24 “But in those days, following that distress,
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[c]
26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it[d] is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert[e]! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
Question 1
Why does Jesus say there are signs, if we can’t know when the end will come?
Question 2
How does the description of Jesus’ redemption in all his glory make you feel?
Jesus moves on now to say what will happen at the end of time. Jesus himself admits that only God the Father knows when the day of judgment will be. Jesus’ words here are not intended to help us work out exactly when He is going to return to the world. What he wants is that we live in a way that shows we’re always ready.
The description of Jesus Christ coming back into the world is a frightening one. The biggest things we can see – the sun, moon and stars – will go dark and fall. Jesus himself will come with many angels and the whole world will see him in all his power; the King of the universe in all his glory. Yet, while they frighten us in one way, these words are extremely exciting to the Christian. This is when Jesus will come to gather all his people together, to take them out of the suffering and darkness of the world. This is the day when all evil and unjust things will be punished and when the new creation, the kingdom of God, will become full. The old heavens and the old earth are gone and new ones are created where we will get to live with God forever.
As noted yesterday, in one sense all the signs Jesus were talking about have already happened, and some are still happening today. So we should listen to Jesus’ warning – we don’t know exactly when he’s going to come, and so we need to make sure we’re ready and waiting for him to welcome him.
Question 3
In what ways can we be ready?
Question 4
If you knew when the end would come, how would that change the way you live?
Pray
for strength to carry on to the end, and that people will turn to Jesus before the end comes.
