The Doorkeeper's Duty Text: Mark 13:33-37
Introduction: Eschatology for the Kitchen
We come now to the end of the Olivet Discourse, and it is here that the Lord Jesus brings all the high prophecy down to where we live. For the last thirty-some verses, He has been laying out the future. He has spoken of the Temple's utter destruction, of wars and rumors of wars, of famines and earthquakes, of persecution, of the abomination of desolation, and of His own vindication, His coming on the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days. He has told the disciples that all of this, every bit of it, would fall upon that generation. This was a prophecy about the immediate future of Jerusalem, a judgment that would authenticate Him as the great Prophet of God. And it all came to pass, just as He said, in the cataclysm of A.D. 70.
But modern evangelicals, particularly those steeped in dispensationalism, have a bad habit of treating eschatology like a spectator sport. It's about newspaper headlines, charts, timelines, and frantic speculation about who the Antichrist might be this week. It is about watching the sky, watching the news, watching the Middle East. But Jesus concludes this monumental sermon not by telling us to become prophecy wonks, but by telling us to become faithful doorkeepers. He brings it all down from the clouds to the front porch. The application of all this high-flying prophecy is intensely practical. It is eschatology for the kitchen, for the workshop, for the nursery.
The central command of this section, repeated for emphasis, is to "stay awake." To "keep on the alert." To "watch." But as we will see, this is not the nervous, nail-biting watchfulness of someone waiting for the world to end. It is the steady, diligent watchfulness of a servant who knows his master is coming back and wants to be found faithful at his post. The Lord is not interested in creating a generation of terrified sky-gazers. He is interested in creating a generation of faithful servants who know their task and are about it, regardless of the hour.
This command, as Jesus says in the final verse, is for everyone. It was for the disciples who would live to see Jerusalem surrounded by armies. And it is for us, two thousand years later, who live in the long summer of the kingdom that was established in that great judgment. The master has been on His journey for a long time, but the nature of our duty has not changed one whit. We are to be awake.
The Text
"See to it, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey, who, leaving his house and giving authority to his slaves, each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning, lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping. And what I say to you I say to all, ‘Stay awake!’ "
(Mark 13:33-37 LSB)
The General Command (v. 33)
The Lord begins with a summary exhortation that sets the theme for the whole parable.
"See to it, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come." (Mark 13:33)
The phrase "See to it" is a sharp command to pay attention. It is a spiritual slap to the face to rouse a drowsy man. And what are we to see to? We are to "keep on the alert," to watch. But what does this mean? Given the context of the entire discourse, this is not about watching for signs of the Second Coming. Jesus just finished telling them that the great judgment on Jerusalem would happen within their generation. The timing of that event was fixed. But the exact day and hour of that judgment, and by extension the final return of Christ, is not our business. God has kept that information to Himself.
Therefore, the alertness He commands is not speculative but ethical. It is not about watching the newspaper; it is about watching your heart. It is about spiritual sobriety. To "keep on the alert" means to be vigilant against temptation, against doctrinal error, against laziness, against the cares of this world that would choke out the Word. It is a call to self-examination and diligence. You do not know when the appointed time is, so you must always be ready. Readiness is not a state of frantic anxiety, but a state of ongoing faithfulness.
The reason given is crucial: "for you do not know when the appointed time will come." Our ignorance of the specific timing is the very reason for our constant vigilance. If the master told the servants he would be back on Tuesday at 3 PM, they could goof off until Tuesday at 2:45. But because the time is unknown, their faithfulness must be constant. God has deliberately structured reality this way to cultivate a particular kind of character in His people, a character of steady, unwavering obedience.
The Parable of the Household (v. 34)
Jesus then illustrates this principle with a simple, clear parable.
"It is like a man away on a journey, who, leaving his house and giving authority to his slaves, each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay awake." (Mark 13:34 LSB)
The man is Christ, who has gone on a journey. This refers to His ascension into heaven, where He has been seated at the right hand of the Father, having received all authority. Before leaving, He did two things. First, He gave "authority to his slaves." This refers to the authority of the Great Commission, the keys of the kingdom, the ministry of the Word and sacrament. The church is not left as a rudderless ship. Christ has delegated authority to His people to carry on His work.
