Watch and Wait
And let no one in the field return for his cloak. Mark 13:16 · Berean Standard Bible
And if you're out in the field, don't go back home for your coat. There won't be time.
Your coat was important — it was your blanket at night. But Jesus said even that isn't worth the risk. Just run.
Jesus continues giving urgent escape instructions.
Every detail drives home one message: when the moment arrives, speed is everything. Possessions can be replaced; your life cannot.
Similarly, those working in fields must not return for their outer cloak (himation), normally left at the field's edge — reinforcing the theme of radical, immediate departure.
The cloak was essential for warmth and served as a blanket at night (Exodus 22:26-27), yet even this necessity must be abandoned in the emergency.
Jesus continues His instructions about fleeing the coming destruction.
The parallel prohibition against returning for a cloak reinforces the totality of the coming crisis — nothing justifies delay.
14So when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
15Let no one on the housetop go back inside to retrieve anything from his house.
16And let no one in the field return for his cloak.
17How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers!
18Pray that this will not occur in the winter.
Read all of Mark 13 — Jesus sits on the Mount of Olives and describes the end of the age. His final command is simple and relentless: stay alert.
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