Mark 13:33

Mar 13:33-37. Take ye heed — Of every thing that would unfit you for your Master’s coming, that might lull you into a fatal security, and render you negligent and slothful: watch and pray — Let your minds be always awake to a sense of your danger, and be on your guard against it: watch for the coming of your Lord, that it may not surprise you, and pray for that grace which is necessary to qualify you for it, by enabling you to fulfil his will in all things. For ye know not when the time is — And ought to be ready every day for that which may come any day. This he illustrates in the close by a parable. The Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, &c. — Being about to leave this world and go to the Father; who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, &c. — Gave authority to some that were to be overseers, and work to others that were to be labourers; and commanded the porter to watch — To be ready to open to him at his return; and in the mean time to take care to whom he should open his gates, not to idle vagrants, thieves, and robbers, but only to his master’s friends and servants. Thus our Lord Jesus, when he ascended on high, left something to all his servants to do, expecting they should all serve his cause in his absence, and be ready to receive him at his return. All are appointed to work, and some are authorized to rule. See notes on Mat 24:42-51. Watch ye therefore — The advice is repeated and pressed upon them, because of its unspeakable importance, as it is also upon us. For ye know not when the master of the house cometh — The builder, head, and ruler of his house, the church; the Son, presiding over his own house, or family, Heb 3:6 : Ye know not when he will come to take account of his servants, and of their work, and of the improvement they have made; at even or at midnight, &c. — Οψε, evening, answers to the first watch of the night, which began at sun-setting and ended at nine: μεσονυκτιον, or midnight, answers to the second watch, which ended at twelve: αλεκτοροφωνια, or the cock-crowing, answers to the third watch, which ended at three in the morning: πρωι, or the morning, answers to the fourth watch, which ended at six. As if he had said, Early and late, hold yourselves in a prepared state; lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping — In a state of lukewarmness and sloth. Observe, reader! 1st, This is applicable to his coming to each of us in particular at death, as well as to his coming to us all in general at the final judgment. Our present life is a night, a dark night, compared with the other life; we know not in which watch of the night our Master will come; whether in the days of youth, or middle age, or old age; but as soon as we are born, we begin to die; and therefore, as soon as we are capable of expecting any thing, we must expect death. 2d, Our great care must be that, whenever our Lord comes, he do not find us sleeping secure in ourselves, off our guard, indulging ourselves in ease and sloth, mindless of our work and duty, and thoughtless of our Lord’s coming; ready to say, He will not come, and so being unprepared to meet him. 3d, His coming will indeed be a sudden coming; it will be a great surprise and terror to those that are careless and asleep: it will come upon them as a thief in the night. It is therefore, 4th, the indispensable duty of all Christ’s disciples to watch, to be awake, and keep awake. What I say unto you twelve, I say unto all — My disciples and followers; what I say to you of this generation, I say to all that shall believe in me through your word: Watch — Expect my second coming, and prepare for it, that you may be found in peace, without spot and blameless.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES

Mar_13:35. Watch ye.—Be ye wakeful.—A military image. Don’t be caught napping at your post. Same word in Mar_13:37. At even, etc.—The Roman divisions of the night. The four watches, of three hours each, began at sunset and ended at sunrise.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Mar_13:33-37

The command to watch.—In this brief parable the Church is compared to a great mansion, with many offices, duties, servants—a vast, complex, interior ministry, every function of which must be diligently discharged if the house is to be kept in order and the household are to live in comfort and peace.

I. The authority which the departing Master confers on all His servants.—We know that in a household where the father and master is served from love and not from fear, when he goes away for a time, the children and servants, if they are faithful, bestir themselves to shew that they are not unworthy of the trust he reposes in them. A pulse of quickened affection and activity spreads from heart to heart. A new and invigorating sense of responsibility stimulates them to a more steadfast and earnest discharge of duty. If our ruling motive and inspiration be love to Christ, we shall not dream of saying of any work which needs to be done, “This is no business of mine,” or “I am not bound to do that”; we shall be eager to do whatever we can for the general good. No task will be too mean for us, no detail too petty or trivial.

II. Besides this general authority, common to all, we have each of us a special task to do for Him and for the family named after Him. “To each one his own work,” i.e. the work he is specially fitted or called to do. And, indeed, the forms of service are so many, and the call for service so imperative, that no one need lack suitable employment if only he is bent on finding it. None is so weak or so poor in endowment but that he may do a little good, if only he be of a willing mind. In the Household of Faith, as in the world, there are many forms of service, many ways of gaining spiritual food and strength and skill; and there are many servants in it who do not feel that their gifts fit them for one kind of labour more than for another; some doubt whether they have any gifts, any calling, worthy of the name. But if necessity is laid upon them, what will they do? Naturally they will try this kind of work and that, till they find a work which they can do, and perhaps a work they can like as well as do; or they will take up the work that comes first to hand, and gradually make themselves fit for it by doing it. What we chiefly want, if at least we are doing little or nothing for Him, is more love, and of that kind of love which will make us feel that we must do something for Him who has done so much for us. As we get more love we shall do more work, and settle down into our proper vocation.

