"Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is Christ!' or 'there!' do not believe them."
(St. Matthew 24:23)
In the name of Jesus. Amen. Where is Jesus? Is He there? Is He here? Jesus says don't believe people who say, "Here is Christ!" So where is He?
After Jesus rose from the dead, He met up with His disciples and sent them out to make even more disciples by baptizing and teaching. The Apostles baptized new Christians in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and taught them everything that Jesus commanded. Then, He promised, "I will be with you always even to the very end of the age."
Jesus is where He puts Himself for you. He is the waters of your Baptism, where your sins are washed away. He is in the Word - taught, read, and preached. He is in His Body and Blood given for you to eat and drink for the remission of your sins. He is with you always -- where His gifts are being given and being received -- even unto the end of the age.
Before looking "here" or "there" for Jesus, find Him where He's promised to be for you -- in the Word and Sacraments! Outside of where Jesus has put Himself, we have no certainty that He's there. Nothing there but doubt and despair!
At the end of the church year, our attention is directed to the end of the age. Our Lord prepares us for His coming on the Last Day by directing us away from the false teachers and false christs of the world. What comfort from our Lord! He has warned us so that we can be expecting them and not be deceived.
False christs are everywhere and they all, they ALL, say the same thing.
They say whatever it takes to direct your attention away from what Jesus did for you on the on the Cross and try to put it anywhere else they can. The world will adore them -- preachers will speak to people about being positive and successful. Teachers will direct sinners not to their baptism, but to what they do, think, and feel. Jesus warns us that we won't find life in their words, only death. Where there is death, there are vultures. Do not believe them.
He is coming soon. When He comes, there will be no doubt in anybody's mind that He has come. It'll be like the lightning which comes in the East and flashes to the West. He will come with unmistakable glory to judge both the quick and the dead and His kingdom will have no end.
Today, He comes to you. He is not "here" or "there", but in His Word, in His Baptism, and in His Supper, where He has promised to be for you. There is no need to doubt where He is. He's in His gifts for you today. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Other readings this week: St. Matthew 24:15-28, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Exodus 32:1-20
Higher Things Reflections are written by Rev. George F. Borghardt III, Assistant Pastor at St. Mark Lutheran Church, Conroe, TX.