In Matthew 24:40-44 the Lord gave us two commands. The first command is found in verse 42, which says, “Watch therefore.” The second command is found in verse 44, which says, “You also be ready.” We need to watch and be ready. When we come to 25:1-13, the Lord commands us once again, saying, “Watch therefore” (v. 13). This command is the same as that in 24:42. At the same time, 25:10 also mentions the matter of being ready, telling us that those who are ready can enter into the feast with the Lord. We can see that both Matthew 24 and 25 tell us to watch and be ready.
The matter of watching and being ready is related to a Christian’s maturity. Although the above passages do not mention the word maturity, they repeatedly mention the words watch and be ready. A person who is ready must certainly be mature. To watch and be ready is the way to become mature. No other passages in the Bible show us more clearly the way for a Christian to become mature than Matthew 24 and 25. The way to become mature is to watch and be ready. Those who are ready are the mature ones.
It is easy for Christians to tend to emphasize the teachings in the Gospel of John but to neglect those in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. For instance, when we preach the gospel, we often like to use John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that every one who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.” We also often use 15:5, which says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him....” We often speak about these verses in the church meetings, but few of us pay attention to the teachings in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. The Bible not only contains the Gospel of John, which tells us that those who believe into the Son will have eternal life, but also the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, which tell us that there is a kingdom into which we should seek to enter. We gain eternal life once we believe into the Lord. However, we need to follow the Lord for a while before we can gain the heavenly kingdom.
John tells us how to abide in the Lord after we have received the Lord’s life. Matthew speaks of how to follow the Lord after we have become His disciples. John 15 is the Lord’s teaching before He was crucified. Matthew 24 and 25 are prophecies that were also spoken by the Lord before He was crucified. We should pay as much attention to the Gospel of Matthew as we do to the Gospel of John. It is a pity that today in the church we often emphasize the teachings in John but neglect those in Matthew. We believe that in these last days the Lord will gradually recover the teachings in Matthew. John only tells us how the life that is in us grows, but Matthew shows us how this life matures and how we can be made ready for the Lord’s coming. In other words, Matthew tells us what kind of condition we need to be in before we can meet the Lord. If we truly hope to be with the Lord and to abide with Him, we must know the condition we must be in and the stage that we must reach.
Let us consider Matthew 24 and 25. First, we need to see the similarities between these two portions of the Bible. They are similar in their topics. Both portions contain similar points about the Lord and about us. Regarding the Lord, both chapters say that the Lord will come. Regarding us, both chapters say that we need to watch and be ready. Thus, the subject of these two portions is that we need to watch and be ready and that we need to wait for the Lord’s coming and bring Him back. These are two different passages, but they have one topic.
It can be said that the first portion, Matthew 24, is an explicit message to those who belong to the Lord, telling them how to watch and be ready while waiting to meet the Lord. We all know that the Lord will come. Therefore, we should watch and be ready. If we are ready, we will be taken. If we are not ready, we will be left behind. Thus, verse 40 says, “At that time two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left.” The one who is taken is ready to be taken to see the Lord. Undoubtedly, the one who is left is not ready yet. This does not happen because the one who is taken is saved and the one who is left is not saved. Both men are in the field. They both have the same life, are on the same ground, and do the same thing. Hence, there is no doubt that both of them are saved. Although both of them are saved, having the same status, position, and kind of living, and although they are doing the same thing, yet they are different in the matter of their maturity in life. One is ready in life and thus is raptured, while the other is not ready and is left behind.
Verse 41 goes on to say, “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left.” Like the two men, the two women have the same status, position, job, and kind of living. Both are saved. It is not that one is grinding while the other is watching a movie, so the one who is grinding is taken while the one who is watching a movie is left. Both women are the same in status, ground, living, job, and career. If they are the same, then why is one taken and the other left? Verses 42 to 44 tell us that the reason is related to the need to watch and be ready. One is taken because she is watchful and ready. The other is left because she is not watchful and ready. Although their status, position, career, and living are the same and both are saved, they differ in one aspect. They differ in their attitude toward the Lord’s coming. One is watchful and ready, but the other is neither watchful nor ready.
We have all been saved and may be meeting together and living the Christian life together. Outwardly, there may be no difference between one saint and another. However, our attitudes toward the Lord and His coming may vary. Some saints may be watchful and ready, waiting for the Lord’s coming. Some may be indifferent to the Lord’s coming. They may merely want to be common. They may not want to be watchful or ready in regard to the Lord and His coming. Thus, when the Lord comes to take His people, those who are ready will be taken. Those who are not, although they are saved, will be left for some time. The Lord’s message in Matthew 24 shows us this difference.
Do not think that as long as you are saved, are meeting together with other Christians, and are apparently the same as they are, you will have no problems. The Lord’s thought toward us in Matthew 24 is, “You have to be watchful and ready, because to be saved is one thing and to wait for My coming is another. To be a believer is one thing and to be watchful and ready is another.” For instance, suppose a person has eight children. To beget them is one matter, but to raise them up and educate them is another. All eight of them belong to the same parents, are in the same family, have the same life, and live the same kind of lives. Outwardly, it may seem that there are no differences among them, but actually there are. How will each one grow up? How will they receive their education? How will they prepare themselves to be useful people? In these aspects there are often differences.
The children may all have the same parents. They may belong to the same family and may have the same kind of lives. However, how they are educated, how they prepare themselves, how they live their lives, and which ways they take all depend on how they grow up and prepare themselves from childhood to adulthood.
In view of this example, the attitude that we have toward the Lord and His coming—whether watchful and ready or indifferent—is very important because it will determine whether we will be taken or left behind. Therefore, the Lord commanded us again and again to watch and be ready. We not only must accept the word in John that we will have eternal life if we believe in the Lord, but we must also accept the Lord’s command in Matthew 24 to watch and be ready. This was not only the Lord’s word but also His teaching before leaving the world. On the Mount of Olives before He departed, He told the disciples to watch and be ready. Why? He told them this because if they were not watchful or ready, there was a chance that they might be left behind. Like the two men in the field, one would be taken and one would be left. Therefore, in order not to be left, we must be watchful and ready.