Two Small Parables

To continue from the previous study, I look to Mark 13:26-37. Here, we find two small parables with a huge amount of information. Read the parables first.

Mark 13:28 says, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: so ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.”

Mark 13:34 says, “For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.”

We immediately form two pertinent questions regarding Mark 13:26-27. When will it be seen and Who are 'they'? By 'it', I refer to Christ's statement from verse 26, “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” This event is the 'it' that 'they' see.

Since it follows on the heels of the powers of heaven being shaken and the stars falling from on high, I will make the leap and assume that the event occurs directly after the tribulation. Further, I will assume that the ones who see their nemesis coming and marshaling his forces for their destruction are none other than the stars that fall.

Reading Mark 13:30-31 leads us to yet another question. Jesus affirms the immutable truth of his prophecy, in that “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away,” and tells his disciples that all these events will be witnessed by their generation. Our question, then, is this: How long can a generation last?

Here, we must not confuse a generational lifespan with a generational type. When Christ said “this generation,” he obviously meant something more far-reaching than mere physical age. Christ often couched spiritual meaning in common expressions. As a type, a generation can be viewed in the light of its defining characteristics. I speak of characteristics that unite all of a type's constituents, regardless of time or epoch. Here, I can suggest characteristics such as 'born again', 'redeemed', 'elect'.

Mark 13:32-33 speaks of spiritual preparedness and sleep (or spiritual inactivity.) We are told that no one knows the exact time of the prophecied event except God, himself, yet, we are instructed to remain spiritually prepared for it. We are told to “watch and pray.” We are told to give this point special attention for the very reason that we do not know when the event will occur. We are instructed to take upon ourselves the nature of the porter.

Mark 13:34. Who is the porter? In the sense of this particular application, a porter is a gatekeeper, or in the broader sense, one whose business it is to look for the return of the Master – to usher the Master into what is his own and into the company of his servants. It is impossible that any one individual can remain vigilant around the clock. It is here that we think of a porter-collective – a porterhood. The flame of vigilance is passed in turn between one porter and another – at every shift change, or changing of the guard.

We find in Mark 13:35-36 a list of possible times that the Master could suddenly show up. The purpose of the porter, his calling, you might say, is to be spiritually alert, spiritually active, spiritually looking down the road and straining to see any indication of the coming of the Master. It is not a matter of when the Master is likely to find the porter asleep, but that spiritual vigilance, in any watch, has not been provided for. All the servants will want to be alerted to the Master's coming, so they might prepare to greet him – it is one of the porter's duties to make the call that gathers the servants to their Master's joyful return.

Spiritual vigilance is the defining key to these verses. The final verse, 37, unites all of us as a generational type. Christ gives his command to every one of us from the disciples of the first century AD to the porters of the 21st century. It is as if Christ turns and looks into my own eyes and says to me personally, “Watch.”