III. To work we must add watchfulness.—The porter is to look for his lord’s return; but so are all the servants: i.e. they are to expect it, to be ready for it, to desire it. We are not to be as drudges who have no pleasure in their work, nor as hirelings who care only for their wages. Our labour is to be bright with hope, with the hope of a great happiness to come, and that may come at any moment. The Lord is always coming to those who look for His appearing. We see His advent on a large scale in every crisis of the great human story. In revolution, in reformations, when the thoughts of men’s hearts are revealed, when they are summoned to accept new forms of truth or to enter on new spheres of duty, we know that Christ has come once more to try their works, to see whether they have been faithful to Him and are ready to greet Him with love and joy. And in like manner, though not so obviously, He comes to us in the crises of our individual history, when one page of our life is closed and a new page is opened. For each one of us there is an advent of Christ as often as new and larger views of truth are presented to us, or we are called to leave a familiar round of duty and to take up new duties and more laborious. If we are so absorbed in the mere routine of our previous service, or so attached to old forms of truth and labour, that we have no eye for new aspects of truth, and no ear for the call to new labours, we miss another happy chance; we are like servants who, stolidly plodding through a familiar drudgery, do not hear when the Master stands at the door and knocks, and are even flurried and vexed should He bid them do what they have never done before. But if, while going resolutely and happily about our accustomed tasks, we look alertly and hopefully for the joy of Christ’s return; if, because we know so little, we expect Him to teach us new truths; if, because our service is so imperfect, we expect to be called to new and better modes of serving Him, we are like servants who, living daily in hope of the Master’s return, catch the first signal of His approach, hurry out to welcome Him, and are rewarded for their watchful diligence by having greater authority committed to them, and ministries which bring them nearer to His person. And all these advents of Christ, in new truths and new duties, are but preludes of that great personal advent for which we look none the less earnestly because we know neither its day nor its hour. We know that He who once came and dwelt among us in great humility will come again, in the glory of the Father, to complete the work He then began—to finish our redemption, to reward every act of kindness as though it had been done to Him. And therefore we are watchful, and strengthen the things which are ready to die, not suffering any grace to perish out of our hearts in this world’s unkindly weather, but guarding and cherishing it for the summer of eternity; nor permitting any good enterprise to fail for lack of help, but breathing into it the life of our help till happier times arrive.—S. Cox, D.D.

OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES

Mar_13:33-36. The duty of watchfulness enforced.—

I. The duty inculcated.—Watchfulness and prayer are often united in the Holy Scriptures as duties of the first importance. In themselves they are different; but in their exercise they are inseparable: neither would be of any avail without the other: prayer without watchfulness would be hypocritical; and watchfulness without prayer presumptuous.

1. What we should watch and pray against. Here we must include everything which has a tendency to lull us asleep. We see how intent men are on all the things of time and sense: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life so occupy them that they find no time nor inclination for spiritual concerns.

2. What we should watch and pray for. To be found ready, at whatever moment our Lord shall call for us, should be the one object of our ambition.

II. The considerations with which it is enforced.—

1. The uncertainty of the time when our Lord shall call us. There is not a moment of our lives when we may sit down secure.

2. The awfulness of being found in a sleeping state. It will be to no purpose to plead that we were not engaged in any wicked projects. We were “slothful servants,” and therefore are justly regarded as “wicked.”

III. Our Lord’s concluding admonition, “What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch,” will lead us to address some different descriptions of persons.

1. The old. Is so much of your time gone, and will you not improve the remainder?

2. The young. What security have you against death, that you should delay so necessary a work?

3. The afflicted. God sends your afflictions on purpose to awaken you from your slumbers, and to stir you up to heavenly pursuits. What an aggravation will it be of your guilt if these dispensations pass away unimproved!

4. The backslidden. What an awful thing is it that, instead of having advanced in the Divine life, you have lost in a good measure the life which you once had! Attend to God’s admonition to the Church of Sardis, lest He execute upon you the judgment that He threatened to inflict on them (Rev_3:2-3).

5. The more steadfast Christian. Experience proves that the exhortation to “watch” is not less necessary for you than for others. How many who are on the whole pious grieve, by their unwatchfulness, their Divine Master.—C. Simeon.

Mar_13:33. Watch and pray.—Two duties.

1. The activity of the eye earthward.

2. The emotion of the heart Godward. Watchfulness is like the hands of the clock that point; prayer is the weight that keeps the machinery in motion.—T. J. Judkin.

