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SHOULD WE CELEBRATE JESUS' SECOND COMING
Nov 27, 2022
Message by Craig Minke
In the book of Matthew, Jesus admonished his followers to be continuously prepared for his arrival by doing the things he instructed them to do.
We begin the Advent season this week
* A time when we celebrate the incarnation of Jesus, his arrival into the life of every believer, and his anticipated Second Coming.
* Advent means "coming" or "arrival," so we remember the various ways Jesus comes to us individually and collectively.
* Most of the imagery surrounding this season focuses on Christ's first coming, and that makes sense.
* The nativity story is amazing, with memorable visuals like the manger, guiding star, and wise men.
It is easy to turn our attention to such a phenomenal event.
* Every believer has some kind of personal history with Jesus; a story about how he arrived in our lives.
* We may not have difficulty rejoicing over Jesus' first coming and personal advent, but what about Christ's Second Coming?
* Do we celebrate his eventual return in the same way?
* Of course, the Second Coming brings us joy and hope that one day all things will be made new.
* But, what about the event itself?
* Do we hope to bear witness to the return of Christ and the end of this world?
* For many of us, the answer is no.
For many of us, Christ's Second Coming is a little scary.
* At the very least, it can seem a bit strange.
* Let's be honest, what we think we know about the return of Jesus does not make most people break out in celebratory singing.
* Notice that I said "what we think we know" because it appears as though no one really knows for sure.
* Doesn't it seem like everyone says something different?
o Some think a bunch of people disappear in something called the Rapture.
o Some say that there will not be a Rapture, but a big war when people see Jesus.
o Maybe both?
o It could be that believers have to go to a place of safety, but didn't they already disappear in the Rapture?
o I think there may be some witnesses or an anti-Christ.
o There's definitely a dragon, although no one seems to agree on the identity of any of these folks.
o Are they even people?
Many seem to believe that Jesus' return will happen soon, but every prediction of when has been wrong.
* Do we just need to find the right formula or algorithm?
* Maybe the bottom line is that at Jesus Christ's return there will be lots of death, lots of judgment, the end of the world, and it can happen at any time.
* Right?*
I do not mean to make light of this important topic, but I am trying to show that there is a lot of uncertainty, confusion, and fear associated with our understanding of Christ's Second Coming.
* This apprehension can negatively affect how we see Jesus and his return.
* In many Christian circles, Jesus' Second Coming is used almost like a threat of impending doom to keep us in line instead of a source of joy and hope.
* This undercuts two core beliefs of our faith
o that the gospel of Jesus Christ is, in fact, good news, and
o that God is love.
* Advent season is a great time to get more clarity on what we need to know about Jesus' return, so we can internalize the truth that we never need to fear the Savior of humanity.
* For answers, we will start with Jesus and some of what he says about his Second Coming.
Let's look at his words recorded in the Book of Matthew:
MATT 24:36-44 36 "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.
That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
(NIV)
Before we unpack the passage, we should take note of Jesus' starting point.
* All that he shares in these verses is from the perspective of someone who does not know when the events he described will happen.
* Jesus never relinquished his divinity.
* He was and is 100% God and 100% human.
* However, in his incarnation, Christ humbled himself and lived like a human being, except for a few occasions when the Father instructed him to reveal some of his divine power such as the transfiguration.
* So, in his humanity, Jesus did not know when he would return.
* Therefore, we have to conclude that the moment of Christ's return is not important for us to know.
Studying this and other similar passages to devise a detailed timeline and sequence of events of the end of time misses the point.
* While we should seek to understand Scripture as best we can, it is not important to know the "when" of Christ's return.
* Even the angels in heaven and Jesus himself does not know the date of his return.
(Matt 24:36)
* We are not even supposed to know the key events surrounding the Second Coming.
* If we were, the Bible would be far less murky on the subject.
* We do not need to know these things in order for us to do the most important things,
o follow Christ,
o worship, and
o bear witness to him.
* We are naturally curious about the future events hinted to in the Bible, however, we should not use prophecy for our own purposes.
* We need to approach prophecy in the way God intended.
In this passage, Jesus explained what he wants his audience to know.
* First, he assured his followers that he will return at some undetermined time after his ascension.
* Next, the Second Coming could happen at any time, so believers should live holy lives, not self-centered lives.
* Last, Jesus' return could take time, so we should be prepared to persist in participating in his life and work.
* Put simply, Jesus told his followers, in light of his Second Coming, to live as if Jesus was coming today, but plan like he would not return in his audience's lifetime.
* Not doing so could have unpleasant and lasting consequences for those who do not remain spiritually prepared.
In his compassion, Jesus taught his disciples how to navigate the "now" and "not yet" of the kingdom of God.
* Jesus ushered in the kingdom (an eternal space where God lovingly rules and people strive to follow him as one), and his followers can experience the benefits of the kingdom now.
* At the same time, we live in the "present evil age," and the kingdom is hidden and will one day be revealed in full.
* Jesus revealed the kingdom, but our brokenness causes humans to experience the kingdom imperfectly.
* However, he promised to return and make everything new so that we can all experience the kingdom of God in full for all eternity.
Jesus knows us, and he knows the natural tendencies of humans who exist in ambiguous times - like the period of the "now" and "not yet."
* In this passage, Christ addressed two harmful ways of being.
* First, Jesus had the self-indulgent in view.
o Some live by the saying, "When the cat's away, the mice will play."
o If these folks knew when Christ would return, they would live self-centered lives and only "act Christian" when the deadline approached.
o The danger of this way of being is that the self-indulgent acknowledge the coming kingdom but do not truly want to be a part of it.
o The purpose of our faith is not to produce people who look Christian, it is to help us get to know Christ and be changed by that relationship.
o The self-indulgent worship their appetites and desires and do not prioritize God.
o They want to look outwardly holy to avoid eternal unpleasantness, but do not see sin as the enemy it is.
o They want to embrace sin without experiencing the consequences.
o The self-indulgent show by their actions that they do not want to be citizens of the kingdom, and God will not force them to be otherwise.
* Second, Jesus spoke to the self-righteous, those at the other extreme.
o The self-righteous will be tempted to disengage from the world because they believe Christ's return to be very soon.
o In their mind, the world will be destroyed soon so why bother dealing with anyone who is not "saved"?
o They have an "us" and "them" mentality and are comfortable with others being destroyed as long they and those they care about are safe.
o The self-righteous do not obey Christ's imperative to love our fellow humans and make sacrifices for their well-being.
o They misunderstand the nature of love and show they have not been transformed by their proximity to Christ.
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