First Sunday in Advent November 29-30, 2025
“Open or Shut?” Matthew 24:36-44
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
Christ is going to return to earth. When He left this earth in the spring of the year 30, He vowed to come back. In John 14:3 Jesus said, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you with me that you also may be where I am.” The angels who on the day of the Ascension, 40 days after Jesus rose from death on Easter, now rises from the earth to go into heaven, said, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)
He is going to return. Paul, when he writes to the Thessalonians speaks of that day, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” (I Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Jesus says two things about that day. First, you will have no idea when that day will be. Second, you must be ready for that day.
Jeff Gibbs, in his commentary about this book of Matthew, says that Jesus mentions 7 times that you won’t know when He is going to return. “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36) Every once in a while someone says that they have received a revelation from God Himself and they have been told the exact date of His return. Ten or twenty years ago one guy bought a million dollars of billboard signs all over the U.S. and from those billboards shouted that he knew the exact date of the return of Jesus. He told us all that we had better be ready by that day. But Jesus didn’t come on that date. “No one knows that day or hour.”
So, if no one can know, does that mean that we shouldn’t care about this? No!! Just as Jesus says that you won’t know when He is coming, He says multiple times you had better be alert, watchful, longing, and expecting His return. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24:42) “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matthew 24:44)
Sometimes I think the purpose of my preaching is to scare you. I can say things that make us uneasy, causing us to perspire. Jesus did that very same thing. He wanted to know where people stood. Would they be under God’s judgment or would they live in God’s promise? There is an either/or, a one-or-the-other, element to His words. “That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” (Matthew 24:39-40) I understand this to be His words to tell us that one person is saved and the other is not. One is in heaven, and one is in hell.
There are times in life when scary is the final word we hear. Years ago I took my family to Disneyland. They had a ride in Disneyland called “The Tower of Doom”. Foolishly I went on it – showing my kids that their dad was scared of nothing!! You are strapped into a giant high-speed elevator. You, and about 25 others, go up ten stories in a second. Then you drop 5 stories in the next second and the door of the elevator opens, only to see something that causes you to scream. Then you’re up; then you’re down. And after a few more of those you are done. And, I was really done!! Like a roller coaster it was meant to bring some fear to your soul.
Jesus does that when He speaks of His judgment. But his ultimate intent is not to bring fear but to bring hope. The Lord Jesus wants all people to know His salvation, His sacrifice, His grace, His forgiveness. Jesus wants all hearts to be secure in Him. St. Paul in the book of Romans has these words about being ready for Christ, “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.” (Romans 13:11-12)
Did you know that every time you pray the Lord’s Prayer you are praying for the return of Jesus Christ? We already know that we don’t know when that will be – whether this year, or next, or 50 years from now. But we know that we must be ready. We must have our heart settled in Christ. We must trust in Him, confident that we are a new creation through His work. “By grace are you saved, though faith…”
And we pray for His return, whether we know this or not, when we have prayed, “Thy kingdom come.” In the explanation in the Small Catechism the understanding of that petition is threefold:
The Kingdom of Power
- The Kingdom of Grace
- The Kingdom of Glory
What are these three? The kingdom of power is the prayer that God, in His might, would help the helpless, do His miracles, take care of the suffering, help us when we need Him most. “Lord, you are the King, show your might.”
The kingdom of grace is asking for the salvation of all people, including ourselves. We pray that every heart would know Jesus and His promise of everlasting life. When you pray, “Thy kingdom come”, you are asking that the world be filled with believers in Jesus.
Praying for the kingdom of glory is to pray that Jesus would come back soon. Evil, unbelief, hatred would be done. Satan would be cast into the fiery pit. The new heaven and the new earth would begin. Our bodies would be resurrected. Paul says of this kingdom of glory, “Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” (I Corinthians 15:51-53) Lord, bring Thy kingdom of glory soon.
We are entering the most wonderful time of the year. Families who haven’t seen each other for some time are able once again to see each other. People who live some distance from each other come back for Thanksgiving or Christmas. One of the greatest scenes of this is seen when people after arriving by plane, get off the trains at DIA (Denver International Airport), travel down the escalator and are greeted by family and friends. Have you ever been there when the person arrives, steps onto the main floor and is just about run over by everyone who was waiting for them? Hugs. Tears. Handshakes and pats on the back. They are home. What joy. The reunion has happened. That is what God has in store for us forever.
Jesus speaks some strong words about whether people will have their eyes open to see Him and anticipate the moment of His return, or if their eyes and heart will be shut, closed to Him. He tells us to be ready. Keep watch. In Luke 21, a reading from two weeks ago, Jesus speaks about the confidence of believers for their eternity, “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:27-28)
Our eyes are not shut. They are open. Ready. Awake. Why? Because God has made them so. When you were washed in Baptism God made your heart ready – anticipating His grace. He speaks His word to you and creates faith. He feeds you with the bread from heaven at the table of the Lord’s Supper – the Feast of the Lord.
The prophet Isaiah says, “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down.” (Isaiah 64:1) He did – at Bethlehem. And He will. The second time. “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Ready? Yes, ready.
Come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen!!
