Okay, we're in Matthew 24, and we've gotten to verse 23.
Maybe I should cover just a little bit to get the background again.
He said in verse 15, Then when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, whoever reads let him understand, then that those who are in Judea flee the mountains. And we explained how the Christians went to Pella in 69 AD, and then Vespasian was called back, and Titus came back the next year and leveled the city. That him who was on the housetop not go down to take anything out of it, let him who was in the field not go back to get his clothes, but what are those who are pregnant and those who are nursing babies in those days, and pray that your flight may not be in the winter or on the Sabbath, for then shall be great tribulation, such as not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved, and he means alive. That's how Mafah translated it. Life would end on earth.
But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. And we talked about how God spares the earth for the elect's sake. Now in verse 23, Then if anyone says to you, Look, here is the Christ, or there, do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs in wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Therefore, if they say to you, Look, he's in the desert, do not go out. Or, Look, he's in the inner rooms, do not believe it. For as lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the come of the Son of man be. For wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Okay, verse 23 to 25, he warns of multiple false teachers and even false Christs.
And they will show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Demons can pull off kind of miracles.
They can produce great signs and wonders. They can levitate things, make it hover. They can bend spoons. They can have idols weep. And sometimes they're very scary things. But all their miracles do not benefit mankind. When God does something, it's beneficial. When Satan does its entertainments or just attention gathering. But God actually does things that really are a blessing. Some, by the way, see this verse as saying that it's impossible to deceive the elect. That's not how we understand it. And the Greeks suggest that deceivers will attempt to deceive the elect, if possible, that is, if they can. This view is supported by Jesus' next statement, see, I have told you beforehand. It's a very sobering thing. He's explained it. See, I have told you beforehand. It's going to be very deceptive. The changes we've had, remember the changes we introduced, the people took a long time to figure out where that was, and had they studied and had to go back. Well, I have a feeling that the future ones are going to be even more subtle and more deceitful. It's just the way Satan works. It's going to be more troublesome, and we will really need to stay close to God to be able to not be deceived.
Verse 26, therefore if they say to you, look, he's in the desert, do not go out, or look, he's in the inner rooms, do not believe it.
The return of Jesus Christ to the earth will not be done secretly, as we see in verse 27. For his lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. A lightning flashing. The expanded vines expository dictionary of the New Testament says that the Greek means bright shining. Now, that's normally lightning. But when the sun comes up in the east, the light travels all the way across the horizon to the far as you can go. When the sun is up where you are, it's daylight. It's very clear. But lightning also lightens up the whole sky. But the point is, his return will be clearly visible. It's going to be like daylight or lightning all over the earth. It'll be clearly visible to everybody, the elect and the non-elect.
Expositor of Bible commentary says the coming of the Son of Man, as a comment there, will be public, unquestionable, and not confined to some little group of initiates. As lightning, and he has various Psalms refer to this, comes out of the east, but everywhere is visible as away from the west, as far away as the west. So the coming of the Son of Man will be visible to all people everywhere. And I think that's exactly what it's going to be. He's going to announce, and you'll see as we go further, he's going to make it clear that he's coming, and he's coming to rule. And then verse 28, For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
The commentaries have a little trouble with us when the expositor said, here Jesus quotes a proverb, and it's mentioned in Luke 39.30 and in Luke 17.37. Eagle, that's the verse in the King James, is wrong. Vulture, which is the NIV, is correct.
Aetos, A-E-T-O-S, can mean eagle, kite, or vulture. But eagles are not normally carrion eaters. You know what carrion is? It's not good.
The proverb itself is a difficult one. And then they go on and they start trying to figure out what it might be. The proverb itself is a difficult one. Well, after examining a number of possible meanings, expositors, very long commentary on this, or this enigmatic proverb, may simply mean that it will be impossible for humanity not to see the coming of the Son of Man as it is for vultures to miss seeing carrion.
Vultures are usually 100%. Something's down there, they'll find it, and they'll clean it up for you. So in the same way that it's coming, there's that analogy. Now, whether that's the correct one, another way to look at it is when Titus destroyed Jerusalem, he could be viewed as a vulture descending to devour the spiritually dead.
And God allowed him to do that, to carry him off the land and to destroy. So wherever the carcass is there, the vultures will be gathered together and they'll be ready to go to do their job.
