TITLE:  Are You Ready?

SERMON IN A SENTENCE:   Christ calls us to be ready for the great day when he will come again.

SCRIPTURE:    Mark 13:24-37 

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 13:  THE CONTEXT

In response, chapter 13 presents Jesus' promise that time is moving toward the coming of the Son of Man, who will gather all the people together and make all things right. 

The church today is divided between Christians who await expectantly the return of the Son of Man and Christians who ignore this aspect of Jesus' teaching altogether.  We are often embarrassed by bumper stickers that warn that a car will be driverless in the event of the Rapture and by cartoon images of wacko men (they always seem to be men) carrying signs that proclaim, "REPENT!"  Nevertheless, we need to take Jesus' words in Mark 13 as seriously as we take Jesus' words anywhere.  The promise is that God has prepared something wonderful beyond our world and time.  Is that more difficult to believe than the resurrection?  Shouldn't we believe that God will redeem the world?

Christians who ignore the coming of Christ "have allowed the buoyancy to drop out of their religion....  (Mankind) has exchanged his august faith in God's coming action for a faith in the kind of plastic heaven that comes out of a factory....  What a trade!  Heaven for earth!  God for gadgets, the coming of Christ in the life of the world for the coming of a salesman's paradise!" (Luccock, 863-864).

VERSES 24-27:  THEN THEY WILL SEE THE SON OF MAN

²⁴"But in those days, after that suffering,

the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not give its light,

25and the stars will be falling from heaven,

and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

26Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. 27Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

The Old Testament provides much of the imagery for these verses:

"The earth quakes before them,

     the heavens tremble.

The sun and the moon are darkened,

     and the stars withdraw their shining"  (Joel 2:10).

"For the stars of the heavens and their constellations

        will not give their light;

    the sun will be dark at its rising,

        and the moon will not shed its light" (Isaiah 13:10).

"All the host of heaven shall rot away,

        and the skies roll up like a scroll.

    All their host shall wither

        like a leaf withering on a vine,

        or fruit withering on a fig tree" (Isaiah 34:4).

"As I watched in the night visions,

    I saw one like a human being (Aramaic:  like a Son of man)

        coming with the clouds of heaven.

    And he came to the Ancient One

        and was presented before him"  (Daniel 7:13).

"The reason for this density of biblical references is not hard to locate:  the author draws on traditional imagery to underscore the crisis that impends when the Son of Man returns….  The Son of Man prophecy itself comes from Dan. 7:13, and is repeated in Mark 14:62, in Jesus' trial before the chief priest" (Brueggemann, 8-9).

"But in those days" (v. 24).  Jesus has been foretelling the destruction of the temple and the persecution of the disciples.  "But" (v. 24) signals a transitions, and Jesus' transition is dramatic indeed.  After the events of vv. 5-23 take place, the sun, moon, and stars will signal a momentous happening, followed by the coming in glory of the Son of Man.

"the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken" (vv. 24-25). "At the end of time all such powers, real and imagined, will be obliterated.  The picture is one of total cosmic collapse.  Darkness and chaos will envelop everything, just as before time (Gen 1:2)" (Edwards 403). 

"Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory" (v. 27).  The cosmic powers will be gone, and godly power will reign.  While the imagery is frightening, it is intended to encourage Christians who are living in frightening times.  It acknowledges their suffering, and promises that:

-- The Holy Spirit will give them the right words to say (v. 11).

-- "The one who endures to the end will be saved" (v. 13).

-- The Son of Man will "gather the elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven" (v. 27).  Jews believe that God will gather the faithful to Jerusalem from the nations to which they have dispersed (see Deut. 30:4; Isa. 11:11; 43:6).  Their scattering represented "the loss of national unity...as a consequence of their infidelity to God; (their being gathered together again will announce) the salvation of Israel through a return to spiritual and national unity" (Lane, 476).   With Jerusalem and the temple gone, the Son of Man will gather the faithful to himself -- will become the new temple of God.

While this is encouraging, it is also demanding.  Jesus places a high premium on faithful discipleship in the midst of terrible trials.  He calls for us to endure and to be watchful. 

VERSES 28-31:  MY WORDS WILL NOT PASS AWAY

28"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

"From the fig tree learn its lesson" (v. 28).  This is the first of two mini-parables included in our Gospel lesson.  The second is the man going on a journey (vv. 34-36).

"as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.  So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates" (vv. 28-29).  The disciples asked for a sign (v. 4), and Jesus finally answers their request.  The fig tree blossoms late so its blossoms promise that summer is just around the corner.

While Jesus' comments about the fig tree sound cryptic, he simply assures us that, as we see these signs taking place, "we are assured that the day of salvation for the elect is near" (Perkins, 693).

"Truly I tell you" (v. 30).  This indicates the seriousness of the words that follow. 

"this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place" (v. 30). It seems as if Jesus is saying that the Son of Man will return within the next few years or, at most, the next few decades.  That is troubling, because the Son of Man did not come in the expected way and time, and still has not come two thousand years later.  There have been several attempts to resolve this problem:

Brooks draws attention to the word "but" (v. 24) which sets up a contrast between that which went before (vv. 5-23) and that which follows (vv. 24-27).  Prior to the "but," Jesus foretold the fall of the temple, persecution, and the desolating sacrilege (vv. 5-23).  After the "but," he describes cosmic signs that will precede the coming of the Son of Man (vv. 24-25).  He then describes the actual coming of the Son of Man in glory (v. 26).  If Jesus intends the "but" to set up a contrast, which appears likely, then the things that preceded the "but" must be different from the things that follow it.  Brooks concludes that "these things" (v. 29) and "all these things" (v. 30) refer to that which Jesus foretold in vv. 5-23 -- i.e., the destruction of the temple, persecution, and the desolating sacrilege (Brooks, 216).

