Jefferson Vann

STAY ALERT

STAY ALERT

Matthew 24:42-44 NET.

⁴² “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Just these three verses remain, and we will have covered Matthew 24. Three years ago, I spoke on verses 45-51, so I won’t cover that ground again. But these three verses are significant because they focus on Jesus’s commands. Jesus wasn’t very interested in answering the questions that the disciples had. He didn’t want to entertain them or encourage their curiosity. His purpose was to prepare them for a lifetime of ministry as representatives of his coming kingdom.

That is why Jesus gave them orders. The most important thing about the coming kingdom is not when it is coming. The most important thing about the coming kingdom is that when it comes, it will come upon the world suddenly, like a flood. Most of the world will not be ready. So, Jesus focuses on giving us commands that will help us welcome the coming kingdom.

The commands are for us to stay alert and be ready (42a, 44).

The command to stay alert uses the Greek word γρηγορέω. That is the word that Jesus used two chapters later when he was in the garden of Gethsemane just before his arrest. He told his disciples that he was deeply grieved, even to the point of death. He commanded them to stay with him as he prayed and stay awake. When he told them to stay awake, he used the word γρηγορέω.

But the disciples could not stay awake for even one hour. Jesus told them to “keep watching and praying,” and the word he used for “watching” was γρηγορέω.

He told them to keep watching so they would not succumb to temptation. Even a Christian who has every intention of following Christ can fall into temptation. Even the disciples of Christ who had committed to following and serving him could not stay awake for even one hour during the most critical and crucial test of their lives. That highlights the importance of staying awake and alert during this age.

The Apostle Paul embraced the same theme as he ministered to Gentile believers. He told the Corinthians to Stay alert (γρηγορέω), stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13). He told the Colossians to be devoted to prayer, keeping alert (γρηγορέω) in it with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2). He told the Thessalonians that we must not sleep as the rest but must stay alert (γρηγορέω) and sober (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

One thing that Paul and Jesus had in common is that both commanded that people stay alert in prayer. This is an area of most of our lives where we are in constant danger of becoming spiritually crippled. The devil knows that if he can cripple our prayer life, then he will render us practically useless for Christ and his kingdom. He attacks us relentlessly to keep us from staying awake in prayer.

You all know that I just came back from vacation. I was gone for three weeks in July. During those three weeks, the weeds attacked my garden with ferocity. I am still pulling gigantic weeds from my garden. All it took was a few days of distraction and neglect and now I have a tremendous job on my hands.

That is what happens when we take time off from our task of diligent prayer. Jesus taught about that in his parable of the sower. In that parable, some of the seeds fell among thorns. Jesus said that these are the ones who hear the word, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature (Luke 8:14).

Seeds are designed to germinate, grow, and produce trees, fruits, and vegetables. But weeds can interfere with that process. To be fruitful, the seeds have to mature. But some seeds are kept from that purpose by weeds. They are choked out before they have a chance to be fruitful. Jesus identified the weeds in his parable. They are three things: worries, riches, and pleasures of life.

Worry is a weed. It distracts us from taking in the word of God and being fruitful in our Christian lives. Don’t expect a crop to appear if the weed of worry is allowed to stay in your garden. Jesus commanded us not to worry about tomorrow. He said today has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34). Jesus commanded us not to worry about what we will eat, drink, or wear. We worry about these things, and worry distracts us from having meaningful prayer lives, hindering our spiritual growth.

The solution to this problem is a strong prayer life that focuses on trusting our heavenly Father for daily bread. Instead of allowing our fear of tomorrow to choke out our spiritual lives, we must come to God regularly and declare our trust in his provision. We can cast all our cares on him because he cares for us.

Greed is also a weed. The lust for riches distracts us from the rest we can currently have in God, our provider. When God rescued the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt, he commanded them to remember the Sabbath day and keep it sacred. They had been slaves. Work was all they knew how to do. But God rescued them from their slavery in Egypt. They now had the privilege to focus on something besides work. But he knew they would be tempted to replace their former slavery with a new slavery. They could replace Pharaoh with Ego. They could work themselves to death trying to get ahead. So, God told them to stop what they were doing once a week and rest in the finished work of their salvation.

In the New Testament, Jesus met two men who had been workaholics. We don’t know the name of one of these men. We usually call him the rich young ruler. Jesus told him that he could have eternal life. All he had to do was sell everything he owned, give it away, and come and follow him. But that man went away disappointed. He was not willing to give away everything. His greed was keeping him from eternal life. The other workaholic was Zacchaeus. He could see that what Jesus had to offer was better than what he could seek on his own. He had been a greedy cheater, but when he met Jesus, he stopped being greedy. Zacchaeus is proof that you don’t have to be poor to be a Christian, but you have to surrender your greed. If you don’t pull the greed weed, then the word of God will never take root in your life.

Selfishness is also a weed. A focus on the pleasures of this life can keep us from experiencing eternal life. When we pray to God, we have to make sure that self gets off the throne. If self stays on the throne, God leaves the palace. That is why it’s hard for a selfish person to pray. Oh, you can pray a selfish prayer. But it doesn’t accomplish anything. It ends up sounding like the prayer of the self-righteous Pharisee: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ (Luke 18:11-12). God knows what we are really like. He doesn’t need us to rehearse our accomplishments to him in our prayers. Prayer needs to focus on who God is. It is his kingdom we are to seek.

