Life With the Messiah
Text: Matt. 24:1-14
Introduction
1. What do you remember about Sept. 11, 2001?
2. The things I remember most were...
a. The Shock
b. The Panic
c. The Fear
3. We were all taken completely by surprise, but should we have been?
4. Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NLT)
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.
5. Furthermore, Jesus tells us...
a. Expect the Unexpected
b. Expect the Expected
c. Expect the Kingdom
6. Let's stand together as we read Matt. 24:1-14.
Proposition: No matter what life may throw at us, Jesus calls us to remain faithful to the end.
Transition: One thing that Jesus teaches us about life is...
I. Expect the Unexpected (1-2).
A. They Will Be Completely Demolished
1. The World Trade Center was an amazing piece of architecture.
a. The original World Trade Center was a complex of seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
b. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks.
c. At the time of their completion, 1 and 2 World Trade Center were the tallest buildings in the world, surpassing the Empire State Building, also in Manhattan.
d. The cost for the construction was $400 million ($2,169,167,354 in 2011 dollars).[2]
e. The complex was designed by Minoru Yamasaki in the early 1960s using a tube-frame structural design for the twin 110-story towers.
f. The complex was located in the heart of New York City's downtown financial district and contained 13.4 million square feet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center).
g. No one could have imagined that they could be destroyed in a matter of hours.
2. I mention all of this because it helps us put into perspective how the people of Jesus day thought about the Temple. However, there was one added dimension for them; it was God's house!
3. One day, Matthew tells us, "As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings."
a. Although no one knows exactly what the Temple looked like, it must have been magnificent, for in its time it was considered one of the architectural wonders of the world.
b. The Temple was impressive, covering about one-sixth of the land area of the ancient city of Jerusalem. It was not one building, but a majestic mixture of porches, colonnades, separate small edifices, and courts surrounding the Temple proper.
c. Luke's account of this story tells us a little more.
d. Luke 21:5 (NLT)
Some of his disciples began talking about the majestic stonework of the Temple and the memorial decorations on the walls...
e. The Jews were convinced of the permanence of this magnificent structure, not only because of the stability of construction, but also because it represented God’s presence among them (Life Application New Testament Commentary).
f. Their focus is still on the Temple as the center of their spiritual life, but that is all about to change.
g. For there is significance in Jesus leaving the Temple.
h. In the original language Matthew actually uses two different verbs to describe Jesus' actions - "went out" and "going away."
i. He is drawing attention to Jesus leaving the Temple permanently and with him the glory of God (France, 887).
4. Matthew tells us that Jesus turns to his disciples and says, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”
a. This must have startled the disciples, because Jerusalem was the holy city and the rebuilt temple was the pride of the nation.
b. Jesus’ statement here also must have baffled the disciples, since the temple was almost completely rebuilt by this time (Wilkins, 769-796).
c. The disciples were totally blown away by Jesus statement. It was the time of the Pax Romana, a time of political peace based on Roman conquest of much of the known world.
d. To them it would have been unthinkable that the Temple would be destroyed.
e. According to Josephus, the Jewish historian, its stones were white and strong, 50 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 16 feet thick.
f. It was absolutely unfathomable that they could been destroyed.
g. Even more so, it was symbol of God's presence, and it was God's dwelling place.
h. Just as in the day of Jeremiah and Ezekiel the people thought that the destruction of the Temple was both a physical and spiritual impossibility.
i. About 40 years from Jesus statement, his words of judgment would come to pass.
j. In AD 70, Titus, the Roman commander, gave orders that the Temple was not to be destroyed, however, one of his soldiers set fire to it.
k. As a result, the gold plates that decorated the walls and roof melted between the stones.
l. When the Roman soldiers heard that there was gold between the stones they ripped it apart (Horton, 513).
m. This teaches us to expect the unexpected; that the only thing we can trust in this life is Jesus himself.