Mar_13:34. Fidelity and watchfulness.—The whole which our Blessed Master, when He ascended into heaven, recommended to the care of His servants, consisted in fidelity and watchfulness: fidelity, in doing everything well which is to be done in His house, in the heart, in the Church, according to the full extent of their duty; watchfulness, in suffering no stranger nor enemy to enter by the senses, which are the gates of the soul, in permitting nothing which belongs to the Master to go out without His orders, and in carefully observing all commerce and correspondence which the heart may have abroad in the world, to the prejudice of the Master’s service.—P. Quesnel.

Every man the porter of his own heart.—It is the business of each one of us to stop, by God’s help, evil thoughts from coming in and good aspirations from going out. We must watch and pray that we enter not into temptation.

Mar_13:36. Remissness and negligence, as well as the greater sins, are often the occasion of our being surprised by death. A porter asleep exposes the house to be robbed, and well deserves to be punished. A Christian whose faith is not watchful exposes his own heart to the enemy of his salvation, and to those who are continually watching, in order to steal away all the valuable things which God has laid up there, as in His own house.—Ibid.

Mar_13:37. Reasons for watchfulness.—

1. Because you are liable to drowsiness and slumber.

2. Because means are constantly being used to seduce you from the ways of saving peace.

3. Because you have given yourselves up as soldiers of the Cross.

4. Because you have many duties to perform.

5. Because you know not when the Master will come to demand an account.

Watch.—

1. To prevent evil.

2. To further good.

Watching for Christ.—He watches for Christ who has a sensitive, eager, apprehensive mind; who is awake, alive, quick-sighted, zealous in seeking and honouring Him; who looks out for Him in all that happens; and who would not be surprised, who would not be overagitated or overwhelmed, if he found that He was coming at once.—J. H. Newman, D.D.

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 13

Mar_13:33. “Watch and pray.”—The sentinel picketed to watch the enemy does his duty by giving the alarm if the enemy approaches, not by advancing single-handed to the conflict. So the duty of a Christian, watchfully discerning the approach of temptation, is to convey the case to God. It is foolhardiness to adventure into the combat unsent and unprovided for.

Watchfulness and prayer.—“I often recall,” says an old sailor, “my first night at sea. A storm had come up, and we had put back under a point of land which broke the wind a little, but still the sea had a rake on us, and we were in danger of drifting. I was on the anchor watch, and it was my duty to give warning in case the ship should drag her anchor. It was a long night to me. I was very anxious whether I should know if the ship really did drift. How could I tell? I found that, going forward and placing my hand on the chain, I could tell by the feeling of it whether the anchor was dragging or not; and how often that night I went forward and placed my hand on that chain! And very often since then I have wondered whether I am drifting away from God, and then I go away and pray. Sometimes during that long stormy night I would be startled by a rumbling sound, and I would put my hand on the chain, and find it was not the anchor dragging, but only the chain grating against the rocks on the bottom. The anchor was still firm. And sometimes now, in temptation and trial, I become afraid, and upon praying I find that away down deep in my heart I do love God, and my hope is in His salvation. And I want just to say a word to my fellow-Christians: Keep an anchor watch, lest before you are aware you may be upon the rocks.”

Mar_13:34. Work for all.—Let us be thankful that there is a growing and more universal recognition of the Bible teaching, that each individual believer has some apportioned work in the Church of God, some appropriate niche assigned him to fill in God’s sanctuary. Just as it was of old in the Jewish Temple, extending from its outer gates and outer courts, to the rites of the Most Holy Place. Some were engaged in hewing fir and cedar logs for altar fuel: others disposing of the ashes of the sacrifices in the great conduits leading to the Kedron: some ministering as sacrificial priests; others occupied in ceremonial lustrations: some, more honoured, in bringing the golden bowl from Siloam at the Feast of Tabernacles. Here are the silver trumpeters who wake up the city at early morn to the duties of a new day, or at similar stated intervals proclaim the appearance of the new moon. Here are the sons of Korah mingling their voices with “kinnor” and cymbal-tones, chanting psalm and Hallel. Here the sympathetic and beneficent among the worshipping throng are seen as they retire, aiding with alms and deeds the cripples laid at “the Gate Beautiful.” Here are the aged Annas and Simeons coming in to wait for the salvation of Israel; or to present once more their lowly tribute-offering, and sing their nunc dimittis. Here are the children of the Temple twisting wreaths of olive, myrtle, and palm, to greet their Lord with glad hosannas. This daily acted parable of the old Temple dispensation needs no further interpretation. The Great Master gives it in His own laconic words: “To every man his work.”—J. R. Macduff, D.D.

