Happy 2019 to each and every one of you. I pray that you all will feel the Holy Spirit in your life and the Word of God goes not only to your brain but lives in your heart.
This week is parable number 44, No One Knows the Day or Hour. This parable found in Mark 13:32-37 and is at the end of the Olivet Discourse, with the subject being of the distant future. This is an introductory warning against speculations concerning the end time, but is a warning to be on guard because one cannot know the time of the end.
32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
Jesus was serious about his followers being vigilant during the time before his return. He emphasized the need to pay attention four times in these six verses: be alert (verse 33), keep watch (verse 35), do not let him fin you sleeping (verse 36), and Watch (verse 37).
Also, in Verse 32, the phrase, that day, refers to his return after the great tribulation. Even though certain signs have been given about that day, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, But only the father. Even Jesus does not know. This shows clearly his humanity. Jesus purposely laid aside the exercise of his deity, in this case his ability to know all things past, present, and future, as a consequence of his human existence. Jesus answered one of the key questions of the disciples, “When will these things happen?” Jesus declared that he did not know and they should not worry about it. Even at Jesus’ ascension, he clearly said to the disciples that it was not for them “to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7).
In verses 33 through 36, the emphasis of this parable is to be on guard because Christ could come back at any time. Just like a doorkeeper who must be on guard because he does not know when the owner will return, they also must be on guard.
Jesus ended this discourse the way it began, with an exhortation to watch. He emphasized this for everyone as well as the disciples. All believers in every age must watch. Jesus exhorted all believers not only to keep watch for his return but also to watch out so nobody could deceive them and rob the house. Temptations and pressures would come, causing trouble and despair. His followers were to watch out for these things as well.