Day 52: Jesus tells His disciples to get ready!
Imagine your teacher assigned your class a test and then left the room while you worked on it. If she said she’d be gone for half an hour, I bet everyone would get the test done right away. But if she said she’d be gone for an hour, some people would do the test and some people would mess around with their friends and have fun before they started. What if you didn’t know when the teacher would be back? Jesus taught that no one knows when He’s going to come back, so we need to be ready any time!
Who knows the day and hour when Jesus will come back (v. 32)?
How does Jesus say we should act, since we don’t know when that day will come (v. 33)?
In Mark 12:1–12, Jesus tells a story in which He compares God to a vineyard owner who rents His vineyard out to tenants and goes away. In today’s passage, He compares Himself to a man going away and leaving his servants in charge of his house.
What does Jesus tell the servant at the door to do (v. 34)?
What does Jesus tell His disciples to do in verse 35?
Why does He say they should keep watch (v. 35)?
What are the three times of day that Jesus gives as examples of when the owner might come back (v. 35)?
What might the servants be doing at those times if they aren’t keeping watch?
What does Jesus say His disciples shouldn’t let Him find them doing when He comes back (v. 36)?
Do you think this means that Christians should never go to sleep?
What do you think it does mean for us to be ready for Jesus to return?
The most important way you can be ready for Jesus’ return is by saying sorry to God for your sin and putting your trust in Jesus. His death on the cross pays for all our sin, if we will only turn to Him. And when we do, we are covered in Jesus’ goodness in God’s eyes. It’s like we’ve taken off our dirty clothes and put on Jesus’ clean clothes instead! If you haven’t put your trust in Jesus yet, do it today!
If you are trusting in Jesus, that means you’re one of His servants on this earth, and He’s given all of His servants work to do. Here’s a checklist of the kinds of things we should be doing while we wait:
• Telling other people the good news about Jesus and praying that they would repent and believe in Him
• Caring for people who don’t have enough money by sharing some of ours
• Welcoming people who are lonely or left out
• Helping people who are sick or suffering
• Protecting people who are getting hurt by others
• Loving our enemies
• Forgiving those who hurt us
The list could go on! But we should make sure we are doing things we would not be ashamed to be caught doing if Jesus came back today … because He might!
Pray that God would help you be ready for when Jesus returns. Thank Him that Jesus’ death in our place washes away all our sin and all the ways we fail to live as His servants should. Pray that God would help you serve Jesus throughout the whole of your life, so that you’re ready whenever He comes or whenever He calls you back to Him at the end of your life.
Well done! You’ve made it to the end of Act 5!