I grew up in the 1980s, which were interesting days. If you had told me then that I would one day travel to Russia to get my youngest son, I would have thought that was crazy. These were the days of tele-evangelists: Jimmy Swaggart and Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and their accompanying scandals. And interestingly, these days were also filled with many so-called “prophecies” about the return of Christ. Edgar Whisenant sold two million copies of his book, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. Jerry Falwell outlined how the Lord would use nuclear warfare to destroy the present world. Pat Robertson predicted it would happen in 1982. Even Billy Graham wrote in his book, Approaching Hoofbeats, that in history’s final moments, we will see “nuclear conflagrations, biological holocausts and chemical apocalypses rolling over the earth, bringing man to the edge of the precipice.”1
Now, to be honest, I’m not even certain what that sentence means. But it was statements like that about “nuclear conflagrations” in connection with the return of Christ that left me often fearful in my childhood. I’m not sure whether I was told to be fearful or just intuited it, but I can tell you that I had a recurring dream where Jesus was coming back at the precise moment the world was ending in nuclear holocaust, and I would wake up with my heart racing and terrified. And when you combine that with a teaching that your assurance of salvation was rooted in how sincere you were when you first trusted in Christ (something that can always be questioned and something you’re less confident about as more and more time separates you from that first moment of faith), and, needless, to say, I had a lot of anxiety in my childhood.
For that reason, the return of Christ was nothing I liked to think about. Visions of nuclear holocaust that had so frequently been utilized in describing God’s wrath made me cautious to pray with the saints throughout the age, “Lord, come quickly.” And so, not only did I find myself in my youth not wanting to think about the return of Christ but figuring that the only real way to wait for the return of Christ was to be consumed by a constant sense of dread and fear.
However, the Scripture paints a different picture, doesn’t it? Not only does Jesus, in the midst of describing the signs that precede his return, actually say, “See that you are not alarmed,” but Paul writes to the saints in Rome, speaking of how believers should (and do) actually groan for the return of Christ, realizing that it means not only receiving glorified bodies but knowing a glory that far surpasses any suffering we know in this age. Moreover, Jesus makes clear that we do not wait for his return by constant speculation as to when and how it will be, nor by working up fear and dread, but by living faithfully and obediently before our Lord, knowing our Lord, whether soon or with great delay, is surely coming for us.
And perhaps the clearest and most lengthy section of text where Jesus tells us how we should think, act, and live as we wait for his return is the text we’re looking at this morning, Matthew 24:36-25:30.
In this text, Jesus gives an opening statement about the unexpected nature of his return, and then he gives us some illustrations and parables that instruct us in how he expects us to think, act, and live in this time as we wait for his return. These are what I want us to see this morning. First, however, there is simply a general lesson for all people as we recognize that Christ is one day returning to bring final judgment and salvation, and it is this:
Jesus begins, noting that no one knows the day or hour when he will return. Interestingly, he notes that not even he, the Son, knows, “but the Father only” (v. 36). So, how do we make sense of that? After all, if we confess Jesus is the God -man and God knows all things, by definition, then how can Jesus say that not even the Son knows the day or hour of his return?
As perhaps overwhelmingly confusing as this seems up front, the church throughout the ages has actually given us a helpful answer. We confess that the Son, the second person of the Trinity, took on a complete human nature so that the Son has a complete divine nature and a complete human nature. Thus, we say that Jesus is the God-man. Well, simply put, Jesus can say of himself (the Son) anything that is true of either nature. So, the Scripture can tell us that the Son was hungry, and we rightly conclude that this is true in regards to his human nature since in his divine nature he could not get hungry. God doesn’t get hungry. We also read, for example, that Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, which is in regards to his humanity, right? If our children said, “So God grew?” we would rightly answer them, “Well, as a human being he was growing.”
So, what’s going on here is Jesus is simply saying that in his human nature, he was ignorant of these things, showing this dynamic of stating what was true only of his human nature, as he would later do at the cross, for example, as he would say that he is thirsty. As a man, Jesus got thirsty, hungry, tired, grew in wisdom and stature, and (according to this text) didn’t know the day of hour of his return.
In other words, Jesus is saying, “No human knows,” and because of that, his return will be unexpected. He notes that his return will be like in the days of Noah, adding, “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (vv. 38-39).
You see, what people were doing in the day of Noah right before the flood is, well, they were just living normal life. They were getting married, eating and drinking, having babies, and on and on. They were just living normal life, and then, unexpectedly, the flood came. So, when Jesus returns it will be unexpected.
Jesus continues, by noting what it will be like. There’ll be two men working in the field together and, all of the sudden, one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding out flour together, and one will be taken and one left. Now, it’s unclear whether the one taken will be taken in judgment or for salvation. With a parallel with the flood coming and sweeping people away, we could reasonably think Jesus is saying that one will be taken in judgment. But with Jesus having prior mentioned the angels coming to gather the elect at this coming (24:31), he may well mean taken in salvation. But really it doesn’t matter because the point is that his coming will be surprising and unexpected.
