Jefferson Vann

WISE?

WISE?

Matthew 25:1-13 NET.

¹ “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of the virgins were foolish, and five were wise. ³ When the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take extra olive oil with them. ⁴ But the wise ones took flasks of olive oil with their lamps. ⁵ When the bridegroom was delayed a long time, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. ⁶ But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ ‘No,’ they replied. ‘There won’t be enough for you and for us. Go instead to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ But while they had gone to buy it, the bridegroom arrived, and those who were ready went inside with him to the wedding banquet. Then the door was shut. ¹¹Later, the other virgins came too, saying, ‘Lord, lord! Let us in!’ ¹² But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I do not know you!’ ¹³ Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Chapter 25 of Matthew’s Gospel consists of three parables that Jesus taught on the same occasion as his teachings about his second coming. We will not find much new instruction in this chapter, but we will find some helpful illustrations about how to obey the commands that Jesus gave in chapter 24.

The command is to Stay Alert (13).

The command is the same as the one Jesus gave in 24:42-43. The reason for the command is the same. Jesus tells us that his coming will be sudden, and there will be no advance warning. That is why his servants must always be ready for him to arrive.

I won’t spend much time elaborating on this because I have already done that. Today’s text gives us another illustration. He used a parable to do that.

· Parables are not a topic themselves. They were used to illustrate and explain something that had already been taught.

· The word parable means something placed alongside to explain. It is based on the combination of the Greek verb ballō, which means to place or through something, and the preposition para, which means alongside.

He tells a story about ten young ladies waiting to attend a party. The parable explains what it means to stay alert and be ready for Christ’s return.

· Not everyone is as ready as she thinks she is. All the young ladies thought they were prepared for the big party, but only some were. For parties, that does not really matter. But for the second coming, it matters. We cannot afford to be unprepared for that. The problem these five foolish virgins had was thinking that they had plenty of time to get their lives in order. They didn’t. They thought they were OK, but they were not.

· The thoughtless had lamps, but they started going out. Some people trust their ministries to get them into the party. Jesus had told his disciples that they were the light of the world. The lamps seem to speak to that reality. But sharing God’s glory by influencing the world around us is not our qualification. Nobody does enough for their works to count toward their eternal destiny.

The wise virgins kept shining (8-10).

· The Christian life is a marathon, not a short sprint. We all know people who make great starts trying to live the Christian life but then get sidetracked by some failure. The intelligent virgins in Jesus’ story were ready to wait for as long as it took. They did not have a plan B. The thoughtless virgins were OK with waiting for a while, but if the party were delayed too long, they would think of other options. Like Sarah, in the Old Testament, when the promised baby did not come, she introduced her maid, Hagar, into the picture—lousy choice. We must stick with plan A, no matter how long it takes.

I also see in the story that there was a time when all of the ladies waiting fell asleep. I can’t prove it, but I think Jesus was alluding to death here. The Bible often refers to death as sleep. We all have a limited time to invest ourselves in the Lord’s work because our lifespans are limited. We are mortal. If there is something we can do for our Lord to reach the lost with his gospel, then we had better not put it off. After we die, our time to shine will be over.

The wise virgins knew the Lord (11-12)

· The real difference is not the oil but the relationship. Some people get hung up on the symbol. I’ve been taught all my life that oil was a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and it was. But in this parable, the oil stands for the preparation itself. When the bridegroom explained why he was denying them entrance, he didn’t blame it on their lack of oil. He said he didn’t know them. The question we should be asking is not what we can bring to the party. The question is will the host recognize us?

It isn’t even whether we know the Lord. The foolish virgins thought they knew the host of the party. But he didn’t know them. Our theology is what we think we know about the Lord. Our standing is based on what he knows about us. We can have an immaculate theology and be evil people inside. What matters is what Jesus knows about us.

