Today we return to Matthew where Jesus is still speaking to his disciples and now he spells it out to them that if people are claiming to have seen the Messiah, don’t believe them! Why? Because it’s just not true! His disciples aren’t to go rushing around panicking and trying to find the returned Lord Jesus, or going all around the countryside looking for him because when he returns, they will know. As we’ve seen there will be great distress before Jesus comes again, but when he comes, we won’t be distracted by anything else, we will know. So just like the disciples, we aren’t to go chasing around myths of the retuned Jesus! Anyone who we would find is a liar!

When he returns Jesus won’t be hidden, it won’t be a secret, and there will be no doubt. It will be as obvious as bright lightning on the horizon and it will be as obvious as birds picking at roadkill by the side of the road. The main point of all of this is that anyone who claims to be the returned Jesus is a fraud and a false prophet so don’t chase after them! We can have complete confidence in the truth that Jesus is Lord and will come again so stand firm and resist the temptations to seek out these myths.

In Australia today there aren’t many people claiming to be the returned Jesus but there are some who try to find out dates and small details through endless numerology and etymology. While these things may not be harmful at first, they can so quickly turn our eyes from Jesus to our efforts to try and look for him! So let us not be distracted but continue in the truth of the Gospel and work for God’s glory as we await the return of our great king. MC

Questions

Have you heard any accounts of people claiming to be the returned Jesus? What has been the end result of things? How can you throw off distractions and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are a God who keeps his promises. Thank you for the promise that Jesus will come again and bring in the kingdom in its fulness. Help us not to be distracted but to keep on working for you. Amen.