S51 || Staying Alert: Christ's Return and Our Response || Mark 13:28-37 || Session 51 || Verse by Verse Bible Study

What does it mean to live in expectation of Christ's return? In this profound exploration of Mark 13:28-37, we unpack Jesus' teachings from the Olivet Discourse about spiritual readiness and watchfulness.

Jesus uses the powerful imagery of a master leaving his household in the care of servants to illustrate our responsibility during His absence. Three times He emphasizes the command to "be on the alert," yet simultaneously makes clear that "of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." This tension creates the framework for how believers should live: spiritually vigilant without obsessive speculation about timing.

We tackle the controversial phrase "this generation will not pass away until all these things take place," unpacking the broader meanings of the Greek word "genea" and examining how context shapes our understanding. Rather than supporting skeptics' criticisms or preterists' claims that all prophecy was fulfilled in the first century, this verse actually reinforces Jesus' teaching about the generation that will witness the specific apocalyptic signs He described.

Perhaps most comforting is Jesus' declaration that "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." In a world of instability, God's Word remains our unchanging foundation. This promise grounds our faith through life's uncertainties and gives us confidence in the reliability of Scripture.

The practical application of this passage challenges us to examine our lives: Are we distracted by end-times speculation, or focused on the Great Commission? Are we maintaining short accounts with God and others, living as if we could meet Jesus today? Whether through His return or our mortality, readiness for that divine encounter should transform how we live now.

Join us as we reason through Scripture to discover what it truly means to stay spiritually awake while waiting for our Master's return. Subscribe to continue exploring God's Word verse by verse.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Watchfulness
• 1:07 The Parable of the Fig Tree
• 4:56 Signs of the Times Explained
• 10:20 The Mystery of "This Generation"
• 20:46 Jesus's Words Will Never Pass
• 22:09 Parable of the Traveling Master
• 27:15 Living in Daily Expectation

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:20

We're told in the Bible to be watchful, that Jesus' coming could be soon, but we don't know. When he tells us in Mark, chapter 13, in the Olivet Discourse, to be watchful. That's what we're going to find out today. Is what did Jesus teach about how we should act while we're waiting for him to return? Hi, my name's Glenn. I'm here with Steve. While we're waiting for him to return? Hi, my name's Glenn. I'm here with Steve. We are Reasoning Through the Bible and open your Bibles to Mark, chapter 13. We're going to start in verse 28. This is the last part of what's called the Olivet Discourse. Jesus has given some great, profound teachings as he sat on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Jerusalem. Steve, can you jump in at verse 28 and read down to verse 37?

Speaker 2: 1:07

Now learn the parable from the fig tree when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.

Speaker 2: 1:16

Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that he is near, right at the door. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Take heed, keep on the alert, for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey who, upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning, in case he should come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you, I say to all be on the alert.

Speaker 1: 2:23

We have here Jesus giving some very clear warnings. If we look at verse 28 and 29, he says when you see these things happening, well, what are the these things? Well, these things are the ones he's just mentioned in the last half dozen verses. He's saying when you see all these cataclysmic things going on, then you realize that it's very close. Well, steve, if we contrast that with what he said back in verse 32 when he talked about watch out, there's false Christ coming. How should we approach this? How should we, as Christians in the church age, look for signs of the times? How much can we tell about?

Speaker 2: 3:10

when Jesus is going to return. Well, we have specific things that have been told to us through the prophets and also told to us by Jesus here in this Olivet Discourse. But he has told us three times here in what we just read be alert, we're to be ready. But he also tells us but we don't know specifically when the hour is going to be or when the time's going to be. I think that there are certain things that we can be aware of.

Speaker 2: 3:36

The main thing that is noted here to be aware of is when the abomination of desolation happens. I think to me that is a pinnacle item when you see that that's going to be the mid part of this tribulation. After that we just talked about that in our last session all these cataclysmic events, all of those things that he's mentioned in there, are going to happen at the time of the tribulation. This specific verse here is talking about that those times of when those things are happening. It's not talking about things before that. I think that we should be aware of what's going on in the world, but I don't think that we should just hang on every single happening in the world that's going on and try and cram it into the time period of when Jesus is going to return. Keep this in the context of what he's talking about. This is in context of the tribulation period and the time that's after that and circling those events that are taking place during that tribulation period.

