First, we need to remember why the disciples are asking these questions in the first place. They have not been thinking about global events that will transpire at the end of the world or cataclysmic phenomena that would usher in the end of history. These men were thinking about the things that were in front of them, such as the abandonment and destruction of their beloved temple and when Jesus would return to make sure that event happened. They were not assuming a multi-millennia wait for the second coming of Christ. They saw His next coming would be against Jerusalem when He destroyed it within a generation.

Black Mamba Eschatology
One of the things that separate great players from legendary players is drive. Great players wake up early in the morning and give everything they have in practice. Legendary players get up hours before everyone else, play through blood, sweat, and tears, perfecting every facet of their game before practice, and then outwork everyone else during practice. Great players get scoring titles and end up in the hall of fame. Legendary players put their teams on their back and will get them into championship, after championship, after championship. Great players are disappointed after a hard-fought loss. Legendary players would rather die than lose a game.
That, in my humble opinion, is what differentiates truly great players like Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, and Lebron James from NBA legends like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, (also known as the black mamba). One group was truly great and deserves all the accolades we can give them. The other group lived with a never-ending obsession to be the greatest that ever lived and they are in a class all by themselves.
One of the ways we see this distinction playing out is among childhood fans. Fans love the great players and cheer for them. But when it comes to who they want to be when they grow up, or who they pretend to be in their driveway when no one else is looking, children almost always choose the legends, because they can sense the difference. And as a child growing up in the 80s, I certainly fell afoul of this fandom, wanting with all my heart to be “Like Mike”, while being unwilling to put in the effort of men like Jordan and Kobe. This silly introduction, ironically, may help us understand one of the great dilemmas in eschatology and may aid us when we come to Matthew 24.
The Most Important Chapter
When it comes to Biblical chapters of eschatology, Matthew 24 is the zenith of all the end-times passages. It is the Superbowl, it is game seven of the NBA finals or the last round at Augusta. No one wins at that level accidentally just as no one begins to understand Matthew 24 by sloth. It is a chapter that will only yield its treasures to the ones who are willing to put in the maximal effort. Perhaps this is why so few understand eschatology in the church today. Because passages like this one can only be understood with rigorous effort, which is out of style in a culture of easy believism.
For the last eight weeks, we have been working towards Matthew 24. We did so by attempting to understand the basics and introductory materials of eschatology in our first couple of weeks. Then we moved along to Malachi where we learned the hermeneutical principles for interpreting eschatology. From there we saw those principles playing out in the theology of John the Baptist and our Lord. And over the last several weeks, we have observed how Matthew 21-23 provides the essential context that will aid us in understanding Matthew 24. Had we not labored in the way we did, we would not have been prepared for what we now face. So, with that introduction, let us remember very briefly the context and then let us dive, or maybe only stick our pinky toe, in the water of Matthew 24.
Remembering the Context
Matthew 24 occurs as a part of the dramatic events surrounding Jesus’ final week where He will bring judgment to some and salvation to others. In judgment, He rides into the fruitless city, judges the fruitless temple, curses a fruitless tree, and shows how this judgment applies to Jerusalem (Matthew 21). With three successive parables of judgment, Jesus demonstrates that Jerusalem will soon fall and that God’s Kingdom will be given to a people who will bear God’s fruit (Matthew 22). After prophesying Jerusalem’s downfall, Jesus seals their fate with seven covenantal curses of woe and pronounces the wrath of God upon the city and its temple (Matthew 23). In Matthew 24, Jesus does not abandon the narrative of judgment against Jerusalem but instead gives the clearest prophecy ever uttered describing its downfall.
Since this passage is of the utmost importance for our understanding, we will move slowly through it over the next several weeks until we have sufficiently covered its material. Our goal is that we would understand it, not fly through it. With that, let us begin.
A Shocking Point
The passage picks up immediately where Matthew 23 left off. Jesus finished uttering fiery woes against the Pharisees (Matthew 23:13-33). Then He prophesied God would visit that generation with the harshest judgment ever given (Matthew 23:34-36). And then He tells them Jerusalem’s house, the temple, will be left entirely desolated (Matthew 23:37-38).
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 We possess the greatest thing in life, and the only thing that truly matters is a saving relationship with God through Christ. Despite the suffering, brokenness, pain, and problems that we experience, we still have God and His amazing love for us. This amazing love preserves us until the very end; until we experience it full in all eternity – where sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Rom. 8:18) 

Have you ever felt defeated in life? Do you feel like the only thing that you experience is just losing so much in life? Do troubles and problems drown you to the point of giving up? Does your sickness weaken you to the point that you do not want to live anymore?
If we try to set our minds on the problems we have in life then we would really feel discouraged and defeated. But Paul says in Romans 8:37 that “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” How on earth are we more than conquerors despite the pain and brokenness that we experience in this sin-stained and sin-scarred world? We are more than conquerors through Christ. Christ is the one who loved us and He showed His unfathomable and heart-gripping love when He died on behalf of us on the cross.
In Romans 8:37, Paul wrote there: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” What are these things that Paul is talking about? In verses 35 and 36, He asked: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” These are the things Paul wrote about. We are more than conquerors despite these things. Despite tribulation. Despite distress. Despite persecution. Despite famine. Despite nakedness. Despite danger. Despite sword. Why? Because these things are not strong enough to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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So we must have a category of Jesus that doesn’t mean you’ll never be tempted or you’ll never have imperfect motives, but you can live a life of ordinary faithful obedience. One of the problems when we don’t have that category is when we think, You know what? I never really obey. Everything in my life is just polluted, sinful, filthy rags. That is when we need to hear the alarm bells going off. We don’t hear it like we should.

Good Works vs. Obedience
There’s a really important but simple distinction we need to make in thinking about our good works or our obedience. And that is that our good works can be truly good even though they’re not perfectly good. They’re never without some imperfections. They’re always tinged with some kind of selfishness.
I remember a pastoral intern asking me years ago, “Pastor Kevin, how do you know that when you’re stepping up into the pulpit there’s not some part of you that’s doing this to be seen and to be heard or to draw attention to yourself?”
And I said, “That’s a really good question. I’ll let you know when I’m certain there’s no part of that in my heart.”
It’s not to excuse sin, but it’s to say, Yeah, there are layers to the onion of the human heart. So there’s always that presence of indwelling sin. It’s imperfect, and yet the best theologians have said that it can be truly obedient. I think that’s a new concept for some people, though it shouldn’t be, because Paul often praises the churches for their obedience. Jesus, in the Great Commission, said, “Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” And there’s no escape hatch that says, Oh, by the way, of course, you can’t really be obedient to anything.
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