Are you ready for the Lord’s return?

This parable answers what we must do to prepare and what we must not do.

Before we begin the exegesis …..

Quick definition of a parable:

Literally, the word parable (parabolē in Greek) combines para– (pronounced pah-rah) and means “alongside” and bolē (pronounced boh-lay) which means “put” or even “throw”). Therefore, a parable puts two or more images or ideas alongside each other to produce a new truth. […] The Shorter Lexicon says that the Greek word parabolē can sometimes be translated as “symbol,” “type,” “figure,” and “illustration,” the latter term being virtually synonymous with parable.

For more information on what a parable is and its purposes, click on this link:

What Is a Parable?

The translation is mine. If you would like to see other translations, click here:

biblegateway.com.

If you don’t read Greek, ignore the left column.

I often quote scholars in print because I learn many things from them. They form a community of teachers I respect (1 Cor. 12:28), though I don’t agree with everything they write. But they do ensure I do not go astray. There is safety in numbers (for me at least).

Now let’s begin.

Parable of the Watchful Servant (Mark 13:33-37)

33 Βλέπετε, ἀγρυπνεῖτε· οὐκ οἴδατε γὰρ πότε ὁ καιρός ἐστιν. 34 Ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἀπόδημος ἀφεὶς τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ δοὺς τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἑκάστῳ τὸ ἔργον αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ θυρωρῷ ἐνετείλατο ἵνα γρηγορῇ. 35 γρηγορεῖτε οὖν· οὐκ οἴδατε γὰρ πότε ὁ κύριος τῆς οἰκίας ἔρχεται, ἢ ὀψὲ ἢ μεσονύκτιον ἢ ἀλεκτοροφωνίας ἢ πρωΐ, 36 μὴ ἐλθὼν ἐξαίφνης εὕρῃ ὑμᾶς καθεύδοντας. 37 ὃ δὲ ὑμῖν λέγω πᾶσιν λέγω, γρηγορεῖτε.

33 Watch! Stay alert! For you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man away on a journey who had left his house and given to his servants, each one, authority for his task and commanded the doorkeeper that he keep awake. 35 Keep awake therefore! For you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or in the middle of the night or at the crowing of the rooster or in the morning, 36 so that when he comes he does not find you sleeping. 37 But what I tell you I tell everyone: Keep awake!”

Here is Luke’s version:

Luke 12 (scroll down to vv. 35-40)

Let’s take this parable as a whole.

Jesus is concluding his Olivet Discourse about the Son of Man’s coming in judgment on Jerusalem, which happened in A.D. 70. But now he is shifting to the glorious, cannot-be-missed Second Coming, which has not yet happened for the past two thousand years (and counting).

If you don’t believe the Olivet Discourse is about the judgment on Jerusalem (except for a few verses stuck in the middle), click on this post:

Mark 13:5-31 Predicts Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple

This post puts the three chapters on the Olivet Discourse (plus Luke 17) in Matthew, Mark, and Luke together in three columns.

Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 and 17 in Parallel Columns Are Finally Clear

Now let’s get into the parable.

First, Jesus says we don’t even know when the season (kairos) of his coming is.

The noun here is kairos (pronounced ky-ross and used 85 times), which speaks more of a quality time than quantity. BDAG is considered by many to be the authoritative lexicon of the Greek NT, and it defines the noun as follows: (1) a point of time or period of time, time, period, frequently with the implication of being especially fit for something and without emphasis on precise chronology. (a) Generally a welcome time or difficult time … fruitful times; (b) a moment or period as especially appropriate the right, proper, favorable time … at the right time; (2) a defined period for an event, definite, fixed time (e.g. period of fasting or mourning in accord with the changes in season), in due time (Gal. 6:9); (3) a period characterized by some aspect of special crisis, time; (a) generally the present time (Rom. 13:11; 12:11); (b) One of the chief terms relating to the endtime … the time of crisis, the last times.

It seems the best definition here is 3(b).

“that day”: it is often used in both the OT and NT of the final day leading to judgment: you can look up the verses online but here are some references: Is. 10:20; Joel 1:15; 3:18; Amos 8:9; 9:11; Zeph. 1:10, 14; Zech. 14:4; Mal. 3:17-18. This is the first mention of a singular day or hour, in contrast to “those days” (vv. 17, 19, and 24) or the timeframe of the Roman war.

So Jesus teaches his disciples that they won’t even know the season of the Second Coming. This is a warning to us today that we should not obsess over signs about his Parousia (Second Coming).

We must be prepared. Why? Because we don’t know when the Son of Man is returning to realize and implement his kingdom in its fullness. Will he find us awake and productive?

For further exegesis, please click on this link:

Mark 13:32-37 Teaches Second Coming

GrowApp for Mark 13:33-37

A.. Study 1 John 3:2-3. How do we purify ourselves before his Second Coming?

SOURCES

At this link you will find the bibliography at the very bottom:

Mark 13