As I write this, the world feels heavy with pain and uncertainty. Global conflicts ripple into our daily lives (Matthew 24:7); fuel prices skyrocket; bills mount; and families struggle to survive. My grandmother in Rusitu village may not know the details of America’s tensions with Iran, but she certainly feels the sting when the price of salt doubles. In South Africa, clashes between locals and foreigners leave many Zimbabweans among other African nationals stranded, wondering if God sees their plight. Like the disciples in Mark 4:38, countless people wonder: does God care if I drown? Where do we turn when it feels like the world is falling apart?
Does God care if I drown?
The headlines are relentless. Within only a few hours we read of: devastating news of the Bedfordshire case; floods in Ghana; and earthquakes in Japan, Venezuela, as well as California (Matthew 24:7b). Closer to home, families are torn apart by violence. Over a thousand people have died from Ebola in the Congo this year. Even children are asking hard questions. My 7-year-old daughter Mayah recently asked: “Why did people die with Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani? I thought God told Noah that he isn’t going to destroy the world with floods anymore.” How do you answer such inquisitive innocence, when the world feels so battered and broken?
While the world outside feels chaotic, we might shrug our shoulders. Who cares? But as Martin Luther King Jr reminded us: nothing that happens in this world is divorced from anything else. We’re part of an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment, with a shared destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Furthermore, the chaos within is the reason for all of the chaos without (Luke 11:39). The chaos also lives inside us. It’s in our minds and homes, our marriages and hearts. Anxiety, depression, fear, and uncertainty weigh heavily. We are living in a world that constantly feels like it’s falling apart, because people are restless and broken.
So certain questions are inescapable. How do we respond? Where is our hope? Does God care? Will the world eventually just fall apart?
Jesus Offers Peace in the Chaos
Matthew 24-25 speak directly to our reality and the questions it raises. Though the specifics of the disciples’ questions are different to our own—they were asking him about the destruction of the temple, signs of his coming and the end of the age (Matthew 24:3)—Jesus’ answer is for us and our own questions. We can break this down into three sections:
- A warning about deception, trials, and tribulations (Matthew 24:4-28)
- The promise of hope because of Jesus’ return (Matthew 24:29-30)
- Instructions on how to live as we wait (Matthew 24:37-25:46).
1. A Timely Warning
Jesus starts by issuing a warning. And the warning is simple one, repeated six times. “Do not be deceived” (Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 23-24, 26). We need something better than false promises. In the middle of chaos, if anyone insists, ‘Here is your salvation,’ don’t believe it. This is perhaps especially important in Africa, where false teaching is spreading like cancer.
False preachers promise false hope. They offer relief, a life free of troubles.
No one likes to face trouble, let alone chaos. This is why we’re so tempted to follow preachers who offer false hope. They offer relief, promising a life free of suffering and troubles. Who doesn’t yearn for such a life or faith? We all want peace and security. Sadly, therefore, many run blindly into the webs spun by false messiahs. Think of Africa’s ‘spiritual papas’ who offer covering; religious prophets claiming to perform great signs and wonders (Matthew 24:24). When they don’t deliver we have sangomas. Others turn their politicians into functional messiahs, imagining they’ll make everything right.
Recall when Israel was exiled in Babylon. False prophets arose, promising a quick return to Jerusalem. But Jeremiah remained faithful, speaking God’s word rather than what itching ears longed to hear. “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you…They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them” (Jeremiah 29:8-9). Instead, God told his people to settle down, build houses, marry, and have children. For the exile would last seventy years (Jeremiah 29:4-7).
Like the false prophets of Jeremiah’s day, today many preachers declare: ‘poverty is not your portion’ and ‘this year is your year of breakthrough’ among other tired slogans. They prophesy health and wealth. They declare success. Listening to them you’d conclude that following Christ guarantees an easy life. But Christ warned against those who promise an easy way out. He knew false messiahs would appear. So he warns against the temptation to follow empty promises of a problem-free life.
