Read Luke 22:24-38

The disciples used their time at the sacred Passover meal to quarrel over who was the greatest. Jesus turned their silly discussion into a teaching of His principle of leadership. True leaders are servants.

“I am among you as one who serves,” Jesus told them (v. 27). If you want to be great, become like the unprivileged youngest child. Jesus’ hearers knew that it was the eldest son, not the youngest, who inherited the father’s estate. Everyone knew that kings didn’t wash their servants’ feet. But Jesus did (John 13:5). If you want to lead, you must serve.

Jesus’ instruction combines the role of servant leader with strong self-confidence rooted in Him. His teaching foreshadows Paul’s words, “Carry each other’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2). Then Paul adds, “I can do everything through him [Christ] who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13). We are to lead by serving, using strength that comes only from God.

Jesus’ followers don’t do any of this alone. He assures Peter—and us—that He is on our side (vv. 31-32).
Jesus will never quite go away, will He? If we refuse Him, we still must find some way to get rid of Him. And that’s hard. His servant heart, His genuine love for us as individuals, His extraordinary teachings about loving your enemies keep ringing in our heads.

Can anybody say, “Jesus’ shed blood allows God to pass over my sins and spare my life”?

Read Luke 22:1-23
Spring time in Jerusalem. Festival time. Reunions with old friends. The Passover feast with its wonderful traditional menu. Roast lamb, bitter herbs, unleavened bread. No cook in town wondered what to serve.

If some child balked at eating bitter herbs, he did not get a substitute. His elders used the occasion to teach him why it was called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, why it was celebrated as a high holy day, sacred in Jewish history.

Jesus’ inner circle of friends supposed this Passover would be no different from others. They had eaten the traditional meal, enjoyed the fellowship all of their lives.

Jesus had other plans. He instituted a ceremony at that dinner hallowed as one of the sacred sacraments revered by all branches of Christianity. Jesus, as host, takes the bread, breaks it—and changes forever how we think about God. That unleavened Passover bread became a symbol of His body, broken because He loved us. He takes the cup and does the same thing, turning the wine into a symbol of His blood poured out for us. “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun [Israel], who rides on the heavens to help you…,” said Moses in his farewell blessing (Deut. 33:26). That has not changed. Only the one true God, Jehovah, our Creator, loved us enough to take our penalty. He died for us. God died to set us free.

Read Luke 21:30-38

Jesus said: Don’t get sidetracked. The main point in life is to be able to stand before the Son of Man in the judgment (v. 36).

Predicting coming wars was easy. The thing that sets Jesus’ predictions apart is their detailed accuracy. He says armies will gather around Jerusalem. About 40 years after he spoke, Roman armies captured Jerusalem, but only after a long siege. As many as one million persons may have died during the destruction of the city. Thousands, following Jesus’ warning, fled. Jesus interweaves honest prophecy with pity and compassion for those unable to flee (v. 23).

Then comes a strange combination of thoughts. Jesus says when these awful things take place, look up, because your redemption is near. He even tells a little parable to illustrate His teaching. When the fig tree sprouts leaves, we can know summer is near.

What is Jesus’ point? He is coming back. The crucified, risen, ascended, glorified Lord will return to earth. Whatever the signs listed in vv. 25-26 are, they will be so definite, startling, and terrifying that no one on earth can miss Christ’s return.

A Bible commentator says, “History is a religious drama.” Jesus’ predictions illustrate that principle. Finally Jerusalem had to pay for her disobedience to God’s law and teachings. Life in Jerusalem as it had been for hundreds of years was about to end.

As Jesus said, don’t miss the main point.

Read Luke 21:5-19

False Christs, false prophets, political disruptions, wars, and natural disasters. Jesus ticks them off. They are coming, Jesus warns.

What else is coming? Persecution of Christ’s followers. Sad to say, He warns that betrayal will come from, among other places, those near and dear to us—immediate family, relatives, friends. Jesus counsels taking a settled decision not to worry about defending yourself. “I will give you the needed words and wisdom,” He says (vv. 14-15). Then Jesus adds a strange idea. He says they will hate you because of Me. They will kill some of you. “But not a hair of your head will perish” (v. 18). What is that all about?

Jesus saw the cross coming for Him within that week. Farther away He saw His throne, His coming again in glory. And He says to His followers, “These troubles don’t matter. They are for a little while. I am forever.”

Christ offers life beyond the grave as well as life now. Christ counseled, as some of the old philosophers put it, living under the aspect of eternity. Live your life with the prospect of everlasting joy, in God’s presence forever. What can opponents do with people who believe they can do that? No wonder Christianity has challenged and conquered and spread over the world. In Christianity alone of all religions dwells real hope, both in this life and in the life to come.