29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
— Matthew 24:29-44, ESV

Advent is the celebration of the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the earth.  We believe, based on personal testimonies and pages of Holy Scripture, the first advent occurred almost two thousand years ago when the virgin Mary gave birth to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.  We believe, based on the testimony of living Word, Jesus, and the written word, the Bible, Jesus will come again, this time from heaven to earth to usher in a new and perfect heaven and earth.  Advent fills us with hope, peace, joy, and love.  

On this first Sunday of Advent we emphasize the hope we have in Jesus Christ, the hope that He has come to save us, and the hope He will come again to gather us and keep us together forever.  Such advent hope should fill us with at least three things: certainty, mystery, and urgency.  

Advent hope should fill us with certainty.

Do you believe in the first coming of Jesus Christ?  There are fulfilled prophesies of his birth, life, death, and resurrection.  There are the personal testimonies of Joseph and Mary, the archangel Gabriel, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna, the Apostles, and many others.  Because we have certainty in the promises of God, we can have blessed hope in the certainty in the first advent of Jesus Christ actually occurred.

Therefore, we can be certain of the second coming of Jesus Christ, which as of this moment has yet to occur.  The prophets of the Old Testament spoke about it.  The Apostles of the New Testament wrote about it.  Jesus Himself spelled it out in the Olivet Discourse, the last full sermon of His recorded in the Gospels.  Our Lord has told us that certain things should give us certain hope.

Have hope in the word of God: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (vs. 35).

Have hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ, “the Son of Man” (vs. 30), fully God, fully man, divine and eternal, flesh and blood, who shed His blood so that by grace through faith we may have an eternal, divine life with God.

Have hope in the first and second advent of Jesus Christ, and on the latter “he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (vs. 31).  

There is a certainty in hope.  Christ certainly has come.  Christ certainly is coming again.  If you are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, be certain He is coming for you.

Advent hope should fill us with mystery.  

Certainty does not negate mystery.  

Much mystery surrounded the first advent of Jesus Christ.  An angel, Gabriel, visited Mary (in her room) and Jospeh (in his dream).  A virgin bore a child.  Shepherds saw more angels.  Jesus lived a sinless and sacrificial life.  

Mystery sounds the second advent of Jesus Christ, too.  

The timing is a mystery, for Jesus said “that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (vs. 36).  Remember the guy who wrote “88 Reasons Jesus will come again in 1988?”  No, you probably don’t, because he tried to do something Jesus said no one can do.  

The troubles are a mystery, for Jesus said He would come again “immediately after the tribulation” (vs. 29).  Jesus promised, during His first coming, that trials and trouble would follow believers until His second coming (ref. John 16:33).  But why is it bone crushing for some and barely bruising to others?

The tree is a mystery, for Jesus said, “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (vs. 32-34).  Is the fig tree Israel, cursed at the inauguration of the New Covenant, but visible again at its end?

The rapture is a mystery for Jesus said many things about it in this text.  Like “trinity,” “rapture” is a word not expressly found in Scripture, but it is all based on Scripture.  Christ is coming.  People will disappear.  Popular theology says it will be secret, but a more historic theology says it will be very public, “all the tribes of the earth … will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds” (vs. 30; ref. also Revelation 1:7).  

There is a mystery in hope.  Christ mysteriously came.  Christ mysteriously is coming again.  If you are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, the mystery will all make sense when you see Him face to face.  Could it be today?

Advent hope should fill us with urgency. 

Certainty and mystery combine to form urgency.

The last words of Christ in this sermon are: “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (vs. 44).  

Our days are filled with “tribulation” (vs. 29), albeit mostly in places far away from Hot Springs, Arkansas.  

Our days are like “the days of Noah” (vs. 37).  Normal and abnormal people abound.  Abominable sin and amazing grace can be found everywhere.  “The thief” (vs. 43) seems to be right outside the door.  But the thief in this story is no sinful robber, but the Savior Jesus Christ, coming to steal His own, and take them up to glory before the awful wrath of God falls down.

I am not saying it is going to happen today.  On some days I hope it does.  On most other days, I hope for more time so that more people may be saved.  What can we do?

Live with advent certainty, believe and live out the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Live with advent mystery, we do not have all the answers and cannot make sense of all of the clues.  Live with advent urgency.  Worship and witness like this could be your last day on earth.  Preach and pray that that others might accept our blessed hope, that the Lord Jesus Christ has come, and the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again!