Staying alert in our prayer lives means not allowing the weeds of worry, greed, or selfishness to distract us from his kingdom.

Jesus’ second command in today’s text is to be ready. We must be prepared for the second coming. The word for ready is ἕτοιμος, which Jesus had previously used in his parable of the wedding banquet. A king had planned a wedding banquet for his son, and when everything was ἕτοιμος, he summoned those who had been invited.

The real question for us is not what date Jesus will come, but will we be prepared for him when he comes? That is what we are commanded to do. I just finished a book about King Charles III of England. It focused on his transition from Prince to King. What struck me as I read it were all the things that he had experienced all his life that make up who he is and how he will rule as king.

You and I are destined to be part of Jesus’ coming reign. We are not just waiting for Jesus’ kingdom to come; we are part of that kingdom now. If we are not declaring the Lordship of Christ by how we live today, we should not expect to do that after he comes. The command to be ready entails transforming our lives today.

Why did Jesus command us to stay alert and be ready?

The reason is that we do not know the time (42b).

We do not know what day our Lord will come. We know that he is coming, but we cannot put the date on the calendar. If we do put a date on the calendar, we will probably be wrong. Numerous people have ventured a guess, but their guesses have all proven to be wrong. We have not been commanded to guess at the date. We have been commanded to be ready on this date.

Since we don’t know the time, we need to be ready at any time. We must be prepared on Sunday, August 18^th, at 11:45 a.m. If he comes right now and we are not prepared, we are guilty of directly disobeying his command. No one wants to be caught disobeying a direct command of the king. It doesn’t bode well for people if they are invited but are not ready when the banquet is set.

His coming is compared to a break-in (43).

Jesus said he was coming like a thief. A thief does not call you and say, “I’m coming.” No, a thief wants to take you by surprise so he can steal your stuff. If you are ready for him, the thief will skip your house and find a home where the owner is unprepared.

Since we don’t know the time, we must live like now is the time. We have to ask ourselves every day whether we are ready for our Master to return to his slaves.

Jesus doesn’t say this to make us afraid of his coming. He says it to remind us of who we are. He knows that the longer he delays his return, the more we will be distracted by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Jesus is not the thief. He is the good shepherd who cares for his sheep. He loves the sheep and lays down his life for them. All who have come before him are thieves and robbers. The sheep did not listen to them. They are tuned in to the sound of the good shepherd’s voice.

The thieves come only to steal, kill, and destroy, but the good shepherd comes so that the sheep may have life and may have it abundantly. The second coming of Christ is not a terrible event we are to fear. It is a glorious event that we anticipate with joy and confidence. We cannot be who God wants us to be for eternity unless Jesus returns.

As it is now, we are aliens and strangers on the very planet that God plans for us to inherit. We are like sheep being led to the slaughter for his and his kingdom’s sake. Following Jesus means taking up our crosses and following him to death. But we choose to surrender our hopes, worries, greed, and selfishness in this life. We have bet everything on his promise of a coming resurrection. If there will be no resurrection, then we are the most to be pitied.

But since there is a resurrection, everything we do to join his coming kingdom and every sacrifice we make to stay prepared for that day is worth it. Like Paul, we strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of us.

Let the world be caught off guard. But we will not be caught off guard. Let the world keep being distracted by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life. We will stay alert. We will remain focused on our coming king. We will be ready for him when he comes. We want to hear “well done”! We want to be there for our Master and enter his joy.

Books by Jefferson Vann:

KNEW NOTHING

KNEW NOTHING

Matthew 24:36-41 NET.

³⁶ “But as for that day and hour no one knows it — not even the angels in heaven — except the Father alone. ³⁷ For just like the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. ³⁸ For in those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. ³⁹ And they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away. It will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹There will be two women grinding grain with a mill; one will be taken and one left.

The Gospel of Matthew is about Jesus as the king and his coming Kingdom. The gospel can be divided into seven parts. The first part of Matthew explains who Jesus is and why he qualifies as the king. The final part explains why Jesus had to die on the cross. The second part, which begins in chapter 4, verse 12, describes how we can represent the coming Kingdom. That is the part that contains the sermon on the mount. The third part of Matthew explains how to spread the future Kingdom. The 4th part describes how to stay committed to the coming king. The 5th part explains how to live by the standards of the coming Kingdom. The 6th part, which contains today’s passage, tells us what we need to know about when the Kingdom will come.

Each part of Matthew’s gospel focuses on a particular sermon Jesus gave. The sermon in section 6 is in chapters 24 and 25 of the Gospel. We have been examining chapter 24 for several months now. By this time, you ought to remember the process we go through whenever we approach one of the texts in this chapter. The first thing we must establish is which question Jesus answers in this Passage. Is he talking about the destruction of Jerusalem? Or is he talking about the second coming? Or is he talking about the end of the age? Those were the three questions a disciple asked him while they left the temple into the Mount of Olives.

It is easy to find the answer to that question in today’s passage. Verse 39 says it will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man, so it is clear that Jesus is talking about his second coming here.

The principle: no one will know the timing of the second coming (36).

Many books about Bible prophecy appear to have some special knowledge about the second coming. But today’s passage teaches that that special knowledge does not exist. It says that as for that day and hour, no one knows it, not even the angels in heaven, except the Father alone.

