Matthew 24:37-44 KEEP WATCH
When is the proper time to start getting ready for Christmas? Is Thanksgiving weekend the time to start? Or is it earlier? I noticed that this year, the stores have decided that last weekend – the weekend before Thanksgiving – is the official beginning of the Christmas season. Happy holidays, the stores say, starting November 19th. That’s pretty early. If you drive up and down Johnson Road, you may have noticed that one homeowner, who lives about a mile beyond our property, totally decked out his house with Christmas lights two weekends ago – that was November 12th. Is that too early? I just saw, the other day, a story about a Christmas store in Frankenmuth, Michigan – the biggest Christmas store in the world, and it’s open all year round. From their point of view, you should start getting ready for Christmas during the summer.
Everyone has their own opinion on what’s too early for Christmas decorating. Regardless of that, we all know that Christmas is coming. The exact day is printed out for us on our calendars, and many people have begun to count down the days. The thing is, no one was really ready for that first Christmas, when Jesus was born. No one knew that Christ was coming, except a very small group of people. The rest of the world was preoccupied with other things. The Roman governor of the land had ordered that a census should be taken of that area for tax purposes. Back then, if there was a census, you were compelled, by law, to go back to your ancestors’ hometown and register there. That’s what everyone was doing during that first Christmas. People were traveling, making arrangements about places to stay, where to eat, where to register for the census. Parties were taking place. Activities were going on. People were visiting family and friends they hadn’t seen in awhile.
It was a very busy, very crazy time in world history. The last thing on most people’s minds was whether or not the Messiah would be born. After all, God had been promising to send a Messiah for thousands of years. You hear about that all the time. Right now, most people had other things to think about.
And then Christ was born, and everyone missed it. There was Mary and Joseph. There were a few shepherds out in the fields who were told by the angels what was going on. Hundreds of miles away there were the wise men, who noticed the star in the east. If you study your Bible, you find out that the wise men didn’t make it to the manger on Christmas Eve – they were late, and came some time later. Besides them, everyone else missed it. After the census was over, everyone went back home, completely unaware that something big – one of the biggest things that could possibly happen – took place.
Our Gospel lesson for this morning tells us that this is how it will be the second time Jesus come to this earth, when he comes on Judgment Day. Most people won’t be ready for it. After all, people have been talking about the world coming to an end for a long long time. Right now, most people have other things that they are thinking about.
This morning, Jesus is going to encourage us to keep ourselves spiritually ready and spiritually alert, because he is coming. Don’t let yourself be caught unprepared – that’s the main message God’s Word has for us today. Be ready, Jesus tells us.
In verses 37 and following, Jesus talks about how it was during the days of Noah, the first time God destroyed the world. “People were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.” Didn’t God give those people a chance? The answer is yes! For many, many years, those people had the chance to watch a crazy old man build a giant wooden box in the desert. For many years, they listened to him talk about how God was going to send a flood, and it was time for them to repent. They all thought Noah was crazy. But then the flood came, and they were all completely unprepared and drowned.
That’s how it will be, Jesus says, when I come again. Some of you will be ready, and some of you will not. Look at the example Jesus uses in verse 40 – two men will be in a field – one taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding grain – one taken, the other left. Jesus is emphasizing here how some will be ready for his second coming, and some will not. The rest of the Bible gives us a clearer picture – when Jesus comes, there will be a loud trumpet call from God. Jesus will come with all of his angels, riding the clouds, and everything will stop. He’ll raise the dead. Then, those who are believers – those who are ready for his arrival – will be lifted up from this earth and will meet the Lord in the sky (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The unbelievers – those who aren’t ready – they will be left behind, to be judged, and to be sent to hell.
And so 2 men will be in a field when Jesus comes. 1 of them will be lifted up to meet the Lord in the air. And the other will be judged. 2 women will be out shopping – 1 will be ready, and 1 will not, when Jesus returns. A family gathers together for Thanksgiving – 3 of them are ready for Christ’s return, and 3 of them are not. 2 businessmen meet for lunch – 1 is ready, and 1 is not.
Jesus’ main point with all of this is verse 42: “Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Later, Jesus says that he will come at a time when you do not expect him.” The sad thing is, most people are not ready! Our other reading for today, from Romans 13, describes what it looks like to not be ready. Look at verse 13 - lots of people use this time of the year as an excuse to get drunk – if Jesus returns, and that’s you – what will he do with you? Sexual immorality is mentioned here – that, and money, are the two driving forces in our country – if you let yourself get caught up in that, and Jesus returns – you’re not ready – then what? Dissension and jealousy are mentioned – these basically refer to people not getting along with each other – fighting with people, not apologizing, not asking for forgiveness, not forgiving. If that’s you, and Jesus returns – you’re not ready.
All of these things come from what? They all come from our sinful hearts, don’t they. Even though we are Christians, we still, at times, fall into the same sins that our unbelieving friends fall into. There are times in our lives when we let our faith get very stale – when we grow very distant from Jesus Christ – and then we start living and talking just like the unbelieving world. Our sin makes us unprepared for Christ’s coming.
But Jesus forgives you. He leaves you on this planet for many purposes. And one of those purposes is to give you time to prepare for his coming. If your relationship with God doesn’t exist, or if your relationship with God has grown stale, or if you’re just a Christian who needs to get stronger – we all fit under at least one of those categories, don’t we – then let’s start getting ready for Jesus’ arrival today. We do that by first of all realizing that we all have sin, and that we all need God’s help. Confess your sins to Jesus – that’s step number one when it comes to getting ready. And step number two, is believing that you’re forgiven. Believing that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was enough to take your sins away – in the eyes of God, you are forgiven, and the gift of eternal life is yours. Believe it – that’s step number two. By the way – how often should you do those two steps? I do them every day – every day there are sins that I confess to God. And every day, I stop for a moment, and ponder that all my sins have all been taken away by the blood of Jesus Christ, and that I am forgiven. Do that every day, and God will change you into someone who is more and more prepared for Christ’s return.
Do you want to know that that looks like? You can tell when someone has prepared their home for Christmas – you see lights, trees, garland, decorations, bows, fake snow – you look at that house and you say to yourself, “that’s what a house prepared for Christmas looks like.” But what does a person look like, who’s prepared for Christ’s second coming?
If you see someone who is spending time in God’s Word, you’re seeing someone who is preparing for Christ’s return. “If you hold to my teachings,” Jesus say, “Then you are really my disciples.” God’s Word is where God works on you, where God changes your heart and changes your life. Also, if you want to know what a person looks like who’s getting ready for Christ’s return, look at Romans 13. It talks about how a person behaves decently – different from our culture. Instead of drunkenness and sexual immorality, that person is sober, clear-minded, and pure of heart. Instead of dissension, that person is forgiving and loving. Instead of jealousy, that person is content and generous with what he has. That’s what a person looks like who is ready for Christ’s return.
And the time to get ready is now. Remember, Christ is coming to judge those who have rejected him. But he’s also coming to bless you. Little kids always look forward to Christmas with eagerness and excitement. And you can look forward to Judgment Day the same way. Christ, your Savior, is coming to bless you. Be ready. Be prepared for the surprise. Amen.
