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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: Mark 16:9-20

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

(PRT)

v. 9 Now, when Jesus was raised early on the first day of the week, he appeared first of all to Mary Magdalene, from who he had thrown out seven demons. vv. 10-11 She left there and told those who had been with Jesus and were now grieving and weeping; and they couldn’t believe that he was alive, even after hearing the news that she had seen him. vv. 12-13 And even after all this, two of them showed up and reported to the other disciples that while they were just now walking through the countryside, Jesus appeared to them in a different outward appearance; and they still didn’t believe it. v. 14 But not long afterwards, while the eleven were eating dinner, he showed up and then scolded them for their disbelief and hard-heartedness since they had not trusted those who had seen him risen from the dead. v. 15 Then he said to them: “As you journey into all the world, tell the whole creation the Good News. V 16 The ones who believe and are baptized will be saved; but the ones who remain unbelieving will be condemned.” vv. 17-18 Additionally, miraculous signs will show up around the ones who believe: in my name, they will throw out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will remove serpents with their hands; they will not be harmed even if they drink something deadly; and they will place their hands on the sick and they will be restored.” v. 19 Then, with all assurance, after speaking to them, Jesus was taken up into the heavens and then sat down at God’s right hand. v. 20 And they left there, declaring the Lord everywhere. The Lord was working through them and validating the word through accompanying miraculous signs. Amen.

Study Notes:

v. 9 Now, when Jesus was raised early on the first day of the week, he appeared first of all to Mary Magdalene, from who he had thrown out seven demons.

The rock removed wasn’t for Jesus to escape. The power to keep Jesus from corruption and decay and raise him from the dead wasn’t so weak that a rock would stop it. The rock was removed by the angel afterwards, so the women would see and have faith.

Jesus’ resurrection in v. 8 is framed by his crucifixion. His sacrificed life is integral to the new life we are given in Him.

There were two choices for Jesus being “not there:” His body was taken, or He rose from the dead. No other options are there.

In this summary verses of the telling of the story, Mary Magdalene returned to the sepulcher to try to make sense of all she’d discovered.  And Jesus appeared to her. (Confirmed by John 20.)

vv. 10-11 She left there and told those who had been with Jesus and were now grieving and weeping; and they couldn’t believe that he was alive, even after hearing the news that she had seen him.

This is confirmed in the other Gospels that they couldn’t wrap their minds around this story either. They were slow in coming to believe that Jesus was alive.

vv. 12-13 And even after all this, two of them showed up and reported to the other disciples that while they were just now walking through the countryside, Jesus appeared to them in a different outward appearance; and they still didn’t believe it.

These would be the two walking toward Emmaus to whom Jesus appeared. They rushed back to tell the disciples they had seen Jesus. In sync with the two witnesses, word comes back from others that Peter has seen Jesus, too. (Luke 24)

In his resurrected body, Jesus is the same, yet not the same. He is not subject to the rules we are. He appears as and when and through whatever closed door He wishes. And He does so in the next verse.

That Jesus appeared to a woman and to two who were not of the inner circle shows that status isn’t the qualifier. Each of us has this revealing of the truth and presence of Jesus in our salvation.

v. 14 But not long afterwards, while the eleven were eating dinner, he showed up and then scolded them for their disbelief and hard-heartedness since they had not trusted those who had seen him risen from the dead.

Mark names the new set of apostles minus Judas, The Eleven. They were known here in the context of the one absent but also by the rest remaining faithful and together.

Jesus shows up at dinner, calms their fears, shows them his wounds, has a bite. and calls them out for not believing Mary or the two from Emmaus (or even what has been prophesied – Luke 24).

v. 15 Then he said to them: “As you journey into all the world, tell the whole creation the Good News.

Even the ending of Mark 16:8 fulfills the three prophecies Jesus gave: 8:31, 9:31, 10:32-34. He will complete the work and hand off the work to tell everyone to us. Good News experienced and share in discipleship.

The whole creation contrasts with what Jesus sent them to do earlier as they went out in twos to the Jewish people. Now, all creation, Jews, Samaritans, and the nations.

V 16 The ones who believe and are baptized will be saved; but the ones who remain unbelieving will be condemned.”

