When Jesus taught He never used idle words or offhand remarks…every word and phrase that He used held great importance. In this discourse, He was teaching about His Second Coming…that it would not only be unmistakable to all, but also sudden and totally unexpected, with no window of opportunity for last minute repentance. In His reference to Lot’s wife, we need to go back to Genesis 19:1-29 and the story of how Sodom & Gomorrah were reduced to ashes by God’s righteous judgment. Ezekiel 16:49-52 tells us that Sodom was not only known for its homosexuality & sexual violence but as a very affluent city, the people were overfed, arrogant, and indifferent to the poor and needy. This is where we find Lot & his family living…the righteous living among these heinous transgressions…Lot’s soul tormented by what he heard & saw everyday. But Lot was also very wealthy and with great status so the idea of leaving everything behind caused him to be reluctant. But the two angels commanded they leave with this warning, “Flee and don’t look back.” But as the story goes, Lot’s wife did look back longingly at all she once had and she became a pillar of salt. So going back to Jesus’ teaching, why did He use her as an example? What happened to Lot’s wife is a sobering lesson about disobedience, hesitation, and looking back on things (even very good things) that God has very pointedly told you to leave behind.
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