The joy of working for Christ.—A beautiful incident in reference to Mr. Townsend is mentioned in the Life of John Campbell. “Finding him on Tuesday morning, shortly before his last illness, leaning on the balustrade of the staircase that led to the committee-room of the Tract Society, and scarcely able to breathe, I remarked, ‘Mr. Townsend, is this you? Why should you come in this state of body to our meetings? You have now attended them for a long time, and you should leave the work to younger men.’ The reply of Mr. Townsend was worthy of his character. Looking at his friend with a countenance brightened and elevated by the thoughts that were struggling for utterance, his words were, ‘Oh! Johnny, Johnny, man, it is hard to give up working in the service of such a Master!’ ”

This life the time for work.—“Are you not wearying for the heavenly rest?” said Whitefield to an old minister. “No, certainly not!” he replied. “Why not?” was the surprised rejoinder. “Why, my good brother,” said the aged saint, “if you were to send your servant into the fields to do a certain portion of work for you, and promised to give him rest and refreshment in the evening, what would you say if you found him languid and discontented in the middle of the day, and murmuring, ‘Would to God it were evening’? Would you not bid him be up and doing, and finish his work, and then go home and enjoy the promised rest? Just so does God require of you and me that, instead of looking for Saturday night, we do our day’s work in the day.”

The importance of vigilance.—The duty entrusted to the porter is of great importance. His negligence lays the house open to every intruder. If the sentinel falls asleep at his post, the whole army may be surprised and cut off. If the man stationed at the gate is unfaithful, the fortress may be taken without assault, and the whole garrison put to the sword. A man ignorant of the management of a ship, when he sees all hands busily at work, some climbing the mast, others hoisting the sails, and others plying at the pump, will be apt to look on the pilot as a lazy supernumerary who spends his time in gazing idly at the stars, and amusing himself with turning a piece of timber from side to side, not aware that this man’s services are of all others the most essential to the progress of the vessel on her way, and to the safety of all who are on board. In like manner, though there are Christian graces and duties which are of greater dignity, vigilance is of the greatest utility.

Each at his post.—An Arctic explorer found, floating helplessly about among the icebergs of that cold, lonely country, a ship. Going on board, he found that the captain was frozen, and sat dead at his log-book, while the helmsman stood at his post, and the men on watch still on duty, but cold in death. What happiness will it be when our Lord comes to know we have done our duty, and can welcome our Saviour as He bids us “come up higher”!

Mar_13:35-37. On the watch.—How many striking pictures this word brings before us! We may think of the old times when the first colonists settled in North America, when they had planted their log-wood cabin in the little clearing, but knew that the dark woods beyond might at any moment hide the fierce Red Indian. Dreading the treachery of the savage, how often the anxious settler would listen at night for any sound of danger, how carefully would he scan the shadowy edge of the forest! The loaded rifle is kept at hand, the faithful dog unchained. He is perpetually on the alert, watchful against the unseen but stealthy foe. Or the word suggests the watchfulness of a mother over a sick infant: how unweariedly she hangs over the cradle, how quickly she rises at the slightest sound! Or we may illustrate the word by the mariner who paces to and fro looking forth over the sea, lest his vessel should run upon some half-hidden and jagged rock; or the fisherman’s wife placing her little taper in the window as she counts the number of the returning boats.

In daily life how important is watchfulness! A sailing yacht was cruising about the entrance of the English Channel. It was night, but a night clear from mist and fog, when the crew saw a huge steamship approaching. She came on straight in their direction; but as their yacht had lights hung out they felt no alarm, though the yacht could not get out of the way. But still closer and closer came the great steamer. In terror those on the yacht raised their voices and shouted with all their power. There was evidently no watch kept on the bow of the large vessel. Secure in her own strength, she swept onwards, and the crew of the little pleasure-boat foresaw that instant death was imminent; the monster ship would crush them down and pass over them and leave no trace behind. But at the very last moment, by God’s mercy, she changed her course slightly, and passed close alongside instead of over them, and they could note by the many lights in the cabins how merriment and occupations had caused a want of watchfulness which nearly destroyed a number of their fellow-men!—Dr. Hardman.

Watchfulness constantly needed.—No number of false alarms cancels the duty of watchfulness. In the town of Amyclæ, in Italy, false reports of the approach of the enemy had been so often spread that a law was passed forbidding any one to pay attention to them. In consequence of this, when the attack was really imminent, no one felt at liberty to heed the warning that was given, and the city was taken. From this circumstance the epithet of “Tacitæ” (silent) was given to Amyclæ.