2. The True Hope
Jesus is in the business of truly saving the world (2 Peter 3:9). He is the only true messiah. Thus he follows up his warning with hope (Matthew 24:30).
Apart from that hope, despairing at the chaos is appropriate. But Jesus is coming back. In fact, the chaos is a sign that he’s returning. He will return as judge, clothed in glory and power. In the middle of uncertainty and chaos Jesus assures us of his coming. We believe Jesus saved the world on the cross. There he defeated sin and evil, ushering in the new age, an era of peace and justice for all who believe. Yet we struggle now, because we don’t see that fully realised. Instead we see poverty, suffering and evil. That’s why many grow tired of waiting and turn to false messiahs. It can even feel embarrassing to keep trusting God when he seems absent.
The kingdom of God is ours, though not fully here.
Here we must pause and reflect on the “already, not yet” tension. Our salvation is secure. However its fullness hasn’t arrived. It’s like buying a TV on lay-by. Legally, the TV is yours, only it hasn’t been delivered yet. In the same way, Jesus declared that “the kingdom of God is near” (Mark 1:15). It ours, though not fully here. On the cross, Jesus saved us from sin and evil and death. He did so legally and spiritually. Our salvation is complete. But the final package hasn’t arrived. We’re a waiting people, full of hope. Jesus will return. He’ll come to gather his people from every corner of the earth. Until then the Christian life is in tension. The promise and salvation is real, but the timing requires patience. Our hope is certain. It will come. That’s why we need to move on to my last point.
An Aside on Waiting and Prophecies
Before Jesus explains how we should live as we wait, he answers the question of when he’s coming back: no one knows the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36). Not even the angels. Many have tried to calculate dates, but this is likely only another form of deception. Don’t believe it. Instead of a timetable, Jesus gives signs.
No one knows the day or the hour.
He uses the image of the fig tree. “As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door” (Matthew 24:32). In Zimbabwe, students know that when the jacaranda trees bloom, it’s exam season; and if you haven’t studied, it’s already too late. In the same way, chaotic crises of our world signal that Jesus’ return is imminent. This brings us to one last question: how should we live as we wait?
3. Two Ends: Terrifying or Terrific
Here I have three short points, drawn from what Jesus teaches.
Firstly, if you haven’t given your life to Christ then now is the time. Just like in the days of Noah, today people are eating, drinking, marrying and living ordinary lives despite imminent disaster (Matthew 24:37-41). Only Noah was saved. Because he trusted God. Will you? Do you trust Jesus? When he comes, faith will be vindicated. The world will see that we weren’t foolish to follow Jesus in the midst of chaos. On that day he will also show all the false messiahs for what they truly are. Jesus is coming back. We must be ready.
Rejecting the gospel will end in God’s judgment. Faithfulness will be rewarded.
Secondly, if you’re a believer, be faithful and stay active. Using four stories, Jesus says that he’s coming to restore his kingdom and we must be: ready (Matthew 25:1-12), faithfully serving his gospel (Matthew 25:14-30). He could come at any moment. This is why readiness matters. By contrast, some waited wrongly. One servant thought the master was delayed and therefore lived carelessly (Matthew 24:48-51). Another hid what he’d been given (Matthew 25:26-30). When the master returned he judged both of them. When the Son of Man comes in glory, he’ll separate people: those who give their lives to Jesus, lived faithfully in love and obedience, will inherit the kingdom; those who rejected him will face his judgment (Matthew 25:31-46). These are sobering stories. For rejecting the gospel will end in God’s judgment; faithfulness and readiness, on the other hand, will be rewarded.
Finally, put away false messiahs. Only Jesus is the true Messiah. He is coming back and when we meet him he’ll look at our hearts. Did we love and trust him? Did we stake our hope on him? In tragedy and chaos, troubles and death we grieve. But we also remember: these are signs that his return is near. So we don’t despair. Jesus is coming back to set all things right.
