Alert Until the End: Mark 13:28-37

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One of the most popular and easily recognizable operas is Wagner’s “Ring Cycle.” It has some memorable pieces of music, but it is most well known for its length. The entire thing lasts about 15 hours, so it is presented in four separate intervals, or “cycles.” But one does not understand the whole opera until one has seen and heard all four cycles. So, at the end of each cycle, the weary opera goer may wonder, “Is it over yet?” But it isn’t over until the Valkyrie Brunnhilde takes the stage to sing the final number and ride into the funeral pyre of Sigfried. Now Brunnhilde is almost always depicted as a large woman clad with the traditional horned Viking helmet and armor. And hour after hour, as the audience wonders “Is it over yet?” each one is reminded that it isn’t over until the fat lady sings. That is thought to be the origin of that expression. Of course, the saying of Yogi Berra during the 1973 playoffs is perhaps more accurate: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

Jesus has promised us that this world as we know it is going to end. He is going to return and exact perfect judgment, right every wrong, sentence every evildoer, and redeem His people. Like Wagner’s opera, we’ve been waiting for a long time, wondering at every unusual occurrence, “Is it over yet?” But still it goes on. Unlike Wagner’s opera, we are not waiting for a fat lady to sing. We are waiting for the return of the Lord Jesus. And as Yogi said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

In our passage today consists of the conclusion of what is called the Olivet Discourse, because it takes place, as v3 indicates, on the Mount of Olives. The entire chapter deals with the second coming of Christ and the end of this world. And we have seen over the past several weeks as we have studied the preceding verses that some of the things of which Jesus speaks here would happen in the lifetime of those who heard Him, particularly around the time of the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD. Other things spoken of here in the passage will not take place until what we might call “the very end,” around the time of His second coming. And we have noted that these two time frames are indicated by the use of demonstrative pronouns. In particular, when speaking about the events which will occur in the lifetime of some of His followers, Jesus uses the words “these things.” “These” and its singular “this” are used to refer to things that are near. But Jesus speaks of the events that will occur at the end of time as “those days” and “that day.” “That” and “those” are used to refer to things that are far off. And we have to be very careful to observe how He changes from one to the other throughout the passage. In the portion of the text we are examining today, we see that He uses both. In verses 28-30, He speaks of “these things” and “this generation” and speaks of things that are “near.” In verses 31-37, He speaks of “that day,” referring to the unknowable time of His return in the distant future.

Notice the repetition of similar ideas in vv33-37: In v33, He says, “Take heed,” and “Keep on the alert.” And in vv35 and 37, “Be on the alert.” In these verses, Jesus uses two parables to teach His disciples that they must be on alert until the end comes. But He says in v37, “What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert.’” In other words, it is not only His first-century band of followers who must be alert until the end, His 21^st Century disciples must be alert as well. Why are we called to such alertness? There are two reasons indicated here in these parables.

First we see that …

I. We must be alert, for His coming is near (vv28-30).

Jesus tells His followers to “learn the parable from the fig tree.” Two kinds of trees were abundant in that region in Jesus’ day: the fig tree and the olive tree. The olive tree bore leaves year round. But the fig tree lost its leaves during the winter, and in late spring would begin to sprout leaves again. And so Jesus says, “When its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.” The leaves on the fig tree indicated that springtime was drawing to a close and summer was just around the corner. The tree became a sign of the times for the people. Similarly, Jesus says that “when you see these things happen,” they will serve as a sign of the nearness of His return. Now, what are these things? He has used this phrase to refer to the fall of the Jerusalem temple, the rise of false teachers who claim to come in Christ’s name, wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines, and persecutions. He said, “When you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.”

Verse 30 has been one of the most debated passages of the New Testament throughout church history. Failing to maintain the distinction of near events and distant events, there have been many who have come up with all sorts of fantastic explanations of what Jesus meant here. On the surface, it seems to indicate that His return would be in the lifetime of His apostles, and that obviously did not happen. However, if we maintain the distinction between “these things” and “those days”, the things that are near and the things that are distant, the meaning becomes fairly clear. Jesus is saying here that “this generation,” the one which was alive in His day, would see “these things” take place: the fall of the Temple, the rise of false teachers, the wars and rumors of wars, the earthquakes, famines and persecutions. And indeed, they occurred in the lifetime of many of His original followers, particularly around the year 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the Temple. And many of those whom Jesus calls “this generation” did see “these things” take place.

