False Messiahs

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Introduction:

I was in Target one day shopping and I saw someone who looked like someone I knew. So I politely waved and said “Hi, [name].” They gave an awkward wave back but had this confused look on their face. I then realized, on that’s not who I thought it was. There are few things as embarrassing than mistaking someone for someone else. Normally, it doesn’t have any long standing consequences. You say sorry, my mistake. Move on…probably move isles.

Today is the day that Christians around the world celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Many wave palm branches services. Others have passion plays that start with Jesus riding on a donkey.

And many pastors will end their sermon today with “How quickly will the shouts of "HOSANNA” turn to “CRUCIFY HIM” a few days later!

I’d like to begin there. Have you ever wonder how that transition happened so quickly in people’s minds?

It’s because they were expecting someone else. They were expecting the conquering king who would throw off the chains of oppression of the Romans. Reestablish the nation of Israel and the throne of King David.

They were expecting the Messiah that would rescue them from their hard life. They were expecting the Messiah who would usher in a period of great prosperity.

But that’s not why Jesus came…at least not the first time.

Jesus came to suffer and die on the cross to pay the penalty owed to God for the sins of Jesus’ people. And this would cause many to miss him because they were expecting someone else.

Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 24:3-14. Jesus has already made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey to the shouts of Hosanna. The sights and sounds of that day were likely still in everyone’s minds. But the whole idea of Palm Sunday serves to underly the whole problem of the Jewish’s expectation of the long awaited Messiah. They just didn’t understand God’s plan. The people in Jerusalem that day expected a king. And a king they got. But ultimately Jesus was not what they expected.

So a few days after the triumphal entry, Jesus preemptively seeks to correct this misunderstanding during what is called the “Olivet Discourse” which deals with Jesus’ teaching on the end times. Now there are a lot different ways that this “discourse” has been interpreted, but where we are going to focus our time this morning is on something that people generally agree upon.

Introduce:

Authentic Principle: Beware of looking for the wrong Jesus.

Read: Matthew 24:3-14

Matthew 24:3–14 ESV

3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Authentic Principle: Beware of looking for the wrong Jesus.

Transition: There are a couple of things we should say at the onset. 1. Jesus is a real historical person who is revealed in the pages of scripture. Quests for the “Historical Jesus” outside of the Bible are fruitless endeavors and lead to doubt and speculation. 2. All that is said about Jesus in the Bible is enough for us to know Him. Asking, “well what about his childhood?” is also fruitless. 3. It is possible to think you truly love Jesus but ultimately love a figment of your imagination because you fail to know Him as He has chosen to reveal Himself. The only way you will miss Jesus when he returns is if you don’t really know who He is.

So first, we must:

1. Know what to expect. (Matthew 24:3-5)

Explanation:

In contrast to the people of Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, we need to make sure that we are expecting the real Jesus. Those first Jews were expecting a king and they got a suffering servant of God. What’s funny is that we know they could have known this. Isaiah 53 is incredibly clear about the suffering ministry of Jesus. Even the disciples struggled to understand the Messiah must suffer and die. They just didn’t understand it and dismissed it as “figurative.” Too often when we try to interpret the Bible, we are too quick to try to explain things by saying we don’t have to take this literally. A good rule of thumb is to take it as literal unless it must be taken figuratively.

But, on the first palm Sunday, it may have looked like the king they were expecting was coming, but what they didn’t know was there was still a lot of things to come.

A week later, Jesus would die on the cross, spend 3 days in the tomb, and on the 3rd day raise from the dead.

A few weeks after that he would ascend into heaven after commissioning His disciples to take the gospel to the nations.

And then there would be a long period of waiting in between Jesus’ ascension and His return. So far, Christians have waited 1990 years.

And Jesus naturally wanted to prepare His people (including us) for the waiting. Because he promised that he was coming back!

After all that time of waiting for his return, we might not know what to expect. So what does Jesus say will happen?

Matthew 24:5 ESV

5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.

Elsewhere these imposters are called Anti-Christs.

1 John 2:18 ESV

18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.

Now many think that the antichrist as a future person in the future that will cause widespread deception leading to great persecution. But even if for the sake of argument we look for a future Antichrist, Jesus says that many will come claiming to be Him.

Now the idea of antichrist also leads to confusion about Jesus. For 1, we wrongly think that an antichrist is going to be openly against Christ. But that’s not what the word means

“anti” actual means “instead of.”

So an antichrist isn’t going to be against Jesus openly. In fact he will try his best to look like Jesus. He will try to convince the world that he is the Christ. And as Jesus says, it will be very convincing and he will deceive many. So instead of the true Jesus, they wind up with a fake.

