READY OR NOT, HERE I COME!
THE FINAL DISCOURSE NO. 5 • Sermon • Submitted
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As a child I loved to play hide and seek, especially in the dark! One of my faint memories is of playing it in our basement with my brother Darryl, and our neighbor, Joel Klein. On this occasion I stumped them so badly that they couldn’t find me for several rounds — I was hiding under the stairs where our parents would keep the luggage in storage.
Of course watch duty isn’t limited to cattle drives. Military excursions into enemy territory often require watch duty as well. And of course this is because an enemy will often seek to strike while folks aren't expecting them to.
As the Olivet discourse continues we will see how, by use of various parables, Jesus emphasized the importance of being ready for His imminent return. And He contrasts those who are ready with those who are not. We obviously will not cover all of this material this morning, but we will look at the first two parables found in . As we do so, we will consider those who will be ready and those who will not! Those who will be watchful and faithful, and those who will not.
Let’s read the passage together.
With Christ’s imminent return in view we should first note
Those who will be watchful and those who will not be watchful
As we consider those who are watchful let’s look at
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
The Greek term translated alert or watch indicates a call for continual expectancy
This idea of watch might be compared to those who are assigned watch duty in a military excursion or a cattle drive
Perhaps the children’s game capture the flag would be a better comparison than hide and seek!
Some people take from this that we need to be watching all the events in the Middle East
Some of these have attempted to calculate when Christ will return based on current events. Craig Blomberg stated:
The New American Commentary: Matthew 2. Judgment on the Temple but Also on the Nations (23:1–25:46)
Discipleship demands faithful stewardship, not attempts to calculate the timing of the end since such estimates will almost inevitably be mistaken.
Watchfulness means to be prepared
How should a person prepare for the Lord’s return?
Non-believers need to come to terms with the message of the gospel
Non-believers need to come to terms with the message of the gospel
Believers need to prepare by:
Being persistent in their faith
Persevering in their faith
Being patient in their faith
There is a sense in which verse 42 is a connection between this passage and the previous passage which we looked at last week. But it also serves as a preface for the remainder of the Olivet Discourse. What follows is a series of four parables which emphasize the need to be be prepared for the imminent return of Christ.
Of course if there are those who will be prepared, there will also be those who are not prepared. And that is the comparison which will be made in the upcoming parables.
There is a sense in which verse 42 is a connection between this passage and the previous passage which we looked at last week. But it also serves as a preface for the remainder of the Olivet Discourse. What follows is a series of four parables which emphasize the need to be be prepared for the imminent return of Christ.
The Homeowner & The Thief
The Homeowner & The Thief
The first parable is of a home owner preparing for the coming of a thief in the night. In verse 43 Jesus states the short parable, and in verse 44 He gives the application
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
I’m sure many of you have seen the commercials for home-security systems. One that came to mind as I was looking at this passage was of a lady sitting on the beach and getting an alert on her phone that someone was trespassing on her property, and she speaks to them, and the activates the loud alarm which is sent straight to the security company. In my weird mindset I wondered if someone will try to develop an app for a security alert for the coming of Christ?
Notice that in this parable:
Christ is compared to a thief
We must exercise great care with this comparison
The only aspect of a thief that can be compared to Christ is the unknown time of His coming
Obviously a person who is prepared for a coming thief is better able to repel one than one who is not. The person who is not prepared for the coming of Christ will be like the one the psalmist refers to in
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.
The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.
Notice as Jesus gives the application to this parable.
For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
The next thing to note, in view of Christ’s imminent return is
The Comparison between those who are faithful and those who are evil
The Faithful Slave
The Faithful Slave
Let’s look first at what Jesus had to say about slaves.
In Sunday School we have been going through a book written by John MacArthur titled Slave. The premise to this book is that the believer’s relationship to Christ is that of a slave to his or her master. Everyone is a slave, either to sin or to Christ. Though we don’t like this truth very much in our present society, it is what the Bible teaches. Paul stated the situation very well in
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
The fact that we, as believers, have been purchased means that we are the possession of someone else. And that person is Christ. If you would like to learn more about this slave relationship we have with our Master, I invite you to join us for the Sunday School hour which begins at 9:45 a.m.
Let’s look next at what Jesus had to say about
He was sensible
“Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?
He was given authority as a test
The Outcome for Faithfulness
The Outcome for Faithfulness
“Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?
He is blessed for his faithful service
Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
He is entrusted with greater responsibility
Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
Churches who have a larger pool of people to choose from will often use this type of process in choosing future leaders.
The Evil Slave
The Evil Slave
I find it interesting that the contrast is not between a faithful and faithless slave, but between a faithful and evil slave. Let’s note what Christ had to say about the evil slave:
His reasoning is in error
But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’
His errant reasoning seems to be motivated by the master’s delay in returning
But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’
Some believe this delay is a hint regarding the long delay between Christ’s first and second advents
Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,
and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
This slave is domineering to his peers
and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
Though Christ is not speaking about the church specifically here, it does remind of what Peter had to say about domineering leadership within the church.
shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;
nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.
He is also engaged in prodigal living
and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
The Outcome for the Evil Slave
The Outcome for the Evil Slave
He will be caught off guard
the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know,
He will be judged severely
and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Let’s pray.
Closing Song:
Find Us Faithful