We must remember what Jesus said in vv7-8. Although these things will take place, indeed Jesus says they must take place, they are not yet the end, but the beginning of birth pangs. The birth pangs indicate that delivery will come soon, but perhaps not immediately. So, Jesus says when that first century generation sees these things take place, they must understand them the same way they understand the times by looking at the fig tree. Just as the leaves of the fig tree indicate that summer is near, these signs indicate that He is near. He is right at the door, but has of yet not crossed the threshold. They must remain on alert.

Now, these words were spoken 2,000 years ago. And the events to which He refers by “these things” are events which have already occurred. We are not awaiting the fulfillment of any of the things He indicates here by use of the phrase these things. They happened within a few decades of His death. So, if they indicated to those in the first century that Christ was near, even right at the door, then we who live two millennia later, must be particularly alert, for He is even nearer today than then. And every day that we live, we are one day closer to His coming. We must be alert, for the signs that would precede His coming have already occurred. He is near.

But Jesus does not stop with the foretelling of His nearness. He goes on to speak of the fullness of His coming at the end of all things. And in the second parable of this brief passage, we find the second reason that we must continue to be alert until the end.

II. We must be alert, for He will come suddenly (vv31-37).

Looking afar downstream of human history, the Lord Jesus declares, “Heaven and earth will pass away.” This universe as we know it now will not endure forever. As indicated by the cosmic calamities foretold in verses 24-25, all that we know in the present created order will pass away. The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will be falling from heaven and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. These words must have really struck Peter, who was one of the four apostles who was with Jesus when He spoke them. We have good reason to believe that Mark is recording the teachings of Peter here in this Gospel, and not only do these words occur here, but in Peter’s own epistle, 2 Peter, we find mention of the passing away of the created order also. Turn to 2 Peter 3 &.

· You notice in vv3-4 that Peter says mockers will come in the last days saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” In other words, people will give up on the notion that Christ is coming again because they don’t see any signs that the world is going to end anytime soon.

· But Peter goes on to say in v7 that there is coming a day of judgment when the present heavens and earth will be consumed with fire. It may seem like a long time to us. Many generations have come and gone since the Lord first said that heaven and earth will pass away. But notice in v8 that Peter says “with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” God’s calendar is not laid out like ours. We measure out the intervening time to be 2,000 years, but from God’s perspective, it’s only been a couple of days. And why is the Lord delaying the return of Christ and the end of all things? It isn’t because He is slow, as Peter says in v9, but because He is patient, giving humanity every opportunity to turn from their sins in repentance and faith so that we may be saved and not perish eternally.

· Now, make no mistake, he says in v10 that the day of the Lord – that is the day of His return – will come like a thief, and when He comes, the universe will be burned up with an intense heat. Therefore, he asks in v11, “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be?” We shouldn’t be people who are tightly anchored to the things of this world, but should with all faith and hope be longing for something better that is to come. He says in v13, “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”

John, who was also with Jesus when He spoke these words, was given a glorious vision of things to come which he recorded for us in the inspired words of Revelation. And in Revelation 21:1, he says, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away.” But the apostles were not inventing myths and fairy tales for the people of the first century in declaring these things. The destruction of this present order of creation was foretold in the Old Testament as well. Psalm 102 speaks of the heavens and the earth perishing, wearing out like a garment. Isaiah 51:6 also says, “the sky will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment.” So the words of Jesus and the apostles clearly validate the word of God which had been spoken centuries before. And let no one deceive you, it will happen. Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” There will come a day when all that we know of this universe will no longer exist, but there will never come a day when the words of Jesus Christ are found to be untrue.

