Gtcotr/ss041022
This is the Sunday we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the first day of the week prior to His crucifixion. He rode on a young donkey and was surrounded by children fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy.
Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.”
The multitudes who went before Him laid palm branches in the way and cried: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9)
The
conclusion of our series on the New World Order and the Last Days is entitled The
Return of Christ. We begin again today in Matthew 24.
·
Jesus
is speaking to His disciples while sitting on the Mount of Olives in the
evening just 2 days before the last Passover.
o Why the Last Passover
– By this I mean this will be the last Passover in which God will ever receive
sacrifice.
o Jesus is the Lamb of
God and at this Passover, Jesus will be crucified for the sins of the world.
o At the last supper,
Jesus will institute Communion which will forever commemorate the last
Passover.
·
We
know the conversation Jesus is having with His disciples (Matthew 24-25) is in
the early spring of the year, perhaps in early April of AD30.
·
There
are many reasons why some believe this conversation took place on a Tuesday
evening, two days after Palm Sunday that year, and two days before Passover.
·
The
account in Matthew 24 & 25 takes place before Judas betrays Jesus, so all
12 of the disciples clearly hear the message, even Judas.
o I think it important
to note that Jesus values giving everyone an opportunity to hear His word and
follow Him, even when He knows who will and who will not believe.
· The question posed that day was a very important question to the disciples, in fact it is still a very important question to us in our day.
Matthew 24:3 “And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
·
Jesus
clearly answered the question by first saying, “Do not be deceived.” Jesus knew
every generation would need to hear that.
o Then Jesus proceeded
to describe the climate of the world in every generation but said that wars,
threats of war, pestilence, earthquakes, nations against nations, and other
atrocities do not spell the end. These are just the beginning of sorrows.
o The end is not yet.
(Matthew 24:6)
o You won’t know when
the end is coming … so be ready!
o Be wise and be
faithful to be found doing what the Master said.
·
Later,
in Matthew 24:14, Jesus gave a clear answer and encouraged His disciples to
focus their attention on preaching the Good News instead of being so caught up
in reacting to the world news.
· We pick up at the point where we left off last Sunday …
Matthew 24 NKJV
45 “Who then is a faithful
and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them
food in due season?
46 “Blessed is that
servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.”
50 “the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,”
We do not know the day nor the hour the Lord will come. Even though we do not know when, we do know who will receive a reward and who will not. And we know what to do to be ready for the Return of Christ.
Who? Let’s hear Jesus explain “who then is a faithful and wise servant.”
Matthew 25 NJKV
31 ¶ “When the Son of Man
comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the
throne of His glory.
32 “All the nations will be
gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divides his sheep from the goats.
33 “And He will set the sheep
on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 “Then the King will say to
those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 ‘for I was hungry and you
gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you
took Me in;
36 ‘I was naked and
you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to
Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will
answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or
thirsty and give You drink?
38 ‘When did we see You a
stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 ‘Or when did we see You
sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 “And the King will answer
and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one
of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to
those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 ‘for I was hungry and you
gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
43 ‘I was a stranger and you
did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you
did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will
answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger
or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
45 “Then He will answer them,
saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one
of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
46 “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
There is no clearer message of the end times than that of war, hunger, sickness, drought, homelessness, hardship, and slavery. Of course it seems to happen to others, “strangers” if you will, not to us. This is the picture Jesus painted as He gave His last words on the subject of the last days.
The point Jesus made was for us to not focus on when He was coming so much as on what we would be found doing if He came today.
Sermons
on the return of Christ might be more scriptural and more like Christ if they majored
on the what, instead of the when. In other words,
·
What
should we be doing?
·
Instead
of …
· When do we get to stop?
Especially since Jesus said no one knows when, but everyone knows what.
Perhaps one of the most important impacts of the prophetic fulfillment of that first Palm Sunday is overshadowed by all the shouting.
It was an exciting time. Zechariah said: “Rejoice, shout, behold your King is coming!” But what did Jesus do when He got to the Temple?
Matthew 21:12&13 – He cleansed the Temple of all those who made worship something it was not meant to be. He upset their system and drove them out. By the way – the scripture says: “He drove out those who bought and sold.” Not just those who sold … but also those who bought.
Perhaps more sermons should be preached concerning what Jesus is going to do when He comes. I think God has shown us what to expect.
How
do we know that we are ready for the Return of Christ?
1.
Because
we have made Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives.
2. Because we are God’s hand extended; His heart felt; and His voice heard in the earth. You have done and are doing these things today.
Perhaps Jesus will come today or tomorrow, maybe this fall, or He may wait another 500 years. We don’t know. But one thing we do know, when He comes, He will find us still doing what He left us to do.
I want to thank you and, when the Lord comes, He will thank you too.
You
have involved yourself in the last days ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ.
GTCOTR is a vital part of feeding the hungry, supplying water to the thirsty,
reaching out to the stranger, ministering to those who are sick, and those held
captive in prison, both locally and around the world. “Well done, good and
faithful servant!” Happy Palm Sunday! Your King is coming!!!