Speaker 1: 4:43

The human mind has a grand ability to see patterns and things, even sometimes when there's no real pattern. They're watching the daily news and trying to see God's hand and it sometimes is futile. God's hand may be there, but us seeing it all the time is sometimes futile. He says here in verse 32, of that day or hour no one knows. I've heard some teachers falsely claim well, you can't know the day or the hour, but you can know the season. Well, I submit to you Acts, chapter 1, verse 6 and 7. There the apostles said well, is it now? He says you don't know the times or the season. If times mean years and seasons mean months, he specifically says you don't know the season. We don't know the day or the hour, or the year or the month. We don't know. And the spirit of what he says in both these passages is just be watchful, because we don't know when he's going to come.

Speaker 1: 5:42

The whole figurative language here, the little short parable about you know it could come at midnight, could come when the rooster crows, could come any time. That's our job is to be watchful, to keep our eyes on the horizon, because he will come. We should not lose heart, because he will come, but we don't know when. Therefore, anyone who does predict when Jesus is going to return is going to fail. I think we mentioned a couple of sessions ago there's a long list of people that predict oh Jesus, right around the corner, going to be here any minute, any year, any month. Now Some of them even predict dates. Well, you're not going to hear us do that, because we don't want to be one more on the long list of false prophets. Therefore, every generation, since the early days of the church, have felt they were in the last days. We are told we are in the last era. In that sense we're in the last days, but when he's going to come we just don't know.

Speaker 2: 6:42

And again, the context is at the end of the tribulation. There he's telling them that this generation, we'll get into that here, in just a second, when they see these things, that he's going to be at the door. I believe, glenn, that he's giving them this instruction to be alert and that they're not going to know the hour. I know that some people have interpreted that and said, well, if this is at the end of the tribulation, at seven years, and people will be able to calculate, the unbelieving people aren't going to know, they don't even care. They don't care today about Jesus Christ. They don't even care that he came the first time. So I believe that Jesus is referring specifically to the unbelieving world. The unbelieving world is not going to know the time or the event whenever he's going to come.

Speaker 2: 7:29

But what was the great commission that Jesus gave to us? To go out and make disciples, teaching them the things that I have taught you. I believe that Jesus is giving this type of a directive to us, them now, so that they won't be distracted from that. That's what we should be. Our mission is to spread the gospel. Our mission is to care for fellow Christians and to support them. Pray for them, help them, help the widow, don't forget about the orphan. Love our neighbor as ourselves. That is what we primarily need to do. I believe Jesus is saying, really in an indirect way if you're there, out there, always trying to figure out when I'm coming, you're at risk of abandoning what I actually want you to go and do and just start watching and looking for whenever I come. Now we should do that, he says be on the alert, but we should not abandon the commission that he's given to us to go and spread the gospel.

Speaker 1: 8:35

That's exactly what happened in the first century, because even before the New Testament was finished written, there were people that had quit their jobs and were going off waiting for Jesus to return. Paul wrote in Thessalonians if they don't work, they shouldn't eat. That we should be about the Lord's business. Look at verse 29. In there the Greek grammar could say there that he is near, as our New American standards say, or it could say it is near, as some of the other good translations say. The Greek grammar could be either he, jesus, or it, the kingdom. Therefore, how do we determine which one it says? Well, we must ask ourselves what is the context here and how would it fit? The preterist and the amillennialist and the postmillennialist want to say well, it is the event of 70 AD, or it is the judgment, or it is the kingdom coming. If we were to take that view, then verse 29 would mean the kingdom was near immediately after the events of 70 AD. But that's not the case because we know it was there at least from the day of Pentecost. Really again, salvation by grace, through faith, was throughout time. There was nothing in salvation that was true or changed or closer after 70 AD than it was for the 40 years prior, 70 AD. The kingdom of personal salvation was just as close on the day of Pentecost as it was after 70 AD or during 70 AD. There was not any more angels gathering elect before 70 AD than after 70 AD. Therefore, verse 29 is talking about the second coming of Christ. He is near. That's why many of the translations say that.

