Ready for the End? (Mark 13.32-37)
The 1998 film Deep Impact imagines how people would behave if a comet were about to destroy most of the Earth.
Some try to flee the destruction.
Others sacrifice themselves to save their loved ones.
Still others believe that death is inevitable and seek to make the most of the time they have left to mend their relationships with their families.
The film asks the question: if we believe the end of the world is coming, how should we live?
This question is not only asked in fiction.
Some will remember the Y2K bug.
The idea was that at the turn of the year 2000, all the computers in the world would crash and civilisation would collapse.
Some people therefore chose to prepare for the end by stockpiling supplies to survive, withdrawing all their money from banks and building bunkers.
In the end, the transition to the new millennium went rather well.
But the question remains: if we believe that the end of the world is coming, how should we live?
Let's add extra element to the question.
How should we live if we believe the end is coming but don't know when?
The date is unknown.
Would that mean living in a state of paralysis – doing nothing, locking ourselves away at home because it could happen today?
Would we live in a state of panic?
Or would we choose to live as if nothing was happening? Stop worrying. We don't know when it will happen, so let's enjoy life while we can.
How should we live if we believe the end is coming, but we don't know when?
Last Sunday, we listened to Jesus' teaching on the end of the world as we know it.
Jesus is in the temple in Jerusalem, his disciples are admiring the grandeur of the building, but Jesus gives them a rude awakening by announcing that it will be destroyed, judged by God.
When? the disciples ask.
Jesus responds by speaking of the final judgement of the temple, but also by explaining that the final judgement of the temple will anticipate and foreshadow the final judgement of the world.
The temple will be judged, and so will our world.
Hence the question: if we believe that the end of the world is coming, but we don't know when, how should we live?
If you are like me, this may be a question you don't want to think about.
Perhaps because we feel that preparing for the end must involve making some really strange choices!
There have been plenty of examples of super weird choices throughout history!
In the 1840s, an American pastor named William Miller announced that the return of Jesus was imminent. Thousands of people chose to leave their jobs, sell all their possessions, and wait on top of a hill, dressed in white, for Jesus to arrive.
He did not arrive on the predicted date, and this date was later nicknamed "the great disappointment".
There are plenty of other examples.
In some cases, the choices were comical. Sometimes they were truly tragic.
How should we live if we believe that the end of the world is coming, but we don't know when?
Knowing that Jesus is coming back, without knowing when, we will see this morning that this actually involves radical choices.
These are also choices that are part of a daily life that is in many ways very normal.
Three points...
Watch out! He’ll return without warning!
Don’t fall asleep
Keep living for the future
Mark 13:32-37
“But about that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be careful, stay awake and pray, for you do not know when that time will come. It will be like a man going on a journey: he leaves his house, gives authority to his servants, tells each one what to do, and orders the gatekeeper to stay awake. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come: in the evening, or in the middle of the night, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not find you asleep when he comes suddenly! What I say to you, I say to all: Stay awake.”
Watch out! He’ll return without warning!
The first thing to understand is that Jesus' return will be unexpected, sudden and cataclysmic. We must therefore be ready.
We all know what it's like to wait for guests we haven't seen in a long time, whom we are very happy to see again, but who are coming from far away and therefore there is uncertainty about their arrival time.
We tidy up the house, clean, prepare appetisers, cook our best dishes and then try to keep them warm.
We do everything we can to be ready because they could arrive at any moment.
This is a bit like how Jesus talks about his return.
He compares it to a man who goes on a journey, leaves his house to his servants, asks them to be ready for his return, but without telling them what time it will be.
It could be in the evening, or in the middle of the night, or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
These four times correspond to the four watches of the night in Jesus' time. The fact that he does not specify during which of these watches he will return means that we do not know how long we will have to wait.
The fact that all these times are at night shows us that it will take effort to be awake when he arrives.
Hence the watchword he repeats in verses 34, 35 and 37: stay awake! Stay alert!
In Greek, it is the same word each time: watch!
You do not know when he will come—watch! Stay awake!
It would be possible to misunderstand what it means to watch.
When I was little and we were waiting for friends to arrive from far away, I would stand at the window with my nose pressed against the glass, sometimes for an hour, watching for their arrival. There were no mobile phones for them to let us know what time they would arrive, we only had a rough idea, we didn't know if they were stuck in traffic, so I stayed at the window trying to spot them from afar.
