Today, I would like to conclude our summer review of the parables of Jesus, as presented in the Gospel of Mark.  Throughout the summer, we have seen that Jesus had a very simple message: “The time is now.  The kingdom of God is near.  Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). Jesus preached this message repeatedly across Galilee, Judea, and in Jerusalem.  After the Jewish religious leaders said Jesus was Satan, Jesus began teaching in parables. The parables were short stories that were intended for the faithful to understand the good news and, at the same time, riddles that would confound the wicked and adulterous listeners.

Jesus strongly suggested that the parable of the sower was key to understanding all parables.  Jesus said, “If you don’t understand this parable, how then will you understand any parable?” (Mark 4:13).  The parable of the sower was about casting seed, which Jesus later said was the Word of God.  Jesus cast the Word of God far and wide.  Some, hearing the word, were like hard soil and immediately rejected God’s Word, the spoken word, and the word that had become flesh, Jesus.  Satan consumed those who rejected Jesus.  Some, hearing the word, were like shallow soil.  They reacted with joy but remained shallow in their acceptance, withering away like a plant without water under the scorching sun. Others, hearing God’s Word, were distracted by worry and the cares of this world.  The thorny things of this world choked them.  Still others heard God’s Word and received it, producing fruit God desired, 30-fold, 60-fold, and as much as 100-fold.  God desires that we would bear the fruit that evidences God’s love for us and our love for God.  If we understand this parable, we can gain a deeper comprehension of the other parables.  Jesus' parables teach us that God desires only good for us, and part of that good is that we would listen to Him and follow His word.

We saw Jesus teach the message that the time was right for the harvest God desires, as conveyed through the balance of the parables Mark recorded.  The parables of the seed growing, the mustard seed, the vineyard and the tenants, and the lesson of the fig tree all point the same way. “Now is the time.  The kingdom of God is near.  Repent and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15).

But. There is always a but.  But someday, either in our individual lives or in the life of the world, time will be no more.  There will not be a time to bear fruit.  Our posture toward God will be in that moment either good soil that produces many fold, or Satan will have devoured us, withered because we withdrew from God, or choked by the thorny things of this world, like worry and wealth. There is an end time for each of us and for the world.

Jesus told his apostles, “32 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). Jesus was talking about the end of all time, but his words apply just as well to the time we have on earth.  About that day or hour, no one knows.  The timing for that moment is reserved for God the Father alone.  Jesus said, therefore, “33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come” (Mark 13:33).  Jesus wanted his apostles to be ready, alert, and on guard for opportunities to share the good news and for the movement of God.

Then, according to Mark’s gospel, Jesus offered this final parable.  “34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.  35 “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. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” (Mark 13:34-37).

What do we make of this parable, which begins with the words, “It’s like a man going away” (Mark 13:34)? This parable has similar tones to that of the tenants and the vineyard.  In that parable, Jesus spoke about a vineyard owner who “moved to another place” (Mark 12:1b).  The idea in both parables is that the owner of the house or vineyard was setting expectations for others whom he was placing in positions of responsibility for his possessions.  As we came to understand the parable of the vineyard, the owner represented God. Therefore, in this parable, the owner of the house likewise represents God.

With that explanation, we go back to the parable.  “34 It’s like a man (God) going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch” (Mark 13:34).  The parable has a second character, the man’s servants.  It is important to note that the man put his servants in charge.  The servant is someone who has already agreed to follow the man’s instructions.  The servants know the man and are doing their best to carry out the wishes of the man.  The man did not hire someone he did not know.  He did not ask the neighbor to look after things for him.  The man chose people who were already bonded to him.  We also note that each servant was given a task that they knew was theirs to perform.  There was accountability for specific tasks for specific people. 

One of those people was the one at the door whom the man told to keep watch. The man at the door was the doorkeeper. A doorkeeper in ancient Israel, as represented in the Old Testament, was both a trusted and humble servant.  In Psalm 84, we would read, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the tents of the wicked” (Psalm 84:10).  It was better to be outside the door of God’s house exposed to the elements than to ever spend a moment in the physical comfort of the wicked. 

To this humble and trusted servant, the man said, “Keep watch.”  It is this servant, above all others, that Jesus expounded about the importance of their role and the need for vigilance.  We might ask, “What was the purpose of the doorkeeper?  Was the doorkeeper there to open the door for the owner when he returned and to allow no one else into the owner’s home until the owner returned?”  The answer to those questions seems clear.  Had the owner wanted no one admitted to his home in his absence, the owner could have locked the door upon his departure.  The presence of a doorkeeper suggests that the owner intended for others to enter his home in the owner's absence.  Hence, the doorkeeper must be alert and discerning to ensure the owner’s wishes are carried out.

