THE SON OF MAN IS COMING
Mark 13:26-37
Key Verses: 13:26-27
“At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.”
Last week we learnt about the signs of the end of the age. There will be many deceivers, much persecution, many wars, earthquakes and starvation. The world and all the people will be in great suffering. But such things must happen for they are the birth pains leading to the coming kingdom of God.
Today, we will study what Jesus will do when he comes again with power and glory. What should be our attitude while waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus? I pray that we may keep watch in doing his given task faithfully. May God bless us to have spiritual awakening to serve his will in our generation.
Part 1. When the son of man comes(26-27)
Look at verses 26 and 27. “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.”
What does “the Son of Man” mean here? Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The Son of Man refers to Jesus who became flesh and lived among men to save them from the power of sin and death. Though Jesus was the Son of God, he also became the Son of Man so as to be with us so that he might become our friend and shepherd. He suffered much to be our good shepherd. He laid down his life to save us from the power of Satan. He is the Son of God who is wonderful.
According to verse 26, men will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. All the troubles mentioned in the previous passage is nothing but an introduction of the coming of the Son of Man. Jesus’ second coming was promised in the Bible many times. Jesus promised to come back and the angels did the same. Then we should believe that he will come again. To the early Christians the coming of the Lord was a great source of encouragement to overcome the fiery persecutions from the Roman Emperors.
How are his first and second comings different? When our Lord Jesus first came to this world, he came as a baby in a manger even though he had the life of God in him. But at his second coming we will see the Son of Man coming in clouds in great power and glory. This means Jesus is not coming to graciously forgive the wicked; he is coming as the Judge of the living and the dead. He is also coming as the Sovereign Ruler of the world. Hardly anyone welcomed Jesus at his first coming except animals because he was born in manger. But at his second coming all men will see him coming in glory and power. What an amazing event this will be! It is hard to wait for that day.
What will he do when he comes? He will send his angels to gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens (27). This epic type of expression is too grand to understand. However, the main point is he is going to care for his elect. Who are his elect? His elect are not the Pharisees, but those who are chosen by God. According to 1 Peter 1:1-2, God’s elects are those who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. It is God who chose his elect. They are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. It is a great honor to become God’s elect. Sometimes we feel that our Lord Jesus Christ would not remember what we did and suffered.
Look at verse 27. “And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.” It is great encouragement for us that he remembers each of us, that we dedicated ourselves to him, and gave our time to him, and sacrificed for the sheep, and in his name were despised and rejected. Our Lord God never ignores his elect. The coming of Jesus is a great day for all believers because Jesus gathers them to be with him. But it will be a sad day for those who rejected Jesus because they will be judged according to what they had done in this life.
Part 2. We must have spiritual insight to interpret the times (28-30)
Look at verses 28-29. "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door." We can understand his coming through nature. Each generation has its own character. So it is not easy to interpret the times. But we can do so because we have the word of God.
Let's read verse 31. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." All things of the world will eventually perish and spoil. But the word of God will remain forever. That’s the reason why we study the word of God and trust God’s promise. We should be sacrificial in order to advance the gospel of Jesus. It is possible for us to do so when we have spiritual insight to interpret the signs of the times. We must have keen spiritual insight to interpret the signs of the times and lead many wandering students to God.
Part 3. “Keep watch” (32-37)
Look at verses 32 and 33. “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” Throughout history, from the day of Jesus’ rose again, people hoped Jesus would come again. This has continued for the last twenty centuries. Everyone, including non-Christians, is interested about the day and hour of the second coming of Jesus. But Jesus declared that no one knows except the Father. Do not waste your time to find out when Jesus would come again. Why did Jesus not tell us when he was coming again? It is because there is a danger that people will rest full time until the day Jesus comes again. Then on the day Jesus is coming again, they will repent and accept Jesus. So Jesus made his second coming secret. Jesus once said, “If the owner of the house had known the hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Lk 12:39)
Jesus told us signs to watch for, but not the time. This was God’s wisdom to help man who is lazy. Many students do not begin their term paper, until a few days before it is due. But if we did not know when the paper was due, we would have to do it early, just in case. When we examine the Bible, we find that the first century Christians had a great hope in the Second Coming. They were expecting to see it in their lifetime. 1 Cor 7:29 says that the time is short. Although Jesus did not come in the first century, the early Christians were wise to have this expectation. In fact, even though Jesus did not come, many of the early Christians were sacrificed suddenly. But they were prepared, because they were eagerly watching for Jesus.
Seriously think that today could be the last day of the world. All of the signs are already here. Therefore, you should be awake and make best use of your day completing all the tasks you supposed to do. That’s reason why Jesus said repeatedly, “Be on your guard! Be alert! Keep watch!” We must awaken from spiritual laziness because no one knows the day or hour of Jesus' coming, not even the angels. For example, the people of Noah's times only engaged in eating and drinking, web-surfing, chatting, and giving in marriage. They never imagined that God would judge those who became flesh and were sinning against God. They did not listen to God’s warning about the impending flood judgment. They had a lot of fun and good times. They were not awake. The flood came suddenly. So they all drowned except Noah and his family members, who had listened to God. Therefore, we must keep watch through prayers and Bible study.
Let’s read 13:35-37. “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back–whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!” These verses teach us that we must live the life of mission with spiritual awakening. The first words of this sermon of Jesus was “watch out”, and the last word is “watch!”
Watching is hard and important work. We get tired. If the soldier falls asleep on his watch, the enemy may attack; it is a very important job. Verse 34 tells us that watching involves doing our given task. In the hope of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ we do not waste time, but work hard day and night for the glory of God. We cannot allow ourselves to become sleepy, drowsy, and lazy spiritually. What is the best time for Jesus to come? The best time is when we have 1:1 Bible study with sheep or we pray in the early morning or we have Sunday worship. But we cannot control the time. Therefore, Jesus said, “I say to everyone:’ Watch’” Today, are we ready for the second coming of Jesus? Are you ready? What is the spiritual condition of Australia? The word of God is not common in the churches and Sunday became a sport day instead of a day for worshipping God. There are too many other good things to do to attend the church service. We must help God’s flocks be ready for the coming of Jesus. We must wake up from our spiritual sleep and serve the will of God so that Australia may become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation sending in the 21st century.
In this passage we learn that we should not be afraid of the world situation. We must believe that all the troubles of the world are the birth pains for the day of the Lord. In this troubled world, in order to be faithful to our Lord Jesus we must struggle hard to teach the Bible to God's sheep. Let's be alert and keep watch and be faithful to God, standing firm on his promises. Then surely God will include us in the elect from the corners of heaven and earth when Jesus comes in power and glory in the clouds.
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