Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 21:29-38.  Let’s go!

Luke 21:29-36 (NIV) 
29  He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 
30  When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 
31  Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 
32  “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 
33  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ……

On verses 29-36: Though we don’t know when exactly Jesus is returning, we know that he is returning soon (v29-31), that it will be an event no one will miss (v35) and that we want to be ready at all times. Assuming that “this generation” in verse 32 means not just Jesus’ disciples 2000 years ago but also includes us and future believers as well, how do we get ready for Jesus’ return? We do so by hanging on to Jesus’ words, which “will never pass away” (v33). We also do so by being careful not to let worry and wasteful living weigh down our hearts (v34). Instead, we will focus on loving God, loving people, and living out His purposes for our lives.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 21:5-19. Let’s go!

Luke 21:5-6 (NIV) 
5  Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 
6  “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.”

On verses 5-6: As his disciples fawn over how beautiful and expensive the temple in Jerusalem is, once again Jesus predicts the coming destruction of the temple, which would happen a few decades later in 70 A.D.

On verses 7-12a: The disciples ask Jesus when the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed and what signs would hint that this event was coming soon (v7). In reply, Jesus warns his disciples not to follow other individuals who come claiming that they are the Messiah (“claiming, ‘I am he’”) and that the time has almost come (v8).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 20:27-40. Let’s go!

Luke 20:27-40 (NIV) 
27  Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question.
28  “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother.
29  Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless……

On verses 27-40: The Sadducees, a group of Jews that believed parts of the Old Testament but did not believe that resurrection was possible, come to Jesus with a question to show what they thought was the absurdity of believing in the possibility of resurrection. However, their question was based on a wrong assumption which Jesus challenges. The Sadducees assumed that life in heaven would be just like life on earth, with people marrying and being given in marriage, and that if two people are married on earth, they will be a married couple in heaven too. Jesus corrects the Sadducees’ wrong assumption (v35-36) and then, using the very Scriptures that the Sadducees believed, shows them that their Scriptures affirm the reality of resurrection.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 20:9-18.

Luke 20:9-16 (NIV) 
9  He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.
10  At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
11  He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed.
12  He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out……

On verses 9-16a: Who do the different characters in this parable represent? The vineyard owner represents God the Father. The vineyard represents God’s kingdom. The tenants of the vineyard most likely represent Israel and, more particularly, the chief high priests, teachers of the law and Israel’s elders, who had been entrusted with a lot of God’s kingdom but were mismanaging much of it. The servants sent by the vineyard owner represent the prophets. The vineyard owner’s son represents Jesus. By telling this story of how the tenants beat and humiliated the vineyard owner’s servants and sent them away empty-handed, Jesus is illustrating how Israel shamefully and disrespectfully treated the prophets God sent to them.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 19:28-40 (NIV) 

41  As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it
42  and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes.
43  The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.
44  They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

On verses 41-44: Here Jesus weeps for the city of Jerusalem. He weeps because he knows that he is the only one who can bring the city true and lasting peace and yet the people of Jerusalem would fail to recognize it (v42: “If you had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes”). The majority of Jews in Jerusalem didn’t feel a need for a Saviour to deliver them from their sins. Rather what many of them were looking for was a military leader who could conquer the Romans by force.

Jesus also weeps as he predicts Jerusalem’s eventual and heartbreaking destruction by the Romans (v43-44), which would happen within 50 years after Jesus gives this prophecy.

What can we learn from this?