This passage is interesting in including baptism in the numbers of the ones who are saved. This isn’t adding the act of baptism to make salvation happen. It is saying, “you believe and of course baptism what you do to show it” but if you don’t believe, of course you wouldn’t be baptized. If you believe, you are also baptized, and in community. The NT concept doesn’t entertain the loner Christian. Other Christians are our community; the ones we rely on, relate to.

vv. 17-18 Additionally, miraculous signs will show up around the ones who believe: in my name, they will throw out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will remove serpents with their hands; they will not be harmed even if they drink something deadly; and they will place their hands on the sick and they will be restored.”

All of this is witnessed in Acts but one: Philip, Paul, others threw demons out of people; Pentecost and the house of Cornelius prayed in new tongues; Paul shook the snake into the fire on the trip to Rome; numerous people were healed from the hands of the early church. Early church fathers tell us that John was poisoned as a way to dispatch him; but he lived.

v. 19 Then, with all assurance, after speaking to them, Jesus was taken up into the heavens and then sat down at God’s right hand.

This is the position of both authority and serving. The timing for His return is known only in the heavenlies. I remember the movies always had trouble making this real; how does one imagine what this was like? I will get to ask the disciples who were on the hillside watching this.

v. 20 And they left there, declaring the Lord everywhere. The Lord was working through them and validating the word through accompanying miraculous signs. Amen.

The main character in this passage is neither the angel resting with confidence on the bench to the right of where dead people lay, nor the women who come to anoint the body, nor the disciples, nor Peter. It is the culmination of the Good News of the Kingdom. It’s about Jesus just like it started with verse one: The Good News starts with Jesus; Our Hope begins here.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: Mark 15:42-16:8

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Good Friday & Easter Sunday 2022

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

Mark 15:42-16:8

(PRT)

vv.15:42-43 And evening had already arrived, and now that it was the Preparation Day before the Sabbath, and Joseph of Arimathea who was a respectable member of the Jewish Council and was waiting patiently for the Kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. vv. 44-45 This made Pilate wonder if Jesus was already dead, so he called the captain of the guard, asked him whether or not he had already died; then, learning from the captain that Jesus was dead, he gave Joseph the body. v. 46 And he brought a linen burial cloth he’d purchased and lowered Jesus from the Cross and wrapped him in the burial cloth. Then he laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock and then rolled a boulder against the entryway of the tomb. v. 47 Now, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

vv. 16:1-2  And awhile past the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices and scented oils hoping to return and anoint Jesus. Then, very early as the sun was rising, they come to the tomb. vv. 3-4 And they talked among themselves: “Who will roll back the boulder away from the entryway of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw the boulder was indeed very large, but was rolled away. v. 5 And when the women entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe seated to the right and they were totally overwhelmed with amazement. v. 6-7 Then he said to them: “Do not be distressed! Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are looking for who was crucified? He is risen and no longer here. See! Here’s the place where they laid him. But, you need to go and announce and explain to his disciples and to Peter that he going on ahead into Galilee. That’s where you will see him, just like he explained it all to you.” v. 8 So they got out and ran from the tomb gripped and trembling with amazement they spoke to no one for they were afraid.

Study Notes:

vv. 42-43 And evening had already arrived, and now that it was the Preparation Day before the Sabbath, and Joseph of Arimathea who was a respectable member of the Jewish Council and was waiting patiently for the Kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Joseph did the risky thing. He was respectable and known and “in the know.” Now he was a Jesus-lover. Now he has risked his reputation to do the honorable thing.

vv. 44-45 This made Pilate wonder if Jesus was already dead, so he called the captain of the guard, asked him whether or not he had already died; then, learning from the captain that Jesus was dead, he gave Joseph the body.

Even Pilate, who condemned Jesus to the Cross, wondered that Jesus had already died after only around 5-6 hours. Some would later use this “quick” notification of death as the reason that Jesus was “resurrected (e.g. that he was not really dead.) That has real problems. 1) the Centurion cohort killed him by nailing him to the cross and raising a spear through his side. 2) All the witnesses there saw him die. 3) Joseph brought him down dead from the cross. 4) The cohort of guards buried and sealed him. 5) Most importantly, each Christ-follower there went to his death with the same proclamation: Jesus is risen. There was nothing normal about Jesus’ death. A convicted man would last a while then would be flung into the group burial pile. No one mourns. No one lays claim. Ignored. Gone. For Jesus, Not in the group burial pile. Not ignored. Not mourned. Not long on the cross.

