Matther 24 "The End Of Days"

“But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (v.37)

OK. What were the days of Noah like? The Bible tells us that the wickedness of man was great, and that every imagination of his heart was only evil (Genesis 6:5). Abnormal sexual practices abounded (Genesis 6:4), and that violence and corruption filled the earth (Genesis 6:11). Sound familiar?

Today, we are seeing the days of Noah virtually repeated by man. Violence, corruption, evil imaginations and abnormal sexual practices are abounding. Add to that, pestilences, famines and earthquakes, floods and tsunamis. Along with a society that calls good evil and evil good. Noah lived before the flood, and we before the fire. Noah spoke of a coming physical rain (to man's days), and we (the church) the coming reign of Christ (to end man's days).

Noah had been building his ark and preaching to his people for one hundred and twenty years, but they did not listen. They just kept living in sin, and each day was like the next - eating, drinking and marrying. Right up until the day Noah entered into the ark and it began to rain. So too many people today care nothing for their spiritual future, though they hear the message all around them: radio, TV, pod cast, churches, friends, neighbors, family. They only live for the moment with no regrets. After all, there's plenty of time to "catch up" with Jesus, right? Wrong!

In chapter 24 Jesus speaks of the end times as they relate to nations, Israel specifically, and the church. At the end of the chapter (vv. 42-51), Jesus instructs all of us to be faithful servants, to be watchful, wise, and warns us concerning the events of His return. And like those who were shut out of the Ark in Noah's day when it began to rain, so shall it be with those who have not headed the warning, and accepted God's Son before the coming of Jesus - in the twinkling of an eye.

Therefore, be His faithful servants, be watchful, be wise, and be warned, for the end of days draws near.

The Truth: “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.” (1 Peter 4:7) 

Matthew 23 “Playing the Hypocrite”

"Wow to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”  (vv. 27-28)

These are words that cut to the heart, for we all are guilty of playing the hypocrite. A hypocrite is literally, “one who hides behind a mask.” There’s an old story of a man who told the pastor he didn’t go to church because there were so many hypocrites there. The pastor responded by saying, “Oh, don’t let that stop you. There’s always room for one more.”

While I’m sure you could find at least one in every church, genuine believers remember that they are first and foremost forgiven hypocrites themselves. There’s an old saying that, "going to church doesn’t make one a believer any more than going into a garage makes one a mechanic." What some people perceive as hypocrisy in the church is in fact the result of a mistaken assumption. Some people assume others are believers just because they get up on Sundays and go to a place called church. It’s just not so.

On another related note, authentic believers are also sinners, and they know it. The apostle John wrote, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). A hypocrite claims to be without fault in one area or another. An authentic believer on the other hand, freely admits to the fact that he or she is a sinner, and consistently seeks forgiveness from it.

If you would like to get rid of your mask and join in the family of authentic believers, Jesus is ready to forgive you and bring you into His family. Just stop pretending, admit your weaknesses, and come on home. (See the prayer to the right of this post)

The Truth: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and to cleans us for all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Matthew 22 “Jesus Questioned”

But the Pharisees, when they heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him saying, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?" (v. 34-36)

Here in chapter 22 Jesus had been answering questions posed to Him by the Pharisees and the Sadducees designed to, "entangle Him in His own talk" (v. 15). In the beginning of this passage we find our Lord replying to a question of a certain lawyer, who thought for sure he could entrap Jesus into a theological corner of disgrace by asking him, "Which is the greatest commandment of the law?"

The question, was obviously asked in no friendly spirit. But, we have reason to be thankful however that it was asked at all, for it drew an answer full of precious instruction, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang the Law and the Prophets" (vv. 37-40)

The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Lawyers, they all wanted to make religion complicated. And they certainly didn't like the idea of Jesus (the son of a carpenter), one who had no "formal training" in their eyes, winning the hearts of the people through His simple teachings. But Jesus was correct, the heart of the Law and the way to salvation is to love the LORD our God with all our hearts.

The Truth: "We love him because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)