THE LAST SUPPER

Matthew 26:17–30

Key Verse: 26:28

“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

          Remembering is important, especially remembering what was done for us. It’s why we have holidays like Mother’s Day. We all so easily take things for granted; we so easily forget. Forgetting small things may not be so big a deal, but forgetting big things is really a problem. Today’s passage is about remembering. Jesus took the most famous Jewish holiday and transformed it into remembering what he was about to do for all God’s people throughout all time. Jesus taught his disciples to remember not his birth, not his life, not his miracles, but his death. How can we remember it? Today’s passage has three parts: preparing for Passover (17–19); predicting betrayal (20–25); and remembering Jesus (26–30). We especially want to think about the blood of Jesus and what it means to us. May God open our hearts and speak to us personally through his words today.

          Look at verse 17. The Festival of Unleavened Bread lasted a whole week. People had to eat only bread made without yeast, to humble themselves and remember how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. This first day of the Festival was Thursday. That day, all God’s people gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. They did it every year without fail. The Passover meal could be eaten only in Jerusalem. So the population of the city swelled to overflowing. People would bring their extended family members, in groups of ten to twelve people, offer a live lamb to God at the temple, drain out all its blood, take the animal’s body back, and then get to cooking. Everybody who came to Jerusalem for the Festival needed a place to cook and eat. The meal had to begin after sundown. It required buying groceries, getting key items like bread made without yeast, bitter herbs, fruit jams and wine, and plates and utensils. The lamb had to be roasted for several hours. Jesus and his disciples would usually stay with close friends in Bethany, but they had no place to do all this in Jerusalem, where things were quite expensive. Though they didn’t know how, the disciples were ready to help. They offered to get things ready and do all the work. Progress.

          How did Jesus respond? Look at verse 18. They were to go into the city and meet “a certain man”—no name, just a guy—and tell him their Teacher and they, his disciples, were all coming over to his house to celebrate the Passover. It seems kind of clandestine, like spies meeting at a secret place. And this guy seems to have had no choice—it was just going to happen. But he did have a choice. He could’ve said to them, “You’re crazy. No way.” He could’ve ditched them down an alley. But he led them to his house without any question. We don’t know who he was, but clearly he was somebody who liked Jesus and was willing to help him out. And anybody who had a house in Jerusalem big enough for 13 men was pretty well off. But his wealth didn’t make him selfish. He was willing for Jesus to use him. Are we? Look at verse 19. To Matthew, the key players here were the disciples. Why? Because they followed Jesus’ instructions. It sounds so simple, but it was probably way harder than it looked. They had to go into the city with no plan except to meet a certain guy and trust that he’d listen to them, let them come over, spend the day cooking and the evening dining. It’s likely that the disciples had no money and this guy had to take them to the market to buy all the ingredients. The disciples had many weaknesses, but their strong suit was that they listened to Jesus, trusted his words and put them into action. When they did, they could make the impossible possible.

          Look at verses 20,21. During this Passover meal Jesus drops a bomb on them: “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” They were all having such a wonderful time, enjoying the meal, but now it’s become really hard to eat. We can just hear the pieces of food dropping and the cups clinking. Look at verse 22. In Greek it literally says that they became “sorrowful exceedingly.” Some of them probably started crying. They each said to him, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” What are we seeing here? It shows they were all so pure-hearted. Not in their wildest imagination had any of them ever thought of betraying Jesus. No, each one loved Jesus. Each one was certain he had a personal relationship with him. Each one was loyal to him. When each one asked, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” it was a humble way of personally confessing his love to Jesus.

          But Jesus goes on. Look at verse 23. Why is he speaking like this? The expression “the one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me” refers to their eating style at the time. At the Passover table there would be a common bowl of herbs mixed in fruit jam, and everybody would take pieces of unleavened bread and dip them in to eat. To the Jews, sharing such a bowl would be done only with one’s closest family and friends. It was a sign of intimacy and trust. Jesus draws attention to this to emphasize how treacherous the betrayal would be. And he insists on all of them thinking about that. Look at verse 24. Jesus gives a blatant and dire warning. It would be better not to have been born than to betray him. It’s a veiled way of saying the punishment would be especially bad: not just better not to have known Jesus, but better not even to have been born!

Why is Jesus warning this? He’s giving his betrayer one last chance to repent. Jesus said he was going to “go as it is written about him,” meaning he would die as the prophecies predicted. But it didn’t have to happen due to one of the Twelve. Though Judas had colluded with the religious leaders, taking their 30 silver coins, Jesus was trying to wake him up to stop his evil plan. With these words he probably was also trying to counteract Judas’ bad influence to the others. We all need to be forewarned: we should never betray Jesus.

          Look at verse 25. Only Matthew adds this detail. Judas was being so fake, so hypocritical. And Matthew has a special distaste for hypocrisy. In modern terms Jesus tells Judas, “You said it, bro.” He said it in a way the others wouldn’t understand, but Judas would. Jesus not only could see through his acting, but also was holding Judas accountable for what he was about to do. We live in a generation where people love to blame their wrongdoings on others. A comedian used to joke, “The devil made me do it!” But we can’t blame anybody, not even the devil, for our own choices. God is working out his own sovereign plan, but we still are responsible for what we do, especially for how we respond to Jesus.

          Once Jesus got this matter of betrayal off his heart, he could get on with what he really wanted to say. Look at verse 26. It was another kind of shock. First it was betrayal, and now, it’s that Jesus is going to have his body torn open and consumed. Wow. The meal got really weird. It’s going to happen literally, but he’s also speaking figuratively. Why is he doing this? It was customary at the Passover meal for a child to ask his father, “Why are we eating this meal?” Then the father would explain that it was to commemorate how God brought them out of slavery in Egypt through the Passover lamb. By saying the bread symbolized his body, Jesus is saying he has become the Passover Lamb.

We may think Passover was only for Jews; but actually it’s for Christians, too. Apostle Paul said, “Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1Co5:7). Getting rid of the old yeast means repenting of our pride and old sinful nature. We all need to remember what Jesus did for us. He sacrificed himself and became the Passover Lamb to save us from our sins (1:21b). Who do we think we are? We’re all nothing but slaves of sin without Jesus. We’re nothing but puffed up, proud sinners, full of evil thoughts, desires and habits. Nothing we do can get us out of it. Only Jesus’ sacrifice saves us. As soon as we forget what he’s done for us—and we all do that—we start getting puffed up again. The only way to stay truly humble is to take and eat Jesus’ body, meaning, personally remember how he sacrificed himself for my sins, to save me.

