Let's end this dive into Matthew 24.
Our last look into Matthew 24 gave us this:
“Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will return. You realize that if a homeowner had known at what time of the night a thief was coming, he would have stayed awake. He would not have let the thief break into his house. Therefore, you, too, must be ready because the Son of Man will return when you least expect him.”
Matthew 24:42-44 GW
In addition to not being deceived, Jesus asks us to be alert and stay awake – not literally. Still, it certainly conveys the idea that those of us who trust in Jesus' word are to pay attention to the signs we are NOW experiencing.
"Who is the faithful and sensible servant whose master puts him in charge of the household staff, to give them their food at the proper time?”
Matthew 24:45 CJB
Referring to you as a servant would almost be insulting, but Jesus did. I have a question.
Do servants have an option to question the master's commands?
Not unless they have an extraordinary relationship with the master, but even then, they probably know that there is a line that should never be crossed. Well, if Jesus is calling us servants, then perhaps we should pay attention and be alert.
Who is Jesus referring to when He speaks of servants who have been put in charge of the household staff to give them their food at the proper time?
Since the subject matter is the Jewish people and their culture, then would it surprise you if I told you that He is talking about the religious leadership of Israel.
Can I apply this to myself?
I am and you would be wise to quickly do the same.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary indicates that this is a test and implies that even the care of the earth has been under our influence. I would say that our corporate leaders have failed miserably as we sought the almighty dollar to excesses. It sounds like we are under the law, and to a degree, we are, for the law was the only reasonable substitute since the earth, through Adam, fell under the curse.
The response to the question, “who is the faithful and sensible servant,” comes in verse 46.
“It will go well with that servant if he is found doing his job when his master comes.” Matthew 24:46 CJB
This speaks about God's judgment, the seven years of wrath that will be poured out upon:
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The nations – this includes all who reject Jesus, the Messiah.
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The Jewish leadership: for teaching others to reject Yeshua, for rejecting the Messiah, who is spelled out explicitly in the Torah, and all while tormenting those who would accept Jesus as the Messiah.
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And He is going to pour out His wrath upon those who have killed the people and destroyed the earth in their quest for wealth.
What is our job?
Preach the good news whenever possible and wait eagerly for His return.
A parable, titled by the modern translators, reads like this.
“You Must Be Ready”
Luke 12:35 CJB "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit,”
Verse 35 should have a familiar ring to it.
It sounds like our Lord pulled aspects from “The Parable of the Ten Virgins,” which we find in Matthew 25:1-13. All of them took oil lamps, while half took additional oil in case the night went longer than expected. Those who did not bring extra oil became arrogant and demanding when their lamps ran out. (Keep in mind that they had the same opportunity to prepare.) Sounds like half of them just weren't all that interested.
If you are stumbling because of the parable of the ten virgins, then you should know I was accosted by a brother at church, who publicly challenged me as to why I was advocating for Jesus' soon return. He said, we have been looking for Jesus for over two thousand years, and He hasn't come back; He is NOT coming back any time soon, so stop already.
Luke 12:36 CJB “like people waiting for their master's return after a wedding feast; so that when he comes and knocks, they will open the door for him without delay.
Matthew 22 speaks of those gathered from the Gentiles.
"Then he *said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 'Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.' "Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.”
Matthew 22:8-10 NASB
Let's look at this portion of the paragraph for a moment.
“ but those who were invited were not worthy.”
Initially, who were the invited?
Israel, or better stated, the descendants of Abraham.
The word “worthy” is the Hebrew word áxios. According to Mounce's dictionary, it means worthy of or deserving, either good or evil. Initially, God declared Abraham and his descendants áxios, or worthy of good (or evil, which we see in Deuteronomy 28 – the blessings and cursings if you do not follow after God).
Interesting how the slaves, doing what the master said, found in the streets both evil and good, and with these people, they filled the wedding hall with dinner guests. In general. Here is a touch of sarcasm. It does not take long to notice that this group included worthy people like Caleb (he was not a descendant of Jacob and, therefore, a Gentile.)
Aren't you glad God found us.
But Matthew 22:11 gives us a piece of perplexing information.
"But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he *said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless.”
Matthew 22:11-12 NASB
Seeing as we have an overabundance of homeless living on our streets, you would be hard-pressed to find any with “wedding clothes.”
Finis Jennings Dake conveys this.
“The poorer classes would not have festive apparel, and they were therefore provided for by the king from his own extensive wardrobe. This is one of the most interesting details of the parable. It was a special mark of honor to receive a garment which had been used by royalty, and kings sometimes showed their liberality by giving freely to others whom they sought to honor.”
Dr. J Vernon McGee states.
That wedding garment is the righteousness of Christ, which is absolutely essential for salvation, and it is supplied to all who believe.
We see the believers clothed in white.
“He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
Revelation 3:5 NASB
Once we reach chapter four of Revelation, the church is not discussed, yet there is this peculiar reference.
“Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.”
Revelation 4:4 NASB
Could it also be that these, clothed in white garments, represent the church?
The logical answer is yes because there are many other references to the white garments and the bride, which is us, the church.
And we can know what being ready looks like.
“The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat!” Luke 12:37 NLT
Ready and waiting anxiously for his return.
What happens to those who are doing their job?
"Truly I say to you that He (Jesus) will put him(the servant that does what He asks) in charge of all his possessions.”
Matthew 24:47 NASB
Paul's letter to the church in Corinth speaks to this very thing.
“Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
2 Corinthians 5:9-10 NASB
Here, we will be rewarded by Christ. Jesus ended this portion of His talk like this.
''But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,' and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 24:48-51 NASB
Consider this excerpt.
“the master of that slave will come on a day when he (the evil slave) does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites.”
I always hear this; no man knows the day or the hour. I suppose the implication is that you should wait anxiously for Him, but that is not the end of the story.
Paul said we are not in the darkness that we should not know, and Paul states that it is for us to know.
Paul, having taught the Church body in Thessaloniki that Christ is going to come back for His bride, the Church, but somebody came afterward and frightened them into believing that they had missed the rapture, the catching away of the church. (The Greek word for rapture is harpazo, and the Latin is rapio. Nonetheless, he is coming back. Since the collective signs are happening around us rapidly, it behooves us to look for Jesus.)
So, “that slave” who does not expect Him will be in the dark about the timing and return of our Lord.
A few paragraphs earlier, I talked about the brother in Christ who berated me for encouraging people to look longingly for Jesus. I know this brother, and he leans toward legalism, but I think it is necessary for him to keep his life in order. I lived my life under a constrained religious legalism, and no, thank you, that is not for me. It was for freedom that Christ has set me free, and I will not allow anyone to try to put me back into that bondage.
Does living in freedom condemn me to hell?
One brother in Christ likes to think so, and he creates rules in his head that those outside of his head have to live by. He will tell you that everyone who does not accept Jesus NOW will have NO chance to accept Him after the Church leaves this earth.
Is that true?
The answer is an emphatic NO, as the Holy Spirit will still be on earth, drawing as many to Jesus as will come.
Is it true that grace will indeed be gone? What that means to those who come to Christ during the seven years of wrath is that you will have to prove your allegiance to Christ by losing your life for your testimony, but not to worry, Jesus will be there to escort you into eternity.
Did you know that I learned how to sin as a Christian?
Yes, thinking too long on that thought will get my head spinning. All I know and now lean on is I am so glad that God found me and sought me out.
