It Is Near - Mark 13:28-31 Series

Mark 13:28 "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.32 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his as-signed 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!' "

Introduction

You Can Know but Can’t Know?

We have two paragraphs left in the Olivet Discourse, and they seem to say opposite things. The final paragraph (starting in v.32) is all about how no one knows the day or hour. But the paragraph right before that (that we’re going to look at tonight) is about how to know when the end is near. If you underline the word, “know” in each paragraph, you’ll see the tension.

Mark 13:28 Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.

32 "No one knows about that day or hour … 33 You do not know when that time will come. 35 … you do not know when the owner of the house will come back.

In the second paragraph, knowing the time is so impossible, not even the angels or even Jesus himself could know. And in the first paragraph, it’s so easy, it’s like figuring out what season it is. I’m pretty clueless—I never know what date it is, I never have any clue how long before the next holiday is, but even in the fog I live in, even I know when it’s summer. I go outside, it’s 98 degrees, “Yep, that aint winter.”

So which is it—any idiot can figure it out, or no one will ever figure it out? Some have said, “You can’t know the day or hour, but maybe you can figure out the general time period—the week or month.” But Jesus is clear

The only way to be ready when it happens is to remain ready all the time. That’s the whole point of vv.32-35. And listen to what Jesus said right before his ascension.

Acts 1:6 … Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

Other translations say, “times or periods” or “times or seasons.” You can’t know the hour, the day, the time, the season, the period, the epoch. It’s not something you’ll be able to forecast. You don’t know when the master will return, so you have to just stay ready continually.

What’s the Point?

And even if you could figure out the time, what would be the point? Suppose you figure out that Jesus will return in your lifetime--would that change the way you live? Whatever it is you want to be doing when Jesus returns, or a month before he returns, don’t you want to live that way all the time anyway, even if his return isn’t until after you die?

So what’s the purpose? What does Jesus want us to get from this paragraph? How does it impact how we live? It must be important. Each of the gospel writers include selective parts of the Olivet Dis-course and leave other parts out, but none of them leave this paragraph out. But why? I read it and think, “What am I missing? Because it doesn’t seem to me like it’s saying much of anything.”

The Parable of the Fig Tree

Someone might say, “Darrell, you’re overthinking this. It’s just saying when you see the signs, then you know it’s about to happen—simple as that.” But if it’s that simplistic and straightforward, just stating the obvious, why would we need an illustration? And why would Jesus say it’s a lesson we need to learn?