Introduction
I said last week that when I preached on Mark’s version of this chapter I explained that there were two main interpretations of the passage and that there was one which I preferred and which I used at that time to explain the passage. According to that interpretation, the Lord is referring entirely in the first part of the passage to the fall of Jerusalem in AD70; and then, in the second part of the passage, he’s referring to his second coming at the end of history. So, the whole chapter can be divided into two parts: the first part is about something which happened in AD70; and the second part is about something which is yet to happen.
However, I went on to say last week that I now prefer the other interpretation of this passage. According to the other interpretation, the Lord is referring from verse 4 to verse 28 to what we can expect to happen in these, the last days in which we’re living, when there will be wars and rumours of wars and famines and earthquakes. And it will be a time of sorrow and suffering and distress and upheaval. And believers will be persecuted and false teachers will arise, who will try to lead us astray. And the fall of Jerusalem — which the Lord refers to in verses 15 to 21 — is one concrete example of the kind of distress and upheaval we can expect in these, the last days.
And so, according to this interpretation, the Lord is referring to the last days from verse 4 to verse 28. He’s referring to the whole of history from the time of his ascension to the time when he comes again. And then, from verse 29 to verse 31, the Lord refers to his second coming, when the Son of Man will come on the clouds with power and great glory to gather his people. Then, in verses 32 to 35, he once again refers to these, the last days in which we’re now living. But then he goes back to talking about his second coming from verse 36 to the end of the chapter.
As I said, this is now the interpretation I prefer, because it seems to fit better with what we read in the rest of the New Testament about these, the last days in which we’re living, when there will be troubles and trials and the church will be persecuted and false teachers will come to deceive us. Last week we spent our time on verses 1 to 28. And today we’re going to be thinking about the rest of the chapter.
Verses 29 to 31
Turn with me to verse 29, where the Lord refers to what will happen immediately after the distress of those days. When he refers to the distress of those days, he’s referring to the sorrow and suffering and the distress and upheaval we can expect throughout these, the last days in which we’re living. And these, the last days in which we’re living began with the Lord’s ascension to heaven and they will end whenever he comes again. And immediately after the distress of the last days, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, will come again. The Lord quotes from Isaiah to describe the cosmic upheaval which will occur when he comes. And at that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky.
The phrase ‘the Son of Man’ comes from the book of Daniel, where it is used to refer to a person who approached the Ancient of Days to receive authority and glory and sovereign power. Daniel was foretelling how the Lord Jesus would approach God the Father in heaven after his ascension. At that time, he entered heaven as one of us to receive authority to rule over all.
And the Lord is now saying that he, the Son of Man, will come to earth again. When he comes, his sign will appear in the sky. It’s not clear what this sign will be, though some interpretations think that he himself is the sign. So, when we see him, that will be the sign that he’s coming. Another possibility is that he’s referring to something like the blowing of a trumpet. A trumpet blast will announce that the King is coming.
And when he comes, all the nations will mourn. They will mourn because they did not believe in him; and now it’s too late; and the day of judgment has arrived. And when the Son of Man comes on the clouds with power and great glory, he will send out his angels to gather his elect people from the four winds. That is to say, his angels will gather God’s people from all parts of the earth to bring them into the presence of God in the new heavens and earth.
And so, the last days in which we’re living will be a time of sorrow and suffering and distress and upheaval and persecution and deception. False teachers will come. But then, once the last days are over, the Lord Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead and to bring his people into the presence of God in the new heavens and earth.
Verses 32 to 35
In verse 32 the Lord invites us to learn a lesson from the fig-tree. The fig-tree would lose its leaves during the winter, but the leaves would appear again as summer approached. And therefore you could tell when summer was near when the fig-tree’s leaves appeared. In a similar way, when you see ‘all these things’, you know that the day of the Lord’s return is near. In fact, it’s right at the door. When he refers to ‘all these things’, he’s referring to all the things he mentioned in verses 4 to 28. In other words, when we see the distress and trouble of these, the last days, we know that the end is near.
And it’s near in the sense that his coming is the next event to occur on God’s calendar. The last big event on God’s calendar to occur was when Christ ascended to heaven and poured out his Spirit on his church. The next big event to happen after that is the Lord’s second coming. So, his coming is near, because nothing else has to happen between the beginning of the last days and his coming at the end of the last days.
