Matthew 24: Jesus Is Coming Soon, What Should We Do While We Wait?

Introduction

"Jesus is coming soon. And I want to tell you this as good news." This is how Claude Ekwe opens his message at the October 20, 2026 service at Porte Ouverte Chrétienne. For him, this is a message that needs to be "preached and preached again": the Church talks about holiness and healing, but it must not forget its perspective and its hope. "Even though we are in this world, we are not of this world. Our lives down here are for up there."

The Saturday before, at home, he was watching the news. He saw what was happening in France, in the streets and city centers, in Paris, in Marseille, "these places we know." He was shaken. He went down to his office, and what comforted him was this certainty: Jesus is coming soon.

Starting from Matthew 24, he reminds us that Jesus announced these things in advance, and then he gives several keys to understand what the Lord expects of you while you wait for his return.

Outline of the Message

1. Jesus Announced It: We Should Not Be Surprised

In his discourse on the end times, Jesus warns: "Be careful that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray." He announces wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, persecutions and false prophets (Matthew 24:4-11).
"But all these things are the beginning of birth pains." The preacher recalls his wife during childbirth: the more frequent the contractions became, the more you knew the baby was coming. Hardly a week goes by now without disasters, earthquakes or climate upheaval, and the war in Ukraine is only a few hours from us.
The news, he says, has become "a skewer of bad news." In between, they slip in "a little vegetable": a bakery that makes delicious bread. "They can tell me about a bomb that killed children, and three minutes later they tell me about a new recipe. It makes no sense."
Jesus also announces that because of lawlessness, the love of most will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). "Do not let your love grow cold": not for humanity, not for the French, because God loves people and does not want any to perish.
"But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:13-14).

2. As in the Days of Noah: The Faithful Servant or the Evil Servant

"As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man" (Matthew 24:37-38). Before the flood, people were eating, drinking and marrying. Today, despite the distress, "we act as if nothing were happening."
"Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors" (Matthew 24:33). When you see these wars, these tensions, these crises, Jesus is near.
Matthew 24:45-51 presents two ways of responding. The faithful servant knows neither the day nor the hour, but he does what his master asked him to do. The evil servant tells himself that his master is taking his time and does what everyone else does. "Which side are you on?"
Noah built the ark, and God committed to sparing him with his wife, his sons and his daughters-in-law. The Bible says he did everything God commanded him (Genesis 6:18-22). What is the task the Lord has entrusted to you?

3. Be at Peace

First key: "Don't let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me." Jesus went to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-3). He gives us his peace, not as the world gives it (John 14:27).
"You can't complain like your coworkers, grumble like your coworkers, argue like your coworkers." Inflation hits Christians' wallets too, and violence can confront us, but the peace of God that surpasses all understanding guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).
The preacher does not want to be "a prophet of doom," but he does announce times that will become more and more difficult. Our hope is that Jesus is coming back and that he will come for his Church.
He recalls the images of Afghans running across the airport as the American army left. In a country at war, the first to leave are the expatriates: the embassy makes it its mission to bring its citizens home. "In this time of trouble, the Lord will come and get us."
"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46:10). God is neither surprised nor overwhelmed. He was on his throne during the flood (Psalm 29:10). And because you are seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), you look at the situation with God's eyes, above the circumstances.

4. Watch, Pray and Persevere

"This is not the time to eat, to drink, to do like everyone else, to waste your time." The preacher makes clear that he is not asking you to fast for forty days: he is asking you to watch.
"Watch over your faith. Watch over your integrity. Watch over your walk." There is a thief who wants to steal your peace, your assurance, your joy and your hope. "Watch therefore, for you don't know in what hour your Lord comes" (Matthew 24:42-43). Do not let him into your house.
Persevere in faith, in prayer, in teaching, in fellowship (Acts 2:42). "Do not let yourself be discouraged. What you started doing, keep doing it. One step at a time." Walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

5. Go and Get Your Family

God brought Noah into the ark with his whole household (Genesis 7:1). The angels sent to Sodom ask Lot: "Do you have anybody else here? Sons-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whoever you have in the city, bring them out of this place" (Genesis 19:12-13).
"Salvation is not only for you. Salvation is for your whole family." Paul tells the jailer: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:31). More than ever, this salvation is also for our loved ones.
Lot went to speak to his sons-in-law, but "he seemed to his sons-in-law to be joking" (Genesis 19:14). He was saved only with his two daughters. "What a terrible verse."
The preacher knows how difficult family histories can be. He cites Joseph, who tells his brothers that God turned into good the evil they had done to him (Genesis 50:20). "Do not look at the harm that was done to you," but receive the grace to go back to your own people and tell them that Jesus is coming soon and that he saves, heals and sets free.

