May 07 2025

Wednesday May 07

Luke 17:30-37 – Don’t Look Back, Look Up!

30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left." 37 And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?" So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

Luke 17:30-36 describes what will occur when Jesus Christ returns in judgment to defeat His enemies and establish His kingdom on earth (Rev. 19:11-20:6). Believers in every age of the church can take warning from these verses, but they apply in a special way to Israel at the end of the age (see Matt. 24:29-44). When Jesus comes for His church and takes it to heaven, it will happen "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15:52). Nobody taking part in the rapture of the church need worry about being on a housetop or in a field and wanting to get something out of the house! However, when the Lord returns to the earth, His coming will first be preceded by a "sign" in heaven (Matt. 24:30-31), and some people might try to hurry home to rescue something. "Remember Lot's wife!"

The verb taken in Luke 17:34-36 does not mean "taken to heaven" but "taken away in judgment" (Matt. 24:36-41). The person "left" is a believer who enters into the kingdom. Noah and his family were "left" to enjoy a new beginning, while the whole population of the earth was "taken" in the Flood. In spite of their sins, Lot and his daughters were "left" while the people in Sodom and Gomorrah were "taken" when the fire and brimstone destroyed the cities.

The fact that it is night in Luke 17:34 but day in Luke 17:35-36 indicates that the whole world will be involved in the return of Jesus Christ in glory. "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him" (Rev. 1:7).

Three times the disciples had heard Jesus talk about people being "taken" and "left," so they asked Him a most logical question: "Where, Lord?" Our Lord's reply has the sound of a familiar proverb: "Just as the eagles [and vultures, Matt. 24:28] gather at a corpse, so the lost will be gathered together for judgment." The description of the last battle in Revelation 19:17-21 certainly parallels the image of carrion-eating birds gorging themselves on flesh.

In other words, when the Lord Jesus returns to judge His enemies, there will be a separation of the saved and the lost. Whether it be day or night, whether people are working or sleeping, the separation and judgment will come. Those who are saved will be left to enter the glorious kingdom, while those who are lost will be taken away in judgment.

Even though the primary interpretation of these verses is for Israel in the end times, they do emphasize for the church the importance of being ready when Jesus returns. We must not be like Lot's wife whose heart was so in Sodom that she looked back in spite of the angels' warning (Gen. 19:17, 26). There are many professed Christians today whose plans would be interrupted if Jesus returned! (note 1 Thes. 5:1-11) Our Lord's warning in Luke 17:33 finds parallels in Matthew 10:39; Luke 9:24; and John 12:25, and is a fundamental principle of the Christian life. The only way to save your life is to lose it for the sake of Christ and the Gospel.

Jesus pictured civilization as a "rotting corpse" that would one day be ripe for judgment. The discerning believer sees evidence of this on every hand and realizes that the "days of Noah" and the "days of Lot" are soon on us. Our Lord can return for His church at any time, so we are not looking for signs; but we do know that "coming events cast their shadows before." As we see many of these things begin to come to pass (Luke 21:28), we know that His return is nearing.

Are we looking for His return, and do we really want to see Him come? Remember, Lot’s wife, and don’t look back but be looking up!

God bless.