Now, let’s get practical here. Lots of us know that Jesus is coming back. Lots of us are convinced that Jesus is coming back sooner rather than later. This world’s condition is an indicator that Jesus is coming back soon. I don’t think the fact that Jesus is coming again is what is in question here. Instead, the issue is the timing of the second coming. The principle that Jesus gives us in today’s text is that the timing of his second coming is something that no one will know. Even if you had an Angel from heaven and you grilled him about this secret he could not reveal it because he doesn’t know it. The father alone knows when the son is going to come back.

That is a good thing. All the instructions that Jesus gave us about how to live our lives as Christians representing his Kingdom assume that we are living those lives in ignorance of when he is going to come back. A life of faith demands a certain amount of unawareness. A life of faith requires that we live prepared for Christ’s second coming, not knowing exactly when it will happen. If we knew precisely when the Lord was coming back, we would be tempted to ease off on living according to his commands. The blessing on Christ’s servants is given to us because we keep working for him even though we don’t know precisely when he will return and reward us. We are blessed because we are found serving him when he returns.

The question that the disciple gave Jesus that day is, what is the sign of your coming? Jesus answered that question by telling his disciples that no one knows when he is coming. There will be no preparatory sign. When Jesus talks about his coming, he describes it as an event that will happen suddenly, and no one will be prepared for it. Possibly, the disciples wanted to know when Jesus was coming back so they could quickly prepare for it when the time came. But Jesus point is that there is no preparing for Christ second coming until it comes. There will be no pre-warning. Not even Christians will know when Christ will return. That is precisely why we need to be ready at all times on all occasions. Our master wants us to get prepared and stay prepared.

Jesus doesn’t want us to set our calendars based on our prophetic understanding and then rest until the time approaches. He wants us to live in expectation and anticipation of his return at all times. He wants us to be instant in and out of season. He wants us to represent his Kingdom at all times, not just at the end times. The New Testament frames our understanding of God’s timing in this way: we live in the last days. We don’t know how long these last days will last. But we must always be ready for the coming of the Son of Man at any time.

The precedent: it will be like the days of Noah were (37-39a).

Jesus said that his coming was going to be just like the days of Noah were. The book of Genesis describes Noah and the great flood. It tells that Noah was given the revelation that the flood would come. From then on, Noah had two jobs. He had the job of building the ark that would rescue humanity from the coming flood. He also had the job of preaching about the coming day of judgment to everyone who would listen.

So, Noah built. He built an ark. He built that ark so that it could contain all the animals that God wanted to rescue. He also built rooms in that arc for his family members. He probably also built rooms in that ark for people he desperately wanted to save. But he preached and preached. Nobody came down the aisle. Nobody wanted to be saved. God had warned of a coming day of judgment. God had set aside his messenger to proclaim that day of judgment. Noah built, and Noah preached. The ark grew more extensive, but the congregation remained the same. It was just the preacher, his wife, his three sons, and their wives. Eight people, week after week. Eight people, month after month. God planned to rescue humanity, but an entire generation ignored his plan.

They probably called Noah a lunatic, and he certainly seemed like one. He kept building and preaching, and the number in the pews remained the same.

Jesus said that his second coming would be like that, too. I’m so grateful that he didn’t mean that only eight people would be saved. He suggested that even though the gospel will be preached, people will stay eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage until the day comes, and they will miss their opportunity. Jesus is not promising that we will become famous preachers who reach many people for Christ. He’s not telling us to expect that. Instead, he tells us not to be surprised if we preach and preach and nobody cares about what we say. He’s telling us not to be surprised if the world thinks we’re crazy and sets us aside as insignificant. He’s telling us not to be surprised if the world ignores us and ignores our message.

Therefore, we should celebrate it whenever someone gives their life to Christ. A miracle has happened. A lost soul has been swept into God’s Kingdom against all odds. A generation that has learned to ignore God has produced another believer. What a miracle that is. If God has touched your life and assured you of the truth of his word, and you have put your faith in Jesus Christ according to that word, you are blessed beyond comprehension. You have been snatched not just from the flood but from the fire.

But Jesus tells us to be faithful like Noah was, even if we experience the same kind of rejection that Noah did. He does not guarantee that we will be successful. He warns us that we might not make a difference, but he calls on us to be faithful like Noah was.

Jesus said that that generation knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away. They could have known something. They could have put their faith in God’s word through his prophet Noah. But they chose to ignore him and so they knew nothing. We can know some things about the second coming of Christ. Just like Noah’s generation could have known much about what God was doing if they had listened to Noah. The tragedy is that there was something to know, but the generation chose to know nothing, so they knew nothing. We are living in such a generation today. They pride themselves on being agnostic. The word agnostic means ignorant. It means not knowing. There are people in this generation today who wear the title agnostic as if it is a badge of honor. It is not. It is a sign of shame. When God has given us his word in 66 books filled with infallible inherent knowledge, to claim to be an agnostic about God is ridiculous. Yet this generation continues to know less and less about the things that matter.

If you had been part of that generation during the days of Noah, you would have noticed the sky growing darker and the rains coming down. You might even have noticed that that boat that crazy Noah had built is now beginning to float. You might have wondered whether Noah was crazy or not. But even if your head raised your voice to the sky and cried out to the God of Noah, your prayers would not be answered. God gave that generation 100 years to listen to him. They never found the time to do that. Once the judgment began, there was no time to change their mind. The flood had come, and they had been left behind.

