The End is Near
(A Week Like No Other – Part 9)
#135 in Series: “The Life of Christ – in a Harmony of The Gospels”
(Summary statement: Jesus gives further lessons about His return, and emphasizes our need to be prepared and faithful until He does.)
The end is near… Jesus is preparing His disciples – not only for the coming cross – but for the future… He has been answering the big question raised by the disciples in Matthew 24:3 –
Matthew 24:3
As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Last time we were together, we examined Jesus’ answer through verse :31 of this chapter… The Lord gave a word of warning that there would be many false christs, or counterfeits coming after Him, and the true disciple needs to be aware and cautious… He also spoke of how there is coming an intensified time of chaos, persecution, tribulation, and even apostasy… But He also spoke of how there will be the proclamation of the gospel around the world, faithful perseverance by the saints, because we are … preserved in Christ!...
When Jesus comes again, it will be sudden and visible – it will usher in God’s judgement, but will also be a great time of reunion and joy for the saints!
Today, we will peruse the balance of chapter 24… (I originally thought of trying to cover all of chapter 25 today as well, but last week proved to be to much of a “drinking from the firehose” experience… It’s not our goal to merely cover the material, but to actually encounter the Lord in the text. So, your praying with me for clarity in understanding the Lord’s leading in what we cover each week is appreciated.)
Again, since this is a lengthy passage, we will think about it together as we read it.
Let’s begin with –
1. A Lesson from Jesus About His Return
Matthew 24:32-33
32 “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; 33 so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.
Once again, Jesus utilizes a specific genre in His teaching… This is something we have considered many times in this series, but as a reminder, a parable has been practically defined as “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning”... It is an allegory, or illustration told in such a way that the audience was often deeply impacted by its meaning… Parables proved to be … powerful ways of communicating truth, and no one utilized them more effectively than our Lord.
John MacArthur says – “Parables had a two-fold purpose in Jesus’ ministry. When unexplained, they concealed truth; when explained, they revealed truth. When Jesus gave a parable to the multitudes or to the unbelieving religious leaders without also giving an explanation, it was a riddle to them. When He gave a parable to His disciples and explained it, it was a vivid illustration that made a truth clear and understandable. (See Mt 13:10-11, 13, 16-23)…”
In light of the fact that Jesus’ parables were given for the sake of helping the disciples understand His teaching, it is evident that He told the parable from the fig tree to give them further light about His second coming.
Let’s consider a few points we can glean from this lesson. The first is –
Matthew 24:32
32 “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;
In the illustration of the fig tree, Jesus emphasizes that people have come to understand the change in a season, specifically the coming of summer, when they observe that the fig tree is awakening and putting on new leaves…
The explanation for making this observation, is to point out that the disciple of Christ will, in a similar way –
Matthew 24:33
so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, rightat the door.
… will recognize that Jesus’ return is … near! It will be evident and obvious!...
Next, Jesus leans into the fact that –
Matthew 24:34-35
34 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
This is an important point for us today… We need to be reminded of the truth, that Jesus IS coming again!...
Let’s consider this section in reverse for just a moment… Just as certain that God’s Word is eternal, and never-changing – so is the certainty … of a specific generation will witness all these things Jesus just spoke about…
The big question is … what generation? What generation is Jesus speaking about, that will not die off, before these things take place?...
I hesitate to explore with you all the views that have been expressed throughout history about this question… Most of them are mere speculation of man – and that is usually … dangerous…
Rather, let’s follow the principle that is always most helpful – and that is the principle of “interpreting Scripture with Scripture”...
We need to be faithful to the context of Jesus’ words. The “all these things” Jesus is speaking of, are the details He is giving in this chapter! The only thing that can even be remotely argued as having already occurred, is the destruction of the temple that happened in A.D. 70… One event does not constitute all – so Jesus was not referring to that generation then, but a generation that will witness “all” of these events…
The point is, Jesus is making a … guarantee that He will return, and Christians can count on it!... But, we are also to understand that all of these things Jesus points to as signs of His coming, will occur rather quickly…
I like the succinct statement made in an article at Gotquestions.org –
“Essentially, Jesus is saying that, once the events of the end times begin, they will happen quickly. The age of grace has continued for a very long time. But when the time for judgment finally arrives, things will be wrapped up posthaste. This concept of God’s drawing things to a rapid close is echoed in many other passages of Scripture (Matthew 24:11; Mark 13:20; Revelation 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20).”
