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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.”
At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you ahead of time.
“So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Matthew 24:3-5, 23-28
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”
Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many.”
At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.
Mark 13:3-6, 21-23
“Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them.”
Luke 21:7-8
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Jesus’ disciples were admiring the structures in Jerusalem, little knowing that they were in their final days with their Master. They had to be surprised about what Jesus said next:
“Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Matthew 24:2
It was a shock to the system for Jesus’ followers but we don’t see one hint in the scriptures that they doubted anything He said. After all, Jesus had told them that He was the truth as well as the way and the life (John 14:6). They were curious though regarding other things that would happen in the future.
And so while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, the scriptures tell us that Peter, James, John, and Andrew (basically the disciples that made up Jesus’ inner circle), came to Him privately and asked:
“Tell us. When will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
And with that question, we find Jesus enter into a discourse while delivering His answer.
So what would the signs be and at what time could Jesus be expected?
In this devotion, the first of a series covering the indications Jesus presented, we learn that there will be imposters appearing before He comes back.
Now, it may be hard to believe that anyone could get away with posing as Jesus but think about it for a minute.
How many people today really invest in knowing who Jesus is?
I’m not asking whether or not people know of Jesus. Not many people have gone through life not at least hearing His name mentioned.
But knowing the name of Jesus and actually knowing who He is are two very different things. The former requires little effort. Conversely, the latter is rooted in investment and actual caring.
In other words, if a person really is concerned with Jesus, they will devote requisite time to show that concern. They will want to study His life through the scriptures and when they do, typically they will want to model their own life after His. It’s these people who bear the title “Christian”.
Jesus was least worried about these people, those who would devote to follow Him, because they would actually know Him and therefore would know about how His return would look, even though they wouldn’t know the time. Someone could emerge and claim to be Jesus and even use other titles associated with Him like Messiah, but a true Christ follower and believer wouldn’t be deceived.
For those who had a superficial knowledge of Jesus, it would be a different story. They could easily be duped because they never took the time to really relate to Jesus. In fact, since they hadn’t paid much attention to anything about Jesus outside of knowing His name, they wouldn’t even know He had warned about people impersonating Him and so it would be likely they would fall prey to deception. Indeed, Jesus promises that many would be deceived when the imposters would come.
So what does this mean for us today, more than 2,000 years later?
Well, it means that we had better spend time getting to know Jesus and as we enter a new year, what better resolution could you make?
My prayer is that each and every person would spend time every day gaining more knowledge about Jesus, and in doing so, build a stronger relationship with Him.
For many people can come and try to convince others that they are Jesus. But in the end, there is only one Savior of the world, only One who is the true Son of the God Most High.
Know Christ Jesus for yourself and avoid being purposely misled, not only in 2021 but until the time when the true Jesus returns.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might
be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com
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