Geddert generally agrees with Brooks, and suggests that we read v. 30 as follows:  "Within the present generation, all the events that are guaranteed to precede the arrival of the Son of Man (including the desecration and destruction of the temple) will be fulfilled.  If ordinary history should go on after that (and of this there is no guarantee), then at every minute we must reckon with the possible arrival of the Son of Man. He is at the very gates" (Geddert, 318). In other words, Geddert accepts the idea that "all these things" refers to the fall of the temple and the other signs mentioned in vv. 5-23.  He then says that, once the temple was destroyed, the Second Coming became imminent.  Christ can come at any moment.  It behoves us to be ready.

While we tend to be troubled by the long period of time that has elapsed since Jesus foretold the coming of the Son of Man, Hare sees it "as a sign of grace.  God's patience has extended the time during which the gospel may be proclaimed and people may repent" (Hare, 178).

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" (v. 31). When Jesus says, "Heaven and earth," he means all creation.  His words are derived from Isaiah 51:6 ("for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment,") and Isaiah 40:8 ("but the word of our God will stand forever"). 

"but my words will not pass away" (v. 31).  This is a bold claim, but one that has withstood the test of history.  Kingdoms have risen and waned and tyrants have done everything in their power to eliminate Christianity -- but people from all walks of life and in every land still look to Jesus as Lord.

VERSES 32-37:  KEEP AWAKE!

32"But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time (Greek: kairos -- crucial time, decisive moment) will come. 34It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35Therefore, keep awake -- for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake (Greek:  gregoreite -- keep awake, watch, be vigilant)."

"But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (v. 32).  In v. 30, Jesus seems to claim that the Son of Man will come soon, but in v. 32, he says that the Son does not know the day or hour.  Some claim that this is inconsistent, but it is possible for a person to know a general time frame but not the exact day or hour.

"Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come" (v. 33).  In the Roman army, a guard could be executed for falling asleep on guard duty.  While that sounds harsh, it reflects a harsh reality. Readiness is a matter of life and death.  If a guard falls asleep, the enemy might breach the defences and kill those whom the guard was charged to protect.

Spiritual alertness is as important as physical security.  We live in a world full of soul-killing temptations and distractions.  We are regularly subjected to advertising that trivializes life -- to friends who demand that we do scurrilous things -- to movies that glamorize violence, drugs and sex -- and to a thousand tempters.  Even coaches, who at one time emphasized spiritual values, often schedule practice sessions on Sunday mornings, forcing youngsters to choose between sports and faith.  The list of tempters is endless. When we succumb to them, we (and our family and friends) suffer the consequences. "Beware, keep alert," Jesus warns.  Good advice!

"for you do not know when the time (Greek: kairos) will come" (v. 33).  The Greek language has two words for time: 

-- Chronos has to do with chronological time.  When we say that we will do something at a particular time, we are using chronos time. 

-- Kairos has to do with crucial time or a decisive moment -- a pivotal point in history.  When we talk about "missing the boat," (by which we mean missing the opportunity of a lifetime), we are talking about kairos time.  When we say, "Now is the time to act!" we are talking about a decisive moment -- kairos time. 

It is bad to be late for chronos time (to miss an appointment), but it is far worse to be late for kairos time (to miss the opportunity of a lifetime).  To be late for chronos time might require re-shuffling our schedule. To be late for kairos time is to miss our boat -- and there might never be another boat!

So when Jesus says, "you do not know when the kairos will come," he is talking about the pivotal moment that will define our fate for all of eternity.

"It is like a man going on a journey" (v. 34).  As noted above, vv. 34-36 constitute a mini-parable about a master going away and charging his doorkeeper to be on the watch.  "Notice the power of 'as if.'  It is as if a householder goes away (though God has not gone away).  It is as if he leaves his slave in charge (though we are not really in charge).  But we are responsible....  We are stewards....  Apocalyptic hope should inspire us to work and to declare that the glory of Christ is the hope of the world, and that the duty of believers is to live out that hope, wide-awake" (Bartlett).

"for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn" (v. 35). These are the four Roman nightly watches: 

      -- Evening watch (6:00 - 9:00 p.m.)

      -- Midnight watch (9:00 - midnight)

      -- Cockcrow watch (midnight - 3:00 a.m.)

      -- Dawn watch (3:00 - 6:00 a.m.) 

These are all nighttime watches.  We expect the master to return during the day, when travelling is easy, but you never know!  Night is the time when we are likely to be least alert, so the message is that we need to be fully ready even in our least ready moments.  It is a serious call to serious discipleship.

"Therefore, keep awake -- for you do not know when the master of the house will come" (v. 35).  If Jesus doesn't know the hour (v. 32), we certainly don't.  Jesus warns us "not to compromise with the standards and fashions of the present age, but to keep awake, watching, as Paul again says, for the day to dawn, in whose light the dim flickering candles of the present age will be needed no more" (Wright, 187-188).

"or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly" (v. 36).  In the very next chapter, Peter, James, and John (Jesus' inner circle) will fall asleep in as Jesus prays in Gethsemane.  In fact, he will find them asleep three times (14:37, 40-41) in spite of his twice-repeated entreaty to stay awake (14:34, 38).  Even worse, they will desert him and flee when Jesus is arrested (14:50).