Reading Assignment: Matthew 24:1-14
Main Idea: Endure to the end
Key verse: Matthew 24:13
Overview:
1. Temple Destruction
2. Birth Pangs
3. End of the Age
Prayer:
1. Thank the Lord for salvation.
2. Seek His strength to endure even in the little things.
3. Affirm faith in the return of Christ.
Transcript
Let's pray and we will begin.
Father in heaven, thank You that You have a great love, a special love, toward all those who draw near to You with a heart of repentance. Thank You for drawing us by Your Spirit to love Christ, to listen to Him, to serve and obey Him. All of this we would have never done in a million years on our own. It's Your grace. It's Your mercy upon us. Thank You for how You have drawn us to Yourself through Christ. We pray that You would bless our time together now as we look to Your word. Teach us and give us Your encouragement. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
The next reading assignment is Matthew 24:1-14. The main idea comes from verse 13, and I'll state it as an imperative: endure to the end. This is the main idea that's found in this section. The key verse is verse 13, where Jesus says, “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.” Jesus is saying that Christians persevere, and they persevere to the very end. I should tell us up front that this passage has to do with eschatology, which is the study of the end times. In these verses we find three ideas: first, the temple destruction; second, the birth pangs; and third, the end of the age. Jesus makes reference to the end of the age here, though He won’t really elaborate on this until later in this chapter.
Let’s begin with the temple destruction. We read in verse one, “Jesus came out from the temple.” You remember that Jesus had a dialogue with the religious leaders in the temple. He then came out of the temple and was going away when His disciples pointed out the temple buildings to Him. According to one of the other synoptic gospels (Mark 13:1), the disciples point out how beautiful (“wonderful”) the temple was. And the temple that stood at that time was indeed very beautiful. King Herod, Herod the Great, had beautified this temple built by Ezra hundreds of years prior. This was indeed a glamorous temple. But Jesus then responds this way in verse two: “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” That probably came as a shock to the disciples. But this is indeed what happened in history in AD 70 as a precursor to what will take place ultimately in the future time of the antichrist. So as Jesus and the disciples were leaving the temple, Jesus amazingly predicted that the temple will be completely demolished. Then after this, they leave Jerusalem. They're on the other side of the valleys on the Mount of Olives. The disciples then asked Jesus, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Now, to the disciples, all of these things seem to be talking about one event, but they're not actually a single event. Jesus initially just focuses on the sign of His second coming and the end of the age before the kingdom of God comes. Jesus explains what will happen before these two events. And Jesus begins with what turmoil will continue in the world even before history reaches that time period. And He calls them the birth pangs. In the same way that birth pangs come before the delivery of the baby, so Jesus describes these pre-tribulational difficulties as birth pains. There's altogether six of these various aspects of what will take place between the time of Jesus's resurrection until the great tribulation begins. I'll list them for us here real quick. There's going to be a misleading influence. There will be wars. There will be famines and earthquakes. There will be persecution. There will be falling away and betrayal. And then finally, there will be a global proclamation of the gospel (this one may actually come after the tribulation has begun). So first, the misleading influence. Jesus says in verse 5, “many will come in My name saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.” He will talk about another misleading influence a little bit later. But what He is talking about is people who will falsely speak of Christ and even claim to be Christ. And believe it or not, this has been the history of the world ever since Christ ascended into heaven. And so this is nothing new. And Jesus is saying when these things happen, just know that this is just a normal course of history before the end comes. Second, He makes mention of wars. He tells them, “See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.” Jesus also adds in verse 7, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” And so there's going to be an upheaval in terms of international relations, and of course, that's always been the case throughout human history. And ever since Jesus ascended into heaven, that continued to be the case. Jesus further adds thirdly that there will be famines and earthquakes. Of course, famines and earthquakes, they just happen almost regularly in our world. And so again, this is simply describing what will happen in a natural course of history. But again, Jesus explains these things are not the sign of the end of the age. Instead He says in verse 8, “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” Jesus then describes fourthly the persecutions that will come. “Then they will deliver you to tribulation (or affliction), and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.” Then fifthly, Jesus talks about apostasy (that is, falling away) and betrayal. In verse 10 He says, “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.” Of course, this has also been the case in history, that people fall away from the Lord and people will betray one another and even hate one another. That which started with Cain murdering his brother continues on even as John writes in 1 John 3:11-12. There is hatred in the world, and Christians must not follow in that pattern of this world. Verse 12 says, “most people’s love will grow cold.” People’s natural tendency to care for another human being will grow cold. Humanity has continually seen problems of genocide and racism and things of this nature. But again, all of these things are just a part of the natural course of history and the fallen world. Then Jesus says this in verse 13, “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.” That's His encouragement for us. Yes, the world's going to face many challenges, many difficulties.
