LANGUAGE:
Living in Anticipation Of Our Lord’s Return
(Mark 13:31-37)
I invite you to open your Bibles to Mark chap 13. We’ll be looking at vs31-37. As I studied this chapter, I was struck by the repeated admonition by Jesus to His followers to live with a sense of constant anticipation. Here’s how Jesus said it: 34“It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. 35“Therefore, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning— (Mark 13:34–35 (NASB95))[i]
Chuck Swindoll likes to think of our minds as a muscle. He writes: We need to stretched it and to work it to stay sharp. It needs to be prodded and pushed to perform. … Let it get idle and lazy on you, and that muscle will become a pitiful mass of flab in a brief period of time.[ii] “Therefore, in the words of Jesus, be on the alert—for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning.
Let’s pray: Gracious God, help us as we read the Bible and think about it together. May the Spirit of God be our instructor. May we learn and believe and trust and live in the light of its truth. Only you, gracious God, can accomplish this, and to you alone we look. In your Son’s name. Amen.
In case you’ve missed it, in this chapter Jesus told His disciples 6 times to live on the edge of anticipation when it comes to His return. I take that to mean it is really really important for us to be on our toes when it comes to His return. In that context I’ve entitled the message Living in Anticipation Of Our Lord’s Return.
Remember, the initial question asked by the disciples in vs4-5: when are you, Jesus, going to set up His Kingdom? Jesus now tells them flat out, "I’m not going to tell you." However, the disciples didn’t give up. They asked again in Acts 1:6–7 (GW) 6 “Lord, is this the time when you’re going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” … Again 7Jesus told them, “You don’t need to know about times or periods that the Father has determined by his own authority. In Jesus’ final hour on the earth He reiterates again what He said in Mark 13, It’s not for you to know. So in light of those words, we shouldn’t feel bad that we don’t know the timing of His return.
I like how John Calvin states it--It would be . . . proof of excessive pride and wicked covetousness, to desire that we who creep on the earth should know more than is permitted to the angels in heaven.”[iii]
In Acts 1:10–11 (NASB95) that 10as the disciples were gazing intently into the sky (as Jesus disappeared into a cloud), behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11And they also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” So there we have it . . . He is going to return in the same way as the disciples watched Him leave this earth, but we don’t know when.
But we do know, according to Revelation 1:7 (NASB95) that when He comes every eye will see Him . . . And Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:27 that He will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to His deeds, and will then sit on His glorious throne (25:31)[iv]
What a glorious time that will be
when our Jesus we shall see,
And we look upon His face,
the One who saved us by His grace;
What a day, (what a) glorious day that will be.[v]
In the meantime, from Titus 2, 12We’re being shown now how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, 13whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. [Titus 2:12–13 (The Message)]
One thing we know for certain, straight from Jesus Himself, we don’t want to get apathetic about His return, because He said, stay alert, live in anticipation (v33). Now, we need to be clear, that when it comes to Jesus’ return, we need not waste our time fixing a date.
But know this: according to the writer of Hebrews we are now living in the ‘last days’--for 2In these last days God has spoken to us through his Son. [Hebrews 1:1–2 (GW)] When Jesus’ initially came, a new chapter in history was begun entitled ‘the last days’. I believe today we are moving quickly into the ‘last’ of those 'last days'.
We may not know the date of His return, but Jesus makes it clear that we can know the signs leading up to His return. He tells us in vs32-33 (GW) 32“Learn ‘the lesson’ of the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and it sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 33In the same way, when you see all these things, you know that ‘the Son of Man’ is near, He is right at the door.
Jesus makes it clear that even though we are not privy to the day or the hour, we are privy to the signs of the last days. Alistair Begg writes: Our ignorance as to the timing of Jesus’ second coming is no excuse for our being unprepared.[vi] So Jesus reiterates for the sixth time, Be on the alert! That is, live like soldiers in war time, ready for action at the slights sounds.
While in Africa a number of us decided to go hunting. Two of my buddies had rifles. I on the other hand carried a big stick. We were walking a volcanic mountain known as Mt Suswa, and I was walking the lip of the volcanic, and there are no specified paths. My assignment was to scare wild-life away from the lip of the volcano in the direction of the other two buddies. Remember, they had rifles, and I did not. Remember, we are in the Rift Valley were lions, leopards, and pythons roam. I want you to know that for the three hours I walked the lip of the volcano I was in a state of readiness. My ears listening for any snap of a branch, my eyes piercing brushes for movement, my muscles ready to catapult me into the highest tree. I was alert.
We are living in the ‘last’ of the ‘last days’ of Jesus’ return . . . are you alert? Jesus said, learn the lesson of the fig tree . . . because the fig tree gives us a sense of His nearness’. So what might be the signs of the ‘last’ of the ‘last days’?
Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3, 1You must understand this: In the last days there will be violent periods of time. 2People will be selfish, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive language, curse their parents, show no gratitude, have no respect for what is holy, 3lack normal affection for their families, refuse to make peace with anyone, be slanderous, lack self-control, be brutal, and have no love for what is good, 4be traitors, reckless, conceited, and will love pleasure rather than God. 5They will appear to have a godly life, but they will not let its power change them (vs1-5). In a word, pure chaos, and our days are surely becoming chaotic, law and order, and respect and tolerance are fading, chaos is sweeping our cities. The fig tree leaves are sprouting.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 24, that when He returns, 37“. . . it will be exactly like the days of Noah. 38For as in the days before the flood, people were eating, drinking, and getting married until the day that Noah went into the ship. 39They were not aware of what was happening until the flood came and swept all of them away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes again. [Matthew 24:37–39 (GW)].
Do you get what Jesus said?
The reason so many people continue to live the way they do is because they have no idea as to the lesson of the fig tree. They are so caught up in themselves that they have no comprehension as to what is coming. So they blindly carry on living as if nothing is going to happen. 2 Corinthians 4:4, The god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving . . .[vii] bringing about a hardening of the heart. An unbelieving hard heart despises God’s warnings.[viii]. People continue to live normal lives right up until the second coming of Jesus, at which point their lives will come to an abrupt end.[ix].
And it will not be a glorious time.
I believe this idea of living our lives in light of Christ’s return is slipping among followers of Jesus. The days of Noah are upon us. And like the days of Noah, we have a mixture of chaos, demonic influences and selfishness. Genesis 6:5 (NASB95) wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Sounds like the description given to us in 2 Timothy 3 as to the last days.[x] And so we read that in the days of Noah God decreed that He was done. Mankind’s violence had reached its peak, and God ‘said enough is enough,’ and then declared that there was coming a “drop dead” moment.[xi]
In 2 Peter 2:5 (NASB95) we are told Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Which means he proclaimed God's truth to the people of his day, with an emphasis of coming judgment as he built the ark. [xii] We can safely assume that He preached for at least 80 yrs while building the ark. Did the people listen?
They just kept on living out their lives in the midst of the chaos, unaware of what was being said until the flood came and swept all of them away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes again. The people of Noah’s day were so caught up with themselves, that they were deaf to his preaching. And I believe that is what’s happening now. We are becoming so caught up in ourselves and the chaos, we have become deaf to our conscience and the preaching of God’s Word.
Today many are sarcastically asking “What’s the big deal about Jesus coming back? Ever since our ancestors died, everything continues as it did from the beginning of the world.” Nothing’s changed (2 Peter 3:4 (GW)) In raising the question, Peter was warning his readers about the temptation to give up when it seems that the Lord is taking His own sweet time in returning. Understand, the first generation believers were totally convinced that His return was just around the corner. But now 30 some years had passed, and apathy was setting in. The dictionary describes apathy as the absence of feeling or emotion. This sense of indifference can affect your motivation and leave you feeling detached from the world.[xiii] David Jeremiah defines an apathetic Christian as cynical—a person who simply doesn’t care anymore about the signs of the time.[xiv]
Listen. In the midst of the chaos and demonic movements, as followers of Jesus, we cannot allow the return of our Lord to be sideline from our thinking.
Listen to Paul’s wakeup call in Romans 13:11–14 (NASB95) 11 . . . it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Folks, hear me well. We tend to think in miles, seasons, years, schedules, appointments, and calendars. But as I read my Bible with one eye on our culture and world events, I have a growing sense that there is fastly approaching a ‘drop dead’ moment that is closer than we think. Let me wrap up our time with four summary remarks.[xv]
First, we need to be careful of having a superficial heart attitude—that is, having little interest in our thinking that Jesus’ is coming back. Jesus Himself tells us that His coming will be exactly like the days of Noah.
What was it like in Noah’s day? Genesis 6:5 (The Message) God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. There was demonic activity and chaos everywhere, and so it is in our own day. From Russian troops raping and torturing in Ukraine to the boisterous flippancy of life in our country. But Jesus puts a twist to His summary of Noah’s day. While Genesis tells us about the horrible wickedness, Jesus adds to the mix, that despite the horridness, people will all caught up doing the ordinary--gathering food, cooking, going to the river for water, celebrating relationships, working 9 to 5, kicking back on weekends. They were living life in a heedless way. They ignored Noah’s preaching. They laughed at his boat building skills. They took his money, and perhaps helped bring the timber . . . but they grew weary of Noah. He was out of step with culture and the religious thinking of the day.
The people of Noah’s day ignored God, and the testimony of creation—2 Peter 3:5–6 (The Message) 5They conveniently forget that long ago all the galaxies and this very planet were brought into existence out of watery chaos by God’s word. 6Then God’s word brought the chaos back in a flood that destroyed the world. When our day comes it will not be a glorious time. The end result will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, wailing such as we have never heard.
