Matthew 24:36-44
Maintaining Readiness
The military has a readiness system of green, amber and red, to illustrate threat levels we might face at any given time. When you go on base or on post, you’ll see a Force Protection Condition, or FPCON, ranging from normal to delta. Likewise, the president oversees a national threat level system from Defcon 5 to Defcon 1. All of these are designed to keep us at the proper readiness level to match the threat. They are designed to help us to be ready for whatever we have to face. Maintaining readiness is important as a nation. And evidently, from today’s passage, it is important as a believer.
Matthew 24 contains the last of five long talks or discourses Jesus gives to his disciples prior to his arrest and subsequent execution. In this last one, nicknamed the Olivet Discourse, he dwells some on the End Times or Last Days. What will it be like when he returns, when God moves us all into that last phase of eternity? Jesus doesn’t give us any specifics, but he does give us some principles. Primarily, he stresses,
1. Jesus’ return will be sudden and unexpected
He illustrates this with several examples, beginning with the days of Noah in verses 38 and 39. Jesus doesn’t focus so much on the evil prevalent in that time period, but instead focuses on the ordinariness of daily life: people are eating, drinking, and getting married. They have no concept that life as they know it is about to change radically, that their eternity is about to begin.
The scenario reminds me of America at Christmas time. We calendarize Christmas, or “Christ-Mass,” because of the birth of a Savior. But, for the most part, the holiday is completely overtaken by the commercialism of the season. Christmas has become the mecca of consumerism. Instead of saving our souls, it saves our economy. There is nothing wrong with a strong, family-oriented celebration centered around gift-giving. I love Christmas as much as anyone else. In fact, I bought several gifts for myself on Black Friday! However, I am thankful that the Lectionary organizers always start off the church year, the first Sunday of Advent, with the second coming of Christ: Jesus came once; Jesus will come again. It reminds us of what is most important.
So Jesus talks about the extraordinary happening smack dab in the middle of ordinary, everyday life. Jesus’ return will be sudden; it will be unexpected. Other examples he gives from everyday life: two farmers are working in the field; one is taken, one is left behind; two women are grinding wheat: again, one is taken, one is left behind (vv. 40-41).
In both settings, there seems to be little to no difference between the two men, or between the two women. They look the same on the outside. Yet, one has a relationship with God through Christ Jesus, and one doesn’t. One heads to eternal life and one heads to destruction. In the blink of an eye. Everything changes. Without warning.
Jesus warns us not to try and predict when all this will happen. At the beginning of the passage, in verse 38, he says, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (v. 38)
In verse 42, he says, “...You do not know on what day your Lord will come” (v. 42)
In verse 44, he repeats, “...The Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (v. 44b)
Evidently, three times were not enough to repeat the message. When Jesus later ascends to heaven, recorded in Acts 1:7, he returns to this topic. The disciples have just asked him when the end times will happen, and he replies,
“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” Acts 1:7
Now various religious groups for centuries have sought to peg the year or date Jesus will return. And you know how often they have been wrong? 100% of the time! I don’t know how they miss these verses I’ve just shared with you. I’m sure the verses are in their Bible as well. I guess they’re just trying to emphasize our role. And what is that? It’s part 2 on your outline:
2. Our role is to be ready
Jesus says simply, “Keep watch...” (v. 42). It reminds me of the Boy Scout motto, which is, “Be prepared.” Jesus illustrates with an example involving home security. Back then they didn’t have police as we do today. The military might protect the upper crust of society. But if you were middle class or lower, you were on your own. Last week, while shopping in the downtown Mexican market, we saw a sign for sale that had a picture of a firearm and said, “Enter at your own risk. We don’t call 911.” That Texas sentiment was what defined the common homeowner in Jesus’ time. And Jesus said, if you knew when the thief was coming, you would be ready to catch them in the act. But since we don’t know, we have to maintain a state of readiness around the clock. Many people today have perimeter cameras up around their homes. My brother-in-law from Alaska is here this week for Thanksgiving. Several times he checked his phone app to see who was on his doorstep back home. He was trying to be ready for that thief if and when they came.
Jesus is not a thief; he’s a Savior. But similar to the thief, Jesus says to all of us believers, “So you also must be ready” (v. 44a)
How can you be ready when you don’t know when he’s coming? Perhaps the simplest way is to imagine that any day could be THE day. What would you do differently if you knew for certain Jesus was returning in 24 hours? Would you repent more zealously of your sin? Would you earnestly reach out to a loved one and implore them to receive the good news about God’s forgiveness? Would you make peace with those who are estranged from you?
If so, you know what you need to do today to be ready, to maintain a steady state of readiness.
Remember the military’s and the president’s levels of readiness? If we as a nation can be ready for the next attempted 9/11, can we as Christians also be ready for something really GOOD, like the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? He came once at Christmas. He’ll come again for those who are his.
As we take the Lord’s Supper today, we remember that the Bible never asks us to remember Jesus’ birth. But it does ask us to remember his death, and with it, the promise of his second coming. Listen to the Apostle Paul’s words, in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26:
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
We remember his death. And we remember his promise to come again. He is alive, and he will return for those who are his own. May we be ready. Let us pray:
Jesus, thank you for the gift of eternal life. We see the plan of the Heavenly Father begin at Christmas time, when you stepped down out of the glories of heaven, to be born a baby, a child of promise, the long-awaited Messiah. Help us to trust our very lives to you, to confess our sin and have it taken away completely by your blood sacrifice on the cross. Help us to know that we have eternal life as you do through the resurrection from the dead. Help us to live every day ready for your return. We ask this in your name, by the power of the Holy Spirit, amen.
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36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
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For welcome time:
What’s the difference between an amateur thief and a professional thief?
The amateur thief says, "Give me all your money!" The professional thief says, “Sign here please.”
