What would be enough for you to be happy?

“Looking at the Christ”

(Matthew 24:23-28, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, July 13, 2008)

Matthew 24:23-28 ²³ Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. ²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ So, if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. ²⁷ For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

Introduction – Already and not yet, the birth pains and the Son of Man

When you consider the story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, it is an unfolding story. Everything is not told with full detail all at once. The same themes are developed over the course of all 66 books. One of those themes is that the time period after the fall of man is a time of significant trouble.

I was struck by that fact in reading the story of the patriarch Jacob in the book of Genesis. There is much blessing that we read about in Jacob’s life, but there also is profound sadness and trouble. Just one aspect of this had to do with his son Joseph. For many years Jacob’s sons had convincingly represented to their father the lie that their brother Joseph had been torn apart by wild animals. This was a horrible grief to Jacob. When the whole family needed to send the brothers to Egypt for grain, perhaps putting the life of a Joseph’s brother Benjamin in danger, Jacob said in Genesis 42:38: “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.” Jacob knew the danger of losing years of life over grief at the loss of another son. He could speak about this because he knew that the loss of Joseph had taken something out of him. To face that again might be too much.

This theme of trouble is well developed in the Bible. Connected to it is a second theme about a way out of this trouble through someone called “the Son of Man” or “the Christ.” There is an answer for us in all our trouble that is permanently linked with one Person. Because of this second theme of victory over evil through Christ, the trouble that we face now can be called “birth pains.” Birth pains are the kind of trouble that you face when something very good is coming that is worth all the heartache and pain. There is an age of resurrection that is coming, and that age is worth all the difficulty that you could ever experience now. Remember that the second theme of victory over trouble has everything to do with the provision of the Christ, but we must have the real one, the one who died for our sins on the cross. We have no use for false christs or false prophets that announce false christs. The first theme: trouble, the second theme: victory through the real Christ.

The amazing thing about these two themes is that so much that the Lord has promised has already happened. We have been through the entire period of preparation for the Messiah. The Christ has actually been born. He died. He rose again. He is also the first resurrection Man. Not only that, we who believe in Jesus Christ and the resurrection have been given a new spiritual birth that is a genuine down-payment of resurrection life to be enjoyed now. More and more people are experiencing that new life every day. The message of Christ is being preached in many lands. We have the completed Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and there has been a mountain of good consideration of the Word of God and a consensus of belief on many important matters for centuries. All this has already happen. Yet there is much that has not yet taken place. You and I have much to do together with the whole church in every place and in every age. More than anything that we could ever accomplish, we are waiting for the return of the Son of Man and the fulfillment of the life of which we now have a beginning taste. We are waiting for the full revelation of a new temple in Christ, a temple made up of resurrection people.

The deceptive distraction (23)

We do have work to do here. Our worship today is a part of that work. Though we do not yet have resurrection bodies, the Spirit of Christ dwells within us, and we are together a temple of the Lord even now. That temple is on the move, in the midst of trouble (back to theme one). To understand the victory piece gives meaning to the pains that we face now. It is like Jacob hearing that Joseph was still alive. That news did not change the fact that both he and his son would one day die and be buried, but it made a big difference in his life of pain. This is what he said when he found out in Genesis 45:28: “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

This is what you and I need today, that taste of the glory of God, and a sense of the surpassing worth and greatness of the Lord’s plans, that when we come to this communion table, we could say with Jacob, “It is enough.” It will only be enough if the resurrection future we have been promised is secure. That security is in the sure coming of Christ. If Christ is coming, then we can be up and about our business with hope in this world of birth pains. To continue to taste that glory we need to stay focused. We must not be distracted from our hope and our work by false reports of the appearing of Christ. It is for that reason that Jesus warns us not to believe anyone who tells us, “Look, here is the Christ!” or “There He is!” These deceptive distractions have been going on for centuries. Even during the writing of one of the earliest letters of the New Testament, Paul addressed the fact that there were false reports that the Day of the Lord had already taken place. We certainly don’t want to be ignorant about the return of the Lord, but in Matthew 24, Jesus gives us solid teaching to convince us that we will not miss the Day of the Lord.

The deceptive signs and wonders (24-25)

The Lord does indicate that false christs and false prophets will seem very convincing. We find that a little hard to imagine right now. There are at least two reasons why we may underestimate the persuasiveness of false saviors. First, it is always easier to dismiss a temptation that is far off than one that is near. A person easily convinces himself that he could say no to dishonest gain when there is none to be had. It is much harder when it is right in front of you and others may be counting on you to do what they see to be the obvious thing. If that is true about money, it is certainly the case with people. I have known some mere mortals that were granted an audience with a famous leader and were overcome by the magnetism of the person they were speaking with. They reported that the person made them feel like they were the only ones on the face of the earth. Secondly, our knowledge of spiritual matters in the church today is not particularly good. Therefore an impressive “christ” or prophet could easily convince many people because they are not aware enough of the truth that would expose someone as a fraud.

Beyond these points, verse 24 says that some of these saviors will perform great signs and wonders. For many people, experiences like that would be very impressive, even completely overwhelming. We need to remember that the Bible tells us that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, and that even Old Testament Israel was warned by Moses that false prophets might perform some amazing signs. The Lord has taught us here not to judge the spirituality of a person by the signs and wonders that they perform. Christ performed the greatest signs and wonders, but His teaching and His life were in perfect accord with the Scriptures. This warning against false christs and false prophets is here for us so that we will not be led astray.

The deceptive secret arrival (26-27)

The key fact that you need to know from this passage is that the return of Jesus Christ will not be by some secret arrival. For this reason you can immediately reject all those who are born and grow and rise to power or ability. None of these people are the Christ. The Lord came that way in His first coming. He was born as a baby in Bethlehem. He will absolutely not come that way in His return.

Remember that Christ is already the Resurrection Man. When He returns, it is not to enter into this current age, but to bring in the new one. He will not work through systems of power and influence in either the church or the state. His coming will immediately mean the end of this era, and the beginning of eternity. You could never miss His coming, so you don’t need to be in the least bit distracted by predictions or reports of someone who is here. They are wrong by definition. That is not the way He is going to come. His coming will be as clear as a violent lightening storm that fills up the whole of the heavens from the east to the west.

This is very important, because it means that you can continue with your life serving God day by day. This is what He wants you to do. He will bring the resurrection age here at just the right time, and you will not miss it.

The corpse, the vultures, and the rest of the story (28)

The Lord ends these few verses with these curious words: “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” This sentence is not explained for us, but we should notice that the image that it contains is not a pleasant one. After a horrible battle that brings about the destruction of a city, the dead bodies are picked at by nasty vultures. What can it mean? Those who are led astray by false christs and false prophets are not the living, but the dead, and the false saviors that feed on them are like them. They are all headed toward the world of death.

This is not where Jacob and his sons are. Joseph’s brothers convinced their father that Joseph was dead. They were lying. Joseph was alive then, but the fact is that Joseph is still alive today. He and his father and his brothers are with Jesus now. The true Christ faced the horror of death in order to bring us the glory of resurrection life that shall be revealed. Those who pretend to be Christ are no better than vultures. The real Savior will come with all glory and power as a brilliant rescuing king. He will not come secretly. He will not come in stages. He will not come in such a way that He could be missed. Receive Him now by faith, and prepare to meet Him as Your glorious Reward.

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. In what sense has Satan been like a false christ and a false prophet from the beginning?

2. What did the signs and wonders of Jesus display? What about those who come after Him?

3. How can we know for sure that Christ has not already returned?

4. What will it be like when the Lord actually returns?