Watchfulness—how important to the soldier! In the Middle Ages a town, strongly fortified, had often resisted siege or capture, but one day the gate was thrown open to receive a train of waggons loaded with hay and corn. One of them, accidentally as it seemed, for some trifling cause, stopped under the arch of the gateway. The soldiers on guard observed nothing suspicious in the occurrence, nor marked that the waggon had so stopped that neither could the gate be closed nor the portcullis lowered. A moment afterwards the loads of hay were cast aside, and bands of armed men leapt out from their concealment beneath! And thus the city was captured for lack of watchfulness.

A Christian asleep.—The devil held a great anniversary, at which his angels and ministers were called together to report the result of their several missions. “I let loose the wild beasts of the desert,” said one, “on a caravan of Christians, and their bones are now bleaching on the sands.” “What of that?” said the arch-fiend; “their souls are all saved.” “I drove the east wind,” said another, “against a ship freighted with Christians, and they were drowned every one.” “What of that?” replied he again; “their souls were all saved.” Then stood up a third, and he said, “For ten years I tried to get a single Christian asleep, and at last I succeeded, and left him so.” Then the devil shouted, and the night stars of hell sang for joy.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

13:33-37 These verses contain several variations of the same basic warning: Be on guard! Stay alert! and watch. The repetition emphasizes the need to be vigilant.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mar_13:33-37. Comp. Mat_24:42, Mat_24:44 ff., Mat_25:14. By way of an energetic conclusion Mark has here a passage, which has been formed by the aggregation of several different portionsbelonging to this connection, and most completely preserved in Matthew from the collection of Logiaon the part of tradition or of the evangelist himself into a well-adjusted, compact, and imposing unity.

Mar_13:34. ὡς] an anantapodoton, as at Mat_25:14. See in loc. With ὡς the plan of the discourse was, after Mar_13:34, to subjoin: so do I also bid you: watch! Instead of this, after ἵνα γρηγορῇ, with an abandonment of the plan of sentence introduced by ὡς, there follows at once, with striking and vivid effect, the exhortation itself: γρηγορεῖτε, which now, just because the ὡς is forgotten, is linked on by οὖν.

ἀπόδημος] is not equivalent to ἀποδημῶν (Mat_25:14), but: who has taken a journey. Pind. Pyth. iv. 8; Plut. Mor. p. 299 E. At the same time ἐνετείλατο is not to be taken as a pluperfect, but: as a traveller, when he had left his house, after having given to his slaves the authority and to each one his work, gave to the doorkeeper also command, in order that he should watch. In this we have to observe: (1) the ἐνετείλατο took place after the ἀπόδημος had gone out of his house; (2) καὶ δοὺς κ.τ.λ., in which καί is also, is subordinate to the ἀφεὶς κ.τ.λ., because prior to the leaving of the house; (3) ἄνθρωπος ἀπόδημ.] forms one notion: a man finding himself on a journey, a traveller; comp. ἄνθρωπος ὁδίτης, Horn. Il. xvi. 263; Od. xiii. 123; ἄνθρ. ἔμπορος, Mat_13:45, al.; (4) the ἐξουσία, the authority concerned in the case, is according to the context the control over the household. This He gave to all in common; and, moreover, to every one in particular the special business which he had to execute. Fritzsche is wrong in making the participles ἀφείς … καὶ δούς dependent on ἀπόδημος: homo, qui relicta domo sua et commissa servis procuratione assignatoque suo cuique penso peregre abfuit. Against this may be urged, partly that ἀφεὶς τ. οἰκ. αὐτοῦ would be a quite superfluous definition to ἀπόδημος, partly that δοὺς κ.τ.λ. would need to stand before ἀφεὶς κ.τ.λ., because the man first made the arrangement and then left the house.

Mar_13:35. γρηγορεῖτε οὖν] the apostles thus are here compared with the doorkeeper.

As to the four watches of the night, see on Mat_14:24. They belong to the pictorial effect of the parable; the night-season is in keeping with the figurative γρηγορεῖτε, without exactly expressing a dark and sad time (Lange). Singularly at variance with the text as it stands, Theophylact and many others interpret it of the four ages of human life.

Mar_13:37. The reference to one thought is not at variance with the use of the plural ἅ (see the critical remarks). See Kühner, ad Xen. Anab. iii. 5. 5.

πᾶσι] to all who confess me.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 13:33 . ἀγρυπνεῖτε : watch, be sleepless ( α pr.v. and ὕπνος ). οὐκ οἴδατε , etc., ye know not the time or season ( καιρός ) of the parusia . If even the Son knows not, still less His disciples; therefore let them watch.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(33) Take ye heed.—Note once more the characteristic iteration of the warning. It would almost seem, from the very different conclusions of the discourse in the three Gospels, as if they had been based up to this point on a common document which then stopped and left them to a greater divergency of memory or tradition. The omission of St. Matthew’s reference to the history of Noah is, perhaps, characteristic of St. Mark’s as a Gentile Gospel.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. Take ye heed, watch and pray] “Se ze, wake ze, and preie ze,” Wyclif The word rendered “watch” only occurs 4 times in the New Testament: (1) here; (2) in the parallel, Luk_21:36; (3) Eph_6:18, “Praying always … and watching thereunto with all perseverance;” (4) Heb_13:17, “Obey them that have the rule over you, … for they watch for your souls.” It denotes (1) to be sleepless, (2) to be vigilant.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Watch ye therefore,.... Against false Christs, and false prophets; over yourselves, and the whole church; for the words are particularly addressed to the disciples of Christ:

