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A TESTIMONY TO ALL NATIONS

Matthew 24:1-35 (51)
Key Verse: 24:14, (30-31)

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.”

“At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

As we celebrate our 50^th anniversary, we give thanks to God. We are here to praise God for his gracious work in and among us. We are here to worship him. We are here to pray for one another and encourage one another. Through the blood of Jesus and by God’s grace alone we have forgiveness of sin. Through his resurrection, we have life and hope in the kingdom of God. We are ready to welcome and worship our King when he comes. God has made our calling, to take the gospel to the campuses of the world, a sure calling. It is a privilege for me to be here among you who have served God sacrificially in the mission fields of the world. We thank him for his presence with us during the past 50 years. As we look toward the future, we want to think, not about what we must do, but about what God is doing.

Through earthquakes, famines, a tsunami that devastated Japan, through wars and revolutions in Africa and the Middle East, God has reminded us that he is in control of nature and history. He reminds us that Jesus is coming again. We don’t know when. But his coming is sure. Let’s read verses 30-31. “At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

What is God doing in these end times, and what can be our response?  Let’s read Mt 24:14. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.” This is God’s promise. God keeps his promises. There is no failure in world mission. The gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world..

1.  Jesus’ sorrow –Jerusalem destroyed

In Matthew 21, Jesus entered Jerusalem as a humble king, riding a donkey. He went first to the temple. He cleansed it. He drove out all those who were doing worldly business there. He rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. He wept over Jerusalem because it rejected God’s love and blessing. He wept because of the suffering that would come to Jerusalem. Let’s read Mt 24:1-3. Jesus and his disciples walked away from the temple and climbed up the Mount of Olives. They sat down, overlooking the beautiful temple which King Herod had built. Jesus’ disciples were moved as they looked at the beautiful buildings. The disciples revealed a value system focused on wealth and power, on material things. Jesus was still weeping in his heart because of God’s people who rejected God’s love (23:37). His heart was full of sorrow when he responded, “I tell you the truth. This temple will be demolished. Not one stone will be left standing on another. Every stone will be thrown down.” 

The destruction of Jerusalem happened just as Jesus prophesied: In 70 A.D. a Roman army under General Titus entered Jerusalem. He was bent on destroying the Jews and their religion. Someone set fire to the temple and it burned to the ground. He killed all the Jews he could find. The streets of the city ran with blood. A few people sought refuge in the Masada fortress, but they were discovered and before they could be massacred, they committed mass suicide. The Jewish people were killed or driven out of Palestine. Those who escaped scattered throughout the world. Jews would not return to reclaim Jerusalem for nearly 2000 years–until after WWII in 1948, when the State of Israel was established. When they began to return, they could not rebuild the temple, because a Mosque was sitting on the temple mount. This was God’s sovereign wisdom. There is still no temple; no animal sacrifices. There is no need for the temple, for Jesus is the temple; he is the perfect sacrifice. The destruction of Jerusalem and the attempted annihilation of the Jews is an event comparable to the holocaust of modern times.

To the disciples, the destruction of the temple was tantamount to the end of the world. Indeed, the destruction of the temple foreshadowed the end of the age and Jesus’ second coming. Jesus had these two events in his heart.

2.  The end of the age and Jesus’ second coming.

The disciples asked Jesus two questions about the end of the age: When will you come again? And, what will be the sign of your coming?

Jesus begins his answer to the question about signs with a warning: “Do not be deceived.” People who only look for signs are frequently deceived. Watch out that no one deceives you–false Messiah’s will come. In a world that does not care about truth, lies prevail. False Messiahs take advantage of this. God’s people must watch out and not be deceived. God’s word is truth. We must be equipped with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (35)

In the time leading up to the end there will be great suffering. There will be natural disasters and man-made disasters. Jesus says, “Don’t be alarmed, the end has not come. It is the beginning of birth pains.” We should not give in to fear. God is in control. He tells us that this is the beginning of birth pains. What does he mean by “birth pains”? A woman giving birth to a baby suffers excruciating pain. But it is not pain and suffering that leads to death; it is pain that results in a new life coming into the world. The birth pains herald a new and glorious age, the coming of the Risen Christ, King Jesus, and his kingdom.

