Mark 13:36

Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(36) Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.—As before we traced a kind of echo of the parable of the Talents, so here we recognise something like a fragmentary reminiscence of that of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

13:28-37 We have the application of this prophetic sermon. As to the destruction of Jerusalem, expect it to come very shortly. As to the end of the world, do not inquire when it will come, for of that day and that hour knoweth no man. Christ, as God, could not be ignorant of anything; but the Divine wisdom which dwelt in our Saviour, communicated itself to his human soul according to the Divine pleasure. As to both, our duty is to watch and pray. Our Lord Jesus, when he ascended on high, left something for all his servants to do. We ought to be always upon our watch, in expectation of his return. This applies to Christ's coming to us at our death, as well as to the general judgment. We know not whether our Master will come in the days of youth, or middle age, or old age; but, as soon as we are born, we begin to die, and therefore we must expect death. Our great care must be, that, whenever our Lord comes, he may not find us secure, indulging in ease and sloth, mindless of our work and duty. He says to all, Watch, that you may be found in peace, without spot, and blameless.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Find you sleeping - Inattentive to your post, neglecting your duty, and unprepared for his coming.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

36. Lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping—See on [1498]Lu 12:35-40; [1499]Lu 12:42-46.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

See Poole on "Mark 13:35"

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Lest coming suddenly,.... Unthought of, and unexpected, at an unawares:

he find you sleeping; inactive in the exercise of grace, and negligent in the performance of duty; unprepared for his coming, and unfit for service.

Geneva Study Bible

Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Expositor's Greek Testament

Mark 13:36. ἐξαίφνης, suddenly, here in Luke 2:13, and four times in Acts.—καθεύδοντας: this applies to all the servants, not merely to the porter; therefore all must watch as well as work. In the case of a master absent on a journey, the servants cannot know even the day, not to speak of the hour or watch of the night, as they could in the cases supposed in Luke 12:36, Matthew 25:1. Therefore they must keep awake not merely one night, but many nights, an incongruity which again suggests that we have not here an original utterance of Jesus, but a composite logion with elements borrowed from several parables.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

36. lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping] “During the night the ‘captain of the Temple’ made his rounds. On his approach the guards had to rise and salute him in a particular manner. Any guard found asleep when on duty was beaten, or his garments were set on fire—a punishment, as we know, actually awarded.” Edersheim, p. 120.

Mark 13:36