THE SON OF MAN IS COMING
Key Verses: 13:26-27
“At that time men will see the Son
of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels
and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends
of the heavens.”
In the previous
passage Jesus talked about the signs of the end of the age. In the last days
there will be great distress unequaled from the beginning of the world until
now. Jesus encouraged all Christians to stand firm to the end and to preach the
gospel to all nations as their first priority. Why? Jesus knew that the
terrible present world situation is nothing but the birth pains, like a mother
who is groaning and expecting a baby (8). After delivering the baby, if it is a
girl, she makes a quiet smile, and in three minutes, forgetting all the birth
pains, falls into a deep sleep in great joy and hope. In case it is a boy,
still she is happy. But she needs a little more time to get sleep. Still she is
joyful. It is marvelous that the troubles of the world are nothing but birth
pains. In other words, they are indicators of the coming of the Messiah. Today,
we will study what Jesus will do when he comes again with power and glory. What
should be our attitude while waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus? I pray
that we may keep watch in doing his assigned task faithfully. May God bless us
to have spiritual awakening to serve his will in our generation.
PART I. WHEN THE SON OF MAN
COMES (26-27)
Look
at verses 26 and 27. “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds
with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect
from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.”
What does “the Son of Man” mean here? Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man
did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.” The Son of Man refers to Jesus who became flesh and lived among men to
save them from the power of sin and death. Though Jesus was the Son of God, he also
became the Son of Man so as to be with us so that he might become our friend
and shepherd. He suffered much to be our good shepherd. He laid down his life
to save us from the power of Satan. He
is the Son of God who is wonderful.
According
to verse 26, men will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power
and glory. All the troubles mentioned in the previous passage is nothing but a
prelude of the coming of the Son of Man. Jesus’ second coming was promised in
the Bible many times. Jesus said in John 14:3, “And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where
I am.” Someone may say, ‘What takes him so long to come again?” I don’t know
why he takes time to come back. Maybe it takes time for him to prepare a place
for all of us. Or maybe God has a different calendar. 2 Peter 3:8 says, “But do
not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand
years, and a thousand years are like a day.” How many days have passed since
Jesus ascended into the heaven? Just two days have passed. Acts 1:11 says, “Men
of Galilee,” they said, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same
Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way
you have seen him go into heaven.” Jesus promised to come back and the angels
did the same. Then we should believe that he will come again. To the early
Christians the coming of the Lord was a great source of encouragement to
overcome the fiery persecutions from the Roman Emperors.
How
are his first and second comings different? When our Lord Jesus first came to
this world, he came as a baby in a manger even though he had the life of God in
him. But at his second coming we will
see the Son of Man coming in clouds in great power and glory. This means Jesus
is not coming to graciously forgive the wicked; he is coming as the Judge of
the living and the dead. He is also coming as the Sovereign Ruler of the world.
His coming in clouds with great power and glory implies that he does not need
an airplane for his second coming. Because he is God, clouds can be his
airplane and what he has is great power and glory. Hardly anyone welcomed Jesus
at his first coming except animals because he was born in manger. But at his second
coming all men will see him coming in glory and power. 1 Thessalonians 4:16
says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command,
with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead
in Christ will rise first.” All men will hear the loud command and the trumpet
sound and then they will see Jesus coming with power and glory. What a
spectacular event this will be! It is hard to wait for that day.
What
will he do when he comes? He will send his angels to gather his elect from the
four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens (27). This
epic type of expression is too grandiose to understand. However, the main point
is he is going to care for his elect. Who are his elect? His elect are not the
Pharisees, but those who are chosen by God. According to 1 Peter 1:1-2, God’s
elects are those who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. It is God who chose his
elect. They are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. It is
a great honor to become God’s elect. President George Bush suffered a lot to
become the president elect a year ago due to hanging and dimpled chads in
Florida. However hard he worked for his election, he can only serve 4 or 8
years. But we are God’s elect,
guaranteeing eternal life in the kingdom of God. Sometimes we feel that our
Lord Jesus Christ would not remember what we did and suffered. But let’s read
verse 27. It says, “And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the
four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.” It is great
encouragement for us that he remembers each of us, that we dedicated ourselves
to him, and gave our time to him, and sacrificed for the sheep, and in his name
were despised and rejected. Our Lord God never ignores his elect. The coming of
Jesus is a great day for all believers because Jesus gathers them to be with
him. But it will be a sad day for those who rejected Jesus because they will be
judged according to what they had done in this life.