And that seems like it refers more to Titus coming down to destroy. Continuing, Matthew 24, verse 29, immediately after the tribulation of those days. Notice the timing here. This is one of these verses that helps us to understand prophecy and how it ties together.
Maybe I should explain this again. I've explained it in the past, but you take the Old Testament and you try to figure out prophecy and it says, this is going to happen, and then something else is going to happen. And they tell you what's going to happen, but from the Old Testament alone, it is very difficult to put the pieces together in order.
The New Testament, especially the book of Revelation, there is a step-by-step progression of this is going to happen and then that's going to happen. And then you plug in the Old Testament scriptures to the New Testament chronology and then you get the whole picture. And that's the same way with the book of Daniel. Daniel focuses on the events in chronological order of the past and very little on the future.
A great deal about the four empires. We're past the four empires. And he has very little about, just a little bit about the last one where he describes it. The book of Revelation has very little about the old ones and a great deal about the new ones. Much more detailed there. So with the two, the elect can put these pieces of the puzzle together, which we're striving to do here in Matthew 24. I just want to point out this verse. It was one we memorized when I was in Ambassador College. Immediately after the tribulation 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 the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Everybody's going to see that.
And the tribes of the earth will mourn. We know this is the sixth seal of the book of Revelation, the heavenly signs. If you care to go to Revelation 6 and verse 12, Revelation 6 and verse 12, Revelation 6, 12, I looked when he opened. Remember the Lamb is the one who is the only one qualified to open these seals and to unlock them. And I looked when he, that would be the Lamb, opened the sixth seal and behold there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became like blood and the stars of heaven fell to the earth.
I can't imagine that because often they're a lot bigger than some of them are bigger than the earth. So how that's going to work out? We'll just have to wait and see. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its late figs when it's shaken with a mighty wind. Then the sky receded. How does the sky recede? As a scroll when it's rolled up. And every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
There was a shaking that moved it. Now verse 29, he said, the heavenly signs follow the Great Tribulation. So we have the Great Tribulation and then God begins to step in with the heavenly signs. These will be truly gripping, attention-grabbing events. I mean, nobody's going to miss it. If you look at, I'll just read Joel 2, 30 to 31. Rather than having you flip back and forth, Joel 2, 30 to 31. And I will show wonders in the heavens and the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, in the moon into blood, same thing, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
Now, this is another one of these verses that help us plug things together. This says, the heavenly signs precede the day of the Lord. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth behold fire and pillar of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, in the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. So the day of the Lord is prophesied many times in the Old Testament about when God's going to step in.
And now we get the timing of it. It happens after the day of the Lord. So the heavenly signs warn everybody on the earth that God's judgment is about to begin. That's going to be a very stern warning at the end there. Now, an interesting note. You'll know, you all know the Roman Empire worshipped the sun, right? They worshiped the sun. And their sun-worshipping practices are still with us today. Easter, Sunday, Christmas, all these things were part of sun worship. The Muslim community, on the other hand, worships the moon, and theirs is a crescent moon.
When Jesus returns, God will clearly demonstrate his power over the sun and the moon. He's going to make that plain to everybody. Verse 30, Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. They're all going to see it.
They're going to see him there, and they know he's coming with power and great glory. If you want to look at Daniel 7, 13 to 14, Daniel chapter 7, where Daniel had this prophecy, but again, we didn't know how it tied in. We didn't know how it fit together. Daniel 7 verses 13 and 14. Daniel 7 is a very important prophecy. They're all important prophecies, but Daniel 7 is a key one. He says in Daniel 7 verse 13, I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven.
Keep noticing how the clouds are mentioned here. Notice the singular kingdom, A kingdom. That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed. The other empires, the one which shall not be destroyed, the other empires, the first four, were all came and they were all replaced by somebody else. The fifth one, the kingdom of God, will not be replaced by anybody.
It's going to stand forever. That's in Daniel chapter 2. Daniel chapter 7 is just another iteration of it, but again, we don't have the timing there. But with the New Testament, we begin to see it coming together. Jesus made it very plain in Matthew 24 and Revelation, the opening of the seals. You might also want to check Acts chapter 1 and verse 9. Acts chapter 1 and verse 9. Acts 1 verse 9. Now when he had spoken these things, while they watched, he was taken up and a cloud received them out of their sight.