· Those who were ready went in, and the door was shut. This tells me that the grace the LORD offers us today to come to him is a limited-time offer. If we fail to respond to his invitation today, we will not get a second chance on the coming day.

Here are some practical suggestions for living ready today:

Invest yourself in the coming kingdom. Jesus gave another parable – that of the talents — to encourage us to invest ourselves in the kingdom that will appear when the king does.

We invest in the kingdom by getting into the word of God, which describes it.
We invest in the kingdom by fellowshipping with the King.
We invest in the kingdom by fellowshipping with other kingdom citizens.

Serve Christ by serving others. The parable of the talents and that of the sheep & goats encourage us to serve others and meet other people’s needs. That is one way to prepare for eternity. The light shining from our lamps is light that helps others to see the God we belong to.

Resist shortcuts to righteousness. The intelligent virgins were willing to pay the full price of admission. They knew they would only have one chance of joining the party, so they invested in the extra oil they would need to be ready when the bridegroom appeared.

Eliminate distractions. In the parable of the sower, Jesus taught that some people would make a good start in the kingdom but then be sidetracked by other desires and worries. The intelligent virgins stayed on target.

Be real. The parable of the sheep & goats shows us that not everyone who looks and sounds like an authentic Christian is really an authentic Christian. In fact, there was a long period when all ten virgins appeared to be ready for the party.

Sometimes, Jesus’s words are designed to comfort the troubled, and sometimes, they are designed to trouble the comfortable. I hope you have been troubled this morning; I know I have. Let’s recommit ourselves to living ready for our Lord’s return.

LORD, we are in this for as long as it takes. We commit ourselves to living ready today and every day until you burst through the clouds. Show us how to make ourselves ready for your coming kingdom.

ALIENATED

ALIENATED

Isaiah 59:1-2 NET.

¹ Look, the LORD’s hand is not too weak to deliver you; his ear is not too deaf to hear you. ² But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God; your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.

Here are three dictionary definitions of a word. Can you determine what the word is?

a situation, question, or thing that causes difficulty, stress, or doubt.
a statement or equation that requires a solution.
a thing that is difficult to deal with or to understand.

The word is problem. Isaiah, the prophet, spoke to a nation with a problem. They seemed to have lost the ability to contact God. Their ancestors had known God and communicated with him. He even rescued them when they needed it. But Isaiah’s nation had lost the ability to connect with their creator. It was a problem for them. It even seemed like an unsolvable problem. But two things cannot exist in the same universe: an Almighty God and an unsolvable problem.

God is not the problem (1).

Isaiah’s people had considered that there must be some problem with their God. Perhaps he had gotten too old and worn out and could no longer do the miracles he had done in the past. Or maybe he had lost the ability to hear their prayers. Maybe they should go shopping for a new God. This old one does not seem to function anymore. Maybe they can go to Walmart and see if there’s a sale on the latest gods. Perhaps they should check the nations around them and see if they are having better luck with their gods. Yes, it appears to be time for a change.

But Isaiah said whoa. Before you change gods like you’re putting on a new pair of shoes, you had better check and see if God is your problem. Changing gods and discovering you still have the same situation would be embarrassing.

Isaiah knows that God is not the problem. He knows what our theologians keep discovering, generation after generation. He knows the truth encapsulated in the prayer that some of us learned to pray at meals when we were small children: God is great, and God is good.

One of the traditional ways for theologians to describe God has been to use negative statements. In other words, God is described by pointing out who and what he is not. He is immeasurable, immutable, and immortal. Or, to put it in one word: He is infinite. Scientists sometimes

speak of space as infinite, but only because they lack the means to measure its immensity. The evidence from scripture reveals that God is infinite by nature. Even if it were possible to measure the vastness of space, God’s measurements would still be outside and beyond it.

For explanation purposes, we theologians sometimes convert these negative statements into positive ones. In doing so, we sacrifice accuracy, but we do so to express our faith in the One we

are trying to define. The positive definitions of God’s being resulting from this conversion are omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent.

