Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch! (Mark 13:35-37)

Watch. Be On The Alert

The temple was the centerpiece of Jerusalem. Solomon built the first temple, which was destroyed in 586 B.C. When the Jews returned to Jerusalem in 536 B.C., work on rebuilding the temple began. It would take twenty years to complete the temple, which would stand for nearly five hundred years. Under the Roman king Herod the Great, the temple was razed and rebuilt larger than Solomon’s temple. The disciples of Jesus marveled at the beauty of the temple. Jesus shocked His disciples when He told them not one stone of the temple would be left standing. Later, as they sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, some of the disciples asked Jesus what He meant about the destruction of the temple. Jesus warned them not to be deceived by false prophets who would come in His name. The disciples were unaware of what the next forty years would bring. In 70 A. D., the Romans would destroy the temple and the city of Jerusalem.

Jesus warns the disciples to be ready for the coming day of judgment. They could not imagine the great events that would transpire in the coming decades. The lesson Jesus is teaching His disciples is the principle of preparing for the day of the Lord, which no man knows. Jesus illustrates the coming of the Lord as a man going to a far country, who left his house in the charge of his servants, commanding them to keep watch. The master would return without warning. He might come in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning. There will be no announcement of his coming. The warning is that he will return, and he must not find anyone sleeping or not watching. Those who are unprepared will be punished. Only those who are on the alert will be saved.

The parable of Jesus is a lesson when God sends His Son to destroy the world and redeem the saved. Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor Jesus Himself. It has been 2,000 years since Jesus spoke these words to the disciples, and the warning is as vivid now as then. A foundation of Jesus’ teaching was always to be on the alert and ready for the coming of the Lord. There is coming a day when God will send His Son in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and against those who refuse to obey the gospel of Christ. The day of judgment comes without warning and will come suddenly and unexpectedly. There will be no time to prepare. It will be an instantaneous moment when time is destroyed, and man faces his eternal Creator.

The early church taught the need to watch, standing firm in the faith with all perseverance and prayer for the coming of Christ. God is the only one who knows when He decides to end the world and bring His saints home. His word is firm and true. The day of the Lord is yet to come, but it will come. For every child of God, the need to watch and be on the alert is the joy of knowing Jesus is coming to take them home to the Father. Death can come suddenly. Often, there is no time to prepare. While the Christian does not know when he will face the Lord, either in death or His return, he lives each day with the expectation that it is his last. This does not bring sorrow but joy, knowing he will be clothed with immortality.

Watching can become wearisome. With each passing day, week, month, and year, the spirit grows lax in watchfulness and dulls the senses, leaving the soul unprepared to meet the Lord. Faith enriches the eyes to keep looking for the coming of the Lord. Prayer is an expression of the soul of man longing for the Lord’s return. Watching and waiting is the joy of the Christian’s life, expecting any moment for the sound of the trumpet and the voice of the archangel. Faith responds by living each day on alert, watching and praying – Lord, come quickly. Are you ready? He is coming.