The purpose: we need to be ready (39b-41).

Jesus tells us that it will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man. Those who had never dared to enter the church will suddenly be interested in the Bible and the church. But it will be too late for them. There’ll be no time for church and Sunday school. There’ll be no time for preparation. The coming of the Son of Man will be a time of separation.

There will be two men in the field. One will be taken and one left. There’ll be two women grinding grain. One will be taken, and the other left. Scholars disagree over precisely what Jesus is describing here. He could be talking about the rapture. When Jesus appears in the sky and believers are caught up to be with him in the air. But he could also be talking about judgment. The people who are taken could be taken in judgment. Either way, Jesus is saying here that there will be a separation when he comes. The sheep will be separated from the goats. The wise will be separated from the foolish. The faithful will be separated from the unfaithful.

An immediate judgment will divide this world into the haves and the have-nots. Once again, there will be no time to change your status before God when Jesus returns. There will be people praying at that time, but they will be praying for the mountains to fall upon them to hide them from God’s wrath. They will be weeping in mourning over their eternal fate. They will be gnashing their teeth in anger at the God who is putting them on trial and punishing them for their sins.

But just as it was in Noah’s time, so it will be on the day when our Lord Jesus returns to this earth. The day of preparation will be over. The day of separation will come. The day of preparation is now. Tomorrow may be too late. Tonight may be too late. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the time to get ready for the coming king.

COMPLETE VICTORY

COMPLETE VICTORY

Romans 8:31-39 NET.

³¹ What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is the one who will condemn? Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us. ³⁵ Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We are in the Summer Olympic season. Athletes from all over the globe have convened in Paris to compete against others and to show their strength. Some will emerge triumphant and earn the right to stand on the podium and hear their country’s national anthem played in honor of their achievement. They will carry home Olympic medals of bronze, silver, and gold. Others will not taste victory this year, but perhaps they will have another opportunity four years from now. Even if they do not, it will be worth it just to be chosen to compete. Not everyone can be a winner in the Olympic games.

We have been looking at the gospel as described by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans. In chapter 8, Paul explains the Christian life as a major competition. We fight against trouble, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and sword. Our competitors are death, life, angels, heavenly rulers, things that are present, things to come, powers, height, depth, and anything in creation.

But there is one major difference between Christian’s battle and that of the Olympic athlete. When the Olympic athletes get into the arena and begin to warm up for the competition, they know that anything can happen. They can emerge as winners and bring pride to their country, or they can lose and bring shame. They have absolutely no guarantee of a positive outcome. Every one of their competitors is well-trained and physically fit, so they might possibly get defeated.

Not so, the faithful Christian. The principle that Paul teaches in Romans 8 is that even though we as Christians face extreme challenges in this life, we are assured complete victory in Christ. No one in Christ is ultimately a loser. In verse 37, Paul says, “In all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us!” It is not a partial victory. If your faith is genuine, your faith is enough.

Today, we are going to examine the principle that Paul teaches in this chapter by asking six questions.

What shall we say? (v. 31).

Paul asks, “What then shall we say about these things?” What things? Paul had said in verse 28 “And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” He did not say that all things are good. He said that all things work together for our good. If you look back on your life, you will probably be able to testify to some pretty terrible things that have happened to you and your family. But if you examine how you faced those calamities, you will probably also recognize that your ordeals made you a better person. You gained strength for having to deal with the crisis. You learned to work with other believers because you faced more than you could handle alone.

But Paul is saying something else here. He is pointing out that amid the severe challenges we face as believers, strength comes to us that cannot be explained by our spiritual growth or the help we get from other believers.

Tim Keller summarizes this principle well: “For the believer, there can never be any condemnation by, nor separation from, their heavenly Father. Why? Because of the work of his Son on the cross and the work of his Spirit in our hearts.”[1] Our experience as believers facing life’s challenges is the outworking of God’s plan for our lives. Three things will never change according to that plan. We have a relationship with God the Father that will never change. What Jesus has done for us on the cross will never change. The power we access because of the Holy Spirit’s presence within us will never change.

Who can be against us? (v. 31).

These three constants in our lives are why we can ask who would dare be against us. God is for us, and he is supreme. There is no challenge we can face that can undo the will of God. We are like the team captain on the playground who gets to choose the first player on his team. Who does that captain choose? He chooses the most significant player. He wants the most vital, most intimidating team member. He knows that the game will always come out in his favor if he chooses the right team member.

So, Paul asks, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” If God is on our team, it does not matter who is on the opposing team. Pharaoh can bring his entire army with all their chariots. It does not matter. There can even be a Red Sea between us and the victory. It does not matter. If the sea is in the way, God can part the sea.

If God is on our side, our numbers don’t matter. Gideon can turn hundreds of soldiers away. “Sorry, your services are not required for this battle because God is fighting for us.” Elijah can stand alone against all the prophets of Baal because he is not alone. God is on his side and can defeat Elijah’s enemies with or without Elijah.

How will He not give us all? (v. 32).

Paul says, “Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?” If you need a contribution, you do not look for it from a stingy person. A stingy person is likely to shut his door in your face. So, if you need help, you go to a generous person—someone who has shown kindness to you in the past.

