Mark 13:31-37 (NIV)

So, this isn’t a podcast where we assert theology or too much heavy handed biblical interpretation. We really want to help clear the way and make space for people to reflect on the central truths of the passage as they stand within the context of the narrative and the culture. But we all bring a set of assumptions and prior conceptions with us. And today’s passage is a perfect example of where that kind of thing can create a significant barrier.

I’d bet that most groups that read today's passage and discuss it usually find themselves talking about the rapture. If you're not familiar with that idea, it’s basically a moment when God is supposed to come and remove all the believers ahead of, during, or after a time of great tribulation. There is a ton of debate about when that might be or if the basis for that kind of thing is even found in scripture in the first place. Regardless, I think all of that misses the point of today's passage and has left scores of believers more focused on calculations than they are on faithfulness to Jesus.

If you read the whole of Mark 12 and 13 as a cohesive unit, that is, in the way is was written to be read, you’ll see Jesus calling people out for worrying about the who and the what and the how Messiah will come, rather than being the kind of people that can follow him when he does show up. The same is true here. The disciples ask questions about when they’ll know and how they’ll know this stuff, and Jesus is telling them to focus more on being the kinds of people who are ready whenever it happens.

And as a note, the image here is more like waiting for a bridegroom to appear in the distance and come in to commence the wedding that everyone has been waiting for rather than some kind of cosmic vacuum switch that sucks all the Christians out. Jesus will indeed return, and those who are ready will run to the gates and usher him into the world to reunite heaven and earth and to set everything right. What a day it will be.

----------REFLECT----------

1.  What word of phrase stood out to you?

2. Can you remember a time when you eagerly awaited something? What was it like to look for it coming? What did it mean for you to wait well or wait poorly?

3. One way to anticipate the arrival of a bridegroom and the beginning of the wedding is to invite people to the feast. Who in your life today needs the hope that only Jesus can offer? Pray for them now.

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