Expectations In Conflict | Matthew 24:1-3

Scripture

• Matthew 24:1–3

About this sermon

Introduction: The questions intended to entrap Jesus have been asked. The answers that displayed the superiority of Christ have been given. Stubborn unbelief has persisted. The ungodliness that explains that unbelief has been exposed by Jesus and the character of these men has been condemned by Jesus. HE ENDED THE TEMPLE ENCOUNTER WITH A WARNING ABOUT IMPENDNG JUDGMENT that included a word about THEIR HOUSE LEFT DESOLATE. That statement must have hung in the minds of Christ’s disciples. I say that because as Jesus makes His way out of the temple, the disciples have the temple buildings on their minds. Jesus will comment on those buildings, and those comments will lead to His disciples’ questions. Those questions have to do with their kingdom expectations. The answer that Jesus gives to their questions is called the Olivet Discourse. It is called that because Jesus gave this teaching on the Mount of Olives, east of the temple. His answer to their questions is the longest answer of Christ recorded in Scripture (Mark 13:5-37; Matthew 24:4-25:45; Luke 21:8-36). The teaching is, in many ways, simple and straightforward. Most of it is not hard to understand. But it is amazing. Here is our Savior, while living on this planet, laying out the future of the world. Here is our Savior telling us about some things that were near, and some things that would take place later — never specifying how long the interval would be. He tells about a judgment that is soon, and He tells about His return, and the judgment and salvation that will accompany that return, which now we know was to be in the distant future. The fact that Jesus is telling us what will be — before it ever takes place —speaks of the true nature and person of Jesus. WHEN WE CONSIDER THIS SECTION, WE DO WELL TO REMEMBER THAT JESUS HAD ALREADY SAID A LOT ABOUT WHAT LIES AHEAD. His disciples never really understood Him, but they understood enough to know that He had talked about a great rejection that He would face, and about leaving them for a time, and about a future return. What Jesus teaches responds to questions that were driven, in part, by the Messianic teaching of the day. He is answering expectations that were confused in many respects. Messianic expectations. – This was a time full of messianic hope. Just remember the scene at the temple when Jesus was dedicated. Remember the ministry of John the Baptist. Remember the throngs of people who follow the Lord Jesus throughout His ministry, even out into the wilderness. Remember that triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem just two days earlier. Messianic expectations are at a fever pitch. A Messiah who exceeded expectations. Jesus represented a Messiah who exceeded what the people could have ever expected. No one ever spoke like this man. No one ever did the things that He did. He preached with authority. He interacted with people in ways that revealed His amazing knowledge of them. He interpreted the law in a way that got to the very heart of the law. His preaching was the most preeminent aspect of His ministry, and yet it was accompanied by signs that resulted in things the world had never seen. And so, into this world full of Messianic hope, the Messiah comes and He’s greater than they imagined. A Messiah who was different than expectations. Despite exceeding expectations, He was proving to be different than what they expected. He didn’t arrive to advance the Judaism of the day. He didn’t arrive to affirm the religious leaders of the day. He wasn’t championing their agenda. He wasn’t leading a revolution. He wasn’t a military deliverer. He was saying that His kingdom was not of this world. He was saying that He was going to be rejected and crucified and raised and then go away for a time. He didn’t come to join their team. In fact, it was just the opposite. Jesus was exposing their apostasy. This is not what people expected. This was not what His own disciples expected. A Messiah who was rejected. As a result of sinful unbelief, which resulted in biblical ignorance, the unexpected outcome of the coming of the Messiah into the world is that He came to His own and His own did not receive Him. All of this, of course, was God’s glorious way of saving sinners, and yet sinners were fully responsible for the shameful and damnable way that they responded to Jesus. Through all of this, we see who Jesus really is, and what His role will be in the future of the nation and of the world. • THE TEMPLE AND ITS FUTURE (vs.1-2) As Jesus makes His way out of the temple, His public ministry is over. He doesn’t return to teach there again. He had come that morning and had been teaching (21:18-23), and now He’s done. There’s sadness in that. Jesus was sad when He considered the spiritual blindness of the city of Jerusalem. He ends His denouncement of Israel with an impassioned cry regarding His desire to have saved them. But they did not want Him.