What Paul is getting at in verse 32 is that God has already shown his generous disposition toward us by giving his own Son on the cross for our sins. There is no more excellent gift in all the universe than that. So, now that we need help living the Christian life and having victory over life’s challenges, should we expect God to shut his door in our faces? Absolutely not. If he gave us Jesus, will he not provide us with everything else we need? Oh, yes, he will. Our God is not stingy. If ever we have not it is because we ask not.

Who will bring a charge? (v. 33).

In a court of law, the prosecution brings charges against the defendant. The defense seeks to get the defendant acquitted of all charges. They never bring charges against the defendant because that is not their role. Paul says in verse 33, “Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” The world, the flesh, and the devil are your enemies. They work for the prosecution. They are going to find all kinds of charges and accusations against you. But God is on the other side. He saw it when you applied the blood of Christ to your sins. He declared you justified from that point on. There is, therefore, now no condemnation.

Who will condemn us? (v. 34).

Paul says, “Who is the one who will condemn? Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us.” Not only did Jesus pour out his life’s blood on the cross for you, but he is also now pouring out prayers of intercession for you. He didn’t go to heaven and forget you. He is still fighting for you at the Father’s right hand.

So, no matter what we face, we have a defense team in heaven that does not seek to condemn us but to support us during the challenges we face.

Joni Eareckson Tada is no stranger to difficulty. A tragic accident as a young adult disabled her during her entire life and ministry. Her attitude about facing trials is this: “We are the Lord’s, and He will not forsake us. We are assured that God will be with us through whatever difficulty we face.”[2]

Who will separate us? (35).

Paul asks, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” No, none of these things are designed to separate us from our defense team.

Ray Ortlund says, “Certainty in the love of God is how the gospel makes heroes out of ordinary sinners. Life is mean. It is hard to bear. But real life does not mean that God no longer cares. In it all, we move forward not as victims but as victors because everything happening to us, while not necessarily good in itself, is working for our good and is guided by God’s love. The love of God is the key to the narrative of our lives. Your life is a love story! So stop thinking of yourself as a victim. You are more than a victor. Your real life just happens to be the vehicle God is using to bring you to splendor. Your sufferings do not define you; the love of God defines you.”[3]

Jacob met up with God and got into a fight with him. He realized who he was wrestling with and he said, “I’m not letting you go until you bless me.” This was a sign of spiritual maturity for Jacob. He could have turned away from God and tried to live his way. But he understood that if his life were going to be blessed, it would have to come from God, not himself. So, he hung on to God. All the while, God was hanging on to him. That’s how the Christian life works. Physically, Jacob came away from that fight with a limp – an injury. But spiritually, he came away blessed and strengthened.

The Apostle Paul struggled with God and came away blind for a time. But he was blessed with spiritual insight that still astounds his readers today. The principle he teaches in today’s text is simple: God will finish what he started. You will struggle in this life, but that does not mean you can be defeated. If you are a believer, a gold medal is waiting for you to claim. Complete victory is yours. Nothing can separate us from that victory.

[1] Keller, Timothy. Romans 8-16 for You. The Good Book Company, 2015. P. 7.

[2] Klicka, Christopher J., and Joni Eareckson Tada. Power Perfected in Weakness: The Journal of Christopher J. Klicka. Shepherd Press, 2010. P. 23.

[3] Ortlund, Raymond C. Supernatural Living for Natural People: Studies in Romans 8. Christian Focus, 2001. P. 168.

IT IS NEAR

IT IS NEAR

Matthew 24:32-35 NET.

³² “Learn this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near, right at the door. ³⁴ I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

We continue studying Jesus’ teachings about the last days in Matthew, chapters 24 and 25. I have enjoyed these sermons perhaps a little more than usual. They center around the subject matter that all of us are interested in, and they tend to reveal differences in how people understand the end times. I have also mentioned many misunderstandings about this topic, and it feels good to set the record straight.

God has given us in his word everything we need to know to prepare us for everything that will happen. He has not satisfied every little facet of our curiosity. There still are some things that we do not know – that we will not know. But there still are many things that we should know, that we can know, but we have failed to recognize.

That’s why we should study Jesus’ teachings first. The teachings we get from the apostles in the New Testament epistles are true, but they are mostly incidental. They touch on the issues of the end times incidentally because they relate to something else they are teaching. But Jesus’ end-time discourse in Matthew 24 and 25 is directly designed to answer questions that the disciples had about the end times.

Of course, I have to have a caveat here. I have already explained a few times that there was more than one thing that the disciples asked Jesus. Particularly, they asked Jesus when the destruction of Jerusalem was going to happen, when the second coming was going to happen, and when the end of the age would happen. All those questions are combined into one, and a disciple asked Jesus those questions in Matthew 24, verse 3. One of the reasons people are confused about what Jesus said about the last time is that they confuse an answer Jesus is giving about something else.

Today’s passage is one of those passages which has been greatly misunderstood and greatly abused. I have to confess that I have often mistranslated it and misunderstood it because of other people’s mistranslations. But today is an opportunity for me to set the record straight. I am once again going to show you a mistranslation in the text that I read. Once again, the mistranslation hides the true meaning of Jesus’ words. So, I am not nitpicking. We must understand the text that we have and what it is saying.