B. The Only Certainty of Life Is Jesus
1. Illustration: Many, many years ago King George VI addressed the British Commonwealth on New Year’s Eve at the turn of a moment in history where the whole world was standing on the brink of uncertainty. Despondency was in the air, and people did not know to whom they could turn. As he closed his message, unknown to him his body itself was being racked by cancer. Before that year was over, his life was going to be lost. With all of the uncertainty of the world and the unknowing of his own physical maladies, he uttered these memorable words: I said to the man at the gate of the year, "Give me a light that I might walk safely into the unknown." And he said to me, "Walk out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God, and it shall be to you safer than the light and better than the known."
2. The only thing in this life we can count on are the promises of God.
a. 2 Corinthians 1:20 (ESV)
For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
b. All of the promises of God fine their fulfillment in Jesus.
c. The promise of provision is fulfilled in Jesus.
d. The promise of protection is fulfilled in Jesus.
e. The promise of healing is fulfilled in Jesus.
f. The promise of eternal life is fulfilled in Jesus.
3. He promises to always be with us.
a. Matthew 28:20 (NLT)
"...And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
b. He is with us in the storms of life.
c. He is with us when things don't go the way we expect it.
d. He is with us when we don't know where to turn.
e. He is with us whether the economy is good or bad.
f. He was with us that day when the Trade Center came crumbling to the ground.
g. He was there with the policemen and women.
h. He was there with the firefighters.
i. He was there with the EMT's.
j. He was there as some of his follower spent the last minutes of their lives on earth sharing the gospel with their co-workers.
4. He promises to comfort us in times of trouble.
a. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NLT)
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
b. He comforts when the calamities of life strike.
c. He comforts us when difficulties arise.
d. He comforts us when we are afraid.
e. He comforts us in death.
Transition: He is there for us when the unexpected happens, but he also warns us to...
II. Expect the Expected (3-8).
A. Only the First
1. So much has been said, written, preached, and taught about the last days.
Some of it is good; and some of it...eh, not so much!
It is important that we understood what Jesus said about the last days.
2. As the narrative continues, Matthew tells us, "Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?”
a. Once they are alone the disciples ask Jesus to explain what he had been talking about.
b. Jesus' reply initiates an extended discourse forecasting the events that will stretch on down the course of history.
c. This is the fifth and final major discourse recorded in this Gospel. As with the other discourses, Jesus directs it to his disciples and it is part of the material that new disciples must be taught to obey until his return.
d. The disciples ask two questions here: (1) "When will all these things be?" (2) "What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?"
e. That is, this second question probes both Jesus' coming and the end of the age as descriptions of one event.
f. This is indicated in Greek by one article that governs both the phrase "sign of your coming" and the phrase "end of the age" (Wilkins).
g. Parousia ("return") is found twenty-four times in the NT, four of which are in Matthew.
h. The term can refer to "presence," "arrival," or "coming" the first stage of "presence."
i. Yet parousia is closely tied with Jesus' glorious "appearing" or "coming" at the end of human history (Carson).
j. Since the fourth century BC, it was used as a technical term to announce the visit of prominent authorities, especially kings and emperors. Thus the word implies coming in power (Horton, 515).
3. Jesus replies to their questions, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, 5 for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many."
a. Jesus' warning about deception was needed. The disciples obsession with times, seasons, and signs was dangerous.
b. It made them susceptible to heresy and false teachers.
c. Throughout the ages there have been many false Messiah's that came in His name, claiming to have divine authority; some even insisting that they were Jesus himself, and led many astray.
d. The ones that are the most dangerous are the ones that come from within the Church. They seek a following and not a Savior (Horton, 515).
e. This would not be the last time that Jesus would have to warn them about this obsession.
f. Acts 1:6-7 (NLT)
6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”
7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.
4. Jesus continues his answer saying, "And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. 7 Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world."
a. Jesus next warns that wars and rumors of wars will occur repeatedly throughout this age, with nations and kingdoms rising against each other.
b. But he warns: "don't panic." The end is not near even though calamities may seem to indicate that it is.
c. The Old Testament linked wars, cosmic battles, famines, earthquakes, and other catastrophic events with the end of the age.
d. But Jesus emphasizes that these cataclysmic activities will be a regular part of the suffering of this life until the return of Jesus begins the redemption of all creation (Wilkins).
e. They are just part of the kind of world that we live in, and we must spread the gospel during this age.
f. Wars cannot be stopped anymore than natural calamities like earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornados.
g. Yet Jesus indicates that we will have to deal with natural disasters too. However, just like wars, we cannot allow them to keep us from our mission.
h. We cannot wait for ideal conditions before we start spreading the gospel.
i. Nor can we sit in our prayer closets and wait for Jesus to come. Instead we must go into the world the way it is and fulfill the great commission.
