Jesus has just been under immense personal attack—in his own house! He has systematically, and Scripturally, rebuffed the malicious questions of his opponents. Now, as a king should when attacked, he has gone on the offensive—Matthew 23-25 is his last great sermon before his death.
Matthew 24 is preached just to his disciples. Impressed by the edifice of the Temple, Jesus declares to them the truth: this Temple will be destroyed! They are curious about these days, and so ask him of the signs of those times.
The sermon that emerges is striking for these two facts. First, it deals with the ’now’ (the destruction of the Temple in AD70) as a lens through which to understand ’then’ (the end of the world). Second, it proclaims how God’s people are to live in the end-times, not when the end-times will be.
In many ways, then, this is a simple sermon: be alert, proclaim, persevere, be ready… every day!
Prayer is the greatest part of a close, warm, open, confident and loving relationship with God the Maker of all that is… seen and unseen. So why is it so neglected, sometimes hard to do, find the time, hard to stay focused? Do we need to reset our priorities?
Perseverance to the end… this is Peter’s final encouragement as he wraps up his letter to exile believers scattered throughout the world. In the face of persecution and hostility, how are we to remain strong in our discipleship to Jesus and persevere?
Those who lead God’s mob must lead them in such a way that they can follow the template of Jesus, and be sustained in their ‘resolve’ (4:1) to be like Jesus. This takes a leadership that shepherds the sheep in a way that serves, that is humble. Moreover, it also means that those being led are to know that such leaders are to be submitted to – and that all the mob is defined by humility – just like the Chief Shepherd.
