When Veiled Worship is Unveiled as Worship

Matthew’s gospel is arranged around five sermons that have been used over the centuries as solid teaching for new and maturing believers. The fifth sermon is found in Matthew 24 – 25. It is called the Olivet Discourse because Jesus shared it with His disciples from the Mount of Olives, which overlooks Jerusalem from the east.

The occasion for this message was when Jesus and His disciples were walking through the Temple compound,“…when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.” Matthew 24:1. But Jesus said, “You see all these, do you? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” Then they asked Him, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

They actually asked Jesus three questions in one; when will the Temple be destroyed, how will we know you are coming back, and how will we know when the end has come? The Olivet Discourse answers all three, but not necessarily in the order or in the way that the disciples asked.

One of the things that Jesus teaches about these things is that the destruction of the Temple would happen in their lifetime, which it did, in 70 AD by the Romans. It has never been reconstructed. Another thing that Jesus taught was that false doctrine will abound in the last days before He returns. Jesus said there will be many powerful religious and political leaders promising the answer to man’s problems with solutions that will only cause more problems, while the gospel continues to spread without slowing down, 24:4 – 14.

Jesus said that the gospel will spread in the midst of growing turmoil and tribulation (24:9-10), while false leaders will be growing and proclaiming that “all is well” (24:24). It will be a day when sound doctrine will be the only truth strong enough to sustain the true worshiper and follower of Christ.

The majority of the teaching of Jesus on this subject of His return and the end of the age is on being ready for it, because they would not know when it was coming, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Matthew 24:36 – 25:46 is the longest teaching from Jesus on this question of His return. He said to be ready by being His faithful and wise servants. Jesus told three parables on the wise and faithful servant 24:45 – 51, the wise virgins in the wedding parable 25:1 – 13, and the faithful servants in the parable of the talents 25:14 – 30, each time in contrast to the unfaithful and foolish.

Jesus concludes the message with the well-known vision of His return as the Good Shepherd separating the sheep from the goats, the “…blessed by my Father…and the cursed…” 25:31 – 46. This vision is of the end of the age when veiled worship is unveiled as worship! The faithful were worshiping their King through ministry to the least, the last, and the lost, and didn’t know it! The unfaithful were more selective in their ministries, wanting to be more wise than compassionate, and also not knowing that it was the King who was being culled and overlooked.

The message for us is clear: when you faithfully share what God has blessed you with, you become a blessing to everyone, especially to Christ your King, and ministry becomes worship that pleases the Father. This is what it means to worship Him in spirit and truth.