We live in a culture of self-affirmation. Everybody wants to have strong self-esteem. People really don’t like feeling guilty about anything. Some feel guilty when they shouldn’t, and don’t feel guilty when they should. But we all need to remember that we’re sinners, helplessly enslaved to our sins, and that Jesus gave his very self to save us. It’s not to humiliate us, but to heal us. And it’s not about what we do, but about remembering what Jesus has done.

Just remember? That may not seem so practical. But it really is. When we remember what Jesus did, it fills our hearts with his great love and grace. Jesus transformed the Passover meal into what Christians call “communion.” Among the early Christians it became known as their “love feasts.” Outsiders with a dirty mind made fun of them. But when they re-enacted this Last Supper by taking the bread, they were celebrating a feast of love, remembering the love of Jesus who sacrificed himself for each believer. Remembering Jesus’ personal love for me is a game-changer. It changes my heart and mind. It puts me in a whole new head space. Instead of always feeling inadequate and kind of guilty for not fully living up to what I know I should, I can feel God’s great love, which is so powerful and so unconditional. I can be strengthened in his love and be filled with grace and peace and joy. It’s what renews my soul and makes me alive spiritually. Remembering that Jesus sacrificed his own body for me is food for the soul which nourishes and revitalizes me. We don’t necessarily need to go to church and go through a ritual to do it; we can do it every morning in the privacy of our own homes—come to Jesus and remember how he sacrificed himself for me. Just as we all need to be eating meals until we grow old and die, we all need to be having this spiritual meal personally until we die.

Look at verses 27,28. During Passover people would all drink from a cup of wine diluted with water, remembering how the Passover lamb’s blood saved them from slavery in Egypt and from God’s judgment during the plague on the firstborn. When Jesus spoke these words, reinterpreting Passover, he must have had in mind Exodus 24:8: “Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.’” It was a vivid way of saying that God had purchased the people to belong to him. The covenant means God was making promises to be their God, to love, protect and bless them, and they were making promises to be his people, to love, respect and obey him. They promised, but as we often do, they couldn’t keep their promises. They quickly broke their promises to obey God. That covenant didn’t work.

So God promised to make a new covenant. Jeremiah 31:31–34 reads:

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD,

‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors

when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt,

because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares the LORD.

‘This is the covenant I will make

with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the LORD.

‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.

I will be their God, and they will be my people.

No longer will they teach their neighbor or say to one another, “Know the LORD,”

because they will all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the LORD.

‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’”

This was what Jesus was talking about here: the covenant in his blood, shed to forgive our sins. When we accept that Jesus shed his blood to forgive my sins, we have a covenant with God. He promises that we are now his people. Through Jesus’ blood we experience God’s love so deeply that we actually know him personally. We rely on his blood, and it keeps us from breaking his covenant and failing him.

The story of this Last Supper is in all four Gospels. But in recounting the meaning of the cup, only Matthew specifically mentions the forgiveness of sins. It stresses how important it is to know that all our unforgiveable sins have been forgiven, because Jesus shed his blood for us. After living as a tax collector Matthew suffered from a guilty conscience. He betrayed his own people and lived for his own gain. His greed made him ugly. No doubt he hated himself. But when he saw the blood of Jesus flowing down on the cross, he came to the deep realization, as the old hymn goes, that “Jesus Paid it All.” He found peace with God at last. So often we act like everything’s fine, like we’re okay, when deep inside we’re not okay. Guilt is gnawing at our souls. In this state we’re so often trying to make amends, to do good so that God and others will somehow accept us. It’s never enough; it never sets us free; it never makes us spiritually trustworthy. Only Jesus’ blood poured out for us can cleanse our consciences and free us to really serve God (Heb9:14). Many modern people find accepting a covenant in Jesus’ blood offensive. They’d like to find a more dignified way to live better lives. But we all need to humble ourselves to accept his blood. It’s the good news of the gospel. It’s how Jesus saves his people from their sins (1:21b). Jesus told his disciples, “Drink from it, all of you.” He’s telling us, too.

Look at verse 29. It’s both sad and hopeful. The disciples would never eat a Passover meal on earth with Jesus again. But they had a great hope to eat the most intimate meal with Jesus in the Father’s kingdom. This eternal, heavenly meal is our hope, too.

Today we thought especially about the blood of Jesus. Read verse 28. May God grant each of us a covenant with him through his blood. May he renew his forgiveness of our sins in our souls and draw us close to him.

JESUS ANOINTED AT BETHANY

Matthew 26:1–16

Key Verse: 26:10

“Aware of this, Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.’”

Have you ever heard the expression, “Do something that matters”? So many people feel like what they’re doing in life doesn’t really matter. All our struggles to get ahead, to become financially stable, to have some achievements in life—what do they all matter? To offset a sense of meaningless some people try to “give back” what they received, to share with those less fortunate. It’s noble, but trying to do good may not really change anything or make a lasting impact. In great frustration, so many people ask, “What does it matter?” In today’s passage, we find a person who seizes the moment and, according to Jesus, does something that really matters. At the time, it seemed like it didn’t really matter. It didn’t change anything, it didn’t move anybody’s heart, it didn’t prevent bad things from happening. But Jesus teaches that this woman’s deed is an example for all future believers all around the world, including us. Who was this woman? Why did she do what she did? Why did it matter? And how can we be like her? May God open our hearts and speak to us through his words today.

Look at verse 1. It begins, “When Jesus had finished saying all these things…” This expression is used in Matthew’s Gospel every time Jesus finishes one of his five major discourses (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). In this case, it’s the last time he gives any extended public teaching. He ended his public teaching ministry partly because people were not really listening, but mainly because God had something else for him to do.

Look at verse 2. Here he’s talking to his disciples. He’s predicting his upcoming death, which was just two days away. He’s predicted it to his disciples three times before (16:21; 17:22,23; 20:18,19). So why is he telling them again? Does Jesus just like to repeat himself? No. And his saying it isn’t going to stop it from happening or protect his disciples. In fact, it doesn’t change their minds or seem to help them at all; as we’ll soon see, when he’s arrested, they’ll all desert him and flee (31,56). So what’s his point in repeatedly predicting his death to his disciples? Though they didn’t understand, they’d remember it. And later, they’d realize that his death wasn’t an accident or a tragedy. It was God’s sovereign plan. Actually, it was the reason Jesus was born and came into the world. God sent his Son on a mission, to save his people from their sins (1:21b), and he could do it only through his own crucifixion.

To the disciples, the word “crucifixion” must have sounded horrible, maybe too much to take in. But death by crucifixion was a reality in their society. It was humiliating, disgraceful, and real torture. Jesus’ life had had such an impact: so many amazing healings and teachings, so many followers. How could his life and ministry end like that? What may have been even harder to grasp was that Jesus would be “handed over.” The Greek word is also translated “betrayed.” It’s like our words “snitch,” “informer,” or “squealer.” It would be like a stab in the back: Jesus would be turned in to the police, even though he did nothing wrong.

