A Tiring Challenge: Mark 13:32-37

As we near the end of our year moving through the gospels looking at Jesus’ parables, we come to the last parable that is found in Mark’s gospel. This parable echoes a similar parable we looked at very early on in our year of podcasting through Jesus’ parables, and it is probable that Jesus repeated it for the disciples during the week leading up to the cross as He teaches them about staying prepared and ready for His return.

However, as I read this parable and passage in preparation for this episode, several verses in the surrounding context for this parable stood out to me more than the short parable itself. Jesus’ illustration is really only one verse long, but the verses leading up into this illustration, and the emphasis Jesus places on a key idea after the illustration are both incredibly powerful.

Let’s read what Jesus shared with the disciples and discover what Jesus wanted to emphasize for His followers. Our parable and passage are found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 13, and for this episode, let’s read out of the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 32, Jesus tells His disciples and those present:

³² No one knows the day or the time. The angels in heaven don’t know, and the Son himself doesn’t know. Only the Father knows. ³³ So watch out and be ready! You don’t know when the time will come. ³⁴ It is like what happens when a man goes away for a while and places his servants in charge of everything. He tells each of them what to do, and he orders the guard to keep alert. ³⁵ So be alert! You don’t know when the master of the house will come back. It could be in the evening or at midnight or before dawn or in the morning. ³⁶ But if he comes suddenly, don’t let him find you asleep. ³⁷ I tell everyone just what I have told you. Be alert!

In this passage, the parable-illustration is really not the main focus of Jesus’ teaching. This passage has two big ideas: The first is that we should watch, be ready, and stay alert; and the second is that we don’t know the date or time of Jesus’ return.

When we read Jesus’ words clearly and directly, we should not presume to discover what Jesus Himself does not know. Jesus clearly tells His disciples in verse 32: “No one knows the day or the time. The angels in heaven don’t know, and the Son himself doesn’t know. Only the Father knows.”

If no one knows except the Father, it does not make sense for us to try to set dates or to make predictions of this sort. While this doesn’t stop people from doing so, I’m certain there are no less than one hundred predictions in the last two hundred and fifty years that failed to simply get the year correct, much less the day or even the time.

All these failed predictions could turn a person into being cynical about Jesus’ promise to return, but the fault is not on Jesus’ delay, but on our desire for a certain date – specifically a date that Jesus Himself told us that He did not know. Jesus might still not know the date of His return. While Jesus could simply ask the Father for this information and then He would know, it’s more likely that Jesus trusts the Father completely with this information and that He is working diligently in heaven on our behalf until the Father announces that the time has come for His return.

If Jesus told us that He did not know the date of His return, it is crazy to think that we could discover this date before Jesus.

Does this mean that all date-setting is misplaced effort on our part and that we should avoid it at all costs?

In my own mind, the answer is almost. As I have looked at date-setting enthusiasts in recent years, I see behind it a noble drive to bring people to Jesus before it is too late. With a date set, even if Jesus doesn’t return at that date, the date functions as a deadline that helps motivate people to give their lives to God. In this regard, date-setting acts as a positive force, challenging people regarding where their lives are headed and motivating them to turn to Jesus.

However, after this artificial deadline motivator, most all date-setting is misplaced effort. If those who return to God do so only because it is what they believe to be their last minute conversion, and the date doesn’t turn out to be correct, are they going to stay following Jesus? If so, then this failed date was a tool that God used to draw people to Him.

In contrast, if the date setting effort takes the focus off of Jesus, and/or those who come to “Jesus” because of the date-setting leave Him after the date failed, then this date-setting effort was not from God. Also, if setting a date for Jesus’ return prompts other people to ridicule you and to question their faith, then this date-setting is not from God.

The unpopular remedy for date-setting is what we see Jesus describe for us in this passage. In this passage, Jesus uses phrases like, “Watch out and be ready!” “Keep alert.” “Don’t let him find you asleep.” And “Be alert!” In this passage, we see the challenge for all of God’s people to stay alert and ready for His return whenever it happens.

While this challenge is unpopular, tiring, and perhaps even unrealistic on one or more levels, we only need to look back at some of our recent podcast themes to conclude that when Jesus returns, we would want Him to catch us doing exactly what He has called, commissioned, and challenged us to do. Jesus has called us to watch, to be ready, to share the good news, to bring people to Him, but most importantly to stay connected to Him and to the Holy Spirit.

When we are alert, we see the signs of His soon return all around us. When we are alert, we are aware of things that we might miss if we were asleep. However, with the signs leading up to His return happening all around us, we should remember that these signs don’t point to the date of His return. Instead these signs are given so we can stay awake, alert, and focused on what He has challenged and commissioned us to do!

In heaven, we won’t have the opportunity of sharing Jesus with those present because everyone will know Him already. This means that while we are alive on earth today, this becomes one of our highest callings, because according to Jesus, only through knowing Jesus can we find eternal life!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, keep seeking God first in your life. Choose to stay alert and look for the signs signaling Jesus’ return around us. While it might seem like the signs Jesus gives are a little generic at times, know that this is because He wants us to be alert and ready for His return when it does happen. When Jesus returns, don’t let Him catch you sleeping or having abandoned the commission He has given to all His followers!

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to grow personally closer to God each and every day. Choose to trust God and let Him lead in your life. Choose also to ask God for help staying alert and ask God to show you what He wants you to learn both from the Bible and from what is happening in the world today.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!