Mark
13:1-9a, 32-35a
“When,
teacher, when will this happen? Peter, Andrew, James and John probe Jesus in private. “What
will be the sign?” When, we want to
know when. But Jesus responds not with a countdown or a calendar, not even with a good gauge
by which to make calculations. He
doesn’t say when. And as far as the
clues go, the so-called signs, we may be surprised by how un-clue-like they
really are.
They
are so general, so common, so ordinary, that they could be applied to almost
any period of time: wars, and rumors of wars, earthquakes and starvation. How easy it is to forget that these things were
in existence thousands of years before Christ ever came to earth, they existed
when Jesus was alive, 1000 years after his departure, and still today over 2000
years after his departure. The fact is,
no period in history, nowhere on history’s timeline has ever been without the
above mentioned catastrophes, disasters, situations. And sadly, the time for them to cease doesn’t
seem to be any closer.
There
have been people in every generation since Christ’ resurrection claiming to
know exactly when Jesus would return. No
one has been right yet. Why is that? Because Christ will return on God’s
timetable, not ours. “No one knows about
that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, or the Son–only God knows.” (Mk.
13:32)
So
Jesus comes along and gives us some signs, things to watch for, not because
they help us predict when, but to remind
us there is no better time to start doing something for God’s kingdom
than right NOW.
Jesus
comes along to tell us not how to be
end of time forecasters, but to
remind us why we should remain faithful to
God till the end of time; that we should stand on the promises of God, rather
than on the predictions of man.
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