Session 11
Matthew 24:36-51
Memory Verse: Matthew 24:44
The disciples asked Jesus about His return.
He told them even He did not know when He would return,
so they needed to live in constant expectation.
His return would happen suddenly and unexpectedly,
producing catastrophic consequences for those not prepared.
Jesus then supported His exhortation with examples and parables.
Many people are curious-and perhaps fearful-about the end of
the world.
Everyone from the preppers and survivalists to the general skeptic finds the prospect of the end of the world to be a fascinating subject.
We read books and watch movies that portray the final days
of the planet.
Doomsday theories abound.
People in general want to know the when, how, who,
and what regarding the end of the age.
In that, we are not too far removed from Jesus’s first disciples. (PSG, p. 97)
Suggest movies, books, television shows, and other popular media that centers on the end of the world.
Lead a brief discussion on how those feed our desire to know more about the end times.
Affirm that it’s human nature to want “inside information” on the last days.
Today’s session comes from Matthew 24, which is Jesus’s fifth discourse in Matthew.
Share the following information from Understand the Context
Chapter 24 begins with the disciples marveling over
the magnificence of the temple.
Jesus informed them that the temple would be destroyed.
His disciples asked when this would happen
and what signs would signal His return and the end of the age.
Jesus’s response prompted what is known as
the Olivet Discourse, an extended teaching given on
the Mount of Olives found in Matthew 24-25. (PSG, p. 98)
Jesus’s parable of the fig tree (Matt. 24:32-35) v
leads into today’s focal passage.
This parable challenges believers to remain vigilant for
the return of Jesus.
That will continue to be Jesus’s theme in the verses we study today.