Waiting for the Son

The King Is Coming

Imagine what it’s like to welcome the President to our neighborhood. So many begin to work and make preparations and it changes the city.

You see a city reveals the king it expects by the way it prepares for his arrival.

The Thessalonians understood royal visits. The Greek word parousia, which Paul repeatedly uses for Christ’s coming, could describe a ruler’s arrival. Paul takes that image and makes a revolutionary announcement: Caesar is not the true King. Jesus is. The One who was crucified has been raised and will come again.

The King is coming!

First Thessalonians is probably Paul’s earliest preserved letter, written around AD 50 or 51 to a young congregation. Thessalonica was Macedonia’s capital, a prosperous harbor on the Via Egnatia, proud of its relationship with Rome and filled with temples, idols, and public loyalty to Caesar.

Paul arrived after being beaten and imprisoned in Philippi. Acts 17 says he reasoned from the Scriptures that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. Some believed, but opposition followed. A mob attacked Jason’s house and dragged believers before the city officials, accusing them of “acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king—Jesus” (Acts 17:7).

Paul was announcing another King before whom every power must bow: Jesus is Lord.

Paul and Silas had to leave during the night. Worried that persecution might crush the church, Paul sent Timothy back. Timothy returned with good news: they had questions, but they were still standing. Paul writes to encourage them, call them to holiness, and teach them how to live until Jesus comes which leads us to the sermon series.

Why “Until He Comes”?

I am calling this series Until He Comes because every chapter leans toward Christ’s return. Believers wait for God’s Son; Jesus comes for his people; the church is called to holiness; the Lord descends; the dead in Christ rise; and God preserves his people blameless at Christ’s coming.

Paul does not speak about Christ’s return to satisfy speculation but to produce transformation. He gives them commands so they will know how to live until he returns.

Faith, Love, and Hope

Paul remembers their “work produced by faith,” their “labor motivated by love,” and their “endurance inspired by hope” (1:3).

Their faith works. Their love labors. Their hope endures. That is what happens when a church believes the King is coming.

Faith is not merely something we confess with our mouths. It produces obedience in our lives. Love rolls up its sleeves and serves. Hope holds us steady when the winds of persecution begin to blow.

Paul summarizes their conversion with three verbs: “You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven” (1:9–10).

Turned. Serve. Wait. That is how a church prepares for the King.

Turn: Change Your Allegiance

The Thessalonians turned from idols. They were not adding Jesus to an already crowded shelf; they were clearing the shelf. They were taking down idols of rival rulers and declaring that Jesus alone was Lord.

Repentance is a transfer of allegiance.

We pledge allegiance to many things more readily than to God. We defend political parties, protect family names, fight for traditions, wear our team’s colors, and rearrange our schedules for entertainment. But when Jesus calls, suddenly we need time to think.

We will stand for a flag but remain seated in our obedience.

We will shout for a team but whisper our worship.

We will make our politics known while leaving people uncertain whether we belong to Jesus.

The problem is not loving family, honoring heritage, or appreciating country. The problem begins when a good loyalty becomes an ultimate loyalty. Our party did not die for us. Our family name cannot forgive us. Our traditions cannot save us. Our nation cannot raise us. Jesus alone died for our sins, conquered the grave, and is coming again.

You cannot prepare to welcome Jesus while flying the flag of an idol. If the King is coming, the old banners must come down. The secret sin must come down. The bitterness must come down. The pride must come down. The divided loyalty must come down.

Friends, grace will meet you where you are, but grace will never leave you facing the wrong direction. You must turn from your idols and submit your life under the authority of Christ.

Serve: Put the City in Order

After they turned from their idols they began “to serve the living and true God.” When a ruler was coming, citizens did not sit around discussing his arrival. They worked.

If our King Jesus is coming, then there is a lot of work to do: feed the hungry, teach the children, comfort the grieving, repair relationships, forgive enemies, help the weak, and proclaim the gospel.

A converted church becomes visible by what it does on ordinary days. Faith that turns but never serves is a coat rack: it faces the right direction but does nothing.

We are not saved by serving, but salvation produces service. Our hands, calendars, resources, and influence belong to the King.

Since Jesus is Lord, then everything we possess becomes available for his purposes.

Wait: Watch the Road

Finally, they waited “for his Son from heaven.” Christian waiting has its eyes on the road, its hands on the work, and its heart set on the King.

They were waiting for the Son “whom [God] raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath” (1:10). Their hope was anchored in something that had already happened: Jesus had risen. The empty tomb guarantees the promised future.

He came first in humility; he will come again in glory. He wore a crown of thorns; he will return as King of kings. He bore our judgment; he will bring justice. He came first riding into Jerusalem on a donkey; he will come again with power and majesty.

For those who belong to him, his coming is our blessed hope. For those who refuse him, it is an urgent warning. Jesus is the risen Lord before whom every knee will bow.

Waiting for Jesus means living now in a way that will make sense when he arrives.

Is the City Ready?

Imagine the messenger entering Thessalonica again: “The King is coming!”

Are the old banners still hanging? Take them down. Is the city in disorder? Go to work.

Have you become tired and careless? Wake up.

Is anyone watching the road? Lift up your head.

Church, the King is coming. We do not know the day or hour, but we know the One who promised. The tomb is empty. The Son has been raised. The Spirit has been given. The promise is certain.

Until he comes, our allegiance belongs to Jesus, above anything else Jesus is King!

Until he comes, we will keep believing, loving, serving, pursuing holiness, proclaiming the gospel, and watching the road.

May the King find faith working, love laboring, hope enduring, and a church prepared to welcome him.

Turn to God. Serve the living and true God. Wait for his Son from heaven.

The King is coming.