Speaker 1: 10:25

Plus, jesus is always in the New Testament the one spoken of as being at the door. The kingdom is never spoken of as being at the door. Salvation is never at the door. Jesus is at the door. Revelation 3.20,. Jesus says I stand at the door and knock. James 5, verse 7 and 8, twice talk about the coming of the Lord. Then the next verse 5, 9, quote the judge is standing right at the door talking about the Lord that it just got through. Speaking of John, 10, 9,. Jesus says I am the door. Nowhere else in Scripture is the kingdom being at the door. Jesus is at the door. Jesus is at the door. Therefore, here in mark 13 he will be at the door. Steve, six times in this chapter it talks about the coming of jesus. What do you think the main theme is of mark chapter 13?

Speaker 2: 11:23

I think the theme here, in this part at least, is that he is coming beyond the alert. But I do want to point out in verse 33, glenn, that there is an appointed time. It says in verse 33, for you do not know when the appointed time will come. There is a definite time of Jesus's second coming. It's not going to be arbitrary and we have enough information to be able to know certain things that are going on. He said in the earlier verses I'm telling you all these things in advance. Well, why would he do that? So that we would know some of the things that are going to happen. The main gist here in 13 in this section is he's coming again beyond the alert. You don't know the specific time, but yet there is an appointed time whenever he is going to come again.

Speaker 1: 12:16

Next we have verse 30. There's a big question around what he means when he says this generation. He says verse 30, truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. So, steve, I've seen in recent days and throughout the years groups of people some of them are skeptics saying well, see, he said it would happen this generation. It didn't. Therefore, we can dismiss the Bible. Another is the preterists that say well, look, it says this generation. He means this generation. So all these things were symbolically fulfilled in the first century. Steve, what does he mean there when he says this generation? What are the range of?

Speaker 2: 12:56

meanings. There is a saying in the real estate world that whenever you're selling something that is location, location, location, that means everything to the real estate property that you're selling to someone. Whenever we're interpreting the Bible and looking at things, I think the thing that applies is context, context, context. And what is the context of what's going on when he makes this statement of this generation? What's going on when he makes this statement of this generation? He's talking about end time events prior to his second coming at that time of the tribulation, the tribulation that has never been as great as it has before and never will be again.

Speaker 2: 13:40

Back in verse 19. That's the whole context of what he's talking about here. Is at that time. The phrase here of this generation, glenn, I think, when you put it into the context of, is that it's this generation that is going to see all of these events that are happening. This is the generation that's going to be there and that he's talking about at this particular point in time. I think you're going to go on to a little bit more detail of what this generation could be, but to me it's the context of everything else that he's been talking about makes it clear If we look at the word generation.

Speaker 1: 14:19

It's the Greek word geneo, which is Strong's 1074. The Greek word has a wider range of meanings than the English word generation. Just right out of the lexicon not my opinion just again right out of the Greek lexicons, the word geneo can mean a race of people, such as a nation. It can mean all the people living at the same time, which is the one that we tend to think of first. It can also mean the age of a time period, of when people were living. It could also mean a family history, just a history of a household. It could mean any group with similar qualities the word is used for, such as all the males across time or all the females across time, anybody with the same quality to them, regardless of a time period. Any group that has the same qualities could be in the same geneo. The Greek term has a wider usage than just a Greek. Also, notice that in this chapter, here this verse and mark, there's no other time markers used in this verse. No first generation or generation to generation. There's no time marker other than this generation. Then we have to go to the word this. You'd think that this is a clear word, but it actually, grammatically has more to it than that. It's not quite as simple. And there's again, many people hang their entire faith on this verse here when it says this generation. I've done some research and I'll give you something that I got from a Dr Peter Gaiman, who has researched this quite a bit. If we go over to John, chapter 4, there's a story there of the woman at the well and Jesus goes to this well and this woman comes in the middle of the day and he's having this conversation with her. And at one point in the conversation John 4, 13, jesus says this water. If people drink this water, they're going to get thirsty again, but if they give the living water that I have, they won't be thirsty again. And the woman in the next verse verse 14, says well, give me this water. Well, which water is she talking about? Because he just got through talking about two waters. He mentioned this water, which was the water in the well they were sitting next to, and the living water. And she says give me this water. Well, if we were to just look at the pure grammar then we would say oh, he's talking about the well, because he just got through saying this water was the water in the well they were next to. We know from the context of she says give me this water's, the well water. When she says this water, it's the living water, the figurative water, the spiritual water. Therefore, just because he says this generation in Mark 13 doesn't mean it's the one standing in front of them at the time. Therefore, we have to look at the context to tell us which generation he's talking about.

