ALL POWER AND GLORY
Opening Prayer
Thank You, God, for Your sovereignty over all of life.
Read Matthew 24:26–35
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the distress of those days
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[a]
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[b] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[c] 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[d] is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Footnotes:
a Matthew 24:29 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
b Matthew 24:30 Or the tribes of the land
c Matthew 24:30 See Daniel 7:13-14.
d Matthew 24:33 Or he
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How do you respond to the idea of God’s judgment?Jesus continues to use apocalyptic language from the Old Testament book of Daniel to describe the end times, referring to himself as “the Son of Man” (27b). Traditionally scholars have read this section as referring to the return of Jesus at the end of time, but others believe the highly figurative expressions used by Jesus (the darkening of the sun, moon and stars, 29) describe the catastrophic times around the fall of Jerusalem.
Regardless of the timing of the events (and Jesus makes it clear that not even he knows when the end time will occur), what is implicit in this passage is the coming judgment that the Son of Man will bring about (31). Hence Jesus will soon move into telling a number of significant parables about the importance of watchfulness and preparedness (24:42) in the light of God’s coming judgment.
In Daniel 7:14, the Son of Man is given authority, glory and power over all—by the end of Matthew (28:18) Jesus tells his disciples, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” Jesus, soon to be crucified, will not remain defeated, for he is the glorious and exalted “Son of Man” in whom we can place our trust.
Apply
The spiritual realities of life are sometimes hidden but are vitally important. Our response to Jesus is critical. Take time today to look for God’s hand at work in your life. How do you respond to him?
Closing prayer
Pray that your friends and family will put their trust in Jesus.
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