Pentecost Week Twenty-Two- Day Four -

Day Four: The Days of Noah and the Days of the Son of Man
Scripture: Luke 17:26–30

Whoops... If you're reading closely, you may have noticed we accidentally swapped Day Three and Day Four. Thanks for your grace. The good news? God’s Word is still right on time — and today’s passage is one that asks us to pause, reflect, and listen deeply.

Jesus draws a striking comparison between His return and two well-known Old Testament stories: the days of Noah and the days of Lot. What do they have in common?

Life felt normal — until it wasn’t.

People were eating, drinking, marrying, planting, building. Then came the flood. Then came the fire. In both cases, judgment came suddenly, and only a few were rescued.

Jesus isn’t condemning the routines of life. He’s warning us about spiritual dullness. In both stories, the people weren’t just wicked — they were distracted. They weren’t paying attention. They didn’t see what was coming. They had no sense of urgency. And when the moment came, they missed it.

Historical Context
When Jesus referenced Noah and Lot, He wasn’t just telling stories — He was invoking deeply familiar and theologically loaded moments from Israel’s history.

In Jewish tradition, the generation of Noah was seen as a paradigm of total moral collapse. The world was “filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11), and rabbinic writings often described that generation as arrogant, idolatrous, and sexually corrupt.
But perhaps more damning than their sin was their indifference — they mocked Noah, ignored the warnings, and carried on with life as usual.

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, in the story of Lot, represented another form of societal decay. According to the prophets — especially Ezekiel (16:49–50) — the sin of Sodom was pride, gluttony, disregard for the poor, and detestable practices.
In Jewish teaching, Sodom came to symbolize a society that had so thoroughly rejected God's ways that it could no longer hear the voice of conscience or respond to rebuke.

By referencing these two moments — the flood and the fire — Jesus tapped into more than just historical memory. He invoked eschatological warning.

His Jewish audience would have understood: these were not just tales of destruction, but turning points where God’s patience gave way to judgment, and only a righteous few were spared.

In both stories, rescue came — but not for everyone. Only Noah and his family entered the ark. Only Lot and his daughters left the city. And even then, Lot’s wife looked back and was lost.

Jesus' audience would have heard these names and remembered: these are not metaphors. These are moments when God intervened suddenly, decisively, and finally — and only those who believed, who listened, who acted, survived.

Modern Reflection
This passage challenges our comfort. We want to believe we’ll have time to prepare. But Jesus says the Kingdom doesn’t wait for our schedule.

It doesn’t send a calendar invite. It breaks in — suddenly, decisively — and we’re either awake to it or we’re not.

What does this mean for us?

It means we live every day as if it could be the day. Not in fear, but in faith. We keep our hearts soft. We pay attention to what God is doing.
We don’t drift through life assuming tomorrow will be just like today.

The people in Noah’s and Lot’s day were surrounded by sin — violence, pride, injustice. That i starting to sound a lot like our western world!
But Jesus points to something deeper: they were also spiritually asleep. Life went on as usual — right up until judgment came.

This is the important part!  The warning wasn’t only about wickedness — it was about readiness.

In the end, many missed the moment not because they were doing obviously evil things… but because they weren’t watching.

Prayer
Lord, help me stay awake to Your Kingdom.
Keep me from being lulled to sleep by comfort, routine, or distraction.
Teach me to live with holy alertness — not anxious, but aware.
Let me be found ready, faithful, and focused on the things that truly matter.
Amen.

Ok - Because Pat asked I'm tossing this out there today.  Many years ago when I was running in the secular world of Los Angeles in the very early 1980's. I went to see this band.
This song hit me in an unexpected way - at the time I was not seeking Jesus - I was mad at the Christian world.  But this song resonated and for obvious reasons now (Pastor David) - I know why if affected me.  

For this blog I think it sets a tone for what we will talk about Sunday.