One could imagine that watching and waiting for Jesus' return is a bit like that.
Scrutinising world events, analysing the news, everything that is happening in the Middle East, who is president of the United States, the colour of the moon and a whole host of other things in an attempt to decipher the signs and figure out how imminent the return of Jesus is.
But "watching" cannot mean that.
Last Sunday, we saw that God gave only one clear sign that Jesus' return is coming.
The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.
This event took place in the year 70 at the hands of the Roman army.
From that point on, the next date on God's calendar is the return of Jesus, which we must expect at any moment.
It's a bit like the beeping of the underground doors.
When you're on the underground, when you hear the beep, you know the doors are about to close.
Sometimes it beeps for barely a second and then the doors close.
Sometimes it beeps a little longer than expected. You stand there, waiting, wondering how long it will last. Maybe it's because the driver is kind and saw someone running to catch the train.
The beep tells us that the doors are about to close. It just doesn't tell us exactly when.
The destruction of the temple is a bit like the beep. It tells us that Jesus is coming. It just doesn't tell us how long it will take.
Therefore, "watching" cannot mean trying to decipher the signs of his return. The only clear sign has been given.
Watching while waiting for Jesus means "staying awake", "remaining vigilant"... "being ready at all times".
This is essential because the moment of Jesus' return will be unexpected: you do not know when the master of the house will come.
On that day, some will be out shopping.
Others will be at work.
Still others will be doing their homework. I know some who would like Jesus to return just before homework time!
Some will be partying, others will be playing sports.
Then Jesus will arrive.
It will be unexpected.
It will also be sudden.
If the master could potentially find his servants asleep, it is because he did not call them five minutes beforehand to warn them that he was coming.
We will have no warning that we need to prepare. Now is the time to prepare!
It will be unexpected, sudden and also... cataclysmic.
It will be the end of the world as we know it.
The temple had been torn to pieces.
Jesus presents the destruction of the temple as the preview of his return... to judge the world.
Creation as we know it will be turned upside down when the King finally comes to clean up our world.
Those who have recognised Jesus as their king will be gathered together to live in a new creation, free from everything that spoils this one.
Those who have refused to recognise Jesus as their king will be swept away by his judgement.
It is a glorious prospect! It is also a serious prospect, depending on how we have responded to Jesus here and now.
Unexpected, sudden and cataclysmic.
So Jesus invites us to be ready, no matter how long the wait.
When we are expecting guests but do not know what time they will arrive, we do everything we can to get things ready and keep them ready!
The house is tidied. No, children, this is not the time to jump on the sofa. This is not the time to build a fort with sheets!
This is not the time to take a nap!
This is not the time to repaint the walls.
Maybe they'll arrive in five minutes, maybe in an hour, it doesn't matter! We have to be ready!
This is what Jesus teaches about his return.
Be ready and stay ready!
Live in a constant state of vigilance, in which the prospect of his return keeps us constantly alert.
We're going to talk about what that means.
But first, let us note that it is a kindness on God's part that He does not tell us when Jesus will return.
I was talking about this passage with my children this week and I asked them: what happens in your classroom when the teacher says he is leaving and will be back in 10 minutes?
Everyone shouts, everyone does whatever they want, everyone misbehaves... for 9 minutes.
OK, now what happens when the teacher says he is leaving but doesn't tell you when he will be back?
Well, that's different, you have to be careful, you can't get up to as much mischief.
(They did say they send someone to the door to see if the teacher is coming back, but you get the idea!)
Not knowing when Jesus is coming protects us from doing silly things and making bad choices.
Imagine if I knew that Jesus was coming back in a year - on 26 October 2026.
What would I be tempted to do while waiting? Silly things! Things that could be destructive for me and bad for the people around me.
I would delude myself into thinking that I would prepare for Jesus on 25 October.
It is possible that some of us are curious about Jesus but are postponing our decision to give our lives to him, telling ourselves: I still have time! I am young! I will make a decision later!
From experience, when we think like that, we usually end up not giving our lives to Jesus, we drift away.
But in any case, if we don't know when He will come, that should prevent us from playing with fire.
If you are one of those people who are curious but not yet believers, take the time you need to explore and decide, but don't put off the decision by telling yourself that you have all the time in the world.
