The Day and Hour of Christ's Return

Living Hope Presbyterian Church

Jesus’ Second Coming: sudden, unmistakeable, personal. Be faithful, ready—no one knows the day but the Father

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Matthew 24:36-25:13 ### No One Knows That Day and Hour 36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants[c] and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ### The Parable of the Ten Virgins 25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

ESV: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ©2011 Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.

Living Hope PCA Sermons: Matthew 24:36-25:13 - The Day and Hour of Christ’s Return

Sermon Summary

The sermon delves into the concept of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, emphasizing the unpredictability and suddenness of this event. Drawing from Matthew 24, the preacher highlights the importance of being prepared, faithful, and watchful for Christ’s return. Through various parables and illustrations, the sermon underscores the need for personal readiness, active service, and a focus on pleasing the Master. The delay in Christ’s return is attributed to God’s patience for all to come to repentance, but the certainty of his eventual arrival is emphasized.

Key Points

• Jesus Christ will return again to judge the living and the dead.
• The exact timing of the Second Coming is unknown to all except the Father.
• The return of Christ will be sudden, immediate, final, and visible to all.
• There will be a division between the faithful and the wicked, with personal judgment.
• Christians are urged to be alert, ready, and actively serving the Lord in anticipation of his return.

Bible Verses Mentioned

• Matthew 24:36
• Matthew 24:37-39
• Matthew 24:40-44
• Matthew 24:45-51
• Matthew 25:1-13

Humor and Anecdotes

• The preacher shared a childhood memory of a cross-stitch in his aunt’s house that asked, “If Jesus returned today, what would he find you doing?” This humorous yet thought-provoking anecdote highlighted the importance of being prepared for Christ’s return.

Key Quotes

• “No one knows the day. Christ will come again when the Father’s will calls for him to come again.”
• “The faithful servant is always thinking about the master. The wicked servant doesn’t think about the master much.”

Themes

• Imminence of Christ’s Return: The sermon emphasizes the unpredictability and suddenness of Christ’s Second Coming, urging believers to be prepared at all times.
• Personal Responsibility: The division between the faithful and the wicked highlights individual accountability and the need for personal readiness for Christ’s return.
• God’s Patience and Judgment: The delay in Christ’s return is attributed to God’s patience for repentance, but it also underscores the certainty of divine judgment.

Discussion Questions

1. How does the concept of Christ’s Second Coming impact your daily life and choices?
2. In what ways can believers actively prepare for Christ’s return based on the teachings shared in the sermon?
3. How does the theme of personal responsibility resonate with your understanding of faith and service in anticipation of Christ’s return?

Metaphors and Stories

• Noah’s Ark: The comparison to Noah’s time highlights the suddenness and universality of Christ’s return, emphasizing the need for readiness.
• Faithful vs. Wicked Servant: The parable illustrates the contrast between those who faithfully serve the Master and those who neglect their duties, emphasizing personal accountability and judgment.
• Ten Virgins: This parable underscores the importance of individual readiness and spiritual preparation for Christ’s return, emphasizing the need for personal faithfulness.

By dissecting these elements of the sermon, one can gain a deeper understanding of its core messages and themes, fostering reflection and discussion on the significance of Christ’s Second Coming in Christian faith and practice.

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An Essay about this Sermon

When Jesus Will Return

When will Jesus return? It’s one of the oldest questions Christians have pondered. Since the earliest days of the church, people have been trying to figure out exactly when the second coming will happen.

And the history of these attempts is not encouraging. Every generation seems to produce a new batch of date-setters who claim to have cracked some biblical code or discovered some pattern in prophecy that reveals exactly when Jesus will come back. In the 1970s we had The Late Great Planet Earth. More recently, the Left Behind series. And in between, countless predictions that came and went without incident.

All this computational Christianity has led to some remarkably strange outcomes. There have been people who’ve sold their houses, quit their jobs, and gathered on hilltops waiting for a rapture that never happened. Others have created elaborate charts and timelines, connecting dots between Bible verses and current events that don’t actually connect.

The level of goofiness that has emerged from alleged careful study of end-times prophecy might make you reluctant to even talk about the second coming. It’s gotten so weird in some circles that reasonable Christians might be tempted to avoid the topic altogether.

