Scripture Daily

Context No. 2807 of 4322 · Matthew

Context · Reflection

Matthew 24:29-35: in context

29“But immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; 30and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. 32“Now from the fig tree learn this parable: When its branch has now become tender and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near. 33Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that he is near, even at the doors. 34Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things are accomplished. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Jesus describes his return in cosmic terms: after the suffering of those days, the sun darkened, the moon unlit, the stars falling, the powers of heaven shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man appears, and he comes on the clouds with power and great glory, sending his angels to gather the chosen from the four winds. He follows it with the fig tree: when its branch softens and puts out leaves, you know summer is near.

The passage holds terror and hope in one hand. The whole cosmos convulses, and yet the point of the upheaval is a gathering, God's chosen ones brought home from every corner of the sky. And the anchor in all the shaking is the permanence of Jesus' word: heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. When even the sky proves unreliable, his word is the one thing that will still be standing.

When everything around me feels shaken and passing, do I rest on the one thing Jesus says will never pass, his word?

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