Mar 13:37  And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. 

This article is going to be about the word watch; what it means to watch, why we are told to watch and how we are to watch and keep ourselves ready for the coming of the Lord.

Let’s start off with the definition of the word. Watch in Greek is grēgoreuō G1127 and it’s defined as: to give strict attention to, be cautious, active or to take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one.

It is derived from the word egeirō G1453, which means: to arouse, cause to rise
or to arouse from sleep, or to awake.

The first time this word is used in the New Testament is in the Gospel of Matthew 24:42 and it’s spoken by Jesus.

Mat 24:42  Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Mat 24:43  But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 
Mat 24:44  Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 

Let’s take a moment to examine the command to watch in this above scripture reference and what it means to keep watch and be ready.

Matthew 24:42 doesn’t tell us what keeping watch means until verses 45-46, it says:

Mat 24:45  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 
Mat 24:46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 

In these verses above we see that watching is spoken of as giving the Lord’s household meat in due season and being found doing so when He returns. The word translated as meat is trophē G5160 in Greek and it means: food or nourishment. This reference directly correlates with Jesus’ command to Peter to “Feed His Lambs and Feed His Sheep” in John 21:15-17 and the exhortation of Peter to the elders in 1 Pet 5:2 that says “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;” Being ready is described By Jesus in verse 43 as knowing what watch/hour the thief would come.

We see the same analogy of watching and being ready given by Jesus in Luke 12:35-40. The Gospel of Luke gives us a little more insight into what Jesus is saying about watching and being ready in verses 35-38, let’s look.

Luke 12:35  Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 
Luke 12:36  And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding; that when He cometh and knocketh, they may open unto Him immediately. 
Luke 12:37  Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 
Luke 12:38  And if He shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 

Luke 12:39  And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 
Luke 12:40  Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. 

In this reference, watching and being ready speaks of our loins being girded about and our lights burning like men waiting for the return of their Lord, so that when He knocks, we may open unto Him immediately. In verse 39 it again speaks of knowing when the thief would come as the state of being ready. We know that we can achieve this based on this verse in 1 Thessalonians 5.

1 Thess 5:4-8 says, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober”

What do you suppose it means to have our loins girded about and our lights burning? Let’s dig into this briefly.

Peter said this about girding our loins:

1Pet 1:13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 
1Pet 1:14  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 
1Pet 1:15  But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; (the word translated as conversation is anastrophē G391 and it means: manner of life, behavior or conduct.)

Paul in the book of Ephesians speaks of our loins being girded with truth and Jesus in the book of Matthew associates our light with good works that give God glory.

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 

Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 

Jesus starts this admonition to watch and be ready in Luke 12:35 with “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;“

What exactly does the Bible say is our light?

Mat 6:22  The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 

How can our light which is our eye, shine forth good works that glorify the Father in heaven? In Greek the word eye is ophthalmos G3788 and it means: the physical eye or metaphorically the eyes of the mind, the faculty of knowing and understanding. Here is an example of the eyes representing “knowing” in the story of the Road to Emmaus in Luke 24.

Luke 24:16  But their eyes were holden that they should not know Him. 

Luke 24:31  And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and he vanished out of their sight. 
Luke 24:32  And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures? 

So, according to Matt 5:16 and Matt 6:22; it’s what we know working in agreement (being single) with our body/actions that shine forth good works that glorify the Father in heaven, and that light keeps us ready and feeds our faith and the faith of those among His household by shining forth it’s light.

Mat 5:15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house

Let’s dig a bit more into what Jesus considers our light. In the book of John, Jesus said this about John the Baptist.

John 5:35  He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. 

In the Parable Jesus tells about the 10 Virgins in Mat 25:1-13; we see lanterns or lights being used to represent readiness to receive the Bridegroom. The 5 foolish virgins relied on the light of the 5 wise virgins for a season, just like Jesus said people did with John’s light. The 5 foolish virgins brought no oil, which is Truth, and it is what we are told to gird our loins with, and knowing this Truth and acting in agreement with it, is what keeps our lights burning.

Rev 3:2  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 
Rev 3:3  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. 

The words “hold fast” in Greek is tēreō G5083, and it means: to attend to carefully, take care of, to keep, to guard and observe.

Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. 

Jesus tells us that part of the responsibility of watching is prayer.

Mat 26:41  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 

Mar 13:33  Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 
Mar 13:34  For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 
Mar 13:35  Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 
Mar 13:36  Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 
Mar 13:37  And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. 

I don’t know if you have ever noticed this; but right after Jesus tells His disciples this about finding them sleeping; in the very next chapter Mark 14:32-42 this very scenario of Him coming suddenly and finding them sleeping plays out.

Mar 14:32  And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. (Gethsemane means: an oil press)
Mar 14:33  And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; 
Mar 14:34  And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. 
Mar 14:35  And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 
Mar 14:36  And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. 
Mar 14:37  And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? 
Mar 14:38  Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. 
Mar 14:39  And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. 
Mar 14:40  And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. 
Mar 14:41  And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 
Mar 14:42  Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.

This story is told twice, in Matthew 26 and in Mark 14 and both times it happens right after Jesus tells Peter that he will deny Him, and Peter replies that he would never do such a thing. There is a reason the place where Jesus took them was called “Gethsemane” (an oil press) because it would not only be this place where Jesus was pressed, but also the place that would determine how unready His disciples really were for their own press. If you notice, each time Jesus shared about being ready so as to not be caught unaware, He mentioned 3 specific times; the first, second or third watch, as well as midnight, the cockcrowing and morning. Jesus came upon His disciples suddenly at Gethsemane 3 times and found them sleeping all 3 times.

1Thess 5:6  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 

*This of course in not referring to the natural sleep the body needs, but rather it speaks to us not closing our eyes to the Truth we have heard and understood and always keeping it in remembrance and observing it especially when we are hard pressed.

1Pet 5:8  Be sensible, watch, because your adversary the Devil walks about as a roaring lion seeking someone he may devour;

I pray that reading this article has helped you in the area of understanding what it means to watch and be ready as it has helped me while writing it.

May the Lord Bless you and keep you, and may you stand firm and remember all that He has said. Be free and set free in Jesus name!