Perhaps you’ve heard that song written by Larry Norman, “I Wished We’d All Been Ready.”
When I first became serious about serving Jesus Christ, it was early in the 1970s. So-called “Jesus Music” was just becoming commercially viable, and a whole generation of song writers put the gospel message to a contemporary beat. Not all of it was true to Scripture, any more than it is with the more recent Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). On top of this, several very famous artists have gotten some unwanted publicity due to scandalous behavior. On the one hand, we each have to ask: How I would do, if my life was under the spotlight? On the other hand, what James says of teachers in the Church (James 3:1) applies equally well to those who stand before crowds claiming to sing for Jesus. Too often CCM is marketing first, and only incidentally biblical.
To my knowledge, Larry Norman wasn’t guilty of that. No scandals, no dirty secrets brought to light, not even bad behavior behind the scenes. He was rather strange, but not rude. I first saw Larry in concert where I was attending college at Oklahoma Baptist University. He was taller than average, had pale blond (almost white) straight hair down on his shoulders, wore a brown leather jacket and carried nothing more than an acoustic guitar. He performed his whole concert just like that. I seem to recall he included that old favorite, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready.” (Readers should note he died some years ago.)
That concert was about the same time Hal Lindsay had thoroughly established himself as one of the top Christian book writers. The paperback Christian book business was just getting significant. Like most people I knew, I read Late Great Planet Earth, along with a couple of other books by Lindsay. At the time, it all sounded good to me and was highly recommended by people I respected.
In our passage for this lesson, Jesus had just completed a heavy-duty sermon against the Scribes and Pharisees. Tension was high and the anger was palpable. As He and the Twelve were departing the Temple grounds, the disciples were commenting on the beautiful work Herod had done building up and decorating the structure. Herod was a clever architect, and lavished a lot of expense on the project. Very generous, considering he had no legitimate right to go past the Court of Gentiles, despite having been circumcised. Jesus warned His disciples not to get too wrapped in the man-made structure: “Do you see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2).
Obviously this was a prophecy of future events, events which would be earth-shattering to them as Jews. Having already learned not to argue about it, they asked point blank, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (verse 3). Jesus answered at length. What follows in the next two chapters are some of the most debated verses in the Bible. Even the fans of Hal Lindsay can’t agree precisely on what all this means.
I am no longer a fan of Lindsay. However, I am not about to launch into an attack on him or his theology here. This is about parables and parabolic language, not about eschatology. Out of this long lesson Jesus gave on the Mount of Olives, one image is sorely abused and must be addressed.
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the Flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” (Matthew 24:36-42)
I have it on good authority Larry was thinking of these verses, or perhaps the parallel passage in Luke 17:34-36, when he wrote that still-popular song. Like most people I know, he thought Jesus was talking about the Rapture. In this he was quite mistaken.
As usual, it’s largely corrected by noting the context. Jesus refers to Noah and the Flood (Genesis 6). He talks about how, despite Noah’s prophesying, folks just went on with their partying lifestyle. “So will the coming of the Son of Man be” tells us when He comes back, it will be a surprise to those who aren’t His followers. That Day will come, and people will be taken away.
Which people will be taken away? In the days of Noah, it was the sinners, those who rejected his message. So it will be when the Son comes — sinners will be taken away. A common phrase in Jewish culture was to be “taken away” with the meaning always in terms of judgment. In Jesus’ day it would mean arrest by Roman soldiers or Temple guards. Even today, we hear the television policeman say, “Take `em away and book `em.”
I won’t fault Larry for taking poetic license in changing the words a bit. “Two men in a field” and “two men walking up a hill” is pretty much the same thing in this context, but “hill” rhymes better with “still.” His mistake is in assuming the one taken was whisked off to be with Jesus. That’s not what Jesus was saying. He was saying the one taken will be like those caught in the Flood, taken to their just punishment. The one left behind is the survivor, not the person who missed the rapture, as Norman suggests. The ones left alive in the days of Noah were those who heeded the warning. The Flood never took them, because they were protected.
So what’s the point? It’s enough to note here Jesus warns us we cannot really be “ready” for His return in the sense we will have no unfinished tasks at hand. It will not be convenient for anyone except God. Jesus said, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:44)
How can we be ready? How did Noah and his family get ready? They obeyed the Word of God, and went about the task given. The rains did not fall just as they finished; they were in that huge land-locked ship for seven days before the flood came (Genesis 7:10). The task for those of us following Jesus is in the next parable He gives, Matthew 24:45-51. This one has caused little difficulty for most people. The Unfaithful Steward is pretty obvious; it’s the Faithful Steward that is the point. He didn’t try to guess the time his master would return, and so make any special preparations to impress him. He simply did what he would have done had the master been there all along, looking over his shoulder.
That’s what Jesus expects of us. It’s not a matter of trying to calculate this or that subtle hint in Scripture, and setting forth probable dates. It’s not about symmetry in the number of years in each Dispensation. It’s not about whether you will have a chance to accomplish anything in particular in your life before He returns. It’s about living everyday the same as if He were here now, watching over your shoulder. He is, you know.
