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Courtship & Marriage (To You & Your Children #4)

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INTRODUCTION

Part of the problem modern Christians have is that we have abandoned the mission of the family and so the instructions often don’t make sense. But if the mission is to be fruitful, multiply, and take dominion of the world in obedience to Jesus, and if sexual intimacy, marriage, and children are more like a nuclear reactor, then the stakes are wonderfully high.

THE TEXT

“The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?…” (Mt. 19:3-9).

THE NECESSITY OF WISDOM

We’ve been saying for the last few weeks that boys and girls are different. This is probably a hate crime in some places, and we don’t care. But this means that you really must begin getting ready for courtship and marriage as soon as children arrive. Wisdom doesn’t magically arrive in a package from Canon Press when your son/daughter turns 18. As Pastor Wilson has said over the years, when it comes to dating, you often have two idiots involved, but when it comes to courtship, you may have up to 6. This means there really is no paint-by-numbers kit, and just because you read a book doesn’t mean you know what you’re doing. So you really do want to begin asking for wisdom as soon as you know you’re pregnant, and as soon as you know whether you’re having a son or a daughter. Remember that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7), and this means seeking counsel and instruction from God and wise men (Prov. 11:14, Js. 1:5). Get counsel, ask for wisdom, follow the examples of others you respect.

WHAT DO WE CALL THIS?

Part of wisdom is not overemphasizing methods or quarrelling over words. I prefer to call this “courtship” instead of dating because we should generally distinguish what we are doing from the pagan culture around us. But courting usually consists of some dating, so don’t get wound tight. The central principles are to honor God, honor your parents, honor the marriage bed, and honor your brothers and sisters in all purity (Eph. 6:1-4, Heb. 13:4, 1 Tim. 5:1-2). The whole thing is a serious business, but it should be a serious joy. We should not take ourselves or our methods too seriously (avoiding dowdy crankiness), and it should be kind of fun.

A MAN SHALL LEAVE

The basic shape of all of this is that a man leaves and a woman is given (Mt. 19:5, Gen. 2:22-24). There is an asymmetry to the pursuit of marriage because men and women are different and were created differently. The woman is a fruitful garden that an honorable man is seeking permission to enter and cultivate (Song 4:12-16, 5:1). But the first action in preparation for marriage is for a man to leave his father and mother. This usually takes place physically, but it must certainly take place emotionally, intellectually, financially, and spiritually. A man must make his own way in the world. A man who cannot govern himself well should not be trusted with another human being (e.g. 1 Tim. 3:5). This doesn’t mean that a man must own his own business, house, car, and a burgeoning 401K. The principle is that there must be some track record of faithfulness and diligence, e.g. paying bills, good grades, good references from employers, spiritual maturity, etc. But a woman ought to see her mission as encompassed in the broadest categories of motherhood: cultivating life, hospitality, and beauty with all wisdom (Prov. 31). This high calling should be matched by pursuing appropriate education, training, work, life-experience, and service. Just as there is a difference between a boy and man, there is a difference between a girl and woman, and while the timing varies somewhat from culture to culture, we should not ignore wisdom, while generally pursuing marriage early in life.

EQUAL YOKES

The Bible is very clear that believers must only marry other believers (Dt. 7:3, 1 Cor. 7:39). Righteousness doesn’t have fellowship with unrighteousness; light has no communion with darkness (2 Cor. 6:14-18). This is why one of the slanders against the early church was that they practiced incest, since they only married “brothers/sisters” in the Lord. But better that slander than the compromise and heartache that follows marrying an unbeliever. This means that non-Christians are not an option for close friends/courtship. And part of this means remembering that it really is not possible for a man and a woman to be “just friends.” Either it will slide into sexual/emotional sin or else it won’t, which is just as bad. Of course you should have groups of friends, but remember that gravity exists and when the same three girls hang out with the same three guys a lot, things will happen. Wisdom knows that and takes precautions. Related to equal yokes, in addition to commitment to Christ and His Word, education, family background, career interests, cultural expectations, and personalities should be taken into account.

