Mark 13:28-37 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is Mark 13:28-37. With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage. Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage? After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
Mark 13:28-29 (NIV)
28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.
On verses 28-29: “When you see these things happening”, Jesus says, “you know that it is near” (v29). What things? What’s near? For us today the significance of these words are this: When you see Jesus coming in the clouds in power and glory (v26) and God’s people being gathered to him (v27), you know the end is near.
Mark 13:30 (NIV)
30 I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
On verse 30: “This generation” can be interpreted narrowly to mean the disciples and their contemporaries living at that time (see for example, Mark 8:12 and 9:19). Or “this generation” can be interpreted broadly to mean a group of people who come from one common ancestor, and thus “generation” here is sometimes translated “race” as in the human race.
Given the two possible meanings for “this generation”, some scholars believe that there is a double meaning to Jesus’ words. On one hand, when Jesus says that “this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened”, he is referring in the narrower sense to the fact that Jews living at that time would see the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. On the other hand, another meaning to this verse is that the human race will not pass away until these things – namely, Jesus’ return and the end times – have happened.
Mark 13:31 (NIV)
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
On verse 31: Through His words, God spoke heaven and earth into being. Thus it makes sense that Jesus’ words will outlast heaven and earth, never passing away even when heaven and earth are no more.
Mark 13:32-37 (NIV)
32 “No one knows about that day or hour, 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 his 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!'”
On verses 32-37: Jesus tells us all to watch for Him (v37). What does that look like practically? When we don’t know when Jesus will return (v32-33), how do we stay alert and on guard for Jesus (v33) even while we have jobs to do, bills to pay, kids to watch and lives to live? Here are some ways:
1. Keep tabs on news around the world. “Keep watch” means don’t live with your head in the sand. Don’t live in a bubble. Don’t just focus on what’s happening in your own city, but take note of what is going on in other parts of the world. In particular, take note of what the church is doing around the world.
2. Look forward to the day you can go home to heaven with Jesus. That doesn’t mean you need to have a death wish. But it means that you look forward to heaven one day. Like John and Paul (not the Beatles but the apostles!), you long to see Jesus. As John prayed, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20) and as Paul wrote, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” (Philippians 1:23-24). See heaven as your home. Remember that your true citizenship is in heaven, not on earth (Philippians 3:20).
3. Spend time worshiping and praising Jesus through song. Worshiping this way wets your appetite for heaven and prepares you for life there.
4. Don’t live a sleepy, slumbering life but stay busy doing the things God has called you to. Verse 34 says that God has put his servants in charge, “each with their assigned task”. God has given you a mission to fulfill and a task to carry out while you are on this earth. It’s a life of worshiping Jesus, growing more like Him, serving Him, leading others to Him, and loving your church family. As Jesus says, “If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.” (v36)
Jesus, thank You that You are coming soon. I pray I would stay alert and active, always remembering where my ultimate home is, longing for You more, and spending my life on the purposes for which You made me. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