Speaker 1: 17:41

Another example that we can have is that the you will see these things. That's also in this passage. I've heard that. Well, you will see these things. Well, zechariah was stoned to death in 2 Chronicles 24, about 775 years earlier. Jesus says to the Pharisees in Matthew 23-35, you murdered them. You murdered them because the? You was the Jewish leadership of which they were part of. The generation there in Matthew, the you was this group of people that crossed a thousand years of time. We have to look at the rest of Scripture. Therefore, this one president, this generation, and you will see, might not be the people who were standing there at the time.

Speaker 1: 18:32

Again, dr Peter Gaiman says that for the first 200 years of the church, the church was almost unanimous in starting with the abomination of desolation in this passage. The passage speaks about a future occurrence not fulfilled in the first century. People who taught this included Irenaeus, hippolytus and Tertullian. Second century Irenaeus was very premillennial. Therefore, again, as we've been very careful to walk through and took enough time to walk through all of this so we could get to a passage here where we say this generation, which generation?

Speaker 1: 19:10

Well, matthew tells us the generation that sees all these things. What things? All the apocalyptic things that we just got through talking about the sun darkened, the moon won't give its light, the earth is shaken. What are that? Back to Isaiah 13,. That's God pouring out his judgment on the whole world, all the nations of the world. When the generation that sees God pour out his wrath on all the nations of the earth, what he just got through quoting, that's the generation he's talking about. Steve, it's a lot harder to explain all that than it is to just throw out a. Well, it's obviously this generation.

Speaker 2: 19:51

It is, but we've spent two. I think this is our third session now in this particular section of Mark and in our prior couple of sessions we've made a clear case that the timeframe that he's talking about in this particular part is something that's still yet future. It just makes sense that in the context that this generation is the generation that's going to see all of that, just in a couple of verses further in verse 32, he says but of that day. So again, the context is all future things that are going to happen. To me it's really playing the context of where he's talking about when he says this generation, the one that's going to see all of those cataclysmic and apocalyptic events that he's just been talking about with the disciples there.

Speaker 1: 20:39

Steve, let's talk about something in this passage that's sort of personal and comforting making apocalyptic events that he's just been talking about with the disciples there. Steve, let's talk about something in this passage that's sort of personal and comforting Verse 31,. Jesus says here that heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not. Isn't it comforting to know that God's word will never pass away? We live in a world where things are moving and it's kind of crazy and it's very stressful. Isn't it comforting to know that we can hang on to something God's Word that's going to be the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. It will never fail.

Speaker 2: 21:10

It's the reason why you and I, Glenn, are here going through His Word, going through all of the books of the Bible, verse by verse in the chapters, is because it's so steady. It's stable, it's believable and it's true, it has a meaning to our life. So, yeah, it is comforting to know that there is a foundation in the word of God that we can stake and live our lives on.

Speaker 1: 21:38

Next verse, verse 32,. We have another question that comes up often. He says of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Steve, the people that deny the deity of Christ bring this up fairly regularly. This is the one verse they know about and they say well, see, he doesn't know something and God's supposed to know everything. So Jesus is not God and so it's not quite that easy. There's, of course, a lot of other Bible passages to deal with, so how would we respond? Is Jesus somehow a problem here because he doesn't know something? Jesus?

Speaker 2: 22:16

is fully God and fully man. He is both. When he refers to something like this in 32, I believe that he's referring to his human side, that his human side doesn't know that appointed time. Obviously the divine part, or the God part, does know that because he is God. To me it's clear that he's explaining to himself that the Son of man, the human side, doesn't even know this time, only the Father in heaven.

Speaker 1: 22:51

Exactly, not an issue at all that there was something Jesus didn't know. Several reasons. Main thrust is what you just said, steve he was both fully human and fully divine. So, yes, god knows everything, but he's also fully human. He has a human nature and there is a distinction in persons of the Trinity. Yes, they are all the one God, but the Father didn't come and die on the cross, so they had different roles. The Son doesn't empower people like the Holy Spirit does. There are different roles for different things.

