Inscrutable Answers

TODAY'S READING: Gen. 42, 43; Ps. 5; Luke 17

SCRIPTURE: Luke 17:26-37
²⁶ “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷ People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸ “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁰ “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. ³² Remember Lot’s wife! ³³ Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. ³⁴ I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

³⁷ “Where, Lord?” they asked.

He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”

OBSERVATION: Jesus is talking to his disciples about the future and the time right before his second coming. When he gets done, his disciples have a question, "Where, Lord?". The question itself is somewhat ambiguous but, in context, I think what they are asking is, "Where will these things happen?". Where will there be people working or sleeping and one be taken away while the other is left? Jesus answers them with a very cryptic and inscrutable response that does not even seem to be an answer to the question. He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” Really? This is an answer to that question? Jesus often gave answers that left the disciples scratching their heads in confusion. I often have the same response when I read these accounts. This particular answer from Jesus is one of those I have never really understood, but as I was reading it today, I had a thought that helped it make sense to me. I think Jesus may have been communicating to his disciples that there was no one particular place this was going to happen. Just as the vultures gather over a dead body anywhere in the world, so wherever there are spiritually "dead" people on earth, they will be left behind for judgment while those with faith are taken to be with God. I haven't pulled out my study texts to do research on this, and I could certainly be mistaken in my thought about this, but it at least makes some sense of a very hermetic response by Jesus.

APPLICATION: Whatever the particular meaning of this answer given by Jesus, the entire passage speaks to me of living in a way that honors God. I am to keep in mind that he is returning and live my life in accordance with my calling to be "light" and "salt" in this world until he comes.

PRAYER: Father, I do want to live up to the calling you have given me. May I be someone who demonstrates your love, grace, forgiveness, and righteousness to others by my words and actions. It's a very high calling and one that I cannot hope to fulfill without the constant activity of your Spirit in my life. Help me to be instantly responsive to your Spirit so that I bring you pleasure and the world hope. In Jesus' Name, Amen.