It’s almost as if Jesus saw “the day’s work completed” and moved on to complete the sacrifice by breathing his last. Tetelistai, last breath.

v. 46 And he brought a linen burial cloth he’d purchased and lowered Jesus from the Cross and wrapped him in the burial cloth. Then he laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock and then rolled a boulder against the entryway of the tomb.

He came prepared to risk it all. The cloth he brought him down with may have become the cloth he wrapped him in.  All that time and money Joseph invested in his own tomb, he gave up for the one who loved him,

v. 47 Now, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

I’m so glad we have Mark 16:1-8. Otherwise, the Mary’s are left grieving. They followed Joseph to the tomb with a plan but had no clue what the Father planned. Remember, they heard the same clear teaching over the ministry of Jesus. I’m here to be taken by evil men, to die, to be buried, to conquer death, and to return to the seat of power and the seat of intercession.

vv. 16:1-2  And awhile past the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices and scented oils hoping to return and anoint Jesus. Then, very early as the sun was rising, they come to the tomb.

Keep the timeline in mind here. They saw Jesus taken in the dark of what we would call Thursday, but for the Jewish week, sundown begins the new day (evening and the morning). So Jesus is handed over to evil people (Friday), abused, tried, convicted and crucified (Friday). Died and quickly buried before sundown (Friday). In the grave all the Sabbath (our Saturday – or day two of his “Passion.”) That night, most likely, (Sunday – evening and morning is the day, right) the Mary’s shop and gather what they need for the early morning walk in the dark (Sunday.) Jesus risen (Sunday) just before the Mary’s return. Three days in the grave.

vv. 3-4 And they talked among themselves: “Who will roll back the boulder away from the entryway of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw the boulder was indeed very large, but was rolled away.

They chatted about their plan as the made their way in the dark toward the cliffside where Joseph had been preparing what he thought would be his own tomb. Salome looks at the Mary’s “but you know that stone will be a huge boulder.” And they turn the corner: “It is a huge boulder; but has already been moved!”

v. 5 And when the women entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe seated to the right and they were totally overwhelmed with amazement.

Amazed as in overwhelmed and all but falling over.

v. 6-7 Then he said to them: “Do not be distressed! Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are looking for who was crucified? He is risen and no longer here. See! Here’s the place where they laid him. But, you need to go and announce and explain to his disciples and to Peter that he going on ahead into Galilee. That’s where you will see him, just like he explained it all to you.”

I like to think angels have accents (like a New York downtown cabbie). “Wait you’se. Don’t blow a gasket! Jesus, you know, the Nazarene. (snaps fingers under nose) Hey. Pay attention here: the one you’re here looking for? He’s not hear. Nope. That’s his tomb, but he ain’t here. Now, here’s the plan. Go get the disciples (and make sure Peter gets this, too, right). Get to Galilee. He’ll meet you there. Hey. Weren’t you listening? It’s what He told you’se all along.”

v. 8 So they got out and ran from the tomb gripped and trembling with amazement they spoke to no one for they were afraid.

And the news was out. That’s a hard place to end the original Good News account. But in some ways, what if this is where it ended. They got the story, believed it, and went away processing it. Afraid to speak because they didn’t want to break the sense of amazement. Then Luke picks up the rest in Acts 1. The oldest manuscripts of Mark stop here. Later manuscripts add a verse or two to summarize the rest of the story or even expand on Jesus’ commissioning of the disciples. But these continuations are not in the style, vocabulary, or flow of Mark’s writing. They aren’t wrong and are read in the context of the other Gospels. Some say a scribe took liberties; others that the original ending was lost and someone replaced it the best they could; and others that the New Testament church culture filled in the gap. My take is, the gap is there to remind us we walk away from the salvation story amazed, and with a lifetime to live out the Gospel story. The Kingdom is coming all through the church age; breaking in, amazing us, showing us the evidence of the risen Lord.

Pastor Rick’s Passage Translation for Palm Sunday

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Mark 15:20-41

(PRT)

v. 20 And while the soldiers humiliated and taunted him, they dressed him in his own clothes in place of the purple robe, and they led Jesus out so they could crucify him.

v. 21 Then they conscripted Simon from Cyrene, Alexander and Rufus’s father, as he passed by while visiting from the surrounding farmlands and they made him carry his cross.

v. 22 And they goaded him toward Golgotha – the name translated as the place of the skull.

v. 23 They gave him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it;

v. 24 And once they had crucified him, they then divided his clothes by casting dice to see who would get what item.

