Scripture: Matthew 24:1-44

SERMON SUMMARY

Many people today are asking the question, “Are we living in the ‘End Times’?” How you answer that question will determine how you live out your faith amid this crazy world that seems to be spinning out of control in its rebellion against God. The question we’ll address today is this: “What does it look like to be a follower of Jesus amid a crazy world? What mindset should we have to keep us from sliding into apathy and indifference on the one hand or getting caught up in obsession and speculation about so-called “End Time” events on the other? Today, we will pause our Revelation study to let Jesus answer that question before we look at how John answers the question. Understanding how Jesus explains things in, for the most part, plain language can help us understand what John tells us in apocalyptic word pictures.

SERMON SCREENSHOTS & KEY POINTS

According to the Scriptures, we’ve been living in the “End Times'' for the past 2000 years. The “End Times” or the “Last Days' began with Jesus’ first coming to inaugurate the Kingdom of God on earth. Jim talked about this briefly last week. The Kingdom is here now, but not in all its fullness. It’s what scholars call the “already/not yet” kingdom. Now, this is important. When Jesus inaugurated His kingdom, the “End Times'' began in the sense that God’s plan to save His people and to judge evil began to be revealed. Jesus alluded to this in John 12:31 when He said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world is cast out.” And so began the “Clash of Kingdoms.” The kingdom of God was and is breaking into the kingdoms of this world in judgment. The apostle Paul explains the form of this judgment in Romans 1:18. He says that God’s judgment is seen in how He is “turning people over” to their lusts and immorality—to do things that “ought not to be done.” Mark it down. When Jesus came and later died on the Cross and rose from the dead, God’s judgment on sin began. A great spiritual battle began as the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world clashed. And we, as the people of God, are caught right in the middle of this battle. One more time, as followers of Jesus, we live in what Jesus, Peter, Paul, the author of Hebrews, James, Jude, and John all refer to as “the end time” or “the last days,” which, will finally, ultimately end with Jesus’ second coming. And they also talk about the time between Jesus’ first and second comings as “tribulation,'' even “great tribulation.” (See Acts 2:16-21; Romans 13:11-12; Hebrews 1:1-2; 9:26, James 5:7-9; 1 Peter 1:20; 2 Peter 3:3; Jude 18; 1 John 2:18)

So, are we living in the End Times? Yes, we’ve been living in the End Times for the past 2000 years. The End Times began with Jesus’ first coming through His death, resurrection, ascension back into heaven, and His sending the HS to live inside His followers. It began with His first coming, and it culminates with His second coming

Now, in Matthew 24, Jesus talks about this very thing. Jesus has just told His disciples that the magnificent buildings of the Temple complex would be completely demolished—”not one stone would be left on top of another.” Later, His shocked disciples ask Him two questions. First, “When will this terrible thing happen? Second, “What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” For the disciples, those two events were closely connected because they figured if the corrupt Temple system was going to be destroyed, then surely, Jesus would reveal Himself to the world as the Messiah they all had been hoping for. Jesus answers both questions in different ways. First, “When will Jerusalem and the Temple be destroyed?” 

Answer—see 24:33—“within a generation.” In the Bible, a generation is 40 years. The Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem and took the Temple apart block by block in 70 AD—that’s 37 years later“ (i.e., “within 40 years”). Second, “What is the sign of Your coming and the end of the age?” Answer—see 24:36—“I don’t know. Nobody knows. Only the Father knows.” Jesus is not trying to satisfy their curiosity. Ultimately, He’s giving them pastoral wisdom and guidance to answer a question they’re not asking, and that is, “How are you supposed to live when the world seems like it’s out of control?” In the short term, He tells His disciples what will happen so they won’t give up or give in when they face intensifying opposition and tribulation. In His “I don’t know when” answer, He’s telling them, “No matter how much time passes, no matter what happens, stand firm. Stay awake. Be faithful to Me and to the mission I will give you.” The remainder of this message will unpack all those two answers in a verse-by-verse walkthrough of this chapter.

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