The Vultures Will Gather

Scripture:

Luke 17:22   Then he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. ²³ They will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Do not go, do not set off in pursuit. ²⁴ For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.^{a  25} But first he must endure much suffering and be rejected by this generation. ²⁶ Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷ They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. ²⁸ Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, ²⁹ but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed all of them ³⁰ —it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹ On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. ³² Remember Lot’s wife. ³³ Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. ³⁴ I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. ³⁵ There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.”^{a  37} Then they asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

Observation:

Jesus had been speaking to the Pharisees but then he shifted again to his disciples. He was preparing them for his departure, but they still didn’t quite understand. In the coming days, after his departure, life would become very difficult for his followers. There would be days when they would search the skies and wish for his immanent return. 

In the waiting, the disciples would experience the wickedness of the world. This is reminiscent of the experiences of both Noah and Lot. The generations of Noah and Lot are often referred to in Judaism as signs of God’s judgement upon the wicked. Those who remained faithful to God were a very small minority and eventually the judgement of God fell upon the wicked. This was a foreshadowing of what would happen when the Son of Man returned. Just as those who were partying and reveling in their sin in the days of Noah and Lot, there would be those who would do the same throughout the lives of the disciples. For those who would try to make their lives secure in their own power, they would discover that they would lose their lives. Jesus will return, and there will be judgement for the sin that has been committed.

They wanted to know where this would be happening and he pointed them again to the skies, where the vultures would be circling around those who died in their sinfulness. The place of judgement would be evident to all. 

Application:

John Wesley gives this solemn reminder: “The sense of this and the following verses is, Yet as great as the danger will be, do not seek to save your life by violating your conscience: if you do, you will surely lose it: whereas if you should lose it for my sake, you shall be paid with life everlasting. But the most probable way of preserving it now, is to be always ready to give it up: a peculiar Providence shall then watch over you, and put a difference between you and other men” (Notes). 

There should be a “peculiar” difference between followers of Christ and other people. The disciples of Jesus’ time were but a handful of people who would suffer from great persecution. That persecution would continue for centuries, and lest we think that Christians should not be peculiar today, we have the wrong perspective. We must remember that we cannot save ourselves, but we are to live by a conscience that is enlightened by the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. Therefore, we will not always be able to make decisions in line with those who are in the world. Eventually, it may feel as if our way of thinking and living is entirely out of line with what the world would like to encourage. That’s when we are reminded about the very few faithful in the time of Noah and Lot. 

Jesus’ encouragement is for the disciples to stand firm, even while going against the flow of society. We are to be a part of society, buying food, going to the market, grinding the grain, and living our lives shoulder to shoulder with others, but ultimately, we will all be called to account for our lives and the ways in which we have lived. 

There is a warning for us all. The vultures will gather, unless we are able to maintain a life in which our singular focus is toward the things of God. 

Prayer:

Lord, the distractions are great in life. Please, help me to keep my focus on you. Amen.