v. 25 They crucified him at 9 in the morning;

v. 26 And the crime inscribed against him was this: The King of the Jews.

v. 27 They also crucified with him two thieves, one to his right and one to his left. (v. 28 And this fulfilled the Scripture that says: “He was numbered among the criminals.”)

v. 29-30 And those parading by disparaged and cursed him. They shook their heads and exclaimed: “See here! It’s the one who claimed to tear down the temple and build it back in three days! Save yourself! Come down from that cross!”

v. 31-32 In the same way, the chief priests scoffed among themselves along with the scribes: “He delivered others, but he can’t even save himself! The Messiah! The King of Israel! Let him come down from the Cross so we might see and believe!” And those being crucified with Him berated him, too.

v. 33-34 Then, at noon darkness covered the land until three in the afternoon. Jesus, at that hour, cried loudly: “’Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani!’ (Which translates as: ‘My God, my God, why have your abandoned me?’”

v. 35 And some of those standing nearby heard Jesus and said, “Listen, he’s calling on Elijah!”

v. 36 Then someone again ran over and soaked a sponge in soured wine, put in on the end of a staff, and gave it to Jesus to drink, while saying: “Leave him alone and let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down!”

v. 37 Then, Jesus groaned aloud and breathed his last breath.

v. 38 At that moment, the curtain in the temple was ripped open from top to bottom into two pieces.

 v. 39 Also, the captain of the soldiers who was standing across from him, saw the moment Jesus breathed his last, exclaimed: “Without a doubt, this man was the son of God!”

v. 40-41 And there were also women watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (Little James’ and Joseph’s mother), and Salome; they were the ones who followed him when Jesus was in Galilee. They attended him along with many others who came up with him to Jerusalem.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: Mark 14:32-42

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Mark 14:32-42

(PRT)

v. 32 When they arrive at the place called Gethsemane, he says to his followers, stay around here while I pray. v. 33 And he takes Peter, James, and John with him and he starts to be distressed greatly and heavy-hearted. v. 34 And Jesus says to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sadness almost to the point of dying; stay here and watch.” v. 35 And going a ways into the garden, he fell to the ground and prayed that, if possible, this hour might pass by him. v. 36 And he cried out: “Abba Father, all things are possible for you. Take away this cup; still, not what I want, but what you desire.” v. 37 Then he returns and discovers them sleeping. And he says to Peter: “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch with me a single hour?” v. 38 “Watch and pray so that you may not cave into temptation: the spirit is eager, but the flesh is weak.” v. 39-40 And again, he went away to pray the same things in the same manner; and he returned and found them asleep because their eyes were heavy, and they did not know how they should answer him. v. 41 So he returns a third time and says: “Are you sleeping? It’s enough, so be refreshed, now that the hour has come. Watch this: The Son of Man is now handed over to the power of sinful men. v. 42 “Wake up and let’s go! Look around you! The one who is betraying me is approaching!”

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

v. 32 When they arrive at the place called Gethsemane, he says to his followers, stay around here while I pray.

They left the city by one of the gates to enter into the garden. Gethsemane means “oil press.” A very fitting place for Jesus to be pressed with the weight of the sins of the world as he reconciled to the mission and the Father’s will.

This place, the Gospel accounts tells us that Jesus often went here, and Judas knew the way to get in and surround Jesus. The garden likely was a part of a grove of olive trees. Secluded but not too far out of the way.

The picture is often a secluded woody area with a big stone. It was likely a well-kept olive grove with possibly a small house or building on it with paths and careful arrangement.

This account is in all four Gospels and alluded to in Hebrews and other places.

For Mark, those who read and hear this read, are facing their own crisis, their own trials.

Jesus may have suggested to the eight remaining disciples (Judas has already left to initiate his own agenda) to have a seat on the rock wall that serves as the Border to the grove and the garden.

v. 33 And he takes Peter, James, and John with him and he starts to be distressed greatly and heavy-hearted.

So Jesus tells the disciples to stay back and let him and his three move into the grove and garden to pray. Peter, James and John were there not long before to see Jesus transformed on the mountain;. and they saw Jesus raise a little girl from the dead. They knew Jesus more than anyone. And they saw him fall into the dirt of the grove in anguish.

They were to keep watch as in be alert and watchful, not for the betrayer, but for the Tempter.

Jesus was amazed, as in overwhelmed, with sorrow. Mark alone makes this clear with this intensity.