What then is the sign of his coming?  Read verses 30-31. “At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” The sun will be darkened. The moon will not give its light. God will shake the heavens and the stars will fall from the sky. Jesus’ coming is a cosmic event. His elect are those who have accepted the gospel of his kingdom. The mourners are those who have not. The elect will come with the Risen Christ to join him in establishing his glorious kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

The disciples did not fully understand, but they believed. We also do not understand everything, but we believe that Jesus is coming again. It was promised to the first witnesses that Jesus who was taken into heaven would come back in the same way they saw him leave. (Ac 1:11). The Risen Christ will come, bringing God’s kingdom to earth.  He will come with his elect. His coming marks the end of this present age. His coming ushers in a new heaven and a new earth. Jerusalem had been cruelly destroyed. But the Apostle John had a vision of a new and glorious Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. (Rev 21:1,2)  The kingdom of the Risen Christ will be full of love and joy.

The next question is, “When?” –What is the time of his coming? Jesus’ answer is, “No one knows when; Be ready; keep watch.” “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, or the Son, but only the Father.” (36) If we knew the time of Jesus’ coming, we could think, “I’ll get ready later.” People were like this in the days of Noah (24:37-39). Only Noah was ready. The rest of the people went about business as usual, eating, drinking, partying, getting married. They paid much attention to their flesh lives and no attention to their spiritual lives. Noah also lived an ordinary life, but he was different. He was ready. He made time to walk with God, and listen to him. He believed that God meant what he said. So, when God told him to build a boat, he built it. He believed and obeyed God’s word. He was saved, but everyone else drowned. In the same way, we should be ready. Like Noah, we should walk with God in prayer, listen to his word and be ready. Jesus will come like a thief in the night. He will come at a time when we do not expect him. Therefore, we should keep watch.

3. What is God doing in these times and what will he do?

What is God doing? First, He is working to help his elect stand firm. Look at verses 12-13. “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Second,He is working now through his elect to bring his love and mercy and forgiveness to the world. Third, He will gather his elect from everywhere. “When the Son of Man comes with power and glory he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call and they will gather his elect from the 4 winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” Who, then are the elect?

 God’s elect are those who have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. They are those who inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the Creation. (25:31-40) The elect love God because God first loved them. They are the “sheep” in Chapter 25 who care for the vulnerable people of society—they feed the hungry, visit the prisoners, minister to the sick, clothe the naked, love the unlovable. They don’t even realize that they are serving God and spreading the gospel of his kingdom. They inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the creation. But, on the other hand, wickedness will increase. God’s people will be persecuted, hated, put to death. Some will fail. They will turn from the faith and betray each other. Most men’s love will grow cold. But these, the worst of times, are also the best of times. It is the time of opportunity. It is the time for love to challenge hate, the time to make God’s saving grace known.

Tass Saada was a PLO sniper. He murdered Jews in Israel; he killed Christians in Jordan. He was born in a refugee camp in Gaza. When the Jewish state was formed in 1948, many Palestinians became homeless immigrants, Tass Saada’s family included. He was raised in a world of radical Islam and violent Palestinian nationalism. By his teenage years he was a cauldron of hatred. Especially, he hated Jews. He had no homeland, so he wanted to immigrate to America. Someone told him that the best way to get a green card was to marry an American. So he did. But in his heart, he was a jihadist and he hated America. One day a friend tried to evangelize him and he got mad. Then his friend offered him a Bible. He shouted, “Don’t get near me—that’s God’s book.” So his friend said, ‘You believe this is God’s book? Then listen to what God’s Book says about Jesus.” And he read John 1:14—“the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. It hit Tass that the Bible teaches plainly that Jesus is God and he trembled. He heard a voice, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” He didn’t know that these words were from the Bible. Jesus was speaking to him personally. Jihad is not the way; Jesus is the Way. He prayed, “Jesus, come into my life.” He repented of his sins. And this violent radical Muslim was transformed by the power of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. The killer became a man of peace and compassion. Once he called his friend. “Was Jesus a Jew?” “Yes, Jesus was a Jew.” So Tass Saada could love Jews. He could love his wife. He became a powerful and bold preacher of the gospel of the kingdom. He founded an organization called “Hope for Ishmael” dedicated to reconciling Arabs and Jews. He and his wife moved to a refugee camp in Gaza, where he was born, to share Jesus’ love with poverty-stricken children there. Tass Saada is one of God’s elect. God is working through his elect to bring his gospel to the world. This is the time to challenge hatred with God’s love. In these times God refines and purifies the hearts of his people through suffering. Through broken dreams, sickness, seeming failure God purifies our hearts. God’s mission to the world will not fail.

