Watching for the Master

Lamps Burning

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Jesus ended the story of the ten maidens with one command: “Watch therefore” (Matthew 25:13). Jesus gave other pictures of what watching looks like.

The doorkeeper. Jesus told of a man who went on a long trip. He gave each of his servants work to do, and he told the doorkeeper to watch (Mark 13:34). The doorkeeper did not know when the master would come back. It might be evening, midnight, early morning or dawn (Mark 13:35).

Not asleep. Jesus said to watch, so that when the master comes suddenly, he will not find his servants sleeping (Mark 13:36). Jesus ended by saying that what He said to the disciples, He says to all: watch (Mark 13:37).

Ready to open. The doorkeeper's job was to watch, so he could open the door the moment his master came. Watching means staying ready for Jesus every day.

Lamps burning. In another place Jesus said to be dressed and ready, with lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to come home from a wedding. When he knocks, they can open the door right away (Luke 12:35-36).

Dressed and ready. In Bible times people wore long robes. To get ready to move quickly, a person tucked the robe up into a belt. Jesus' servants are to be like that, not sprawled out and sleepy, but ready to stand up the moment He comes.

Blessed servants. Jesus said those servants are blessed whom the master finds watching when he comes, even late in the night (Luke 12:37-38).

The One we wait for. The Master we wait for is Jesus, who died for our sins and rose again so that we could belong to Him.

Not afraid. Watching for Jesus is not like watching for a storm. It is like a child at the window waiting for someone she loves to come home. We watch because we love Him and want to see Him.

Like the night watchmen. A psalm says the writer's soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning (Psalm 130:5-6). A watchman on a city wall at night looks for the first light of dawn, because he knows it is coming.

Pray always. Jesus also said, “Watch therefore, and pray always” (Luke 21:36). Prayer keeps our hearts awake to Him.

What to do. Each night this week, thank Jesus that He is coming back and ask Him to keep your heart ready.

“Watch therefore” is the last command of the parable (Matthew 25:13). Jesus filled in what watching means with other pictures.

Agrypneo. In Mark 13:33 and Luke 21:36 the word for watch is agrypneo (say: ah-groop-NEH-oh). It means to keep awake, to not let yourself nod off, like someone keeping guard through the night.

The doorkeeper (Mark 13:33-37). Jesus told His disciples to take heed and watch, because they did not know when the time would be. He compared Himself to a man going to a far country who gave authority to his servants, gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.

Four watches. The master might come in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning (Mark 13:35). These were the four watches of the night. Every part of the night was covered by the call to watch.

To all. Jesus ended by saying that what He said to the disciples, He says to all: watch (Mark 13:37). The command was not only for the twelve. It is for every believer.

Waiting servants (Luke 12:35-36). Jesus said to let your waist be girded and your lamps burning, like men who wait for their master to return from the wedding, ready to open the door as soon as he knocks. A girded waist meant a long robe tucked up into a belt, ready for work or travel.

Blessed when He comes (12:37-38). Jesus said those servants are blessed whom the master finds watching, whether he comes in the second watch or the third. The blessing belongs to the ready, not to anyone who guessed the hour. The Master is Jesus, who gave His life for our sins at the cross and rose again.

Watchmen (Psalm 130:5-6). The psalmist said his soul waited for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning. A watchman's hope is not a guess. Dawn always comes.

Pray always. “Watch therefore, and pray always” (Luke 21:36). Prayer keeps the heart awake while we wait for Him.

For you. Watching is not anxious clock-watching. It is steady readiness, faithful prayer and the settled hope that the Master is coming.

Children of the Day

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In Jesus' story, the maidens waited in the dark of night. Paul wrote that believers are not people of the night. They are children of the day.

Not in the dark. Paul told the believers in Thessalonica that the day of the Lord would come like a thief in the night for people who were not expecting it. But he said they were not in darkness, so that day would not catch them by surprise (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4).

Sons of light. Paul wrote that they were all sons of light and sons of the day. They did not belong to the night or to darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:5).

How we got there. We were not born children of the day. Sin kept us in the dark. But when we trust Jesus, God brings us out of the dark and into His light.

Awake and clear-headed. So Paul told them not to sleep as others do, but to watch and be sober (1 Thessalonians 5:6). To be sober means to think clearly and not be careless.

Dressed for the day. Paul said to put on faith and love like a breastplate, which protects the heart, and the hope of salvation like a helmet (1 Thessalonians 5:8).

Not for anger. Then Paul gave a wonderful promise. God did not choose us for His anger, but to be saved through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us. Whether we are alive when He comes or have already died, we will live together with Him (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10).

Almost morning. Paul also wrote, “now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand” (Romans 13:11-12).

Sleepy hearts. Jesus warned that the cares of this life can weigh down our hearts (Luke 21:34). Worries and busy days can make us forget Him. Watching keeps Him first.

Living in the light. Paul said that because the day is near, we should “cast off the works of darkness” and “put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12). Children of the day do not hide what they do. They tell the truth, they are kind, and they are not ashamed to belong to Jesus.

What to do. Start each day by thanking God that you belong to the day. Ask Him to help you live in faith, love and hope until Jesus comes.

The parable is set at midnight. Paul used the same picture of night and day to show who believers are while they wait for the Lord.

Like a thief (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4). Paul wrote that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night for those who say all is peace and safety. But believers are not in darkness, so that day should not overtake them like a thief.

Children of light (5:5). Paul wrote that they were all sons of light and sons of the day, not of the night or of darkness. Belonging comes first. Behavior follows from who they already are.

Brought out. Sin held every one of us in the dark. But God “has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13) when we trust Christ.

Nepho (5:6, 8). Paul urged them to watch and be sober. Sober is nepho (say: NAY-foh), to be clear-minded, alert and self-controlled, the opposite of someone in a daze.

Armor for the day (5:8). Those who are of the day put on the breastplate of faith and love and, as a helmet, the hope of salvation. Watching is not only avoiding sleep. It is faith toward God, love toward people and a hope that guards the mind.

Appointed to salvation (5:9-10). God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we wake or sleep (whether we are alive or have died), we should live together with Him. The watching Christian is not afraid of the day. Christ's death settled the outcome.

The night is far spent. “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:11-12).

What dulls the heart. “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life” (Luke 21:34). Not only wild living, but ordinary worry and busyness, can make a heart drowsy toward God.

For you. If you belong to Jesus, you are already a child of the day. Live like it: awake to Him, clear-minded, and full of faith, love and hope.

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