for ye know not when the master of the house cometh; when Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven, and in earth, is named, who is a Son in his own house, is an high priest over the house of God, and Lord of his church and people, whom he has bought with his blood, and provides for with his grace, and by his Spirit, when he will come to break up housekeeping with the Jews, and bring his wrath upon them to the uttermost: whether

at even, or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning. This is agreeably to the division of the night among the Jews, who speak of the first watch, the middle of the night, the cock crowing, and morning, as distinct from each other. The three first of these we have in one passage (q):

"every day they remove the ashes from the altar, "at cock crowing", or near it, either before, or after it; and on the day of atonement, "at midnight"; and on the feast days, "at the first watch",''

the same with the evening here: and elsewhere the morning and cock crowing are distinguished (r);

"for a last of the congregation, how long may a man eat and drink? until the pillar of the morning ascends, (or until it is morning,) the words of R. Eliezer ben Jacob; R. Simeon says, until cock crowing.''

And so the phrase, from cock crowing till morning, is used by them (s). The Romans also divided the night in like manner, into evening, the dead of the night, or midnight, cock crowing, and the morning (t). The allusion seems to be to the time of the president of the temple's coming into it, who had the management of the affairs of it, and of appointing to each priest his work: it is said (u),

"whoever would remove the ashes from the altar, rose up early, and washed himself before the president came; but in what hour does the president come? not at all times alike: sometimes he comes, , "at cock crowing", or near it, before it, or after it; and the president comes and knocks for them, and they open to him; and he says unto them, whosoever has washed himself, let him come and cast lots: they cast lots, and he is worthy whom he counts worthy.''

Such who understand these words of Christ's coming by death, or at judgment, apply these seasons to the several ages of men, as childhood, youth, manhood, and old age.

(q) Misn. Yoma, c. 1. sect. 8. T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 20. 9. & Zebachim, c. l. 96. 2. (r) T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 2. 2. & Taanith, fol. 12. 1. (s) T. Bab. Zebachim, fol. 20. 2. (t) Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 4. c. 20. (u) Misn. Tumid. c. 1. sect. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Some will perhaps think, that it would have been much better, if the Almighty had not left the hour of death uncertain; as that case, they would not have been so solicitous with regard to its arrival. But St. Augustine, St. Gregory, and other saints assure us, on the contrary, that it is a very great mercy of God to keep us in this ignorance, that we may always be prepared for it. For, if we knew the precise period, this assurance would give occasion of living more unguardedly, and of sinning more freely. If, with this uncertainty of the hour of our death, we live notwithstanding, so very remissly; what should we do, were we assured that we were not to die for some years? Sts. Gregory, Augustine, and Bonaventure say, that God chose to leave us in this uncertainty, purposely to prevent all attachment to temporal things; that, seeing every hour, nay every moment, we may lose them, we may not be tied to them, but aspire to those we shall always possess, when once we have obtained them. Fool, says the Son of God to the rich covetous man, (Luke xii. 20.) this night thy soul shall be required of thee, and what then will become of all these riches thou hast amassed. (St. Bonaventure)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Vers. 33-37. These exhortations, which gather up in a succinct form the practical bearing of the parallel passages and parables in St. Matthew, must not be understood as implying that our Lord"s coming in judgment would be during the lifetime of his disciples. The preceding words would teach them plainly enough that the actual time of this coming was hidden from the. m. But the intention was that, while by the certainty of the event their faith and hope would be quickened, by the uncertainty of the time they might be left in a continual state of watchfulness and prayer. According to the Jewish reckoning, there were only three watches namely, the first watch, from sunset to 10 p.m.; the second watch, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.; and the third watch, from 2 a.m. to sunrise. But after the establishment of the Roman power in Judaea, these watches were divided into four; and were either described as the first, second, third, and fourth respectively; or, as here, by the terms even, beginning at six and ending at nine; midnight, ending at twelve; cockcrowing, ending at three; and morning, ending at six.

Vers. 33-37. "Watch!