To say that God is omnipresent is to recognize that he exists everywhere simultaneously.

To say that God is omniscient is to recognize that he knows everything – everything that was, is now, and will be in the future.

To say that he is omnipotent is to recognize that he is all-powerful. He never gets weak or wears out. Isaiah reminded his people of that truth when he said the LORD’s hand was not too weak to deliver them.

But God is not only great, but he is also good. He not only can save us, but he also inclines to do so because he has compassion for us. The Bible describes the Lord’s goodness in Exodus 34:6-7, where he is described as compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, keeping loyal love and forgiving.

He is compassionate. He is more aware of our sins than we are. Yet he has chosen within the depths of his goodness to forego punishing us as we deserve because he wants the best for us.

He is gracious. He gives constant blessings and undeserved favors out of his supply of graciousness.

He is slow to anger. God can be angered by the wrongs so often manifested in this rebellious world, but his anger is under control.

He abounds in loyal love. It is the stubborn, relentless devotion to his

own people that led God to rescue them from bondage in Egypt powerfully.

He abounds in faithfulness. He is faithful to himself. He is a firm and solid rock because he never wavers from one position to another. What

is true about him remains true about him. In theological terms, he is immutable. In practical terms, he can be trusted.

He will keep his loyal love. We can trust our children to him just as much as we trust ourselves in his hands.

He forgives. The gods of the nations usually only offer the opportunity for sinners to make up for their sins through gifts, rituals, or acts of penance. The LORD actively bears the punishment for the sins himself. That is forgiveness. He can offer such lavish grace because he has already paid the price of all humanity’s sins by the death of Christ on Calvary’s cross.

Isaiah reminded his people that their God is good. His ears are not deaf to their cries. There is a problem, but it isn’t God.

Sin is the problem (2).

Isaiah tells his people that their sinful acts have alienated them from their God. God is still as strong as he has ever been, but the connection that the Israelites had with God has been severed. Sin has cut the cord. If the cord is cut, no power will get to the motor. It won’t start. It won’t run. All the engine pieces may still be there, but the energy that makes the whole thing work is gone.

Alienation happens when something separates a person from another person or a group from another group. A wall has separated the Israelites from their God. They cannot scale that wall or burst through it. God hears them trying to live normally on the other side of the wall. It isn’t working. They have to overcome the barrier, but they don’t know how. The wall is not God. The wall is their sin. Because of their sin, God has rejected them. He still hears them. He can’t not hear them. But he is not listening to their prayers.

They cannot undo the wall with their hands because they built it with their hands. Isaiah goes on to say that their hands are stained with blood, and their fingers are stained with sin.

They cannot undo the wall by saying something because everything they say is building it. Their lips speak lies, and their tongues utter malicious words.

They have been busy like poisonous snakes, hatching eggs to make more poisonous snakes. They have been busy spinning spiders’ webs to trap others like they are trapped. They have been busy with violent acts and don’t even know what peace is. They wait for the light, but it never comes. They only see darkness.

As I said before, two things cannot exist in the same universe: an Almighty God and an unsolvable problem. If the people cannot save themselves, then God, who is both great and good, must save them.

God has provided a Solution (20).

“A protector comes to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds,” says the LORD.

Notice three things about this protector that the Lord says will come to Zion. First, he says the protector will come to Zion. The protector will not come from Zion. The solution will come from the other side of the wall. No one has ever been saved by deciding to do better. You can decide to do better every day of your life and still die in your sins. God does not have two solutions to our alienation problem. He doesn’t say, “Y’all try your best, and I’ll help a little if needed.” No, if salvation will happen, it has to come from outside us.

Many of the world’s religions are based on the idea of self-help. They tell us to get in touch with our inner selves and find help that way. But the Bible tells us that “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way that leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25).

