"These [in Berea] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." - Acts 17:11

(42) So be on your guard! You don't know when your Lord will come. (43) Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in. (44) Always be ready! You don't know when the Son of Man will come.

Contemporary English Version copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society.

In essence, these verses are Christ's opening salvo on how to be prepared and how to use your time and energy when the evidence of His return begins to appear.

Although we definitely know that we are living in the time of the end, we do not know exactly when Christ will return. So we have to live in readiness every day. The theme of this brief parable is expectation. Knowing the general signs of His coming, we live expecting the unexpected.

He illustrates this by comparing His coming to that of a thief. We normally do not look for thieves. Understandably, thieves do not advertise their coming, but by taking precautions, we prepare against their coming. All of us lock our houses and hide our valuables in safe places. Some of us have installed security alarms and exterior lighting to discourage burglary.

In the same vein, Jesus urges His people to be vigilant, alert, wakeful, and constantly watchful because a thief's principal weapon is surprise. Even to those who are aware, His coming will occur with jarring suddenness—and more so to those who are distracted by ordinary occupations, "eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage." The teaching in this parable is that to live without vigilance is to invite disaster.

— John W. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
The World, the Church, and Laodiceanism



 

Topics:

Expectation

Jesus Christ's Return

Priorities

Readiness

Signs of the Times

Sober (minded)

Surprise

Time Management

Vigilance

Watching




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