The Wednesday after the Last Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on November 26, 2025 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 24:1-14 (NKJV)
24:1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Devotion
For some 2,000 years Christians have wondered, “When? When will the Lord return?” During that span of time there have been countless wars between nations, numerous famines and pestilences, and earthquake after earthquake. One might think, “Lord, isn’t it about time for You to come back?” But if all those things aren’t enough, Jesus seems to ‘pile on’, telling Christians about having to face tribulation, being hated, and enduring lawlessness. So what are we to make of all this? “See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”
Christians who have been baptized into Christ our Lord need to understand that these warnings are not given to make us upset, but rather, these warnings are for our good. Every tragic event, all the hate that Christians face in this world, serve to show us who we are: God’s dear children who patiently await the return of our Lord. We are not to be troubled, for our Lord is with us every step we take in this world. Through His blessed Word and Sacraments our Lord keeps us ever prepared for His return in glory.
Collect: Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy people from their offenses, that from the bonds of our sins which, by reason of our frailty, we have brought upon us, we may be delivered by Thy bountiful goodness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
