“Be On Guard”

Text: Mark 13:24–37

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The phrase “Be On Guard” carries with it the sense of a defensive posture. To guard someone in sports is to be on the defensive side of the play attempting to keep the other team from scoring. As a goalie in soccer, my job was to guard the net, defending it from the other team’s shots. Boxers put up their guard to defend their vulnerable body parts against their adversary’s punches. Outside of the sports realm we can also “Be On Guard” when we’re watching for something that we think might be about to happen. The use I like the best though is when someone carrying a sword will come up to someone else and say, “On Guard.” I think I like this one the best because it’s fun to say On Guard like a pirate or a musketeer.

Although that phrase sounds the same and has the same meaning for us, which is essentially, defend yourself, it’s actually a borrowing of the French phrase en garde. E-N  G-A-R-D-E. Which is a phrase used to warn fencers to assume the position of preparation for a match. Whether it’s in the controlled confines of a fencing match or an old-time sword fighting duel, the honorable contender doesn’t want to perform a sneak attack on his opponent. He wants his opponent to be ready to defend himself. To be prepared. Which is why Jesus warns us to “Be on guard.” Probably not in a pirate voice. But He says it here in our Gospel reading for today, and also in two other places in Mark 13 as He’s preparing the disciples for His second coming. And not just “Be on Guard,” but “Stay awake.” Jesus also uses that phrase three times in Mark 13 to alert us to the fact that falling asleep on our watch for His return could lead us to be unprepared for that great and glorious day. He says,

“BE ON GUARD. KLEEP AWAKE.

FOR YOU DO NOT KNOW WHEN THE TIME WILL COME.”

Our text from Mark reminds of the end of all things, for we “will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.” Jesus’ purpose in these end times is to “gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven” and to announce the deliverance of God’s elect. As the day of His appearing draws near, we’re to “be on guard” and “keep awake.” For “the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment.” But the salvation of the Lord will last “forever” and his “righteousness will never be dismayed.” These words from Isaiah echo the reality of what Jesus is saying to the disciples. The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that Jesus Christ is coming again to “gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.” The one who created the world, who redeemed and restored the world by his death and resurrection, is coming back, as we confess in the creeds, to judge the living and the dead in perfect justice. It’s been two thousand years since Jesus promised to return. Which makes it seem highly unlikely to people today, including churchgoing Christians, that we’re going to be around to see Jesus’ return. But Jesus’ warning to “Be on Guard” is just as important to us today as it was for the church of the first century. And those words are not a threat. They’re a loving warning to each of us not to be caught off guard. Jesus does not want us to be unprepared when He returns. Just as the noble swordfighter is uninterested in a sneak attack on his enemy, our Savior desires that we, not His enemies, but His brothers and sisters, His friends, be fully ready for the time when we’re fully reunited at His return.

And our text gives a vivid picture of what it will be like when Jesus returns in visible glory and with great power. When He returns, all will know that Jesus of Nazareth, the One who lived two thousand years ago, died on the cross, was buried, and rose again. He is Lord over all, the very Son of God, the Messiah. And He will one day return for all to see.

We’ve been hearing this for the last few weeks as we’ve closed in on this final Sunday of the church year. And today’s text pulls it all together. The created world is temporary. Its days, like our own, are numbered. Everywhere we look, we’re reminded of the world’s temporal nature. Gray hairs, weak knees, pulled muscles, bones creaking. Machines break. Toys fall apart. The computer locks up. Sometimes we wonder if we’ll ever make it through the day. And that’s what Jesus is addressing in today’s text.

Jesus and his disciples were in Jerusalem for what would be their last Passover together. In last week’s text, as they left the temple, the disciples looked around admiring its grandeur. The temple was a beautiful and magnificent architectural achievement. The Jews took great pride in it. It stood as the central place of worship for Jews to bring their sacrifices and offer prayers to God. Here God made his dwelling with his people. So, Jesus takes this opportunity to teach his disciples about the end times. He made the disturbing comment that in the not-too-distant future not one of those buildings would be intact and not one of the giant stones they were standing there admiring would be on top of another.

