KEEP WATCH!
32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, 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!’” Mark 13:32-37
What was Jesus’ main message to His disciples then and to us now? “Be alert, keep watch for deceivers.” He was never ready just to give out facts or to satisfy curiosity. He taught for a reason and this time it was to prepare them for hard times ahead.
Jesus often used the illustration of the landowner or householder going away for a season, but always coming back, either to claim his share of the harvest or the householder or businessman coming back to receive what his servants had managed for him while he was away. All of these illustrations draw our attention to the stewardship responsibility and accountability of those left in charge. We must live as those to whom has been entrusted someone else’s property and who are waiting for the master’s return so that his property can be handed back to him either with increase or in a better condition that when he left.
In this illustration Jesus emphasized the watchful, alert attitude of His servants. Those who have been faithful and obedient to the Master’s charge will be ready and will be eager to welcome Him home. Like the bridegroom who returns for his bride, they will be waiting for Him and He will recognise them as His own.
Jesus has no time for the attitude that lives carelessly with the idea that, when the Master comes, there will be time enough to mend their ways. The time of His coming is unknown and unexpected. That is why He has not given us specifics. He is just as interested in the way we conduct ourselves while we wait as whether we are ready for Him when He comes.
What are we to watch for? Two things are specified: watch out for deceivers and watch for the Master’s return. Deceivers will always try to make us feel comfortable in our procrastination or they will lure us away into self-centredness and greed. Jesus is our Rabbi and our model. To be ready for His coming is to be focussed on imitating Him.