“Be Ready, for the Son of Man is Coming!”

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:42-44 ESV)

 If there is one thing that has taken up way too much time and discussion among believers, it’s “When will Jesus come back?”. I used to attend a church where one older gentleman was obsessed with predictions on the return of Jesus. After the first encounter with him, it was obvious that he was not interested in what Scripture had to say, but spent way too many hours watching TV evangelists, or what we now call social media preachers, who used every possible scheme and system to predict the exact date Jesus would return. To support his “understanding” of these secrets hidden in both the Old Testament and New Testament, he used the allegorical method of interpretation, where normal words have special meanings, where numbers contained a secret code that only he and a few others could understand. Every prediction that he made over the 10 years I knew him was, of course, incorrect, but that did not stop him from finding additional hidden messages in the Bible to support a new date for the return of Jesus.

 Many today have that same question that Jesus’ disciples had “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3). Today Jesus’ answer to us is the same as it was to them “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” As well as “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matt. 24:36). You see it is not for us to know the day and time when Jesus is coming back, but to know that His coming back is certain, that we should personally be ready for that event and to be sure to tell others that truth also.

 As you read Chapter 24, you have to come away with the knowledge that bad things are going to happen on this earth, that God’s judgment will be poured out upon the inhabitants of this world, and that the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man, will come back for those who have accepted the gift of eternal life that the Father offers. You see, the takeaway from Chapter 24 is not all of the details of the false prophets, nations rising against nations, famines, and earthquakes. Throughout history, from the 1st Century to the present, people have attempted to link current events to the notion that Jesus is coming back. I cannot say precisely when Jesus will return, but I can say with absolute confidence that Jesus is coming back!

The point of Chapter 24 is summarized in verse 43-44: “But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Knowing that Jesus will return at any time now, we need to be ready. Remember our discussion on Parables in Chapter 24? Jesus once again uses an illustration of the head of the house knowing when the “thief” would come to illustrate His imminent return. That’s the point of the illustration, nothing more, nothing less. Jesus then gives a command for “all of you to be ready” for His return.

You see, God is not trying to hide the truth from us; He is not using common words with ‘special meanings’; He is speaking to us in plain, everyday language, that He is coming back. Therefore, everyone should be ready for what that means for each of us. When Jesus returns, multiple events will occur that are described throughout the New Covenant letters.

However, the major event that determines our eternal destination is the Great White Throne Judgment, as described in Revelation 20:11-15. Which states in verse 15, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”. This is something that many do not wish to hear, but it is the truth. Just as assuredly as Jesus will return, there will be a Judgement, and those who have refused to accept the gift of salvation by faith and that Jesus has paid the penalty for their sins by dying on the cross for them, will be Judged by their deeds. By the way, there is no scale of “I’ve done more good than bad in my life”; each and every one of us has sinned, and that one sin is enough to have us found guilty and separated from God for all of eternity.

So, my friend, as you read Matthew Chapter 24, know this truth: Jesus is coming back, and you need to be ready for that event. My question to you today is, are you prepared to stand before a Holy and Righteous God and be judged for your sins? If you are like me, you must answer no, because you know what the verdict will be: separation from God for all of eternity. But the good news of the gospel of our Lord Jesus is that He has paid that price for you, He will write your name in His “book of life” if you will change your mind about how you can obtain eternal life and accept His gift of salvation by faith.

The choice is yours. Are you ready for the return of Jesus?

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"