Mark 13:1-37 is one of the “end times” or eschatological passages that really makes people’s heads spin. Shoot, my head’s spinning just thinking about the $4 word, “eschatological”. Anyway, if you’re not familiar with this passage, you might want to read it now.
In Mark 13:4, Peter, James, and John inquired of Jesus, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?” That’s the same question people have been asking for over 2000 years. Oddly enough, Jesus didn’t answer their question directly. In fact, his answer is pretty confusing. I’m not exactly sure why he answered the way he did, but here are my thoughts:
1. Because mission plays the most important role in the end times.
The end won’t come until the gospel is preached to all nations (Mark 13:10). Usually when this passage is studied, we dive into the minutia of meaning and trying to understand the nature of the apocalyptic message. However, most of the time we miss the point: Preach the gospel so all nations will hear.
2. Because our focus should be on doing the Master’s business.
When the master returns, what will please him more: finding his servants sitting around his living room studying what he said or finding his servants working hard to DO what he said (Mark 13:32-37)? One of the greatest problems Christians struggle with is that we are sometimes educated beyond our level of obedience.
Studying end times is a worthy activity, but it can sometimes bog us down. The problem comes when we neglect His work by getting too caught up studying the final culmination of His work. All I know for sure about eschatology is this: Jesus is coming back, and we have plenty of work to do in the meantime, so let’s get busy!