36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

As I read Jesus’ words to his disciples I am struck with a paradox: the final judgment of all humanity is shrouded in mystery and at the same time our behaviour in light of His return is made as clear as day.

It is mysterious because not even Jesus himself claims to know the exact time that God will bring an end to this age. He does not know when it is that every knee shall bow before him.

It is clear because I am told exactly how we should behave. I am to live like Jesus’ Kingdom is already in full operation, I am to follow Jesus’ teaching as the only teaching that is truly perfect. I am to bow before him today with my whole life – and then I will not be ashamed when he comes again.

Lord God, I am waiting and am ready for your return, teach me to live each day with you as king of my life, so that I will be ready when you take up your reign over the whole universe.

Written by Andrew Mellor

15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

“The reader should understand this.”

It’s as though Matthew is saying to each of his readers “I know this bit is confusing and distressing, but you need to pay attention. This bit is for you.”

Assuming an early date for when Matthew wrote this (some scholars think it was quite late), some of his first readers would have been in Jerusalem when the revolt started in 66. They would have been comfortable there. The temple still featured heavily in their worship.

They would have been there as Titus’s Roman army approached Jerusalem in 70 to lay siege to it. They needed to know that they had to flee right away. (They did.)

They also needed to understand that the place of God’s presence was not a building. The Holy Spirit lives in the hearts of his people. Jesus died to make that most intimate of relationships possible. (Paul spells it out in 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?”) They had to leave behind the symbol of God’s presence and take the real place of God’s presence, his people, to safety.

That’s in the past for me, but Jesus’ other warnings that I need to always be ready for him to come back are about my future. I need to take his warning just as seriously as the first readers needed to take his warning about Jerusalem. I need to live every day in the expectation, and hope, that he might come back today.

Thank you, Jesus that your promises (and your warnings) are sure.

Written by David Cornell

24 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

As I read this passage it strikes me how differently Jesus and the disciples are seeing the world. The disciples are looking at the temple and its buildings, the (impressive!) work of human hands. Yet Jesus is looking ahead, predicting that not one stone will be left on another and the whole building will be destroyed. Jesus is acutely aware that a time will come when the world will end.

What am I focused on? Am I fixated on the ‘temple buildings’, the temporary structures that serve a purpose now, but won’t last forever? Or am I living with an awareness that only God, people and relationships, faith, hope and love will remain? Am I investing in the treasure of heaven – giving my life to loving God and loving people?

God, where I have become so distracted and consumed with often good but temporary things, please help me to choose you first. Help me to enjoy the budding tomato plants in my garden, the adventure of a good movie, the satisfaction of a completed to-do list…. but to above all be alert to your presence, committed to doing your will, and attentive to your children and the lost sheep around me. Help me live with a fierce sense of purpose. Amen.

Written by Bethany Waugh

23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. 27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Obedience and intent are of such importance to Christ, that in reading this passage of scripture, I can hear his disdain and frustration with these people. People that he wants to love and be in relationship with, but people that by their heartlessness, push Jesus away.

I think about the times where I justify my heartlessness towards others by using my sacrifice and obedience. I tell myself that because I spend hours serving the church in ministry, and because I give sacrificially, somehow the poor and needy neighbour, or the lonely person, or the sick associate, is someone else’s problem.

My clean, sanitized life, my ability to exert self-control over my heart and my ability to make wise decisions are fruits of my maturity as a Christian, but it is not just the maintaining of these things that will bring me closer to God from where I am now. I am called to serve the poor and save the lost with the church.

Father God, never let me lose sight of what I am really called to do. If I am to be a shepherd of your flock, may I always smell like your sheep. May I always have the outlook and care to go after the one that might go astray.

Written by Ps Justin Ware

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. 8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Motives, motives, motives – it’s not just what we do, it’s why we do it… Jesus once again is burrowing into the hearts of His listeners to expose their motives.

How often do I try to give an impression to people that I am more spiritual, more committed to following God’s ways than I really am?

My old nature is corrupt and would still like people to be impressed by me and to think that I am more devoted than I really am. When I try to give that impression to people, I am acting like a hypocrite – doing good works to be seen by men, rather than out of devotion and love for God.

Jesus is not impressed by good works for the sake of making myself look good to others. And here we read that He actively discourages people from seeking after a spiritual hierarchy, titles and power.

What Jesus does appreciate is just this – humility. Honestly owning up to my faults and failings and true motives, and realising that we are all the same – sinners saved by grace.

Lord, I humble myself before You. Forgive me for seeking to impress people rather than seeking to live honestly and devotedly before You.

Written by Shelley Witt