Second, we need to be careful of having a careless heart attitude. Jesus said in Matthew 24:42–44 (The Message) 42So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up. 43Understand this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to prevent the break-in. 44So be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up.
Do you live expectantly, imagining the improbable and expect the impossible?
Chuck Swindoll writes: As we get older we grow way too sophisticated. We use phrases like, "Let's be realistic about this or that." We lose that sense of expectancy, that urgency of hope, that delightful, childlike, wide-eyed anticipation and excitement.[xv] The warning is clear. Don’t drop your guard. … Live with your eyes wide open, your footsteps sure.
Third, we need to be careful of having a callous heart attitude. Callous-heart people are basically emotionally dead.[xvi]
Jesus states it this way in Matthew 24:45-51 (GW) 45“Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? The master will put that person in charge of giving the other servants their food at the right time. 46That servant will be blessed if his master finds him doing this job when he comes. 47I can guarantee this truth: He will put that servant in charge of all his property. 48On the other hand, that servant, if he is wicked, may think that it will be a long time before his master comes. 49The servant may begin to beat the other servants and eat and drink with the drunks. 50His master will return unexpectedly. 51Then his master will severely punish him and assign him a place with the hypocrites. People will cry and be in extreme pain there.
Here we have two servants—one is diligent, going about His Master’s business, the other is callous. He doesn’t believe the Master’s plan is to return anytime soon. He’s caught up in his own stuff. He becomes cold, harsh, and begins to life like the world he is in. His Master’s stuff has no bearing upon his life. David Jeremiah writes: Every person in the world holds his life, his possessions, and his abilities in trust from God, and every individual will be held accountable to the Lord for what he has done with that trust.[xvii]
Jesus concludes with these words to His disciples: Be On The Alert! One reason we are told to be on our toes is given to us in 1 John 3:3 (NASB95) Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
The only advance warning we will have of the next major event in this world is the sound of a trumpet and a shout from the archangel Michael (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:52 (NASB95) In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. I take it we’ll hear a blast . . . not taps on a trumpet by a soldier, not the long blast of a train at a rail-road crossing. It’ll be a sharp load blast, enough to make us all turn around to look from where the sound comes perhaps three or four seconds.
Suddenly the dead in Christ will be resurrected from the grave, and all those who are trusting Christ will instantly be transformed and caught up in the air to meet Christ.
If it were possible to know precisely Christ’s return, what would you be doing?
I believe Paul captures the answer for us in 1 Corinthians 10:31 (GW) So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything to the glory of God. Live in a constant state of readiness by glorifying God—whether eating, drinking, playing, talking, sleeping, mowing the lawn, or working at the office, or at play, in a meeting or having devotions . . . be alert and ready. The best way to be alert and ready is to be living out every moment of your life to the glory of God. How do you know what glorifies God and what doesn’t? As you Immerse yourself in the Scriptures you will learn what God wants in terms of heart attitudes in every given situation.
In the last chapter of our bibles, Revelation 22, Jesus says three times, I am coming quickly. John leans into those words with his own words of anticipation, Amen, Come, Lord Jesus.
Are you looking forward to that coming day, to "that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13)? Is that just a nice thought for you, or are you leaning into John’s words and making them your own, Amen, Come Lord Jesus?
It is my hope that you are actively living in anticipation of that glorious event and longing for the Lord’s return and making all things right.
Let’s pray . . . Heavenly Father, may we be like the Bereans in Acts 17 who examined the scriptures to see if these things are true. I pray, that you would give us the wherewithal to guard our hearts from having a superficial attitude concerning Christ’s promise return, from being careless in how we live in front of our turbulent world, and that we would not allow our hearts to be hardened by our own blindness. Father, grant that there will be none listening to this service now, that instead of shouts of joy, be cries of anguish, at the sound of the trumpet and the voice of triumph from the heavens above. Come now I pray, make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence!"(Isaiah 64:1-3) Come now and do Your will, manifest Your glory without restraint in our life time. Hear our prayers, O God, for your Son’s sake. Amen.
[i]
Mark 13:31-37 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 2“But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Be on guard, keep awake. 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 servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—36lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
[ii] Chuck Swindoll, Staying Alert, https://insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/staying-alert2
[iii] John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, trans. William Pringle (Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1846), 3:153.