Or perhaps we can say that his coming is near in the sense that Donaghadee is near Scotland. Donaghadee is near Scotland because there’s nothing between them apart from the sea; and on a clear day you can see Scotland. There’s not another country between Northern Ireland and Scotland. They are therefore near one another, even though they are still separated by the sea. And the coming of Christ is near, because there’s nothing to happen between the beginning of the last days and his coming at the end of the last days.
According to the Lord in verse 34, this generation — the people who were alive when he said these words — will certain not pass away and die until all these things have happened. On first reading, we might think the Lord was saying that he would return within their lifetime. However, what he means is that that generation would not pass away and die without seeing that what he said about the last days is true.
So, that generation was alive to see the beginning of the sorrow and suffering and the distress and upheaval and persecution and deception of these, the last days. It didn’t take long after the Lord’s ascension for persecution to start. It didn’t take long after his ascension for false teachers to appear. In the book of Acts we read about famines that took place in the days of the early church. And, of course, that generation was still alive when the Romans besieged Jerusalem and razed it to the ground in AD70.
That generation did not see the end of the last days, but they saw the beginning of the last days. And they saw that everything the Lord said about the last days was true. Heaven and earth might pass away, but his words will never pass away, because his words are true.
Verses 36 to 51
And from verse 36 to 51 the Lord goes back to speaking about his second coming. And he makes the point that no one knows when it will happen. Back in verse 3 the Lord’s disciples asked when will this happen and what will be the sign of his coming and the end of the age. And the Lord answers them by letting them know that no one knows when the end will come. The angels don’t know. And the Son doesn’t know either. Only the Father knows.
It puzzles us that the Son does not know something which the Father knows, because the Son and the Father, along with the Spirit, are one God. They possess the same divine substance, so that there is no difference between them, except that the Father is unbegotten and the Son is begotten. And since there’s no difference between them, then they know the same things. So, the Lord’s words puzzle us. However, the best explanation is that the Lord is referring to what he knows as a man. He is both God and man in one person. As God, he knows everything. As a man, he does not know everything.
But the point of the Lord’s word is not to invite speculation about the divine nature, but to make clear that none of us knows when Christ will come again. It will be like in the days of Noah, when the people were getting on with their lives, eating and drinking and marrying. Every day was the same as the last, right up until the day Noah entered the ark and then the rain began to fall. In a similar way, people will be getting on with their lives, eating and drinking and marrying. And then, suddenly, the end will come.
Two men will be working in a field and one will be taken and the other left. It’s not clear which is better: being taken or being left. Does he mean taken into eternal life or does he mean taken to be punished? Whichever it is doesn’t matter to what the Lord is saying, because the point the Lord is making is that we’ll be going about our daily lives when he comes. And his coming will be sudden and unexpected. If we knew he was coming, would men go into the field to work? And two women will be grinding flour together. And suddenly, unexpectedly, the Lord will come and one will be taken and the other left.
And since no one knows when he will come, then we should keep watch so that we’re ready for his coming. If the owner of a house knew what time the thief was coming, he would be ready for him. But a thief doesn’t normally announce when he’s coming; and so the owner has to keep a look out throughout the night. And since we don’t know when the Lord will come, we need to keep watch for his coming.
We need to be like a faithful and wise servant, who has been put in charge of the household while his master is away. Since he’s faithful and wise, he will faithfully and wisely carry out his duties. And so, he’s prepared for the master’s return. He won’t be embarrassed or ashamed when the master returns, because the master will find him doing his duty. And his master, when he returns, will be pleased with his servant and will promote him.
And we mustn’t be like the wicked servant who mistreats his fellow servants while the master is away. He thinks the master will never come back and so he can do whatever he likes. And so, he’s unprepared for the master’s return. And his master, when he returns, will be angry with that servant and will punish him.
We must be keep watch and be ready for Christ’s return. We must be prepared for it. And how do we get ready for his return? How can we prepare for it? We get ready for his return by believing in him. Whoever believes can look forward to his coming, because whoever believes will be declared pardoned and accepted by God on the day of judgment and will be brought into everlasting life to receive fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore in the presence of God. But whoever does not believe will be condemned when Christ comes again and sent away from the presence of God to be punished forever.
No one knows when he will come, and he will come suddenly and unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. But no matter when he comes, all those who believe in him are ready. They are ready. And so, all those who believe in him can look forward to his coming, instead of dreading it. We can pray, ‘Come, O Lord.’ Come any time, because I’m ready for your coming. And when you come, all the sorrow and suffering and distress and upheaval of these, the last days will be over and we’ll be brought into your presence to see your glory and to be made like you forever.
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