Second, He assigned "each one his task." This is critically important. The Christian life is not a passive waiting game. Every single believer has a job to do. You have a task. Whether you are a pastor, a mother, a carpenter, or a student, you have a station, a set of duties assigned to you by the Master. The way we watch, the way we stay awake, is by faithfully performing our assigned task. A farmer stays awake by plowing and planting. A mother stays awake by teaching and training her children. A doorkeeper stays awake by keeping his hand on the latch and his eye on the road. Faithfulness is not abstract; it is found in the diligent execution of our specific, God-given vocations.
Notice the specific mention of the doorkeeper. While every slave has a task, the doorkeeper's task is watchfulness itself. He represents the leaders and pastors of the church, whose primary job is to guard the flock, to watch for wolves, to discern the times from a biblical perspective, and to keep the household ready for the master's return. But in another sense, every Christian is a doorkeeper of his own heart, his own family, his own mind.
The Four Watches of the Night (v. 35-36)
The command to stay awake is now repeated, with the uncertainty of the timing emphasized.
"Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning, lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping." (Mark 13:35-36 LSB)
The four watches of the night, Roman style, cover the entire period of darkness. The master could return at any point. The "coming" here has a dual application. For the first-century disciples, it was the "coming" of Christ in judgment against Jerusalem in A.D. 70. For all believers since, it refers to either the moment of our death or the final, bodily return of Christ at the end of history. In either case, the effect is the same. His coming for us is sudden and the time is unknown.
The great danger is being found "sleeping." This is not talking about literal, physical sleep. It is a metaphor for spiritual stupor. To be sleeping is to be spiritually lazy, morally compromised, distracted by the world, and negligent of one's duties. It is the state of the foolish virgins whose lamps had no oil. It is the state of the servant who buried his talent. It is the state of a church that has forgotten her first love and is content to play religious games while the world goes to hell.
The master's return will be "suddenly." For the unprepared, the sleeping, it will be a terrifying shock. But for the watchful servant, the one who is awake and at his post, the master's return is not a shock but a joyful consummation. The suddenness is a threat only to the unfaithful. For the faithful, it is the blessed hope.
A Command for All (v. 37)
Jesus concludes by universalizing the command. This is not just for the apostles. It is not just for the first century. It is for everyone.
"And what I say to you I say to all, ‘Stay awake!’ " (Mark 13:37 LSB)
This is the final, ringing exhortation of the entire discourse. This is the takeaway. After all the prophecy, after all the warnings, this is the bottom line for every Christian in every age. Stay awake. This command cuts through all our excuses. It doesn't matter if you are a postmillennialist, an amillennialist, or a premillennialist. It doesn't matter if you think the Lord's return is thousands of years away or just around the corner. Your personal duty is precisely the same: Stay awake.
This means you are to be about your assigned task with diligence. You are to be sober-minded, spiritually alert, and morally upright. You are to be guarding your heart from the encroaching darkness. You are to be investing your talents, not burying them. You are to be loving your neighbor, sharing the gospel, and building the church. This is what it means to be a watchful doorkeeper.
Conclusion: Found at Your Post
The Christian life is a long night watch. The Master has gone away, and we have been left with our orders. He has promised to return, but He has deliberately kept the timing a secret. He has done this not to make us anxious, but to make us faithful.
The world wants you to fall asleep. The devil wants you to fall asleep. Your own flesh wants you to fall asleep. The pillows of worldly comfort, the drug of entertainment, the lullaby of false teaching, they are all designed to lull the church into a spiritual stupor. They want us to forget the Master is coming back. They want us to believe He has been gone so long that He is never going to return. They want us to be found with our feet up on the furniture, neglecting our tasks, when the key turns in the lock.
But Christ says to all of us, "Stay awake!" This is a command to live with a sanctified sense of expectancy. It is a command to do your duty, right where God has placed you. It is a command to be found at your post, with your tools in your hand, when the Master of the house appears.
And the glorious good news is that He has not left us to do this in our own strength. The same Spirit who empowers us for our task is the one who keeps us watchful for His return. The very one we are waiting for is the one who is within us, keeping us awake. So do not be afraid. Do not be anxious. Do not be lazy. Your Master is coming. Look to your task. Guard the door. Stay awake.