GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 13:33
Don’t Know the Time
In the winter of 1966, Alice was pregnant with our first child. This was before the use of ultrasound and all the other devices now available to determine the gender of a fetus. Alice, however, was sure that she was about to give birth to a boy. According to her calculations, it would be in February, but she did not know exactly when. There were some signs: discomfort and mild contractions. But we were prepared; all the hospital supplies were ready by the door. Then a snowstorm came. A cold northern wind blew in several inches of snow. I wanted to be ready, so I shoveled the snow out of the driveway and made sure I could get the car onto the street.
As Jesus taught his disciples about some future events, he said, “Watch out, be alert, for you do not know when the time is.” (Mark 13:33) This is the fourth time in this lesson that Jesus uses the imperative “watch out” or “take heed.” This time, however, he added another imperative: “be alert.” This second imperative, “be alert,” is an interesting compound word (ἄγρα, agra, “hunting,” and ὕπνος, hupnos, “sleep”), which means “hunting sleep,” or used metaphorically, to “stay awake” or to “be alert.” Why? Because “you do not know when the time is.”
There have been Christians who convinced themselves that they knew the time of Christ’s return and persuaded others as well. A few decades ago, some Christians wrote about ninety-nine reasons why Jesus would return in 1999—which came and went.
Jesus’ instruction was not to produce panic or a run-to-the-mountaintop reaction, but to watch and be alert. The KJV translators used a manuscript known as the Byzantine Text that included the phrase “and pray,” a phrase that does not appear in the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. But it is still a good response—watch, be alert, and pray.
During those February days in 1966, we watched and stayed alert—and yes, prayed—but we did not know the time.
(The rest of the story: On Sunday morning, February 6, 1966, Alice had a strong contraction and said that it was time. We made it to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Granite City, Illinois, and our son, Erick Daniel Black, was born.)
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