We cannot save ourselves. We cannot even help ourselves. But God is our helper and savior. He promised through the prophet Isaiah to send a protector. The Hebrew word is גּוֹאֵל, which means a reclaimer. That is a significant word to use in this context because the problem the Israelites had was that they had been alienated from God (verse 2). The word for alienated is used in Genesis to separate light from the darkness. When God was creating, he divided the day of time into day and night. He used light as a divider. When it was night, it was not day because there was no light. When it was day, it was not night because the light was shining.

The problem the Israelites had was that they were separated from God. They were the darkness, and he was the light. The only way for them to become light again was for God to reclaim them. Isaiah says that God is going to do that by sending a reclaimer. He was going to come into the darkness and bring the light with him so that the people would have the opportunity to get back into God’s light.

Notice what the Israelites had to do to be reclaimed. It was not automatic. The one who is coming will only reclaim “those in Jacob who repent of their rebellious deeds.” The light will come, but the Israelites will have to decide whether or not they want to walk in the light. If they remain in darkness, they will remain alienated, no matter who their ancestors were.

Our communion meditation this morning continues the same theme and is based on John’s words in one of his letters:

“…the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. The one who says he is in the light but still hates his fellow Christian is still in the darkness. The one who loves his fellow Christian resides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his fellow Christian is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:8-11 NET).

We move in time a few centuries from the prophet Isaiah’s time to that of the apostles. The reclaimer has already come to Israel. He was the light that came into the world and he came to reconcile all people to God, not just the children of Jacob. So, John tells us that if we are Christians, the world will know it.

The apostle says that there are two things that a Christian does. A Christian says he is in the light. That’s the first thing. This morning, we confess that we are in the light by taking these emblems representing the world’s reclaimer. By taking this bread, we acknowledge that Christ’s body was put to death for us to reclaim us for God. By taking this cup, we confess that Christ’s blood was shed for our forgiveness, to rescue us from the darkness of sin, and to reclaim us for the light of God.

The second thing that the apostle says a Christian does is reside in the light. It’s the proof that our confession is real. John says we prove the reality of our confession by loving one another.

FATHER, give us the courage and wisdom to love one another as Christians and prove our confession of Christ. We want to be authentic. We want to walk in the light to prove that Jesus is the light of the world. In His name, we pray, Amen.

‎

ALL LIVES

ALL LIVES

Ezekiel 18:1-4 NET.

¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ² “What do you mean by quoting this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers eat sour grapes And the children’s teeth become numb?’ ³ “As surely as I live, declares the sovereign LORD, you will not quote this proverb in Israel anymore! ⁴ Indeed! All lives are mine — the life of the father as well as the life of the son is mine. The one who sins will die.”

It is very easy for us to go from day to day just looking at the world from our perspective. We are born into this world looking at it from our perspective. As we grow older, hopefully, we mature. Part of maturing is learning to look at things from other people’s perspectives. We learn to be considerate of others. That means we think of how our actions affect them: how they see us. Developing ways of seeing our world from other people’s perspectives is helpful and healthy. Sometimes we cannot see things clearly when focusing on how things affect us.

The Prophets in the Old Testament allow us to do the same thing on a higher level. They are written in order to give us God’s perspective. They help us to see things from God’s point of view. This is exactly why so many people avoid reading the Prophets. They are bothersome because they reveal how selfish and inconsiderate we can be. They reveal how wrong we are when we live our normal lives not considering that there is a heaven above us where God lives. We are accountable to him but don’t see him, so it is easy to live our lives as if he doesn’t exist.

This is called practical atheism. None of us would dare proclaim that we are atheists, but we often live as if there is no God above us to whom we are accountable. The people to whom the Prophets wrote lived like that. It was the Prophets’ job to slap them on the face and get them to wake up to a reality that they were ignoring: the reality of God’s existence and their accountability to him.

