It will be done

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

IT WILL BE DONE

Matt 24:32-35

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 is near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, 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.

NIV

Certainly some of our scholars of old have been seeing all this that Jesus has been talking about as the destruction of Jerusalem which took place around 70AD. Although all that is true and those men were alive when it happened, our scholars of old put all the words of Jesus out of touch of their personal lives. If all he said simply dealt with now what we consider a past of close to two thousand years ago then these words have no meaning or merit for our lives and therefore should have been left out. If all scripture is God-breathed and profitable for correcting, rebuking, teaching and training in righteousness then these words of Christ should have a bearing on our lives and therefore we must reject the ideas of our scholars of old. It may also be true that Jesus spoke of both the destruction of Jerusalem and the destruction of the world. He may well have meant both the end of the Jewish state as it was and the end of the age of grace as we know. The term, “This generation”, can mean the people who were alive when he spoke it, or an entire period of time. The phrase he uses about heaven and earth will pass away certainly reveals he was also speaking of the end times when in fact this heaven and earth will be destroyed and a new heaven and earth will be created where the new city of Jerusalem will also be. This is the city which is described for us in the revelation to John. Jesus also said that his words would never pass away and that is for certain as we still have those thousands of years after he spoke them. His words will forever be for all time for he is eternal. Although we have the words of many who have written throughout the ages, including these words written here, will someday be burned up and long forgotten, but the eternal words of God will never be burned up or forgotten. Jesus uses the idea of the fig tree to prove the point that just as we are now witnessing the coming of spring, the budding of the trees and the life giving sap returns to the branches making them once again supple to the touch, the end of this age will also happen. We should forever be cognizant of this fact. Nothing we now know will be as it is when the end of the age comes. Just as we are told to put off the old self and put on the new self, so shall the earth. It will put off the old system which includes the season, weather, environment, everything we know about our planet will be completely different as it puts on its new system. Just to consider the new city of Jerusalem will be 1500 miles high. That is so far above the current atmosphere no one would be about to live in it under the current system. But everything will be made new. This we can be certain of and therefore we should give some thought to how much of this world's things do we want to have as compared to how much of the world to come do we want. There is coming a day when this generation will be done. We have considered the words of Jesus regarding the that fact it will not come until the gospel has been preached all over the world. This would then, as we also considered, mean we may well be the reason why the end of this age has not come. If we are not preaching the gospel throughout the whole world then this age will never end and the true state of peace in the everlasting city of Jerusalem will not come. So then how do we get on with getting on preaching the gospel to the whole world? Certainly we have paid or support a few people to go to some distant land to bring the Good News to peoples of that land. But what about the people who live in our neighborhood? What about the people we work with? What about the people we come in contact with on a daily basis? Have they all heard the gospel message? We have to consider we heard it sometime in our lives from someone. Some of us might have been children, others were already adults before we heard the Good News. There are people right near us who may be somewhat religious but have never heard about the need to be born again, to be filled with the Spirit, to have eternal life through faith in Jesus. We also know many have been deceived by false teachers and preachers with a false doctrine. Someone has to speak the truth into their hearts. Who will go? Who has be called to this task? If we don’t do it, who will? The gospel must be preached to all peoples before the end of this age will come. But we can be certain someday it will. As God is the author of our faith, he is also the finisher of it. He will get it done.  It will be done on earth as it is in heaven.