Love Can Grow Cold
Matthew 24:4-13
Harry Stoliker
June 13, 2010 EBC
Listen
We are studying the difficult and debated section in Matthew's Gospel
called Jesus' Olivet Discourse. Scholars have various views on certain
difficult statements that Jesus makes in this chapter, yet the most reputable
evangelical scholars are in agreement on the main points.
Let me try to make this as simple as possible while still doing
justice to how profound this chapter really is. What I want to do is
to explain the points where scholars disagree on their interpretations,
but even more than that I want to show you how Chap. 24 is vital
to our Christian walk and relationship to God.
The main interpretation question as I see it is where in chapter 24
does Jesus transition from talking about the destruction of the
Jewish temple in Jerusalem, which actually happened in 70 A.D., to talking
about His final, climatic second coming – the Greek word is "parousia"
at the end of human history. That will determine how we interpret
certain controversial verses in the chapter. For example,
V.21 speaks of a "great tribulation" or a "great distress"-
this is spoken of as unparalleled since the beginning of time
and never to be equaled. One interpretation pushes that
event into the future and says it refers to The Great Tribulation
at the end of the time. Another interpretation sees it as part of
the context of the discussion on the destruction of Jerusalem, and
thus is speaking about how horrific the slaughter of the Jews was
in the first century. The point: Where in the flow of
the context does Jesus stop talking about the destruction of the Temple
and flow into a discussion about the "parousia"? I believe
that a proper interpretation of this or any other passage of Scripture
has to pay incredibly close attention to the flow of the context.
Just like in starting a business the 3 most important things are…
location, location, location! So in proper interpretation 3 critical
things are… context, context, context!
More on that in a few minutes. Let me change channels here. Mt. 24
teaches us many great lessons, both historical lessons and pastoral
lessons. The historical lessons come from how God judged Israel
for their unfaithfulness in the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
I talked about those lessons in the first sermon on this chapter three
weeks ago. That is available on line. The spiritual/pastoral lessons
are the themes that apply to us today, such as wisdom, perseverance, keeping our
first love for Christ burning hot, trusting God's sovereignty in persecution, discerning
false prophets and not chasing after false christs. These are lessons
for every generation of believers in all time. What happened in the
years 33-70 A.D. around the Roman Empire – has been repeating itself over
the centuries since. Jesus gives his disciples 8 instructions
in Mt. 24: "watch out" V.4 – "see to it" V.6 – "stand firm"
V.13 – "do not believe it" V.23, V.26 – "learn this lesson" V.32 –
"Keep watch" V.42- "understand this" V.43 – "be ready" V.44.
These exhortations directly and truly apply to us as we await the
parousia! Our age is characterized by many antichrists
for whom we must "watch out" and "stand firm" against. 1 Jn. 2:18 "Dear children,
this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even
now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour."
So, let's look at V.4-14 and learn historical and pastoral
lessons from Jesus' answer to his disciples. Historically, all the
things described in these verses are called by Jesus in V.8 "the beginning
of birth pains." That is, these things were to happen before the "when" question
of the disciples in V.3 would take place. They wanted to know "when"
the Temple would be completely destroyed. The birth pains were not the main event,
they would precede the destruction. The point here is that Jesus doesn't want
them to misread history and get confused about the sequence
of what was going to take place. The first thing to take place was
to be the "birth pains" – then comes the destruction of the
temple – then he speaks about the 'parousia' or second coming. Don't
think that the birth pains equal the destruction or that
the destruction was the same as the parousia.
V.4-5 gives us the first warning Jesus gave his disciples:
"Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming,
'I am the Christ,and will deceive many." Also V.11 "and many false prophets
will appear and deceive many people." So, in the period of A.D. 33- A.D. 70
many self-proclaimed saviors, messiahs or liberators of one sort or another showed
up on the scene. Many will claim to have the role, title and authority
of Jesus. There were in fact numerous people with messianic aspirations
who claimed to have been sent from and empowered by
God during this time of the Jewish revolt against Rome in 66-70 A.D.
The Jewish historian, Josephus, mentions various ones of them in his
book called Antiquities of the Jews. We see a couple of references
to revolutionaries in the book of Acts. Members of the Sanhedrin wanted
to kill Peter and the apostles in Acts 5, but a Pharisee named Gamaliel,
an honored teacher of the law, stood up and said ""Men of Israel, consider carefully
what you intend to do to these men. 36Some time ago Theudas appeared,
claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed,
all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37After
him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band
of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered."
Then in Acts 21:38 Paul was mistaken by a military commander
who said to him: "Are you not the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt
and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?"
Jewish zealots who hated the Romans were numerous in
the days Jesus is speaking about! Messianic pretenders would have
easily been popular and able to deceive many during the lead up to
the Jewish war with Rome that resulted in the destruction of the Temple.
What's the point for us today? There's no end to the fakes and charlatans
that claim to have the authority of God and know the best way to
get out of trouble and get rich and healthy. So many people are deceived,
swindled, duped and hoodwinked by religious shysters today. Be wise,
be discerning, be careful. Know the Word of God so well that you won't be taken.