Once we understand what Jesus says in this chapter and chapter 25, we will have a practical road map to understanding where we are in God’s prophetic timetable. That will help us avoid some of the disastrous misunderstandings and fears caused by false understandings or deceptions. So, let’s start with the text.

the fig tree parable (32).

Jesus begins with a command for his disciples, which is a command for them to learn something from a parable. Jesus did a lot of teaching using parables. They are helpful because they illustrate a teaching that Jesus is giving. Jesus tells his disciples that they should learn something so that they would understand what he is teaching. He invites them to look at a fig tree in their mind’s eye. He invites them to watch as that fig tree blossoms and blooms and prepares to produce fruit. But before the fig tree produces any fruit, it will grow leaves. Its branch will become tender. The tree itself will become transformed to yield fruit. That transformation is visible. It can be seen by people who are observing the tree.

Jesus tells us that when a fig tree begins to transform, it is a sign that summer is near. That’s the nature of the parable. The disciples had asked for signs and Jesus gave them a sign. But Jesus was not giving them one of the signs they asked for. They asked for signs of Jesus coming and the end of the age. The fig tree is not one of those signs. It has nothing to do with the second coming or the end of the age. Jesus had already told the disciples that there would be many signs of the end of the age and that all of them would not point to the end of the age. They would merely be signs that the age was going on. But this fig tree parable is about signs that something is about to happen. This is our first clue that Jesus is not talking about his second coming in this passage. He is not speaking in this passage about the end of the age.

The fig tree parable would naturally lead the disciples to think about the fig tree that Jesus had just cursed. In chapter 21, we read: “Now early in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry. After noticing a fig tree by the road, he went to it but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “Never again will there be fruit from you!” And the fig tree withered at once” (Matthew 21:18-19). This event took place in the same city and at about the same time as Jesus teaching that we are studying. It would have been fresh on the disciples’ minds. So, when Jesus said learn from the fig tree, it would be that fig tree that they would think about.

It would also remind them of a parable Jesus taught about a fig tree. That parable is found in Luke chapter 13: “Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So, he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For three years now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it I find none. Cut it down! Why should it continue to deplete the soil?’ But the worker answered him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year too, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. Then if it bears fruit next year, very well, but if not, you can cut it down.'”” (Luke 13:6-9). Jesus used this parable to teach that he had expected the nation of Israel to bear fruit, but it was barren. So, when he cursed the fig tree, he was pronouncing a judgment on the generation that failed to recognize him and serve him as their king.

The fig tree generation (34).

Jesus said in verse 34 that this generation will not pass away until all these things occur. The words “generation” and “these things” are clues to what Jesus is talking about. The words “these things” are the exact words that the disciples used when they asked when the destruction of Jerusalem was going to take place. They said, ‘When will these things happen?” So, Jesus is giving a time frame for the destruction of Jerusalem. He’s saying that it’s going to take place within one generation. A generation is 40 years. So, Jesus is just as literal as he can be in answering the question the disciples asked first. If the disciples had asked for a sign, Jesus would have said this present generation is your sign.

Now, I have to tell you that there is a lot of deception and misinformation about this passage and the end times. People teach that there’s going to be a new temple built in Jerusalem. They teach that that temple is going to be defiled by the Antichrist. They teach that when Jesus talked about the generation in Matthew 24, he referred to that event in the near future. Nope. There doesn’t have to be a building of a new temple. There does not have to be a new desolation of the temple. This has all already taken place. It took place in 70 AD. It does not have to retake place. It is not a sign of the coming age. It’s not something that has to take place during some seven-year tribulation in our future. From Jesus’ standpoint, it was the future, but from our standpoint, it is the past. The generation that Jesus was talking about was the generation that had rejected him. That rejection was going to lead to the destruction of Jerusalem.

What Jesus was guaranteeing for his disciples was that they would live to see this destruction. It makes absolutely no sense to take Jesus’ words and make them into a prophecy of destruction 2000 years later. Not only did Jesus promise his disciples that those things would begin to happen, but he also said that all these things would take place within that one generation. That means no aspect of this prophecy in this section of Matthew 24 is yet to be fulfilled. By saying that, I go up against the standard orthodox understanding of today’s text. I even expose a mistranslation in this text as I did the text that we look like at last time. Let’s take a look at that promise.

The fig tree promise (33, 35).

Verse 33 in the NET that I read this morning says, “So also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near, right at the door. That sounds very much like a promise of Christ’s second coming. A great deal of the meaning of this text depends on the meaning of a pronoun that is not there in the original. The word “he” in this text is not in the original Greek. The translators assume the word “he” not because of the existence of a pronoun but because of a third-person singular verb. Greek verbs can be parsed according to five elements: tense, voice, mood, person, and number. So, the verb in question in verse 33 is “to be.” The form is ἐστιν. That’s present tense, active voice, indicative mood, third person, and singular number. But verbs do not indicate gender. In other words, ἐστιν can mean “he is” or “she is” or “it is.” The gender is a matter of interpretation. It must be inferred from the context.

I have already shown from the context that Jesus was answering the disciple’s question about the destruction of Jerusalem. All of the clues we are looking at point toward that question. The fig tree in verse 32 is a clue and it points to Israel. The phrase “these things” in verse 33 points to the question about the destruction of Jerusalem in Matthew 24:3. The reference to a generation in verse 34 sets a time limit to this text that does not apply to the question of the age and its limits or to the coming of Christ.

