The ‘signs’ Jesus gives to his disciples are like the ‘birth pangs’ of a woman in labor. They only indicate that his coming is ‘near’. Why then does he give them these ‘signs’ if they won't be able even to ‘guess’ the time of the final Day or Hour? And what does this tell us about the Father and our relationship with him? First, Jesus gives these ‘signs’ to help us avoid being deceived by false prophets who will use ‘signs and miracles’ to try to lead us astray. Even disciples that Jesus has chosen (‘the elect’ means chosen ones), and who have spent years walking and working with him, can fail to ‘keep watch’. Distracted by external upheavals they can lose sight of their main ‘tasks’: walking with Jesus by the Holy Spirit and doing the work he has given them to do.

Jesus also gave us these ‘signs’ that we might be on guard against the internal temptations that will come during the confusing ‘seasons’ that precede the final Day and Hour. For besides great ‘upheavals’—wars, earthquakes, plagues, famines, an increase of lawlessness, etc.—there will also be a high degree of normalcy. Just as ‘in the days of Noah’ prior to the flood, life will continue as usual: with normal social celebrations—like marriages and other feasts—and the normal ‘worries of life’. So as the great upheavals come and go like ‘birth pangs’, we can easily fall into the trap of seeing these too as normal, and thus ignore the ‘signs’ in our own hearts that we are drifting away from Jesus. This is why Jesus tells three parables about how our love can grow cold if we don't remain prepared for his return. The first parable, about servants in a master's household, challenges us to pay attention to our responsibilities in relation to one another. The servants who continue to be ‘faithful and wise’ in the way they care for their fellow servants are blessed with greater responsibility when their master returns. But those who neglect their fellow household members and abuse them are ‘cut off’ and treated like all other hypocrites. Having stopped taking Jesus' return seriously, their love for their brothers and sisters grew cold. Instead of praying for strength to deal with the upheavals and the normal worries of life, they turned to alcohol, overeating and partying to medicate the pain in their lives.

In the second parable, we see two groups of young women waiting to ‘welcome’ a bridegroom—none of whom know the exact time he will arrive. Since they all fall asleep while waiting, ‘keeping watch’ is not about having a greater ability to stave off sleep during all-night prayer vigils in anticipation of Jesus' return. Rather it's about a lifestyle of ‘preparedness’ based on relationship. What distinguishes the ‘foolish’ young women from the ‘wise ones’ is not just that they didn't take extra oil, but also that the bridegroom didn't know them. By contrast, he recognizes the ‘wise ones’ because they know him. The reason they take extra oil is because they know he might be ‘delayed’. If you really know ‘the Lord’ Jesus, you know that this is likely because of God's patience, because he wants to give everyone time ‘to come to repentance’ (2 Pet.3:8-10a).

So finishing well as disciples of Jesus is about always ‘keeping watch’ on our heart-relationships with Jesus and with our brothers and sisters, so that our love for them does not grow cold. Being ‘prepared ones’, though, also means learning to know our Father better. For from Jesus' teaching we learn that we have a Father who doesn't tell us everything about the future. By the Holy Spirit he will tell us some of ‘the things that are coming’ (Med.#57). But he mainly shows us what he is doing in the present, so that we might walk with him and work with him like Jesus did (Med.#59). For the Father did not tell Jesus either about the exact Day or Hour that he had planned for Jesus' return. So instead of focusing on what the Father doesn't tell us, we need to focus on what he did tell us through Jesus—since everything Jesus taught came from the Father (Med.#64). And he tells us what we need to know. So we need to live our lives accordingly. This means maintaining our trust in his character even when obeying him requires perseverance through times of suffering, like it did with Jesus. That's how we learn patience and become mature like our Dad (Med.#7, Med.#13 & Med.#12). Jesus tells us to pray for strength and wisdom during such difficult seasons, in faith that our Father will answer these prayers (Med.#86 & Med.#39).

In the next meditation we will look at the third parable Jesus told to his disciples on this occasion, and at how it is connected to the only ‘sign’ the Father did give him that does tell us when the end of the age will come.

Father, when I see the ‘signs’ happening that Jesus spoke about to his disciples, no matter how fearful they are, I will not let anyone deceive me; for you know the Day and Hour of his coming. So I will not be afraid, since I know that it is your good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Instead I will pay attention to myself and to my own heart, so I will always be prepared. (Mat.24:33,4,36; Lk.21:11,9,34,36a; 12:32)

Lead me, Father, so that I will not fall into temptation; deliver me from the evil one. To be mature like you are mature, I pray for strength: that I might patiently endure to the end, and that I might learn to be patient like you are—not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. (Mat.6:9,13; 5:48, 24:13; Lk.21:36b; 2 Pet.3:9)

[i] The Scripture passage is taken from J.K. Mellis, The Good News of the Messiah by the Four Witnesses: pp.215-216,218,221-224.