The Bible records events that are beyond human explanation. God parted the Red Sea. He caused the sun to stand still in the days of Joshua. He healed Hezekiah and gave him a sign by reversing the shadow on the sundial. These events are extraordinary. They are reminders that God rules over creation and history.

There is another extraordinary event that has not yet happened, but it is just as certain. Jesus Christ will return.

In fact, His return is more certain than the sun rising tomorrow. The same God who performed miracles in the past has promised that His Son will come again. Jesus Himself said so. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes from hearing the word of Christ. The very words of Jesus bring salvation, and those same words declare that He will return. The question is not whether He is coming. The question is whether we are ready to meet Him when He comes.

In Luke 17, Jesus warns us that some people will not be ready. God looks at the heart, and Jesus exposes several kinds of hearts that may miss His return. We’ve already learned about the worldly heart that loves the world and the divided heart that cannot let go. Jesus is very terse and to the point when He tells us to “Remember Lot’s wife”.

In the following verses, there are three more kinds of hearts that are not ready for Jesus’ second coming. The first is the unsurrendered heart.

Jesus says in Luke 17:33, “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” An unsurrendered heart is self-ruled, self-willed, and self-seeking. It has not yielded completely to Christ. It may acknowledge Jesus in certain areas of life, but it has not completely surrendered.

Many people pursue careers, wealth, achievement, or recognition as their highest goal. Their ultimate purpose remains tied to this world. Yet Jesus asks, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Mark 8:36)

The unsurrendered heart is often revealed when surrender becomes costly. In John 6, crowds followed Jesus after He fed the five thousand. They were eager to receive benefits from Him. But when Jesus declared that He was the Bread of Life and called them to wholehearted faith and submission, many turned away because His words were hard. (John 6:48) They wanted the blessings of Jesus without surrendering to Jesus Himself.

True discipleship is different. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Every Christian is called to be a disciple. Christianity is not merely an identity we claim. Discipleship is the path we walk. The surrendered heart has to do with Biblical discipleship. The one who waits for Jesus’ coming is a true disciple who has surrendered to Christ. Every Christian is a disciple of Jesus Christ. Christian is your identity in Jesus, being a disciple is the path of life, resulting in sanctification.

Digression: Every Christian must be a disciple and a disciple maker. We misunderstand what making other disciples entails. We think it requires lots of knowledge and making sure of sound doctrine. Instead, more importantly, the Holy Spirit has given you a gift. Just use your gift. Disciple making is not a setting or program. It’s a lifestyle of obedience by using the gift that God has given to you for His glory (Matthew 28:19). Jesus invites you. “If anyone wishes to come after me,” meaning if you want to be Jesus’ disciple, then you are invited. But if you are not a disciple of Jesus, then you might be a disciple of this world. Disciples follow their masters and their teachers. If you wish to have eternal life, then you must be a disciple of Jesus, which means total surrender. Pursue Jesus above all else. Enter the narrow gate. Total surrender is waiting for His return. 

What does total surrender look like? It begins with self-denial. The self never naturally cooperates with God. The self competes with Christ’s lordship. It constantly seeks its own desires and its own glory. In many ways, the self becomes our idol. The Christian therefore counts the old self as dead. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ.” We no longer belong to ourselves. Jesus Himself is the perfect example. In Luke 22:42, facing the cross, He prayed, “Not My will, but Yours be done.” He chose the Father’s will above His own comfort.

Total surrender also means taking up our cross daily. We still live in the flesh. We experience suffering, disappointment, and hardship. Yet we endure with faith because we belong to Christ. God often works through painful circumstances to shape us. Job learned true humility through immense suffering, and in Job 42:5–6 he finally saw God more clearly than ever before.

The application is clear. Obeying Jesus must become more important than every competing desire. Half surrender is not surrender. Half-truth is not truth. If Christ gave Himself completely for us, then we must give ourselves completely to Him.

The solution to an unsurrendered heart is found in the gospel. Second Corinthians 5:17 says that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. The new has come. We must remember that this world is not our home. Colossians 3:1 calls us to keep seeking the things above. In the middle of busy lives, we need to step back regularly and remind ourselves that we are citizens of heaven awaiting our King.

The second heart Jesus warns about is the hollow heart.

In Luke 17:34–36, Jesus describes people who appear side by side in ordinary life, yet one is taken, and the other is left. The point is that outward proximity does not guarantee inward reality. These people were in the same circumstances and doing the same things, yet one was taken while the other was left. 

A hollow heart professes Christ without truly possessing Christ. It has an appearance of faith but lacks spiritual substance. Scripture repeatedly warns about this danger. First John 2:4 says that the person who claims to know God but does not obey Him is a liar. In Matthew 7, Jesus warns about people who serve for their own purposes rather than the will of God. He also teaches that true trees are known by their fruit.

The evidence of genuine life is not perfection but transformation. There is a growing desire for God. There is repentance. There is sensitivity to sin. There is increasing obedience and sanctification. A hollow Christian may have religious activity, but the heart remains unchanged. Such a person prefers the broad road, comfort over surrender, appearance over reality.

The solution is to examine whether the gospel has truly taken root in our hearts. Paul asks in 1 Thessalonians 1:5 whether the gospel came only in word, or also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. Has the gospel changed us? Has it produced faith, hope, and love? The gospel is powerful enough to change everything because it brings us into union with Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must continually return to the gospel and find our fullness in Him.

The third heart is the distrusting heart. After hearing Jesus speak of His coming, the disciples ask, “Where, Lord?” Jesus responds with a proverb: “Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.” At first, the answer seems unrelated, but Jesus is making a profound point. Vultures gather wherever there is a carcass. It is inevitable. Cause and effect. 

The disciples were focused on where these events would happen. Jesus redirects them to what matters most: certainty. His return is not speculation. It is not a possibility. It is inevitable. The question is not where. The question is whether we are ready.

Many people hear about the return of Christ and brush it aside. They continue living as though nothing will ever change. Yet Jesus calls us to respond differently. The certainty of His return should shape our decisions, priorities, and perspective every day.

The solution to a distrusting heart is to abide in Christ. Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. He is our true home.

We must also pursue a sanctified life. Hebrews 12:14 reminds us that holiness matters because we are preparing to see the Lord. Everything else in this world is temporary. Only Jesus is eternal.

Finally, we must cultivate a watchful heart through prayer. Jesus says in Luke 21:36 that prayer keeps us alert. Prayer is the exercise of faith and hope. It keeps us dependent on God and focused on eternity. A praying Christian is a watchful Christian. Prayer says, “Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus.”

Jesus’ second coming is not a made-up story. It is a certainty. People respond to that certainty with different hearts. Some remain unsurrendered. Some are hollow. Some are distrustful. But Jesus calls us to examine our hearts. In Matthew 24:46–51, the evil servant convinces himself that his master is not coming. That assumption shapes the way he lives. Yet the master arrives when he least expects. Jesus is coming, that is certain. Examine your hearts. Are you ready for His return?