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Welcome to Day 5 of Mark Chapter 13. We're going to look at verses 30 to 37
today. We've been talking all week about my heart, your heart, as we look
forward to the second coming of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus has told us how we're to be aware of what's to happen, He says, "I
want you to not be deceived by those who'd say that I'm the Christ or it's
coming at a time when Jesus says it's not. " Jesus says, "I want you to make
sure that you're on your guard, always being aware that I might come at any
moment. " And He says in these verses that we're going to look at today, "I want
you to be alert.

I want you to watch. " But before we get to those verses, there are a couple of
verses we need to focus in on, verses 30 and 31. Mark Chapter 13 would be an
easy chapter to understand except for these verses.

We've talked about how Jesus sort of walks through this. He talks about the
signs that the disciples will see, the persecution they're going to face, the
destruction of Jerusalem. And then He talks about the signs that are going to
come at the very end of time.

We just looked at that yesterday, about the sun and moon and stars, stars
falling from the sky. That makes sense as we walk through it. But then you get
to verse 30 and 31.

Just after talking about the stars falling from the sky, Jesus appearing in the
clouds, here's what He says. Jesus says, verse 30 and 31, "I tell you the truth,
this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have
happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

" Now that makes us scratch our heads. Jesus has just talked about He's going to
be seen in the clouds coming, and then He says this generation won't pass away
until all these things have happened. What does He mean?

Obviously He didn't come again in the clouds before these disciples died. It's
been 2,000 years. So what is He talking about here?

Is Jesus referring back to the things He talked about earlier? What's going to
happen in Jerusalem? I don't think so.

Because these are verses right after He's just talked about His coming again.
Talked about the destruction of this world, the stars falling from the sky. I
believe that He means something different by generation than we usually think
here.

Many New Testament scholars believe the same thing. The word generation can also
mean people or a race of people. And He's saying this generation, this race of
people, My people, the Jewish nation, My people, those believers who have begun
to follow Me now, and in fact this whole entire world is not going to pass away
until I've accomplished My plan.

And My plan is not only the beginning, but also the end. I believe that's simply
what Jesus is talking about here. Now with that in mind, Jesus talks about our
ideas about timing and what's going to happen towards the end.

He really wants to know, what time is this going to happen? That's what the
disciples ask, "Jesus, can you tell us when is this going to happen? " Verse 32
to verse 37, here's what Jesus says about His second coming, "No one knows about
that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father.

Be on guard. Be alert. You do not know when that time will come.

" It's like a man going away. He leaves his house and he puts his servants in
charge, each with his assigned task, and he tells the one at the door to keep
watch, "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. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.

What I say to you, I say to everyone, watch. " So what did Jesus have to say
about the timing of the second coming? He said no one knows, and He said watch,
be aware.

The timing of when Jesus is going to return, I wonder if there's any subject
that's packed with more spiritual TNT than the timing of the second coming. It
is a doctrine that is accompanied by both great confusion and great inspiration.
Jesus Himself tells us here that He doesn't know the time of His return, but
that doesn't keep us from guessing.

If we could guess, we think, "Well, maybe I'd be better than Jesus, I guess. "
Although the Bible doesn't tell us the exact time when Jesus will come again, it
does give us insight into God's timing. Jesus wants us to understand the timing
of it because that has great impact on our hearts.

A picture of timing is like the arrival of a season, like winter or spring.
There's a day marked on the calendar that's the first day of winter, but that
has often little to do with the actual arrival of the season's weather. There's
a morning when you wake up and you realize that the air is a little bit colder
and crisper than it was the day before, and you sense that the season of winter
is about to arrive.

There are sophisticated weather satellites and tracking stations that should be
able to tell us exactly when a storm will arrive or the weather is going to
clear, but the intricacy of this technology is often no match for the special
sensitivity of some older farmers. They can't tell you how they know that the
weather is about to change, but because of their years of experience, they just
know. That's the kind of heart that God desires for you and me concerning the
second coming of Jesus Christ.

You don't need intricate calculations. You don't need to know the exact day of
His coming, to know that it is coming. Like that old farmer, we know it's
getting closer.

