The Creeds: Coming Lord - Matthew 25:1-31

1.1 When you hear "the End Times" or "the Second Coming of Jesus," what picture comes to your mind? Maybe you see scary charts and dates. Maybe you feel fear. Or perhaps you remember false predictions and religious scandals, and you would rather avoid the subject altogether. Before we open the Bible today, let's put those first reactions aside for a moment. Let's set down our fear, our doubt, and the pictures we picked up from the world around us. Then we can listen to what Jesus really says to us.

1.2 Let me share a strong memory from my childhood in South Korea. In 1992, a group called the Dami Mission drew a lot of attention. They said that Jesus would return and the rapture would happen on the night of October 28. Their message created fear and placed enormous pressure on people. Some were led to believe that money, homes, and possessions no longer mattered, and that giving up their belongings and devoting themselves entirely to the movement were necessary ways to prepare for Christ's return.

1.3 This was not just something I heard about on the news. The parents of a close childhood friend became involved. As the date got closer, I remember how tense and heavy the atmosphere felt in their home. Some people sold their homes or other belongings. Some left their jobs. On that final night, they gathered together, crying and waiting for Jesus to come.

1.4 Then midnight came. The clock moved past 12:01 a.m. Nothing happened. The sky stayed quiet. The night passed, and the sun rose the next morning, just as it always did. What followed was not glory. People were left with lost money, broken trust, and deep pain. They had believed a promise that did not come true.

1.5 That painful event shaped how many people in my generation understood the Second Coming. For many of us, talk about the end times became connected with extreme beliefs, greed, and the use of fear to control people. Some believers continued to feel afraid of judgment. Others lost trust and stopped talking about Jesus’ return altogether. But when we look at this experience in light of the whole gospel story, we can see how far those teachings were from the truth. Those false teachers portrayed Christ's return as a way to escape from this world rather than as the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan. They claimed to know the date and taught that only a chosen few would be taken—people who were told to leave behind their responsibilities in this world.

1.6 The gospel tells a different story. Jesus’ return is not a reason to abandon our everyday lives. It is the day when God will complete his work of salvation. The King who first came in humility will return in glory. He will make all things new and bring true justice. So today, let’s listen to what the Bible teaches about Jesus’ return and the end times. And let’s ask: 

How should we live today as people who are waiting for him?

Matthew 25:31 ESV

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

2.1 When we look closely at Matthew 25, both the parable of the ten virgins (v. 1–13) and the parable of the three servants (v. 14–30) begin right in the middle of ordinary life. The people in these parables are not extraordinary heroes or mysterious figures. They are ordinary people carrying out their everyday responsibilities. The ten virgins are doing what wedding guests naturally do—waiting in the evening with their lamps. The three servants are doing what stewards naturally do—taking care of the master’s assets according to their ability while he is away. Both stories remind us of the importance of living faithfully in the present.

Matthew 25:1–4 ESV

Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

Matthew 25:15–17 ESV

To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.

2.2 Notice what distinguished those who were commended from those who were condemned. What they had in common was that they took their responsibilities seriously. The wise virgins prepared extra oil because they knew the bridegroom might be delayed. The faithful servants immediately went to work, making good use of what their master had entrusted to them. 

2.3 In Jesus’ teaching, readiness is not about fanatical escape or date-setting. It is about faithful, responsible stewardship in everyday life. Because they had prepared and acted faithfully, they were ready when the bridegroom arrived and the master returned.

2.4 In verses 31–32, Jesus turns from the parables to the scene of the Son of Man coming in glory.

Matthew 25:31–32 AMP

When the Son of Man comes in His glory (His majesty and splendor), and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them [the people] from one another as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats;

When we read this scene alongside the two parables, we discover something important: our everyday lives matter as we wait for the returning King. The parables teach us to be prepared and faithful, while the following scene reminds us that our faith is also revealed in how we treat others, especially those in need. Christ's return does not call us to withdraw from the world. Instead, it calls us to live responsibly and faithfully in the present.