6. Become an Intercessor

"If the Church does not pray, who will pray? Who will pray for France, for your family, for your city?" You don't put a lamp under a basket, and if salt loses its flavor, it is good for nothing (Matthew 5:13-15).
"Let's not be commentators on the news." As he speaks, shopkeepers are crying, people who saw their shop destroyed in two hours. Police officers are crying, people who signed up out of love for justice. Wives let their husbands leave in the morning without knowing whether they will see them again in the evening. The preacher speaks of a thousand wounded police officers. Children are crying, young people are in despair.
"I know you are angry with them, but Jesus loves them." Justice is needed, and God is for that justice, but it does not erase God's love for his creatures: he wants all people to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). "Those who get on your nerves, pray for them."
He is not asking for an all-night prayer vigil, but for prayer whenever you see these things: for the police, the government, the justice system, the youth, the high school students, everyone who suffers.
"I sought for a man among them who would build up the wall, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one" (Ezekiel 22:29-30). God is looking for a Church that prays for Mulhouse, for its neighborhood, for its shopkeepers, for its lost youth.

7. Share the Good News and Take Care of Others

In a world of bad news, God's children carry good news. That very day, two young men who came to sweep his chimney talked with him about current events, and he told them: "We have faith, we have hope, we believe in Jesus."
"For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek" (Romans 1:16). High school students are shouting, farmers are shouting, everyone is speaking out on social media: "Christians cannot stay silent."
"How will they believe in him whom they have not heard?" (Romans 10:14). At the bakery, at the butcher's, at the gym: you don't need to know the whole Bible, only to say what Jesus has done for you. Lot could not bring his sons-in-law out, "but he went to them anyway."
Last key: in the last days, people will be selfish (2 Timothy 3:1-2). "Me, my prayer, my calling, my ministry, my family, my house." The King will say: "Most certainly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40).
This is not the time to close your door. The Church must remain a place of welcome, refuge and love, a family. It starts simply: "Smile." At his gym, nobody says hello; he does, and everyone is surprised. "A Christian says hello. A Christian says have a good day. A Christian says thank you."
"The night is coming, when no one can work" (John 9:4). If Noah could have opened the door of the ark, he would have let in as many people as possible, but it was God who shut it (Genesis 7:16). "We will not go into the ark alone." The message ends with a prayer for France, its authorities, its police officers, its youth and the city of Mulhouse.

Key Takeaways

Jesus announced wars, violence and love growing cold: these birth pains herald his return, and they should not surprise the Church.
The faithful servant does not know the hour, but he does what his master asked him to do instead of doing what everyone else does.
A Christian can be at peace, because God reigns over the nations and will come for his own.
Salvation is also for your family, your city and those who get on your nerves: go to them and pray for them.
In a world of bad news, open your mouth and your door: proclaim Jesus and take care of others.

Personal Application

When you watch the news, do you react as a commentator on current events or as an intercessor?
What is the thief trying to take from you right now: your peace, your joy, your assurance or your hope?
Who in your family have you stopped reaching out to because of past wounds?
For which of the people who get on your nerves can you start praying this week?
Where in your daily life (work, shop, gym) can you simply say what Jesus has done for you, or at least smile and say hello?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Jesus say about the signs of the end in Matthew 24?

Jesus announces deceivers who will come in his name, wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, persecutions and love growing cold. He compares these events to birth pains: the more frequent the contractions, the closer the birth. For Claude Ekwe, the Church should therefore not be surprised by what it sees.

What should a Christian do while waiting for Jesus' return?

Like the faithful servant in Matthew 24:45-46, he does what his master asked him to do without knowing the day or the hour. Claude Ekwe gives several keys: be at peace, watch and pray, persevere, go and get your family, become an intercessor, proclaim the good news and take care of others.

Why go and get your family before Jesus returns?

God brought Noah into the ark with his whole household, and the angels asked Lot who else he had in the city. Salvation is not only for you, it is also for your loved ones. Even if your family history has been difficult, the preacher encourages you to go back to your own people and tell them that Jesus is coming, that he saves, heals and sets free.