Just listen to a couple of passages cited here –
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
There is a third lesson Jesus is giving in this section, and it has to do with that fact that –
Let’s read this carefully –
Matthew 24:36
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
The timing of Jesus’ return is in the Father’s hands…
Jesus said that only the Father knows exactly when He will turn to the Son and send Him back to earth… We might surmise that Jesus now knows, since He has returned to heaven, but that is only … inferred, not explicitly stated in Scripture…
The point Jesus is making is that no one – not man – not even angels – know the exact moment of His return… We may be able to recognize the “season”, but we won’t know ahead of time the moment…
I think there is another lesson we can glean in what Jesus says here… Now, there may be a better way of saying it, but hear this –
Again, let’s read this carefully –
Matthew 24:37-39
37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 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, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
What were the days of Noah like?... Listen to the biblical commentary about that generation –
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Doesn’t this sound familiar?...
I think there are a couple of points being emphasized here for the disciples… One is, judgement is coming upon the world when Jesus returns – the world is … ripe for God’s judgement…
The other is, just as the Lord, in His grace, saved Noah and his immediate family from the destruction that came in that day, and I believe that the Lord in His grace will spare His disciples from the most intense trouble that is coming just before His return!... Those days will be like the days of Noah…
Another lesson we glean from Jesus’ words is that –
That is, people will be separated… There will be a separating of the … “wheat and tares” (Matt. 13:30) / “sheep and goats” (Matt. 25:32-33) / … there will be a separation of the saved and the unsaved…
Jesus says –
Matthew 24:40-41
40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
The concept of “taken” here, is not like how people often use it today… Jesus is not saying that people will be “taken … in death”... But the idea is “taken to oneself”... God will take to Himself, those who are His!
This sounds strangely like what the Apostle Paul elaborates on in –
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
One result of our Lord’s return, will be a great separating…
We will return to this point in a few weeks, when we return to chapter 25, but let me read what Jesus says in –
Matthew 25:31-33
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
Now, those are a few lessons we can glean from what Jesus says in the parable of the Fig Tree… But, we cannot end there. Jesus goes on to draw some points of application for these lessons – so, let’s consider –
2. The Appeal from Jesus Until His Return
Matthew 24:42
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
I believe Christians’ interest in this fact has … waxed and waned over the years… Listen to a statement made by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones about 50 years ago –
Martyn Lloyd-Jones – “The great doctrine of the second advent has in a sense fallen into disrepute because of…this tendency on the part of some to be more interested in the how and the when of the second coming rather than in the fact of the second coming.”
Does this not ring true today?... We are to “be on the alert”!... Jesus is coming, and that fact should inform the priorities of our lives!
But, let’s not become so fixated on a theological paradigm about the second-coming that we miss the motivations this truth should bring us!
There are at least two points of application that Jesus calls us to – first, He gives –
Matthew 24:43-44
43 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. 44 For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
We must be prepared, because Jesus' return will be … sudden and without warning…
There is something about Jesus’ illustration here that I want you to think about… Why, do you suppose, Jesus would use such a negative illustration – like a thief coming in the night to illustrate the need for being prepared?... Afterall, for the Christian, Jesus’ return is going to be something wonderful!... But get this… for those who are standing in rebellion – for those who are haters of God, and His Son (John 3:18, James 4:4, Romans 8:7, et al.) – Jesus’ return will be worse than any thief coming to their home in the middle of the night!
Are you prepared?...
If you are concerned at all about your being prepared, stay afterwards for a little while, and let me or one of the other elders visit with you about the gospel… Let’s make an appointment and spend some time in God’s Word together about this matter… You don’t have to leave without being prepared…
Finally, Jesus gives –
Matthew 24:45-51
45 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect himand at an hour which he does not know, 51 and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Frankly there is much we can glean from this section. It’s lengthy and substantive, but for time’s sake, let’s simply emphasize the main point… We are to live life, faithfully, and be about our Father’s business – all the while ready for His return!
Here’s the question you can answer… Are you faithful?... Are you living for Jesus in anticipation of His coming?...
He is coming –
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
