WWUTT 2097 Like a Thief in the Night (Matthew 24:42-51)

Jesus told his disciples that his return would be like a thief in the night.

That's not a reference to a secret rapture. As a matter of fact, Christ's return will be bright and loud when we understand the text.

This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible study in the word of Christ, that men and women of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Tell your friends about our ministry at www .utt .com. Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. In our study of the Gospel of Matthew, we've been in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus talking with his disciples on the

Mount of Olives about the destruction of the temple and how it's not the end of the world.

We've got one last section of chapter 24 to finish up here, verses 42 to 51, which

I'll read from the Legacy Standard Bible. Hear the word of the Lord. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know which day your

Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

For this reason, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour.

You do not think he will. Who then is the faithful and prudent slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?

Blessed is that slave, whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

But if that evil slave says in his heart, my master is not coming for a long time, and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites.

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Which is an expression we've heard Jesus use before about those who will be cast into everlasting condemnation, eternal punishment, in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.

So let me remind you again of our outline of Matthew 24. Every day that we've done this,

I've gone through this outline, you're probably tired of hearing it. Maybe you can do it with me by now, but I think it's important to keep these things in mind.

Jesus told his disciples about the temple and its surrounding structures. Do you not see all these things?

Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.

Now remember we've read before about how the disciples believe that their Messiah, they believe

Jesus is going to be an emancipator. He's going to assume the throne of Israel, and he's going to make

Israel a great empire again. So here's Jesus talking about the destruction of the temple. They think he's got to be talking about the end of the world, because Jews could not imagine a time without the temple.

And it was such a colossal structure. Who could imagine anybody destroying this place?

Yahweh dwells there. God would never allow his temple to be destroyed.

This is the place where God meets with us. But of course we know God meets with us now through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

If you have faith in Jesus, you are filled with the Holy Spirit. God dwells within you. He doesn't dwell in places built by human hands, as Paul said in Acts 17.

So the disciples come to Jesus on the Mount of Olives, and all this, by the way, happening on Tuesday before he is to be crucified, which is coming up the following Friday.

The disciples come to him and say, tell us, when will these things happen? Where Jesus had talked about the stones of the temple will be thrown down.

Not one stone will be left on top of another. When will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

Because they think, again, Jesus is talking about the end of the world. And so then Jesus responds to them in verses 4 to 14.

He talks about natural disasters and wars that will take place. Don't think that's the end of the world.

So he warns them not to be deceived by these things, thinking that the end of the world has come. This is just the natural course of things in a fallen world.

Next, in verses 15 to 35, he tells them about the destruction of the temple and mentions that this is a separate event from his coming.

Don't think that the destruction of the temple is the day of the return of Christ. It's not the same thing.

After all that stuff has happened, then Jesus will return. But it's not synonymous with that event.

And so he says some things about the destruction of the temple and some things about the return of the son of man.

But they're different events. That goes through verse 35, 15 to 35. And then the last section, which we've been in since yesterday, we'll finish up today, is verses 36 to 51, where Jesus warns his disciples not to be deceived by the return of the son of man being delayed.

It's not that he's delayed, according to 2 Peter 3. God does not count slowness as some consider slowness.

The Lord is not slow about his promise, but is patient towards you, not willing for any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

That's 2 Peter 3, 9. I'm going to come back to 2 Peter 3 here in just a moment. But Jesus is saying, just because you think the son of man is delayed, don't be deceived into thinking that he's not coming.

He will come at an hour you do not expect. And that's the section that we're looking at today.

Now again, this began in verse 36, where Jesus says, of that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the son, but the father alone.

And he's talking specifically here about the return, about his return, not the destruction of the temple, because again, separate events.

The destruction of the temple is not the end of the world. The return of Christ is about the end of the world.

So he says in verse 42, therefore stay awake, for you do not know which day your

Lord is coming. Again, telling them to endure, telling them to be faithful and wise servants, continuing to labor for the

Lord as if this is the day that he could be returning. When the master comes back and he finds his faithful servants, he will reward them greatly.