There can be no doubt as to the impression made by these and similar instructions and admonitions, uttered by the Lord Jesus towards the close of his ministry. It was understood by all his disciples that the Master, in leaving the world, retained his hold upon the world"s heart and conscience. It was currently believed in the early Church, as it has been believed ever since by all Christians, that the Lord will come again, and will take account of his servants, and especially will inquire into the way in which they have acted as his representatives and ministers among men. Hence the stress which has always been laid upon the duty to watch. The apostles not only obeyed, they repeated the commandment of their Lord. Peter admonished his readers. "Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer;" John said, " Blessed is he that watcheth;" and Paul exhorted thus, "Watch ye, stand fast in your faith, be strong!" The very names which the early Christians gave to themselves and their children may be taken as an indication of the prevailing tone of feeling. Gregory among the Greeks, and Vigilantius among the Latins, both signify simply "The Watcher.

I WATCH! FOR THIS IS THE CHARGE OF CHRIST IN THE PAST.

1. We are to consider from whom this charge proceeds. It is the word of the All-wise, and of One of unique authority. Coming from Christ, this is not counsel, it is command. The general has the right to station a guard, a sentry, and to expect vigilance and fidelity.

2. The occasion of the charge gives it a peculiar power and sacredness. It was when the Lord Jesus was leaving his house to use the figurative language of the text to sojourn in another country. "While I was with them," were his words in prayer, "I kept them in Thy Name .... Now come I to Thee." How can we do otherwise than attach an especial force of obligation to what our Master said when he was about to leave this world, for the salvation of whose inhabitants he had lived, and was about to die?

3. Look into the charge itself. He gives to each one his work. All his people are his servants; all have a task to accomplish, a service to render, an office to fill. And every one has his own work, for which he is individually qualified, and which is committed to him and to no other. It is a practical, an elevating view of the Christian life, this which is here unfolded to us. All whom Jesus saves and redeems, he commissions and consecrates. And so long as we live here we have a trust to fulfill, a work to do. He invests each one with authority. There must be in every community a source of power, a ruling mind; the father in a family, the magistrate or the king in a state. In the Church of the Lord Jesus, he himself is the Head, the Lawgiver, the Fountain of honor, the Judge. Yet he gives authority; not making an order of men lords over his heritage, but authorizing every servant to fulfill his own special duties. The bishop rules, the teacher teaches, the evangelist preaches the gospel, nay, every member of every congregation fulfils his duties, at the bidding and by the authority of the Lord. This conviction should give dignity and devotedness to our daily toil. We are where the Lord has placed us; we are doing what he commands. And he requires each one to watch. Working and watching go together; for Christians are like the Jews in the time of Nehemiah, who built the walls of Jerusalem, whilst they were armed and on their guard against the foe. Our Master has left us in the midst of dangers, not to depress our courage, but to quicken our vigilance. This duty devolves especially upon the porter, the janitor. The house contains precious treasures, and it must not be allowed to every stranger to enter, lest the Master"s property should be stolen, and the careless keepers dispossessed, and the house occupied by foes. All must watch, that at the Lord"s return it may appear that his charge has been kept, and his possessions have been faithfully guarded.

II WATCH! FOR THERE IS A PROSPECT OF CHRIST"S REVELATION IN THE FUTURE. Whilst we look back to the Lord"s departure, and his solemn injunctions and his sacred trust, we look forward to his return, according to his promise.

1. This is an assured fact. Our Lord"s second coming has been declared by him under many figures, each having its own shade of spiritual meaning and practical profit. He is a Householder, who will come to take account of his servants; a Proprietor, who will come to learn how his agents have traded and what they have gained; a King, who will come to make inquiry into the conduct of his citizens and great officers of state; a Judge, who will come to summon the people before his tribunal.

2. At the same time, the period of the Lord"s return is hidden from us, and we are informed that to the unprepared it will be sudden and unexpected. Men have been presumptuous enough to foretell, with foolish confidence, what neither the angels nor the very Son of God would communicate. And again and again, in the course of history, there have been out-breaks of millennial fanaticism. But it is easy to see why the close of the should be reserved as a secret in the Father"s mind. Had the Church been told that the advent was near, Christians would have been unfitted for the sober discharge of the duties of life; had the Church been assured that it was remote, such an assurance would have prompted sloth and negligence.

3. Yet we may all live under a sense of the nearness of the Lord"s return.The personal interest to us of that return lies in the glory of Christ"s kingdom, and in the acknowledgment of our own faithfulness. This life we know is short, and the day of our account is not far off. And Christ would have us live as though he had but gone from us for a season, and were about again to come to us. "And well I know That unto him who works, and feels he works, This same grand year is ever at the doors.

III WATCH! FOR THIS IS THE PLAIN DUTY OF THE PRESENT. We have spoken of the past and of the future; of the charge given by our Lord whilst yet on earth, and of the prospect of our Lord"s return from heaven. But both these aspects of our religion bear upon the life and duty of to-day. "Trust no future, howe"er pleasant; Let the dead past bury its dead: Think, act, in the living present Heart within, and God o"erhead!