PART II. WE MUST HAVE
SPIRITUAL INSIGHT TO INTERPRET THE TIMES (28-30)
Look
at verses 28-29. "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its
twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even
so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the
door." We can understand his coming through nature. Each generation has
its own characteristics. So it is not easy to interpret the times. But we can do
so because we have the word of God--the universal canon of everything. Let's
read verse 31. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never
pass away." All things of the world will eventually perish and spoil. But
the word of God will remain forever. That’s the reason why we study the word of
God and trust God’s promise. During the first century, Many believers had to
live under fiery persecutions. They had to overcome all kinds of trials in
order to defend the gospel of Jesus. Christians in the first part of the 21st
century have to live in times like those of Sodom and Gomorrah—very immoral and
violent. We should be sacrificial in order to advance the gospel of Jesus. It
is possible for us to do so when we have spiritual insight to interpret the
signs of the times. These days many people say in their bewilderment,
"What's going on?" or, "What's up?" They have no insight to
see the world. But we must have keen spiritual insight to interpret the signs
of the times and lead many wandering students to God.
PART III. “KEEP WATCH” (32-37)
Look
at verses 32 and 33. “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels
in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not
know when that time will come.” Throughout history, from the day of Jesus’
ascension, people hoped Jesus would come again. This has continued for the last
twenty centuries. Everyone, including non-Christians, is curious about the day
and hour of the second coming of Jesus. But Jesus declared that no one knows
except the Father. Do not waste your time to figure out when Jesus would come
again. In the past someone prophesied that Jesus would come again on October
30, 1992 and it would be the time of rapture. Many people believed his
prediction and followed him to the mountain and looked at the sky shivering and
standing there. On that day, they
waited all night long. But Jesus did not come. Why did Jesus not tell us when
he was coming again? It is because there is a danger that people will rest full
time until the day Jesus comes again. Then on the day Jesus is coming again,
they will repent and accept Jesus and want to be in the rapture. So Jesus made
his second coming secret. Jesus once
said, “If the owner of the house had known the hour the thief was coming, he
would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of man will come at an
hour when you do not expect him.” (Lk 12:39)
Jesus told us signs to watch for, but not the time. This was God’s wisdom to help man who is
lazy and naturally procrastinates. Many
students do not begin their term paper, until a few days before it is due. But if we did not know when the paper was
due, we would have to do it early, just in case. When we examine the Bible, we find that the first century
Christians had a great hope in the Second Coming. They were expecting to see it in their lifetime. When they woke up in the morning, they took
an exhilarating breath and said, “this could be the day!” 1 Cor 7:29 says that the time is short. Although Jesus did not come in the first
century, the early Christians were wise to have this expectation. In fact, even though Jesus did not come,
many of the early Christians were martyred suddenly. But they were prepared, because they were eagerly watching for
Jesus.
These days, there
are many people who say, "I want to be a Christian, but not now."
Such people are deceived by the devil, who says, "You can do it
tomorrow." But there may not be a tomorrow if Jesus comes again today.
Seriously think that today could be the last day of the world. All of the signs are already here.
Therefore, you should be alert and maximize your day completing all the tasks
you supposed to do. That’s reason why Jesus said repeatedly, “Be on your guard!
