Mar 13:37 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord Jesus says as the true Servant and Prophet serving God on earth that the exact time of His coming is unknown. As the eternal God He knows everything; as a Servant He submits Himself to God and does not know everything. This is incomprehensible to us, just as we cannot understand that He could increase “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” ( ). If we could understand it, we would also understand what it is that He is both true God and true Man. However, this is impossible for us, for then we would be God’s equal. His ignorance of day or hour shows how truly Human He is. The fact that the hour is coming, right at the door, does not mean that the moment of His coming can also be calculated. The accompanying phenomena of the Son of Man’s coming indicate that He is coming soon, but His coming itself will happen at the speed of lightning. Once again He tells them to take heed, to watch out. They have to be awake, that is to say consciously awake, not finding rest in a world in which He also cannot find rest. It is not a fearful view, but a trusting and hopeful view. That is why He adds that they have to pray. To pray means to trust that God is not out of control. While they watch and pray like that, the Lord also gives a command. There is work to be done for every servant. He presents Himself as a man who leaves his house, that is the house of Israel, and goes abroad, that is, He goes back to heaven while giving commands to those who stay behind. On His return to heaven He has put His slaves in charge and to each of them his task. This is consistent with this Gospel where the Lord Jesus is the Servant and teaches His disciples how to serve. After His leaving, His own service on earth is over. He lets it continue by His slaves. Here there is no question of giving talents to trade with them ( ), but here everyone has his task as a slave. It is about service in the house – for us it is the house of God, the church – in which every servant has his task. Each of us can act with authority in the area given by the Lord, because He has given authority to His slaves for that purpose. The doorkeeper is told separately that he must be on the alert. He must see to it that no evil enters the house in the form of evil persons or wrong doctrine. However, the Lord emphasizes the importance and necessity of being on the alert not only in view of the evil that might enter the house, but also in view of the coming of Himself as the Lord of the house. As has already been mentioned, in this house we can see a picture both of the house of Israel and of the church. How will He find us? Asleep? Even as Christians we can fall asleep and lose sight of His coming. Falling asleep means that we look like the unbelievers who are dead ( ). The Lord concludes His sermon by giving, for the fourth time in this short section ( ), the command to be on the alert. Over the heads of the disciples, He says it “to all”, without exception, that is, expressly to us as well. The heart must be ready to receive Him. If we stop looking forward to His coming, we will begin to focus on the things of the earth. We will then have taken the first step on the path of decay. That is why it is vitally important to be on the alert and to look forward to Him.

‏ Mark 13:37

Day and Hour Unknown

The Lord Jesus says as the true Servant and Prophet serving God on earth that the exact time of His coming is unknown. As the eternal God He knows everything; as a Servant He submits Himself to God and does not know everything. This is incomprehensible to us, just as we cannot understand that He could increase “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Lk 2:52). If we could understand it, we would also understand what it is that He is both true God and true Man. However, this is impossible for us, for then we would be God’s equal. His ignorance of day or hour shows how truly Human He is.

The fact that the hour is coming, right at the door, does not mean that the moment of His coming can also be calculated. The accompanying phenomena of the Son of Man’s coming indicate that He is coming soon, but His coming itself will happen at the speed of lightning.

Once again He tells them to take heed, to watch out. They have to be awake, that is to say consciously awake, not finding rest in a world in which He also cannot find rest. It is not a fearful view, but a trusting and hopeful view. That is why He adds that they have to pray. To pray means to trust that God is not out of control.

While they watch and pray like that, the Lord also gives a command. There is work to be done for every servant. He presents Himself as a man who leaves his house, that is the house of Israel, and goes abroad, that is, He goes back to heaven while giving commands to those who stay behind. On His return to heaven He has put His slaves in charge and to each of them his task. This is consistent with this Gospel where the Lord Jesus is the Servant and teaches His disciples how to serve.

After His leaving, His own service on earth is over. He lets it continue by His slaves. Here there is no question of giving talents to trade with them (Mt 25:15), but here everyone has his task as a slave. It is about service in the house – for us it is the house of God, the church – in which every servant has his task. Each of us can act with authority in the area given by the Lord, because He has given authority to His slaves for that purpose.

The doorkeeper is told separately that he must be on the alert. He must see to it that no evil enters the house in the form of evil persons or wrong doctrine. However, the Lord emphasizes the importance and necessity of being on the alert not only in view of the evil that might enter the house, but also in view of the coming of Himself as the Lord of the house. As has already been mentioned, in this house we can see a picture both of the house of Israel and of the church.

How will He find us? Asleep? Even as Christians we can fall asleep and lose sight of His coming. Falling asleep means that we look like the unbelievers who are dead (Eph 5:14).

The Lord concludes His sermon by giving, for the fourth time in this short section (Mk 13:32-37), the command to be on the alert. Over the heads of the disciples, He says it “to all”, without exception, that is, expressly to us as well. The heart must be ready to receive Him. If we stop looking forward to His coming, we will begin to focus on the things of the earth. We will then have taken the first step on the path of decay. That is why it is vitally important to be on the alert and to look forward to Him.