Matthew 24:26-35
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the distress of those days
“ ‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ h
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. [1]
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Jesus is concerned that his followers not be led astray by false teachings about Him and His return. Instead, He points out that when He returns there will be no mistake and no question that His return is taking place. When He returns it will be very clear which teachings were true and which were false.
But what about in the meantime? The sad truth is that there are many who promote a vision of Jesus that is quite different from that which He promoted regarding Himself. Jesus the libertine. Jesus the revolutionary. Jesus the lawgiver. Jesus the guru. Did He really live? Did He really die? Did He really rise? And so on. How do we hold to the truth, not just in preparation for His return, but for each day as we seek to follow Him in faithfulness?
The last line of this passage points us to where we go: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” It is only through thorough familiarity with the Word of God that we become adept at recognizing a word that is false. One of the marks of discipleship that we have putting forth as basic to the Christian walk is to be “grounded in the Word.” This means to be in the word daily, applying the Word always, and, very importantly, studying the Word in order to grow in understanding the truth about God, us, and the world.
Lord Jesus, bless my studying of Your Word, that I might come to know You better, that I might more readily discern what is true and false about You, and so follow You faithfully.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Mt 24:26–35). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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