How to Face Death [7-19-26]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS14lybtNLY?si=FrQ-cY_sxHANPDKs

July 19, 2026

Luke 21:5-38

“How to Face Death”

In just a moment, we’re going to jump right into today’s lengthy passage. Before we do, an acknowledgement. There’s stuff in here that’s thick. By my calculations, we could spend a minimum of ten weeks on these verses alone. As we’ll hear, Jesus covers such things as foretelling wars and persecutions. He talks about his second coming. We will approach it in a reasonable and orderly way. We’ll leave speculation of the end times to the cranks, kooks, and fanatics. Our focus will be on reassurance and perseverance.

Our task today will be to draw out the most essential nuggets from these verses.

To that end, here’s Luke 21:5-38:

And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned 

with noble stones and offerings, he said, “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.” And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 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. 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.”

Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 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. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your 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. You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the 

earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of 

the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all

 times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these 

things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of 

Man.”

And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him.

This section has been called “The Olivet Discourse.” Remember, this takes place days before Jesus’ suffering and death. The Discourse includes teachings by Jesus about the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, coming signs of the end times, and Jesus’ eventual return. Heavy stuff.

Sometimes I like to say, “Keep the main thing the main thing.” You’ve never heard me say it, but sometimes I say it, to myself. “Keep the main thing the main thing.” Because it’s too long to have you write down, we’ve printed it up so you can have it with you:

TUMULTUOUS TIMES ARE COMING BEFORE THE END, AND DISCIPLES WILL BE PERSECUTED FOR THEIR FAITH. DURING THE TIME OF WAITING, THEY MUST REMAIN CALM, WISE, FAITHFUL, AND PREPARED THROUGH PRAYER, RESTING IN THE ASSURANCE 

THAT THEY WILL BE DELIVERED IN THE END.

Here’s the deal. Jesus could return when we’re in the middle of worshiping today. Jesus could return 5,000 years from now. No one knows. And that’s okay. Here’s the only thing we know…this is the main thing I talk about all the time to myself. One way or another, Jesus is going to return in your lifetime. Most likely, it will be when you die, however you die. And the question from today’s passage equally applies. Will you be ready? How will you be ready? In the reality of death, what will your testimony be?

Here’s the promise from these verses. No matter what happens in your life…no matter what you experience or go through…you are going to be okay. Jesus Christ is your Risen Lord and Savior. Death has no hold on you. That’s the promise of Good Friday and Easter morning. Whatever life throws at you, you are going to survive.

Make no mistake. Life can be rough. And unpredictable. Evil is a harsh reality. Jesus makes that crystal clear. There are no rose-colored glasses in today’s passage. The question should never be, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” But it should always be, “When bad things happen, how do devoted followers of Jesus Christ respond?”

Bad things happen in life. Bad things are going to happen in life. Whatever happens, the issue is perseverance. Will we be confident, even in the face of death? Listen to verse eighteen again:

“But not a hair of your head will perish.”

What’s funny is that, in verse sixteen, Jesus warns that some of his listeners will die. What’s going on?

Let’s first go back to Luke 12:4-7:

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

What doesn’t Jesus say? He doesn’t say that having your hairs numbered 

makes you immune to suffering or pain or death. Over in Matthew 10:29, Jesus says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” There is no immunity from pain or suffering. Sparrows fall. Stephen is stoned to death. Peter and John are set free. James, the brother of John, is murdered by Herod. Peter escapes Herod’s grasp when he is freed from jail by an angel of the Lord.

Whether the outcomes of the dangers, toils, and snares of this life are death or life, we have spiritual protection. Again, verse three of “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” says:

And though this world, with devils filled,should threaten to undo us,we will not fear, for God has willedhis truth to triumph through us.The prince of darkness grim,we tremble not for him;his rage we can endure,

for lo! his doom is sure;one little word shall fell him.

Luther captured perfectly what Jesus is saying here. Whatever happens to us, the worse earthly powers can do is destroy physical life. The essence of who we are cannot be destroyed. Jesus Christ has secured our eternity. 

Amen?

Here’s the lovely thing about what Jesus says in verse nineteen:

“BY YOUR ENDURANCE YOU WILL GAIN YOUR LIVES.”

Here’s the beauty in what Jesus means. Endurance isn’t about our choosing to believe. Endurance isn’t about us guaranteeing our salvation by remaining in the faith. Endurance is Jesus Christ holding on to us. Endurance is about our names remaining in the Lamb’s Book of Life because he has chosen us. When you understand that, you can get through, by, or over anything life throws at you. A mighty fortress, indeed.

Listen to Jesus describe these foundational truths for us:

• John 10:27 – “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” How clear is that? Jesus has called us. We are his. You are secure in your salvation through the power of Christ’s claim upon your life.

• John 17:11-12 – “And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”

We can stand firm. We can stand strong in any and all things because Jesus has claimed us as one of his own. Again, as he promises in verse 36, “praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Jesus is unambiguously clear…you have eternal life. You will pass out of death into eternal life. It is an irrevocable gift from Jesus Christ to you. Remember what he said to the woman at the well? “Once you drink this water, you will never thirst again. It is permanently satisfying. It is the water of eternal life. You drink it, you will never thirst again.” Again, by your endurance you will gain your lives. That is what God gives to us. An enduring faith.

Will your life be a testimony to the hope in Christ that is in you? No matter 

how hellish life gets, will you persevere? Will you bear all things…believe all     

things…hope all things…endure all things? As one man puts it:

“Christian faith is not like a candle flame, easily blown out by a high wind. But Christian faith is like a great fire fanned into a more powerful conflagration.”

• Harry Emerson Fosdick

Now for an excerpt from one of my wife’s favorite books, “The Road,” by Cormac McCarthy. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. Father and son finally reach the coast. They have traveled on foot through devastated landscapes and dangers of all kinds. Toward the end, they huddle together on a beach littered with whale and human skeletons:

THE BOY, ABOUT AGE 10, HAS NEVER SEEN THE SEA. “WHAT’S ON 

THE OTHER SIDE?” HE ASKS. “NOTHING,” REPLIES HIS FATHER, SUFFERING FROM MALNUTRITION AND WEAKNESS AFTER FENDING OFF ALL SORTS OF EVILS. ALL ALONG HE HAS ENCOURAGED HIS SON TO MAINTAIN HOPE – TO “CARRY THE FIRE” – BUT HAS SLOWLY LOST HIS OWN. THE BOY, WHO BELIEVES THERE’S STILL GOODNESS SOMEWHERE IN THEIR DARK AND DYING WORLD, LOOKS OUT TO THE SEA AND SAYS, 

“THERE MUST BE SOMETHING.”

We know the answer. The Father and Son are on the other shore. Our best reading of these verses brings sanity and peace to a crazy, mixed-up           world. Here’s something you might want to write down. No matter how bleak things appear:

GOD’S FUTURE ASSURES THE END OF EVIL AND THE RESCUE OF THE RIGHTEOUS.

Let’s pray:

HEAVENLY FATHER, WE PRAY THAT YOU WILL BRING TO YOURSELF NOW SOME WHO HAVE BEEN IN DARKNESS AND NEED THE LIGHT…WHO HAVE BEEN IN DEATH AND NEED LIFE. AND CONTINUE, LORD, TO STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH THAT WE MIGHT LIVE TRIUMPHANTLY TO YOUR GLORY. IN CHRIST’S NAME. AMEN.