Mark 13:32-37
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 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.”
As they were leaving the temple, one of His disciples comments about how impressive the temple is, and Jesus tells them that the temple is going to be destroyed. Peter, James, John and Andrew think that Jesus is talking about when the end time is coming and ask Jesus about when this will occur.
Jesus tells them that there will be people claiming to be the Messiah who will lead many astray. There will also be wars, earthquakes and famines, but this will not be the end.
Jesus also tells them about the desolating sacrilege that will be setup, and when that happens, people in Judea must flee to the mountains, immediately, without going back to get what they feel are necessities. There will be sufferings that are greater than what anyone has experienced in history up to that point. And there will be more false messiahs who will wield great power and will try to mislead the people, even the believers.
When the Son of Man does come, it will be obvious signs that no one will miss – The sun and the moon will be darkened, and the stars will be falling from heaven. And when these things take place, we will know that the end is near and that that generation will not pass away until the end comes.
Now we come to this morning’s passage where Jesus tells us a few things:
- No one knows the day or hour when the end will come, except for the Father
- Because we do not know when, we are to be on guard
- It can come suddenly and so we are to keep awake
What does it look like for us to “keep awake”? In this case it is helpful to look at the sections in Matthew that cover the end times – Matthew 24:45 through Matthew 25. Jesus uses four parables to teach us.
The first addresses people in positions of power in the body of Christ. Just because Jesus’ return is being delayed, those in leadership must act as good stewards who are overseeing the church on behalf of Christ, and not for their own gains. They are not to abuse their power over people.
Jesus then speaks of ten bridesmaids, five of them foolish and five of them wise. The wise ones were being resourceful, having more oil for the lamp than necessary, anticipating the Lord to be delayed. Likewise, we are to be wise and resourceful with what the Lord has provided for us.
Then He tells the parable of the talents, which emphasized the great wealth with which we have been entrusted, and use it wisely for the Kingdom. We have all been given different types and amounts of talents, and we are to use what we have been given to increase the Kingdom.
Lastly Jesus talks about the judgment and divides the crowd in sheep and goats. He teaches that whatever we do to the least in the world, we do to the Lord. We are to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, take care of the sick and visit those who are in prison.
People have a fascination with prophesies and have tried to determine the timeline and events for Jesus coming back. History is full of failed guesses.
Back in the 1970s, when I became a Christian, one of the best-selling Christian books was Hal Lindsey’s “The Late Great Planet Earth”. Among his many speculations was his interpretation of Mark 13:28-31, the lesson of the fig tree.
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.
Lindsey interpreted the birth of the modern nation of Israel in 1948 as the fig tree sprouting leaves. And since generation is typically 40 years, this would mean that Jesus will be coming back by 1988.
It is fun to speculate and study various passages from the Old and the New Testaments. Many spend countless hours doing so. Some even have made it their ministry and become speakers and influencers. But from what Jesus clearly tells us, this is a waste of time and there are better ways to spend the time that He has given us on earth.
Jesus clearly says, “About the day and hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.”
Instead of worrying about when, we are to spend our lives being alert and ready for His return. We are to continue to preach the gospel so that as many people as possible will have the opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior before it is too late. “Keep awake” is Jesus’ command to us.
(the above is a summary of the message shared by Pastor Shun Takano during our worship on October 25, 2026.)