In this simple story, the doorkeeper was there to receive and allow into the owner’s home those whom the owner sent to him.  Those arriving could come at any time of day or night.  We know this because Jesus said the doorkeeper must be alert to the return of the owner himself at any time of the day or night.

We might now ask, “If in the parable, the man represents God, who then does the doorkeeper represent?”  It seems clear that the doorkeeper in the parable represents Jesus’ apostles.  Jesus was telling these servants of God that they must remain alert and watchful to do what God is calling them to do.  God was inviting people to come to his house, and apostles must be at the door, ready to receive those who accepted God’s invitation and welcome them into their master’s home.  And that, at a time when they never could know, the owner would return, and they would not want to be found asleep at the door.  When the owner returned, the time for issuing invitations had passed.

When Jesus finished the parable, he said to his disciples, “37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”  All of Jesus’ followers must be alert and responsive to the movement of God, to receive those He has invited.

Of course, we would later see that the apostles struggled with remaining alert even for a few minutes.  Mark, who often writes from the perspective of things occurring in three, recorded that in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to Peter, James, and John, 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch” (Mark 14:34).  Jesus then went a little further to pray.  But three times Jesus came back to the apostles only to find them asleep. The apostles had not kept watch.

What then do we do with this final parable of Jesus from the Gospel of Mark? Let’s follow Mark’s pattern and consider three things.

First, Jesus told his apostles that a day would come when He would return. Jesus said people would see, “The Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens” (Mark 13:26-27). Jesus’ return will be unmistakable. If we are living at the time of Jesus’ return, we will know it.  The evidence will be visible in the skies and in the activities on Earth.

Some groups believe Jesus has already returned.  Most notably, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus Christ’s “invisible return” or his spiritual presence began in 1914, marking the start of the “last days” of the current world system. This belief stems from their interpretation of biblical prophecies, particularly Daniel 4:10-17 and Revelation 12:12, combined with a chronological calculation based on the “seven times” prophecy.  I think Jesus was clear, his return will not be invisible.  It will be one of great power and glory.  When will Jesus return?   Jesus was clear about that as well.  “32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32).

Jesus' point to his apostles is the exact point we should take away today. He will return.  When?  When the time is right.  Therefore, please do not waste time and energy speculating and arguing over the day or the hour of his return.  Instead, be ready.  Focus on what can be done in the present.  Keep watch.

Second, in the parable, Jesus said the owner of the house called his servants together and assigned each their task.  The orderly running of the owner’s house required that each person do their assigned task.  The same is true for each person here.  God has given you talents and spiritual gifts that are to be used to His glory.  He has assigned you a task and equipped you to complete it.

The Apostle Paul likened the assignments we have received to the parts of a body. “12 There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. 13 We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. 14 So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts…18 God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be…27 You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14,18,27). Collectively, we are part of the body of Christ, or we are servants in the house of God, and each one of us has an active part or role to play.  For each of us, we must ask, “What is my role in the body of Christ right now? Am I doing what I am supposed to be doing?  Am I using my time, talent, treasure, or tears to accomplish for God’s glory what He has equipped me to do?”  If your answer is “Yes, I am doing what God has tasked me and equipped me to do,” then “do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).  If your answer is “No, I do not think I am doing what God has tasked me and equipped me to do,” then start today.  Don’t wait for tomorrow.  Start today 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” (Mark 13:35b).   Be ready.  Do not lament the past, but focus on what can be done in the present.  Keep watch.

Finally, our third point.  Jesus said to all that we must keep watch.  Keep watch for those God has invited to enter his house and will use you to welcome them.  Keep watch on each other, not as a tattletale would do.  But keep watch over each other, helping to protect each other from the temptations of this world, or the tiredness of life’s challenges.  In using his analogy of a body, the Apostle Paul put it this way, “But God has put together all the parts of the body. And he has given more honor to the parts that didn’t have any. 25 In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of one another. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy” (1 Corinthians 12:24b-26).  Keep watch. 

Keep watch for those God sends.  Keep watch over those God has already sent and incorporated into the body of Christ. Pay attention to what God is doing in the present moment.  Moments are just that.  They occur, and then they are gone.  Keep watch and act.

Let us then be found ready.  Actively and eagerly awaiting Jesus’ return or our going to him.  But let us not wait idly.  Let us do what God has equipped us to do in this present moment.  Do it to His glory.  Let’s all keep watch.  Amen and Amen.