Waiting for the Master

Overview

This is near the end of Christ’s ministry on this earth and the last major teaching section recorded by Matthew.

1. The Salvation and Life of the Kingdom in “The Sermon on the Mount” (5:1-7:28)

2. The Message and Messengers of the Kingdom in the sending of the 12 out (10:1-42)

3. The Mysteries of the Kingdom (13:1-53)

4. The Community Life of the Kingdom (17:22-18:35)

forgiveness

Church discipline.

5. The Coming of the Heavenly Kingdom (24:1-25:46)

In Luke this takes place in chapter 21, after the triumphal entry.

Jesus knows His hour is coming and He is preparing His disciples. He does this many ways, but one of them is to encourage them to look ahead.

The Setting

A wedding. One of the two common and well known social times. Funerals, and Weddings. Mourning and Joy.

3 Parts to a Jewish Wedding

There was a search for a bride with the groom and the brides parents meeting and coming to an agreement.

There was an official betrothal as the bride price was paid and legal contracts were entered into. They were officially concidered married at this point, but did not move in together until the man had prepared for the bride sufficiently.

The wedding feast.

An evening feast light by torches and lamps as the groom came from His home picked up the bride and took her to His own home.

At the end of the feast a friend of the groom would present the bride to the groom and they would leave to be together for the first time.

Encouragement

There is much to look to in encouragement here.

This is a strong picture of the return of Christ for His church.

All of Matthew 24 has been telling us about that coming time. It lists the sign of His coming.

Jesus litterally lists the same signs that we see when the seals are broken on the scroll in Rev. 6:1-16.

1 false Christs

War and rumor of war

famine and pesilance

Just after the midpoint death of jews and Christians

5 skipped the martyrs in heaven

Cosmic disturbances… earthquake, sun blackened, moon like blood, stars fall. ....

When we read from Revelations or Matthew 24, we read of Judgment. Jesus will return to the unbeleiving world to save His own and judge them. It is sobering for the lost.

They rejected Him at His first coming and during the period inbetween.

When they see Him come the second time, it will only be for Judgment.

But here, we are privileged to see a different side of it.

It is a wedding with the groom returning to gather up His bride.

It is a time of great celebration.

It is a time of going to a new home, with a new name, and new responsibilities and of all the longings of marriage finally coming.

We are not to be looking at the return of the Lord as a Dark day for us. We are to be encouraged that it is a day of Love, Protection, and fulfillment of His promises.

Just like a Jewish wedding.

John 14:1–3 ““Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

The Warning

The teaching about the end is full of warnings.

Matthew 24:11 “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”

Matthew 24:23–26 ““Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.”

Matthew 24:42–44 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

The evil servant:

Matthew 24:45-51..

Matthew 25:26-30..

The Magority of this Parable is a Warning.

Warning 1

Not everyone is who they seem.

Matthew 25:2 “Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.”

Matthew 7:21–27 ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.””

The Day of His coming would be a while and we must be ready

Life goes on and men forget.

Luke 12:45–51 “But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.”

#3 No More Chances

Matthew 25:8–10 “And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.”

God has gracely kept the door open for all this time.

Men condemn themselves by their rejection of Christ.

At the time of His coming, the door shuts, even for those who are near the Kingdom.

I do not know You!

Matthew 7:23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

Same here, they are in the church, but don’t build on Jesus Christ.

Warnings start to end

Warning on who we listen to. They may lead us astray.

It grows larger than just those who preach.

Matthew 7:15–20 ““Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

So here as well. There are those who will seek Christ at the end, but not be able to enter in.

Luke 13:24 ““Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”

Conclusion

Let us seek to enter in with a pure heart, a single heart.

Let us be careful of sin in our lives.

Let us look ahead to the promise of Jesus that He is coming again and it will be a time of great Joy for those who are His.