You don't know anything!
It is God's kindness that we do not know the day or the hour.
***
So what does it mean to be ready?
That is our second point...
Don’t fall asleep
I said earlier that it is tempting to think that preparing for the end involves making extremely strange choices.
Quitting your job, selling everything you own and waiting on top of a hill.
Stocking up on tinned food and building a bunker.
It's much more down-to-earth than that.
It's about doing everything you can to live for Jesus forever... when he returns.
Nothing Hollywood-esque! Just doing everything you can to always be a Christian when he arrives.
Or if we are no longer alive, to have died having lived for Jesus until the end.
In Mark, we saw that the response Jesus asks of us is to follow him.
"If anyone wants to be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me!"
Jesus wants to find us trying to do this when he returns.
It is demanding, we do it very imperfectly, we need a lot of grace.
That is what he wants to find.
Last week we saw several factors that can make it complicated.
Jesus says, "Take care that no one leads you astray."
He warns us not to be deceived by false teachings.
You don't need to have been a Christian for long to realise that a false teacher does not arrive with horns on his head!
They have a Bible in their hand and a big smile on their face.
So we must all keep our noses in the Bible and our minds alert so that we are not deceived.
That is why I ask you to have the text open before your eyes during a sermon. My words may contain errors. Not these.
(May I encourage you to come to church with a Bible... in paper form?)
Jesus also warns us not to be frightened by current events.
"When you hear of wars and threats of wars, do not be frightened, for these things must happen. However, this will not yet be the end."
If things happen in the world that disturb us, let us not be unsettled. God has not lost control.
In a broken world like ours, these things will inevitably happen.
But Jesus is still on his throne.
And he warns us not to be surprised by hostility.
Mark 13:13
“You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
Following Jesus means going against the grain of a world that rejects Jesus' reign. It means exposing ourselves to hostility!
I don't know about you, but I don't like facing hostility!
It doesn't take much for me to wonder if I'm really sure I want to follow Jesus.
Jesus says: it will happen. Hostility can even come from those closest to us.
Persevere!
***
But you know what? I don't think false teachings, current events, or hostility are the main danger to us.
I think the main danger is the one Jesus mentions in verse 36, in the story of the man who goes on a journey.
Have you seen what it is?
Mark 13:36
"When he comes suddenly, may he not find you asleep!"
I used to be a journalist for a news channel where I sometimes had to work at night.
There was always that quiet hour between 2 and 3 a.m. when almost nothing ever happened.
It was very tempting to fall asleep!
But I couldn't because you never knew when important news might break.
If we were asleep at that moment, it would be problematic.
With infinitely more important issues at stake, Jesus warns us not to fall asleep spiritually.
What would it mean for us to fall asleep spiritually?
It is what happens when we allow distance to grow between us and Jesus. When other things take first place in our lives.
Take the student who has arrived in the big city of Paris, eager to enjoy his freedom now that he no longer lives with his parents.
As a teenager, he had lots of friends in the youth group.
But now that he is a student, Sunday mornings follow Saturday nights... it's not always easy to motivate himself to go to church.
Maybe one day I'll try to get up, he says to himself.
Or the young graduate who is just starting his career.
As a student, he was a regular at GBU.
But now that he's working, he has to show his bosses that he's ambitious. Arrive early and leave late.
It's okay, I'll find time for God later! One day, maybe.
Or the forty-something who dreams of a more comfortable life. What if I moved to the countryside and worked from home full time? What a dream!
I don't know if there's a church in the area to encourage me in my faith... but I'll follow along on the internet!
Or that person who thinks they've heard it all 15 times before.
I've known the stories in the Bible since I was a child! What else is there to learn?
The problem with sleep is that you don't see it coming.
You have to decide in advance that you're going to be proactive about staying awake.
In practical terms, in order not to fall asleep spiritually, we must seek to grow spiritually. Never be content to stagnate.
It's like riding a bicycle. If you don't move forward, you fall.
One of the greatest sorrows of a pastor is to see people falling asleep or drifting away.
We want to shake them – please, don't do that! But we can't.
And pastors sometimes need to be woken up too.
I have known too many people who, little by little, have allowed themselves to fall asleep, and today it is difficult to say whether they still follow Jesus.