[iv] https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Second-Coming-Of-Christ
[v] Bill & Gloria Gaither, What A Day That Will Be, https://www.songlyrics.com/bill-gloria-gaither/what-a-day-that-will-be-lyrics/
[vi] Alistair Begg, A Wake-Up Call (Mark 13:31-37) https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/wake-call/
[vii] Cf., John 12:40 (Isaiah 6:10) Taken entirely out of context, that would seem to be spiteful and unfair. How can God blame people for disbelief (John 3:36) when He is purposefully blocking them from it? The answer is in the full context of this passage. Just recently, John described a crowd speaking to Jesus (John 12:20–22), who heard literal words from heaven (John 12:28). Many in the crowd dismissed that as thunder (John 12:29). Religious experts attacked Jesus, even though their own studies ought to have led them to the truth (John 5:39–40). In the same way, many people ignore clear evidence of God (Romans 1:18–20), even in nature (Psalm 19:1), because they do not want to believe. No miracle will ever convince those who are committed to defying God (Luke 16:31). This means that God can, and does, use "hardening" and "blinding" as a form of judgment—after a person has already committed themselves to rejecting Him. In Exodus, God speaks of how He will "harden the heart" of the Egyptian king to prolong the plagues demonstrating God's glory (Exodus 4:21). Eventually, God does just that (Exodus 9:12). But God doesn't influence Pharaoh until Pharaoh has repeatedly and frequently hardened his own heart (Exodus 7:13 22; 8:15, 19, 32). John cites this Scripture as proof that those who stubbornly disbelieve in God have only themselves to blame. At some point, even their inability to accept God is a consequence of their own rebellion.
[viii] Matthew 13:15 (NASB95) 15FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’ Acts 28:27 (NASB95) 27FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.” ’
[ix] Cf., https://www.end-times-prophecy.org/in-the-last-days.html
[x] Micaiah Bilger, Abortion Activists Attack Church, Harass Pro-Life People Mourning Babies Killed in Abortion, https://www.lifenews.com/2021/01/22/abortion-activists-attack-church-harass-pro-life-people-mourning-babies-killed-in-abortion/The Columbus Dispatch reports about eight abortion activists disrupted the Respect Life Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral Downtown. The Catholic Church held the mass on the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade to pray that legal protections will be restored to unborn babies. Photos from the newspaper show pro-lifers of all ages gathered to worship, including families with young children.At some point during the service, abortion activists entered the church with signs and began shouting, “Two, four, six, eight, this church teaches hate!” as they walked around the sanctuary, according to the report.They carried signs that read “Fund abortion, not cops” and “Abortion on demand, end Hyde now,” referring to the Hyde Amendment, which bans taxpayer-funded abortions. Photos show one wearing a pink Planned Parenthood T-shirt.
[xi] Bodie Hodge, How Long Did It Take for Noah to Build the Ark? https://answersingenesis.org/bible-timeline/how-long-did-it-take-for-noah-to-build-the-ark. Genesis 6:3 (NASB95) 3Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” Noah was 500 years old when Japheth, the first of his sons, was born (Genesis 5:32). Yet Noah’s second son, Shem, had his first son two years after the Flood, when he was 100 (Genesis 11:10).2 This means that Shem was 98 years old when the Flood came, and it also means that Shem was born when Noah was 502 years old. So for Noah to begin having children at 500 means that Japheth was indeed the older brother, as per Genesis 10:21, being born when Noah was 500. Ham is mentioned as the youngest of Noah (Genesis 9:24). When God finally gave Noah instructions to build the Ark, it was not at the beginning of the 120 year countdown. God told Noah that he, his wife, and his three sons and their wives (Genesis 6:14–18)3 would go aboard the Ark at this same time. Deducing that Shem was born 98 years before the Flood, it could be no more than this. But even more so, Ham hadn’t been born yet! If we were to assume the same time between Ham and Shem as between Japheth and Shem, then Ham could have been born around 96 years before the Flood. We would end up with a tentative range of about 55 to 75 years for a reasonable maximum time to build the Ark. See Genesis 16:15 (NASB95) 15So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Deuteronomy 18:9–12 (NASB95) 9“When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations.
10“There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12“For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you. https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/20971/what-is-meant-by-the-iniquity-of-the-amorites-is-not-yet-full-in-genesis-1516
[xiii] https://www.healthline.com/health/apathy
[xiv] David Jeremiah, The Book of Signs (Nashville, TN: W Publishing, 2019), 141
[xv] See David Jeremiah, The Book of Signs (Nashville, TN: W Publishing, 2019), 150
[xvi] Chuck Swindoll, Living Expectantly, https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/living-expectantly
[xvii] https://www.wellandgood.com/callous-personality-traits/ Callous-leaning people often don't display a wide range of emotions, says Dr. Durvasula, and the feelings they do present are likely to “put them at odds with other people.” Certain signs of aggression, she adds, (like yelling, irritability, anger) may be associated with callousness, so if your partner displays them often, take note. “If someone's saying something sad, you won't see that emotion change in them, because they really don't have that depth of emotion when it comes to being close to other people,”adds Dr. Durvasula
[xviii] David Jeremiah, The Book of Signs (Nashville, TN: W Publishing, 2019), 150