5. Today more than ever we need to hear the words of Jesus when he said, "But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come."
a. How many times have you heard someone say, or maybe you have even said it yourself, every time you hear of a war, earthquake, or other disaster that Jesus will be coming any time now?
b. What we need to see is that Jesus said just the opposite.
c. The metaphor in "birth pains" is used to highlight a different facet of the prenatal process that the onset of childbirth is not steady but is a repeated phenomenon, coming in waves over and over again.
d. The baby does not come on the first pang, but once the pains begin, all know that the inexorable process has commenced.
e. We do not know if the baby will come on the fifth, the fifteenth, the fiftieth, or the five hundredth.
f. Periods of wars and rumors of wars, tragic earthquakes, and famines wash over the landscape of history in repeated pains.
g. Each reminds us that the end is coming, but no one knows when until the Son of Man appears. Throughout the labor we must remain on guard (Wilkins).
h. Rather than telling us that the time is near, it should remind us that we do not know the day or the hour and must be ready at all times for his coming.
B. Part of Life
1. Illustration: "God's love for us is not a love that always exempts us from trials, but rather, a love that sees us through trials."
2. We should not be surprised when difficulties come our way.
a. 1 Peter 4:12-13 (NLT)
12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.
13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
b. There will be difficulties in this life, and giving your life to Jesus does not change that fact.
c. However, following Jesus gives us the strength, ability, and encouragement to deal with these problems.
d. We should look on them instead as opportunities to grow.
3. Trials and difficulties are not just signs of Jesus coming but part of life.
a. 1 Thessalonians 3:2-4 (NLT)
2 and we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God’s co-worker in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith,
3 and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. But you know that we are destined for such troubles.
4 Even while we were with you, we warned you that troubles would soon come—and they did, as you well know.
b. While it is true there will be trials and difficulties in the last days, but there have been trials and difficulties ever since Jesus came to earth.
c. The disciples went through them.
d. Paul went through them.
e. The early church went through them.
f. So guess what? So will we!
4. However, understand that through Christ we can overcome trials.
a. 1 John 4:4 (NIV)
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
b. Jesus is great than our trials.
c. Jesus is greater than our difficulties.
d. Jesus is greater than anything this life can throw at us.
e. Greater he is that is in you than he that is in the world!
Transition: We should expect the unexpected, we should expect the expected, and we can...
III. Expect the Kingdom (9-14).
A. And This Gospel Will Be Preached
1. Jesus tells them to expect other things as well.
2. He told them, "Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers."
a. The disciples will be handed over to be persecuted, a word that occurs four times in Matthew, three of which are found in this chapter, points to a specific future period of unparalleled persecution; here the term indicates a general kind of trouble or persecution.
b. Jesus' disciples will feel the wrath and alienation from humanity for following him and proclaiming his message.
c. The phrase "because you are my followers" is literally "because of my name" and is an expression that harkens back to the Old Testament significance of God's name as the representation of his person as being the sole focus of Israel's worship and allegiance.
d. Jesus' disciples will have the privilege of carrying his name, but it also brings with it suffering, because the antagonism and hatred that is directed to him will naturally fall on his followers (Wilkins).
e. "You" quite clearly extends beyond the immediate disciples and includes all the followers Jesus will have.
f. Persecution would break out early and keep on during the "birth pains," against a background of hatred by the whole world.
g. Jesus establishes persecution as characteristic of this age - a time when many will "turn away" from the faith and hate each other (Carson).
