As we continue walking through Holy Week, and joining Jesus on His journey to the cross, we are reminded that the Gospel accounts weren't written to tell us a day by day, this is what Jesus did kind of thing. Instead, they were written to convey a message of what Jesus had accomplished in His life, His death, and His resurrection. Thus, we have only a few things that we know happened on certain days during that last week in Jerusalem.
Today, I want to focus for a few moments on some of Jesus' words which can seem rather gloom and doom-ish (okay, maybe I just made up that word, but I like to make up words!). If you read through Matthew chapters 24 and 25, you get a fairly significant set of sayings of Jesus, especially which tell of the time when He would re-appear to judge the world and claim His own.
Now, as you read through these two chapters, it can seem that Jesus is a bit of a gloom and doom kind of guy. Wars, rumors of wars, famines, plagues, destruction, false prophets, and judgment are all things that we tend to find rather depressing. Yet, Jesus prepares us to realize that these will be constant in the world that we live in. In fact, as we get closer to the time when He re-appears, He seems to indicate that such things will get worse and worse.
In a way, Jesus isn't telling us these things so that we can know the details of when He will re-appear. Instead, He is giving the reminder that we need to always be ready, since He can re-appear at any time. That's the meaning behind the parable of the virgins and the parable of the talents. Some were caught unaware and unprepared, and faced the consequences. Others were ready, and so were welcomed into His kingdom. Rather than giving us a timeline, Jesus gives a warning: Be ready, and always be ready.
As you think about Jesus and His death and resurrection for you, how ready are you for His reappearance? How do you remain vigilant, knowing that He can re-appear at any time?
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