Wednesday Before Easter: Looking Toward the Near and Distant Future

Looking Forward, and Really Forward

 As they left the temple area, Jesus' disciples indulged in a bit of sight-seeing. The temple of Jerusalem, as rebuilt by Herod the Great, was reputed to have been magnificent. That a monster like Herod could create such beauty shows that creativity and moral excellence have no necessary connection. At any rate, there was much beauty that could be admired, but Jesus responded to them in a way they may not have anticipated. Jesus informed them that the time was soon coming that the temple would be destroyed, and even the stones would be pulled apart. This latter was literally fulfilled by the Roman looters, who were after the gold that had melted in the fire and flowed between the stones.

At this, the disciples asked Jesus about the time of the end, the time of His coming and when the things He had just spoken of would happen. Whether and how they understood what they were asking is an interesting question. And Jesus' answer has been a center of much disagreement as to how much of what He said referred to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (then some 45 years in the future) and how much was about what we sometimes call the "end times". I don't have anything profound or insightful to offer on those issues. It's in God's hands, and I trust him concerning those matters. It's pretty clear to me that Jesus' prophecy in Matthew 24 mixes elements that pertain to both time frames, and some elements may pertain to both.

In Matthew 24, Jesus is at least partly concerned with the safety of His people, those who would become believers soon after His resurrection and ascension. He did not want them to get caught up in the destruction of Jerusalem. He also wanted believers in the distant future to know what kinds of things to expect so they also could act wisely.

Prepared, Engaged and Serving

Though delivered as parables, Jesus' thoughts in Matthew 25 are a bit more clear. In the parable of the lamps and oil, the message is that believers must be prepared for Him to return at any time. In the parable of the talents, Jesus is instructing believers to use their talents - risking them in the marketplace of ideas and people, as it were - rather than hiding those talents and keeping them "safe". And in the third Jesus pointed out that believers are to serve, to extend God's love to people, to be Jesus' hands and feet in this world. Where Matthew 24 was about things Jesus followers could and cannot avert, Matthew 25 has to do with how we choose to live.

Put together, Matthew chapters 24 and 25 show that Jesus was concerned for His followers' safety and that they be in this world what a believer should be. And as for prophetic speculation, besides Jesus stating that no one knows the time of His return, I think "just" being faithful to Him and being what we should be as believers is quite enough without diving into date setting or charting out just what God "should" do in the "end times". We should entrust to God those things we cannot control or avert and focus on what we should be.