3. Jesus also says there will be difficulties for the church. He says, "And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. 11 And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.
a. It is not easy to endure persecution, and those who only hold on to Jesus because of their own comfort will find it easier to turn away from him and avoid the suffering.
b. They not only will seek their own escape from suffering, but they will become enemies of Jesus and turn against his followers, their former fellow disciples.
c. They will betray them to the persecutors, and the love that had characterized the relationship between them will be turned to hate as they utterly reject Jesus (Wilkins).
d. False prophets have done far more damage to the church than persecution over the years.
e. They have come disguised as spiritual leaders, but in actuality they are wolves in sheep’s clothing and claim new teachings and revelations that are not consistent with the Word of God.
f. The speak all the right words and tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear.
g. Acts 20:29-30 (NLT)
29 I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock.
30 Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.
4. The result of all this will be "Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold."
a. All of the preceding phenomena are described as the increase of wickedness, which points to the spiritual death of those who fall away and those who have attempted to deceive the community.
b. The chief characteristic of spiritual death is that it causes love to grow cold.
c. Jesus emphasized throughout his ministry that love is not primarily an emotion but is an active commitment to God and to others to promote God's will.
d. Those who are spiritually dead cannot produce this kind of love, which reemphasizes that these pretenders never knew God at all.
e. The expression "many," indicates that a large percentage of the community will fall away.
f. This is a somber picture of the community of disciples being impacted by turning away.
g. But it is not unlike Jesus' statements elsewhere when he emphasizes that the gate and way to life are narrow, with only a few finding it (Wilkins).
5. However, Jesus gives good news in all of this, "But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come."
a. "Saved" does not speak of rescue from physical death, because many true disciples have experienced martyrdom.
b. Instead, Jesus gives both a concrete promise and a cautionary reminder. His promise is that the one who remains committed to his name until the end will not be consumed by the persecution, but will experience the full blessing and peace of kingdom's salvation with his arrival.
c. But Jesus likewise reminds them that a disciple's real commitment to him is demonstrated in whether he or she remains steadfast.
d. The ones that spend all their time obsessing over times, seasons, and signs are no the who will triumph in the end.
e. Only those who remain faithful to the gospel and maintain a positive witness in a wicked world will be saved in the end (Horton, 519).
f. Jesus is faithful to provide the resources to withstand whatever difficulties may come, because the same Spirit who was on Jesus in his earthly ministry will be available to the disciples, and will provide the strength necessary to endure the persecution to the end.
g. Plus Jesus himself will be with them to the end of the age (Wilkins).
h. But none of this means that the gospel of the kingdom is not preached or that its saving message does not spread throughout the world.
i. Despite persecution and often because of it the Good News is "preached as a testimony to all nations."
j. The expression is itself neutral, and the gospel will bring either salvation or a curse, depending on how it is received (Carson)
B. Coming of the Kingdom
1. Illustration: There is a story told by Dr. Joseph Stowell, President of Moody Bible Institute, as he visited a home for mentally handicapped children. While walking through the corridors, he noticed that the windows were covered with tiny little hand prints. He asked the director, what they were all about. The director replied, "The children here love Jesus and they’re so eager for Him to return that they lean against the windows as they look up to the sky." My friends, when we face the difficulties of life, lean against the window and look up to the sky. Jesus is coming back. Encourage one another with these words.
2. There will be difficulties in this life, but the King is coming!
a. 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 (NLT)
17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
18 So encourage each other with these words.
b. He is coming in power!
c. He is coming in glory!
d. We shall see the King when he comes!
3. There will be opposition in this life, but the King is coming!
a. Revelation 19:11 (NLT)
Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war.
b. Jesus came as a carpenter the first time, but he's coming as a King the second time.
c. The first time he was rejected, beaten, and crucified, but he is coming to judge and make war the second time.
d. He came meek and mild the first time, but he's coming back as the Victorious King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
4. Until He comes we must fight the good fight of faith.
a. 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NLT)
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.
8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.
b. Stand your ground and don't give in.
c. Fight the good fight and don't give up.
d. Run the race to win the prize.
Conclusion
1. Jesus tells us...
a. Expect the Unexpected
b. Expect the Expected
c. Expect the Kingdom
2. Are you standing strong?
3. Are you fighting the good fight?
4. No matter what life may throw at us, Jesus calls us to remain faithful to the end.