And this brings Jesus to his exhortation. He notes that if a man knew a thief was coming, he’d take precautions and not let himself be robbed. In the same way, Jesus says, “You must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (v. 44).
That is, since we don’t know when Jesus is returning, then we need to make sure we’re ready for his coming, not thinking that it’s okay for us to put off getting ready but being ready at all times. Now, the main thrust of what I want to do this morning is make sure that we as professing believers know how to think, act, and live as we wait for the Lord’s return, but this text (especially in light of Jesus’ illustrations of one left and one taken in the field) is a pointed warning to any unbeliever.
So, let me say that if you’re visiting with us this morning or perhaps you’ve attended for a while or may simply have come with a parent or friend, and you have never repented of your sins and placed your faith in Christ, don’t think that there’ll be time to do that later. Don’t put off repentance, but place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who lived, died, and was raised for us. And if you’re a professing believer but have been wandering in sin for a while, thinking at some point you’ll repent, don’t wait any longer. His coming will be unexpected, and we must all be ready.
Now, after that general warning, how do we need to think, act, and live as we wait for the Lord’s return?
Jesus illustrates this by speaking of two kinds of servants. He pictures a master leaving his house and charging a servant to take care of things, give people under him food at the proper time, etc. And then the master comes back at an unexpected moment, but to his joy, he finds his servant doing exactly what he had instructed him to do when he left. Jesus says that this servant will be blessed and will be given even greater responsibility. He’s proven himself trustworthy and so will be set over all the possessions of his master.
On the other hand, if that servant is wicked, looks around and thinks, “My master has been gone a while and will probably be gone a while more,” so that he then begins not to do what his master had charged him to do but instead begins to beats those under him, living an immoral lifestyle, etc., then when the master surprisingly comes back, he will not show mercy but “will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites” where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (24:50-51).
Do you see what Jesus is saying here? We need to think of ourselves in terms of what Jesus has pictured here, as servants of Christ. Paul will picture this with the imagery of slavery in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, writing, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.”
This is not Jesus endorsing one man owning another anymore than his earlier example was an endorsement of thievery. But whereas we don’t seek to enslave one another, we are indeed slaves of Christ. And it is slavery of the most wonderful kind, isn’t it? We can picture it as imprisoned men on death row when a glorious savior comes along and says, “I will purchase this one out of his deathly imprisonment, take him as my own, and allow him to know the richest blessings known to man.” That is the picture of our slavery to Christ.
However, it does mean that, as slaves, we are expected to give an account to the Lord for how we have lived in his absence. He is our master who has gone away and is returning. We don’t know when he’s returning. And until then, we need to understand ourselves as having to give an account for how we have followed his commands.
I think we all would say that upon his return, we want our master to say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Well, that’s not going to happen if we live our lives unintentionally. We don’t drift toward obedience but away from it. It takes self-conscious effort and wise, disciplined decision making to live a life of obedience unto the Lord. So, perhaps this morning is an opportunity for us to say to the Lord, “I repent for drifting through life and even carelessly taking on habits of disobedience unto you. Help me, by your grace, to pursue obedience as a faithful servant, even as I seek that in my life.” We need to live our lives, understanding that we’ll have to give an account to the Lord, and that day of his return will come unexpectedly.
But Jesus gives us even more, in 25:1-13 we see that:
Now, this may seem odd in light of the points pressed to this point about being ready at any moment, not putting off repentance, not delaying making sure we are intentionally living a life of holiness now for our master’s unexpected return. Why are we then talking about preparing for a possible great delay? The answer, in short, is that it’s sometimes easy to get worked up for a short burst but not put things in place for a life of persevering obedience.
But before diving into that, let me show you why I think this is the point of the parable. Jesus speaks of ten virgins who took their lamps to meet the bridegroom, which makes very little sense to us, so let me try to explain this a bit in light of the culture in which Jesus used this parable. It was common in the Ancient Near East for wedding celebrations to look a bit different than what we anticipate. One difference, as D. A. Carson has noted, is a focus on the activities of the groom instead of the bride.2 Whereas in our ceremonies basically all attention is given to the bride and the groom simply gets to be present, in the day of this text, the bridegroom would often hold the place of focus. He and some of his friends would travel to the bride’s house together, most likely her father’s house, where there would be festivities, ceremonies, and the like, and then there would be a procession through the streets (after nightfall) which would lead to the groom’s house, where the main festivities would occur.
