Followers

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

October 12 - Matthew 24-25: The Arrival

Jesus just went head-to-head with the religious leaders of the day (ch. 22-23) and he's about to face his arrest and crucifixion (ch. 26-27).  In my thinking, it would be good to prepare the disciples for the eminent threats - how to handle the betrayers, the mocking crowds, the unjust political and religious leaders.  Or, to give them some church-starting strategies to spread Christianity once He's gone.  Instead He invests time in preparing them for his second coming - "the Arrival of the Son of Man" - through warnings and descriptions.  I'm trying to underestand the timing of this instruction.  Jesus was a man of intentionality and He knew this was what was needed.

Many of the commands in this teaching come as pleas to remain fully engaged:
Watch out for doomsday deceivers.  (24:4)
...keep your head....don't panic.  (24:5)
Stay with it to the end. (24:13)
Be vigilant... (24:44)
Stay alert ...   (25:13)
It's criminal to live cautiously like that!... give it to the one who risked the most. (25:28)
For those of us now living 2000 years later, still waiting for Christ's Arrival to "fill the skies,"  how much more urgent are these entreaties to pay attention to Him?  Yet, how much time do I spend simply getting through the day? Seeking some form of relief instead of risk?  Finding ways to fill my own wants and not the needs of the overlooked?

Jesus' warnings are for me.  Today.

1 comment:

Bev Brandon @ The Fray said...

I feel like I can say what's in my heart here. Jesus has been quiet for the past 2,000 years. Martin Luther says it this way: It appears that God's power is left-handed since Pentecost. There is so much I know not. But I join you in praying I Thes 1 for full conviction of the Gospel for there are parts of my heart that know not. On Monday, 4 good friends were diagnosed with advanced stages of cancer and 2 good friends slipped away into that Arrival. I'm over here grieving the lost relationships and lost time. Larry, whose cancer is back, just sent an e-mail that said: "We want the good time of enjoying godly kids, of making a difference in people's lives, of involvement with close friends, of experiencing God's peace. So we invent biblical strategies for seeing to it that our dreams come true. We call them models of godly parenting and disciplines of spiritual living and principles of financial stewardship----all designed to give us a legitimately good time." There's something wrong with that picture. Am I awaiting His Arrival or a Fulfilled Life of family and ministry and legacy? There are places in my heart that have never heard the Gospel.