          Look at verses 3–5. These religious leaders have been plotting for a long time to kill Jesus (12:14), and now they were ready to do it. They thought they’d kill Jesus after the festival, but God was going to make it happen during the festival. They thought they were in control of everything, that they were smarter than everyone. But in fact, God was ruling and overruling them, accomplishing his own plan (Ps2:1–2; Ac4:28). As Proverbs 21:30 tells us, “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.”

          Then Matthew turns our attention to a very different person. Read verses 6,7. Bethany was a wealthy suburb of Jerusalem. Simon the Leper was wealthy enough to have a home there. He was likely somebody who’d been healed by Jesus; otherwise, he’d still be in quarantine. His money couldn’t heal him, but Jesus did. It says that at his home, Jesus “was reclining at the table.” That was how people of that time would eat their meals, not sitting on chairs but laying on cushions at a short table close to the ground. It was somewhat unusual for Jesus to be in a wealthy person’s home having dinner, but it was a special occasion. It was a dinner given in Jesus’ honor. His disciples also were there (8a).

And then, in comes this woman. It says she “came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume.” Alabaster is a soft mineral that’s partly see-through. To hold perfume, it was shaped into a jar with a very long neck that could easily be snapped and broken. The other Gospels tell us that this one jar of perfume was worth a year’s wages (Mk14:5; Jn12:5). In today’s average, that might be about $40,000. What kind of perfume was that? And who would have such perfume? Only a woman from a rich family. It was most likely given to her from her youth by her parents, to hold onto until her wedding day. To most women, the wedding day may be the most important day in life. To this woman, this jar of perfume was her secret treasure. Maybe she didn’t have much else.

But what did her action mean? Why would she come to Jesus and pour this perfume on him? Most men wouldn’t want to wear women’s perfume. But this woman wasn’t playing a prank; she wanted to honor Jesus with her expensive perfume. So she came up from behind him and poured it on his head. We don’t know how, but everybody there knew how expensive it was (9). So, what she was doing was very personal, but at the same time, very public.

It’s also very interesting that in this passage, there’s not one word spoken by this woman—all that matters is what she did. Her one act of devotion to Jesus speaks volumes. What does it say? It expresses how much she loved him. The only reason we would ever give up a personal treasure to somebody else would be because we loved that person, right? Personal sacrifice like this can only be done willingly, out of love. So why did this woman love Jesus so much? She didn’t just have a distant crush on him. John’s Gospel tells us that her name was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who were close friends of Jesus. Jesus had just raised her brother Lazarus from the dead, and Mary did this out of gratitude to him. It was probably even deeper than that. Jesus taught elsewhere that greater love comes from a greater awareness of his forgiveness (Lk7:47). Through her experience with Jesus she’d tasted his grace of forgiveness of sins. She’d realized what a sinner she was, and yet how Jesus loved her still. Her heart was so full of his grace, she could not but do something for him in return.

In the previous passage Jesus talked about serving the needy as if we were serving him (25:40). But why do anything for Jesus at all? Why not just live for ourselves? That’s how most “normal” people are living anyway, right? It seems strange, even crazy, to be giving our treasures away to somebody else. Some people do good things out of a sense of duty. Some do it to earn others’ favor, or with a superstitious idea that good will come back to them. But this was done quietly, out of love. No other reason, just love. So many people had come to Jesus to get his help. Some had come to criticize. But this woman came just to do something for him, to show him love. She didn’t care what people would think of her or say about her; she was just compelled to show him love.

          What happened? Look at verses 8–9. “Indignant” means “angry.” They called it a “waste.” They thought it was a missed opportunity to help many poor, starving people with the money that could have been gained from that perfume. They thought this woman was being too emotional and extravagant. They didn’t understand her heart at all. John’s Gospel tells us that the real objector was Judas Iscariot; so the other disciples must have chimed in with him. Judas didn’t say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, stealing from their common money bag (Jn12:6). How ugly and hypocritical Judas was!

What did Jesus say? Read verse 10. Jesus rebuked his disciples for bothering the woman. They called what she did a “waste,” but Jesus called it “a beautiful thing.” Some people hate to waste food. Some hate to waste time. But doing things passionately can also seem like a waste, like rooting for our favorite team, only to see them lose, or working so hard to save money, only to have to spend it on something we didn’t want, or helping somebody wholeheartedly, only to get used in the end. When we’re young, with so many options ahead of us, we wonder what we should be giving our lives to. Gaining a stable job and having a family, only to grow old and die can seem so meaningless. What should we be doing with our lives? Where should we be pouring out all our passion, all our life’s treasures? It can seem really hard to figure out. Social causes can seem appealing, but people often highjack them for their own agendas. After dedicating ourselves to something for many years, who wants to conclude that it was all just a waste? What really matters?

Read verse 10 again. Jesus said she did a beautiful thing “to him.” Living for Jesus, doing beautiful things for him, is never a waste. Jesus still sees the hearts of those who love him, and he accepts as beautiful forever the things we do out of love for him. Apostle Paul learned this secret. After experiencing his forgiveness, Paul poured his life into serving Jesus (Php2:17; 2Ti4:6). He was misunderstood, slandered, many deserted him, and he ended up in prison. But he wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Php1:21). He wrote, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Php3:8).

Many of us may have had passion when we were young, but not anymore. How can we rekindle a real passion in serving Jesus? How can we give our whole hearts to him once again? Maybe we need to repent of calculating, of comparing ourselves with others, of loving the world too much, of loving ourselves too much, of loving some sin too much. Whatever our problem may be, we all need to reflect on Jesus’ grace in our personal lives, until our hearts are moved and restored. Only when we realize how much Jesus loves us can we love him in return (1Jn4:19), and do something that really matters.

Jesus also taught a principle. Look at verse 11. It tells us we need to get our priorities straight. We shouldn't abuse this to excuse ourselves from helping the needy. At the same time, we should keep the focus on Jesus himself. We need to be ready for any opportunity to serve him, in whatever way he shows us. Look at verse 12. Jesus saw a much greater significance in this. He saw that she was preparing his body for burial. He took her act of devotion and gave it an eternal meaning. Look at verse 13. Jesus wants us all to learn something here. Loving Jesus from the heart is what really matters.

Look at verses 14–16. Judas was one of the Twelve. He’d been so close to Jesus. But he never really opened his heart to him. He was all head, but no heart. Eventually his smartness got him into big trouble. Only Matthew mentions the thirty silver coins. Those coins stand in stark contrast to Mary's very expensive perfume. Thirty silver coins represented the penalty an owner of an ox had to pay if his animal gored a slave to death. In the big scheme of things it wasn’t much money. It shows that Jesus' life was valued like that of a slave. But Mary valued Jesus as more precious than the greatest treasure on earth.