CONCLUSIONS: SEXUAL SIN, FORGIVENES, & WISDOM

It’s a rare kid who grows up in our sexual cesspool of a world who manages to come to marriageable age without any sexual sin, and sometimes there are really severe sins and consequences (sexual dysfunction, disease, divorce, child support, etc.). But where sin abounds, grace abounds more: “Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind… shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

Forgiveness sets the bone, but forgiveness doesn’t guarantee wisdom/trust or absolve from all consequences. Love sincerely desires to treat others lawfully from the heart, which sometimes includes accountability, restitution, time for healing, and consequences. But forgiveness means that God’s blessing is on whatever comes next. In the law, Moses allowed divorce for fornication, which can refer to sexual sin prior to marriage or certain forms of sexual immorality within marriage (Mt. 19:8-9, Dt. 24:1). This means that a wise father should know the general backstory before allowing a young man to court his daughter and at some point before engagement, any sexual past needs to be disclosed by both parties.

While wisdom must be our guide, and marriage is an office with higher standards than mere Christian fellowship (and therefore an honorable man or woman may walk away from a courtship for any reason), it should also be remembered that the gospel is the story of a faithful Husband seeking an unfaithful bride and washing her completely clean (Hos. 3:1, Eph. 5:25-27).

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Crisis at the Temple (Palm Sunday 2023)

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Introduction

The Triumphal Entry was an episode in the ministry of the Lord that had a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning was when the disciples came back to the Lord with the donkey and colt, placed their garments on them, and seated the Lord there (Matt. 21:6). The middle of this event was when Jesus entered the city, and Matthew says that the whole city was moved (v. 10). So this middle was the procession itself. The culmination of this Entry, the climax of the day, the crowning event of what happened, was the cleansing of the Temple (v. 12).

The Text

“And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there” (Matthew 21:8–17).

Summary of the Text

As I have reminded you often, this great multitude was not the same crowd that was calling for the Lord’s crucifixion a short time later. They spread garments and palm branches in the road (v. 8). Now the crowd ahead of Jesus, and coming up behind, were all crying out for the Son of David to save them, which is what Hosanna means (v. 9). They were also saying, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord (Ps. 118:26), and “Hosanna in the highest.” When He entered the city, the whole place was shaken. Who is this (v. 10)? The crowd answered that it was “Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee” (v. 11). And then we come to the climax of the Entry. Jesus went into the Temple, expelled all the buyers and sellers, flipped the currency exchange tables, and the chairs of those who sold doves (v. 12). He said they had transformed the house of prayer for all nations into a thieves’ den (v. 13). Then some blind and lame people came, and He healed them (v. 14). When the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things He did, and the children who were still calling out “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were really displeased (v. 15). They sought to rebuke Jesus with the words of the children (v. 16), and Jesus answered them with the psalmist (Ps. 8:2). From there, Jesus returned to Bethany a few miles away (v. 17).

The Nature of the Event

Moderns are often misled by the fact that Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. This seems to us the sort of mount that a pacifist would use. But throughout the Old Testament, it was a mount of nobility or royalty. Deborah spoke of it (Judg. 5:10), Jair, a judge in Israel, had 30 sons who rode on 30 donkeys (Judg. 4), and Abdon was similar, with his sons and grandsons riding them (Judg. 12:14), and the princes of Israel, David’s sons, fled from Absalom on mules (2 Sam. 13:29).

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; Lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9).

Given this symbolism, and the prophecies concerning it, and what the people were shouting, Jesus was making an audacious claim to the be the King of Israel, the Messiah of God.

But these were not just words—it moved on to an authoritative action, one that challenged the economic center of Jerusalem.

An Authoritative Evaluation

The gospel of John tells us that Jesus had cleansed the Temple once before, at the beginning of His ministry (John 2:13-17). This was an event that declared that the House of God was diseased. Here in Matthew, the priest has now come a second time to inspect the House, and this time the house is to be dismantled (Lev. 14:44), not one stone left upon another.

Lord and Christ

If we are with the crowds of Palm Sunday, we are crying out, “Hosanna,” which means that we are calling for God to save us. That is our plea—Lord, save us.

