Mark 13:32-37. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 18, 2020.
This morning, we will finish this section in which Jesus tells us about what is in the future. His prophecy breaks up into three sections: a time of birth pains, also called the times of the Gentiles, that follows his ascension, the Great Tribulation, which is the climax of the end times, and the Second Coming of Jesus. These three sections start out slow and long, 2,000 years, but then become a quick succession of blows (7 years and then 1 moment/day).
After those prophecies, each of the three synoptic Gospels take time to emphasize that you will not want to be caught off guard by the Second Coming, and that is what we will look at today. The Christian is not oblivious to the judgment that hangs over this world. God has a contention with all of the nations of this world and has judged them all to be unworthy of ruling the earth. Because of this, Christians are to live a life that is focused on God’s work, and being ready for the return of Jesus at all times.
By way of refresher, we have talked about how the Second Coming of Jesus is like a Galilean wedding. John 14 tells us that Jesus went back to his Father’s house to make a home for his bride, the church. He will no doubt come back for his bride at some point in which they all go back to his Father’s place to have a wedding party. Eventually, Christ and his bride come in judgment to take up the rule of the earth.
One thing that was unique about the Galilean wedding is that the son could have a place prepared and want to go get his bride, but he had to wait until his father said it was time. This may help us understand a bit more why Jesus would emphasize that he doesn’t know the time (even though he clearly knows that it will be longer than his followers will want to wait). Let’s not jump ahead on this point yet.
Jesus first points out that “no one knows”, which is a reference to all humans. Through the years, many people have predicted when Jesus was coming back, whether they spoke of it as the Rapture or as the Second Coming. They typically justified their predictions by some slight of hand. Some would emphasize that you couldn’t know the day or hour, but you can know the 2-day window, or week, or month, or year. Some would emphasize that they have received a vision from the Father or Son and God now wants us to know. However, this seems odd since Jesus warns that the end times will come as a trap and at a time that the disciples do not think. His point is not, wait until God reveals it. Rather, it is always be watching and ready! No, there will not be a time when God changes His mind and begins telling believers when the Son will return.
Jesus follows this by saying that not even the angels of heaven know when it will occur. Incidentally, this would rule out the devil and his angels. If they angels of heaven don’t know then those who had earlier fallen would not know either. Satan is chomping at the bit and always ready for his chance to dominate the world and have it worship him. Are you ready?
The next point, however, is the true puzzler. Not even the Son knows the day or hour. Now, it is one thing for Jesus to say that the Father has not given him permission to share that knowledge, but it is quite another to say that the Son of God does not know. It begs this question. How can Jesus be both divine and not know this? Isn’t he supposed to be omniscient?
I do not want to get bogged down in the weeds of answering this question, but let’s spend a few moments exploring it. Many biblical teachers have talked through various aspects of its implications. Let me just make a couple of points so that we can be clear that this is not a true contradiction to the divinity of Jesus. First of all, it is unclear whether Jesus means that he didn’t know in his human nature, and that his divine nature was just keeping it from his human side through wisdom. Of course, this gets into the quagmire of how the mechanics and internal operation of the incarnation of Jesus worked. We should fear to tread too far into that territory since the Bible says precious little on that topic.
Second of all, it is also unclear whether Jesus meant that he didn’t know then, but that he would know when he ascended to the right hand of the Father.
Perhaps, it is best to understand this in the same way that we understand the subservient role that the Son fulfills. Though the Son is equal to the Father in the sense of his being or substance (that is, divine) he can perform a subservient role without diminishing his essence or being. Think of one human being serving another human being. The lesser role does not somehow render the servant as less human than the one served. Thus, in eternity past, when the plan of salvation was created, it was agreed upon that only the Father would know and that the Son would voluntarily restrict his omniscience to the time of his Second Coming. We could say that omniscience is to know all things that one chooses to know. Just as omnipotence does not mean that God has to do whatever we tell him to do, in order to prove it- He can exercise restraint in accordance with His own wisdom- so the Son can choose to restrict or restrain the exercise of his omniscience in any particular area he so chooses. This is not a true contradiction, but rather a point that is totally unexpected.
There are some practical implications to the reality that no one knows when Jesus is coming back. We should stop listening to people who set dates and invite us to sell all of our stuff and join them in a rural compound. We should even be careful of those who do not prophesy particular dates, but only say that certain dates are somehow more possible than others. Of course, no one can live without conjecturing about the future. However, pumping up particular dates every year or more has the opposite effect upon people’s readiness. They tend to have a flurry of activity leading up to the time, and then a relaxing when it doesn’t happen. This is not what Jesus has called us to do.
It is not our job to predict when Jesus will come back, and thus we shouldn’t listen to those people. However, it is good to recognize the signs of the times that we live in, and the signs of the times that are next on the docket. They can encourage our faith to keep focused on Christ and being ready. We live in a time where the prophesied events of the book of Revelation are not only possible, but becoming more and more likely every day. The world is clamoring for a global governance that can control, or harness, the power of mankind. Like a Neo-Nimrod building a modern tower of Babel, our world is rushing forward into the Great Tribulation. However, it is still being restrained by God until that point that He says enough.