As Jesus goes on to say, be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

So for this reason, you also must be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour, which you do not think he will.

And again, that cannot be synonymous with the destruction of the temple. Because if after the destruction of the temple, when he says immediately after the tribulation of those days, if what he meant was his return, then they would know the hour at which he would come back.

Because hey, the temple's destroyed. Here we go. Any day now, in these following days, right after the destruction of the temple, we know the

Lord is returning. When Jesus says immediately after, it's not the way we use immediately, like immediately when

I finish this broadcast, I'm going to go get myself a drink of water. So you know that that's what

I'm going to go do, grab a bottle of water, get myself a drink because I'm parched after I do these

Bible lessons. But when Jesus uses the word immediately here, he means that it is the next prophetic event that is going to take place.

There's nothing else to look forward to between the destruction of the temple and the return of Christ. What you're looking for next is

Christ's return. Not that he's coming in the days immediately following the destruction of the temple.

Because otherwise, why would he be giving them this warning of stay awake and be sober? Because you don't know at what hour he's going to return.

If it's going to be any day, any immediate day following the destruction of the temple, then they can just stand right there and wait for him to come back.

Jesus had already told him to flee to the hills, escape Judea. When you see these things happen earlier in the chapter, don't go back down into your house to get your cloak.

Don't go back into the field. You need to flee for the mountains because it is going to be a day of tribulation that will happen upon Jerusalem, upon that temple that had never been seen before.

The way the temple would be raised to the ground. And so Jesus giving them that warning, why would he need to give them that warning if Christ was going to return right after that?

Hey, don't worry about it. I'm coming back. You'll see me. And then you'll all be raptured into the air. That was not what

Jesus was telling them about. So he's saying here, this is a completely separate event. After the destruction of the temple, you don't know what day

Christ is coming back after that. So you must be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour that you do not think he will.

Now, Jesus uses this metaphor of a thief in the night. Back to verse 43. Be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

So Jesus uses that example to tell the disciples, therefore, you must be awake. You must stay awake.

Be sober. Be working. Be diligent in your service as slaves because the master is coming back and you want him to find you as faithful and working slaves when he returns.

Now this reference to it, even the night, this comes up again with the apostle Paul and first Thessalonians five and with Peter and second

Peter three. They also use the same metaphor there. They're using the same words that Jesus used here about his return.

Now listen to the words of first Thessalonians five, one and two. Now concerning the times and seasons, brothers, you have no need of anything to be written to you for you yourselves know full well that the day of the

Lord will come just like a thief in the night. I'll continue on while they are saying peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman who was pregnant and they will never escape.

But you brothers are not in darkness that the day would overtake you like a thief for you are all sons of light and sons of day.

We are not of night nor of darkness. So then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be awake and sober.

So in other words, Paul is saying we need to be faithful servants. We need to be continuing in the work that God has for us to do until Jesus comes so that when he returns, he finds us faithful servants doing the work that God had called us to.

So Peter use or Paul right there uses that same expression, same expression, thief in the night.

And he even uses the same wording that Jesus had talked about regarding the days of Noah while they're saying peace and safety, destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman who was pregnant and they will never escape.

So you see that phrase used there. Peter uses it also. I read to you a moment ago, second Peter three, nine, here's verse 10, but the day of the

Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and its works will be found out.

Does that sound like the destruction of the temple? No, sounds like something much more global than that.

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

Peter says, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God because of which the heavens burning will be destroyed and the elements will melt with intense heat.

But according to his promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

So here you have Jesus using this expression of a thief in the night. Paul uses it.

Peter uses it. Now how do you often hear this phrase applied? You often hear this expression applied to the rapture, right?

Jesus returns like a thief in the night. It's like this secret rapture that's going to happen and we're all just going to be raptured out of here.

Nobody's going to know exactly what had taken place. It's secret. It's, it's just a sudden disappearance.