But although this is used as a term of praise, it is not like Hallelujah, which simply means God be praised. Hosanna contains a petition, and the petition is for salvation, forgiveness, and deliverance. “Oh, Lord, hosanna, save us.” But from what?

Ultimately, this request is always for God to rescue us from ourselves. We are the ones with the problem, but it is also the case that we are the problem. We are the problem that all of us have.

But here is the difficulty. It is not possible to greet Him at the gates of the city with your palm branch, and then somehow to prevent Him from going up to the Temple and flipping over all of your tables. He is the Savior who interferes. He is the Lord Christ, and cannot be received in one of His offices and not in another.

He is the Son of David. Receive Him as such.

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The Anvil and the Hammers

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INTRODUCTION

This is a message about the trustworthiness of the Scriptures. Many critics have attacked the Word of God over the centuries, and while the Word is still here, they are all gone. It has been well said that the Bible is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.

What I want to do in this message is a little different than our usual pattern. In the first part I want to walk you through a detailed and somewhat didactic treatment of the genealogies of Christ given in Matthew and Luke, harmonizing them. I want to show you the Bible is reliable, in other words. And then after that, I want to do what all sermons should do, which is to proclaim Christ.

THE TEXT

“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren . . .” (Matthew 1:1–17).

“And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph . . .” (Luke 3:23–24).

SUMMARY OF THE PROBLEM

These genealogies are different, which is why it is a common solution for people to say that one of them must be for Mary, and the other one is for Joseph. The problem is that both genealogies terminate with Joseph (Matt. 1:16; Luke 3:23), which then creates the new problem of why the genealogies are different. How can one person have two different family trees? So where are they different and why? Unbelievers, of course, can simply say that the accounts here are hopelessly corrupt—but that option is not open to us.

SOME RANDOM BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Matthew is clearly working from written records (he mentions a book), and he starts with Abraham. Luke traces the Lord’s ancestry all the way back to Adam. Luke is probably dedicating this book to Theophilus ben Annas, who was the high priest from 37 to 41 A.D. He was the son of Annas, and the brother-in-law to Caiaphas—the term excellentwas one that was applied to kings and high priests. This means that great care would have been taken with genealogical claims, which the Jews took very seriously. Now Matthew and Luke run in parallel from Abraham to David, and then they diverge—Matthew goes through Solomon and Luke through Nathan (1 Chron. 3:5). They converge later in Shealtiel and Zerubbabel, and then part ways again until they come back together with Joseph. So how is Scripture not in error when it gives us Joseph’s lineage in two different ways?

Genealogical records were public, housed in the Temple, and available to any serious inquirer. The patrician households of David and Zadok also kept independent records. Matthew and Luke would have had access to these records, and it is worth remembering that others would have been able to come and check on their work as well.

Why does Matthew have three groups of fourteen names? One reason is that 14 is the numerological value of the name David. The three-fold repetition emphasizes the descent from David. But that is not the only reason for some of the omissions.

CURSES AND OMMISSIONS 

Matthew removes three kings from his list, jumping from Jehoram to Uzziah. He does this because of Elijah’s curse.

“‘Behold, I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both bond and free” (1 Kings 21:21, NKJV).

Matthew does this out to the fourth generation (Ex. 20:3-6). And also he later drops the wicked king Jehoakim (2 Kings 23:36-24:7)—doing this, I believe, in response to Jeremiah’s curse.

“Therefore thus saith the Lord of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost” (Jeremiah 36:30).

THE COMPLICATED PART

But omissions, while different, do not mess up a genealogy the same way different stirps do. (A stirp is a line of people descending from one ancestor.)

Matthew says that Shealtiel was the son of Jeconiah, and Luke says he was the son of Neri, and Shealtiel sure looks like the same man, the father of Zerubbabel in both places. How to explain this? Jeremiah, the prophet who cursed Jehoiakim, also cursed his son Jeconiah. And notice the first words.

“Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah” (Jeremiah 22:30).

