Counterfeits
This week is on Matthew 24:23-28:
Have you ever heard the old Buddhist expression "If you see Buddha on the road, kill him?" That's because you would never see Buddha on the road, so whoever you ran into would be a fake. Jesus is saying the same thing to warn us. If you see someone trying to gather people to themselves, it's not Jesus. Jesus isn't coming back like that. Still, thousands of people have been fooled over the years by cult leaders. Would people have followed David Koresh, or Jim Jones, or Charles Manson, or any of the others who claimed to be Christ, or Christ's prophet, if they'd been familiar with what Jesus said here?
Jesus cares enough about us to warn us in advance. He knows there's a danger. Even good Christians would have been fooled, he says. But as for us, we're safe, because we know Jesus' warning. We know that just because someone performs spiritual miracles doesn't mean that God is behind them or that they are God. We know that Christ won't appear and grow up as a regular guy with people gathered around him again. We know all of these things, and are inoculated against the danger of blindly following a false prophet or false christ, because Jesus warned us two thousand years ago, and we took the time to listen today. That's amazing.
These verses underscore the importance of really paying attention to Jesus. There is a reward in nestling ourselves into his words, and really taking in their meaning. How many people have died awful deaths after fruitless lives, because they fell for things they would have been able to avoid, had they only studied and understood what Jesus said? Even good Christians could be fooled, if they don't take in what God says and make it part of their lives. If someone said to you that a guy claiming to be the reincarnated Jesus was speaking down at the convention center, and that he was performing miracles, and that thousands of people would be there from all over the country, wouldn't a part of you want to believe it was true? So many people, in search of a new revelation, have been fooled. They could have avoided it had they only made themselves familiar with the revelation we already have. What is the point of Jesus speaking, if we're not going to listen?
Yes, I believe that God still speaks to us today, and that we ignore a lot of stuff that we shouldn't have, but I also believe that he's warned us about a lot of stuff ahead of time. These are truths about life that he's addressed to everyone who follows him, past and present. How cool is it that we can accept advice from someone who last walked on the earth two thousand years ago? And how cool is it that it still applies? We have a book full of treasures that are ours to keep, if we only acknowledge them. And we have access to fresh treasures, simply by asking and praying. Like Jesus said, he's making us like rich people who have collections of old treasures and new ones being added. Don't make the mistake of ignoring the riches we already have in our storerooms. If you do, someone will rip you off trying to sell you a counterfeit of something you already have.
At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.I think of these as the "cult leader verses." Jesus is talking about the end of the world, and is warning us to be careful we don't get tricked by counterfeits. There will be people who claim to be Christ, and who claim to follow Christ, who will have big gatherings, and will perform miracles and so on, but they will be counterfeits. They don't have life. They're just carcasses that people will swarm on like vultures. When Jesus returns, it will be obvious. We won't need people to point him out to us or try to recruit us to go see him."So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Have you ever heard the old Buddhist expression "If you see Buddha on the road, kill him?" That's because you would never see Buddha on the road, so whoever you ran into would be a fake. Jesus is saying the same thing to warn us. If you see someone trying to gather people to themselves, it's not Jesus. Jesus isn't coming back like that. Still, thousands of people have been fooled over the years by cult leaders. Would people have followed David Koresh, or Jim Jones, or Charles Manson, or any of the others who claimed to be Christ, or Christ's prophet, if they'd been familiar with what Jesus said here?
Jesus cares enough about us to warn us in advance. He knows there's a danger. Even good Christians would have been fooled, he says. But as for us, we're safe, because we know Jesus' warning. We know that just because someone performs spiritual miracles doesn't mean that God is behind them or that they are God. We know that Christ won't appear and grow up as a regular guy with people gathered around him again. We know all of these things, and are inoculated against the danger of blindly following a false prophet or false christ, because Jesus warned us two thousand years ago, and we took the time to listen today. That's amazing.
These verses underscore the importance of really paying attention to Jesus. There is a reward in nestling ourselves into his words, and really taking in their meaning. How many people have died awful deaths after fruitless lives, because they fell for things they would have been able to avoid, had they only studied and understood what Jesus said? Even good Christians could be fooled, if they don't take in what God says and make it part of their lives. If someone said to you that a guy claiming to be the reincarnated Jesus was speaking down at the convention center, and that he was performing miracles, and that thousands of people would be there from all over the country, wouldn't a part of you want to believe it was true? So many people, in search of a new revelation, have been fooled. They could have avoided it had they only made themselves familiar with the revelation we already have. What is the point of Jesus speaking, if we're not going to listen?
Yes, I believe that God still speaks to us today, and that we ignore a lot of stuff that we shouldn't have, but I also believe that he's warned us about a lot of stuff ahead of time. These are truths about life that he's addressed to everyone who follows him, past and present. How cool is it that we can accept advice from someone who last walked on the earth two thousand years ago? And how cool is it that it still applies? We have a book full of treasures that are ours to keep, if we only acknowledge them. And we have access to fresh treasures, simply by asking and praying. Like Jesus said, he's making us like rich people who have collections of old treasures and new ones being added. Don't make the mistake of ignoring the riches we already have in our storerooms. If you do, someone will rip you off trying to sell you a counterfeit of something you already have.
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