The whole world that is left will be in mystery because Jesus just came back like a thief.

That is not how the metaphor works. And previously, when Paul talks about the return of Christ, it doesn't sound anything like that.

In the chapter right before in first Thessalonians chapter four, he says in verse 16 for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

And so we shall always be with the Lord. Does that sound like a secret rapture? No, it sounds like that event is going to be bright and loud and everybody is going to know exactly who is just returned and what exactly has happened.

So what does Jesus mean by thief in the night? We, we kind of have this idea that, that the expression thief in the night means cat burglar like a secret thief.

He just creeps right in. You don't even know he's there. He steals your stuff and you wake up the next day going to where did all my stuff go?

This is less like a cat burglar and more like smash and grab. And that's what most thieves do.

Like cat burglars are rare. Most thieves steal, kill and destroy.

That's, that's what they do. Remember that Jesus used that expression in John 10, 10, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

But I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. Remember that passage? If you think back to the riotous summer that we had back in 2020 in the summertime, what did you see all those thieves doing on the news?

They were destroying everything, weren't they? They weren't cat burglars. They were burning property.

They were smashing windows. They were stealing TVs and all kinds of stuff out of the stores that they would storm into.

There are even some cities right now that are not, uh, they're not pursuing criminals who are stealing like less than $500 worth of stuff.

So now in some of these major cities in the U S a person can go into a store and just walk right out with gear.

As long as it doesn't total up to 500 bucks, the police aren't even going to do anything about it. It's because some of these stores have reason, some of these cities have reason, eh, better to let them have a $300 television in the set fire to a block, but this is the way most thieves are.

And if you see this lawlessness increasing even here in the United States, thieves are smash and grab more than their cat burglars.

And so here where Jesus is talking about the thief, he's, he's talking about something that everybody's going to know about.

What they don't know is when the thief will come. That's the thing they don't know. It's not that they don't know when he's been there until it's too late.

It's that they don't even know when he's coming. That's, that's the whole metaphor with the thief that is coming in the night.

If the head of the house had known what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

So you must stay awake. And then the way Paul uses it in first Thessalonians five, we are not of the night, we are of the day.

So for those who are in Christ, for those who are diligently serving the Lord until his return, we have nothing to fear of that day coming upon us like a thief.

When that day comes, it's going to be welcome. We'll be looking forward to it. We're ready for that day to happen.

But for the person who is not looking for that day, who doesn't have their eyes seeking the things above where Christ is, as Paul talks about in Colossians three, for a person that is not of the day, but is of the night, well, they're going to be really surprised when

Christ returns, thinking that this day wasn't even going to come. And here it is. And now it's too late.

And so Jesus goes on to say in verse 45, who then is the faithful and prudent slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time.

Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes, truly, I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

Now notice something here. It's something we're going to come back to later when we get to chapter 25. But who is it that the slave is serving?

The slave is serving the other slaves, those who are of the master's household, who is the faithful and prudent slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time.

Blessed is that slave whom his master finds working when he returns.

So the way that we care for others, the way that we are ministering to the body of Christ, this is our first responsibility as believers.

It's not that we shouldn't care for unbelievers. For the apostle Paul says in Galatians 6, as we have opportunity, let us show charity to everyone and especially of the household of faith.

So just like you care for members of your own household before you care for anybody else. So that expectation is upon us as Christians.

You can care for the world. And if you don't care for the household of God, then you have no place in the kingdom of God.

So here Jesus puts it upon his slaves to be caring first for the household of God.

As Jesus said repeatedly to his disciples in the upper room discourse in John 13 -17, he said, a new command

I give you that you love one another, even as I have loved you that you also love one another.

He's not saying love all of mankind, even though, I mean, we do have a love and affection for mankind.

But in this particular context, he's telling his disciples to love the rest of the disciples.

Love one another. Remember him washing their feet as I've done for you. So you must do for one another.