This means that we should live in a way that we are always prepared. The Coast Guard motto is Semper Paratus, or Semper Par as they say; “Always ready!” Those who remember the Royal Rangers youth program of the Assemblies of God will know that the motto taught to young Christian boys was “Ready!” It meant to be ready for anything. If you are trying to predict a date then you will have a series of relaxing and stressing, being ready, and then not being ready. Over time, such a build up and let down can wear out our faith in its truth. However, if you are always living prepared and Jesus doesn’t come back during your life time then you will also be ready for that next moment after death. In that moment, you either go into the grave awaiting judgment, or you go into the presence of the Lord. Friend, don’t put off your preparation for that day a day longer. Make sure that you have turned from your sin and this world, and that you have turned toward Jesus and following him. Though the Christian is to live always prepared for our Lord’s return, notice in verse 33 and 34 that our Lord has work for us to do.
Verse 33 gives us a series of commands to believers from the Lord. We are first told to “take heed.” It means to see and discern the world around us and our own spiritual condition. Luke 21 warns, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.” Wow! Believers are not to live a life of carousing, drunkenness, and worried about the cares of this world and our flesh. Such a life is not only unprepared for the Second Coming, it is also unprepared for its own death as well. This world is used by the devil to tempt Christians into all manner of sinful activities. They become an exit ramp from remaining vigilant and discerning about the condition of our soul.
The second command is “Watch.” The point is not so much sitting and looking at the sky, but rather at its root means sleeplessness. A man who was on watch dared not fall asleep. It meant disaster for the camp or village if he did. It speaks to a wakeful frame of mind in the midst of a world designed to put you to sleep spiritually. Matthew 24 adds the warning that before the flood of Noah’s day came, people who had been warned were going about life as if nothing bad was on the horizon. They were asleep spiritually.
The New Testament often ties the word “watch” together with the word “pray.” The third command from our Lord is to “Pray.” As we pray to God, we are watching over our souls and maintaining our faith so that it is not diminished in any way.
When we put all of this together, we find that, through prayerful vigilance, we can live a life for God’s purposes. We can live a life following the Spirit of God and not our flesh, a life of the love of God for others, a life of strengthening fellow believers, and a life of sharing the Gospel with those who do not believe. We are to be a light in this generation. When they see our lives, they will get a glimpse of who Jesus was and is, the very righteousness of God. When they hear the Gospel, some of them will believe and be brought into the family of God. We must focus on the work that he has given us in our families, jobs, Church, and community, being a light because the night is coming when no man can work!
Jesus ends with a parable or analogy that is very clear and simple. There is a man who leaves his house and goes into a far country. He puts his servants in charge of his affairs. There are two aspects regarding his servants. First, they have been given authority to run his affairs. If we think of this as a group of believers then we see how we are to be working together and yet certain ones may have a higher authority than I do. Whatever gift and role God has given to us, and at whatever level of authority, we need to use it for the building up of the faith and the life of one another as brothers and sisters before God. This starts as a faithful companion in worshiping, and living for Jesus, whether in or outside of church. We are to encourage one another as a family. It may specialize beyond this, such as those who lead in music, teach in various ways, preach, watch over the affairs of the property, oversee a food pantry ministry, etc.
In this scenario, those who are the doorkeepers and are watching for the Lord’s return would represent the prophetic role that warns God’s people of external enemies, internal laxity, and the Lord’s return. God calls watchmen who are to be vigilant in this sense. This doesn’t absolve all believers of personal responsibility, but becomes an added layer of protection, especially for new believers.
However, we should also see this at an individual level. We all have a duty to be diligent in the things that the Lord has given to us to do. We can fall into the trap of wanting something bigger, greater, or more like another servant. This only diminishes our gusto for the tasks that we have been given. Give yourself to the people, relationships, and godly duties that you have right now. Meanwhile watch over your spiritual life, and the temptations of the enemy so that you will be ready at his return, or your death. Like Nehemiah and the exiles who had returned to a devastated Jerusalem and were rebuilding the wall, we live this life with a trowel for building in one hand and a sword for defending in the other. We are to live in this world focused on the mission of Jesus, vigilant against our spiritual enemies, and not losing faith that our Lord is returning one day.
Let me say this again; you do not want to be caught sleeping or abusing your authority when Jesus returns. In verses 35-37, he reminds us that we don’t know if he is coming in the night, or midnight, morning, or noon. In fact, globally it will be all of these at once. For some it will be each of these times depending on your time zone. The problem would not be sleeping physically, but sleeping spiritually.
In Mark, we are only warned that we don’t want to be caught sleeping. Yet, in Matthew 24, Jesus follows this up with a greater explanation. The faithful and wise servants will be found doing exactly what their master told them to be doing, making sure his house is running well, and increasing. However, there will be some evil servants who say in their heart that he is delaying his coming, or even that he will never come. Jesus warns that such evil servants will abuse their power in his Church and abuse their fellow servants, even eating and drinking with the drunkards. The warning is severe.
“The master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 24:50-51 (NKJV)
It is not enough to join God’s people and even receive a high position of authority within it. If we use God’s things for our own pleasure then we are following the spirit of this world rather than the Spirit of God. Such people will receive judgment from the Lord. You do not want to be caught spiritually sleeping, or drunk on the pleasures of this life. So, Watch!