The Return of Jesus Christ: Lord and King,
Saviour and Judge. Matthew 24:36-51
At
around the age of ten I discovered that I didn’t much care for examinations. I
failed my 11+ exam and went to the kind of school that focused on technical rather
than academic subjects. Metal work, woodwork, technical
drawing, navigation, art. Several of the other academic subjects I had
to study like Maths and English, French and Biology I
failed quite spectacularly. I developed an aversion for examinations and spent
my early life studiously avoiding them at all costs. I would turn the paper
over, look at my watch, look at the questions, look at
my watch and panic.
After school, at night
school I learnt what’s called exam technique. Down the pub with our tutor we
would discuss which questions were most likely to come up and try and beat the
system gambling on which subjects to prepare for.
I even chose my university course because a large part of the grade was based
on continuous assessment rather than the days of finals. I don’t know about you
but I loathed examinations and still do. Many people view the return of Jesus just
like that. Except its one exam – the
ultimate examination we cannot avoid. In
this season of Advent however, we are reminded that Jesus is coming back.
On that day our whole lives
will be examined. Our eternal destiny is
in some way determined by the outcome of that exam. Does that fill you with
apprehension or with joy?
I recently heard a lecturer describe his rather unusual philosophy of education.
Ken Blanchard, author of the One Minute Manager, caused consternation among his
fellow faculty members. On the very first day of the new academic year he would
welcome his students by giving them the exam questions he was going to set in the
end of the year. Then for the rest of the year he would teach them the answers.
Why? His aim was to enable every single one of his students to get straight
A’s. Is there anything wrong in that? Do you think his students paid attention
during classes? Were they motivated to learn? Knowing their professor was going
to help them get straight A’s?
Those of you who are teachers – would you like all your students to achieve A grades? To believe they could achieve it? Isn’t that your
aim? Would you have liked to have gained A’s at school? An A in biology, an A
in physics, chemistry, maths, double maths, An A in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Mandarin…An A in every subject? I would. Wouldn’t you like
to have on your CV a triple 1st from
God’s desire is that everyone of us gets straight A’s.
God wants each of us to achieve our human potential, to succeed, to win the
prize. In Ezekiel 18:32, God says, “For I take no pleasure in the death of
anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” In the NT Paul explains to Timothy, “This is
good and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy
2:3.
That is why in passages such as this we see Jesus explaining that although the
day of the examination is unknown, it is coming and he wants us to pass with
flying colours. To prepare us, to enable everyone to
pass the test Jesus tells us ahead of time what the exam questions are going to
be, and then gives us the answers. Lets look at them
together in Matthew 24-25. Chapter 24 is primarily about the signs that will
accompany the return of Christ. Clues that his return is
near.
Read 24:6-14, 21. There has never been a time in history when these words have
not been more true. As we have seen this week –
concern over the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are not limited
to
In verses 31-46 Jesus
explains still further that how we treat others reveals our heart attitude
toward the Lord himself.
Read 25:34-36 & 40. Jesus is telling us ahead of time how to get straight
A’s. What he expects us to believe and how he expects us to behave. There will
be no trick questions on judgment day, no obscure verses in Leviticus or
Obadiah to memorise, no Greek and Hebrew to master. Jesus
has told us ahead of time? Why? Because God is not willing that any should
perish. He takes no pleasure in the death of anyone.
Lets just take a time out and
consider what it means to acknowledge Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. The Bible
says there is a past, present and future dimension to his role as saviour and judge. If we have received Him Jesus has saved
us from the penalty of sin – that’s past tense. He is saving us from the power
of sin – that’s the present. And He will one day soon save us from the presence
of sin. That’s future – that’s why heaven will be so glorious. So Jesus is our
Saviour, past, present and future. But he is also our judge, past, present and
future. He has, past tense paid the price of sin by dying in our place on the
cross. The judge left his throne and took our place in the dock, paying the
penalty we deserve - death.
Romans tells us that the judgment of God is also,
present tense, being revealed against all ungodliness and those who suppress
the truth. That means, sometimes in this life we suffer the consequence of our sin
and rebellion like when it is exposed. As you know ignoring your tax return or
that fixed penalty notice for speeding is no excuse. Doing nothing will not
make the law go away. It will only lead to greater
judgment. One day Jesus will judge those who have in this life ignored Him for he
deems it wilfull rebellion. So just as salvation has
a past, present and future sense, so does judgment. He
died so we wouldn’t have to. Judgment is past for those who accept his
judgment.
Those who refuse must pay it for themselves one day soon. Let me read to you
some sober words from 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10. “He will punish those who do not
know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished
with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and
from the majesty of his power on the day when he comes to be glorified in his
holy people and be marveled at among all those who have believed. With this in
mind, we constantly pray for you that our God may count you worthy of his
calling.” Do you notice what Paul is doing here again? Giving
us the question and the answer ahead of time. So we know what it will happen
when Jesus returns.
Jesus has explained that
although we don’t know when the exam will be, we must be ready, and he has
given us not only the final question ahead of time, not only the correct answer
but he has given us a personal tutor, the Holy Spirit to help us get straight
A’s in the school of life. There is therefore no excuse. “Therefore
knowing the fear of the Lord,” Paul declares, “we persuade men” (2 Cor.
Realizing that Jesus Christ will one day soon come in awesome judgment,
the sensible unbeliever should repent and receive Him as Lord and Saviour now.
The obedient Christian will be motivated to faithfully present the gospel to
those who will listen in order that they too might be saved. The faithful
Christian will be about his father’s business not knowing the hour of Christ’s
return. When you think of Jesus coming back to judge the living and the dead, does
it fill you with dread or with joy? On Thursday afternoon I had an exam. What I
didn’t know was that before I even sat down I had passed, on the basis of my
course work. But the examiners didn’t tell me. They grilled me for an hour and
I became more and more convinced I had failed. Then they sent me out of the
room for a coffee. When I came back in they told me I had already passed. The
oral examination was merely to help me evaluate my studies and see where I
could improve for the future. It was a test – not to see if I would pass or
fail, but to decide how well I had done. That is what its
going to be like when Jesus returns for those who believe.
Our eternal destiny is decided, humanly speaking, when we respond to Jesus, not
after the exam. The exam question is what did we make of Jesus Christ? How did
we respond to the love of God revealed in the cross of Jesus Christ, who died
in our place to take away our sin, to take the punishment we deserve.
When we die or when he returns, which ever comes first, the exam on judgement day will merely reveal what has already been
decided. It will not decide our eternal destiny but reveal the destiny we have
already chosen. If we wait till then to decide, it will be too late. We will
have already chosen. Read 24:42.
If you are in any doubt about your relationship to Jesus Christ do not leave
this morning without being sure. The question is simple. How did we respond to
Jesus Christ? The correct answer is to repent and believe. To receive Him as
your Lord and your Saviour, and in love and grateful thanks give your life in
His service in thought, word and deed. Then when he returns, you will not be
ashamed and Christ will not be disappointed. Instead we will hear him say,
“Well done my good and faithful servant.”