A Day in the Life of Jesus
Scripture Reference: Luke 17:22–37
Later he talked again about this with his disciples. “The time is coming when you will long for me to be with you even for a single day, but I won’t be here,” he said. “Reports will reach you that I have returned and that I am in this place or that; don’t believe it or go out to look for me. For when I return, you will know it beyond all doubt. It will be as evident as the lightning that flashes across the skies.”
As I sit with this passage today, I can’t help but feel a deep stir in my heart. Jesus’ words are filled with both urgency and hope. He speaks of a time to come when His followers will long to see Him, when His physical presence will no longer be available to them. He is preparing His disciples—preparing us—by giving us a clear and unmistakable promise: His return will be undeniable, as visible and as powerful as a lightning bolt flashing across the sky.
In the midst of our busy lives, it’s easy to forget about Christ’s return. We can get so absorbed in the daily rhythm of life—working, eating, planning, and building—that we forget the eternal reality of His promised return. Jesus uses the examples of Noah and Lot to illustrate this. In Noah’s day, people went about their daily lives, oblivious to the coming flood. They ate, drank, and married, not realizing the urgency of the moment until it was too late. Similarly, in Lot’s day, people were going about their business when the fire and brimstone rained down upon Sodom. The world was indifferent to God’s call until destruction came swiftly.
Jesus’ warning to His disciples—and to us—is not just about the timing of His return, but about the attitude we must maintain as we wait for it. The kingdom of God is near, and we must live with that knowledge, shaping our lives around the reality of His coming.
In the passage, Jesus reminds us that when He returns, it will not be something hidden or secretive. There will be no question, no ambiguity. His presence will be known to all, and the power of His return will make it undeniable. No one will have to ask, “Is that Jesus?” It will be clear to everyone. But in the meantime, we must live with a posture of readiness, knowing that life can carry on as usual, even while something far greater is on the horizon.
Living in the Tension of Today and Tomorrow
The tension in today’s passage is powerful: Jesus speaks of a world that will be living as if nothing is amiss, carrying on with their daily routines, indifferent to God’s ways. This is a warning for us to not get too comfortable in the “business as usual” mentality of the world. We are called to live with a sense of urgency and expectation, knowing that the Kingdom of God is not just a future reality but a present one that we are invited to participate in.
It’s also an invitation to reflect on how we are living today. Are we living as though we are waiting for Christ to return? Or are we caught up in the mundane details of life, forgetting the greater purpose for which we were created? The days of Noah and Lot show us how quickly life can change, and they remind us that the spiritual state of the world is often indifferent to God’s presence. But we, as followers of Christ, are called to live differently—differently because we know that God is not distant, but present, and He is working His plan even now. We are part of that plan, and we are called to live with purpose and with anticipation for the return of our Savior.
The Urgency of Living Today with Eternity in Mind
The sobering reality of this passage is the call to readiness. Jesus warns us that there will come a time when some will be taken, and others will be left. This is a call to evaluate our own lives and hearts. Are we living in a way that reflects the imminent return of Jesus? Are we making choices that align with His Kingdom, or are we more concerned with the temporary things of this world? Jesus warns us, “Whoever clings to his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall save it.” This is a powerful reminder that in the Kingdom of God, priorities are upside down. In this world, we are taught to grasp tightly to what we have, but in God’s Kingdom, true life comes from letting go—letting go of our self-centeredness, our pride, and our attachment to worldly things.
Where Will We Be Taken?
This question from the disciples, “Lord, where will they be taken?” is one we can all ask ourselves. Jesus answers them, “Where the body is, the vultures will gather.” It’s a chilling response, but one that points to the unmistakable truth that when the Son of Man returns, the whole world will know it. His power and presence will not be hidden, and it will be evident to all. This is a reminder that there are two realities—the reality of God’s Kingdom and the reality of the world. We are called to be part of the first, not the latter. We are invited to live today in the light of eternity, with eyes fixed on the return of Christ.
Living as if Today Were the Day
As I reflect on this passage, I am reminded of the importance of living with the expectancy that Jesus could return today. We do not know the day or the hour, but that should not prevent us from living with anticipation. Jesus’ return is not just a future hope; it is a present motivation. How are we living today in light of this great truth? Are we living with intentionality, loving others, sharing the Gospel, and walking in the truth of God’s Word? The return of Christ should shape everything we do today. As the old hymn says, “It may be today, my Lord will come for me.” Let this be a reminder to us all to live each day with that kind of expectancy and readiness.