3.1 So what does this mean for us as we step out of this sanctuary today? Our hope in Christ's return is not a recent invention. It is a hope deeply rooted in Scripture and confessed by the church throughout the centuries.  The prophet Daniel saw “one like a son of man” receiving authority and an everlasting kingdom. Jesus uses this title for himself  when he speaks of coming in glory. The church has carried this hope  in its creeds. In the Nicene Creed, we confess:

“He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.”

This confession does not give us a date to calculate. It reminds us who we are waiting for:  Jesus Christ,  who came in humility,  died for us,  rose again,  and will come in glory. The Old Testament also reminds us what it means to live faithfully before God. The prophet Micah says:

“Do justice,  and love kindness,  and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8, ESV)

So when Jesus speaks of carrying extra oil  or using the talents given to us,  he is not calling us to dramatic displays of faith. He is calling us to be faithful in the ordinary life God has given us. He is talking about our ordinary Monday mornings.

3.2 Living in light of the Second Coming does not mean abandoning our earthly callings or staring endlessly into the sky. It means showing up in our concrete lives with integrity, patient love, and quiet faithfulness. In our own lives, the extra oil can serve as a reminder to nurture our relationship with God through prayer, Scripture, and worship. These practices can help us remain faithful through difficult times and long seasons of waiting. Trading our talents means using our skills, our time, our words, and our everyday opportunities to serve our neighbours and glorify God right where he has placed us.

3.3 Look at the profound contrast between the false apocalypticism of the past and the true gospel of Jesus Christ. The false teachers of the Dami Mission used fear, pressure, and guilt to manipulate people into giving up their livelihood for a date-setting escape plan. But the gospel anchors us in grace, not panic. We do not live faithfully today because we are afraid of judgment or because we are trying to earn our salvation. We live faithfully because Christ, who gave his life for us on the cross, has already given us the hope of eternal life. Our readiness is not an anxious performance to avoid punishment; it is a grateful response to the Saviour who loved us first.

3.4 True Christian readiness is rarely dramatic or attention-grabbing. More often, it is found in the small, unnoticed moments of everyday life. It is the parent who patiently guides their child with love. It is the worker who does their job with honesty and diligence when no one is watching. It is the neighbour who reaches out to someone who is lonely or suffering. Whether you are working in an office, caring for your family, studying at school, or serving in your community, that very place is your God-given assignment. Matthew 25 does not call us to calculate the date of Christ’s return. It calls us to be ready, faithful with what has been entrusted to us, and attentive to those in need.

4.1 The Second Coming of Jesus is not a secret calculation to escape the world, nor is it a threat designed to keep us living in fear. It is the glorious promise that the King who loved us and gave his life for us on the cross will return to make all things right. Therefore, true readiness is not found in fleeing our everyday lives, but in staying faithfully present right where God has placed us.

4.2 As we leave this place and enter another week, let us stand before God not in fear or anxiety, but with quiet confidence and faithful trust. The Lord does not call us to predict the future or perform dramatic religious acts. He calls us to remain faithful in the ordinary life he has given us.

4.3 So this week, when you step into your home, your workplace, your classroom, or your neighborhood, ask yourself these simple questions:

 1) What has the Master placed in my hands today? Is it a relationship to nurture, a job to do with integrity, or a quiet opportunity to show kindness?  

 2)  How can I carry "extra oil" this week? Where can I slow down and seek the Lord in prayer and his Word, so that my heart remains warm in his grace?

4.4 Let us put aside the fear and confusion left by false teachings. When the Son of Man comes in glory, may he find us not standing still and anxiously looking up at the sky, but loving our families, serving our neighbors, and joyfully doing the work he has given us. After teaching us through these two parables how to wait for him, Jesus says:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.”
— Matthew 25:31, ESV

The one we are waiting for is the Lord who will come again in glory. We do not need to calculate the day of his return. Instead, let us faithfully live the life he has entrusted to us today.