This next part is pieced together with the aid of some extrabiblical history. But we need to figure something out because there is a place in Scripture that says that Jeconiah had one son, Zedekiah, but then in the next verse it says he also had seven sons (1 Chron. 3:16-17). What about that?

So I take it that Zedekiah died young, thus fulfilling the prophetic curse. Then Jeconiah in Babylon married a woman named Tamar, granddaughter of King Josiah. Scripture calls Jeconiah a captive here (1 Chron. 3:17). Tamar had been married before to a man named Neri, and her oldest was Shealtiel, who came into Jeconiah’s line by adoption.

But wait. We are not done. Who was the father of Zerubbabel? Matthew and Luke agree that it is Shealtiel, but we read elsewhere that it was Shealtiel’s brother, Pedaiah (1 Chron. 3:19). This is likely the result of a levirate marriage—Shealtiel dying without issue, and his brother sired an heir for his deceased brother.

One last thing, speaking of levirate marriage. Matthew says that Joseph’s father was Jacob and Luke says that his father was Heli. According to a second century source (Sextus Julius Africanus), this was the result of another levirate union. Heli died without issue, and so his brother Jacob raised up seed for him—who was Joseph.

THAT YOU MIGHT BELIEVE

God’s Word is perfect. Without that perfect Word, we cannot have confidence in the perfection of the Christ who is proclaimed to us. With that perfect Word, we can see that God is in absolute control of every detail of human history, and is able to weave it all together in such a way as to make plain that the Messiah of Israel, the Christ over all, was none other than Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus was descended (in part) from the line of Ahab, of the tribe of Ephraim—thus fulfilling the stupendous promises made to Joseph through Jacob and Moses (Gen. 48:3ff; Dt. 33:13ff). He was Messiah ben Joseph. Jesus was descended (in part) from Levi, in that Mary was a Zadokite (a relative of Elizabeth, recall). And He was also Messiah ben David, of the tribe of Judah as attested in multiple places. So God promised a Savior for the world, and He also, by many different means, identified Him for us clearly. Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

The source for most of this is Jesus: The Incarnation of the Word by David Mitchell (Campbell Publications, 2021).

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Joseph (Profiles in Christmas #1)

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INTRODUCTION

There is comparatively little that Scripture tells us about the man who raised our Lord Jesus as his own son. He leaves the stage almost as soon as he entered it. We have no dialogue from him. But while he is a silent character of Scripture, he still speaks volumes.

THE TEXT

And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations… (Matthew 1:16-21).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The “begats” of Matthew run along as expected until it runs into the most unexpected thing that ever happened: Jesus born of Mary, not by natural conception but by the Holy Ghost (vv16, 18). Joseph is reckoned as Jesus father, and thus Jesus shares the Royal lineage back to David, and the covenantal lineage back the Abraham (v17). Matthew tells us that Joseph was espoused to Mary, but before they had consummated their marriage, Mary was found to be with child, and this by the work of the Holy Ghost (v18).

This put Joseph, a righteous son of Kings, in a quandary (v19). While Joseph pondered what to do, the angel of the Lord came to him in a dream to reveal God’s mighty deeds and glorious purposes to him (v20). Joseph is given his marching orders: fearlessly take Mary as his wife, and name the son which would be born Jesus (v21). This all is what Isaiah prophesied to King Ahaz (Cf. Mt. 1:22-23, Is. 7:14), and Joseph did as he was told (Mt. 1:24-25). Though Joseph has no recorded dialogue, the one word we know he spoke was Jesus, when he named the firstborn son of Mary.

THE CARPENTER

The professional trade of Joseph was that of carpentry, and of course Jesus would later be Joseph’s apprentice in this trade. There’s a wide range of skills which this likely encompassed; it wasn’t just wood-work, but also stone-work. Herod built his palace just outside of Bethlehem. The Magi arrived within the first two years after Christ was born; meaning, Joseph probably was employed in the construction of Herod’s vanity project. David’s heir was right under the imposter king’s nose, in other words.