Then finally Jesus adds, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” The end here refers to the Great Tribulation period, when God will unleash His wrath upon the world, and then will come the second coming of Christ. But here is what we find in terms of where Christians fit into this plan of God. In other parts of the New Testament, in 1 Thessalonians 4 and John 14 we read that all true disciples of Christ will be raptured before this time of Great Tribulation. Jesus will remove His people from the world before God's final wrath comes upon this world. Now, Jesus in Matthew 24 makes no reference to the rapture, because He is here only speaking of what lies ahead for the Jewish people. You have to remember that all of Jesus's disciples were Jews, and so Jesus speaks with a focus on what awaits the Jewish people. But having said all that, all true Christians who are faithfully walking with Christ, we have nothing to worry about, because Christ will rapture us, take us into glory before the Great Tribulation, which is the last judgment of God upon this world. Thus God will deal with every form of evil in this world; but before He unleashes that wrath, the Lord will take His people away from this world into heaven, because God never destroys the righteous with the wicked, those whom He has chosen for salvation. He will preserve them, and He will take them into His presence before that final judgment of God.
Well, given these things, what are some things we can pray for? Number one: we can pray to give God thanks for salvation, because everyone who believes, who truly follows the Lord and obeys Him, they are truly saved. God will ensure that they are spared from His wrath to come, both His wrath in this world, in this age, at the Great Tribulation, and also in eternity, in hell. God rescues everyone who truly trusts in Christ and follows after Him. The second thing we can pray about is asking God for His grace and strength so that we would endure to the end. There is a lot for us to think about in this regard. You know, faithfulness to the Lord happens one day at a time. And so seek the Lord every day, live in obedience to Him every day. Depend on the grace of God to give you strength and understanding and encouragement every day. Pursue Christ and learn His ways daily. And live in obedience to His word every day. There's another aspect of this I want to bring up, which is enduring in the little things. You know, Jesus had talked about in the beginning of the birth pangs that there will be persecution, even the horrific execution of Christians. Those are massive things we must endure. But you know, there are some Christians who endure those things now; but for us right now, we can be faithful to the Lord and endure in the little things now. What things do I mean? I mean these: avoid complaints, remain joyful (“rejoice in the Lord”), be prayerful, serve one another, love one another, evangelize the lost, be a man or a woman of the word, keep as top priority spiritual matters like the church, Bible reading, prayer, and fellowship with God's people. Endure in the little things. Walk with the Lord faithfully with endurance in these matters that are immediately relevant. Why? Because the Lord is coming. And all those who are faithfully walking with the Lord, the Lord will remove them from the earth before God's wrath comes upon this world. Finally we can also pray about Jesus' second coming. If you truly believe that Christ is coming, you should definitely affirm it by telling the Lord this. Tell Him, “Lord Jesus, You really are coming and I want to be ready for You. So give me the grace and strength to be faithful this day.” Furthermore, with every natural disaster, every war, and international conflicts, keep in mind Jesus’ perspective on these matters, that these are simply the beginning of the birth pangs. They are all pointing toward Christ's second coming. And as Jesus has said elsewhere, “Lift up your heads, because your redemption is near” (Luke 21:28). And so with every catastrophe that we hear about in this world, always turn your attention to Christ. These are simply the indications that we are looking for the coming of Christ. So, there are lots of things for us to pray about here.
With that, let me pray for us and we will wrap it up for today.
Lord Jesus, Thank You that You have come to save Your people from their sins. Thank You that out of Your great mercy, You came down from heaven to rescue us, by paying for all our sins and sending the Holy Spirit to convert our hearts, that we would be transformed from the inside, and that we would walk in obedience to You. Thank You for Your grace upon our lives. Lord, we pray that You will help us. Grant us the strength and encouragement every day to walk faithfully with You. And that we would indeed persevere, endure to the end. We can't predict the future. All we know is just one day at a time. And we pray that You would help us this day to be faithful to You. And we ask of You for Your power to be at work in us this day. Thank You that You are coming. We look ahead to being gathered into Your presence one day. Thank You for what wonderful hope awaits us, because You have redeemed us with Your blood. Thank You that You Yourself have made that promise, that You are going away to prepare a place for us, and that You're coming back for us, so that where You are, we will be also. Thank You for Your wonderful promises. We look ahead to being in Your presence. In Your name we pray. Amen.
May the Lord bless You all, and we are done for today.