Speaker 1: 23:31

Jesus voluntarily limited himself when he put on humanity. He limited his omnipresence. He limited his glory. He was not everywhere. He was not fully glorious while he was here on the earth.

Speaker 1: 23:40

Luke 2.52, it speaks of Jesus while he was growing up says that he increased in wisdom. That's not an issue, because he came as a baby and grew as any human would. If he hadn't have grown, he wouldn't have been fully human. It's entirely also logical that the human brain cannot hold all the knowledge of an infinite God. Why would we think that our puny little brain would know everything that God would know? So we have no issue with Jesus' human body not having all the aspects of a disembodied God. Therefore, we have no issue with Jesus' humanity not having all the knowledge of his deity. Jesus slept, he became hungry, he ate food, he walked, he did all the aspects of humanity and none of which happened to a spiritual God. Therefore, there's no issue with the human nature of Jesus not having all the knowledge of the divine nature of the Father.

Speaker 1: 24:40

Then verse 34 is really kind of the main thrust of this last part. He tells this parable of a man going on a journey and leaving his servants in charge. In the parable, who's the man and who are the servants? So, steve, this reminds me he told similar parables like this at different times in the Gospels. When he gives this ministry, who's the man?

Speaker 2: 25:06

and who are the servants? The man in this parable is him, is Jesus. He is going to be going away after his resurrection. He is going to ascend into heaven. He is presently sitting at the right hand of the Father. So that is the man that's in the journey. The slaves are the saints, the ones his believers that are here, as well as the doorkeeper, which are to stay on the alert. This, I think, is the meaning of the parable.

Speaker 1: 25:36

In verse 34, it says the man left his house. In the Bible, house can mean a physical house. It also used as descendants or family. Get the picture he, jesus, left his family, the church, his house, the church, and he is going away, leaving the servants in charge. That's what's happening here in the church age. What is our job while Jesus is away? Well, go and make disciples. Our job is to watch. Be ready, be alert, be sober, don't fall asleep. And go and make disciples, like he says in Matthew, chapter 28. Steve, what did Peter do during the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus said stay here and be awake and watch.

Speaker 2: 26:21

We're going to be reading that here in the next couple of sessions when we get into chapter 14. He fell asleep and he didn't stay awake. In fact, he didn't fall asleep just one time, he fell asleep a couple of times.

Speaker 1: 26:32

What we should do is to be awake, be sober, be watchful in case Jesus were to return at any time. That's our job Repent of our sins, keep short accounts with God, ask forgiveness of our family and our friends, focus on kingdom work. Don't be worldly-minded, but be heavenly-minded and just be ready because our Savior, our Deliverer, could be back at any moment. Another aspect of being watchful is that we don't know the hour of our own death. Steve, any of us could be with the Lord. Unexpectedly, we could die and find ourselves in front of the judgment seat at any point. So, yes, we should be watchful and be all those things I just mentioned sober, prayed up, short accounts with God, make sure we're on short accounts with our family and friends because Jesus could come back at any time, but it's also because, just frankly, we could die at any time. How would someone live if they expected to meet the Lord any minute?

Speaker 2: 27:38

If a person truly lives with the expectation that Jesus could return at any moment which I think that we believe that he could come to take his church, Glenn, and take it away at any moment, in that particular case their lives would be different. Living under that expectation, They'd want to be ready, They'd want to be, as you say, have short accounts with other people. Paul says many times that we are to treat fellow Christians in a different way, that we're to love them different. Why? Because they're the body of Christ and we're part of the body of Christ. It's a long-winded answer to your question, Christ. It's a long-winded answer to your question, but our lives should be different whenever we're truly living with the expectation that Christ could come and take us at any moment, whether that's through death or whether that's through the catching away of the church and taking us back to heaven.

Speaker 1: 28:35

That brings us to the end of chapter 13. He says here what I say to you all is to be on the alert. That's how he leaves us at the end of the Olivet Discourse. Next time we're going to see a very tender moment. We're going to leave these doctrinal areas and we're going to move to a very profound and tender moment when a woman anoints his feet, and that'll teach us some great spiritual lessons next time as we continue to reason through the book of Mark.

Speaker 2: 29:08

Thank you so much for watching and listening. May God bless you.