The Day and the Hour are Unknown

Intro

Before we dive in today, I wanted to share something that Sally Zambron shared with me and the rest of the staff.

What do you call a hen that stares at lettuce. Chicken sees her salad.

We are looking today at the end of Matthew 24 and the beginning of chapter 25, continuing on in the 5th and final discourse of Jesus found in Matthew. This one being “The Olivet Discourse” or the “End Times” discourse. So far Jesus has prophesied the destruction the temple in Jerusalem, which happens 40 years after this teaching. He has told His followers the difficulties they would face, being persecuted and killed for being His followers and messengers. He has promised that the Gospel of the kingdom would reach the whole world.

He then moved in to prophecies of the end of the age, or end of the world. He tells us the Son of Man, the title Jesus claimed for Himself, would descend from the sky. That the signs of His coming would be obvious. That His angels would gather the elect, or the chosen. Today, we’re looking at Matthew 24:36, and going to Matthew 25:30. This is a large section. So we’re going to look through the beginning of this part of the teaching, which He then reinforces with several parables. The parables I will summarize, but I encourage you to read them word for word today.

Matthew 24:36–39 NIV

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.

The great irony in that verse is that they knew nothing about what would happen. Even though there was a giant boat. I’m sure tons of people saw it and tons of people had heard about it. But it was meaningless. It meant nothing to them. Just as now we have signs, we have prophecy, we have millions of followers of Jesus telling people Jesus is coming back. And when He does…it will be a complete and utter shock to so many.

Genesis tells us that water came from the deep. There are vast amounts of water under the surface of the earth. We can see the evidence throughout the entire earth of this catastrophic flood. Of tectonic plates shifting. We have seen the images and video of the terrible and catastrophic effect of Hurricane Helene. It came on quickly. Imagine that worldwide. Every nation. It will be sudden.

Matthew 24:40–41 NIV

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.

You’ll remember what Jesus said that we looked at last week. The Son of Man will send out His angels to gather the elect. What are the people doing? Going about their day. They look the same. They have the same job. Maybe even go to the same church. But one knows Jesus and the other doesn’t.

Matthew 24:42–44 NIV

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.

What a gift to NOT know the day or the hour. Here’s the truth. Life in Jesus is freedom. Life in the kingdom is joyful. Hedonism, selfishness, and self indulgence are empty prisons. Jesus tells us to be ready today. So that way we can’t say, “I’ll wait until He’s about to come back and then try following Him.” No. We follow Him today. We accept that gift today. We experience freedom today. I don’t want to wait until the end of my life to know my savior and redeemer.

He will come at an hour when we do not expect Him. When we are involved in our work. What does it look like to be prepared? Jesus goes on to tell 3 parables. The first I will read because it’s quite short. The next 2 I will summarize. Then we’ll look at them as a whole and the lessons Jesus is reinforcing.

Matthew 24:45–47 NIV

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

Matthew 24:48–51 NIV

48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The second parable begins chapter 25.

The 10 Virgins

Jesus says “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. The virgins were bridesmaids. They were sent to welcome and honor the bridegroom, and be part of the procession. Procession to what? The bride. What is the Bride of Christ? The Church.

There were 5 wise virgins, and 5 foolish virgins. The wise ones brought jars full of oil to keep the lamp burning, the foolish ones did not bring extra oil. At midnight, the cry rang out that the bridegroom was coming. The foolish ones asked the wise ones for some more oil as theirs was almost out. But there wouldn’t be enough for all of them. So the foolish ones left to buy more oil. In the meantime, the bridegroom came, and the wise virgins went with him into the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. The fools came back, but the Lord wouldn’t let them through the door, saying “truly I don’t know you.”

The third and final parable of this section is the parable of the Bags of Gold.

The Bags of Gold

A wealthy man, before going on a journey, entrusts his wealth to his 3 servants. The first gets 5 bags of gold, the second gets 2 bags, and the third, 1 bag. Each according to his ability, Jesus says. The wealthy man, the master, returns after a long time. The first two servants put the money to work and doubled the gold they were entrusted with, and the master told both of them “well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. Come share in your master’s happiness.” The third servant, however, was afraid of His master, so he hid the gold in the ground and did nothing with it.

