Don’t Ignore What’s Right in Front of You - Matthew 23:37-24:14
Two years ago, Lauren and I went to Washington D.C. and we ended up staying in this great hotel that was within walking distance to all the major monuments. And so we walked to the National Archives, Holocaust Museum, Ford’s Theater and then we were like - we should look at the White House.
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It was like the second or third day, we finally went to the White House and we turned around and realized, “hey, that’s our hotel!”
We had been staying right across the street to the White House and didn’t have a clue. It should have been obvious, especially since we had been looking at maps to get around all day. We had a good laugh about it and felt a little dumb for missing the obvious.
It’s easy to miss the obvious because we didn’t know or weren’t looking for it. Also, it’s easy to reject the obvious. We tend to think that can’t be right because it’s too clear!
It’s easy to miss obvious answers because we often think that a problem requires a complicated solution. Our passage deals with something that is often characterized as complicated - the end times. Folks in the church typically fall into two different camps.
The first are those who are fascinated by fancy apocalyptic biblical interpretation or a confusing study of numbers. This number corresponds to that passage which relates to this country. With all of their complex end times study they miss the obvious sign that Christ gives us. That’s the first group.
The second takes the opposite approach. They’ll say that we are in the end times, so you need to be prepared for the return of Jesus Christ now. That statement is absolutely true, but it’s often used as a cop out because they don’t want to look for the signs that Christ gives us.
Whereas the first group misses it by over-complicating things, the second group misses it because they’re not looking for it or paying attention.
Do I have you on the edge of your seat yet? Well you're going to have to wait until the end of the sermon to find out what it is. I’m just kidding. I’ll tell you. The sign that Jesus gives us is the preaching of the gospel. That’s how you know you’re in the end times.
And the question you need to wrestle with is this: Will you pay attention to it? Will you listen? Or do you want something more spectacular? Let’s look at our passage together beginning in verse 37.
Jesus grieves the lost (vv. 37-39)
Jesus begins by stating that Jerusalem is the city that, “kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” There’s a historical precedence to these words. Throughout the Old Testament Jerusalem rejected prophets and the word of the Lord. It’s important to remember what he had said earlier in chapter 23, the seven woes. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees and hypocrites!
Here is Jerusalem once again rejecting a prophet, but more than a prophet. They’re rejecting the Messiah. The Savior of the world. But if they had accepted him, he would have gathered them “as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.” He uses language of loving protection. A mother hen cares for her young. Interestingly, the language here indicates the divinity of Jesus. Only God can give you and me true spiritual protection.
But instead, the religious leaders were leading the nation of Israel away from Jesus instead of to him. Jesus is grieved over their disregard for the gospel message. He goes on to say, your house is left to you desolate. In other words, because of their rejection of Jesus, judgment would be around the corner for Jerusalem.
But not only was there impending judgment for the city of Jerusalem, but there’s also the final judgment coming. That’s what he meant when he said, you will not see me again, until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
You know, it’s interesting because verses 37-39 are really dealing with the unbelief of Jerusalem and warning of impending judgment, and Jesus is grieved by it all. Jesus isn’t vindictive. If he was, wouldn’t this be the perfect spot?
The irony of it all is that the Messiah had come and the religious center of the Jewish culture, Jerusalem, had rejected him. But instead Jesus wanted to love them. Their rejection of the gospel grieved him.
Does it grieve you when people reject Jesus Christ? Or are you indifferent? It’s easy to take a position, of “well, this works for me but it doesn’t necessarily work for everyone.”
You know it’s really easy to grow apathetic and stop caring. It’s easy to give up when you try to talk about the Lord with someone and they just shrug their shoulders in indifference.
That’s grievous. When people reject the gospel it should grieve you. Why? Because you know that eternal separation and torment is what awaits those who reject Jesus Christ. Here’s how you know your heart has grown cold toward those who have rejected Jesus Christ: You’ve stopped praying for them.
If you’re not praying for people by name - you don’t care about them. Here’s what’s interesting about verses 37-39: Jesus isn’t talking to the Pharisees and Scribes anymore. And he’s not talking to his disciples yet. He’s praying to the Father.
He’s crying out to the Lord over the city of Jerusalem. Are you grieved like Jesus over the lost? Or have you stopped praying? Maybe you need to pray for the Lord to break your heart for the lost again. Maybe you need to pray that the Lord would soften your heart toward those who don’t know him.
Jesus rejects false hope (vv. 1-2)
In the first two verses of chapter 24 Jesus is leaving the temple when his disciples come to him to point out to him the grandeur of the temple. They were likely looking at the temple along with much of Jerusalem.
The temple had been freshly rebuilt. The first Jewish temple was built by King Solomon in the Old Testament and ultimately destroyed by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. The second temple was rebuilt under Herod the Great, who was the king who tried to kill Jesus in Matthew chapter 2. What's equally important to the temple being destroyed and rebuilt is what the temple represented: it represented the presence of God.
So think about the symbolic significance of the temple being destroyed. It was symbolic for the presence of God leaving his people. And think about it being rebuilt: the presence of the Lord had returned!
So here we are in chapter 24 verse 1. Jesus and his disciples were admiring this rebuilt temple. And notice what Jesus says in verse 2: “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.”
In other words Jesus is saying, “yeah this great rebuilt temple is going to be destroyed again.” Jesus prophesied that the temple would be destroyed again… and guess what? It happened in AD 70. There were Jewish revolts and Romans didn’t tolerate it. They went into Jerusalem and destroyed it along with the temple. All of this took place shortly after Jesus ascended into heaven.