This heavy-heartedness has a root meaning of being far from home and sad because of this combination of alone-ness and distance between. Jesus would have felt home-sickness and the pain of all this as the sin and weight became a brief but necessary wedge.

Jesus had his life directed toward the suffering of the cross; now that he is facing it in such a short time, along with the pain of the abandonment of his best friends, it was nearly unbearable.

Might James and John remember their conversation, as they watch and listen to the pain in Jesus’ voice, about being able to drink from the same cup as Jesus?

v. 34 And Jesus says to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sadness almost to the point of dying; stay here and watch.”

This exceeding sorrow is one brought on by an external demand (such as the rich young ruler faced.) It weighted him down.

How often does Jesus make a request from his disciples for something for himself? This may be one of the only times. Stay and watch; they lie down and sleep.

v. 35 And going a ways into the garden, he fell to the ground and prayed that, if possible, this hour might pass by him.

The word means “a stone’s throw” away. He fell to his knees or prostrate before the father (I know most pictures have Jesus leaning or kneeling at a big rock. But he got down and dirty in the ground in his prayer.

We are to pray, always, and develop a practice of listening and speaking to the Father throughout the day. Sometimes prayer is the only desperate solution: fall to our knees, fall to our face, lay on the ground or the floor in humble trust and petition. Standing or sitting is not enough at this point.

v. 36 And he cried out: “Abba Father, all things are possible for you. Take away this cup; still, not what I want, but what you desire.”

Abba is used as the familiar form of love that a child has. Similar to the familiar Daddy or Papa. But also the name we call the Father when we are most intimate: when we are without words and at the wit’s end, and that unique fellowship the Son sent the Spirit into our hearts to produce with the Father. Galatians 4:4. Abba Father weds two main words for an intimate cry of son to dad. It is an address of total trust and submission to the Father. This familiarity is unheard of in Jewish prayer. Such familiarity and intimacy and knowledgeable trust. It is the child calling to daddy; it is the grown man or woman submitting in reverence and trust to the good father.

The cup is that death he would partake of on the cross. He won the battle here as the Father answered. Luke has angels helping.  In the OT, the cup is indicative of the judgment of God.  Jesus faced the condemnation of sin and guilt that he took on.

This cup reflects back to the supper they just took a few hours earlier. This is the cup of the new covenant. Jesus is ready to face death and ready to do the Father’s will. He is not devaluing “the cup of the new covenant.” He is facing the excruciating pain of judgment. He’s never tasted sin, guilt, abandonment, etc.

v. 37 Then he returns and discovers them sleeping. And he says to Peter: “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch with me a single hour?”

He loving concern for His followers led him to break away from prayer to encourage and check on his disciples.

v. 38 “Watch and pray so that you may not cave into temptation: the spirit is eager, but the flesh is weak.”

This admonition to watch and pray is to Simon Peter and the others. Not just to Simon. The word, “willing” could be “eager” to follow Jesus faithfully, but the flesh weakly chooses to cave to the temptation to deny Christ, to be untrue.

 The flesh is that which represents our tendency to selfishness, self-preservation, me-first; the spirit is that breath of life the Father gives all of us and longs for heaven’s values.  But the flesh takes us down the road of me-first.

v. 39-40 And again, he went away to pray the same things in the same manner; and he returned and found them asleep because their eyes were heavy and they did not know how they should answer him.

It’s like their eyes were weighted down, even though they tried to keep them open.

In the wilds, Jesus was tempted three times to abuse his divinity (makes his own bread, toss himself off a building, grasp at rulership); here Jesus returns to prayer three times to win over his humanity’s natural aversion to what he faces.

The disciples were stumped for words, just like on the Mount of Transfiguration.

v. 41 So he returns a third time and says: “Are you sleeping? It’s enough, so be refreshed, now that the hour has come. Watch this: the Son of Man is now handed over to the power of sinful men.

The construction of this passage is often stilted. Why would Jesus say in one breath, keep sleeping and the hour has come. More likely, he called them out of the sleeping to remind them it’s enough refreshing for now because the hour has come.

It’s enough is the phrase that people would often give in receipt of payment for a service or item.

v. 42 “Wake up and let’s go! Look around you! The one who is betraying me is approaching!”

Jesus is given over to the work of the Enemy to steal, kill and destroy. This is the moment of the Enemy’s control. He can’t help himself but to take Jesus and destroy him; even if Satan knew it would be his downfall, he is the destroyer and will do it. But, in his wildest imagination, he doesn’t think the Father will give up his beloved.

