The Olivet Discourse
Matthew 24:1-3
October 21, 2012
Well this morning we enter what is routinely referred to as
“The Olivet Discourse”
It is called that of course because Jesus gave this sermon to His disciples
While sitting on the Mount of Olives just outside of Jerusalem.
And there is little doubt that this is one of
The most popular messages that Jesus ever gave.
People throughout all ages have been literally mesmerized
By the events surrounding the end times.
People love to try and “Crack the code”
In regard to the events and timing of the end.
Even in our own day we continually have people who not only study the end, but some who are so bold as to predict when it will occur.
There is a fascination about it.
Well, that fascination is not a new thing,
This fascination dates all the way back to Jesus and before.
You don’t really have to study Jewish history very long
To figure out that the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom
Was a long anticipated event in Israel.
Isaiah said:
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
Zechariah said:
Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Micah said:
Micah 5:2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”
And Israel continually anticipated that time.
Even in the day of John the Baptist some came to him asking:
John 1:19-23 “This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
The ironic thing of course is that the actual Messiah
Was right under their noses and they could not see Him.
That is in fact what led Jesus to say at the end of chapter 23
Matthew 23:37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”
The Messiah did come, and the Messiah
Was ready to institute His kingdom, but they rejected Him.
But you still see their desire none the less.
And this fascination was also one shared by the disciples.
And it is their curiosity that sort of jumpstarts this message
From Jesus on the end times.
This is Jesus teaching on the end.
So we listen with eager and open ears.
And this morning what we are going to do
Is just sort of take a survey of this entire discourse.
Let’s look at the whole forest and then we’ll come back and examine the trees.
So let’s get into this sermon this morning,
Initially by looking at the first 3 verses.
#1 THE CONVERSATION
Matthew 24:1
So Jesus has just finished what really was
One of the most glorious and inspiring days of His initial stay on earth.
For one day Jesus held His rightful place as teacher in the temple.
And after correcting the foolish and rebuking the hypocrites
Jesus then pronounced the coming judgment of Jerusalem.
And again it is important to remember what He said.
Matthew 23:38 “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!”
• Jerusalem was those who rejected God’s Word.
• Jerusalem was those who ignored God’s Savior.
• And now Jerusalem was about to lose her house.
WHAT WAS HER HOUSE?
The temple.
Jesus just said it was going to be demolished.
(And as we said in about 37 years it would be)
And we reference that statement, because it is obvious that
The disciples really must not have been paying attention.
Because as soon as Jesus leaves the “temple and was going away” “His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.”
Now they weren’t showing Jesus where they were,
They were marveling at them.
Mark’s gospel says this:
Mark 13:1 “As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”
The disciples were blown away with
The monumental structure which was the temple.
It is like they didn’t even hear what Jesus just said.
He just said it would be destroyed and yet they are marveling over it.
It sort of reminds me of that mindset back in Jeremiah’s day
When he was telling people that the temple would be destroyed
And they didn’t believe him either.
Jeremiah 7:3-4 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. “Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘ This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’”
Jeremiah was telling them that Nebuchadnezzar
Was about to destroy the temple, but they didn’t believe him either.
They kept saying, “The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.”
Despite Jeremiah’s warnings they just could not bring themselves
To believe that God would allow His own temple to be destroyed.
And you really kind of see that same mentality here,
Not only in Israel, but also in the disciples.
Jesus just said it would be left desolate and yet they are marveling at it.
That is their conversation.
#2 THE CORRECTION
Matthew 24:2
Jesus paints a clearer picture to them here.
“Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone there will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”
So Jesus reiterates it again.
“Maybe you didn’t hear what I just said…”
This house is being left desolate.
This house is being destroyed.
The rejection of the Jews will not bring about victory, only judgment.
And apparently His tone was such
That the conversation at this point stopped.
The Conversation, The Correction
#3 THE CURIOSITY
Matthew 24:3
And here is where we certainly begin to identify.
Jesus has now climbed the Mountain has taken His seat
And the disciples can’t stand it anymore.
“Tell us when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Does that question not fully encompass
Everything you want to know about the end times?
• WHEN will it happen?
• WHAT will take place?
That probably sums up everything you want to know as well.
If you’ve ever wondered those things then let me assure you
Matthew 24 and 25 are your kind of chapters.
No question in Scripture does Jesus give
A longer or more detailed answer to than this one.
Most of the time His answers can be summed up
In a couple of verses if not a couple of words.
But here Jesus answers this question with two chapters of Scripture.