So he returned to heaven, and he was taken up, right? So he returned to heaven and on a cloud. And verse 10. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in a white apparel, who also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven.
On a cloud! He's going to come in the same way he left. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey. So he was taken up from heaven from the Mount of Olives, on a cloud. And he says, we're going to come back on a cloud as well.
Now, I'll continue with that in a moment. But let's look at Matthew 24, verse 31.
Here's another warning judgment is coming. God often uses a trumpet to say, he did a Jericho, that God's going to be present. A warned Jericho, the judgment is coming. And again, everybody will know when this event takes place. Now, you might want to keep your finger in Matthew 24, but let's go look at a few verses in Revelation just to get the timing of it. Revelation chapter 8, verse 1.
Revelation chapter 8 and verse 1.
And when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about a half an hour. We used to have a joke about that, but I'm not going to share it with you.
That's another story. But when he opened the seventh seal, everybody stood quiet.
And I saw the seven angels stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. When he opened the seventh seal, the seventh seal is made up of seven trumpets.
Okay? So the seventh seal is made up of seven trumpets.
Okay, Revelation 10.7.
Revelation 10.7.
Let's look at verse 5. The angel who I saw standing on the sea and on the land, raised his hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, and earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be no delay no longer. But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, now that's the seventh trumpet, in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound the seventh trumpet, the mystery of God would be finished as he declared to his servants the prophets. When that seventh trumpet comes, everybody's going to know the basics. There's a God. He rules the earth. He let man go where he wants to go and do what he wants to do. And now, to save the earth from extinction, he's going to step in and he's going to rule. Chapter 11, verse 15.
See, the seventh angel hadn't quite sounded yet. 11-15. Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms, in the actual Greek is kingdom, singular, of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. When the seventh angel sounds, it announces a loud voice from heaven, saying, the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Lord and Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces to worship God. They were so grateful to see him step in.
We say, we give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who was and who is to come, because you have taken your great power and reigned. The nations were angry. They didn't want to lose sovereignty. And your wrath has come in the time of the dead that they should be judged and that you shall reward your servants, the prophets, and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth, to save the earth from destruction by those who would accomplish it. He steps in there to do it. Okay, that's enough in Revelation. Back to Matthew 24. But let me show you one scripture in Isaiah 27.
When I was going through these in the pastoral care classes, I had to just mention them. But here I can take the time, and I'd like everybody to see this. Isaiah 27 and verse 13. Isaiah 27 and verse 13. So it shall be in that day, the great trumpet will be blown. They will come who are about to perish in the land of Assyria. Remember, Israel's in captivity when Christ returns. They will come who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcast in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem. So the angels will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. And the days were shortened for the elect's sake. Jesus Christ will come to gather his people from all over the earth. And that leads us to 1 Thessalonians 4. 16 and 17.
1 Thessalonians 4. 16 and 17.
This is Paul, right into the Thessalonians. And I just want you to see how many different prophecies they all tie together, and they all say the same thing, but from a slightly different perspective. And they all add information. 1 Thessalonians 4. 16. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus shall we always be with the Lord. So as Christ comes, the dead are raised, the living Christians are changed, and they meet Christ in the air.
Do they just hang out there in the air? Just kind of, you know, stay up in the air and kind of look around? No, let's go to Zechariah 14. Zechariah 14. Mr. Armstrong used to say that the Bible is like a jigsaw puzzle. And you have to go place to place and put them together, and then you get the picture. Zechariah 14, verse 1.
Zechariah 14, and verse 1. Behold, the day of the Lord is coming. Now, there's the phrase, the day of the Lord. And we wouldn't know what that is exactly. We know God's going to intervene but how and when? Well, now we know we have the tribulation, and then we have the heavenly signs, and then we have the day of the Lord. Okay.
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst, for I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. The city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half the city shall go into captivity. But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. It's interesting, the city is half Palestinian, half Jewish. Which half goes into captivity?
Stay tuned.
Verse 3. Then the Lord will go forth. This is what the day of the Lord is. When the Lord goes forth and fight against those nations as he fights in the day of battle.