The Prophets were God’s mouthpiece. They received words from God and communicated those words to the people. Sometimes those words were words of comfort and consolation. When the people were hurting, God wanted them to know that he was aware of their plight and cared for them. He wanted them to know that help was on the way. The Prophets had the happy role of sharing the good news from God.

But the Prophets had another role as well. When the people were disobedient—when they were sinning and not living by God’s standards—the Prophets had the task of calling them to account. They had to share the bad news as well as the good news. They had to speak for God when God was angry at his people. They had to warn the people of the danger of God’s wrath.

Since the people were constantly straying away from God’s will and breaking their covenant with him, nobody wanted to see the Prophet. If the Prophet was walking down the street, the people would turn and walk the other way. They did not want to be reminded of their sin and unfaithfulness. They were comfortable thinking and living by their own standards and did not like to be held accountable for how different those standards were compared to how God thought and lived.

This is the world in which the Prophet Ezekiel lived. He was one of the people himself. He was just as guilty of looking at life from his perspective. So, before God could speak through him to his people, God often had to correct Ezekiel for his failures. That is what is going on in today’s text.

God’s question (2).

Ezekiel had been fond of quoting a proverb. It was not something Ezekiel made up. You can find the same proverb referred to in Jeremiah 31:29. It was a saying that people were familiar with. It said that the fathers ate sour grapes, and that caused their children to get numb teeth. What the fathers did changed the lives of their children.

As sayings go, it was not necessarily wrong. It could remind someone that their choices could affect their children’s lives. It could be a way of stopping yourself from doing something that might have negative consequences for those who come after you.

But that is not why people quoted that proverb in Ezekiel’s time. In Ezekiel’s time, people quoted that proverb as an excuse for not living up to God’s standards. They would live unrighteous, unfaithful lives and quote that proverb to blame bad choices made by their parents or ancestors for their sins.

It’s not my fault, they would say. I’m just living the life I inherited. If God has a problem, it’s not with me. He should deal with my ancestors. They got the ball rolling, so what I’m doing is all their fault.

So, God asks a question to Ezekiel. He asks the Prophet what he means by quoting the proverb. A proverb is like a tool. When used correctly, it can help people make course corrections in their lives. But this proverb was not being used correctly. It was being used to excuse bad behavior.

God’s command (3).

God commanded Ezekiel to stop quoting that proverb. It was not being used correctly. It was not being used as a tool to foster wise living and a healthy lifestyle. So, the proverb has to go. From now on, such talk would be flagged to be deleted from anyone’s social media post. A warning would be given to anyone who used it. Such words would now be off-limits. They would be marked as inappropriate.

God is all for freedom of speech but bans us from unhealthy and dangerous speech. If what I am saying harms someone else, then the Lord commands me to shut up and stop saying it. If I am speaking as a representative of God and I am saying something he does not want me to say, then I am taking his name in vain. The Lord will not hold me guiltless if I do that.

The best way to deal with inappropriate activity is to STOP IT! If I’m hurting someone else, I need to STOP IT! If I’m misrepresenting God’s truth by telling lies, I need to STOP IT! If I’m looking where I should not be looking, seeking something I should not be seeking, God’s word to me is to repent of that sin and stop doing that.

God’s Justice (4).

But God is not just telling Ezekiel to stop quoting the proverb. He wants the Prophet to know why he needs to change his behavior. God does not just give commands. He also has a reason for every command he gives. He has a logical purpose for everything he commands and everything he prohibits. His purpose is not just “because I said so.”

God told Ezekiel the reason that he should no longer quote this proverb. He said it was because all lives are his. Literally, he said all throats are his. In Hebrew, if you wanted to talk about having power over someone’s life, with the ability to kill them or let them live, you would say that his throat is yours. That is what God said to Ezekiel. He said, “Notice, all throats, they are mine.

God is saying that not one person on the face of this planet is ever going to be condemned on the basis of who their Daddy is. For God, justice is something very personal. God has encoded that principle in his Law itself. Deuteronomy 24:16 says, “Fathers must not be put to death for what their children do, nor children for what their fathers do; each must be put to death for his own sin.” The principle is individual accountability.

