in hindsight. Because after the earthquake, the famine, the clouds, the doors opening and closing, these spooky signs all over the place, and the revolt against the Romans — the outcome of all this was the brutal sacking of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple.
Jesus says in that reading, if you keep reading on, "Woe to you, particularly those of you who are nursing young children" — not because he hates kids, but because he's saying the suffering is going to be next level. And we know the suffering was so bad that almost everyone was slaughtered. The few survivors were taken into slavery. There was so much slaughter that there was more blood available to quench the fires on the houses than there was water. The soil outside Jerusalem was stained red by the amount of blood from the Jews who were murdered inside. Terrible slaughter. Terrible destruction, just as Jesus had predicted.
What Happened to the Temple Site
Rev Harry Newton: Here's the really spooky thing. He predicts the destruction of the temple. Do you know what happened to that site? They weren't allowed to return there for decades. Jerusalem was kept off limits. Then the Jewish people were allowed to come, if they were Jewish Christians. The Romans then helped reestablish it — I can't remember the name of the city, it's Aelia something or other, you can Google it. And it stood there until around AD 640, when the Muslims conquered it. By this time they were referring to it anecdotally as Jerusalem, and they built the Dome of the Rock on the same spot where the temple had stood. It's still there to this day. The temple was destroyed. End of story. And Jesus' predictions came true.
The Part That's Still Future: Luke 21:25–27
Rev Harry Newton: But as I say, all of this is stuff that in their time Jesus was looking forward to and giving them this horrific vision of the future. From our perspective, it's already been. And so there's a temptation to read these things and go, "Oh, that's the end of the story. It all already happened." But actually, the other half of the story is still looking forward. Jesus shifts gears at about this point in the chapter and starts to talk not about what for us is history, but about what for us — you and I here today — is still the future. About what's to come for us as 21st-century readers.
Because just beyond our reading — I had to shorten the reading, otherwise I'd be here for a month of Sundays going through the whole chapter — he says this in verses 25 to 27:
"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and great glory."
As I said earlier, this is getting a little bit wild. What's going on here? I'm going to be honest — I hate this stuff. I was saying to someone this morning, this is one of the hardest sermons I've ever had to write, because I find this material really off-putting and really weird.
What Is Eschatological Language?
Rev Harry Newton: What's going on here? We need to understand that all this language is what we refer to as eschatological language. That means the language is apocalyptic in nature — it's full of symbolism and imagery that carries immense importance, and it was really big back in the day.
The word eschatology comes from two Greek words: eschatos, meaning end, last, or final, and logia, meaning study or doctrine — sometimes interpreted as logos, meaning word. So when you put those two words together, eschatology literally means the study of the last things. It's a whole area of philosophical and theological musings about the end of the world, the final destiny of humanity, and the ultimate purposes and plans of God — if there even is a God, because not all the people who engage in this area are Christians.
This kind of eschatological, apocalyptic, symbolic language is strange, and it's supposed to be strange. It's off-putting, and it's supposed to be off-putting, because it's carrying with it a whole bunch of symbolism and import. It's the kind of stuff that either a lot of people recoil from, or a lot of other people wholeheartedly get into. Not many people sit in the middle space. And some of us, when we look into it, get a little bit lost in the weeds — regardless of where we land on that spectrum — because this language is weird.
But Jesus used it on purpose, and I think we need to pay it special attention.
When he used that phrase, "the Son of Man coming on the clouds" — this is the easy part of what he said that we can understand. He's referring to himself. It's drawn from the book of Daniel in the Old Testament, and it's a self-revelatory way of referring to his divine identity. He's the Son of Man. He is the coming one. He's the divine God-man come in human form. So that's what's going on there. It's an apocalyptic title that Jesus used throughout his ministry to refer to himself. He's referring to the day that he's going to come a second time to herald in God's kingdom — this idea of God coming to physically be present on the earth. He will literally fill the earth with his presence, with his shalom, with his peace, and there'll be no more grief, no more suffering, no more death. It's a beautiful vision for the future.
What Do the Signs in the Sun, Moon, and Stars Mean?
Rev Harry Newton: So that's all easy enough to understand. But what does he mean by that weird line? "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves." I don't think he's talking about climate change. "People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world." Is he talking about ISIS? Because remember when ISIS were doing the terrible things in Syria, some people said that's what this passage is about. When we started seeing the ice sheets starting to melt in the South Pole, seeing some terrible things starting to happen ecologically, the beginning of the wipeout of a lot of insects around the world — and that has the potential to bring about an ecological apocalypse for our planet — you look at all this stuff, and if you're not a person of faith, it's pretty heavy.
Is that what he's referring to? I don't know. People often look at me and say, "What does this mean, Harry?" And I'm tempted to say I'll just ask ChatGPT. But I don't, actually. I genuinely don't know. And some people spend a lot of time interpreting this stuff. Other people do have the ability to interpret it and understand it in a way that I personally can't.