Jesus predicts that the destruction of Jerusalem will happen in their lifetime. But then he says that when they see it happening, they should be assured that something else is near. What is the “it” that Jesus says is near? The text in Matthew does not tell us. Thankfully, we have more than one record of Jesus’ last days discourse. Luke explains what the “it” is. He writes, “So also you, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near” (Luke 21:31). The “it” which is near is the kingdom of God. That sounds like Jesus is saying that he’s going to come back soon after the destruction of Jerusalem. But he is not. He is telling his disciples not to be discouraged when they see this tragic event. He wants them to look beyond it to the reality of the coming of the kingdom at the end of the age. From a prophetic standpoint, it is near always.

It is true that when Jesus said his words will never pass away, it applies to many other things. But the promise he makes in this section is that Jerusalem will be destroyed in the disciple’s lifetime. We have no right to hijack this passage and make it say something specific about the second coming. We are responsible for declaring what the Bible says, not what we want it to say. I’m sure a lot of us have misused today’s text. Maybe we have memorized the verse that says Jesus is near, even at the door. It is so comforting to believe that. But our responsibility in preaching the gospel is not to preach what we want but what the word of God says.

Many people, for example, have great respect and appreciation for the King James Bible. My first Bible was a KJV, and I wore it out! But I saw a video this week where a preacher said he could correct the Greek from the King James. No, he can’t. The King James Version is a translation. The Greek New Testament is the original. No matter how much we might appreciate a particular translation, our loyalty is to the original. No matter how comfortable and encouraged we feel about a specific phrase or way of saying something, it has to go if it is not accurate based on the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek scriptures. We are not responsible for telling people what we want or even what they want to hear. We are responsible for telling people what God has said.

The comfort we can receive from today’s text is that our Lord Jesus Christ is a 100% true prophet. He predicted the destruction of Jerusalem with 100% accuracy. If his words of prophecy have proven to be accurate, then we can trust his commands. What he tells us to do, we can do with absolute confidence. When he tells us to be ready for his second coming because he will come again, we can bank on that. As we look at the larger passage of Matthew chapters 24 and 25, we get accurate, detailed instructions telling us to prepare for Jesus, who is coming back physically, literally, and gloriously. Those words are not going to pass away. Heaven and earth will pass away but all Jesus’ promises will not. They are going to be fulfilled.

The question for you and for me is, will we be ready when our Lord comes back? I cannot promise you that he will come back in your lifetime, but neither can I promise you that you will live for another hour. This may be the last hour the Lord gives you in your life. So, for all of us, the question is not when Jesus might come, but will we be ready for him when he does come?

THEY WILL SEE

THEY WILL SEE

Matthew 24:29-31 NET.

²⁹ “Immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. ³⁰Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

We first started looking at Matthew 24 last month. I promised to spend several sermons on what Jesus taught his disciples in this chapter. He was answering specific questions that his disciples gave him. They had been impressed by the fantastic buildings in the Jerusalem temple. But Jesus told them that the temple would soon be destroyed. They could not imagine such an event happening. So, the disciples were curious. They were also convinced that if the Jerusalem temple were destroyed, it would have to be the end of the world. Jesus knew that the temple would be destroyed, and he predicted that it would happen within one generation of when he predicted it. Guess what? It occurred within one generation of when he predicted it.

But Jesus also knew that the destruction of the Jerusalem temple was not going to be the end of the world. He knew that there would be an entire age that would take place between the destruction of the temple and the end of the world. So, he warned his disciples about that long age that had to take place before the 2nd coming. He said it would be an age of warfare. He said it would be an age of natural disasters. The only good thing he said about this age is that the gospel would be proclaimed during this age.

Today, we pick up the discussion that Jesus is having with his disciples about the three questions. But before I get to the details of what Jesus is saying, there’s one more thing I have to cover.

First, a mistranslation!

Yes, that’s right. There is a mistranslation in the passage I read in this morning’s hearing. It is a very common mistranslation. That is unfortunate because it flavors everything that is said in this passage. It covers up everything that Jesus meant when he was speaking to his disciples that day. That’s how important it is to understand the correct translation of this particular word. The word appears once in verse 29. It appears twice in verse 30. It appears again in verse 31. So, it appears four times in three verses. It means the same thing every time. Unfortunately, it is mistranslated four times in today’s passage.

The word is οὐρανός in Greek. It means sky. Some modern translations pick up on this, but many, like the NET, fail to translate the word correctly. Instead, they translate the word heaven. Sometimes, the word does mean heaven. Sometimes, it means sky. To translate the word correctly, you must be aware of the context. The context of these verses is Jesus’ discourse, answering the disciples’ question about the sign of the coming of Jesus. For the sign to be seen by people on earth, it must occur in the sky, not in heaven. If the sign takes place in heaven, we down here on earth will not see it.

Verse 29 says the stars will fall from the sky. That is where the stars are. It also says that the powers in the sky will shake. Again, that is not about shaking up the powers of heaven. It’s about a sign that will take place in the sky. Verse 30 says the sign of the son of man will appear in the sky. That appearance in the sky will cause all the tribes of the earth to mourn. They will mourn because they will see the son of man arriving on the sky’s clouds with power and great glory. Heaven does not have clouds.