All the pagan religions had taught the opposite principle. They taught that bad things happen because of someone else’s choice. You suffer because of a curse put on your family because of someone else’s sin or someone else’s greed. But the God of the Bible said that he does justice differently. He is not going to punish anyone for someone else’s crime.

Our God will dispense justice on Judgment Day, and not one stripe will come to anyone who does not personally deserve it. Therefore, not one of us can use our ancestry to excuse sin. Saying, “My Daddy made me like this,” is just as wrong as saying, “The devil made me do it.” When God punishes the lost for their sins, the principle is “The one who sins will die.” That is justice.

There will be people who stand before the throne of judgment and weep over their fate, but not one will ever be able to truthfully say that it isn’t their fault. Many will gnash their teeth in anger against God, but they won’t be able to blame the judge because each of them will see the law that they have transgressed. People will be redeemed because of Christ’s blood shed for them. But not one of those unredeemed will die because of someone else’s sin. All the unredeemed will die because each will personally deserve to die. That is how God does justice.

God’s mercy (21-23).

The good news God shares through Ezekiel comes later in the chapter. In verses 21-23, we read, “But if the wicked person turns from all the sin he has committed and observes all my statutes and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the sins he has committed will be held against him; because of the righteousness he has done, he will live. Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the Sovereign LORD? Do I not prefer that he turn from his wicked conduct and live?”

That is the gospel. It says that anyone can be rescued from the consequences of his sin by repenting from that sin. God extends his hand to anyone who wants to be taken out of the hell that everyone deserves. That is grace. Grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. Both God’s grace and God’s mercy are found in Christ. He is the Savior – the Rescuer.

Now, understand me. There is such a thing as inherited sin and inherited judgment. There is an instance where people die because of someone else’s sin. Inherited sin and judgment are what happened to the human race in Eden. God warned Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed his prohibition against eating from the forbidden tree, the race as a whole would be condemned to mortality. Because of their mortality, all humans would eventually die. God warned our ancestors that if they transgressed the commandment, both they and all their descendants would become mortal and eventually die.

We all know what happened. They transgressed, and God made good on his threat. The Apostle Paul said, “sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people” (Romans 5:12). That is inherited judgment. All those graves outside in the cemetery are filled because of that inherited judgment. Not one of those people died because of their sins. They died because of their ancestor’s sin.

So, the God of the Bible tells us that there will come a day of Judgment. On that day, everyone will stand before God and answer to their creator for their sins. All it takes is one sin—one transgression against one law—to condemn a person to permanent destruction. The only thing that will ever keep anyone from that fate is God’s mercy.

That is why we all need Jesus Christ. His death on the cross is the only way out of the fate that we all deserve. So, Paul also says, “Just as condemnation for all people came through one transgression, so too through the one righteous act came righteousness leading to life for all people” (Romans 5:18). The one transgression took place in Eden and condemned us all to mortality and eventual death. The one righteous act took place on Calvary, resulting in “eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:21).

Grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve, while mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve. Both God’s grace and God’s mercy are found in Christ. He is the Savior—the Rescuer. He is the one who gave his life on the cross so that you and I can live forever.

God told Ezekiel to stop blaming others and take personal responsibility. He encouraged all his people to come to him in confession and repentance; they would find him ready to forgive and heal them. He says the same thing to you and me today. He tells us not to use any excuses for living in sin. He pleads with us to come to Christ, who offers us forgiveness and restoration.

God knows that we are sinners and that we sinned because we wanted to sin. He wants us to stop blaming others and seek his deliverance and grace. His door is open. All we have to do is walk through it. His grace and mercy are available for a limited time only. The price has already been paid. Our lives are his. All lives belong to him. He will either save them or destroy them. He wants to save us!

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.