Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Matthew 24:42-44
Though Jesus had been with His disciples for three years, and had repeatedly told them that He would be killed and rise again, they did not fully grasp the message. But since He knew that He would be leaving them, Jesus prepared them by talking not just of His death but also about His return. One of the crucial points of His teaching was that His return could happen at any time, and that we do not know when that will be. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36). When our focus is on the timing, we are likely to miss the main point. Knowing that Jesus could come back today changes everything about the way we live. Instead of it being a far off event that cannot happen until other events take place, the return of the Lord is a very real possibility today.
In his sermon, “Jesus May Come Today,” Evangelist John Rice said, “Jesus may come this very day, yea, this very hour. We may hear the sound of the trumpet and may feel ourselves suddenly changed and caught up to meet the Lord in the air where we will be gathered with the saints of all ages and carried to the Father’s house of many mansions. Today I may lay down my burdens, lay down my sorrows, lay down my weaknesses, lay down my disappointments, lay down my frail, sinful body! Today I may be clothed upon with a glorious body like that of our Savior! Oh! today I may see Jesus and report and bring in my sheaves rejoicing, and kiss His dear feet!”