But again, consider the symbolic significance of all of this: you have these religious Jewish teachers excited about the temple thinking the presence of the Lord was there, while rejecting the real presence of the Lord in the person of Jesus Christ.
They focused more on the building and edifice than the person of Christ. Even the disciples missed this! They’re sitting in the presence of the living God going, check out how amazing the temple is! They thought their spiritual hope was in a building. A structure.
And Jesus says, this building is going to be destroyed. Think about the significance of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 6 where he says, do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?
For the believer, the very presence of the Lord dwells within you. Your body is a temple. You know, a lot of people say, the church isn’t the building, it's the people. We probably say that here more than other churches! But it’s true!
You know it’s easy to be like the religious leaders and teachers and put your hope in something other than the person of Jesus Christ. They put a lot of hope in the temple because they thought the Lord dwelt there. Many in the church today rely on other things than the person of Jesus Christ for the salvation of their eternal soul. They think an emotional experience is what saved them. Walking the aisle saved them. Praying the sinner’s prayer saved them.
None of those things save you. Jesus Christ does. Trusting in his work saves you. Too often, we want the Christian life to be something that we can put on autopilot. We can just turn it on and then kick our feet up and relax. Trusting in something other than Jesus Christ is like going skydiving with a book bag on. If you saw someone doing that hopefully you’d say, “you have the wrong thing on your back! You need a parachute!”
Eternity hangs in the balance and trusting in your work, in what you’ve done, will lead you to hell. Put your hope in the perfect work of Jesus Christ.
Jesus gives us a sure sign (vv. 3-14)
Chapter 24 begins what is often referred to as the “Olivet Discourse.” This portion of Scripture is heavily symbolic and refers to several events. Some of it refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ, some of it refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, while other portions deal with different events.
But it all begins with the disciples asking Jesus to “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
It seems that the disciples thought that the destruction of the temple would mark the end of time. It’s easy to see why they would think that, but Jesus shows them in the preceding verses that’s not the case.
He begins with, “see that no one leads you astray.” In other words, be prepared for false signs for the end of the age. Look at what he lists in verses 5-12.
False Christs in verse 5, wars and rumors of war in verse 6, famines, earthquakes in verse 7, persecution, betrayal in verses 9 and 10, false prophets, lawlessness in 11 and 12. Lawlessness which will lead to cold love. In other words, lawlessness will tear families apart thus decreasing love for one another.
Each one of these things have taken place throughout the course of human history since the life of Jesus. There have been false Christs. There have been wars, famines, earthquakes, persecution betrayal, false prophets and lawlessness.
So many people are fascinated by the preacher who speaks on so-called “Signs of the Times.” And they inevitably show that this war, that earthquake, this event relates to Scripture x,y, and z. Therefore, Christ’s return is imminent.
To be fair, we are in the end times, but that can mean Christ will return in a thousand years or tomorrow. My point is don’t trust anyone who speaks authoritatively on when Christ will return because no one knows! But look at what Jesus says in verses 6 and 8. In verse 6 he says, “See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”
And then in verse 8, they’re “the beginning of the birth pains.”
In other words, don’t read into every world event! Don’t be like Chicken Little! All these things must take place to drive redemptive history forward marching us closer to the second coming of Jesus. But as for which event means what - we don’t know and we really don’t need to know. Jesus’s whole point is that not everything that looks like a sign is a sign.
But here’s what’s really interesting: Jesus gives us a sure sign for the end of the age. The proclamation of the gospel. Notice in verse 14 he says the gospel will be preached throughout the whole world then the end will come. In other words, first the preaching of the gospel will cover the earth, then second, will be the end. The amount of time between the gospel covering the earth and his return is unclear.
If you’re anything like me, you’re thinking, “I want details, Jesus!” Right?
We want the 8.4 magnitude earthquake which will serve as a 24-hour warning before Jesus returns to give us time to get our affairs in order. Obviously I’m kidding, but I think there is an element of truth in there. Why do we so desperately want to know when Jesus will return? I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of our sin nature. We want to know the hour and the exact signs because we want to control our lives up and to the last possible second.
We want to rule our lives. We want control and then when the time is just right, relinquish control to Jesus. We want signs for the end times because we think we’ll “get right” with God just before he returns.
The truth is, the best time to get right with God is now. We are in the end times. But God in his providence didn’t tell us everything because he knows something that we forget on a daily basis. He gave us the gospel. That’s what he wants us to hear and that’s the message he wants us to hear and respond to. In many ways it’s the weekly end times message we need to hear.
The gospel message is so obvious it’s easy to overlook. We think, “okay, Lord - what else?” But he’s telling us this is it! It’s all we need. The truth is if you repent of your sins and trust in Jesus Christ - you’re prepared for the end times. But we need that message daily despite what we may feel.
We need him everyday. We need him every minute. Would you depend on Christ if we knew exactly what God was doing? Maybe a better question is this: would you worship a God that you can predict and fully understand?
God is the creator and sustainer of all things. You see, God wants us to depend on Him like the air you breathe. He must increase, you and I must decrease. Look at verse 13 with me. Jesus says, But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
It’s those that finish the race well. Those that pursue Christ despite the pressure to renounce him. Let’s be honest: it’s not popular to be a Christian in America. And on top of that, there are and will be many false signs that will try to lead you astray. Don’t get distracted.It’s the person, that despite all obstacles, all trials, and distractions, the person who remains faithful to Christ that will enter into glory.
The gospel is the message we need and it’s our warning that the end is near. How will you respond? Are you willing to pursue Christ even if the world hates it? Or will you ignore what's right in front of you? If you endure, you'll meet him in glory. You and I must endure.
Let’s pray.