Pastor Rick’s Study Notes: Mark 13:28-37

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Pastor Rick’s Study Notes:

(PRT) 13:28-37

v. 28 Now then, learn from the story of the fig tree: when the time comes for its branch to become tender and its leaves to open, you know that summer is about to happen. v. 29 In the same way, you know that when you see these signs about to happen you know that the fulfillment of these things is also near and already at the door. v. 30 Trust me when I tell you that this generation will not pass away until these things have happened. v. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will in no way pass away. v. 32 But when it comes to that very day or hour, no one knows – neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. v. 33 Keep your eyes open and stay alert, for you do not know when that time is. v. 34 That time is like a man who goes on a journey, leaves his house and gives each of his servants authority for their work; and the doorkeeper is ordered that he should keep watch. v. 35-36 You should watch, therefore, because you do not know when the master of the house returns, whether at evening, midnight, before daybreak, or morning; or else when he comes unexpectedly, he should find  you asleep at the job. v. 37 For this reason, my word to you all is: watch and be ready.

Pastor Rick’s Notes:

v. 28 Now then, learn from the story of the fig tree: when the time comes for its branch to become tender and its leaves to open, you know that summer is about to happen.

It’s a comparison between how summer approaches with signs from spring, and how his contemporary generation will see what’s coming, and for those of us awaiting His return, how the end times will approach with signs increasingly before it happens.

They just learned another lesson from the false fig tree. Now they learn from the flourishing fig tree. As it sprouts and brings life out of a winter’s barrenness, it parallels (parable) how the gradual and increasing signs of the end times will point to His return.

v. 29 In the same way, you know that when you see these signs about to happen you know that the fulfillment of these things is also near and already at the door.

These things are near because He is near to  returning. The Parousia is imminent.

v. 30 Trust me when I tell you that this generation will not pass away until these things have happened.

This generation could be this race or nation. But the eternal oversees one generation and one nation. It is this generation meaning the that very generation that recognizes the signs happening so rapidly. When the Spring is here, that generation is here, too.

It’s a complicated verse to interpret. One interpretation is fairly sure: He also could be referring backward to the initial question. When will the walls tumble in Jerusalem? Within the generation hearing his voice.

If Jesus is talking about  a nation or people, it could be the nation of Israel or the people who seek him first. Israel, or we, will always be until the end times are fulfilled.

v. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will in no way pass away.

He claimed eternity for his words. And it is true; his words are thoroughly woven through the centuries and will in no way pass away.

v. 32 But when it comes to that very day or hour, no one knows – neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father.

This is a curious thing for God the Son to say. He is limited only for the good of His life as the Son of Man in relation to those he teaches. The limit is by design, even though Jesus and the Father are one.

v. 33 Keep your eyes open and stay alert, for you do not know when that time is.

The term, “keep  your eyes open” is watch. Uses only four times but always to be alert.

v. 34 That time is like a man who goes on a journey, leaves his house and gives each of his servants authority for their work; and the doorkeeper is ordered that he should keep watch.

This person as the house owner or estate lord leaves the country. It’s not just a journey into town but an unpredictable trip that could take longer or shorter than expected.

Parallels the parable of the vineyard and the lord of the vineyard who goes on a trip, too.

Is this the leadership of the church, the servants of God through the ages, who have been given the command to reach the world for Christ, expecting anytime his arrival?

More likely, in this thought, Jesus has not left us alone with only a book and a mission. He has given us the paraclete, the Holy Spirit. He is near and he is with us. And He will return. We all, not just pastors or leaders, are in the house working at what we were created for, under his authority and power, to accomplish the mission.

v. 35-36 You should watch, therefore, because you do not know when the master of the house returns, whether at evening, midnight, before daybreak, or morning; or else when he comes unexpectedly, he should find  you asleep at the job.

If the workers at the temple were listening, they knew where Jesus was going with this. The temple leadership could show up at any time. If they were not greeted at the door and saluted on the rounds, they were in trouble.

These are the four watches of the night. That could refer to the fact that we as a world are still in the shadows until Jesus returns in his brilliant glory.

v. 37 For this reason, my word to you all is: watch and be ready.

We are to be engaged in calling, use His gifts and power, trust His Word, and follow His Spirit, even when the shadows seek to obscure the work of the Kingdom. In the four watches, we are most available and trusting.