Transcript

Alright. Well, let's pray and we'll begin.

Lord, we look to You. Life has so many issues and difficulties, but we thank You that You're a God who knows all things, and You are full of wisdom and understanding, and we pray that Your word would ever more guide us. And even this morning we pray that You would teach us and grant to us a new and fresh perspective for life and the future. We need this to live another day, even this very day. Thank You for speaking to us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

The next passage to be read is Matthew 24:32-51 and the main idea is this: be on the alert. The key verse is verse 42 where Jesus says, “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.” This has to do with the second coming of Christ, which is what this chapter has been about. And Jesus teaches a lesson on the need to be alert with 3-4 different stories. The first story has to do with the fig tree. The second has to do with the days of Noah. The third is about a thief. And the fourth is about a faithful slave.

So then, first, the fig tree. He begins this section with these words: “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” Right before this, Jesus had explained the signs that accompany His second coming. As you would recall, He talked about the abomination of desolation, the Great Tribulation, false prophets who will perform miraculous signs. Jesus says that when you see all these things happening, know that the end is near. Jesus's second coming will be right around the corner. He also says, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” This means that all these signs and the coming of Christ will happen within one generation. None of these things will be stretched out over a lengthy period of time. He then guarantees what He has spoken, that they will absolutely come to pass. He says in verse 35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” Jesus gives total assurance that these events will take place and that they will culminate with His second coming. Now I should pause here and emphasize that this is indeed all about Jesus's second coming when He comes back to earth to establish the Kingdom of God. As I had explained before, the signs that precede Jesus' second coming are for the people of Israel, for the Jewish remnant who are still on earth during the tribulation period. Of course, then the question arises: “is this relevant for Christians today, because true Christians will be raptured before the tribulation period?” My answer to this is yes. There actually is a great deal of relevance to us today, because the need for alertness and readiness for the second coming of Christ is no different than the need for alertness and readiness for the rapture. That's because no one knows exactly when either of those events will take place. The second coming of Christ has some signs that precede it, yet Jesus says that the exact day or the hour are not known by anyone. He says this in verse 36, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” So then on the one hand, there will be signs that accompany Jesus's second coming, but in terms of exactly what day and what time of His return, no one knows except God the Father. Interestingly, Jesus says that even He Himself does not know this. Now when Jesus says that the Son does not know, I need to clarify that this is Jesus talking about His knowledge limitation in His human nature. The Son of God incarnate, in His humanity, does not know this. I emphasize this because God by nature knows all things; He is omniscient. And Jesus being truly God in His divinity, He knows all things. But in His humanity, from which He speaks in this verse, He does not know the exact day or hour. There's a very profound theology behind the two natures of Christ, and one of these days, I'm sure we'll talk about it. But the point here is that the incarnate Son of God in His humanity does not know exactly the day or the hour. Nonetheless, the signs will be undeniable. The fig tree parable is there to indicate that even as the leaves signify the seasons, so the signs in the sky and the abomination of desolation and so forth, will conspicuously and glaringly signify that Jesus's second coming is at hand. But since the exact day or the hour are unknown, Jesus tells His audience that they must remain alert and ready. To illustrate this point, Jesus likens His return to the days of Noah.

This brings us to the second part. Jesus says, “the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” In the days of Noah, people were just living their lives. They were just carrying on with everyday activities, eating and drinking, getting married. But of course, one pivotal day came when suddenly the rain clouds rolled in and it started to pour rain, and that rain kept coming down incessantly until the whole world was flooded. Jesus says that this is the way the second coming of Christ will be. It will be unexpected and sudden. The point of all this is that not everyone will be ready. Some will be ready and others will not be. And of course, those who are ready, Jesus will send forth His angel to gather them, as we read previously in this chapter. Jesus underscores this duality of readiness and ill-preparedness by saying, “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.” The point is that not everyone will be ready. Then comes our key verse, “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”

Then Jesus gives a third picture of a thief in the night. He says, “but be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.” The point of the story is that the coming of Christ will be like a thief in the night. No thief announces beforehand when he's going to break in and rob the house. Similarly, Jesus is saying that His second coming will be unexpected and sudden. This requires, then, that those who are awaiting Him to be on the alert.

Then Jesus gives the final illustration, which is a lengthier one about a faithful slave. Jesus tells a story about a faithful slave on the one hand and an evil one on the other. With the former, his master puts him in charge of his household. And when the master comes back unexpectedly, he finds that slave doing exactly what he's supposed to be doing. He's doing his job. And Jesus says that when that master finds him doing what he was supposed to do, that he will reward him. He will promote him and put him in charge of all his possessions. But he says on the on the flip side, imagine if that slave were an evil slave. And imagine if while the master is gone, he says in his heart, “my master is not coming for a long time,” and so he begins to do evil things. He beats his fellow slaves. He gets drunk with the alcohol in the cupboard. When the master of that slave finally comes at a time when that slave did not expect him, and in an hour he does not know, then of course, the master will catch him red-handed and deal with him severely. As Jesus concludes that story, He actually makes reference to weeping and gnashing of teeth to indicate that those who are not ready will enter God's judgment. That's because there is real accountability with those who did not ready themselves for Christ's return.

Now, once again, all of this is about the second coming of Christ, and it is not directly about rapture; but the same principle of readiness does apply to rapture, because the rest of the New Testament talks about our readiness for the rapture with the same terms. The apostle Paul writes about the preparedness for the rapture in first Thessalonians 5:6, “let us not sleep as us as others do, but let us be alert and sober.” 1 Peter 4:7, “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit.” 1 John 2:28, “when He [Jesus] appears, we should have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.” How do we do that? John says “abide in Christ,” continually live in fellowship with the Lord and obedience to His word. The point of all this is that we need to be on the alert and be ready. Whether it is Christ’s coming for the rapture or His second coming, Jesus will come unpredictably and suddenly. This is the resounding teaching of Scripture, that all who trust in Christ must be on the alert and prepare themselves for His coming.

There's a lot we can pray about in light of this lesson. First, pray about being ready for the Lord. Examine your own heart before the Lord. Ask yourself if Jesus came today, what would He say about my life? And if there are things that you feel that you need to deal with, then deal with them now and start a new pattern of life. If there's any area of disobedience, then bring that area into obedience to the Lord. If there's any area of laziness or indolence, deal with those things before the Lord and confess them. Recognize Jesus came to die for those sins, so that you will repent and get right with Him and be ready for Him when He comes again. As I said, it's really important to set a new pattern for life because we don't know when the Lord will come. Sometimes people, when they hear about the need for readiness, they think that they need to make a quick few changes for now and then they revert to their old ways a few days, maybe after a week or two. That is no way to be ready for Christ, because we do not know when He is coming. What we need is to adopt a new pattern of life. To daily seek God's word, to remember it, and to live each day to honor the Lord and in obedience to His word. May the Lord grant us all wisdom to be ready for Christ, because He is indeed coming again soon.

Let me pray for us and we'll wrap it up.

Father, we thank You for Your holy word. You speak these words to us through Your Son so that we would with diligence ready ourselves for Him for that great day when we will meet the Lord face to face. We want to be ready for Him. We don't want to be lazy. We don't want to be fools. We want to be like that faithful and sensible slave who was busy about his master’s business. And so in our hearts, we commit ourselves to You to this end. And I pray that all who hear this and read this would also be diligent to ready themselves for Christ when He comes again. Thank You that our Savior is coming, that He calls us to live consistently with the faith that we profess. Bless us that we would keep His word to the very end. Thank You, our Father, for Your word this morning. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Alright, Lord bless you all, and I'll see you on Wednesday.