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Parables · 42 of 45

The Watchful Doorkeeper

In Jerusalem, the final week

Mark 13:33–37

Mark 13:33–37

33Stay alert, keep watch, and pray, because you don't know when the time will come. 34It's like a man who goes on a long journey. Before leaving, he puts his servants in charge, assigns each one a task, and tells the doorkeeper to stay alert. 35So stay watchful, because you don't know when the master of the house will return — whether in the evening, at midnight, at the rooster's crow, or at dawn. 36Don't let him arrive suddenly and find you asleep. 37What I'm telling you, I'm telling everyone: Stay watchful!"

Read Mark 13

About this passage

What the parable says

A man going on a journey left his servants in charge and told the doorkeeper to keep watch. Jesus told his disciples to watch, because they did not know when the master of the house would come. He might come suddenly and find them sleeping. What he said to them, he said to all: watch.

Where this fits

One of 45 passages in Jesus' Parables, in the group “In Jerusalem, the final week.”

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