Year 9, Day 198: Matthew 24

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Matthew 24 is a difficult chapter to read.  It is so easy to read Matthew 24 at fall into the temptation of predicting the end is near.  How often do we see people doing this very thing?  How often do we hear and see people using this tactic of fear against others to try and coerce them into godly behavior?  In fact, if we think about it, isn’t the act of doing so merely going to produce people who are unrighteous on the inside but appear righteous outside?  Didn’t Jesus condemn such life yesterday with the religious leaders?  Seeing this chapter as a chapter designed to allow us to predict the coming of the end of the world and thus instill fear into others produces the very thing that Jesus condemned in Matthew 23.

That being said, Jesus does tell us how to recognize signs.  In fact, in Jesus’ comparison to the fig tree Jesus tells us to do that very thing!  He tells us to watch out for betrayal.  He tells us to understand that the world will have elements that hate us.  He tells us that famine, earthquake, and war will all be present as we draw to the end of the age.  He tells us to be careful to not follow after false christs.

What is Jesus’ point if not to give us the ability to know the end of the age?  Look at where Jesus ends.  Jesus doesn’t tell us to go out and threaten people with the fear of Hell!  Jesus tells us to use this knowledge to get our own house in order.  After all, has there ever been a period of human history where a war wasn’t being fought?  Has there ever been a time in human history when we haven’t heard of earthquakes, the threat of famine, or droughts, or people turning on one another?  Jesus is telling us that because these things are ever present, we cannot know when the Lord will return.  If we cannot know, then it is vital to live our life as if He could return at any moment.

In the end, this should be unnecessary.  Shouldn't a disciple of Christ follow in His example?  Should we not live lives worthy of the grace we have received from Him?  Therefore, the warnings we receive from Christ are not meant as tools for us to threaten others with fear!  They are tools to help remind us to keep on the straight and narrow.

Jesus didn’t come to earth and scare people into belief.  He loved them into belief.  It is His disciples – in a very personal and secluded moment, mind you – who are the benefactors of this teaching.  Faith brings us to Christ.  Recognition of the evil within each of us and the world around us continual reminds us of why we need Him.

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