Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus spoke to His disciples prior to His ascension and gave to them instructions which have been identified as the great commission. What we must must keep in perspective is that before the disciples embarked upon the great commission, Jesus, “being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which”, He said, “you have heard from me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ (Acts 1:4-8, NKJV)
I wonder how many times, me included, I, we, have hurried off to accomplish the work of the Lord, that we have been assigned to do, and have not stopped long enough, to be sure we are really ready to move forward in and by the Spirit of God, and not running ahead in our own fleshly strength.
The Lord, commanded, them to wait. What if they had just run off in their own strength? What would have been the outcome?
I suggest that much activity done by the Church today is not governed by the Holy Spirit. I believe that the Lord is going to ‘shake’ His Church during the coming ‘unrest’ and realign the Church so that it will accomplish the great commission as He intended it to be done.
Like the disciples in Acts, The Church needs to wait in their ‘Jerusalem’ for the Promise of the Father. I know that not everyone agrees theologically with what I am saying. Suffice it to say, the Church cannot do the ministry of the Lord, as the Lord intended it, without the direction of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the CEO of the Church–the Chief Executive Officer.
The Promise of the Father was explained to the disciples in the Upper Room the night of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest prior to His trial and crucifixion. (See John 13-17)
The Promise of the Father, was the ‘rain’ of the Holy Spirit that came down on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit was to empower His followers to do the work of ministry. The coming of the Holy Spirit was the coming of Christ into the believers. He had told them in the Upper Room in John 14:15-18 NKJV, “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever–the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphan; I will come to you.”
I agree with the commentary in the Spirit Filled Life Bible explaining John 14:18, “Jesus refers to His coming in the Person of the Holy Spirit.” and in John 16:16 “A little while, and you will not see Me and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father.” ( I am aware that every one may not agree with this commentary.)
Acts 2:1-4 records the coming of the Holy Spirit. At this time, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter, arises(Acts 2:14) to the occasion and says, “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ”And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh…The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon into blood, Before the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.” Acts 2:16,17a,20-21 (NKJV). This is what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 24.
As we begin this new year, let us wait on the Lord; let us ask Him to pour out His Spirit upon us; let us be empowered by the Spirit to do the bidding of the Lord during the ‘unprecedented unrest’.
I want to turn our attention to Matthew 24:42-44 (NKJV), it reads,
“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour Your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
What instructions does Jesus give to His followers?
What words in the text would you underline and/or highlight in your Bible?
I would like to suggest the following:
In Matthew 24:42, underline “watch”, Strong’s Concordance #1127, it means to keep awake, be vigilant, wake, (be)watch(ful). This is the same word Jesus used speaking to Peter, James, and John in the Garden of Gethsemane. He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. Stay here and watch with me.” (Matthew 26:38 NKJV) In Matthew 24:43, He uses the word watched speaking to them, the same word that He used previously.
In Matthew 24:44, underline be “ready”, Strong’s Concordance #2092, it means prepared, (make)ready(-iness, to our hand) This is the same word Jesus used in His parable of the wedding feast. Matthew 22:4-8 NKJV, “Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and fatted calf are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding. ” ‘…”Then he said to his servants, The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.”
Our words are watch (Matthew 24:22) and ready(Matthew 24:44).
I would like to suggest two additional words, I believe, are important. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples did not watch with Him. Three times He found them asleep. In Matthew 26:40-41 NKJV, “then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping and said to Peter. ”What could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray lest you fall into temptation. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”
In our watching, we need to pray. Paul writing to the Colossian church, says in Colossians 4:2 KJV, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” The NKJV reads, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Paul is exhorting watching earnestly in prayer.
Diligent watching includes our persistent praying.
The Greek word for watch, gregorio, Strong”s #1127, means either literally to be or keep awake (possibly as in vs.43 and parallels) or figuratively to be watchful and alert (as here) {Matthew 24:42}. No NT usage appears to be entirely without some sense of being watchful, on guard, or vigilant. The word came to be used more or less absolutely as a Christian virtue (see I Cor. 16:13) and to designate watchful preparedness for the Lord’s return (see Rev. 16:15; see also Col. 4:2) In I Thessalonians 5:10 it takes on the metaphorical meaning of being alive. The word is also used in Matthew 26:41. [Word Wealth: Spirit Filled Life Bible, page 1422]
Another word that I would like to add to our list, and one which I believe is implied, and is mentioned in the above Word Wealth, is alert. The concept of being alert is the basis of the meaning of Matthew 24:43 NKJV, “But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched (been alert)[see above], and not allow his house to be broken into. (inserts mine)
As mentioned above, the word watch is found in I Corinthians 16:13, NKJV; Paul writes, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” As explained in the Word Wealth, to watch is identified as a Christian virtue, that is united with “standing fast in the faith, be brave, be strong”. All of these are virtues that a believer needs to exhibit in their walk with the Lord, especially in the last days.
Our words for consideration in this section are prayer (Colossians 4:2) and alert (Matthew 24:42)
In the Book of Luke, we have a parallel account of Jesus’ words that we have been considering in Matthew’s Gospel.
Let us consider Luke’s account of what Jesus said about watching. This is found in Luke 21:34-38 NKJV.
“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and cares of this life, and the Day come on you unexpectantly.” (This is expressly referring to the Second Coming of the Lord; but do you see its application to Jesus’ words about, “as it was in the days of Noah”?) “For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Insert mine)
What are the four words that I have emphasized: watch, pray, alert, ready.
I submit that all four of these words are woven into the fabric of thought in Luke’s account of Jesus’ words quoted in the above text.
What is the importance of these four words?
As we walk with the Lord in the end times, when there will be ‘unprecedented unrest”, as we are abiding in the ARK of His refuge: we need to be watchful; we need to pray; we need to be alert; and we need to be ready.
It might help you to think of the word WRAP to remember these four words: Watch,Ready,Alert,Pray–W.R.A.P.
Well, that’s a WRAP for this post. (lol)
I believe that these four words are foundational stepping stones paving our pathway as we walk with the Lord in tumultuous times. He has highlighted these four words for our spiritual guidance, strength, and knowing.
Re-read Matthew 24:42-44, and think about these words.
Question: What adjustments, if any, do you need to make at this time in your life as you walk with the Lord? Ask Him.
Now, I would like to suggest that you read Matthew 24:45-51, Matthew 25:1-13, and Matthew 25:15-30 in preparation for the next post.
Blessings, deo
Living Words of Encouragement 