Dead Bodies and Vultures

Luke 17:37 "Where, Lord?" they asked. He replied, "Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather."

What is going on with this apocalyptic response? Luke 17 is the Matthew 24 of Luke's book. If you don't know what I mean, read Matthew 24.

There are a couple of strange responses in this chapter. Verse 32 is another one. Jesus says Luke 17:32 Remember Lot's wife!

Apocalyptic Literature is very different. Visions, monsters, heavenly and hellish scenes are not uncommon. In Luke 17:20 - 37, Jesus is asked about when the kingdom is going to come. He then goes on to give Pharisees a seeming mystical reply. The kingdom's arrival isn't something that could be observed. It was in their midst.

Jesus then turns to his men and tells them how both he and they will suffer in the coming days. The society of Noah's day and Sodom's destruction comes into the explanation. Instant flight from the city is urged. Then the statement, "remember Lot's wife."

So, what happened to Lot's wife? Way back in Genesis 19, Moses tells that story. Sodom is destined for destruction. Lot and family are literally angel-dragged from the doomed city. For whatever reason, they had been warned not to look back.

Lot's wife did just that. In one strange moment, she became a pillar of salt. What was she thinking? We can't imagine what went through her pre-salt mind.

Jesus, however, used her to warn his hearers about the urgency of what was about to happen. About 37 years later, when the Romans came to destroy Jerusalem, those Jews who remembered Jesus' words were saved by their no-look flight.

So, what does all this mean concerning corpses and Vultures? When Jesus comes back, it is going to be visible from far away. Have you ever seen vultures circling their dead prey? At the Lord's return, there are going to be a lot of buzzard lunches laying around. Jesus' return won't be silent nor invisible.

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