1. Work! "Whatsoever thy band findeth to do, do it with thy might." Now, whilst strength of body and mind are continued, labor for the Lord who lived and died for you. Now, whilst you have control of your property, rise it as stewards for God. Now, whilst you have influence over your domestic and social circle, use that influence for Christ. Ministers of the gospel, parents and teachers of youth, officers of congregations, followers of Jesus in every, position of life, be it yours to work for the Lord you love and honor! To-day is yours; to-morrow may be too late.

2. Pray This you will do, if you realize your dependence for spiritual impulse and power upon the great Source of spiritual grace and blessing. So far from there being any sentiency between work and prayer, the two blend in perfect harmony. Prayer without work is mockery, and work without prayer is mechanical and powerless.

3. Watch! That is, keep guard over yourself and your trust; cherish an attitude of expectation and a feeling of responsibility. Oh for grace to live "as ever in the great Taskmaster"s eye"! "Ye know not when the time is." Watch! "lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping!" "Watch, for the night is long; Watch, for the foe is strong; Watch, for the treasure"s dear; Watch, for the Lord is near!

"Happy is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing!"

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Matt. xxiv, 42; Luke xxi, 34.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Our blessed Saviour takes occasion, from the foregoing doctrine of the certainty and suddenness of his coming to judgment, to enforce the duty of diligent and industrious watchfulness upon his disciples and followers; that is, to be upon their guard against all sin, and to be in an actual readiness for his appearance and approach.

Learn hence, That it is the indispensible duty, and ought to be the indefatigable endeavour, of every Christian, to stand upon his guard in a prepared readiness for Christ’s appearance, both for his coming to them, and for their going to him. There is a twofold readiness for Christ’s coming; namely, habitual and actual; an habitual readiness is a readiness of the person: when we are furnished with all the graces and virtues of a good life, when our lamps are burning, and our loins girded, our souls furnished with all the graces of God’s Holy Spirit, our lives fruitful in good works: Blessed is that servant, who, when his Lord cometh, shall be found thus watching.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

what time it is

It can be stated clearly what "time" refers to here. AT: "when all these events will happen" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

each one with his work

"telling each one what work he should do"

translationWords

watch

time

servant

command

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

33–37. THE NECESSITY FOR WATCHFULNESS

Mat 25:13-15. Luk 21:36

33. [3015][3016] ack omit καὶ προσεύχεσθε, which may come from Mar 14:38. Syr-Sin. omits βλέπετε.

[3015] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[3016] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

33. βλέπετε. See crit. note and cf. Mar 13:5; Mar 13:9; Mar 13:23. It is a thread which runs through the whole discourse.

ἀγρυπνεῖτε. Be vigilant, “Do not allow yourselves to slumber” (ἄγρυπνος = ἄϋπνος). Neither A.V. nor R.V. distinguishes between this and γρηγορεῖτε (Mar 13:37). The verbs differ little in meaning and in LXX. translate the same Hebrew; moreover St Paul uses them indifferently (Eph 6:18; Col 4:2); but a change in the Greek should be marked by a change in the English. See on 1Th 5:6. Here Mt. has γρηγορεῖτε. Note the characteristic asyndeton and see on Mar 10:14.

ὁ καιρός. “The Divinely appointed”; see on Mar 1:15. Mt. has “the day, nor yet the hour.”

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33-37.] Peculiar to Mark, and containing the condensed matter of Matt. vv. 43-47, and perhaps an allusion to the parable of the talents in Mat_25.

The θυρωρ. is the door-porter, whose office it would be to look out for approaching travellers,—answering especially to the ministers of the word, who are (Eze_33) watchmen to God’s church.

The construction of ver. 34 is remarkable; the participial clauses being in subordination to ἀφείς, and constituting part of the householder’s arrangements of departure, and the direct tense being assumed at ἐνετείλατο, as signifying what took place at his very going out of the door, where the porter would be stationed: as if it had been ἀφεὶς τ. οἰκ. αὐτοῦ (καί, &c.) ἐνετείλατο κ.τ.λ.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. Βλέπετε, ἀγρυπνεῖτε1—Take heed, be watchful. This duty of watchfulness arises from the uncertainty of the time. Knowledge of it would leave time for them to be off their guard.

Omit καὶ προσεύχεσθε, and pray, Tisch. (Treg.) WH. RV.marg. BD 122, mss. Lat. Vet. one ms. Vulg.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Watch [αγρυπνειτε] . The word is derived from ajgreuw, to hunt, and upnov, sleep. The picture is of one in pursuit of sleep, and therefore wakeful, restless. Wyc. 's rendering of the whole passage is striking : See! wake ye and pray ye!

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.