V.6-7 Wars, rumors of wars, nations against nations, famines, and earthquakes:
these have always been a source of anxiety in every generation. It's
part of living in a sinful world that is under God's curse. The key
is in V.6 "See to it that you are not alarmed." Just because
the world is in such turmoil doesn't mean the Second return is going to happen next
week. This is normal activity in a fallen world. Don't panic; don't
think God has given up His Throne and sovereignty to the devil. How
many coups do we see happening around the world? How many standoffs
and how much saber rattling do we read about in the papers? China and
Taiwan; wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, high tension in Iran,
India vs. Pakistan, Israel vs. PLO and the Arab world;
trouble in Mexico between the government and the drug cartels,
North Korea, Somalia, economic disaster in Zimbabwe,
conflicts in the Sudan and on and on it goes.
We've seen massive earthquakes lately as well! Jan. 2010 Haiti 7.0
mag.; Feb. Chile 8.8 mag. That same day, off coast of
Okinawa, Japan 7.0; March Taiwan 6.4 mag. "The USGS
estimates there are several million earthquakes each year and the
National Earthquake Information Center locates about 50 quakes per day.
However, large quakes measuring 8.0 and higher occur only about
once a year on average."
What's the point? "Don't be alarmed!" Be full of trust in
God's sovereignty. He controls nations. He controls the timing of eschatology.
Persevere in the faith. Don't be an "alarmist" crying
out that the end of the world is at hand every time something big
happens in the news. These were the beginning of birth pains in the
Roman Empire and Israel before the Temple got destroyed.
V.9-13 The Sufferings of Believers and the Effect of Wickedness on Our Hearts
V.9 Begins with the word "Then" – which connects this section
with the previous one in the context of what would happen prior to
the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. We cannot miss how tight
this context is. There are numerous "time-indicators" that keep us
focused on what Jesus was directly addressing. He was answering the disciples' question
about when the Temple would be destroyed. R.T. France points out
"There is a clear sequence running through this whole section
from the initial question to its answer in V.29-31, followed by a summary
of the main points of the whole prediction; there are no long periods of history
dividing these events from one another, but all form part of a coherent
historical development which will reach its climax within the living generation."
These time-indicators give us the strong context of
Jesus intended answer. Look at V.9 "Then" – V.10 "At that time" –
V.15 "When you see" – V.16 "Then let those in Judea flee" – V.21
"For then" – V.22 "If those days" – V.23 "At that time" – V.29
"Immediately after…" V.30 "At that time" – V.34 "This generation will
certainly not pass away until…"
Back to V.9 The "spotlight now moves away from world affairs
and their impact on the morale of Jesus' disciples to the more specific
experience of the disciple community in those troubled times"
(France). These are the kinds of things the early Christians faced
after the death of Jesus: persecution, death, hatred and – all because
they loved Jesus. In addition, supposed believers betrayed
the faith and turn on each other in hatred. It was a difficult and solemn time
then and it has continued throughout history to be very
dangerous in this world to be a dedicated, true Christ-lover!
If we never face any danger, ridicule, or persecution because of our
vibrant love for Jesus, it may be an ominous sign that
we don't truly love Him in a way that can be clearly seen
by anyone!
In the context, then, V.9-14 are all part of the "birth pains" that
preceded the destruction of Jerusalem in the Jewish War against
Rome that began in 66 A.D. and culminated
in 70 A.D. What happened then was a prototype of the ongoing history
of the Christian church through the centuries.
V.12 "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will
grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.This
verse has always given me chills up my spiritual spine!
Wickedness or lawlessness refers to a lifestyle outside the law of
God. Again this has been true over the centuries. Evil is not stagnant.
It is a cancer that is destroying humanity! Paul said in 2 Timothy
3:12-13 "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be
persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse,
deceiving and being deceived." What affect does this evil
cancer have on the human heart? It puts of the flame of love for God
and the love for other people. Both outside and inside the disciple community,
the general increase of wickedness that saturates the world has
the devastating effect of cooling off a true, spiritual love
in our hearts for God Himself. People may get angry at God for allowing
an increase in evil in the world, especially if it touches them or
their families. They question the sovereignty and love of God; they
doubt the eternal wisdom of God; they get wrapped up
in the here and now and lose all eternal perspective; they get self-protective
and suspicious of other people; they get angry at other people,
etc. This is how their love cools off.
Rev. 2:4-5 "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent
and do the things you did at first." Forsaking our first love is an incredibly
ominous thing! When our passionate love for God cools off,
it opens the door for evil and wickedness to oppress us!
Keeping our passionate love for God and our God-given love for other
people is the heart of our Christian faith. It is very difficult
in a world that gets colder and colder and colder in its love for
God and others!
We are influenced by the world and culture around us. We have to be
ever vigilant in discerning the condition of our hearts
and how we may be being affected by the culture of the world. Proverbs
4:23 "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."
Has your love for God cooled off because of all the trials, catastrophes,
evil in the world? Has the general difficulty of life stolen your passion
for our Living God? We have to make sure that we NEVER lose our first love for Christ.
Be alert to any gradual decline in the intensity of our love
for God and for people around us. Check the barometer of your heart
frequently. Pray for more grace to love God with all your heart and
soul and mind and will!
That is the greatest point in the study of eschatology!!! May God
grant that this be the heart and center
of our eschatology!
Let's pray.