Parable Number 1: Watch for Christ's Return
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matt. 24:42-44.
The point of Matthew 24:37-41 is the absolute certainty and suddenness of the Second Advent. Neither God's people nor the wicked can predict the exact time of the event. Both are to some extent surprised as to its exact timing, but true believers have at least had their level of awareness raised by Jesus' counsel regarding signs.
Verse 42 brings us to a major transition in the Second Advent sermon of Matthew 24 and 25. Here we begin to find the practical outcome of the teaching in the first 41 verses of Matthew 24. If no one knows the time of the Advent except the Father (verse 36), then it behooves Christians to "watch," because they have no precise knowledge concerning what hour their Lord will return.
Then in verse 42 Jesus gives the first of five short parables showing people how to live in the light of His returning. In this one they are to be as alert as a householder who expects his house to be broken into. This short parable calls for a constant state of watchfulness and readiness for the Lord's return. After all, "the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (verse 44, NIV). Down through history, the time when Christ is least expected to return is always today.
William Barclay relates the fable of three apprentice devils who were coming to earth to complete their training. Each presented his plan to Satan for the ruination of humanity. The first proposed to tell people that there was no God. Satan replied that that would not delude many, since most have a gut feeling to the contrary. The second said he would proclaim that there was no hell. Satan rejected this tactic also, since most people have a sense that sin will receive its just deserts. "The third said, 'I will tell men that there is no hurry.' 'Go.' said Satan, 'and you will ruin men by the thousand.' "
The most dangerous delusion is that time will go on indefinitely. Tomorrow can be a dangerous word. It is against this attitude that Christ warns us in the first of His five parables on watchfulness and readiness.
Father, it seems as if time will go on forever. Help me ever to remember that Your sure Word says that that is not so. Help me to keep the vividness of that promise in my heart and mind.
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Matt. 24:42-44.
The point of Matthew 24:37-41 is the absolute certainty and suddenness of the Second Advent. Neither God's people nor the wicked can predict the exact time of the event. Both are to some extent surprised as to its exact timing, but true believers have at least had their level of awareness raised by Jesus' counsel regarding signs.
Verse 42 brings us to a major transition in the Second Advent sermon of Matthew 24 and 25. Here we begin to find the practical outcome of the teaching in the first 41 verses of Matthew 24. If no one knows the time of the Advent except the Father (verse 36), then it behooves Christians to "watch," because they have no precise knowledge concerning what hour their Lord will return.
Then in verse 42 Jesus gives the first of five short parables showing people how to live in the light of His returning. In this one they are to be as alert as a householder who expects his house to be broken into. This short parable calls for a constant state of watchfulness and readiness for the Lord's return. After all, "the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him" (verse 44, NIV). Down through history, the time when Christ is least expected to return is always today.
William Barclay relates the fable of three apprentice devils who were coming to earth to complete their training. Each presented his plan to Satan for the ruination of humanity. The first proposed to tell people that there was no God. Satan replied that that would not delude many, since most have a gut feeling to the contrary. The second said he would proclaim that there was no hell. Satan rejected this tactic also, since most people have a sense that sin will receive its just deserts. "The third said, 'I will tell men that there is no hurry.' 'Go.' said Satan, 'and you will ruin men by the thousand.' "
The most dangerous delusion is that time will go on indefinitely. Tomorrow can be a dangerous word. It is against this attitude that Christ warns us in the first of His five parables on watchfulness and readiness.
Father, it seems as if time will go on forever. Help me ever to remember that Your sure Word says that that is not so. Help me to keep the vividness of that promise in my heart and mind.
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