The disciples were naturally upset about that, so they asked when that would happen. Jesus then told them about the destruction of Jerusalem, but the teaching didn’t end there. He pointed the disciples ahead to the times that would precede the Last Day. This topic, the end of the world, always has a certain allure for us. And Jesus’ disciples respond in a very understandable way. They want to know when: When is all this going to take place? That’s still what seems to fascinate people most about the end times.

To believers, Judgment Day and the end of the world are the fulfillment of the promises of God centered in Jesus. This is the joyful end when we finally fall into the arms of a waiting Savior, who won the victory over sin, Satan, and death. But we still want to know “when.” We want some road signs that give us the exact details we’re looking for. We don’t get anything quite so definitive, but there are some things about Judgment Day that we do know. In a flash, all people will be gathered before Jesus, including those who have died, their bodies raised to rejoin their souls. There are also some things about Judgment Day we don’t know, especially when it will occur. Throughout history, there have been a lot of people who have predicted when the end of the world would take place. Many of those predicted dates are now in the past, reminding us how terribly wrong they were. Jesus even reminds us how futile it is to even engage in making guesses. He says, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven.”

While we don’t know when the Last Day will come, Jesus does give us some insight. We know we must always be on the alert for Jesus’ return, for he continues, “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.” Jesus wants us to be alert, on guard, to keep watching for him to come at any time. And He highlights this desire with the illustration of a man who leaves home and places his servants in charge while he’s away. Jesus is the “man,” the Church is the “house,” and we believers are the “servants.” And the first thing Jesus says to us, the servant who are in the house is to “be on guard,” for his return at any moment. The first-century Christians believed Jesus would return in their lifetime. They lived in that hope and expectation. They kept waiting and watching and longing for his appearing. The message to us today in the twenty-first century church is the same as it was to those in the first century: we don’t know when he will return, so always keep ready. The Lord told his followers what they could understand, and he does the same to us. For us Christians, life is full of trouble every day precisely because we are Christians. But we’re promised that “The one who endures to the end will be saved.” We’re also promised that we don’t walk on this troubled road alone. Jesus walks with us as we watch and wait. That’s what being within the safety and security of the Church does for us. We’re constantly uplifted and sustained by the Lord Himself in Word and Sacrament. Here we are fed and nourished, forgiven of our sins. And this is also the place where the Holy Spirit empowers His people to be witnesses to those who hate and persecute us. This is where we’re reminded that we can endure to the end because Jesus lived, died, and rose for us. And let me just say this – the church is certainly the place where all that happens – the most important things. Where the Word is taught in all its truth and purity and where the sacraments are rightly administered. That is what the church is and what the church does. But it’s not all the church is and does. Within this house we care for each other, we pray for one another, we lift each other up. Because that’s what family does. And may I say, I am impressed at how often we truly act like the family of God here in this place. Keep it up.

So, as His servants, left here in His house to wait, are we paying attention to the signs of the last days? Are we “On guard?” Are we “Keeping awake?” Or are we going along with the majority who would say, “do whatever you want” because they’ve forgotten the Lord’s promise to return? What Jesus calls us to do is to fight the good fight of faith by remaining attentive and watchful, knowing His promise, made to His disciples and us, is still good.

Christ is coming! And when he does, we will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. In the end, it’s all about Christ, who is the Alpha and Omega (the Beginning and the End). For as Paul says in Corinthians, “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” For those in faith, we who trust in Jesus Christ alone, this is not terrifying but wonderfully assuring. Jesus isn’t planning a sneak attack. He’s waiting for the perfect time, the time ordained by His heavenly Father, to return and bring His people to Himself. As long as we remain “On guard” we can await his coming with joy. For He assures us that He comes with life, with light, with forgiveness and hope, and he comes to put sin and death in their eternal places, once and for all.

This is the message of our Lord’s Second Coming, but it’s also the message we’ll hear throughout Advent as we anticipate His first coming. The Light of the World is coming. Coming as a baby in a manger. And coming in all His glory on the clouds. Today, we have the reminder that Jesus has come and that He will come again. But we’re also reminded that He regular comes to us, even as His body and blood are offered to us for strength in our daily walk, and assurance that He is always with us. Be ready for the upcoming season of Advent. Be ready for Jesus, whenever the Father has planned for Him to return. And be ready to receive Him in all the ways He makes Himself known every day. “Be on guard. Keep awake.” Jesus is coming. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.