          Let’s read verse 10 again. Let’s pray that somehow, we all can do beautiful things with our lives for Jesus, things that really matter in our world.

HE HEARS US

1 John 5:13–21

Key Verses: 5:14,15

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”

          In the previous passage, John wrote that even our faith gives us the victory that overcomes the world. Now, in this final passage of his letter, John encourages us to apply our faith to our prayers. Through this study may God help us each to know him better and grow in our prayer life.

          In this letter John repeatedly has been teaching about who Jesus is, emphasizing the importance of believing in him (1:1–3,7; 2:1,22; 3:16, 23; 4:2,3,15; 5:1,5). Now he writes to those who do. Read verse 13. John wants believers to know that they have eternal life. Why does he say this? It’s because the Gnostics had been telling them they were lacking in knowledge. They’d been trying to make believers in Jesus feel inferior, and then, get them to follow them. John strongly contradicts them. He wrote back in verse 11: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” Now John wants believers to know with certainty that in Jesus they really do have eternal life. Why is this so important? If we realize we have eternal life in Christ, we have the best thing possible; we have everything we could ever need. We won’t wander after other things of this world, or other teachings that lead us away from Jesus. In this world, it’s so easy to feel lacking or inferior, especially when we compare ourselves with others and see that we don’t have much money, status or security. But when we believe in Jesus, we already have eternal life! Are we really sure about this? Is this really our personal conviction? It needs to be.

          John wants us not only to know that we have eternal life but also, to have a whole new mindset about God himself. Read verses 14–15. John first mentions “approaching God.” For many people, God doesn’t seem real. Or God seems pretty remote and far removed from their real lives. For others, God seems unapproachable, mainly because they feel they’re too full of sin to really come to him. And all of us have probably felt that it’s futile to approach God, because we’re pretty insignificant, and God must have so many other ways more important things to pay attention to than us. Some of us may have struggled because even though we prayed for something so sincerely and for so long, God never seemed to answer, and so we kind of gave up on approaching him anymore.

          Let’s read verses 14,15 again. Here John says that we need the confidence that God hears us. On what basis can we have this confidence? John writes later in verse 20: “We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” Here the word “true” is repeated three times. In Greek, the word actually means “real.” So the verse could be translated: “We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is real. And we are in him who is real by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the real God and eternal life.” We can have confidence in approaching God, first of all, because God is real. He’s the living God. People may think God is not real or living as if God is not real. But God is real. Secondly, this verse tells us that we can have confidence in approaching God because Jesus has come and has given us the understanding to really know God. The Gnostics thought they had a monopoly on knowing God, and that people could know God only through them. But Jesus is the one who has come and given us understanding, to truly know God. We can have confidence in approaching God as we get to know Jesus better and better because Jesus helps us get to know God more and more personally. Thirdly, we can have confidence in approaching God because, by his grace, we are “in his Son Jesus Christ.” When we’re in his Son Jesus Christ, we’re forgiven; we’re made right with God; we’re his dearly loved children. John wrote earlier: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the righteous one. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (2:1,2). Our confidence in approaching God starts with who Jesus is and what he does for us.

          Earlier in this letter John already mentioned having confidence in approaching God: “This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask because we keep his commands and do what pleases him” (3:19–22). According to these verses, we can be confident when we realize that God is greater than us, greater than what our hearts may be saying to us, and greater than what we know. Also, we can be confident as we keep his commands and do what pleases him. If we’re doing our part to really love God and to really love our brothers and sisters, if we make it our goal in our daily lives to please God, then we can have confidence in approaching God. Ephesians 3:12 sums it all up simply: “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” May God give each of us this freedom and confidence in approaching God.

          Let’s read verses 14,15 again. Here John repeats two times an amazing promise of God: “He hears us.” Throughout the Bible it’s repeated again and again that God listens to and answers prayer (e.g. Job34:28; Ps31:22; 34:17; 65:2; 69:33; Pr15:29; Jer29:12; 33:3; Jn9:31). God who is real is a God who listens to prayer; he hears us. He hears us because he loves us as his children. He is our loving heavenly Father who actually wants us to come and talk to him and tell him all that we have in our hearts, whatever it may be. How should this affect us in our real lives? Jesus said, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Mt7:11). Peter said it simply: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1Pe5:7). And Paul taught us: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Php4:6). If God really does hear us, then there’s no reason to bottle up our problems or feel helpless or lost, or fearful to make important decisions in our lives. Based on the truth that God hears us, Jesus taught: “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Lk11:9,10). Through prayer, we exercise real faith in real life, and we start to see real answers from God.

          We shouldn’t feel like “whatever” or “I don’t know” when we pray; we need conviction about our prayers. Read verse 15. If God really hears us, then we should believe he’ll answer our prayers. Jesus said plainly: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” If we don’t believe God is listening, or that he’ll never actually do what we’re asking, then what’s the point of praying? James wrote: “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do” (Jas1:6–8). It’s so important when we pray, to actually believe God hears us.

          But there’s an important qualifier in verse 14. John says, “…if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” Prayer isn’t a means by which we manipulate God to do what we want. If that were true, God would be like our genie in a bottle, and we would use him to get all kinds of foolish and harmful things we think we’ve got to have. Again, James wrote about this plainly: “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (Jas4:3). Jesus taught us: “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, you will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt6:9,10). As God’s children, we should be praying for his will to be done. Why should we pray for God’s will and not our own? It’s because God knows way better than we do what is best. To pray for God’s will to be done, our way of thinking needs to be changed. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” As we reject the world’s selfish, materialistic values and pursue God, God renews our minds and gives us discernment to see how wonderful his will is.

And what is God’s will? God’s will is generally revealed in the teachings of the Bible, where God tells us what he wants of us. God’s will is also in a sense mysterious and unknowable to us, so we just have to trust him. And God’s will is specific to each person. God’s will for one person may not be God’s will for another person. But there’s a general principle in God’s will. 1 Timothy 2:3,4 reads: “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 2 Peter 2:9b says, “Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” God wants people everywhere to turn from their sins and turn to Jesus in faith, be saved and come to know the truth. In fact, God’s will is to save all peoples of all nations—especially all the people we’re not even thinking about.

To fulfill God’s will requires self-sacrifice and involves a great personal struggle. Jesus showed us the best example. He knew what God’s will for him was, to die on a cross, but in his humanity, he really didn’t want to do it. As the hour approached, he told his disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch” (Mk14:34). Then he came to God alone in prayer and said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Lk22:42). In his humanity, he was too weak to do it. But it says that an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him (Lk22:43). Then he kept praying “Yet not my will, but yours be done.” When he was in anguish, he prayed for this more earnestly, it says, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground (Lk22:44). When we pray earnestly to overcome our own desires and do God’s will, it is certain that God hears us, will answer and will help us.