This is the same Son of Man that they rejected. They’re not going to see a vision of heaven. They will see what’s taking place in the sky above them. Verse 31 says that Jesus will send his angels to gather his chosen ones From one end of the sky to the other. He’s not gathering them from heaven. He’s gathering them from the earth. The ones doing the gathering are the angels coming from the four corners of the sky. So, now that we have cleared up the translation issue let’s talk about the interpretation of this text.

second, a reminder

I mentioned that in this chapter Jesus is answering some questions that the disciples had about prophecy. Jesus had just prophesied that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. The disciples asked three questions based on that prediction. Those questions are listed in Matthew 24, verse 3. The questions are these: (1) When will the temple in Jerusalem be destroyed? (2) When will the sign of Jesus coming happen? (3) When will the sign of the end of the age happen? I mentioned before that Jesus answers these questions in no particular order. So, we must look at the context of Jesus’ statements to understand which questions he is answering.

For example, when Jesus said in verse six, “The end is still to come,” he was giving his disciples a clue as to which question he was answering at that time. He was talking about the end of the age. When he said in verse 14 that the gospel would be preached to all nations and then the end would come, that was another clue that he was answering the question about the end of the age.

But when he started talking about the holy place in Jerusalem in verse 15, it was clear that he was answering the question about when Jerusalem would be destroyed.

When he said in verse 27 that the coming of the Son of Man would be like lightning coming from the east, he was clearly talking about the question of when his coming would be.

third, an answer

Today’s text has been misunderstood by many because Jesus talks about something that will happen after a time of suffering. But Jesus had mentioned two times of suffering. He mentioned the time of intense suffering for those around Jerusalem that would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem. But he had also mentioned a long age in which much suffering would take place over and over again. So, the question is, what tribulation is Jesus talking about in today’s passage?

History can answer that question. Did the son of man appear in the sky immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem? No? Then, Jesus is not talking about the tribulation of the Jews. He’s talking about the great tribulation. This is the age in which we are now living and in which we will experience wars and famines and pestilences and persecutions time and time again. This age will not end until Jesus comes back. That is when the world’s population will see the son of man arriving on the sky’s clouds. That is when the angels will gather the chosen ones.

fourth, a reason

Now, many teach that Jesus is going to come secretly. This is another passage of scripture that teaches against that doctrine. I ask you, can the sun be darkened and nobody notice it? Can we have a lunar eclipse, and no one pays attention? Can all the stars in the sky fall without anyone recognizing it? Can all the powers of the sky be shaken and the world not notice?

Also, verse 30 tells us that when the son of man appears, all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They can’t mourn if they don’t notice that he has come. Why are they mourning? They are mourning because they have rejected Jesus and taught others to reject Jesus. They taught that Jesus was a myth. They taught that he was an ordinary human being. They taught that he was not God’s only Son. Now, the Son of Man is arriving on the sky’s clouds. Now, they realize that everything the churches had been teaching is true. They know it is too late to pledge their loyalty to Christ. The Son has come, and they will not be left behind. They are found out. God had set up his king, and they had been living in rebellion against him.

There is another reason why Jesus must come back in the sky’s clouds. He is the bridegroom, and it is time for his wedding day. He approaches as the great bridegroom. He sends his angels to gather all those who will take part in the wedding celebration. Not one of those whose names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life will miss that great day of celebration.

The angels will gather them from the four winds. They will go east and West. They will go North and South. Everyone ready will be brought to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Even those who have died will be raised on this occasion. Jesus promised to raise us on the last day (John 6). The apostle Paul said that the Lord would come down from heaven with a shout of command with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ would rise first. We who are alive who are left will be suddenly caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, so we will always be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). It will be a rapture, but it will not be a secret. The tribes of the earth will see the Bride of Christ being gathered For the great wedding feast.

Meanwhile, the world that rejected Christ will gather together to battle against him. This is the battle of Armageddon. Believers will not participate in this battle because we will have already been caught up in the air to celebrate the marriage supper of the Lamb. This will happen openly. The world’s leaders—recognizing that Christ has come to destroy them—will try to destroy him. But the same trumpet that has called us to celebrate with Christ will also call the angels to wage war against the unbelieving world.

So, Jesus is telling his disciples that his coming will be public and that it will begin destroying all his enemies and remaking the universe. But his point is the same as it was before. Now is the time to prepare for Christ’s second coming. When he actually comes, there will be no time to prepare. Now is the time to make up our minds about Christ because when he comes again, there will be no time to change your mind.

The disciples had asked about signs. They wanted to know what the sign of Christ’s coming would be. They wanted to know the sign of the end of the age. Both of those are wrong questions because there will be no sign. Christ is coming back suddenly. This age is going to end suddenly.

The time to pledge your loyalty to God’s chosen king is today. It will be too late once he starts coming in the clouds of the sky. Once he starts coming in the clouds of the sky, all those who have failed to pledge their loyalty to God’s king will be counted as traitors. Now is the time to make the choice. Those who fail to make their choice now will regret their failure later. Those who are in Christ will experience the glory of God. Those who fail to claim Christ as their king will experience the wrath of God. Brothers and sisters, make sure you are on the right side.