And in that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west, making a very large valley. Half the valley shall move toward the north and half toward the south. Then you shall flee through my mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, and his saints with you, or with him. Some translations say. So when Jesus Christ meets his saints in the air, he lands on the Mount of Olives with them, and then they begin to start governing the earth, and they begin to start accomplishing it. You remember in Matthew 21, he rode from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, riding on a donkey to present himself to the people of Jerusalem at that day. And he was hailed as the son of David, who would bring salvation. After walking out of the temple in Matthew 23, he went to the Mount of Olives to give them the prophecy of Matthew 24 and Matthew 25.
Then after introducing the New Testament passover to his disciples, they went out to the Mount of Olives, Matthew 26.30, and then to the garden that was at the foot of the Mount of Olives, called Gethsemane, from where he was taken to be crucified. As we saw in Acts 1, he was taken up from the Mount of Olives, and he says he's going to come back down in the same way on a cloud, right to the Mount of Olives. We know from Zechariah 14. And that's where he and the saints will touch down at his return.
When you see the picture together, it's quite exciting to see how it comes together. And to see the different scriptures tired. They all say the same thing, but you've got to put the puzzle together.
Continuing in Matthew 24, verse 32.
Now learn this parable from the fig tree. When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, know that it's near at the doors. Assuredly I say to you, our phrase that we note here, I'm telling you the truth, pay attention to this. Assuredly I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away, till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away.
But my words will by no means pass away.
A fig tree has often been used as a symbol for Israel, and it's interesting the leaves and the fruit appear about the same time.
This seems to be a prophecy of the fruitful times to come at Israel at Christ's return.
And he said, so you also, when you see all these things, that includes everything spoken up to that point. The beginning of sorrows from verses 4 to 8. The persecution of the church, verses 9 to 13. The gospel being preached, verses 14. The great tribulation, verses 15 to 22. False claims about Christ has come, verses 23 to 28. And the heavenly signs, verses 29 to 30. So when you see all these, he says, know that it's near at the doors.
Now the commentaries at number say, what is it?
Know that it's near, that it is near at the doors. So what is it?
You ever heard of Occam's razor? I've mentioned it several times. It's a tool to help you find the answer to things that might not be difficult to figure out. It says the simplest answer is probably the best one.
Occam's razor. So the simplest answer would be the answer to the question in verse 3. Tell us, when will these things be? And what be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? It's near. Sign is coming and of the end of the age. That age will end, by the way. The age of Satan's rule will end, and the age of Christ's rule will begin.
So it does seem the best answer to what it is. And then he said, assuredly I say to you, verse 34, this generation will by no means pass away, till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. Here's another, I tell you the true statement.
And we understand that to mean that once they start, all these things will happen in that generation. That's how we've understood it.
And that may well be so. But there is another way to look at it.
This generation. There's another way to view this verse. The Greek word for generation is genaia, which can mean either those living at the same time, the generation, or it can mean family. That the family, the genaia of this group, all their children, down through time. The White Cliff Bible commentary says, however genaia can also mean race or family. And this yields good sense here. In spite of the terrible persecution, the Jewish nation, we would see this as all 12 tribes, but they see the Jewish nation, will not be exterminated, but will exist to share the blessings of the millennial reign.
That generation would not pass away. They're not going to be wiped out. They're going to be there. They'll live through it. He will save them. That makes sense because it follows from the analogy of the fig tree, indicating blessings upon Israel. The Jewish New Testament commentary brings out the same point. But it also mentions that the term generation, that people living at that, sorry, gesturing too wildly here, that the term the generation at that time could be met.
And once again, Jesus states his words will outlast heaven and earth.
That's an amazing thought when you think about that. Of course, there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth, but his words will outlast the present heaven and earth. That seems beyond human comprehension.
Okay, Matthew 24, verse 39. Matthew 24, verse 39. But of that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of nowhere, so also will the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the Ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away.
So also will the coming of the Son of man be.
Now, it's quite clear we don't know the hour or day of Christ's return. I've been in the church over 50 years, and we've had all kinds of ideas, and none of them are right.
It looks like none of them were even close, as a matter of fact. But he did say that as the days of nowhere, so also will be the days of the Son of man. Noah built the Ark as a witness to that society that the flood was coming, a warning of judgment.
You can imagine Noah building a huge Ark in the middle, so far from the sea, and he's out there working away. And one pastor years ago suggested they call him Nutty Noah, building a boat out there.
In Kansas, worried about a flood to destroy everybody.