John goes on to tell us something specific to pray for. Look at verse 16a. We should be watching out for our brothers and sisters. Our prayers shouldn’t be self-centered, but deeply concerned for our fellow believers. We should care about their spiritual lives. We should care about any sin that may start influencing them. When we see people going the wrong way, we should pray to God. Through our prayers, it says, God will give them life. How important prayer is to Christian fellowship! It helps us all to walk in the light of Jesus and have real fellowship with one another. Believing prayer helps people who are sick—both physically and spiritually—to get well; believing prayer helps people who’ve been wrong to be forgiven (Jas5:15).

In verses 16b,17 John says we should distinguish between the sin that leads to death and the sin that does not. Many people wonder what this might be. He’s not saying that we should take any kind of sin lightly. But he is saying that we probably shouldn’t even bother praying for the sin that leads to death. What is that? In the context of 1 John, it’s the sin of the Gnostics, who went out from the fellowship, denying the truth about Jesus (2:19; 4:1–3). In the light of the whole Bible, it’s the sin of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit (Lk12:10), or the sin of apostasy, of turning away from Christ (Heb6:4–6; 10:29). Of course, Jesus taught us to pray for those who persecute us (Mt5:44). But John’s point here is that we should focus our prayers on those who’re struggling to follow Jesus and may be failing sometimes and falling into sin.

In verses 18–20 John concludes this letter by summing up what we know. We know that people apart from Christ are under the control of the evil one. We know that people born of God don’t continue or persist in sin because Jesus keeps them safe and helps them. We know that we are children of God through faith in Jesus. We know that Jesus has come and has given us understanding. We know the real God, and we are in him by being in his Son Jesus Christ. John especially wants us to remember what we know about Jesus, who keeps us safe, helps us know God and live in him.

Today we mainly thought about John’s encouragement of prayer. As God’s children, we should pray, because God is real, and because he hears us. May God help us know him better by getting to know Jesus more and more. May God help us to grow in practical faith that prays. May God help us especially pray to do his will, and pray for one another.

THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS

Matthew 25:31–46

Key Verse: 25:40

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

          Real, or fake? Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference, right? When it’s about money, or jewels, “real or fake” is a really important question. For God, when it’s about people, it’s THE question. God is looking at us to see if we’re real, or fake. He especially wants to know: are we real followers of Jesus, or fake ones? We’ve been studying the last major discourse of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, chapters 23–25. In chapter 23 Jesus blasts the Pharisees and teachers of the law for being hypocrites, fake religious leaders. In chapter 24 he warns about fake messiahs and fake signs of the end of the age. In chapter 25 he’s been telling parables about people waiting for his Second Coming—five virgins were real and five were fake; two servants were real and one was fake. Today’s passage is Jesus’ last parable about this. It’s the parable of the sheep and the goats. The sheep represent real followers of Jesus, and the goats represent fake ones. In this study we want to learn what it means to be real followers of Jesus, and if we are, how he expects us to be living our lives while we’re on this earth. Many people are good at faking: they fake like they read the book, they fake like they care, they fake like they’ve been doing what they’re supposed to. But when Jesus comes back, as he promised, nobody will be able to fake it. May God open our hearts and speak to us personally through his word today.

          Read verse 31. Jesus repeatedly has been describing his Second Coming like this (16:27; 19:28). He’s the Son of Man, the suffering servant of all people, the real Messiah prophesied about in the Old Testament. But people can be so cynical and sarcastic. Driven by their own worldly, sinful desires, they mock the Christian faith, asking, “Hey, it’s been 2,000 years! Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation” (2Pe3:3,4). Actually, during his earthly ministry proud people looked at Jesus from a human point of view and despised him as nothing but a country carpenter. They thought they could crucify him, throw him away and be rid of him. But one day, Jesus, the Son of Man, will come in his glory, and all the angels with him, and he will sit on his glorious throne. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him (Rev1:7; cf. Zech12:10). People think they can get away with rejecting him, but on that day Jesus will be sitting on his glorious throne as the Judge of the living and the dead (2Ti4:1; 1Pe4:5). It’s not a bunch of cleverly devised stories (2Pe1:16); someday it’s going to be so real.

          Read verses 32,33. The first thing we notice here is that people from all the nations will be gathered before him. It’s going to be a universal judgment of all people who ever lived. There are so many kinds of people in this world, and so many distinctions that really matter to so many people—what you look like, how much money you have, what family you came from, where you went to school, what possessions you have, etc. But at that time, there will be only two kinds of people: sheep and goats, and that’s all that will really matter.

          Let’s think for a moment about this imagery of sheep and goats. Why did Jesus use it? It suggests people’s characters. Goats tend to be stubborn, independent and hard to work with. Sheep are gentle, obedient and follow well. Some people may seem like goats in the way they relate to other people, but they’re like sheep in the way they relate to Jesus. Others may seem like sheep in the way they relate to others, but they’re like goats to Jesus because they’re too stubborn in their own ideas to listen to him.

          Secondly, we notice here that Jesus can tell a sheep from a goat. He knows exactly how to identify each person. We get deceived by appearances, or by how well people talk. But Jesus can immediately tell who is who. He said elsewhere, “I know my sheep and my sheep know me” (Jn10:14). Of course it’s important to be inclusive, to welcome all kinds of people. But when Jesus comes again, it’s going to be all about separation: separating the sheep from the goats. Matthew has been emphasizing this with various imagery: Jesus will separate the wheat from the chaff (3:12), the wise from the foolish (7:24–27), the wheat from the weeds (13:42,43), the good fish from the bad fish (13:47–50), those who are ready from those who aren’t (24:40,41,45–51; 25:1–30). Why the emphasis on separation? Jesus explained in 13:41: “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.” These are the people who never repented and accepted Jesus’ grace and let him change them. In light of today’s passage, this seems to be describing the real nature of the goats. This is why Jesus warned us earlier: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (7:15). In this world it seems that people can get away with faking like they are Jesus’ sheep, but in the end, Jesus will expose them all for who they really are. And on that day it will be too late for second chances.

          As Jesus said so many times before, on Judgment Day people will get their just reward (5:12,46; 6:1,2,4–6,16,18; 10:41,42). He said in 16:27 that on that day “he will reward each person according to what they have done.” He meant not what each person wanted to do, but what each person actually did. If we actually lived in a way that is pleasing to God, what will our reward be? In last week’s passage Jesus described it as God’s personal affirmation: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (25:21) Today, Jesus again describes God’s reward for those who lived like they were really his sheep.

