Congregational Bible Experience Day #9: Matthew 24-25

Introduction: Congregational Bible Experience: Day #9
Bible Reading: Matthew 24-25
History is moving forward towards a climactic end with the Return and Judgement of Jesus, when the unbelieving 'goats' from throughout the ages will experience everlasting punishment and the righteous, believing 'sheep' will enjoy the blessing of eternal life in the presence of the living God (25:46). For many, both within and from outside the Church, it's an uncomfortable message, but it is what we can expect, for it's what Jesus taught. The practical implication of this, is that a deepening awareness of the certainties of the future should impact the direction, motivation and urgency of our discipleship in the present. As some will have heard me say often: "we are to live now with eternity in view".

For the fifth and final time in this Gospel, Matthew records a major block of teaching from Jesus that, with the other earlier teaching sections we noted previously, together make up a teaching curriculum that His disciples down through the ages must be taught to obey (see 28:20).  The problem is that different Christians and churches understand the details of this passage very differently; there is no consensus across the various Bible-believing denominations agreeing as to what Jesus is saying his disciples ought to know and believe.

What we can these say with certainty is that Jesus is encouraging his disciples to be aware and to be prepared for future events, particularly the fall of Jerusalem (which was fulfilled around 70 AD) and the victorious and climactic Second Coming of King Jesus in all His consummate glory, sometime in the distant future.  It seems best - to me personally - to understand Jesus to mean that the prophecies in 24:4-14 describe the normal experience of all Christians throughout the times between the first and second coming of Jesus, perhaps describing an intensifying of activity in v9-14;  verses 15 and following then describe a series of catastrophic 'double-parallel' prophecies that were firstly, partially fulfilled when the Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed but will, secondly, also have a further, similar but fuller and even more cataclysmic fulfilment when Christ returns at the end of time.  What happened in AD 70 points - in some, small mesaure - towards what we may expect at some unknown time in the future.

For present-day disciples, these chapters repeatedly point forward to Jesus coming back and when His Kingdom, now reigning over individual disciples' lives, will at that time be fully revealed to all and conquer all:  every eye will see Him, every knee will bow and every tongue will proclaim Christ as "Lord!" to the glory of His Father. We may not know 'when' He is coming; we are nevertheless assured 'that' He is coming.  His coming is a prelude to judgement, and judgement the portal through which we each must pass into eternal loss or eternal joy.

That Jesus will return, is an incentive to be ready (24:36-46), and not to be complacent in our service for the King thinking that His prolonged absence means He is not interested, does not know what we're doing or doesn't care (24:48-51).  Christ's judgement is certainly coming and we must be ready for that Day (24: 47,51).  Such teaching is underlined by the graphic parables in chapter 25. True disciples will live faithfully and serve fervently for they 'live with eternity's values in view'.