St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

Sunday November 29, 1998, The First Sunday in Advent

Text: Matthew 24: 37 - 44

Theme: Watch! The Son of Man is coming.

by Vicar Benjamin W. Berger

Matt. 24:36 ("No one knows about that day or hour, 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.

Have you ever seen or heard about this movie "Twister?" The main character has dedicated her life to chasing tornadoes. She’s not in it for the excitement. When she was a little girl, a bad tornado came through her area and killed her father. She wanted to learn about tornadoes in order to be able to warn people ahead of time. Tornadoes are unpredictable. The only warning we get is a siren telling us that one has been seen. Wouldn’t it be nice to know hours or even days ahead of time so that we could prepare? Wouldn’t it also be nice to know the exact day and hour Jesus is going to return? Then we could all straighten out our lives just at the right time and get ready to go to heaven. It doesn’t work that way. We don’t know exactly when Jesus will come back, but we do know that he is coming. Therefore, Watch! The Son of man is Coming! He is coming I) like the Flood II) like a thief.

Although we don’t know the exact time of Jesus’ return, he has given us some warning signs to look for. He said, "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage…" In the days before the Flood people were simply living their daily lives as usual. Eating, drinking, and getting married, these are all things that happen everyday. There’s nothing wrong with any of them. But, is this the way people carry on when a worldwide Flood is coming?

That’s certainly not how people act today when a hurricane is headed toward them. They board up their houses, store away all chairs and tables and anything that might blow away. Then they leave if they can. Just the possibility of a hurricane causes people to forget their daily lives for a moment and prepare for the worst.

Yet, in the days of Noah everyone carried on right up to the day Noah entered the ark. And so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. The people of this world will be working, playing and living. What will we be doing? It’s quite easy to get caught up in the rat race of daily life. We have work to do, kids to run around, people to visit. There’s nothing wrong with those activities, but will we miss the boat as the people in the days of Noah did? Jesus is coming, like the Flood, ready or not.

In the days before the Flood, the people had plenty of time to get ready. In fact, they had 120 years. Out of his loving patience God gave man 120 years to get ready for the Flood. They certainly saw Noah getting ready. Here was this man building a huge boat on dry land. There wasn’t even an area of water large enough to hold this boat nearby. They must have asked Noah what in all of Eden he was doing. Even if they didn’t ask, we know that Noah was telling them because Peter calls him a "preacher of righteousness."

In spite of the time and the warnings given by Noah, the people ignored the signs. Jesus said, "they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away." Of course, they did know that the Flood was coming, but they stubbornly ignored the warning signs.

That doesn’t sound familiar does it? In the verses just before this section Jesus gave us warning signs to watch for. You know most of them: wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, persecution of Christians. Have we seen any of those signs lately? I don’t think a year passes by in which those signs aren’t fulfilled. So, are we ready? or are we carrying on as usual waiting for the Son of man to come and sweep us away? The only thing preventing Jesus’ return is God’s loving patience. Just as he allowed time before the Flood, he now is giving us time to get ready. However, once the time ran out, the Flood came and destroyed everyone, except the believers.

The raging waters of the Flood drowned every single person on the earth except the eight who were on the ark, the eight who were ready. Why were these eight people ready? They believed. They simply believed. God told Noah that he was going to destroy the world. He told him exactly what to do to prepare. And Noah did it because he believed.

"That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." When Jesus returns he will destroy every single person who does not believe in him. Jesus has already done all of the work for us. He followed the instructions for a perfect life. He had the nails pounded through his hands and feet into the wood. He closed the door to the grave. When he returns, he will take all those who believe in him home to heaven.

My dear friends, these are the days, not the days of Noah, but the days of the Son of Man. He is coming. The signs are all around us. How long has there been famine in Africa? Some weeks back we actually had an earthquake in MI, yes, an earthquake in the Midwest. For the past week there have been rumors of war with the Middle East. What more do you want? The sirens are sounding; it is time to get ready.

Let us use the time we have to consciously look for Jesus’ return. Everyday that comes could be the day. Oh, we love to procrastinate. Believe me, this is one thing you do not want to put off. The time to prepare is now. Once the Son of Man comes it will be too late to get ready. He will come suddenly, like the Flood. He will come unexpectedly, like a thief.

In case you have never had an experience with a thief, Jesus tells us about a man who has. He doesn’t really tell us what happened, but what would have happened if the owner of the house could have changed things. All we know is that a thief broke into this man’s house. What would he have done differently? "If [he] would have 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." The problem is that we never know when a thief is going to break in.

Because the owner didn’t know when the thief was coming, he wasn’t watching and couldn’t stop him. As a result, the thief took whatever he wanted from the owner’s house. Of course he would have done things differently if he had known. Who wouldn’t?

We have the advantage of learning from the owner’s mistake. We can change our actions before we have a problem. Just as the owner didn’t know when the thief was coming, we don’t know when the Son of Man will come. But, we can watch. If the owner had watched, he would have prevented disaster. We too can prevent disaster. If Jesus comes and finds us unprepared, he will have no choice but to send us to hell.

Those who are not prepared are only putting something else before Jesus. Yes, Lord, I know that I need to get ready, but there are just a few things I want to do first. I’d really love to get married and raise a family. I’d really love to do some traveling after retirement. After I take care of myself, Lord, I’ll get ready for you to come back.

Thankfully, God did not and does not have the same attitude with us. When the time came for Jesus to be born, he came even though there wasn’t a place to sleep. When the time came for Jesus to die, he met his betrayer in Gethsemane. Jesus put us first. He continues to put us first by allowing us time to prepare for his return.

Now it is up to us to use this time wisely because Jesus says, "the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." We do not get to choose when he will return. When a smart thief is planning to rob you, he maintains control. He watches to see when people are out of the house. He gets to know the area and sees who’s watching when. He does whatever is necessary to stay in control. While God is not waiting to prey on us, he is still in control.

God knows the best time to take action. He knew the best time for Jesus’ birth; he knows the best time for Jesus’ return. God wants us to be saved. He is guiding the events of the world at this very moment in order to save as many as possible, including us. He has graciously given us time to prepare ourselves and to help others get ready.

Therefore, get ready! The owner may have had a second chance to prevent another break-in. When Jesus comes, there will not be any second chances. The time we have now is our one and only chance. If we waste our time with the things of this world, we will regret it eternally in the next world. We will wallow in an eternity of if only. If only I had known, then I would have watched. You do know. So Watch! The Son of Man is coming.

Watch at all times! The only way to be ready when you don’t know the time is to be ready at all times. As you wake up each day ask, "Lord, will it be today?" Then live as if the answer is ‘yes.’ Today may be the last chance to hear the Lord’s word; so, go to that Bible class. Today may be the last chance to give offerings to the Lord; wealth won’t do any good after he comes. Today may be the last chance to tell someone else about Jesus; so, tell them.

Finally, watch for Jesus with expectation. Since the time of Abraham the Jews eagerly waited for God to send the promised Messiah. Each year we eagerly wait to celebrate the day God finally sent that Messiah. Now we are waiting for God to send him again. Let us wait with even more joyful anticipation than we have for Christmas. Watch! The Son of Man is coming!