By the time John writes his letters of 1-3 John, John says regarding the influence of anti-christs 1 John 2:19

1 John 2:19 ESV

19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

But it happens still today.

Illustration: I was 11 in 1993 when the ATF raiding the Mt. Horeb compound in Waco Texas. David Koresh deceived a lot of people into believing he was the Messiah.

And naturally we wonder how would anyone fall for that?

Charles, Manson, Jim Jones, David Koresh...

It’s very simple. People want to believe in someone.

Application: You may think of antichrists as evil people in the apocalyptic future. But the truth is, antichrists can be and are all around. They are those we put in place of Jesus as our messiah. Political leaders are often the leading candidates (no pun intended). No one starts out taking the place of Jesus in your life.

But think how often over time, we look to others to fill that need that only Jesus can fill. Political leaders, even pastors and our own spouses.

It seems like every day we have pastors being exposed as antichrists. Not only are they are leading people astray with false doctrine, but they are wrongly allowing (and encouraging) others to put them in a place that is reserved only for Jesus.

So how will outright evil antichrists deceive self-professing Christians? Easily, especially when we don’t know what to expect. Especially when we don’t get to know the real Jesus in the Bible.

2. Don’t be alarmed by rumors (Matthew 24:6-8)

Explanation: Jesus brings up the topic of war as something that will lead people to look for a Messiah. Now it is at times of great strife that people begin looking for a Messiah. And we are especially vulnerable to this in times of war or rumors of wars.

So Jesus tells his disciples don’t be alarmed. Don’t think of every war or rumor of wars as a sign of the end times.

Throughout history, there have been many wars.

The Jewish people a few decades after Jesus ascended would experience the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70. Some thought this was the fulfillment of Jesus’ words. But it’s unlikely to have ended there. Revelation is believed to have been written 10 years later and still speaks of that time as future.

A few centuries later, even after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire, the city of Rome would be destroyed. Many looked for Jesus’ return.

Illustration: During both WW1 and WW2, people questioned whether this was the end. Still the world went on. My guess is that the present situation in the world likely isn’t the end either.

Remember a few years ago during the fires when we all woke up to a dark sky and the sun didn’t come out until the afternoon. I’ll admit, I wondered if this was it. It wasn’t.

Jesus will come back in his own timing. And it will be when we least expect it. Based on what the Bible says, I think we’ll miss it. When Jesus comes back, we’ll know it.

Application: But you might say, surely wer’re in the last days. I fully admit that we are. but we have to understand, in a biblical mindset, the Last Days are the times between Jesus first coming and second coming. You might think that seems like a long time. But really in light the history of the world, it really isn’t. Whether you believe in a Young Earth in which the creation is less than 10,000 years old or an old earth where the creation is a few million years old, 2,000 years isn’t a lot time. Even to go on for a few more thousands years wouldn’t be stretching last days. So, what should we do. Stay ready. Elsewhere Jesus admonished His disciples to stay ready. In Mark’s version of the Olivet Discourse, he records something else that Jesus said:

Mark 13:32–36 ESV

32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.

And that’s all that we can do. Read out Bible. Take it seriously and as literally as possible. And stay ready. And regardless how the time preceding Jesus’ return pan out, we won’t won’t be distracted by things that don’t matter. Fix your eyes on Jesus and you’ll know it when it happens.

When I was in school, I hated pop quizzes, because it meant you always had to be ready just in case the teacher wanted to surprise the class. Jesus could come back at any moment. A convincing “anti-Christ” could arise at any moment. Are we going to be ready to tell the difference?

3. Endure to the end (Matthew 24:9-14)

Explanation: One of the clear ways to recognize an antichrist is that they will tell you that suffering is not a part of the Christian life. Throughout history, people have looked for a Messiah to rescue them from suffering. But Jesus acctually promises that suffering and persecution will be a part of the Christian life.

John 16:33 ESV

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Paul says the same thing:

2 Timothy 3:12 ESV

12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

This is hard for a lot of people to accept. And Jesus doesn’t pull punches.

Jesus says that His disciples will be delivered over to tribulation and death. They would also be hated by all nations. But their reward would be in heaven.

Now we know that the disciples faced this type of tribulation in their lifetimes. All except John would be martyred, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that John got off easy. He probably got it worse than the others. Exiled to the Island of Patmos. And there wasn’t much there.

But this does bring up a good points. A good way to be able to know whether something or someone is an anti-Christ is too look at how the world treats them. If the world hates them, they can’t be the anti-christ. But at the same time, if the world loves them, that doesn’t immediately mean they are an anti-Christ. There’s more to it than that.