Read verse 34. Jesus calls these people “you who are blessed by my Father.” Though they’re identified as the “sheep,” he doesn’t look down on them as lesser than him; in fact, he looks up to them with great respect. He also says they have an “inheritance.” This word implies that they have a right to it, they have it coming to them—just as children claim an inheritance from their parents.

 What’s their “inheritance”? Jesus says it’s “the kingdom.” What a reward! We live in a wage-earning society in which we expect to get what we work for. We want equal pay for equal work, and we want things to be fair. So what could be the reward for living for Jesus and obeying him? A big bonus? A nice car, a fine house? People writing something nice about us? Jesus says God’s reward will be way more than that; it will be the kingdom “prepared for you since the creation of the world.” How could we ever earn or deserve such a kingdom? We can’t. We receive this kingdom only by God’s amazing grace. In fact, he gave it to us even before the creation of the world, before we did anything good or bad. God has been preparing this kingdom for his people all throughout history. It’s an eternal kingdom, and way better than any glory on earth.

But why does Jesus describe it like this here? Surely it’s because he knew his followers would face all kinds of persecution. Because they actually followed Jesus, their lives would be unstable. They would be slandered as cult members, heretics or lunatics. Some would have to flee for their lives, losing all their possessions (Heb10:32–35). They would not be building up their lives in this world, but losing their lives for Jesus and the gospel (16:25,26). But Jesus says God the Father is going to reward such people with “the kingdom” prepared for them “since the creation of the world.” Wow! Everything in this world, no matter how good, is slowly perishing, spoiling and fading away (1Pe1:4). But this kingdom is so secure, so stable, and way more valuable than anything in this world. This kingdom, Jesus said earlier, is like treasure hidden in a field, or like a pearl of great value—worth sacrificing everything for (13:44–46). We may be poor and vulnerable, and don’t even know where our next meal is coming from. But Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” (Lk12:32). Jesus’ sheep really believe his promise of this eternal kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb12:27,28).

He goes on to explain why these people will receive this reward. Read verses 35,36. It’s a fascinating explanation. On the surface it sounds like Jesus sure has been through some rough times, more than most any of us—he says he was starving and thirsty, homeless, naked, sick, in prison, and so lonely. But then he makes it a point to go on to describe how the sheep will respond to this praise. Read verses 37–39. They actually really mean these words. They don’t remember doing any of these things for Jesus. They don’t think they did anything worthy of being praised like this. They really don’t understand. Then Jesus explains. Read verse 40. Whenever they served even the least of his brothers and sisters, he says they were serving him. It reminds us of the verse, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Heb13:2). We learn several things about Jesus’ real sheep here.

First, they feel like unworthy servants. The Pharisees were trying to earn God’s favor by all their efforts. They had a feeling of entitlement and superiority over others. As we’ve said, they were fake. But Jesus’ sheep are real, and they don’t have any hint of such an attitude. Instead, they really don’t feel like they deserve any praise or reward from God, no matter how much they served or sacrificed for others. But it’s kind of hard to understand. Jesus said they’ve served a lot. They were always ready and willing to help anybody in need, even the least person. Why did they not remember? We all like to tally up all the good things we think we did, but these people don’t. What’s going on? It reminds us of Jesus’ words, “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (6:2–4). It seems their serving was so secret, it was even a secret to them—they totally forgot about it! It tells us we should never be drawing attention to our giving and serving; in fact, we should be doing it only before God, then immediately forget about it. After working hard it’s so easy to be self-righteous; but after much serving and sacrifice it’s so gracious to have this humble, unworthy attitude. This is how real sheep of Jesus are.

Second, Jesus’ real sheep are compassionate. Read verses 35,36 again. Jesus is describing here not only literal, physical conditions, but also inner spiritual conditions of hurting people (e.g. 5:6; 9:10–13). And the actions he mentions describe somebody who’s always ready to empathize with others. Such a person understands when someone is hungry or thirsty or lonely or hurting or vulnerable or feels crushed. In Matthew’s Gospel it’s described as the compassion of Jesus (9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34). No matter how busy or tired he was, Jesus was always compassionate. In contrast, the Pharisees were always judgmental, critical and demanding. Jesus said they weren’t willing to lift even a finger to help others (23:4). We can understand how Jesus could be so empathetic and compassionate, but how can his sheep be like that? How can we respond to people’s needs at any moment, ready to help them, with the genuine compassion of Jesus? At first it sounds really hard, but actually it’s not. Yes, in our old nature we’re fundamentally selfish and proud. We have no power within us to be any different. But when we repent and believe in Jesus and receive his grace, we receive the Holy Spirit, who changes us into new creations, who molds us into the image of Jesus. In Philippians 2:1 Apostle Paul wrote to the early Christians: “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion…” When we’re close to Jesus, we receive his encouragement, his comfort and love, his tenderness and compassion. And we show his compassion to others at any time, as if it were our second nature. When we’re close to Jesus, we naturally respond to those who are hurting with his compassion. It’s not us, it’s Jesus living in us who enables us to live like that. Real sheep of Jesus are those who follow him closely and let his compassion fill their hearts and lives.

          Sadly, many so-called Christians aren’t known for their compassion but for being judgmental. If people are hungry or thirsty or homeless or naked or sick or in prison, we wonder if they’re just fakers, or irresponsible or lazy, or had it coming to them. So many so-called Christians think it’s their job to condemn people for living in certain ways, and are always teaching how to live better. But they lose sight of the fact that it was the Pharisees in Jesus’ day who were doing the same thing. The Pharisees condemned the tax collectors and prostitutes that Jesus welcomed, and they condemned Jesus for helping them. They thought they were so righteous. But Jesus showed these people grace. He didn’t judge them for their messed up lives; he was with them because he understood they were wounded, and he had a heart to heal them. It was his compassion that attracted such massive crowds from all over to him, while people felt so burdened by the legalistic Pharisees. In light of this, we have to wonder: if we’re known as being judgmental, are we real sheep of Jesus?

          To Jesus, compassionate deeds aren’t just a nice extra; they’re required of his authentic followers. Why are compassionate deeds so important? 1 John 3:16–18 reads: “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

          Let’s look briefly at the goats. Read verses 41–46. The goats are defensive and self-righteous. They don’t think they deserve what’s coming to them, but in a bad way. They had so many opportunities to serve the needy, but they didn’t. They thought they were dealing with people, but ultimately, it was how they were treating Jesus himself. They call him “Lord,” but he sends them away to eternal punishment, because they were fake followers, not real.

