11.02 | End Times
Matthew 24:1-35
‘Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”’
Matthew 24:1-2
We live in the end times.
That statement tends to get some of us nodding vehemently. And it tends to get some of us shifting awkwardly.
The nodders nod, because you agree that the state of our world, which seems, against every narrative of secular ‘progress,’ to be accelerating in rampant regression. That the wars, earthquakes, flooding, poverty, corruption and inequality that we see are clearly articulated by Jesus as pre-empting His return.
The shifters shuffle, because you hear such words, and attribute it to what can feel like Christian fanaticism, shouting with placards on the fringes of society, whose obsession with the coming end seems to detach them from the reality of day to day life, rather than give them perspective that enables them to walk their days with perspective and peace.
There’s truth in both.
Jesus begins in these chapters a teaching on this final age of history, the end times that began with the Cross and will conclude with the Return of Jesus. He names us as the generation with the awesome honour and responsibility of navigating this final chapter in history.
So what do we do with all this?
Or, as a better question, why did Jesus want us to hear this teaching?
The disciples question helps us to understand this.
They have pointed at the temple, and the beauty of its architecture. It seems harmless enough. But their observation betrayed an assumption.
The assumption, of these Jewish young men, was that the beauty of the temple indicated the stability of their reality. They assumed that having this place and this building within which they could worship demonstrated that God was truly in charge. Their confidence was built upon the metrics of physicality and circumstance, where the beauty of what they could see demonstrated the surety of what they could not.
Jesus knows they need a different perspective. He knows that the years to come will demand of them more greatly than they could imagine. He knows that He is establishing the final generation of history, and that we would need to navigate these days with a different perspective.
And so He tells them what is to come.
Wars. Famines. Earthquakes. Tribulation. Martyrdom. Deconstruction. Lawlessness. The very temple itself would be destroyed (which happened in A.D. 70).
In other words, virtually every single seen thing that they could point to to give them confidence would crumble and fall.
Jesus turns their eyes away from the bricks and mortar of the temple, and tells them that their confidence and perspective will need to come from a different place. It will need to come from a relentless confidence in that which they do not yet see.
Not to depend upon the stability of their politicians, society, economy, their bank balance, health, or buildings.
But rather, their confidence will need to be utterly rooted in the security of His words and His promise.
That’s hard, right?
Yes it is. But it is also His call.
It is the call, in the midst of every time it feels like the world is going to hell, to lift our eyes and to recall that He is faithful to His word, and that these pains you see will give way to a coming age of beauty.
It is the call, when the world panics, to stay steady and to stay strong; He said all this would happen.
It is the call, in the very midst of our most testing circumstances, to recall that our lives are not built on the stability of our circumstances but on the stability of His character. Our Lord is true.
The call is mighty. But it is also reality.
Stay strong, lift your eyes.
The King is at the very gates.
And He is coming soon.
Reflect:
What things test my assurance of His coming return? If He were to return tomorrow, how would that effect how I live today?
Pray:
Father,
When I read the list of all these things that will come
And are happening right now
It can be overwhelming.
It’s so easy to look for stability in political peace, economic stability,
Health, security, and prosperity,
And so, when these things do not come, to feel rattled and unsure.
Would you be my assurance
Would you be my stability
Would you increase my faith
And would you enable me, in all circumstances
To grow in the conviction of You
My stability; My confidence; My God.
That I may live these days with great endurance
With perspective
With peace
And with untouchable joy
In Jesus’ name
Amen
Old Testament:
For those also reading the Old Testament this year, your additional readings are here:
Exodus 36:8-38:20 | Psalm 22:1-11