Hebrews 11.7 says, By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen.
As we go through Matthew 24, we are also being divinely warned of things not yet seen. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared the Ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness, which is according to faith. The New Testament righteousness is built on faith. Peter called Noah a preacher of righteousness. See, that was in 2 Peter 2.5.
But it seems to me that Noah did his preaching with his hammer and his saw by what he did by building this and saying, there's trouble coming. Why are you building that? Because there's a flood coming. I'll get out of here. And he was moved by godly fear. I don't know that he ever preached, but Peter says he was a preacher of righteousness. So he probably did some preaching, but I sometimes wonder if it wasn't done with a hammer, as I've said.
But interestingly, nobody took the warning.
Only Noah and his immediate family entered the Ark and were saved. The elect's sake. They were elect. Oh, Noah was. Today, modern transportation and communication are changing our world into one globalized society. That's what it was like in the days of Noah. There was one society on earth, all the different peoples. He had just changed the languages, but they were one society.
And people are increasingly corrupt, and the earth is once again becoming filled with violence. The violence is increasing all over the place, in our country and outside of it. Terrible violence, all over the earth. He said they'll be eating and drinking and marrying and giving and marriage.
You want to raise your hand? I heard once, many hands make light work.
I don't know if that's true or not. Apparently it isn't.
Eating and drinking, marrying and giving and marriage and are not wrong in themselves, obviously, unless they're done in excess. Gluttony, drunkenness, multiple marriages or multiple sexual partners, that's all sin. And that's what's happening in our society. We're becoming a lawless society, and it's going that way. And it's just going the way it was. It's one global society, virtually. Adam Clark says, as the days of Noah, they were eating and drinking. That is, they spent their time in replying luxury and riot. The design of these verses seems to be that the desolation should be as general as it was, as general as it should be unexpected. Sorry. The design of these verses seems to be that the desolation should be as general as it should be unexpected. It's going to go that way.
There were factors that led to the Noah's, the earth-cleansing flood in the days of Noah. And they're the same factors we're seeing on earth, and Jesus said would indicate the end of the age was coming. We're going that direction. There's no question about it. It's just how long it takes to get there. It's just the way it is. Even so, we still can't predict when Christ will return to the earth. Europe is far from united and increasingly secular. It's not a very religious state. We do not see the beast or a supportive false prophet on the scene anywhere. We do not yet see a king of the north and a king of the south, although there's some ideas about it. We don't see anything definitive there. Nor do we see two witnesses. We certainly don't see those preaching in Jerusalem. So we do not yet see all these things taking place.
So we can't tell the time.
Matthew 24, verse 40. Then, maybe it did work, that two men will be in the field. One was taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken and the other left. Watch, therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Now, that should pretty well calm anybody trying to figure out when he's coming. Whatever you think it is, it isn't. Isn't that what he said? Whatever you think it is, it's not.
So that's the reason. What do we conclude from that?
That we must be ready. Expositive Bible Commentary. Two men are working in a field. One is taken and the other left. Two women work at the handmill. One normally operated by two women squatting opposite each other in the mill between them. Each woman, in turn, would pull the stone around 180 degrees. The two are apt to be sisters, mother and daughter, or two household servants. Yet, no matter how close the relationship, one is taken and the other left. It is neither clear nor particularly important whether taken means taken in judgment, or through the verb took away, differs from the word taken in verse 40. And taken to be gathered, in other words, one's taken, taken where? Which one's which? How do you know? It doesn't say.
If you look at Matthew 25, verses 31, here's another scripture. There are many of separation. Matthew 25, verse 31. When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit upon the throne of His glory, and all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another as the shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. And He will say to the sheep on His right hand, He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goat's on the left, and He goes on with different things. Many times in scripture there's a separating of the righteous and the nonrighteous. Right now that's not happening.
We're all in this together on this planet, but there's going to be a separation here in His own time. The main lesson here is that His servants must be ready for His return at all times. That's the main urgent message.
Therefore, you should also be ready for the Son of Man is coming in an hour you do not expect. Exposer points out, since no one knows at what time or during what watch the thief might strike, constant vigilance is required. So you also must be ready. Because in this one respect, the unexpectedness of His coming, the Son of Man, resembles a thief. You don't know when the thief's coming. And in that one way, that's His point.