          And there’s one final lesson in the passage. How can we keep on serving and giving in ministry? How can we keep doing it when it seems people just keep taking and taking, when the fruit of what we’re doing seems so invisible? Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (40). We need to be serving people as if we were serving Jesus himself. We need to be caring for people out of pure love for Jesus. Serving “the least” is a test of this pure motive, because we won’t be getting anything back from serving such people. Loving Jesus keeps us going in serving others with his compassion, and it enables us to never burn out.

          Today we learned that real followers of Jesus live with his compassion and with an unworthy attitude. May God draw us close to Jesus and grow us in his image so that we can someday hear his voice of God’s eternal reward.

THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN

Matthew 24:1–51

Key Verse: 24:44

“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

          Life is full of the unexpected. Have you ever walked into a situation and realized, “I’m not ready for this”? It could be bad weather, or a car that breaks down, or a pop quiz, or a sudden crisis at work, or a demanding person who comes out of nowhere, or getting sick or injured. If we knew ahead of time, we could get ready. The same is true for Christian life: We should not only believe certain things, but also, always be ready. Ready for what? Not just for the unexpected in life. Today’s passage repeats the words “come” or “coming” 14 times. What’s coming? Jesus is coming. He’s coming back to this world. It’s not a maybe; it’s very sure. He teaches us what to expect before he comes. He describes what his coming will be like. Most of all, he shows us how to be ready for his coming. May God speak to us through his words today.

          Look at verse 1. It begins, “Jesus left the temple and was walking away.” He had arrived at the Jerusalem temple Sunday night and had been teaching there since Monday. There he had cleared the place of money changers and those selling animals. There he encountered the religious leaders who attacked his authority. There he taught them many things about his authority. And there, he pronounced seven woes on the Pharisees and teachers of the law, mainly for their hypocrisy. Now, he leaves the temple and walks away. He’s done trying to teach people there.

          While he’s leaving, his disciples come up to him and call his attention to the temple buildings (1b). What are they doing? Well, they want Jesus to notice how beautiful it is. At that time the Jerusalem temple was world-famous for its beauty. The Roman historian Tacitus called it “immensely opulent.” The Jewish historian Josephus compared it to a beautiful, snow-capped mountain. But why are the disciples suddenly trying to get Jesus to notice it? Surely they’ve seen the temple so many times before. Maybe they’re trying to turn his attention away from all the conflict with the religious leaders, to kind of cheer him up.

          How does he respond? Read verse 2. Jesus is saying that God is going to let the Jerusalem temple be totally destroyed. To the disciples it must have been very sad news. Why would God let such a thing happen? Partly it was because of all the hypocrisy Jesus had just warned about. But mainly it was because they had rejected the Messiah God sent to them. Jesus’ prediction about the temple came true about 40 years later, in AD 70, when the Roman general Titus surrounded the city and in the end, completely destroyed it, including the temple.

          After hearing Jesus’ prediction the disciples stopped talking about the temple’s beauty. They probably became very quiet as they were leaving the city. What happened next? Look at verse 3. The Mount of Olives is just east of the temple, and a bit higher up, so from there one can see a view not only of the temple but of the whole city of Jerusalem. Jesus stopped and sat down there, probably still thinking about the future. And the disciples came and privately asked him some incredible questions: “When will this happen?” “And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Why were they asking these questions? It shows that they took his prediction seriously. They didn’t try to defend the temple or change his mind; they were ready to listen to Jesus and learn from him. Most of all, they had an idea that the destruction of the temple would be part of “your coming” and “the end of the age.”

          The disciples often were saying the wrong things. While traveling on a stormy sea they panicked and thought they would all drown (8:25). When a hungry crowd stayed too long, they suggested Jesus send them away to buy their own food (14:15). When they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost and cried out in fear (14:26). They were worried about him offending the Pharisees (15:12). They were slow to learn his repeated teaching to feed the crowd by faith (15:32,33). When they forgot to take bread, they misinterpreted his warning about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees (16:6,7). They didn’t like what he said about going the way of suffering (16:21–23). On the mount of transfiguration they were terrified at God’s voice (17:6). They failed to heal a boy with an evil spirit (17:16). When he talked about his death and resurrection they were only filled with grief (17:23). They were competing about who would be the greatest (18:1). They rebuked people for bringing their little children to Jesus (19:13). They were shocked to hear how hard it is for the rich to enter God’s kingdom (19:23–25). They were amazed that the fig tree withered so quickly after he cursed it (21:20). But now, when Jesus predicts the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, they’re actually asking good questions.

          What made them think of this? Based on the Old Testament prophets, all Jewish people knew about the end of the world. They repeatedly called it “the day of the Lord.” So many prophets foretold that day when God will judge the world for its wickedness. They believed it would happen through God’s Messiah. God would give his Messiah great power and glory and use him to bring his judgment on earth. Now, after hearing his prediction of the destruction of the temple, the disciples were wondering when Jesus would do these things.

          What did he say? Read verse 4. Here, the word “deceives” literally means “leads you astray.” It’s so easy for Jesus’ followers to be led astray, especially about the end of the world. Some people try to tell us it’s happening right now; others say it’s never going to happen. To most people, the world seems so permanent, and they get engrossed in enjoying it as much as possible now. Instead of following them and their ideas, we need to be listening very carefully to Jesus. When we pay attention to his words, we won’t be deceived or led astray.

          What’s the main cause of the deception? Read verse 5. False messiahs are people who claim to be Jesus or who claim to come in his name. Such people can seem crazy or laughable. But Jesus repeatedly warns that in fact they will lead many people astray. Why do false messiahs have such influence? It happens especially when the world becomes full of trouble. People are looking for security, stability, an easy way out, and false messiahs tell people what they want to hear. They promise a better life in the world now if people follow them. Today, pursuing an easy, comfortable life is a kind of false messiah. Jesus warns us not to be deceived and led astray by this.

          He goes on to warn about other things that can deceive us and lead us astray. Read verses 6–8. Wars, rumors of wars, conflicts, natural disasters—they all cause people to think the end of the world is coming. But Jesus tells us not to be alarmed and not to jump to conclusions. Instead, he teaches us to see such things as “birth pains.” Though they’re painful, something beautiful is going to happen afterwards. Living in the midst of troubles in this world, he wants us to believe God is in control, doing something good even in the midst of suffering, and have hope in God.

          And Jesus says more. Read verse 9. Not only will there be general sufferings from wars or natural disasters, but also persecution of his followers. He’s already warned about this persecution several times before (5:10,11,44; 10:17,18,22,23; 13:21). Jesus warns that people will hate Christians simply because they hate Jesus himself (9b; 5:11; 10:22a). Why do people hate Jesus? It’s because Jesus challenges us to repent of our sins. Jesus calls us to come back to God, which so many people refuse to do.

