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Each servant has work
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Each receives work to do
Jesus compares watchfulness to a man leaving his house and giving each servant work to do. He also commands the doorkeeper to keep watch.
Jesus tells His hearers that they do not know when the time will come. A man leaving his house provides the picture: he gives authority to his servants, assigns each work, and commands the porter to watch. Responsibility continues during the master's absence. Mark 13:28-37
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The unknown hour of return
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Keeping watch at the door
The doorkeeper remains attentive at the open entrance. He does not know when his master will return, but he is ready to receive him.
The possible return is described through different times of night. No single watch is announced as the one that will settle the question. The repeated instruction is to remain ready, not to solve a hidden schedule.
The porter is memorable, but the story also includes every servant's work. Watchfulness is therefore not merely standing still and looking for signs. It belongs with faithfully doing what has been entrusted while the return remains unknown.
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Faithful work while watching
The household's work continues while the doorkeeper remains attentive. Folding linen and tending stored vessels illustrate the work entrusted to each servant as Jesus calls all His listeners to watch.
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Watching while serving
You might ask what attentive readiness looks like within today's ordinary responsibilities. Prayer, care for others, and keeping a commitment can all belong to the waiting. Jesus' final extension of the call to watch makes the invitation broader than the one figure at the doorway.
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The Faithful and Unfaithful Servant
Someone else's daily bread is placed in a servant's care. The master's absence reveals how that trust will be used.
Open study →The Ten Virgins
All ten wait and all ten sleep, but their preparation differs. The midnight announcement reveals what they have brought to the waiting.
Open study →Prayer, Readiness, and His Return
Continue through the connected teachings in this collection and compare their distinct settings.
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