But that would be a mistake. Because the return of Christ isn’t some peripheral doctrine we can safely ignore. It’s central to Christian hope. Every week when Christians recite the Apostles’ Creed, they affirm that Jesus “will come again to judge the living and the dead.” So we need to understand what Jesus actually teaches about his return, setting aside all the distractions.

In Matthew 24-25, Jesus gives us his most extended teaching on this subject. And the first thing he tells us is something that all those date-setters have apparently decided to ignore: “But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”

That’s pretty clear, isn’t it? No one knows when Jesus will return. Not the angels. Not even Jesus himself during his earthly ministry knew the date of his return. Only the Father knows.

Then Jesus gives us an illustration. He compares his return to what happened in Noah’s day. People were just going about their normal lives—”eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage”—right up until the moment when Noah entered the ark and the flood came. They were caught completely by surprise.

What Jesus emphasizes throughout this passage is that his return will have several distinct characteristics:

First, it will be unexpected. No one knows the day. Unlike the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, for which Jesus gave specific signs to watch for, there are no clear warning signs for the second coming. Christ will return when the Father decides it’s time, not when our calculations say he should.

Second, it will be sudden, immediate, and final. There won’t be a long siege or a gradual process. There won’t be a series of warnings like those annoying emails telling you your subscription is about to expire. It will happen instantly: “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.”

Third, it will involve a division. Some will be taken, others left behind. Some will enter the wedding feast, others will be shut out. Some will be rewarded, others punished. There’s a finality to this division that’s sobering.

Fourth, it will be universal and visible. Everyone will know what’s happening. Jesus says his coming won’t be hidden like when he came as a baby in Bethlehem. Rather, “as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” No one will miss it.

Fifth, it will be personal. The master himself is coming to evaluate each servant. The bridegroom himself decides who enters the wedding feast. Jesus will look each person in the eye and either welcome them or say, “I never knew you.”

So Jesus tells his disciples: “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” And: “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

But what does it mean to “stay awake” and “be ready”? Jesus clarifies this with two parables.

First, he tells about servants left in charge while their master is away. The faithful servant keeps doing what the master assigned him to do—feeding the household at the proper times. When the master returns unexpectedly, he finds the servant doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. The reward? Greater responsibility: “he will set him over all his possessions.”

But the wicked servant says to himself, “My master is delayed,” and starts mistreating fellow servants and indulging himself. When the master suddenly returns, this servant faces severe punishment.

The lesson? Being ready doesn’t mean sitting around staring at the sky. It means faithfully doing what Jesus has called you to do, whether he returns today or in a thousand years.

Second, Jesus tells about ten virgins waiting for a bridegroom to arrive for a wedding feast. Five brought extra oil for their lamps; five didn’t. When the bridegroom was delayed and finally came at midnight, the five who had prepared were able to light their way to the feast. The unprepared ones weren’t ready and got shut out, hearing those devastating words: “I do not know you.”

This parable adds an important point: You can’t borrow readiness from someone else. Each person is responsible for their own spiritual preparation. You can’t enter the kingdom because your parents or spouse have faith. You need your own oil.

The message of all these teachings is consistent: Since we don’t know when Jesus will return, we need to live each day as if it could be the day. Not in panic or anxiety, but in faithful service and joyful anticipation.

This is exactly how the apostles applied Jesus’s teaching in their letters. Paul says: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” James writes: “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord… Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” Peter adds: “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly.”

But why the delay? If Jesus could return at any time, why hasn’t he come back yet? Peter gives us the answer: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

The delay is because of God’s patience and mercy. He’s giving more people time to hear the gospel and respond. In fact, if you’re a Christian today, there was once a moment before you believed when God in his patience chose not to send Jesus back yet—because he was waiting for you.

The fact that Jesus could return at any moment shouldn’t fill us with fear, but with purpose. We don’t need elaborate charts or calculations. We just need to be found doing what he’s called us to do when he comes—loving God, loving others, and making disciples.

So when will Jesus return? No one knows the day or hour. But we do know this: It will be sudden. It will be visible. It will be final. And it will be exactly when God has planned it to be. Until then, our job is to be ready by faithfully serving our Master, eagerly anticipating his return, and helping others prepare to meet him.