          Jesus warns us the persecution won’t be just from without, but also from within. Read verse 10. Why do people do this? It’s simple: because they don’t want to suffer. When there is no suffering, many people may identify themselves with Christians. But when suffering and persecution become intense, many back out. Many are upset with Christians who remain in the suffering. They attack and betray them. This kind of suffering may be even worse than the wars, disasters or persecution from non-believers. Jesus again warns about false prophets’ coming at such a time (11). They’re so deceptive. They play on people’s feelings to get them to follow them. They tell people they don’t have to suffer; they promise a health and wealth gospel, no suffering, God wants us to be rich, we can do whatever we want, there’s no such thing as sin or hell. They lead many people astray.

Jesus gives us one more warning about the times. Read verse 12. When we stop repenting and struggling against our sins, love of wickedness increases within us. Love for sin cools our love for God and for others and makes us self-absorbed. It’s really discouraging to live among people who love wickedness and are indifferent to their fellow human beings. What should we do? Read verse 13. Jesus said exactly the same thing before (10:22b). Stand firm to the end! What does it mean? It means, “Don’t give up! Don’t give in! Don’t run away! Hang in there! Be faithful, even to the point of death!” (Rev2:10b) But stand firm for what? Just because we’re stubborn? No. 1 Corinthians 16:13,14 tells us: “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.”

Even in a hate-filled world where wickedness increases and love decreases, we shouldn’t withdraw and hide. Read verse 14. It’s like the saying, “The best defense is a good offense.” We should not only be keeping the faith, but also spreading the faith. Just like Jesus did, we should be telling people about the good news of the kingdom (4:23; 9:35; 10:7). We may seem small and weak and surrounded by hostility, but when we stand firm in faith and share the good news of the kingdom, God uses even us to advance his kingdom.

Look at verses 15–20. Here Jesus predicts more details about the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple. During the Roman siege of the city, people starved and even resorted to eating their own babies. In history many people tried to save Jerusalem when it was attacked. But Jesus told his followers to flee it, and most Christians listened to Jesus and left. Read verse 21. This may describe the horrible time when Jerusalem was destroyed. But it also points to the “great tribulation” all Christians have to suffer (Rev7:14). As with Jesus’ metaphor of birth pains, it may be that at the end of the age, the suffering will intensify to an almost unbearable level right before Jesus comes. Read verse 22. In any case God is still in control, and though he allows us to suffer, he still loves us because of our faith in Jesus and he’s working to save us.

Look at verses 23–26. Jesus again warns about false messiahs and false prophets who arise in especially hard times. They perform great signs and wonders to try to deceive God’s elect (cf. Rev13:1–8). They try to say that only special people out in the wilderness or hiding in inner rooms will know when Jesus comes. But what does Jesus say? Read verses 27,28. He means his coming won’t be hidden and secretive, but obvious to everyone.

Read verse 29. The end of the sun, moon and stars was predicted many times in the Old Testament (Isa13:10; 34:4; Eze32:7; Joel 2:10,31; Zeph1:15; cf. Rev6:12–17). This is the real sign of the true end of the age. Read verse 30. Jesus already predicted that he would come in the Father’s glory with his angels (16:27a; cf. 2Th1:7). Especially, his coming on clouds with power and great glory is the fulfillment of Daniel 7:13,14. Revelation 1:7 says, “‘Look he is coming with the clouds,’ and ‘every eye will see him, even those who pierced him’; and all peoples on earth ‘will mourn because of him.’ So shall it be! Amen” (cf. Zech12: 10). So many people ignore Jesus and live as if he won’t be coming back. But it says “every eye will see him” and there will be a lot of crying from those eyes. Why? Because people will realize that Jesus’ words were true and they were wrong, and it will be too late to repent. It will be a terrible day for them.

But it will be a quite different day for other people. Read verse 31. His elect are scattered all over the world in all kinds of remote and forgotten places. But God never forgets his elect, his precious chosen people. Jesus will send his angels to gather them to come back with him to his glorious kingdom. It’s our glorious hope and a great comfort. It’s the day when he promises that only by his grace we will share in his glory and his victory.

How can we tell this day is coming? Read verses 32,33. Here the word “near” is repeated twice. The Bible repeatedly tells us that Jesus’ coming is “near” (Heb10:37; Jas5:9; 1Pe4:7). It’s been near the past 2,000 years, near in the context of eternity. How can we be sure of his coming? Read verses 34,35. We can be sure of his coming because of his sure word of promise, which will never pass away.

Jesus goes on to describe more about his coming. Read verse 36. He says, “No one knows.” Anyone who predicts they know the precise time of the end of the world is lying. Don’t ever believe such people. Not even the angels or Jesus himself knows. Though there are signs of his coming, we can never know the day or hour. Jesus says more about it. Read verses 37–39. Jesus will come suddenly, and it’ll be a great surprise to most people. It also tells us that people are living as if he will never come again. People still get obsessed with eating, drinking and mating, living on the physical level. It’s not the way Christians should be living. Read verses 40,41. In each case, one person was ready and the other wasn’t. But outwardly, we can’t tell who’s ready; they’re both doing exactly the same thing. What makes one ready and one not? The ready person is the one who has a personal relationship with Jesus and who knows his grace.

In light of this, what should we do? Read verse 42. Here, “keep watch” means to be vigilantly looking for Jesus to come back. Not only should we believe it, but also we should be expecting and looking for him every day. Read verse 43. Jesus gives a very practical illustration of what it means to keep watch. In this case it’s being defensive and not being lulled into complacency. Living in this world it’s so easy to be led astray into spiritual complacency. Jesus warns us that if we do, our house can be “broken into,” meaning the devil can gain influence in our lives. Read verse 44. To be ready, we need to expect that Jesus could come at any time, even today. We shouldn’t fall into our sins or love of this world and have him come back when we’re doing the wrong things.

How can we be ready for his coming? Read verses 45–47. Here, the faithful and wise servant obeys his master by doing what he wants. He faithfully gives food to the other servants at the proper time. He discharges all his duties. It’s a metaphor for giving people the word of God faithfully and wisely. When people are struggling, we are ready to give them the right word of God to help them. If Jesus comes back and finds us doing that, he’ll surely reward us. But there’s another example. Read verses 48–51. This wicked servant was too smart for his own good. He calculated that he would have time to repent right at the end. So he lived in self-indulgence. But things didn’t work out the way he expected. To be ready for Jesus’ coming, we shouldn’t live by our smartness.

Read verse 44 again. May God help us to have the hope of Jesus’ glorious second coming in our hearts. In this world full of trouble, sin and persecution, may he help us to stand firm to the end and be doing what he wants, sharing the good news of his kingdom and giving people his word at the proper time.