“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.”
– Luke 21:27–28
Oh, what a picture. This whole chapter has language from Jesus talking about end times and what will happen in the world before he returns.
Luke 21:27–28 Talks about Jesus’ Return
And then you get to these verses, you’ll see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. I just picture that one day Jesus is going to open the skies and come in a cloud with power and great glory. And it could be any day, it could be today. Let that transform your perspective on today.
This could be the day when Jesus comes back. And verse 28 says, “When these things begin to take place,” it’s talking about all kinds of signs and circumstances preceding Jesus’ coming, Jesus says, “Straighten up and raise your heads because your redemption is drawing near, the day when God will fully redeem you and me and all creation, when all who have put their trust in Jesus will be fully restored to God with resurrection bodies and glorified souls.” That’s drawing near.
And people would say, “Well, Jesus said this close to 2,000 years ago and it hasn’t happened since then. So what are we to think about that?” Well, we’re to think that we’re a lot closer now than to this happening than 2,000 years ago. Every generation among God’s people has been called to live as if Jesus could come back in that generation. Followers of Jesus live in anticipation of his coming.
Luke 21:27–28 Encourages us to live in Eager Expectation
So is that how you are living today? With eager anticipation, longing to see Jesus, with humble obedience, living today as if it could be the day and you want to be found faithful and obedient to him, living with urgency to share the gospel, to prepare everyone around you for the reality that heaven and hell are at stake and everybody around you and me needs Jesus and peoples around the world.
Especially when you think about Matthew 24 and Jesus saying, “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed was a testimony to all the nations and then the end will come.” So we pray, God transform our perspective on today in light of this day to come that Luke 21:27–28 talk about. Jesus, we long for your return. We pray in the language of Revelation 22, come Lord Jesus, come quickly. Bring an end to sin and suffering and injustice and evil and death in this world. We pray for redemption, for full and final redemption in our lives, for full and final redemption in all creation.
And we pray that you’d help us to live today with that kind of longing. Help us to live today with eager anticipation, with humble obedience and with urgency on mission. God, that you would spend our lives today, following you, proclaiming you to the ends of the earth.
Praying for the Idaksahak People
God, we pray for so many people groups that need to hear the gospel. God, we pray for the Idaksahak people of Algeria. Please God, cause laborers to go to them to share the gospel with them, that they might be ready on that day, that every nation, tribe, language, and people would be ready on the day when you return.
God, we pray for the Idaksahak people of Algeria and we pray for people right around us today that we’ll interact with. Help us to live with urgency, to share the good news of redemption with them, that they might be ready, and not just ready but longing with us for this day that you talk about Lord Jesus in Luke 21:27–28. We pray all of this in your name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
