20-21 Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.”
22-24 He went on to say to his disciples, “The days are coming when you are going to be desperately homesick for just a glimpse of one of the days of the Son of Man, and you won’t see a thing. And they’ll say to you, ‘Look over there!’ or, ‘Look here!’ Don’t fall for any of that nonsense. The arrival of the Son of Man is not something you go out to see. He simply comes.
24-25 “You know how the whole sky lights up from a single flash of lightning? That’s how it will be on the Day of the Son of Man. But first it’s necessary that he suffer many things and be turned down by the people of today.
26-27 “The time of the Son of Man will be just like the time of Noah—everyone carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ship. They suspected nothing until the flood hit and swept everything away.
28-30 “It was the same in the time of Lot—the people carrying on, having a good time, business as usual right up to the day Lot walked out of Sodom and a firestorm swept down and burned everything to a crisp. That’s how it will be—sudden, total—when the Son of Man is revealed.
31-33 “When the Day arrives and you’re out working in the yard, don’t run into the house to get anything. And if you’re out in the field, don’t go back and get your coat. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you’ll lose it, but if you let that life go, you’ll get life on God’s terms.
34-35 “On that Day, two men will be in the same boat fishing—one taken, the other left. Two women will be working in the same kitchen—one taken, the other left.”
37 Trying to take all this in, the disciples said, “Master, where?”
He told them, “Watch for the circling of the vultures. They’ll spot the corpse first. The action will begin around my dead body.”
Jesus warned his disciples about the preparation for the coming of His Day. The world would run as usual, like the time of Noah and Lot that people are living as usual without any expectation of the return of Jesus. People just assume that the world will continue running without the end or intervention of God. But Jesus affirms that He will come and be revealed again. Jesus will come and separate His people from the others - even like separating people in the marketplace, in the home, in all other places where His people are located. Jesus' followers are like other people, living and working apparently in the similar manner but totally distinguishing themselves from the others as God's Kingdom is already among them. Followers of Jesus live differently in their purposes of life, in their relationship with the world, with the people, and most importantly with Jesus who will come and govern.
My dear friend Jesus, thanks for reminding me the final destiny of this world and also of my life. I will see you face to face, be received into Your full Presence and Love as I fulfill my role and finish my works you assign to me. You are the only One whom I will be accountable and please that I satisfy solely in Your love and grace in the days ahead.
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