Rev. Cary M. Richert
2nd Last Sunday of the Church Year (Series A)
November 13, 2005
What's This World Coming To?
Matthew 24:1-14
What would cause you to ponder in your own mind the question posed in today's sermon title? The terrible hurricanes, storms earthquakes, and tornadoes we've heard so much about recently? The growing moral decline and seemingly anti-God attitude of many in our culture? The escalating terrorism around the world in places like Paris, Belgium and Germany? What's this world coming to?
Jesus' disciples wondered this on the Tuesday of Holy Week. The Lord spoke of the Temple's destruction ... an event that many Jewish people of that time considered a sign that the end of the world was near. Tell us (Jesus), when will this happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? The disciples ... wanting to be properly prepared, asked about signs.
What are the signs of Christ's imminent return in judgment ... and of the end of the world? What, really, is this world coming to?
Jesus said: many will come in my name, claiming AI am the Christ,@ and will deceive many, [v. 5]. Jesus spoke of false Christs ... false messengers of salvation. Those who speak of salvation apart from faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone ... of salvation based on good works ... of a self-created salvation that comes from within one's own spirit. Who acknowledge Jesus as a prophet ... but definitely not of one substance with God the Father, [Nicene Creed].
Jesus spoke of: wars and rumors of wars, [v. 6]. Last Friday we celebrated Veterans Day. We remembered those who'd served our country, especially intimes of war. Wars such as the First and Second World Wars. The Korean War. The Vietnam War. The Arab-Israeli Wars. The Gulf War. The War on Terror. Throughout the history of the world, there's always been wars and rumors of wars. Yet, the end of the world hasn't come. Christ hasn't returned ... not yet! So, what about our Lord's claim?
And, then, the famines and earthquakes (and other natural disasters) in various places around the world? Is the end of all things coming soon? For those who live through these terrible disasters it must seem like they're living through the final destruction of earth.
And, the persecution of believers, the presence of false prophets and those who would deceive God's people with sweet-sounding, but poisonous, doctrines about God ... about Christ ... about salvation ... about the end of time. These, too, are in fulfillment of our Lord's words.
Wars, rumors of wars, natural disasters, persecution of God's people, false prophets and teachers ... all are signs, Jesus says, in the sense that they're the beginning of birth pains, [v.8]. While these signs indicate the world's getting closer to the end ... they're the birth pains that come before, and ultimately lead up to, the Lord's second coming. Interestingly, the ancient rabbis often spoke of the suffering and woes that would precede the Messiah's coming as birth pains.
Every war and rumor of war ... every natural disaster ... every act of persecution against God's people ... is a preview of the coming judgment ... a reminder of God's wrath upon sinners ... in one sense, bad news! But, as Dr. Paul Raabe notes:
For all sinners (there's also good news). The good news is that while there's no escaping the final judgment, our Creator has provided a refuge, a fortress. Our Judge is also our Savior, whose suffering, death, and resurrection won for us forgiveness and salvation. For true believers, the day of Judgement is a day of victory in Christ! [LCMS Reporter, November 2005, p. 6]
To that I say, Hail to the Victor ... Christ Jesus our Lord.
What's this world coming to? For you and me, the world's coming to a day and an hour in which Jesus, our Savior, will return and claim as His own all who stood firm in their faith to the end, [v. 13]. Faith that He gives as a gracious gift in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Faith that the Holy Spirit nurtures through the preaching and teaching of God's holy Word. Faith that's strengthened through the body and blood of Christ in Holy Communion. Faith more precious than all the wealth of the world.
Everything Jesus spoke to His disciples about in today's text, notes David Scaer, found the beginning of its fulfillment ... the beginning of the birth pains ... in Christ's own suffering and death on the cross for the sins of the world. The earthquakes at His crucifixion and resurrection. The persecution of those who witnessed His resurrection and believed He truly was the Messiah. The false teachers who sought to discredit Jesus and His saving work. Everything that would happen in the future ... leading up to the day of His return ... grew out of what was about to happen to Jesus, shortly after He taught these things to His disciples! [Scaer, Discourses in Matthew, CPH, 2004, p. 377-379]
A priest and a Lutheran pastor from neighboring churches pounded a sign into the ground near the road. The end is near! Turn yourself around now, before it's too late! A car sped by and the driver yelled: Give it up, you religious fanatics! Off he sped, around the curve. A few seconds later the tires screeched. Then, a big splash. The priest said: You think the sign should just say, Bridge Out?!
What does Jesus' warning about the end of the world and about His second coming mean for us today? First ... it's a warning not to be taken lightly. Pay attention to the signs. They're all around us. They've always been there. They'll continue to be there. Take them seriously. God uses them to call people to repentance and faith ... to point out that, by nature, the whole human race is in rebellion against God ... to remind us that Christ's return in judgment is imminent.
Second ... continue to stand firm in your faith, no matter what. Only by standing firm in faith will we be saved in the end. Wickedness will increase. The love of many will grow cold. The temptation to abandon Christ and cling to things of this world will become stronger. Maybe you're struggling with these temptations today. COME TO THE CROSS OF JESUS! There He suffered God's wrath against sin for you. There He paid in full the debt of your sin. There He opened the way for your eternal salvation.
And, third ... take to heart your place in Jesus' call to take the gospel of the kingdom into the whole world as a testimony (of God's love and mercy in Christ) to all nations, [v. 14]. How do you do this? It's not as complicated as you may think! Scottish poet and novelist, George Macdonald, describes it this way in his novel, The Curate's Awakening:
Mr. Drew, your shop is the temple of your service where the Lord Christ ought to be enthroned. Your counter ought to be his altar, and everything laid on it with the intent of doing as you can for your neighbor, in the name of Christ Jesus. [Quoted in For All the Saints: A Prayer Book for and by the Church, vol. I, F. Schumacher, ed., ALPB, 1994, 238]
Your station in life is the mission field into which Jesus has called you ... as the signs above our church doors remind us when we leave. It's the place where you join Christ and His apostles in sharing the good news of God's love in Jesus with others. Your home. Your work place. Your fitness center. Your shopping mall. Let them all be places where your life shines forth with the love, the forgiveness, and the salvation that God's graciously given you in Christ Jesus.
What's this world coming to? It's coming to the end of all things ... to our Lord's imminent return in judgment. Be ready! Let your faith B now and always B be focused on the only sign that truly prepares you for that glorious day: The sign of the Cross and the Empty Tomb. God grant it for Jesus' sake. Amen.