Matthew 24:4-5 (NIV) Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
Jesus’ initial focus in this discourse is things surrounding the fall of Jerusalem, events that would happen during the near-term, during the lifetimes of these disciples. There are, of course, echoes of those events that are still occurring in our own lifetime, so these warnings are appropriate for the Church of today as well.
The first hazard to be guarded against is false messiahs. When Jesus failed to fulfill the expectations that had been built up around the people’s mental image of the Messiah, a great military leader and king who would throw out the Romans and then return Jerusalem to its former glory and greatness, many began to search elsewhere. Before Jesus’ day there had already been several pretenders, two of which are enumerated by Gamaliel in Acts 5:35-39.
Jesus predicted that more would come claiming to be the “real” Messiah, and trying to draw disciples away after themselves, and that some of them would succeed in gaining a following. But followers of Jesus must never be taken in by such people. Only Jesus could provide deliverance from mankind’s real enemies – not the Romans, but sin and death. Only He could (or would) lay down His own life for the people. Great military commanders might come along, but they would not be able to provide healing for bodies, release for demon-oppressed souls, or raise the dead to life. And they would not even be able to delay or stop the destruction of the city that He had foretold so clearly. The real thing had already appeared, and Jesus was warning His followers to accept no substitutes in the future.
Father, we still have those who rise up and claim to be the one people have been waiting for. But Jesus already accomplished all that needs to be done until His return, when he will finally restore all things. Help me and all of Your people to never fall for these deceivers’ schemes, but simply to rely on what He has already done. Amen.