The master calls the servant wicked and lazy, and told the servant he could have at least put it in the bank so it would gather interest. The master takes the 1 bag of gold, and gives it to the one with 10 bags. He says, “whoever has will be given more, whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” The servant is then thrown out, where the final sentence is “throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. What can we learn from these 3 parables?

We are responsible for ourselves

No one will give you their oil, because they can’t. It is up to you to be prepared. And it’s ongoing, right? The oil is always burning, so we continually get more. We continue in that relationship with Christ. With dwelling in the Holy Spirit.

The first parable is clear that we need to be good to those that we have been put in charge of. As a pastor, that one stands out to me. But at the end of the day, all 3 point to the fact that I need to be faithful with what God has entrusted me with, but I can’t make anyone follow Jesus. I can’t make anyone prepare. We can encourage one another, but YOU must decide for yourself what you are going to do with what God has given you. And you know what, it’s not fair. Some have more money, some have more resources, some have more. But our job isn’t to look at what other people have and complain that we don’t have as much. What are you going to do with what God has given you? Will you use it so you can have more to give to God, or squander it?

It Will be Sudden

When Bethany and I were first married, we house sat for a couple at this nice house about 30 minutes from where I was going to school in Spring Arbor. We lived there for about 8 months while they were out of the state through the winter and into Spring. One day the owner returned unexpectedly. The house was…not clean. And the owner…she was not happy about it. Now I could tell you that we had been incredibly busy between school and work. And that’s true. And I could say if we had known she was coming we would have cleaned up better. But if we had known she would arrive unexpectedly, we would have been prepared always. But that’s exactly the point Jesus is making, isn’t He? Be prepared today. Once He returns, it’s too late.

The final point is this.

The Door will Close

Just as the door on the ark closed, the door will close on this world. The offer of salvation will be unobtainable, because the flood has already started. Once you’re in, you’re in, but once you’re out, you stay out. And there’s one of two ways you’re on the outside. One is you miss it entirely. The door closed and you’re out trying to prepare now that you know He’s here. And make not mistake, everyone will be trying to make up for lost time.

The other is you squander what the Lord entrusted you with, and you are thrown out. You never had any love or understanding of the Lord. You were in it for yourself.

So you, sitting in here today. You are one of three people. You might be someone who is absolutely in love with Jesus. He has given you blessings and talents and you are using them. You are taking risks for God’s Kingdom to double what you’ve recieved, and you’re trusting in His goodness. You are showing love and compassion to the people He has entrusted to you. You’re not perfect, but you are trusting God, being ever watchful in joyous anticipation for His return, while doing a good work today. You’re keeping oil in the lamp. Keep at it. Don’t stop.

Or…you might be someone who God has blessed. But you are paralyzed by what to do. You’re thinking of only yourself. So you do nothing. You have talents that God has bestowed, whether it be spiritual gifts, or financial means, or any number of things, and you keep it hidden. You don’t use it. People have no idea you’re even a follower of Jesus. That’s a dangerous place to be, because in the end, you end up on the outside with the third group.

Which is, you’re not prepared at all. You’re completely isolated from the work God is doing. You have nothing to do with His church. Your oil has run dry or maybe you never had any to begin. So when the time comes, you’ll be frantic in trying to make up for the time you wasted, and while you’re out, the door will close.

My challenge to you is this. Ask yourself this question.

Which Side of the Door will I be on?

Next week we will look at the final section. The sheep and the goats. Or as we often refer to it “judgement day.” But we’re going to end today with that question. Which side of the door will I be on? I want to give you a moment, to truly ask the Holy Spirit that question this morning and listen for the answer. And know this. This isn’t a trick question. This isn’t a question to make you feel bad. It’s a genuine moment to listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Because Jesus wants you on the inside. He wants you on His team, in His house, at the wedding banquet. You are invited! But it’s up to you, today, to be prepared before the door is closed. So take a moment, just you and God, and ask that question. (Play soft background music)

Let’s Pray.