Be alert! Keep watch!” Two Sundays ago, a number of us took an airplane to
attend Dr. Lee’s homecoming ceremony. The airport was fully alert. They even
stopped M. Rebekah Lim and searched her body thoroughly including her handbag
and shoes. Does she look like a terrorist? No. But they are alert because they
don’t know the day and hour the terrorists attack again. In the same way, we
must awaken from spiritual complacency because no one knows the day or hour of
Jesus' coming, not even the angels. For example, the people of Noah's times
only engaged in eating and drinking, web-surfing, chatting, and giving in
marriage. They never imagined that God would judge those who became flesh and
were sinning against God. They did not listen to God’s warning about the
impending flood judgment. They had a lot of fun and good times. They were not
alert. The flood came suddenly, but their swimming ability was poor. So they
all drowned except Noah and his family members, who had listened to God.
Therefore, we must keep watch through prayers and Bible study.
After
9-11 terrorist attacks, American churches were inundated with many phone calls
asking about their worship services. Sunday worship attendance nationwide
swelled like a river right after 9-11. Many ministers were very happy with so
many new people. They thought that spiritual revival had come to America. S.
Paul Sambuco was happy because six new sheep attended the Baltimore Sunday
worship service after 9-11. But it lasted only one week. For one week, fearful and confused many
people came to the churches to seek comfort and strength from God. Many people
sought healing from wounds and sorrows. America was alert. But many ministers
were disappointed when their church attendance dropped as the days went by.
People became complacent again. It is not easy to be alert and keep watch
continuously. It requires a lot of prayer. M. Moses Chang is the oldest senior
member among us but he did not miss any 6 A.M. prayer meeting. He was alert
spiritually and God blessed his fellowship abundantly. What should we do while
waiting for the second coming of Jesus? Look at verse 34. “It’s like a man
going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his
assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.” Here we learn that
each of us has his assigned task from Jesus. It is our mission to preach the
gospel to all nations. Apostle Paul said in Acts 20:24, “However, I consider my
life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task
the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s
grace.” He found a life-long task to testify the gospel of God’s grace instead
of calculating the day of Jesus’ second coming. He considered his task more
than his life. Do you have a task to complete? Then keep watch until you finish
the task. If you are a student, complete your homework assignment on time.
Let’s read 13:35-37. “Therefore keep watch because you do
not know when the owner of the house will come back–whether in the evening, or
at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do
not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
These verses teach us that we must live the life of mission with spiritual
awakening. The first words of this sermon of Jesus was “watch out”, and the
last word is “watch!”
Watching
may sound like a spectator sport. Many
people will soon watch the superbowl.
But watching is hard and important work. We get tired. If the
soldier falls asleep on his watch, the enemy may attack; it is a very important
job. Verse 34 tells us that watching
involves doing our assigned task. In
the hope of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ we do not waste time,
but work hard day and night for the glory of God. We cannot allow ourselves to
become sleepy, drowsy, complacent , and lazy spiritually. What is the best time
for Jesus to come? The best time is when we have 1:1 Bible study with sheep or
we pray in the early morning or we have Sunday worship. But we cannot control
the time. Therefore, Jesus said, “I say to everyone:’ Watch’” The Great
Awakenings in the 18th century led by George Whitefield and others touched so
many Americans and brought spiritual revivals to American churches. Today, are
we ready for the second coming of Jesus? Are you ready? What is the spiritual
condition of America? The word of God is rare in the churches and Sunday became
a sport day instead of a day for worshipping God. There are too many other good
things to do to attend the church service. We must help God’s flocks be ready
for the coming of Jesus. We must wake up from our spiritual slumber and serve
the will of God so that America may become a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation sending one million missionaries in the 21st century.
In this passage we learn that we should not be afraid of the
world situation. We must believe that all the troubles of the world are the
birth pains for the day of the Lord. In this troubled world, in order to be
faithful to our Lord Jesus we must struggle hard to teach the Bible to God's
sheep. Let's be alert and keep watch and be faithful to God, standing firm on
his promises. Then surely God will include us in the elect from the corners of
heaven and earth when Jesus comes in power and glory in the clouds. Let’s read
the key verse 26-27.