Lots of things confuse me. The fifth grade math my son brings home for homework confuses me. I would contend, for many of us, there are parts of life that we can’t quite wrap our minds around. One such area of life’s confusion is the subject of the Gospel appointed for this 25th Sunday after Trinity. The Pharisees in the text ask Jesus about the “coming kingdom of God.” Jesus answers the question. Yet, often times much of the world still remains “confused” over what Jesus was saying.

Really, it’s not hard. It’s really as easy as understanding past, present and future and trusting in what the Bible says. You see, the Bible says that Jesus came (past), that Jesus comes (present tense) and that Jesus will come again (future tense). And if we can understand that Jesus “came,” then we can begin to see more clearly that Jesus “comes.” As we see, know and understand how Jesus comes, then we can plainly see how Jesus “will come.” It’s not hard. As a matter of fact, it’s right here in the text for today.

There are only three Sunday’s left in the Church-year. As the year comes to a close, the theme of the readings will turn us toward the end times – the day our Lord will come to judge the living and the dead. How will this happen? What will it look like? Will we know when Jesus comes again? Will we know when He comes? We know when Jesus came. We know how Jesus comes. We will know when Jesus comes again. Let’s take a look at these three…Jesus came…Jesus comes…and Jesus will come again.

Today as we look into the Scriptures we see that our Lord came into the world to save the world. The Pharisees didn’t see this. They were still looking for the Lord and didn’t see that the kingdom had already come in Jesus. This was the basis for their question… “When will the kingdom of God come?” They couldn’t see the kingdom in Jesus. They didn’t realize that the kingdom already came to them in the flesh in Jesus the Savior.

For those of unbelief, they can’t see that the kingdom “came” in Jesus either. So many religions talk about Jesus. But they only refer to Him as a great teacher or philosopher. Different religions look up to Jesus because He knew how to draw a crowd. They look up to Jesus because of the very wise things He said and the gracious and loving example that He set. But He was so much more than a moral philosopher and an example in conduct. He was God in the flesh and that is why He was the kingdom that had come to be in the midst of His people – to save His people. The kingdom came in Jesus the Lord.

And today, for you and me, the kingdom comes. Jesus came in the flesh and He comes today as well. The problem is we don’t always know where to look. And that’s too bad, because the Lord is very clear about where He is. In our text for today Jesus says to His very own disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them.”

Beloved in the Lord, there is no doubt that we can find our service to our Lord in serving our neighbor. We can find our praise to God in our help toward others. But when it comes to our Lord revealing Himself to us, we can be clear where He promises to do so…and we need to look no further. The winds of change come along in our world that says, “Look, I have found God over here. Look, I have found God over there.” Are you sure? How do you know? You see, this is our Lord’s point regarding His coming (present tense) to us today. We don’t know if it’s our Lord or the cunning work of the devil trying to get you to think it’s the Lord.

Our Lord “comes” to you and it’s not confusing how. He does not come in the winds of change – “He is over here, or He is over there.” He comes to you today in that which we can see, what we can know, what we can believe. We can put our eyes on it, we can read it. Our Lord comes to you today through the written Word sharing with you a life-giving message of hope and assurance. Look no further than that which God promises to you. He talks to you plainly through the Word. He grants you comfort and forgiveness through the Word. He reveals Himself in every way we need right here in the Word of God. All the new-fangled religions, self-help books, all the TV preachers that seem to have all the answers as to where to look for help – but they never say, “In the Bible” lead us in the wrong direction.

God is not a hidden God. He shows us who He is and He tells us how He comes. And He says to us in the Bible, we don’t have to be confused by how He “will come” to us also. “For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in His day.”

When the Day of the Lord comes, the last day, you will know it. Are those days upon us? Yes, we live in the time of the church, a time when we look with prepared hearts heavenward. Jesus tells His disciples, don’t be caught unaware of what is to come. Don’t be caught unprepared for what the Lord has in store. Just as we will indeed know when the last day is upon us, we also know we don’t know when that will be. So, what do we do? Do we wait? Do we say to ourselves, “we have all the time in the world to repent later?” Do we say, “I will put aside my sinful deeds and follow tomorrow?” That would be dangerous and quite deadly. We do not know the day or the hour of our Lord’s coming again. Therefore, be prepared. Flee to the Lord and away from unrighteousness. The Lord is at hand. The Lord is near.

What our Lord needed to accomplish has already been done. It says in our text, “But first, the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.” And He Has. It took Him all the way to the cross. It took Him to a place where there was morning and weeping. It took Him to a tree of death. It took Him to a place of pandemonium and hysteria. We could say that it took Him to a place of great confusion. Not that the Lord was confused – He was not. Those who watched Him being nailed to the tree – they didn’t understand – they couldn’t understand.

But He would make it all clear to them the same way it is clear to us today. On the third day He would come back from death and live again. This takes the confusion out of the anarchy that took place on Good Friday. Jesus the Lord who was being crucified on the cross would now live – and it’s clear – there is no confusion. His death now means the death of all my sins. His life now means my life. I completely understand.

Even for an adult who doesn’t understand how a car works, or 5th grade math, I can understand what our Lord has done. We need not to be confused. It is clear. He came, He comes, and He will come again. And the best part…we know and we can see. And even better, we can be confident that our Lord gave, gives, and will continue to give everything we need for this life and especially for the life to come. Amen

The peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.