God is spreading his gospel to all nations through his elect.Look at verse 14. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” God’s Son, the Christ, was born into a Roman world, according to God’s set time and foreknowledge. Roman laws, Roman soldiers, Roman roads and a common language unified the world in a way that it had never been unified before. Paul and the apostles could travel anywhere without visas. The gospel was spread to the whole Roman world.

We have “Roman roads” in our time, too. We live in the world of the internet, satellite T.V. and radio; in the world of facebook and Twitter and Youtube. Through these modern roads of communication, our world has become one community. In Egypt, Whael Ghonim, a Google executive and Asmaa Mahofouz, a 26 year-old woman, made facebook entries that sparked a revolution. Mubarak’s government fell. News travels. Revolution sparks revolution. The Muslim Radicals want to use the opportunities of our times to destabilize the world so that they can step into a power vacuum and rule. We don’t know which way the revolutions happening in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Russia and other parts of the world are going. But this is a time of unprecedented opportunity for the gospel of the kingdom to be preached in the whole world. Wayne Pederson of Radio station HCJB continues to beam the message of the Prince of Peace into Libya and North Africa, and people are listening. Jesus promised that “the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.” (14) Jesus keeps his promise. His coming is our glorious hope.

4. How can we respond to what God is doing?

We can love God and love one another.Even though people’s love grows cold, God’s love does not grow cold. God is merciful and compassionate. God is love. He is working in and through you and me to bring the gospel of the kingdom to the ends of the earth. He is working in us to share his love in a world where love has grown cold. By his grace alone, we can stand firm to the end. Let us put our trust in Jesus and give him our hearts.

We can love God and love one another.When we accepted God’s grace of forgiveness,  we welcomed Jesus into our hearts. It is no longer I who live. It is Christ who lives in me. We cannot tell about a person’s inner life from his outward appearance. But God looks at the heart. When the Son of Man comes, two men will be working together in a field. They are doing the same thing. But their hearts are different. One knows God; Jesus is in his heart. God’s Spirit rules him. God does not know the other one. One will be taken; the other will be left. Two women will be working together, grinding grain with a hand mill. They are dressed alike and they are doing the same thing. But one has a heart that is ruled by Jesus and the other’s heart is full of greed and lust. One will be taken; the other left.(40-41) The heart cleansed by Jesus’ blood and ruled by the Holy Spirit is a heart that is ready to meet King Jesus. Let us forgive one another. Let us love one another and build up one another.

Paul says, “As we wait for Jesus to come again, ‘(Let us) put on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet..let us encourage one another and build up each other, just as in fact you are doing...’” (I Th 5:8-11) Jesus’ blood has cleansed us. We are ready to welcome King Jesus. “He died for us so that we may live together with him.”

We can be faithful and wise servants.We should keep on living the life God called us to live. In verses 45-51, Jesus talks about the faithful and wise servant whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to feed them…He says, “It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.”  As we wait for the coming of our King Jesus, the indwelling Jesus helps us to be faithful and wise servants. He helps each of us to feed God’s sheep, overcome our selfishness, to be mindful of all of God’s family. He enables my life and your life to be a testimony to the nations. 

We can participate in his work of making disciples of all nations.He promises that this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations. This is what God is doing. He invites us to participate. In the last verses of Matthew’s gospel, he sends his disciples forth to share in what he is doing. Go and make disciples of all nations. He gives us another promise: And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.  We are in Christ and he is in us. We can stand firm. May God use our lives as a testimony to the nations.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.”