Thoughts of a College Pastor

“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. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”     -Matthew 24v6-13

I was asked to preach on this section of Scripture the next two weeks at LifePointe Christian Church in Charlotte. Honestly I hadn’t given these verses much thought until I was given this opportunity.

I have spent the last 3 weeks wrestling with this passage. What is Jesus trying to say? Why is he saying it? What is the context? What does it mean for us who follow him? Is he talking about the distant future or the then and there? What does it say to us today? Those are just a few questions that have been floating around in my head.

This passage has taken me to some dark places…places of suffering and pain.

Why you may ask…

As I have reflected on Jesus’ words I have come to the conclusion that Jesus wasn’t talking about a date far off in the future…he was talking about the life that the disciples faced right then and the life that we face right now.

He points out an ugly reality…sin, pain, suffering, trouble, war, division…they will exist. And it’s not a sign of the end…this ugly reality is actually the beginning of the birth pains. Paul echoes this in Romans 8v22 :: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”

From the fall of our first parents until now all of creation has been groaning…wailing…in pain…awaiting redemption.

Some say the book of Job is the oldest book of the Bible. They say that it was passed on from generation to generation as a way to remind each generation of this ugly reality…that there would be pain, suffering and hurt…

And today we continue to experience this ugly reality. It has been a reality of our past and it is a reality in the present.

As I have studied this passage I have come across stories like a 5 year old girl named Kate in Arizona who was diagnosed with a massage brain tumor this past summer and she’s fighting for her life each and every day. (Read her story here) I received an email from a member of Impact who has a family member who is fighting off cancer. I visited my grandpa in the nursing home and saw a man who hurt and was suffering from Alzheimer’s. I witness this ugly reality. I hear stories of this ugly reality. My heart aches because of this ugly reality. I am left speechless because of this ugly reality. I groan with creation.

So, is there any hope? Are we left just to fend for ourselves? Has God turned His back on us?

Jesus interjects the hope right in the middle of the ugly reality. He says, “Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.“

What end is he talking about here? Is he talking about the second coming? Is he talking about a date off in the future?

I don’t think he is. I think he is referring to his resurrection. The ultimate hope that we have. He is referring to the truth that he will conquer death and the grave.

He is saying…”You see all this suffering as an end…but I’ve come to re-define the end with a new beginning. Death, pain, suffering, tears, hurt, war, division…they do not have the final word…they are not the end…My resurrection is the end and the beginning…”

We live on this side of the end. We live in a generation that has the hope of resurrection. We know that Jesus has conquered the ugly reality. The end has come and a new beginning is being written.

Jesus ends this passage with a warning…”Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold…”

It’s so easy to become bitter when we face the suffering of this world. It’s so easy to shut down. To grow cold. To withdraw. To isolate ourselves. To stop believing in love.

But…

Jesus goes on, “…but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

Jesus encourages us to stand firm. To fight on. To take the next step. The carry each others burdens. To suffer together. To believe in love. To believe that something better is possible. To bring heaven to earth so that it collides with the hell that we see all around us.

If we stand firm…if we continue loving…if we believe that the resurrection of Jesus did conquer death then we will be saved. Not just saved from hell. Not just saved some day off in the future. But saved today. Saved tomorrow.We will be redeemed.

In Matthew 24 Jesus acknowledges the ugly reality that we all face but he doesn’t just stop there…he introduces the heavenly dimension to the here and now. He gives us a hope that a new end of the story has been written. With his resurrection we see the renewal of all things start to play out. We are given the hope that something more has arrived.