What would happen, then, is that individuals would bring out their lamps, line the street, and be ready to join the groom in this procession toward his home. And on this occasion, these ten virgins came out with their lamps, ready to join the procession of the groom. The only problem is that the groom was taking a bit longer than they anticipated, and some only had enough oil for their lamps to burn for a short time. Consequently, when the time finally came and the cry was made, “Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” those virgins who didn’t have enough oil to keep their lamps lit had to run and get some more oil and so they missed the bridegroom, didn’t get to join in the procession, and were shut out of the groom’s home after he’d entered and the marriage feast began.
You see then that the point of the parable is obvious. Just as we have to live faithful and obedient lives at all times so that we may be ready for the Lord’s unexpected return at any moment, so we also must prepare to endure for a long haul in case there is great delay.
There are at least two specific applications I want to make for us in this regard. First, in our life as a church, we have seen some individuals profess faith in Christ, be baptized, be very excited about the things of the Lord, and then fizzle out and not endure. They simply didn’t persevere for the long haul. Had Jesus come back two weeks after their profession of faith, we would have been hopeful. As it is, since he didn’t, we fear for the state of their souls.
So, I want to say to all of us, develop a pattern of life and habits that aid you in long-term obedience and persevering faith. For example, this is why church membership is so important. For a season, it may well be easy for you to flee sin and pursue righteousness, but our goal isn’t short-term holiness. Therefore, knowing that there may well be a time when my earnestness lessens and temptation grows, I’ve tied myself to a body of believers, saying to them, “Hold me accountable should that day come. Run after me if I begin to stray. After all, my excitement about the things of Christ may wane, especially if wickedness grows, and I will need you because I want to persevere in the faith.”
This is one reason why it’s good to develop the habit of regular times of prayer, exposure to the Bible, and hearing the Bible preached Sunday after Sunday. We must not assume that our appetite for hearing the Word of God proclaimed will always be enough to get us out of bed on Sunday morning week after week. Rather, we simply develop disciplined habits so that we’re ready and prepare for long-term obedience, not just obedience supported by a burst of excitement.
Similarly, we regularly tell our interns to get themselves thoroughly educated. Guys, if you want to pursue church planting and pastoral ministry, we’re going to encourage you to pursue seminary education. Now, this isn’t because Aaron O’Kelley is director of Southern Seminary’s extension program here. Actually, it kind of went the other way. Because we believe that preparing for the long haul is so important and seminary is a huge aid to that end, I fought for Aaron to be appointed director of Southern Seminary’s extension program because I knew he’d make this program as good as it could possibly be. He wouldn’t accept our guys getting 2nd tier education.
Yes, we feel a sense of urgency, for the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few. But we also want to plan to send our guys out to be sustained over the long haul. So, we prepare them and encourage them to prepare themselves as completely as possible to be equipped for the long haul.
Be ready at any moment, and put things in place to aid you for a long life of obedient faith. And finally:
In Jesus’ final parable, he tells of a man, going on a journey, who calls his three servants to him, and gives them some of his assets to be stewards of as he is away. He gives one five talents, to another two, and to another one, thinking that some were better able to manage larger amounts than others. Now, we think of the word “talent” indicating someone’s skill, but in the text it is a unit of measurement, like a certain unit of silver so that you might think of him giving the first five cases of silver, the second, two, and the third, one.3
So, the servants set themselves to working with the assets they’d been given. The first takes his five talents and increases them so that he creates five more talents. The second does the same, turning his two talents into four. But the third decides he will simply bury his in the ground.
Then, upon the master’s return, the first presents him with the five talents and five additional talents he had produced so that the master said, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” The second gave his four, with the result being the same. But the third simply presented his one, even attempting to blame the master for why he had done nothing to increase the asset given to him (25:24-25). But his master was not happy, noting that he should have at least invested the money with bankers to earn some improvement, and this servant was judged harshly.
The point, then, seems to be that the Lord expects us not just to maintain or “hang in there” but actively think and work toward how to improve and increase what we have been entrusted with by our master. This is one reason why we take the money that the Lord has graciously given us and invest it in the further spread of the kingdom. It’s why we as a church are one day hoping not simply that we’ll hang in there as a church but be a means by which hundreds of churches are planted across this nation and around the world. This is one reason why I tell college students who are getting engineering and nursing and computer science degrees to think about living in Salt Lake City, Utah or Queens, New York so that they might take what the Lord has given them and pour into aiding in the planting of churches to the end that the Great Commission is being fulfilled. It’s because I want them to be able to say at the Lord’s return, “Here’s what you gave me, and here’s what I did with it.”
Now, I can’t tell you how excited that makes me to hold out that vision. And that’s why we talk about the Lord’s return. Not so that we can be gripped with paralyzing dread and fear, picturing nuclear conflagrations but so that we can say, “Knowing that that day is coming, let’s be ready, pursuing obedience at each moment, developing habits of life-long obedience, and actually increasing and expanding what the Lord has graciously given us.” May God work in and through us to this end. Amen.