Because of our years of experience with our Savior, there are days that you and
I, we can just feel it in our bones. There are truths about the timing of the
second coming throughout these verses that we've just looked at. In fact,
throughout this chapter.

In the verses we just looked at, Jesus says only the Father knows the exact
time. Now, some people think, "How could Jesus not know? " He's God.

He knows everything. Remember that Jesus limited His understanding by choice
while He walked this earth. There are some things He chose to know.

There are many things He chose not to know. So He could experience what it meant
to be human, to be man and God. Now that He's back in heaven, does He know?

Probably. He certainly is going to know someday, right before He comes again.
But while He was on this earth, He says, "I do not know the exact time when it's
going to happen.

" Jesus also says when it comes to timing, "I can know that it's near. It's
right at the door. " That's that spiritual sensitivity that I just talked about.

I can have a sense that at any moment, Jesus will come again. Now, I know that
for thousands of years, believers have had that sense, but I also believe that
for thousands of years, God's timing is in His hand. He could have come again at
any moment.

Any teaching about the second coming of Christ that excludes the fact that He
could come right now is a teaching that's not in sync with Scripture. He can
come at any moment because it's His time when He's going to come. And remember,
when it comes to timing, what we talked about yesterday, Jesus talked to us
about the fact that the gospel must first be preached to all nations.

So while we wait for His timing, what's our job? Our job is to preach the
gospel, to let other people know the good news that they can join Him forever in
heaven. Now Jesus, in these verses, He talks about timing and our questions
about that.

Once again, focuses on attitude. He focuses on heart. And He says, "Be on the
alert.

" Three times Jesus says this, and it's the word that He ends with, "Watch, be
on the alert. " He gives us a picture of this. He says it's like servants that
have been left in charge of a household and their master leaves and they don't
know what moment He's going to come again.

So don't let Him find you sleeping. Be on the alert. It's as if Jesus has been
right at the door for 2,000 years and you and I have to live with this spirit of
expectancy.

Be on the alert. Be on the alert, He says, in doing your task. Be on the alert
in not falling asleep.

Someone on our research team wrote about this. When I was younger, I used to
worry that I'd be in the wrong place when Jesus Christ returned. So I tried to
not be somewhere that might be deemed to be a bad place.

But they wrote, "I think it means more than that. " Yes, it does mean more than
that. We think don't be asleep, that means just don't be doing the wrong thing.

I wouldn't want to be caught when He comes. Really what it means is do be doing
the right thing. Being asleep as a believer can be doing the wrong thing, but
can also be doing nothing.

It can be just focusing on myself, focusing on my things. And Jesus is saying
here that because this world will not last, focusing all of my energies on this
world is missing the point. Now, I know you have to focus some energies on this
world.

We have to eat, we have to work, we have to earn some money. There's no doubt
about the fact that there's things that you have to do as tasks in everyday
life. But to focus all of my energies on this world is to miss the point of
eternity.

So I want to be on the watch, I want to be on the alert, I want to live in
anticipation of His return. "Be alert," He says, "by doing your task. Be alert
by not falling asleep.

" Someone else on the research team wrote this, "I am reminded by these verses
to put my life in order with God because I do not know when He will return. I
have wasted too many years walking away from Christ. I do not want to waste my
life anymore.

" That's the heart that Jesus is talking about here. Instead of wasting my life
on just the things of this life, wasting my life on just me, I want to give my
life towards eternity. I want to give my life for others.

Let's talk to Him. Jesus Christ, it's so easy for me to be selfish. Jesus
Christ, it's so easy for me to focus on just the here and now.

I pray that this truth of the Second Coming, I pray that my hope and my
anticipation of the Second Coming would give me strength to live a different
kind of life. A life that gets my eyes off of just what's in front of me and
sets my eyes on eternity. A life that gets my eyes off of just me and gets my
eyes on love for others.

Jesus Christ, help me to live in that kind of anticipation of Your return. Let
hope impact the way that I live today. I pray this, Jesus, in Your name.

Amen. We'll see you back next week. We're going to look at Mark chapter 14.

It's the day before Jesus goes to the cross. It is the day that all hearts are
revealed.