Just to add some spice and urgency to his teaching, Jesus gets eschatological.
Pardon?
He introduces eschatology, which is a very big theme in the Bible, one which goes against the way we naturally think. We all tend to assume that tomorrow will be pretty much like today.
In that respect, we don't view the world in the way the Bible writers see it. For them, tomorrow won't always be like today. History won't simply continue, year after year after year. Instead, we are heading to an end point. This end point, this eschaton, is something that should concentrate our minds.
Consider this parable. No, this isn't Jesus's, this is mine. A man walks out of a large building, takes a deep breath and looks around him. He notices acutely the beauty of the day, the sunlight reflecting off the dew on the grass, the birds singing to greet the morning. He takes a deep breath of the sweet air, and regards the world with shining eyes. What has made him suddenly appreciate this beauty? Has he walked outside from his office, having just heard from his boss that he has been given a promotion? Has he just left his fiancée inside? ( yes, he must start calling her his fiancée, not girlfriend, for she has just accepted his proposal of marriage). Has he just seen on TV that his lottery numbers have come up?
None of these. The building behind him is a hospital, and he has just been told by his consultant that he has 6 months to live.
Knowing that there's an end helps us appreciate the present.
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