Jesus came to be known as “the carpenter” (Mk. 6:3) as well as being referred to as Joseph’s son (Lk. 4:22, Jn.6:42). Joseph clearly took seriously his role to raise this divinely begotten son of God as his own son. Though David’s royal line was humbled and obscured, the Angel of the Lord greets Joseph as a son of David. To paraphrase one commentator, by greeting him with a great title, great deeds were expected from this humble carpenter.

A JUST MAN

Perhaps the most significant thing we learn from Scripture about Joseph is that he is called “a just man.” This is the same language that is used of OT heroes of the faith, like Noah, Abraham, Job, and David. Joseph stands in the ranks of just men made perfect.

This declaration of his being a righteous man is in the same breath as describing his contemplation of divorce from Mary his betrothed. Hardliners on divorce and no-fault divorce advocates both are confronted with a rebuke in Joseph’s action. His desire was to be faithful to the ordinances of God as respecting adultery, but also desiring to show mercy to Mary. It would seem that Joseph was deeply puzzled that Mary (who he knew only as a virtuous woman) was pregnant out of wedlock. At last, he determined to divorce her as privately as was possible, laying no charge of unfaithfulness upon her. It would become known eventually, but she would be spared the worst of any scandal.

His righteousness is, like all the righteous, by faith alone. His faith is seen in his swift obedience in response to the four times an angel came to him in his dreams. Our text gives the first instance of this swift, obedient faith, he is told of the divine conception and does as the angel instructs. The next instance is when the angel warns Joseph of Herod’s wicked design to massacre Bethlehem’s infant boys (Mt. 2:13-14). The third dream takes place after Herod died, the angel informs Joseph that it is now safe to return from Egypt (Mt. 2:18-21). But in the final dream Joseph is warned not to dwell in proximity to Archelaus, but to go and dwell in Galilee, and it would seem that Joseph had the fulfillment of prophecy in mind (Cf. Is. 11:1) and selected Nazareth as the hometown of his son (Mt. 2:22-23). Joseph walked by faith.

Joseph also demonstrates this life of faith in at least three other episodes. Even under the Roman oppression, Joseph is a dutiful citizen (Lk. 2:4-6). He brought Jesus to be circumcised according to Moses’ Law, along with the proper sacrifice for their poor estate (Lk. 2:22-24). Joseph took his family to Jerusalem for the customary feasts (Lk. 2:42).

ANOTHER DREAMING JOSEPH

Looking back at the genealogy, there is something which might easily escape our notice, but which Matthew uses to spark our remembrance. A Jacob begets a Joseph who fathers a Joshua. Remember that Joshua was descended from Joseph (by Ephraim, Cf. Num. 13:8). Here again is a dreaming Joseph, used to bring about the salvation of the world. Here again is a Joshua, raised up to save God’s people from their sin.

It is easy to see Joseph as a prince of David’s line. This fulfills one aspect of the anticipated Messianic reign. But we also see another thread, and Joseph ben-Jacob is the typological link. Ironically, when Israel was split into two Kingdoms, Judah is how the Southern Kingdom came to be known, but Israel was sometimes called Ephraim. In other words, in this son of Joseph, all Messianic types and shadows terminate.

Here is David’s heir. Here is a conquering Joshua. Here is the Scepter rising out of Judah. Here is the multitude of Ephraim. Here is Joseph’s fruitful bough and the crown on his brow (Gen.49:22-26). Here is the shepherd and stone of Israel. Here is the reunification of Israel. And Joseph called his name Jesus, by faith.

Two applications should be drawn out of the example of Joseph. We walk by faith, not by sight. You must not try to demand of God more explanation than His Word plainly declares to you. Do not be merely a hearer of the Word revealed to you, but do it. Secondly, you are not the main character of the story, just as Joseph was not. But you must, in the same faithful humility, do your duty. Believe the revealed Word, and proclaim the name of Jesus.

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The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Part 1

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INTRODUCTION

The coming of the Messiah Jesus at Bethlehem was in many ways the end of the world. It was the end of an old world and at the same time the beginning a new world. In the old world Satan, Sin, and Death had a fierce power. The god of that age blinded many, and they served many idols and false gods viciously. The light of God was relatively faint and shadowy, largely limited to a tiny nation in the middle east.