We have to be ready. We have to be ready. And that's important for us all to keep in mind.
Now we're coming to the end of Matthew's fifth and final discourse.
In Matthew 23, Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, "...had neglected the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith, or faithfulness." Judgment. To understand judgment. And you can see that Jesus is talking about judgment here. He's going to talk about it even more in the final discourse. Mercy and faith. The fifth discourse ends with four parables or statements that explain Christ's judgment when He returns to the earth.
Now let's look at Matthew 24. Chapter 24.
Sorry, Matthew 24, 41-51. That's one parable. And then there are three more in Matthew 25. "...make clear how Jesus Christ will judge His servants at His coming. The faithful receive mercy. The unfaithful receive judgment." These are, indeed, the weightier matters of the law. The first of the four parables or statements is the last verses of Matthew 24.
Verse 45.
"...who then is that faithful and wise servant?" Remember now the question was, what's the sign of your coming into the end of the age?
And He's still answering that as He finishes 24, He goes into 25. "...who then is that faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant, when his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods." I just want to tell you, brethren, as pastor of Chicago congregation, I regard these verses as a kind of a personal mandate to me as pastor.
For me, his household is our congregation. He's not talking about the world here. He's talking about his household, those who are part of his house. And I like to say, who can put their feet under the table. When you're a part of the household, you can eat there. You're part of the family.
So as a pastor, I am to give the congregation food in due season, to feed them God's words in hopefully an interesting and timely way. As Jesus told Peter, feed my sheep. Of course, Christ's words apply to all servants he assigned to give his household food in due season. It's applied to all the household, to everyone there. So he says, blessed is that servant when he's master, when he comes, we'll find him so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. It's another, I tell you the truth, statement. When he returns, he wants me and all other pastors to be caring for his sheep and feeding them his word. That's what he wants us to be doing. When I took the pastoral care classes, I also encouraged them to look at that as a personal mandate from Jesus Christ himself. But there's the rest of those section here. Matthew 28, verses 48 to 51. But if that evil servant says in his heart, My master is delaying his coming, let's see, it's been 2,000 years, and begins to beat his fellow servants. And to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant, he's still the master of that servant, will come on a day when he's not looking for him, and at an hour when he's not aware of, and will cut him in two, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. First, let's notice the implication that his return could be delayed. If you read through Matthew 24 and 25 carefully, there are many hints that his return would be delayed. That wouldn't be as quick as everybody's thinking at that time. And that's still true, to the extent, although there are certainly many things that we see the prophecies that are being fulfilled. There are many hints there, and how well that was understood by that generation, I don't know. I have no idea, of course. Second, the servant, troubled by the delay, began to return to worldly ways. He starts to beat his fellow servants, who were continuing to seek the Kingdom of God. He begins to speak against them, and work against them. Isn't that startling? He no longer loved the congregation, as Christ's disciples would.
Eventually, he would leave the fellowship. Today, we see many that speak and work against those who remain faithful to their calling, brethren. It's just happening. Displeased with his fellow servants, he now prefers to eat and drink with the drunkards, the people who don't know, who aren't called. He wants to be out with the world, not with the Church. He's now more comfortable with them. He did not endure to the end, as Christ taught we all must.
The Master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, at an hour when he's not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That servant is not looking for him because he stopped looking for him. The Message of Matthew, page 259. Delay can breed bad behavior. Nobody appears to be in charge, and the servants do their own thing. Their baser passions are given free reign. The outcome will be disaster. Have you ever seen an organization when nobody seems to be in charge? It just starts coming apart. And it says, verse 51, it will cut him in two. He will deal with him his Samuel debt with Agag, king of the Amalekites, whom Saul spared. Saul spared him. God was not pleased. Agag, Samuel didn't spare him. Adam Clark says, cut him asunder. This refers to the ancient mode of punishment used in several countries. Isaiah is reported to have been sawn asunder. The report of Isaiah was that he died that way. And then Adam Clark goes on to give examples of where this was done. Like many others, God does not count on his hypocrites. You ever notice hypocrites? You find yourself irritated with them. It's just, it's upsetting. And God seems to have the same view. So I hope all of us will keep looking for our maker, our master, and making sure that we're ready for his return. This first statement is to make sure we're ready for his return. We'll go into Matthew 25 next time.