But here's the thing. At one level, it doesn't matter. There are some people who spend an exorbitant amount of time trying to figure out what signs Jesus was referring to here so they can figure out when to expect his return. I'm not casting shade on anyone who's interested in this stuff — it's important to pay attention to it. Why? Because Jesus took it seriously, and so should we.
Why Anglican Clergy Avoid This Text — and Why They Shouldn't
Rev Harry Newton: In Anglican circles in particular, clergy often don't preach on these texts. We skip them. We have a book called the Lectionary, which sets out all our readings for three years in advance. Do you know that it skips this chapter almost every single year? Why? Because it's weird, and it's hard, and we don't want to touch it. But that's not a healthy response, because if Jesus took it seriously, so should we.
But Jesus himself said in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 13: "Concerning that day or the hour of my return, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." And in our reading this morning, he said, "Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, 'The time is near.' Do not go after them. When you hear of wars, do not be terrified."
He's not saying you can't be interested in this stuff. If you find it interesting, you do you — genuinely. He took the stuff seriously, and so should you, and so should I. If you don't consider yourself a God person, that's absolutely fine. But if you do consider yourself a God person, a Jesus follower, you need to take this stuff seriously because he did.
Fear vs. Faith: The Real Point of the Passage
Rev Harry Newton: In my experience, some of those who get lost in the weeds of this stuff and become a little too preoccupied with it do so because they're acting out of a space of fear. Because it's apocalyptic, eschatological stuff with its overtones of judgment and condemnation — it is scary, because it's supposed to be scary, because the concept of judgment is scary. And it sounds weird because it is weird.
Theologically, we refer to God being strange. We don't mean that offensively. What we mean is that God is other to our lived experience. God is not a being amongst other beings. God is an other, outside of our ability to fully comprehend. And yes, Jesus took the stuff seriously, and so should we — but it doesn't mean we should be filled with fear.
And there's a lot to be worried about, isn't there? There's war, there's economic instability, a warming planet, rising anxiety in society. That's on the macro level. What about your kids? What about your job? What about all the stuff on the daily? I hopped in the car this morning and it made a funny clunky noise. I instantly thought, "Oh no, I can't afford a repair. Please God, don't let it be serious." But it'll be fine — the noise went away. Hallelujah for that.
There is stuff to worry about every single day. It can feel like the world is shaking underneath our feet, both literally and figuratively. But here's the good news: you are not alone. Amidst the topsy-turvy of the world, you are not alone. You are not meant to carry fear, insecurity, anxiety, and worry by yourself.
Two things on that. One, God is with you — he actually is. And two, so is this community. The benefit of belonging to a church is that you get to belong to a community that is bigger than yourself, where we look after one another in our moments of need.
The church does not exist simply to be a glee club where we come together and sing songs. The church does not exist to be a place where we come together and study texts and prophecy and all that important stuff. It is not a space we come together simply to gather for worship, nor is it a space we come together to do things like run a food bank. All that stuff is important, but that is not the full reason why we exist. The church exists as a community — the ecclesia, the people of God — to be a space of peace, perspective, support, and presence when the world feels overwhelming.
Stand Up and Lift Your Heads
Rev Harry Newton: As God's people, as God's ecclesia, we are not meant to be tossed around by fear. Instead, we're called to have faith — because faith is the antidote to fear. And I don't mean that in a simplistic "just believe harder" kind of way. True faith is not wishful thinking. It's not naive optimism. Faith is actually trust — deep, deliberate trust in the character of God, who has shown himself to be trustworthy time and time again throughout the course of human history. It's a type of trust that believes against the grain of anxiety and worry that the one who came once in humility is going to come again in glory, just like he said he would. And when he does, you do not need to be afraid.
That's why Jesus in this morning's reading said, "When these things begin to take place, stand up. Lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." He's not saying duck and cover when the Son of Man comes around. Nor is he simply saying keep calm and carry on. He's saying look up. Your redemption is here. Your hope is not in the ruins of this world staying intact. Your hope is in the Redeemer who is to come.
So yes, we're going to take this stuff seriously. Judgment and end-times stuff — it's all real. There will one day be a reckoning. He will come back, and there will be a moment of truth for every single heart. But that reckoning will come from the same heart that broke for you. The same Jesus who warned of judgment is the same Jesus who wept at tombs, who befriended prostitutes, touched the untouchable, hung out with the outcasts, spent time with the addicts, and gave his life so that the final word over you and me would not be condemnation or judgment, but love.
And if that is true — if the Jesus story is all true — then fear has no final claim on you. Because to place your faith in Jesus Christ is to entrust yourself to the one who has already entered death and walked out victorious. And if he has overcome the grave, if the Jesus story is true, then nothing — no shaking of the heavens, no funny noises in your car, no war, no judgment, nothing — can separate you from his love.
So yes, the world is going to come to an end at some point. Yes, Jesus is going to come, and yes, it's going to be a little bit scary. But you don't need to worry in the meantime. God's got you, and he's got this — and that is what you can rely on in the daily.