Keep Watch

Matthew 24:36-25:13 

Key verse 25:13 

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. 

Scientists tell us that it is only a matter of time until a large earthquake strikes L.A. Since we know that the "Big One" will come, but we don't know when it will happen, it is wise to be prepared by keeping an "earthquake kit" -- extra food, water, flashlight, batteries, bandages, and medicine. If getting ready for an earthquake is a good idea, getting ready for Jesus' return is critical. Last week, we learned that the time of our Lord's return is near.  

In today's passage, Jesus exhorts us to keep watch and be ready for that day. In this passage, we learn the following truths:  

1. Jesus will come back suddenly and without warning.  

2. Therefore, we must keep watch and be ready for his return. 

3. To be ready for Jesus' return means to serve Jesus faithfully to the end.  

4. The consequences of being ready, or not, are huge.   

This passage is a continuation of Jesus' message to his disciples, the beginning of which we studied last week. Let's review the final part of the previous passage. Look at 

Matthew 24:30-31: 

30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. 

From this passage, we see that Jesus' coming will be awesome. The angles will gather the elect and they will be brought to Jesus, but all other people not taken will mourn. We also learned last week that there are many signs today that Jesus' return is near. Today's passage shows us what we should do in view of Jesus' coming.  

Look at verses 36-41: 

36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 

These verses show us that Jesus will come back suddenly and without warning.   The most important point for us to remember from today's passage is that no one knows the day or hour that Jesus will return except for our Father in heaven. Jesus could return five seconds from now! If he did, many people would be surprised, just like the people of Noah's day had no idea what was about to happen to them until it happened. When the rain started falling, some people were eating and drinking, some were attending wedding ceremonies, some were at work, and others were taking a nap. Not until the water started rising above their ankles did they realize that they were in trouble, but by then it was too late to build a boat.  

Similarly, when Jesus comes, we will not be expecting him at that moment. You might be at work, talking to your boss; you might be taking a midterm exam; you might be talking on the phone or taking a nap. Then, Jesus will appear with great glory and power, and the elect will be taken to be with Jesus forever, but those who did not put their hope in Jesus will be left.  

What, then, should we do?  

Look at verses 42-44: 

42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. 

These vereses tell us that we must keep watch and be ready for Jesus' return.  

Since we don't know when Jesus will return, the only reasonable thing to do is to keep watch all the time. Jesus helps us to understand this point with the illustration of a owner of a house whose house was robbed by a thief. The most important tool a thief has is secrecy. He tries to rob a house when the owner of the house is asleep or not home. A thief never announces his coming ahead of time. If, however, an owner of a house knew that his house would be robbed, he would keep watch. If you knew that a thief was going to try to break into your house some time tonight, but you didn't know what time it would happen, wouldn't you keep watch? Even though you are very sleepy, you will not sleep. You would be ready to flip on all the lights, call 911, and make a lot of noise to scare the thief away.  

Our situation is like this. The good news is that we know that Jesus is coming, but we don't know the exact time, so we should be ready and keep watch.  

What, then, does it mean to keep watch?  

Look at verses 45-46:  

45"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.  

Here we can see what it means to be ready and keep watch for Jesus' return: it means to serve Jesus faithfully to the end.  

From this parable, we get a good idea of what it means to keep watch and be ready for Jesus' return: it means to faithfully carry out the charge God has given us until the day of Jesus' return. All Christians have been given the charge to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are given the responsibility to help those in need, especially by sharing the good news of Jesus with them. Members of UBF are charged with the responsibility to shepherd over college students in order that they may find salvation in Jesus and grow into mature disciples of Jesus.  

Jesus also gives us an example of what it means to not keep watch. Look at verses 48-49: 

48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' 49and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.  

At first, the wicked servant was serving the master just like the good and faithful servant. But one day he said to himself, "My master is staying away a long time." Then he probably reasoned that since his master had been gone a long time, there was a good chance that it would be a long time until his master returned. So, he began to gratify his sinful desires. Instead of working hard, he became lazy. He beat his fellow servants, demanding them to serve him rather than serving them as he was supposed to. Perhaps he reasoned that he could clean everything up before His Master came back, but he always put it off until later.  

What will happen to those who are ready and those who are not?  

Look at verses 45-50:  

45"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' 49and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Here, we see that the consequences of being ready, or not, are huge.  

The faithful and wise servant was put in charge of all his master's possessions, but the master punished the wicked servant severely by cutting him to pieces and assigning him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  

This message is so important that Jesus gave us one more illustration to help us understand it better.  

Look at chapter 25, verses 1-13: 

1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 

6"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' 

7"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' 

9" 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' 

10"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 

11"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!' 

12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' 

13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. 

In order to understand this parable, we need to know a little about Jewish wedding customs in Jesus' day. First, when a man and a woman were formally engaged, they were regarded as legally married, but they had no physical union with each other. This engagement period lasted for a year, and during that time the bride and the bridegroom prepared themselves for marriage. The bridegroom prepared a place for them to live--often by building an additional room onto his father's house. Then, after the year was up, and when the house was ready, the groom would go get his bride. This was a big event for all their friends and neighbors, and everyone would get ready for the wedding banquet, which would last seven days. Usually, the bridegroom would come at night, together with some of his male friends, carrying torches as they went. No one knew exactly what time the bridegroom would come, so all the wedding guests would keep watch for his coming. Then, when someone saw him the bridegroom coming, they would call out and everyone would get ready. When the bridegroom arrived and his bride's home, he would take his bride and they would walk back to the groom's home, where there would be a great wedding celebration. All their friends and neighbors would come along, including the bridessmaids who were usually young, unmaried women--these are the virgins in the parable. 

In the parable, we see that the main difference between the wise and foolish virgins as that the former brought extra oil with them. The wise young women understood that it could take a while for the bridegroom to come. The foolish women, however, were not prepared to wait all night long. So, when their lamps burned out, they had to go and buy oil, but by the time they got back it was too late--they had missed their chance to welcome the bridegroom. They wanted to join the party, but it was too late.  

"I tell you the truth, I don't know you." This is not something that we want to hear on the day Jesus comes. "Who are you? We are strangers. WE have no relationship."   

Jesus concludes this parable by saying, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."  

One word: Keep watch 

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