Jesus will come back to earth again – so be ready!
Matthew 24:36–25:13
Jesus prepared his disciples for his final return
Jesus told his
When Jesus comes for the second time, nobody will be expecting him. This was what Jesus said. Non-Christians will not be ready (Matthew 24:38–41). But it will be a surprise for believers (Christians) too (Matthew 24:44b). Jesus said that even he himself did not know when it would happen (Matthew 24:36).
This last fact is a mystery to Christians. Surely, Jesus would know, since he is God! Some Christians have even changed the
We do not know when Jesus will return. So, we must be ready all the time. We must not guess about the date or the time when Jesus will return. Jesus himself warned us against this. So, to be ready does not mean to examine various signs. To be ready means that we will always be loyal to Jesus. We will continue the work that he gives us to do. Jesus told the story about two servants as an example of this. (Matthew 24:45–51.)
So, Christians must be good citizens. They must be good members of the church. They must tell other people the good news about Jesus too. These things are the Christian’s duties. They are his or her responsibilities. It is a very serious matter for Christians who refuse to do these things. (Read Matthew 24:48–51.) That does not mean that we can do things to earn our
Jesus will come back to earth. Jesus emphasised this fact in Matthew 24:14, 35, 46 and 50. We can be certain about it. We must be ready for it.
Wise people and foolish people (Matthew 25:1–13)
In Israel, a wedding was (and still is) a great occasion. All the people in the village would go with the married couple to their new home. They would often take the longest route. In this way, the couple could receive good wishes from more people!
A married couple would not go away from their home immediately after their wedding. They would stay at home. For a week, anybody could visit them. People dealt with them and spoke to them as if they were king and queen. But only their special friends went to the wedding. They waited for the couple to arrive at their new home. Often, the man (bridegroom) would delay his arrival. He wanted to see if he could find his guests asleep. So, he might arrive during the night. The guests must go out to meet him, whatever the time was. They would carry lamps if it were at night.
Jesus referred to this custom in his
- Many people would be waiting for him to return. They would all seem to be the same. Jesus’ story described 10 girls. They were all very excited as they waited for the bridegroom (the man who had just married).
- Many of those people would join the wedding. But 5 girls did not have enough oil for their lamps. Without oil, their lamps would go out. Those girls were foolish. They were just not ready. Jesus emphasised something that was of vital importance. It was this. His
disciples must be ready for him to return. They must continue to prepare for this time. They must be careful to do their duties and their tasks well. - The 5 foolish girls could not get oil from the other girls. In the same way, nobody can get real religion from someone else. The foolish girls could not attend the big meal. In the same way, when Jesus returns, some people will not be ready for him.
- A time will come when it will be too late to change. It may happen suddenly, as it did for the girls.
- This
parable gave a very simple word picture. It has a message for us today. Some people say that they are Christians. Theparable is a message to them. Jesus (our ‘bridegroom’) will return. We do not know when he will come. So, we must be sure that we are always ready.
Questions
- In what ways are you getting ready for Jesus?
- What are the main subjects for discussion in your church? What are the main disagreements about? Remember that the end of the world will come. How important will these things be then?
- What will life be like in 2050 if Jesus has not returned by then? Should we be preparing for that time?