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Mark 13:32-37
The Day and Hour Unknown
32 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
Our reading for yesterday included a prophesy by Jesus about the ‘end times,’ when the reign of God will be fulfilled. You might remember that we said Jesus had told his disciples that no one in this world knows when that hour will come. In today’s reading, Jesus says that even he himself did not know that during his earthly ministry. So the confident predictions you often hear that ‘the end is near’ are almost certainly worthless. And that goes for the “countdown clocks” you can find on websites that claim to know what Jesus didn’t.
But that doesn’t mean that the subject of the end times isn’t worth some thought on our part. In fact, in today’s passage, Jesus deals with an aspect of this issue that’s definitely worth our reflection. That’s the matter of how followers of Jesus are supposed to be living out our faith as we wait for him to come back. He says that those of us who follow him should be living as people who are constantly aware that his return could happen at any moment.
Jesus uses a little parable to illustrate his point: A man goes away on a trip and gives his servants work to do while he’s gone. When he comes back, the man wants to find his servants hard at work doing the tasks he’s assigned to them. That parable obviously symbolizes our relationship with Jesus – he’s left this world and given us work to do while we wait for his return And the fact that none of us knows when that return will come just raises the urgency of living in ‘productive expectation.’
The teachings of Jesus as we read them in the gospels make it pretty clear what work he wants us to be about while he’s gone. He’s told us to be helping the suffering and the vulnerable – feeding the hungry, healing the sick, welcoming the stranger, visiting the imprisoned, standing up for the oppressed and the marginalized, etc.
But there’s another aspect of the work we’ve been assigned to do while we wait. That “other part” can be found in the Great Commission, Jesus’ final instructions to the disciples before he ascended to heaven. In the Great Commission, he says we are to make disciples and to teach them to live by the commandments he has given us. Those two things go together – being a disciple means committing yourself to learn from Jesus and live by his teachings.
Teaching others to live by the commandments of Jesus takes a little thoughtful care and sensitivity. Some Christians seem to think the first step in making disciples is to tell people they’re sinners going to hell unless they them to stop sinning. As you’ve probably noticed, that doesn’t work most of the time. People tend to respond defensively, and it reinforces their opinion that Christians are judgmental and self-righteous.
A much better way to teach others to obey the commandments of Jesus to teach by example. We can make it plain that in order to express our thankfulness for what God has done for us in Jesus, we’re trying to turn away from our own sins. Teaching others to obey Jesus is something best done by a humble example that clearly communicates that we don’t regard ourselves as sinless and saintly people.
But there’s also another aspect to living in ‘productive expectation’ of Jesus’ return. In the opening chapter of Acts, before he ascends to heaven, Jesus says that his disciples are to be his “witnesses.” That means we’re supposed to share with people the good news of what God has done in Jesus. We’re commanded to be witnesses to what God has done through Jesus in our own lives, and in the lives of others around us. We need to remember that Jesus said if we’re ashamed to speak up for him in this world, he’ll be ashamed to speak up for us at the throne of the Father.
No one knows when Jesus will return. But he’s pretty clear about what he expects us to be doing when he gets back. He expects us to be serving those in need, to be making disciples of ourselves and others, and to be bearing witness to what God has done in and through him. Those are pretty much the hallmarks of the life of a follower of Jesus.
Imagine the pain of having Jesus come back and find that you had neglected serving him for the sake of the things of this world, for worldly possessions and meaningless entertainment. But then imagine the thrill of having him come back and find you eagerly serving his kingdom, the joy of getting a proud smile and an arm around your shoulder from your master. Imagine hearing him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your master!” That’s the reward for a life of ‘productive expectation.’
Let’s pray. Lord, pour out your Holy Spirit on us today and every day, and empower us to live as productive disciples who are joyfully about our master’s work while we wait for him to come back. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
(The other readings for today are Psalms 122 and 123; I Kings 1:32 – 2:46; and Acts 26:24 – 27:8. Our readings come from the NIV Bible, as posted on Biblica.com, the website of the International Bible Society.)
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