But what about the person who doesn't love the body of Christ? That's verses 48 to 51.

But if that evil slave says in his heart, my master is not coming for a long time.

And he begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards.

The master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know.

And he will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Same expression that Jesus used in the parable of the wedding banquet.

And there was the man who came in who wasn't wearing the wedding garments. And so the master of the feast had him bound and thrown into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Here, that same expression is used of those who don't care for the household of God.

Instead, they're hanging out with worldly people. And they're probably even saying, look, I'm loving these people, right?

But they don't love Christ's body. They don't love their fellow disciples. They instead beat their fellow slaves and then go and eat and drink with drunkards.

Like these churches that you'll see around right now that will show affection to LGBTQ people. But then they will chide

Christians who don't want to go to a gay wedding. Or won't conduct gay weddings in their churches.

Or who will say, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6, that the sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God.

They seem to be really chummy with the sexually immoral. But they rip on Christians who are biblically faithful.

Like when I see this stuff happen, and it's becoming more and more prevalent. When I see this happen,

I tremble on their behalf. Because I know what the Lord has said about what he will do with those who eat and drink with drunkards, but beat their fellow slaves.

And that's just one example. There are many other different ways that we see this take place. Sometimes there will be some kind of worldly trend that will happen.

Like for example, a few years ago, Black Lives Matter. And you'll see a bunch of Christians gravitate toward that.

And those who are discerning look at that and they go, wait, this is just social Marxism with a different name on it.

And then the professing Christians that have gravitated toward it will say, oh, you're being hateful and racist.

So they're partnering with this worldly philosophy, but they're throwing their fellow Christians under the bus.

My friends, you have got to be more careful with this kind of thing. Don't be latching on to every social trend that comes along.

You'll start drawing lines in the sand and beating your fellow slaves over it. We must be watchful.

We must be in the word. We must discern everything that is going on around us according to what

God has said in his word. We must be like the sons of Issachar in 1

Chronicles 12, 32, it is said of them, they were men who understood the times.

If you don't have that kind of discernment, you need to look to those who do and be able to be wise, shrewd as serpents, gentle as doves.

As Jesus told his disciples to be, we must be wise to the ways of the world, but we must be gentle in the way that we deal with these kinds of things.

And especially the way that we interact with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. My goodness, the world is already coming at us from every angle.

We should not be coming at each other. It should cause you to fear

God. You have that reverent fear of God when you read that of those slaves that beat their fellow slaves and then go eat and drink with drunkards, the master is going to surprise him on the day that he returns and will cut him into pieces and throw him in that place with the hypocrites.

Fear God and love the brotherhood. We're going to hear more about this.

Jesus goes on in chapter 25. This is a continuation of the Olivet Discourse. We have next up, which we'll look at tomorrow, the parable of the 10 virgins.

We have the parable of the talents, and then Jesus tells his disciples exactly what it will be like, even in heaven, at the final judgment.

Let's finish here with prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for what we've read, and I pray that it does stir in our hearts an understanding of what it means to be faithful and wise servants, that we care for the body of Christ, that we do the work that you gave us to do until the work on earth is done, that with the

Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we have boldness in these days to preach the gospel and make disciples of the nations, baptizing in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them, these new disciples, to observe all that Christ has commanded.

We continue in this work until Jesus returns, loving one another in the body of Christ, not looking at those brothers and sisters in the

Lord and quibbling over things that are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. We find those commonalities that we have, the work that we have before us in laboring for the gospel, and we do that being found as faithful and wise servants when the

Master returns. I still pray once again, as I have at the end of each one of these lessons, with the

Apostle John in Revelation 22, come quickly, Lord Jesus, looking for that day when we will be with the

Lord forever. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Pastor Gabe keeps a regular blog, sharing personal thoughts, alerting readers to false teachers, and offering commentary on the church and social issues.

You can find a link to the blog through our website, www .utt .com. Thank you for listening and join us again tomorrow as we continue our study in God's Word… When we understand the text.