But with the coming of Christ, Satan has been struck with a fatal blow, and now sin and death are on the run. Satan has been cast down and now Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. This means that we live in a radically new world, a new heavens and a new earth, and we are witnesses of a New Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven.

THE TEXT

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken…” (Mt. 24:29-35)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

We call this passage the “Olivet Discourse” because Jesus gave this message on the Mount of Olives (24:3, cf. Mk. 13, Lk. 21). While Jesus had just called down a great curse upon Jerusalem and the temple (23:35-38), His disciples pointed out how beautiful the temple was, and Jesus says every single stone will soon be cast down. This provokes the disciples to ask when these things would take place, when Christ would be coming, and when the end of the world would be (24:2-3).

While they may have assumed that the destruction of the temple/Jerusalem would coincide with the final return of Jesus and the final end of the world (24:3), Jesus proceeds to answer these questions like an Old Testament prophet, describing the destruction of the temple as a cataclysmic, world-ending event with the sun and moon going dark and the stars falling out of heaven (24:29). He describes a coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven (24:30) and a gathering of the elect by angels and sounding trumpet (24:31). But Jesus insists that the disciples understand that these things are very near, like they know summertime by the leaves on a fig tree (24:32-33). Jesus says that what He is describing will happen during that present generation (24:34). Heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will not pass away (24:35).

COLLAPSING SOLAR SYSTEMS

It’s important to remember that when God created the sun, moon, and stars, they were created in part for “signs,” and the sun and moon were created to be rulers of the day and the night (Gen. 1:14-16). This is why when Joseph dreamed that the sun, moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to him, everyone knew what the dream implied (Gen. 37:9-10). When the great darkness covered the land of Egypt, God was warning Pharoah that his world-empire was about to come to end if he didn’t relent (Ex. 10:22).

So when the prophets take up descriptions of collapsing solar systems, we should read the contexts carefully: Ezekiel 32 addresses Egypt centuries later, and in addition to other plague-like language, says, “And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD. I will also vex the hearts of many people, when I shall bring thy destruction among the nations, into the countries which thou hast not known” (Ez. 32:7-9). We see the same thing in Isaiah 13 describing the destruction of Babylon and again in Joel 2 regarding the destruction of Jerusalem. So when Jesus says the sun and moon will go dark and the stars will fall from the sky, He is describing the apocalyptic end of the world of Jerusalem.

THE SON OF MAN COMING

When Jesus says that a sign will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will see the Son of man coming in the clouds, He is quoting Daniel: “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom thatwhich shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13-14). Notice where the Son of Man is coming to: He is coming to the Ancient of Days in heaven. Jesus is talking about His Ascension, not His final coming at the end of history. What’s the sign that all the tribes will see? Pentecost: the pouring out of the Spirit upon all the nations represented there. This would be the most natural reading of the angels gathering the elect: these are the apostles and evangelists preaching the gospel (Mt. 24:31, cf. Acts 6:15, Gal. 4:14).

CONCLUSION

Jesus says that “this generation” will not pass away until all these things take place (Mt. 24:34). Many Christians attempt various exegetical gymnastics to make “generation” mean something longer than the usual 40 years or else some way of selectively choosing which things happened in the first century and which things are still awaiting fulfillment. But the words of Christ are clear, and He did ascend to the Father where He was given all authority and power and that was proven by the gift of the Holy Spirit. And about 40 years later, in 70 A.D., the city of Jerusalem was burned to the ground and the temple was destroyed.

We must not underestimate what the first coming of Christ accomplished. What was only foreshadowed in the tabernacle and temple has been accomplished by the crucifixion of Jesus: the curtain in heaven has been torn open and a new and living way has been opened through the flesh of our Lord (Heb. 10:20). The old heavens and earth truly were dark, but the Sunrise from on High has visited us (Lk. 1:78). And a new heavens and a new earth have been inaugurated by the coming of Christ. “Arise, shine, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon us” (Is. 60:1). We have come to a New Jerusalem that is coming down out of Heaven; Immanuel has come and the dwelling place of God is with men (Heb. 12:22, Rev. 21:1-3).

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