But again, if you really know Jesus, you won’t be fooled.

Jesus says also to be leary of false prophets. It goes without saying to be leary of those who claim to be Jesus, but also be leary of those who claim to speak for Him. Especially when it goes against the Bible.

Illustration: Every few years, there is some person who comes out with a prediction of when Jesus is coming back. And they make news with it. And people can get so caught up in it that they sell all their possessions and “get ready.” Every time they have been wrong. And if you knew the Bible, you wouldn’t be deceived, because Jesus already said in Mark 13:32

Mark 13:32 ESV

32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Application: The Bible is sufficient for us to be ready. Read it. Study it. Get to know the Jesus who is revealed by the Holy Spirit within.

Don’t look to the news for clues about when Jesus is coming back.

Don’t worry about what’s happening in the Middle East or in Ukraine from an end times perspective.

Don’t listen people who claim special revelation apart from the Bible.

Don’t get your theology the Left Behind series.

The Bible simply says to stay ready by knowing what to expect, by not being alarmed by rumors, and by enduring.

Response: Which Jesus are you looking for? The one from the Bible or the one from the world?

Summation:

Authentic Principle: BEWARE of looking for the WRONG Jesus.

1. Know WHO to EXPECT. (Matthew 24:3-5)

2. Don’t be ALARMED by RUMORS (Matthew 24:6-8)

3. ENDURE to the END (Matthew 24:9-14)

Response: Which JESUS are you looking for?

Closing Illustration: I think one of the greatest writings on the end times, apart from the Bible, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. Not only is it the best book of the series, but it deals with all of what Jesus talks about in the “Olivet Discourse” in a way that even children can understand.

It has an antichrist: A donkey pretending to be Aslan the Lion.

C.S. Lewis talks about how many deceived and led astray. More than that anyone who dares question is said to be against Aslan.

King Tirian and his unicorn Jewel struggle with that tension of wanting to be faithful to Aslan while wondering if maybe they might be wrong. Wondering if they might be missing Aslan’s return. But really struggling with everyone being deceived.

In the end, you have a group that endure through their own doubt, through persecution, through the abandonment of people who were supposed to be their friends. The stay faithful to the end and are rewarded. My favorite part of the book is when Narnia ends and the eternal state begins, and King Tirian meets his father on the others side and he hugs him because he’s proud of him.

You have the surprise of many who thought they were saved really ending up condemned. You even have those you thought would be condemned learning the truth and being saved.

You have those pesky dwarves who refuse to believe even when the evidence is right in front of them.

No one sets out to be deceived. Usually, no one is willingly led astray.

But today, many people are led astray when they settle for less than the Jesus of the Bible.

I’m not going to lie. It is a struggle to stay faithful to Jesus in a world that is so bent on destroying the Bible.

The world puts forth a Jesus that is tame and loving and doesn’t care what you do. An guess what, that’s who many Christians expect.

On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus came riding on a donkey showing that He came in peace. Kings who ride to war, ride on a horse.

Revelation 19:11–15 ESV

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

Are you ready? You can be today. You are invited to turn to Jesus, look to the cross, and you will be saved.

Let’s pray.

Week 33 of 2021-2022 Sermon Series: Inauthentic: False Messiahs

Authentic Principle: BEWARE of looking for the WRONG Jesus.

1. Know WHO to EXPECT. (Matthew 24:3-5)

2. Don’t be ALARMED by RUMORS (Matthew 24:6-8)

3. ENDURE to the END (Matthew 24:9-14)

Response: Which JESUS are you looking for?

Opening Discussion: Why was it so difficult for the 1st Century Jewish People to see Jesus for who he really is? Why do people have that same problem today?

Sermon:

Why is it so important for people to be able to spot the fake messiahs?

Why do convincing fake messiah’s have the potential to do so much damage to God’s people?

Why do wars and rumors of wars have a way of wrongly convincing people that the end is near?

Why should Jesus’ promise that these things “must take place” comfort us?

Why does Jesus continue to remind His followers that tribulation is coming?

Why does lawlessness lead to a greater desire for Jesus’ return?

How can Jesus’ words about what will take place before the “end” help us to not worry about the end? According to Jesus, what part can we play in bringing about the end?

Application:

What can we learn from Jesus about the importance knowing the truth about the endtime?

How can knowing the real Jesus keep us from being led astray by the fake ones?

Aside from “anti-Christs,” what are some other false Messiahs in which we might seek rescue?

How can we comfort one another with the words of Jesus in the midst of wars and rumors of wars?

How can help protect the church from false messiahs and false prophets?

How can we ensure that we will endure until the end?

What can you do this week to being living out Jesus’ words?