I am committed to the doctrine known as the perseverance of the saints, which states that God keeps those He has chosen until the end.
But if we understand this to mean that it is enough to have said a prayer when we were 15 years old and then do nothing else to grow spiritually, we are seriously mistaken.
The mark of authentic faith is that it is a faith that perseveres!
It does everything it can to avoid falling asleep.
So how do we do this? How do we avoid falling asleep?
keep living for the future
It seems to me that this text gives us two keys to staying awake.
The first is to remember what we are waiting for!
When I was little, if there was one night of the year when I couldn't fall asleep, it was Christmas Eve!
In France, it's a little different because we often give presents on the evening of 24 December, but in our house we received them on the morning of the 25th.
It was impossible to fall asleep! We were so excited.
This is somewhat the perspective that Jesus invites us to have regarding his return.
If we consider what we are waiting for, if we remember who we are waiting for, we won't be able to sleep!
It will be so amazing, a thousand times better than Christmas!
We are waiting for the world to be turned upside down and judged, and that too keeps us awake.
Jesus will put an end to everything and everyone who opposes him.
But what the King brings with him for those who wait for him will be so amazing that we would be crazy to miss it!
If we think that the master in Mark 13 is a grumpy, stingy master, like the boss we find most difficult to work for, let us think again!
He loves us. He is a master who says that he did not come to be served but to serve us and to give his life as a ransom for us.
He loves us. All the miracles he performs in Mark are there to give us a glimpse of this. His kingdom will be so much better than anything we can experience in this world!
I think one reason Christians fall asleep is because they lose sight of their future.
But God gives us opportunities every day to remember what we are waiting for, so that we do not fall asleep.
The good things he gives us—a good time with friends, a good meal, a good holiday—offer a faint reflection of what we will experience when the Master returns.
We can enjoy these good things and think about what we are waiting for.
The difficult things... they are given to us to remind us that the master has not yet returned.
This is one of the reasons why God sometimes allows us to suffer. So that we do not settle down in this world and so that we wait even more eagerly for the master :-)
I have a friend who sets his alarm clock a quarter of an hour earlier in the morning to meditate on life in the kingdom of Jesus.
To be ready for the master, let us remember what we are waiting for
And finally, let us serve while we wait.
Mark 13:34
It will be like a man going on a journey: he leaves his house, gives authority to his servants, tells each one what to do.
A book that has helped me a lot this week as I meditated on this passage is this one: Jesus is the Great Surprise, which tells the story of the master who goes on a journey.
In this book, what keeps the servants from falling asleep is all the work they have to do!
Everything must be ready for his return!
They have too much to do to allow themselves to sleep.
What work has Jesus given us?
In a word, it is to help others be ready for his return.
That is our job as Christians. To help others be ready for his return.
In our community groups, that is our job!
It's not just about having a nice evening together. It's about helping others to be ready for the Master's return by helping them to know him better.
This is especially true if we are leaders. I am not saying this to paralyse us with fear; it is the word that acts. I am saying this to make us face up to our responsibilities.
Evangelism and mission serve to help people near and far to be ready for the master's return.
We are surrounded by people who are not ready. Jesus wants to use us to change that.
And may I say a word to parents?
When we have children, especially at first, we may think that it is time to put Christian service on hold.
This is not the case!
Our main role as parents is to help our children be ready for Jesus' return!
I am saying this to myself as much as to you.
Do you understand this up there in the nursery?
Our main parental task is to help our children be ready for Jesus' return!
Even if you are still dealing with nappies and bottles, do not lose sight of this.
We may have many ambitions for our children. This one is the most important!
While we wait for him to return, one of the best ways to stay alert is to remain active in his service.
How should we live if we believe the end of the world is coming but don't know when?
We do everything we can to make sure we are not asleep when it comes.
Perhaps tonight we would all benefit from sitting down to reflect, or if we are married, to discuss and pray about how we are going to stay awake in the long term.
How can we keep our eyes open for the master's return?
We may have many plans in life. None is more important than this one—to stay awake.
I am grateful to my wife for her more or less subtle ways of waking me up, and I'm not talking about alarm clock failures.
Joe, I'm not sure what you're going through with God right now!
Joe, when was the last time you asked me how I was doing spiritually?
We need others to wake us up!
I dare to believe that you do too.
Let's be a church that does that.