Now, when will all this happen? Jesus says, “Of that day or hour no one knows.” He says the angels in heaven don’t know, and He even says that He, the Son, doesn’t know. Only the Father knows. But, have we not been saying all along that Jesus is God? And if Jesus is God, doesn’t He know all things? How can He be ignorant of this and still be God? Here we must remember that Jesus is fully God, but He is also fully human. In His divine nature, He knows all things, and demonstrates such knowledge on occasion in the Gospels. But Jesus’ humanity bore the same limitations that our humanity bears. As a man, He does not know, and in His Trinitarian role as Son, this knowledge is reserved for the Father alone. So this does not limit His deity or His omniscience, but rather indicates the fullness of His humanity. As Paul says in Philippians 2, although Christ existed in the form of God, He did not cling to His equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant and the likeness of man. His point here is not to expound upon the mysteries of intertrinitarian functional subordination, but to say that the knowledge of the timing of His return and the end of all things is known only to God, and God has not made such knowledge available to the angels, to the Son, or to humanity.

In 1988, Edgar Whisenant published a book entitled 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 1988. So confident was he that he stated, “Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong.” He sold nearly 5 million copies of that book. It’s out of print now, and available at deep discounts, as are his subsequent books which predicted the return of the Lord in 1989, 1993, and 1994. I ran across another book entitled I Predict 2000 AD. That book is also out of print now, and only available through used booksellers. Throughout history people have tried to predict when the end would come, and they never will be able to. Anytime someone presents a fine sounding argument for why their predicted date of the return of Christ must be correct, realize what they are suggesting: They are proposing to have more information than Jesus about this. He said the angels don’t know, the Son doesn’t know, and no one else knows. Only the Father knows, and He hasn’t told us when, but He has told us that it will happen. His word is His promise. Will He come today? He could. Might He come in 1000 years? He could. We do not know. But we know He is coming, and we know it will be sudden when He comes.

Jesus tells another parable in v34 about a man who goes away on a journey and leaves his servants in charge. He gives each one certain duties, and commands the doorkeeper of his house to stay on the alert. And the master of the house could return at any moment, so it was crucial that each servant be diligent at the task the master left for him, lest he return and find them falling down or sleeping on the job. They must stay alert, for no one knows when the master will return. Jesus says that His coming is going to be like that. He has, as it were, gone away on a journey. Forty days after His resurrection, He ascended into heaven, and He gave His servants a task. In Acts 1, before He ascended, they asked Him, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” But Jesus told His followers, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Let me paraphrase that: Don’t sit around trying to figure out when I’m coming again. Just know that I am coming. The Father has fixed the time, and it isn’t for you to know. But you have a job to do until I come – You will be My Spirit-empowered witnesses all over the world until I come again.” That is the task that the Master of the house has left us with. And He has told us to be alert. We don’t know when He will come, but He will come suddenly. And when He comes, Jesus says, you don’t want Him to catch you sleeping on the job. We want Him to find us being faithful to the task He left us with: Watching, waiting, worshiping, and witnessing.

How much longer will it be? We don’t know. Could it be today? Yes. Could it be generations later? Yes, it could. All the signs that must precede His coming have taken place. The next event on God’s Calendar is Christ’s return. And when He returns, this created universe will pass away. As I understand the Scriptures, there are only two things in existence today that will outlive the planet: the Word of God and the souls of men. Jesus said His word will not pass away. God has said that His word will endure forever. And human beings will live eternally in heaven or in hell. So, I don’t know of any better use we can make of the time we have remaining than to share this eternal word with the souls of human beings. God has fixed a day when it will all come to an end. We don’t know when it will be. But we know that He is patient, and He is offering humanity every opportunity for repentance that we might be saved. What will you do with the time we have remaining? If you have never turned from sin to trust Jesus Christ to save you, it is a matter of great urgency and eternal significance for you to do that even this day. He died for you, that your sins may be forgiven, and He lives again offering you the sure promise of eternal life if you will place your faith in Him. And if you have, what will you do with the hours, days or years that remain? The Master has given us charge of the affairs of His house – He has given us a task to be His Spirit-empowered witnesses. You can know that your life counts for something eternal by being faithful to that task – sharing His everlasting word with the everlasting souls of people. What He said to them, He says to all, “Be on the alert.” Even ‘til the end.