The Coming Of The Lord

Text: “…the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2).

What does that Scripture mean to you?

What is the day of the Lord?

What does the word “thief” mean in this Scripture?

Didn’t Jesus already come into the world as a baby? Yes, He did. Every Christmas season we read the story of His birth. We understand and believe that He did not have an earthly father, but entered the world through Immaculate Conception. Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit.

His entrance into the world was a plan orchestrated by God the Father. God had a plan that would give man a chance to be redeemed. Salvation could not come through man because every man born after the sin of disobedience was born with a sinful nature. Man could not save or redeem man. Consequently, man was lost.

Jesus came into the world knowing His mission. He knew exactly what was going to take place. He knew about the punishment and abuse He would suffer. He knew about the Cross to which He would be nailed. He knew about His burial, His time absent from the Father and His resurrection.

Jesus knew all this, yet He came to humankind with open arms. He came because the love His Father had for every man, woman, boy and girl. He came because “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Jesus came proclaiming to be the Messiah. Many believed Him and many refused to believe Him. Many followed Him, but many stood afar off. The Sadducees and the Pharisees did not accept His teachings. He was condemned and forced to carry the cross-beam of the cross on which He would die.

“And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS” (John 19:17, 18).

The evening of the Crucifixion, Jesus was placed in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea. Three days later Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and found it empty. As she cried, Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” (John 20:15)

At first, May did not know who was speaking to her, but her eyes were opened when Jesus said to her, “Mary!” After appearing to the disciples several time and the Scriptures were opened, “He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:50, 51).

Jesus was with the disciples and then He departed from them. “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:10, 11).

The Scripture tells us that He will come again in like manner as He ascended before the eyes of His disciples. We believe the Scripture to be true; therefore, we expect Jesus to come again.

Our text tells us “…the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). This is telling me that the Lord is going to return, but we don’t know when. He is going to come at an unexpected time. He is going to come as a thief comes in the night.

We don’t know when a thief is going to strike. If we did know, we could prepare for him. The Lord is definitely going to come again, but we don’t know the day or the time. We must always be ready so then we will not be surprised. He will make His entry at a time we least expect.

He was here one time, why does He want to come again? Yes, He was here 2000 plus years ago, and His mission was to redeem humankind. He came to save us because there is no way we can save ourselves. He came and paid our sin debt.

Jesus had no sin, but He took our sins, past, present and future and buried them at the foot of the Cross. He came as our Savior. He came to rescue us or save us from spending eternity in the pit of Hell.