The return of Jesus to this world will mark the moment when those, both living and dead, who have spurned Him will taken away to hell, while believers will remain with Him in the new heaven and the new earth.
Who does Jesus say will be caught off-guard by His return?
A few thoughts were brought home to me during my quiet time with God this morning. In addition to looking at two chapters from the Old Testament, I also read the last verses from Matthew, chapter 24, in the New Testament.
There, Jesus describes the signs that foreshadow His return (signs that have already happened long ago, by the way) when He will give eternal judgment on those still living and on the dead. Jesus charges believers to be ready for His return.
We can be fearful about Christ’s return and there’s a lot fear-mongering on that very subject in some circles of the Church. But Christ’s teaching that He will return one day is also a great promise for those who, by the power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit coming to us in God’s Word and in Holy Baptism and Holy Communion, have put their trust in Christ for God’s forgiveness and for eternal life with God! Believers in Jesus can look forward to the day of Christ’s return with hope, confidence, and anticipation!
Knowing all that, we see this verse in which Jesus says, “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:44)
I have two thoughts about some of the kinds of people who will be caught off-guard by Jesus’ return, beyond those not reached by the Church in proclaiming the good news of new life through faith in Jesus and beyond those who have definitively rejected the good news of Jesus and gone their own way. (As I did during my decade as an atheist.)
One group that will be caught flat footed by Jesus’ return are those who have received the good news about Jesus, understand that His death and resurrection happened for them, but have rejected trusting in Him or the faith available to all through the “means of grace.” The means of grace are God’s Word and the Sacraments (Baptism and Communion) through which God’s Holy Spirit creates and sustains faith in Christ within those who receive them. The people in this category are in overt rebellion against Christ, God the Son, Who tells us, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” and not to delay in doing so. (Luke 9:23; 9:59-60)
People in category one are like the medieval kings who put off being baptized so that they could go on sinning and treating people with injustice until, on their deathbeds, they were baptized and confessed faith in Christ.
But none of us is guaranteed a peaceful and recognizable moment of death for which we can prepare. The possibility of death looms over all of us and can come at any time. Back in November of last year, I nearly died of salmonella poisoning during a European trip; I hadn’t planned on that!
There’s another group of people who will be caught flat footed by Christ’s return. Unlike the people in the first category, people in this group are wrong about their own position with Christ. This is what I wrote in my journal:
”Christ will return at precisely the moment when some, desensitized to the sin and injustice in which they participate, everything seems to be going well spiritually. Christ will come when these people, feeling vindicated and righteous, feeling themselves better than other people, are actually far from God and, absent repentance and filled with faith in their own goodness, will be taken away and sent to hell.” (Matthew 24:40-41)
A very dangerous sin we can fall into, particularly enticing for those who think of themselves as Christians, is self-righteousness, to think that we’re really good and others aren’t as good as us. This way of thinking is a common impulse in human beings.
Jesus is telling us is that our call is to put our faith in His righteousness. This means daily turning to Him for the forgiveness of our sins and daily turning to Him, trusting that what He has already done by dying on the cross for sinners and rising from the dead to open eternity with God to those who believe in Him is sufficient for a life with God now and forever.
During life in this world, all who believe in Christ will have that life with God in spite of our sins and imperfections, suffering, and death. In eternity, God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of believers in Christ, give us our glorified bodies, and allow all believers to live in the direct presence of God!
Jesus puts it all very clearly in John 6:29: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” When you believe in Jesus, you won’t be caught flat footed by His return to this world or by meeting Him when He has raised you from the dead. When you believe in Jesus, you will be ready…you will even be excited…to see your Lord face to face!
God bless you. See you soon.
Monday, February 17, 2025
Who does Jesus say will be caught flat footed by His return?
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