- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
‘Till He Comes.’
By J.C.Metcalfe.
Right at the heart of Christian worship is the constant reminder of the link that exists between the Cross and the Coming. At the Lord’s Table we look both backwards and forwards. We declare our trust in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary on our behalf and for our salvation, and hear with wonder His own words, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22 v20). Then our eyes are turned to the promise that thrilled the hearts of the little band of disciples as He was taken up from them into heaven, “This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1 v11).
In Matthew 24 and 25, Mark 13 and Luke 21, we have the Saviour’s own words on this great theme.
The Time is not Revealed.
We find in Matthew 24 v36 the plain statement, “No-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father”. There has been much error and disappointment through the centuries from the vagaries of ‘date fixers’, and it is significant that much of what the Lord now says underlines our ignorance of the details of God’s timing and plans. Jesus then points out the condition of men before the Flood. The vast majority paid no attention to the warnings given them by those who knew and walked with God, such as Enoch and Noah. After a long extension of mercy the day foretold came and those who obeyed God were taken from amongst the rest and were shut into the Ark. Then the flood of God’s judgment was poured out and all flesh, except those in the Ark, perished. At this point I suggest that you break off and read 2 Peter 3, noting how a parallel is drawn between the Flood and the Lord’s Coming, and how the call for watchfulness is stressed. The Lord Jesus next goes on to show that the same world conditions and the same separation will prevail when He comes again.
In the light of this His command to His followers is “Watch”, and the reason for the need of watchfulness is laid down, “because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matt. 24 v42).
Profession or Possession.
The Lord Jesus lays tremendous emphasis on the peril of profession rather than possession and a separation is shown to be coming between two classes of persons found within the ranks of Christendom. It is not outward conformity to any form of belief, nor is it the observance of any particular rites or ceremonies that makes a person a Christian. It is only by means of that inward transformation brought about by the new birth, accomplished by the Holy Spirit, which brings a person into union with the Redeemer in His death and resurrection and the possession of eternal life. “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5 v12). This is the plain teaching of the Parable of the Tares recorded in Matthew 13. The wheat is seen to be individuals planted by the Saviour in the world, to bring forth a harvest to the glory of God. The tares are the children of the devil planted by him for his fell purposes in the professing Church. We read of the eventual separation of these two on the day of His Coming in these words, “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. . . Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear” (Matt. 13 v41-43).
This event, which is as certain as tomorrow’s dawn, calls forth a fresh warning, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matt. 24 v42). This in turn is followed by the illustration of the householder, and the thief’s unexpected arrival, which closes with the warning, “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him” (Matt. 24 v44).
The Dying Enthusiasm (Matt. 24 v45-51).
It is often rightly stressed that the Christian life is essentially one of service. Witness, outreach, Church life and a social consciousness, are all brought to the fore, and so they should be. The Christian is not only the bond-slave of Jesus Christ, but also of his fellow men. As Paul puts it, “We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4 v5). Then in chapter 5 v15 of this same letter, “He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again”. We are left in the world so that we may carry on the work of redemption made possible by the Cross and the rising again of the Lord Jesus.
At this point we run into a problem. There is a type of ‘service’ that is not the fruit of love born of union with its Lord. It has in it the element of self-pleasing that betrays its nature and dies away when faced with hardship, delay, or the apparent lack of the Master’s approval. Such service is characterised by the fact that the servant begins to play the tyrant and to indulge in excess. At once there comes to mind Peter’s word to those who hold office as elders, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving . . . not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5 v2-3). This is a lovely description of Christian service written by one who himself had learned something of humility in a setting of leadership. Such a servant, living only with the care for the charge committed to him and aiming to please his Lord, has the hope of His Coming always in view and longs to see Him face to face. It is worth noting in Luke 12 v41-48 that this parable is joined to the preceding one of the householder and the thief by Peter’s question, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us or to everyone?”, while Mark 13 v37 reads, “What I say to you, I say to everyone, Watch!”. It is the disciples who were specially addressed throughout, but the warning is also passed on to us.
It will be well to underline the inevitable final separation brought out in our parable. The faithful servant is received into the fulness of His Lord’s presence and trust, but the unfaithful servant is given his portion with the hypocrites, those whose service is that of outward show and not from love (See Gal. 6 v12-16). The Coming of the Lord will certainly divide between the genuine and the false within the ranks of professing Christians.
The Light that Failed.
It is never right to try to explain the details of parables too fully. They are pictures of events that could actually be seen in everyday life at the time. It is the main lesson we must seek. Here is a picture of much the same nature as that of the wheat and the tares. The two sets of virgins have much in common and yet right from the beginning the element of separation is evident. It is the approach of the Bridegroom that suddenly and dramatically brings out the differences between them. The wise have enough oil for their lamps, the foolish have insufficient. There are different interpretations advanced for the significance of the oil. ‘The oil seems to mean generally the perfection of the Christian life or preparedness for the Lord’s coming’. Others take the view that the oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. If we recognize that there can be no growth or maturity in Christian living, no understanding of the Word of God and of His ways, no grace to endure or power to witness, apart from the Spirit’s indwelling and filling, there is little real difference between such opinions.
The Holy Spirit works on and in us to show us the greatness of our need and to prepare the way of the Lord in our hearts (Eph. 3 v16-17), but our part is to learn from Him and take every opportunity to co-operate with Him as He seeks to form Christ within us. We must never forget that “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Rom. 8 v9) and must keep in view the blessed results of His indwelling, given later in the same chapter, “those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God . . . you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children . . . heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share His glory” (v14-17). Note the capacity for patient endurance again brought to the fore and the onward look to the coming, crowning glory.
The call to awake came to them all as they slept, but it found the foolish lacking the needed power to respond. We see them trying to borrow oil but this is impossible, and this is a lesson that few seem to have mastered. It is so much easier to turn to others, to rely on preachers or counsellors and to take what they say without ever drawing our resources direct from God or learning to deal with Him. God is jealous of His prerogatives and His call still stands to-day, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me . . . and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11 v28-30).
At the coming of the Bridegroom the law of separation is again seen in full operation. “The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut” (v10). Then we are shown the feverish anguish of the foolish ones - and how strained, intense and feverish is much of our modern response to the Christian life - “Lord, Lord, open to us!” as if the place of fellowship with Him has not always been His loving purpose for them! But now the answer is chilling in its finality, “I tell you the truth, I don’t know you” (Matt. 25 v1-13 - see also Matt. 7 v23).
The final application must come home to us all, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour”. To possess eternal life is to live in the light of eternity, not governed by the material and visible. “Therefore we do not loose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day . . . so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4 v16-18). The inner life lit by His day by day presence can be the only guarantee of our belonging to the Family and of our readiness for Home.
Is not this again a call to watchfulness and for making sure of the reality of our Christian profession? The Lord will return at the appointed time. Let this thought sink down into our hearts. Character on earth will prove an everlasting possession in the world to come, for with the same heart that men die, with that heart they will rise again. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matt. 24 v42). May we be found on that day amongst those “who have longed for His appearing” (2 Tim. 4 v8).
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