But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
The Lord's warning about the last days closes with a duty, not a date: watch, pray, and stand. Two questions run through it. What escape does He promise here, and who must pray for it?
What "Escape" Means
Commentators read the escape as rescue on earth, not removal to heaven:
J. N. DarbyThe Lord gave His disciples what they needed then. He also gave it in the written word for similar times still to come. Still, though the principle is always true, verse 34 clearly applies to a day still to come on the earth. The privilege is to escape the judgments and stand before the Son of man. This again is earthly, not being caught up to heaven.
Another writer says plainly what that escape does and does not mean:
Leslie M. GrantThose who pass through those days, and especially the suffering remnant of Israel, are called to watch and pray always. They are not called to pray that they may be taken out of the hour of trial. They are called to pray that they may escape the things that come to pass. To escape here means to come through the whole tribulation alive, "and stand before the Son of Man."
The Title "Son of Man"
The title at the end of the verse belongs to His appearing in glory, not to the catching up of believers to heaven:
Leslie M. GrantThe Lord speaks of "the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (v. 27). The title "Son of Man" never refers to the rapture. It refers to His appearing in glory. The Lord is speaking of people who will pass through the tribulation on earth. If they are faithful, they will escape the snare of this antichrist and at last stand before the Son of Man.
"Counted Worthy" and "Stand"
Older translations read "accounted worthy" here, while the ESV follows another reading, "may have strength." One writer notes both, and takes the standing as a review, not a sentence:
William Kelly"Praying … may be counted worthy" (or, on another reading, "may be strong") "… to stand (be set) before the Son of Man." … This is not a judgment in the sense of John 5:24. It is the occasion when our Lord gives out reward or loss to those of the House of God. He holds His first examination then, reviewing the life of each disciple.
Commentators differ here. Some read the standing as the survivor's place on earth before the returning Son of Man. This writer reads it as a review of each disciple's life.
Why Watching and Praying Go Together
Neither command works on its own:
Hamilton SmithKnowledge by itself is not power. We need to be kept in the dependent attitude of prayer, if we are to carry out the exhortations in practice. … Persevering in prayer means more than turning to God in some special need. It means a habit of depending on Him. … The Lord warned His disciples to watch and pray. It is useless to pray about a particular temptation, or snare, if at the same time we do not watch against it.
The verses just before name what makes the command urgent:
J. N. DarbyHe then tells them that, since they live on earth, they must watch. Their own hearts could be weighed down by things that would sink them into this world — the very world in which they were to be His witnesses. For that day would come as a snare on all who had their home here, who were rooted here.
A Voice for the Believer Now
One writer puts the verse's first application in a future day, yet hears it speaking now. Two dangers pull at us: pleasure on one side, dread on the other:
F. B. HoleNo doubt those three verses, 34, 35, 36, apply in a special way to saints who will be on earth just before His appearing. But they have a great voice for the believer today. Pleasures of every kind surround us, and they may easily overload us. On the other hand, there were never more and greater dangers on the horizon. Dread may weigh our hearts down, so that we lose sight of the day that is coming. … Then we shall be wide awake, and ready to greet the Lord when He comes.
The Hope Left Unnamed
The Lord names the Person, but not the place. One writer sees room in that silence for something better than the hearers could have guessed:
J. N. DarbyThey were to watch and pray, so as to escape all those things and to stand in the presence of the Son of man. … To be with Him, as those who have escaped from the earth, and to be among the 144,000 on Mount Zion, will be one fulfilment of this blessing. But the place is not named. So, if the people He was speaking to proved faithful, the hope His words awakened would reach something better still — His heavenly presence in the day of glory.
Summary
- Snare — that day springs as a trap on everyone rooted in this world.
- Watch — stay awake to the danger; praying about a snare you refuse to watch is no use.
- Pray — knowledge is not power; only dependence on God carries the command into practice.
- Escape — here it means coming through the trouble on earth alive, not being lifted off it.
- Stand — the goal is a Person, not a place: the Son of Man Himself, with the hope left open to something better.