Watch Yourselves

Luke 21:34-37
When Jesus mentions the end times just before he is arrested, the disciples are eager to learn more.  He goes on to tell them signs that will accompany these end times.  When finishing his description, Jesus warns them to watch themselves (vs. 34) and to remain awake at all times (vs. 36).  This is of course a warning for us all, not just the disciples.  And how beautiful that this passage and these warnings are put here right before Jesus is arrested and his disciples scatter, serving as an example for us to learn from.  He has just warned of all these things to take place, and they are now observing the Lord's Supper, where Jesus once again alludes to and tells them of his upcoming arrest and betrayal (22:19-22).  This is now numerous times he has told them of this.  He even warns them of their abandonment of him, and they do not listen (Mark 14:27).  They are so confident that they are loyal to him, come death or torture or prison or whatever (22:33).  They have already remained loyal to him in past trials and situations, experiencing incredible things (22:28, 35), and nothing has really changed since then, so surely they are still ready now as they have been before.  We can see the distractions creeping in though (22:24), however, they cannot see them.  Their past loyalty and endurance has deceived them into current piety and loyalty.  They are basing current situations on past situations.  Jesus' arrest comes upon them quickly, they are clearly unprepared for it, and end up abandoning Jesus immediately.  This serves as our warning for end times.  He warns us, as he did the disciples, to watch and stay awake at all times.  There is no luxury to relax and coast, because the end will come quickly and unexpectedly, and we will be caught off-guard, just as the disciples were when Jesus was arrested.  If we have been "alert" for 30 years, but slip for 1 day, we risk everything, because it is our endurance until the end that proves our salvation (vs. 19), not past experiences.  Their confidence rose from past endurance, but it did not lead to present endurance.  Our past does not guarantee our future.  What is current?  Our only hope is to pray through this (vs. 36, 22:40), asking for alertness and freedom from the distractions of persecution (vs. 12, 16-17), false prophets (vs. 8), boredom (vs. 34) and everyday life (vs. 34).  These all tempt us, not to abandon Jesus, but to put those religious things off for now, picking them up later at a better time, or getting serious later when things calm down.  This is a violation of Jesus' warning and determines our eternal destination.  The disciples were so confident they were alert and ready and they were not.  They were so certain they had obeyed Jesus' commands to remain watchful and alert and they had not.  They realized this after it was too late.  Why do we think we are so different?  The more confident we are that we are ready the more deceived we likely are.  The more leery we are of ourselves the better, and the more driven to prayer to keep us.  If we are so sure we are ready, are we not the disciples disagreeing with Jesus' words (Mark 14:31)?  Are we really so bold as to tell Jesus he is wrong?  We must remain watchful and awake because deception lurks at every turn, around every corner.  It feasted on the disciples, and it will feast on us too if we are not watchful.  It is called deception for a reason: it is not obvious and clear.  It is delusive.  And only the Spirit can lead us in prayer to be ready and prepared for these times (Romans 8:26-27).  So go to him or rely on your own ability, like the disciples did.