As we move into today, may we live with the assurance that Christ’s return is near. Let us not grow complacent in our daily routines but instead be ever watchful, ever ready. May we live with our eyes on Jesus, knowing that His return will be a glorious and unmistakable reality. Let this truth transform the way we live today. Thank you for walking this journey of faith with me and may we all live as though the Kingdom of God is at hand.
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קידושין
Vector bearing azimuths in both T’NaCH and Talmud to make inductive logic case/rule comparison between similar judicial cases. Prophets, they serve as the shotrim of the Shoftim of the Sanhedrin Federal courtrooms. These prophetic shotrim serve as the enforcers of Sanhedrin court judicial rulings. Prophets do not exist separate or divorced from serving as shotrim police enforcers of Sanhedrin common law judicial rulings. Just that simple. No fancy dance’n.
דתני האיש מקדש. מה שדה מקניא בחליפין אף אשה נמי מקניא
Legal mechanisms of acquisition (kinyan), an abstract idea rather than a physical acquisition. The act of acquisition entails the husband acquiring title to the Name of the future born children which this marital union will ideally produce. Hence the symbolic “exchange” involves not the woman herself but rather the acquisition of the unborn children born into the future or O’lam Ha’bah of this marital union.
The depth of the legal and symbolic meanings behind kinyan-acquistitions in the context of marriage, basically a Man cannot love that which he does not own. The basic standard Torah definition for “Love” as a secondary Torah precedent commandment. It illustrates that marital acquisition – rejects treating the woman as property. But rather about establishing a framework for family, legacy, and spiritual continuity of the oath brit-chosen Cohen seed of the Avot.
Our Gemara now makes a study of T’NaCH kabbalah prophetic mussar sources which shall in their turn require making bearing azimuth precedent comparison similar cases. Its this wisdom of Torah scholarship which ties Talmudic common law with T’NaCH prophetic mussar common law.
Upon this chief cornerstone common law sh’itta of Torah scholarship all generations have “this” obligation from their fathers to learn. A man acquires his wife in the name of producing children and educating those future born children in the faith to righteously pursue judicial justice among our Cohen people.
The first precedent דברים כד:א: “כי יקח איש אשה”, this פרט resides within the sugya כלל of כד:א – ד. This sugya linked to the three earlier sugyot כג:כב-כד וכג:כה. וכג:כו. The subject matter of these three small sugyot vows, respect of a neighbors property and goods as does likewise the next single p’suk sugya. Our p’suk כד:א addresses כי מצא בה ערות דבר וכתב לא ספר כריתת. The דיוק made from this pasuk, just as get defined as a mitzva from the Torah so too קידושין a mitzva from the Torah. The acquisition of קידושין once profaned through a divorce cannot thereafter be acquired again. Just as a korban, once dedicated for a Shoah offering, this korban cannot later be substituted for some other korban dedication, such as an asham dedication. Once a man acquires title to the Nefesh O’lam Ha’bah soul of his wife, even God himself cannot intervene and father a child from this woman! A distinctly unique idea which the Greek God Zeus did when he fathered Hercules from a married woman.
In Greek & New Testament mythology, divine intervention often disrupts human relationships and moral boundaries. Jewish judicial common law emphasizes the sanctity of marriage and the importance of fidelity. The notion that a husband acquires the soul of his wife and that this bond protected by a Torah oath alliance, reflects the seriousness with which Jewish law treats marriage. קידושין emphasizes the importance of fidelity, commitment, and the spiritual dimensions of the marital relationship visa-vis tohor time-oriented commandments which continuously create the chosen Cohen people יש מאין.
This Torah wisdom reinforces the values of respect and responsibility within the context of family and community. The pasuk בראשית כג:יז located within the larger sugya of בראשית כג:א-כ. Sarah did not survive the horrors of the Akedah, where Yitzak swore an oath brit that if HaShem would save the chosen Cohen seed from shoah, that he dedicates the O’lam Ha’bah life of his future born seed to do Torah mitzvot as the defining cultural trait of the chosen Cohen seed of the Avot.
Avraham refers to himself as a גר תושב person of status. Interesting any גר תושב accepts, while living inside the borders of Judea, to keep the 7 mitzvot bnai noach. Why? Observance of commandments, specifically גרי תושב commandments as defined in Masechet Sanhedrin, referred thereafter as the 7 mitzvot bnai Noach, this temporary Torah obligation permits the גר תושב to sue an Israel for damages in a Jewish court of law. By contrast the Nacree/Canaani, as defined in masechet Baba Kama, did not enjoy the judicial legal protections enjoyed by the ger toshav.