And for the remainder of our time here I want to just sort of
Give you the overview of His answer
Because there is in fact a main point to what He says.
So let’s make sure we get the main point and then we’ll spend some time
Over the next couple of months examining His answer in detail.
I’m going to give you an outline of His answer this morning
• There are two main points (Roman numeral 1 & 2)
• And each point has 4 sub points (A,B,C,D)
So the disciples want to know “When” & “What”, here is Jesus’ answer
I. The Explanation (24:4 – 24:31)
The first thing Jesus does is simple explain some of the facts and events
That will transpire in and around His coming.
And there we see four things.
A. Devastation (24:4-8)
Jesus is very clear in these 5 verses
That there is a coming period of devastation.
• There will be an intensified frequency of wars.
• There will be an intensified frequency of earthquakes.
• There will be an intensified frequency of famines.
Furthermore this will be a terrifying and confusing time.
With all the disasters, animosity between countries, and devastation
People will naturally desire an answer.
And to give an answer there will arise a number of false Christs.
(5) “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.”
In the end will be such tragedy that men will seek answers,
And Satan will supply plenty of men to give people answers.
It is what Paul spoke of to the Thessalonians:
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 “For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”
It will be a time of great confusion and subsequent deception,
And because the world has so hated God’s Word,
God will allow them to be deceived.
Now it is important to point out that the devastation is not the end.
It is the beginning of the end.
(8) “But all these things are merely the beginning of the birth pangs.”
Often in the Old Testament the anguish that accompanies
The Day of the Lord is described as a woman in labor.
And Jesus says here, “All of these devastations will make you think this must be the end, but it isn’t, this is just the beginning.”
So the first thing that is coming is devastation.
B. Tribulation (24:9-14)
Notice the word “Then”
So devastation is just the start of it all, it gets worse from there.
“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.”
• This is not just pockets of tribulation scattered throughout the world.
• This is not just a few Muslim hot-spots where Christians are in danger.
• This is not just a communist government making Christianity illegal.
This is global.
This is universal.
This is everywhere.
Every nation will “deliver you to tribulation”
Every nation will “kill you”
Every nation will hate you.
And it is tribulation so severe that it will be accompanied by
A great defection from the faith.
(10) “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.”
And of course there in verse 11
Are the false prophets again helping people defect.
We read from 2 Thessalonians a moment ago,
Perhaps you remember what one false prophet had told that church.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.”
A false prophet told them they had missed the rapture.
The idea there was to cause them to turn away from Jesus
So that God’s wrath against them would stop.
That is the sort of message that will be preached on this day.
It will be such tribulation that men will be looking for a reason to fall away
And false prophets will give them a reason.
It will be a day of tremendous purification among God’s people.
There will be no casual attenders or social observers.
Men will either be all in or all out.
And the tragedy is that more will be out than will be in.
(12) “Because lawlessness is increased, MOST people’s love will grow cold.”
Devastation, Tribulation
C. Abomination (24:15-28)
And if you are wondering why all this will arise to such a horrific degree
It is because there will be a catalyst.
There will be one event
That will get the whole ball of devastation and persecution rolling.
That event is what Daniel and Jesus call “the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION”
We’ll talk much more about this later,
But it is nothing short of the public rise and declaration of the Anti-Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”
And according to Jesus, this is the event you need to watch for.
When you see this, Jesus says, “those who are in Judea must flee”
• And don’t delay even for a coat.
• And you’d better hope it isn’t winter.
• And you’d better hope you aren’t traveling with an infant.
Because that is the event that will open the (21) “great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.”
This will be such a horrific time that if God didn’t limit it, no one could withstand it, not even those with the supernatural faith of God.
And once again Satan will capitalize with false prophets.
But Jesus says:
(25-26) “Behold, I have told you in advance. “So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them.”
You are going to want deliverance long before it comes,
But don’t be fooled and fall into some sort of trap.
You will know it when I return, no one will have to tell you about it.
My return will be like lightning.
(27) “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
So don’t fall into some sort of deceptive trap.
Devastation, Tribulation, Abomination
D. Coronation (24:29-31)
And then we get actually our second reference to “When”
The first came back in verse 14, “The gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Here comes the second “time” reference.
(29) “But immediately after the tribulation of those days…”
(30) “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky”
The point of course being that the Son of Man is coming.
That the King will take His throne.
But it will not occur until after a severe period
Of devastation, tribulation and abomination.
But you get the explanation from Jesus.
