Christ is Coming!

²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. ²⁶ Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. ²⁷ At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹ He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰ When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. ³¹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

³² “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³⁴ “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

“Band Ten hut!” I was in a marching band when I was in high-school, and everyone in the band knew exactly what to do when they heard that command. Stop whatever you're doing; stand at attention and listen closely to whatever instructions followed. You had to listen because what followed was probably something important that you needed to know. I'm sure that those of you with military experience could tell us that it was no joke when you got called to attention. It was important that you'd stand up and listen.

Jesus calls us to attention in today's Gospel. As well he should. It's the season of advent, when we talk about his coming. We're getting ready to celebrate his first coming, and we're preparing for his second coming as well. So he has some important instructions for us to follow as we wait for the last day. He tells us to stand tall and to stand firm.

Jesus gives us a glimpse of what it will be like when he returns. He says, “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. ²⁶ Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” It doesn't sound like it would be very easy to stand tall in that situation. The picture that Jesus just painted with his words here actually sounds kind of frightening. Everything is gonna change. The sun and the moon and the stars – the things that we think of as the most stable things imaginable in this world – are gonna be shaken. And Jesus says that plenty of people are going to be afraid, even to the point that they faint. Things are gonna get crazy, and it might not be the easiest thing in the world to stand tall in the face of all of that.

In fact, we've seen some of these things start to happen already, haven't we? This drought that our land has been plagued with reminds us that this world isn't going to be around forever. And how about the verse that says, “nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea”? Doesn't that sound a little bit like what the people on the east coast went through a little while ago? These things are signs that Christ is coming. Think about it this way: How do you know that Christmas is coming up? You see the decorations in the streets, you see commercials on tv, you hear Christmas music on the radio. All these things remind you that Christmas is on its way. The same is true with these signs of the end. They remind us that Christ is on his way. Jesus put it this way: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰ When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. ³¹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.” It'd be pretty terrible if we didn't recognize these signs and listen to the warning they have for us. We'd probably be pretty frightened if we weren't ready when Jesus came back. And plenty of people will be afraid on that last day because they'll fear Jesus' judgment. And they have good reason for that. All these signs of the earth coming to an end remind us of the consequences of sin – destruction and death. And, really, that's what we all deserve because of our sin too. For all the times that that we've thought of God and his Word as anything but the most important thing in our lives, we deserve judgment. And Jesus' call to attention today tells us that we should stand tall when he returns? How could we possibly stand tall when we realize the judgment that we deserve? Jesus tells us where we find that courage and confidence. He said, “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” We don't need to be afraid of Jesus coming back. You see, for us, Jesus' return doesn't signify judgment. For us, Jesus' return means redemption. When Jesus came the first time, he redeemed us with his death on the cross. When he returns a second time, he's gonna take us away from all the bad things that happen in this world. So, when he comes, we'll stand tall, excited and ready to spend eternity with our God.

So, Jesus has told us what to do when that last day comes – stand tall and lift up your heads. In the next few verses, he has some instructions for what we should do in the mean time while we wait for that last day. He tells us that we should also stand firm.

It's important that we stand firm because there will be distractions. Jesus tells us, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.” Jesus gets pretty pointed here, naming a couple specific ways that people can get distracted. He tells us to avoid those. The first thing he tells us to avoid is dissipation and drunkenness. “Dissipation” isn't a word we use too much in every day life. Maybe another way to say it would be, “indulgence”. Instead of living a life of indulgence, deny yourself and stand firm while you wait for Jesus to return.

The second thing that he warns us about is “the anxieties of life”. Do you ever find yourself so busy during a day, running from one appointment to another, that you forget to set aside time to spend with God in his Word? Or maybe you're just so exhausted when you come home from work that you just don't have the energy to focus on anything, including your personal devotions. It's probably true of all of us that in one way or another we've been distracted from what's really important by the things of this life. This should not be. That is exactly how people would get distracted and have the last day close on them “like a trap”.

But Jesus knows that we're sinful people and that we'll be tempted to get distracted sometimes. So he tells us how to avoid that. He said, “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Jesus has warned us that bad things are gonna happen. He tells us to watch out, so that we won't be surprised or caught off guard by them. When you're ready for these bad things to happen, you won't be afraid of them, because they will remind you that Jesus is coming soon to take you to be with him.

And he tells us to pray that we won't be overwhelmed by the bad things that will happen. The wonderful thing about this command to pray is that Jesus tells us right here the kind of answer we can expect. He says, “my words will never pass away.” You realize what that means that none of God's promises will ever pass away? Jesus said, “It is finished.” That's never going to change. And God said that nothing can separate you from his love. When we root ourselves in these promises, that's how we stand firm.

There are all sorts of things vying for your attention at this time of year. It'd be easy to get distracted from what's really important. So, as we prepare to celebrate Christ's first coming in a few weeks, we realize that we also prepare for his second coming. We prepare for both by listening to Jesus' call for our attention today. That we stand tall when he comes back, and stand firm until then.