Therefore our Av Mishna likewise comes to distinguish and define the rights of women in Torah common law. A ordinary woman does not possess the legal right to acquire a Man, except and unless she qualifies as a significant status, such as being a tribal chief. For example: the prophetess Devorah as a sho’ter The concept of judicial authority existed during the time of Deborah. Both Moshe and Yehoshua established the 6 cities of refuge with their Small Sanhedrin courtrooms.
Deborah served as a judge and prophetess in Israel, leading her people during a time of oppression. The Aggadic story found in the Book of שופטים (פרק ד וה), which depicts her as a leader who inspired Barak to lead the Israelites against the Canaanite army. Prophets forever and always serve as the shot’rim of the sanhedrin common law courtrooms. This fundamental נפקא מינא both the fraudulent counterfeit books NT and Koran failed to discern.
Abraham’s acquisition of the Cave wherein he buried Sarah compares to the mitzva of קידושין, ideally both sets of acquisitions shall permanently maintain this status. The status of a married woman, higher than the status of a virgin unmarried woman. The NT virgin Mary theology perverts this Torah priority all together into a foreign alien Av tuma avoda zarah religion.
The pasuk ירמיה לב:כה contained inside the larger sugya כלל: לב:טז-כה. The comparison of Avraham as a גר תושב to the people of Canaan compares to Israel invaded by the Armies of Babylon. Avraham demanded to pay the full price for Sarah’s burial plot due to his outright distrust of the faithfulness of the nations of Canaan. Israel to in the days of Yirmeyahu failed to rule the oath sworn lands with righteous judicial justice. Its judges accepted bribes and perverted law.
T’NaCH common law requires Torah scholars to shoot a bearing azimuth and find a comparable Case/Din prophetic mussar. This Torah wisdom in essence defines how to study T’NaCH Primary Sources through the skill of learning by means of comparing similar Case/Din rulings. A similar mussar Case/Din ירמיה ח:יג-יז. The דיוק learned from קידושין, divorce and the Torah curse of g’lut. Herein this T’NaCH kabbalah frames the k’vanna of the tohor time oriented Torah commandment of קידושין.
T’NaCH common law requires Torah scholars to shoot a bearing azimuth and find a comparable Case/Din prophetic mussar. This Torah wisdom in essence defines how to study T’NaCH Primary Sources through the skill of learning by means of comparing similar Case/Din rulings. A similar mussar Case/Din ירמיה ח:יג-יז. The דיוק learned from קידושין, divorce and the Torah curse of g’lut. Herein this T’NaCH kabbalah frames the k’vanna of the tohor time oriented Torah commandment of קידושין.
תני האשה נקנית וניתני התם האיש קונה. מעיקא תני לישנא דאורייתא ולבסוף תני לישנא דרבנן. ומאי לישנא דרבנן דאמר לה אשה קנויה לעולם מהקדש וניתני הכא דאיש קינה משום דקא בעי למיתנא סיפא וקונה את אצמה
What does the language אשה קנויה לעולם מהקדש? This refers to the oath brit sworn between the pieces wherein HaShem cut a brit with Avram that his future born Cohen seed would number the stars in the heavens for multitude. Torah common law always learns by means of prior precedent rulings. Any attempt to read the Talmud, as if it existed as a common book of pleasurable reading, like fiction – utterly false. The Talmud stands upon the mandate of the Torah as the working Constitution of the Republic. Upon this יסוד both the T’NaCH and Talmud stand. Just as the mitzva of קידושין represents a permanent status so too and how much more so the Torah as the Constitution of the Republic stands as a permanent status. The transformation of קידושין as a rabbinic commandment likewise changed the status of the Torah away from a Constitutional basic law document unto a religious law of ritual observances as codified in the Shulkan Aruch. The one bears no resemblance to the other any more than a bastard child born from adultery, resembles the profaned husband’s relationship with his wife.
Moshe, I appreciate the depth of your explanations. They help me understand how you see Torah as living common law rather than just words on a page. I find myself wondering — how do you think Jews through the centuries have been able to preserve the integrity of the Oral Torah across so many generations and lands? Michael
My rav taught me the sh’itta which his rav taught him of Oral Torah common law inductive reasoning.