Now point 2
II. The Exhortation (24:32 – 25:46)
And I don’t mind telling you that the main theme of Jesus’ exhortation
Is “Readiness”
Jesus spends more time telling us how to prepare for the end
Than He does telling us what the end entails.
And when you think about it, this is far more important.
It is far more important that you be ready for the end
Than it even does that you understand it.
And so after an explanation we get an exhortation,
And this also has four points.
Four things you need to be ready.
A. Vigilance (24:32-52)
Jesus starts here with the parable of the fig tree,
And namely that a fig tree is a great indicator of summer.
When a fig tree puts forth leaves you know summer is near.
The point is that when you see signs of the times,
You ought to know what is coming.
In other words, when abomination comes, followed by devastation, followed by tribulation, then you will know the end is near.
And following that parable comes the most important “when” reference followed by a stern warning.
(36) “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”
Now this is important.
Jesus is not going to tell you the exact time, in fact He didn’t know it.
The only info you are going to get are the signs of the times.
You can’t put a date on your calendar,
But you can pay attention to what is happening around you.
And then Jesus gives a warning.
Don’t be like the people in Noah’s day.
(38-39) “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Be alert. Be vigilant.
It won’t do you any good to ignore the signs.
And in fact Jesus spells that out specifically in verse 42.
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”
Be vigilant
B. Endurance (25:1-13)
This of course is the parable of the 10 virgins.
And the picture is of 5 virgins who were not ready to go the distance.
The groom took longer to arrive than they thought.
And so Jesus calls not only for vigilance, but also endurance.
Vigilance, Endurance
C. Obedience (25:14-30)
This is the parable of the talents, where two servants were faithful,
But one of the servants was not.
• He was not obedient to do the task he was left to do.
• He was not faithful to use his Master’s money.
And his wickedness or lack of obedience finds him being judged.
Vigilance, Endurance, Obedience
D. Benevolence (25:31-46)
Here Jesus actually says that judgment will come down
To how you treat “the least of these”.
• If you were faithful to care for them, you are a child of God.
• If you were not faithful, then you are not.
That really helps us understand the main point to Jesus’ answer.
The disciples were focused on
When it would occur and what would happen.
Jesus seeks to curve their focus from when it will occur
To HOW to prepare for it.
Over and over Jesus stresses readiness.
Jesus stresses being prepared for it.
And when you look through these two chapters
You see several commands to that affect.
Look back at (24:4)
“See to it that no one misleads you”
Jesus saying prepare yourself by being discerning of what is going on.
Look at (24:6)
“See that you are not frightened”
Jesus saying to prepare yourself by being courageous.
Don’t walk in fear or you will be more prone to follow false teachers.
Look at (24:13)
“the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”
Jesus saying prepare yourself by being faithful,
Don’t fall away, stand firm.
Look at (24:16)
“flee”
Or (24:20)
“pray”
The idea there is to be wise.
Don’t be naive, recognize the danger of those times.
A failure to do this will only make the tribulation that much harder.
You prepare yourself by being wise and listening to what I say.
Look at (24:42)
“Be on the alert”
Look at (24:44)
“you also must be ready”
Look at (25:13)
“Be on the alert then”
And you get what he is saying.
It is not so much about you understanding the facts about the end,
As it is that you prepare yourself for it.
And friends this is the message of the New Testament.
TURN TO: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
TURN TO: Romans 13:8-14
TURN TO: 2 Peter 3:10-15
You get the point.
It’s not about understand it, it’s about preparing yourself for it.
The point that I want you to see is that the disciples were very curious
As to WHEN the kingdom would be established,
And WHAT sort of events would accompany it.
Jesus clearly says, don’t worry so much about that.
What you need to know is that when it comes it will be preceded by a very difficult time and you need to prepare for it.
Be Prepared.
And preparation consists of
Vigilance, Endurance, Obedience, and Benevolence.
AND WITH THAT, I ASK ARE YOU PREPARED?
Not are you ready?
People walk through things in this life and say, “Oh, I’m so ready for the Lord to return.”
That’s all fine and well, but are you prepared?
• If Jesus returned today would He consider you that faithful slave that did the Master’s will while He was gone?
• If Jesus returned today and you had to give an account of your talents, would He be pleased with what you’ve done with them?
• If Jesus returned today would you be able to say you fed the hungry and clothed the naked and visited the sick and in prison?
• But even beyond that, if persecution broke out today, would you be prepared to endure to the end?
You get the idea.
Don’t worry yourself with when,
Concern yourself with preparing for it whenever it comes.
Matthew 24:44 “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”
