Mark
13:1-37
(A
Bible Study Led by Dr. Larry Reynolds)
February 14, 2013
1.
I went back and counted this week and discovered that
this is our 38th session in our journey through Mark. Since we have completed 12 chapters in this
journey, that means we have spent an average of just over three sessions to
cover each chapter. However, in this
session we are going to cover an entire chapter in a single session.
2.
Without question Mark 13 by far most difficult chapter in
Mark's gospel. And along with parallel
passages in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, this is one of most difficult parts of New
Testament to interpret. This body of
material referred to by New Testament scholars as Jesus' Olivet Discourse. That's because spoke these words while
sitting on the Mt. of Olives just to the east of Jerusalem.
The Setting (13:1-2)
It is important
to understand setting of this portion of Mark.
I believe Jesus spoke these words late in day on Tuesday of Holy Week or
Passion Week. He had spent the entire
day Tuesday in conflict with religious leaders of Jerusalem. He had endured their questions and then
exposed them as hypocrites and blind guides.
These confrontations had taken place within the Temple complex (see Mark
11:27)
Verse 1
“…going out of the temple…” – [SLIDE 1] The Jerusalem
temple (not fully completed until ca. a.d.
64) was built by the Herodian dynasty to win Jewish favor and to create a
lasting Herodian monument. It was considered an architectural wonder of the
ancient world. It was built with large white stones, polished and generously
decorated with gold (Josephus The Antiquities of the Jews 15. 11. 3-7). It
covered about 1/6 of the land area of old Jerusalem. To the Jews nothing was as
magnificent and formidable as their temple.[1] The word for temple Mark uses is hieron, which refers to the entire
temple complex. [SLIDE 2]
“…one of His disciples…” – Matthew’s
account just says the disciples made this statement, but Mark points to a
specific disciple, perhaps Peter, since he was more than likely the main source
for Mark’s Gospel.
“…wonderful stones…wonderful buildings…” – More
literally, huge stones and huge buildings.
Josephus tells us
Herod the Great used huge polished limestones … that were native to this area.
They were 25 × 8 × 12 cubits (cf. Antiquities 15:11:3). Stones of similar shape
and material are still visible at the wailing wall in Jerusalem.[2] [SLIDE 3]
Verse 2 – Jesus response no doubt shocked the disciples. The grammatical construction of His statement
is unique. Jesus used two double
negatives which makes the statement extremely strong. Literally He said, “No, not one stone will not be left that will not be torn down.”
This prophecy was fulfilled in
70 A.D. when Titus, the Roman General, ordered his soldiers to demolish the
city of Jerusalem, leveling all of the buildings, including the Temple
complex. To this day the evidence of
that destruction can be seen at the base of the western retaining wall of the
Temple. [SLIDES 4 & 5]
The
Disciples’ Question (13:3-4)
Verse 3
“…sitting on the Mt. of Olives…” – [SLIDES 6] As Jesus left the Temple
area, He passed through Kidron Valley just outside wall of Temple complex. He then walked up Mt. of Olives east of the
Temple complex. This ridge which is
about 2.5 miles in length, rises 300 to 400 feet above Jerusalem. From the Mt. of Olives one gets a magnificent
view of the Temple mount. Apparently,
they sat down for moment to rest and view the city. [SLIDES 7 & 8]
“…Peter and James and John and Andrew…” – This
detail is unique to Mark, perhaps because of Peter’s memory of the event.
Verse 4 – The key to understanding Mark 13 is understanding the
question the disciples asked in this verse.
Matthew's account makes the question a little clearer than Mark. Matthew
24:3 puts the question this way: "Tell us, when will these things
be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" While they didn't intend to do so, the disciples
really asked two questions--When will your prophecy concerning destruction of
Temple be fulfilled? And what are the
signs of Your coming at end of age? In
their minds those two events were tied together. They could not conceive of the Temple being
destroyed unless it was end of time.
However,
from our perspective we know those are two different events. The prophecy concerning the destruction of
the Temple was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Romans looted and burned Jerusalem
and tore the Temple apart stone by stone.
And, of course, the Lord's return to this world and the end of the age
has yet to occur.
In the
remainder of Mark 13 I believe Jesus is responding to both of those questions. In my opinion--
·
Verses 5-23 deal with the events leading up to the destruction
of the Temple in 70 A.D...
·
Verses 24-27 refer to the Lord's return to our world at
the end of the age...
·
Verses 28-37 contain some parables and warnings related
to being prepared for either event...
Events
leading up to the destruction of the Temple
(13:5-23)
Verse 5 – “See
to it that no one misleads you…”
This seems to be the main theme of this section. Interspersed throughout this section are some
things that have the potential of being used to mislead God’s people.
·
False
teachers – False teachers will come...just fact of life in this
world...Pointed out in v.6 that as the times became more and more perilous many
false leaders will come claiming to be the Messiah...but tells them in vv.21-22
not to believe those false teachers...
·
Social
upheaval – Social upheaval will come...just fact of life in this
world...In v.7 mentions "wars and rumors of wars" and
in v.8 mentions that "nation will rise against nation and kingdom
against kingdom…"
·
Natural
disasters - Natural disasters will come...just fact of life in
this world...Also in v.8 says "there will be earthquakes in various
places"...
·
Economic
problems – Verse 8 says “…there will be famines…” Reference to times in human history when the
economic conditions are so poor, the survival of those caught up in the
situation is at question.
·
Persecution – Verses
9-13 give an accurate description of what Christians began to experience in the
days just before Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. After the great fire in Rome in 65 AD, Nero
blamed the fire on Christians and a terrible persecution against Christians began
to spread across the Roman Empire.
"...the
one who endures to the end, he shall be saved." – It is important to understand this phrase does and does not
mean. It does not mean if saved and then
stop enduring a person is no longer saved.
Our salvation not conditional on what we do but on what God in Christ
has done for us. However, does mean, if
we are truly saved, we will endure to the end.
One mark of a true Christian is the ability to keep on keeping on....someon
has said that the Christian life is not a sprint; it is a marathon...true
believers keep on going...through persecution...through
disappointment...through discouragement... through sorrow...like the Energizer
bunny, we just keep going and going...
In I John
2:19 said this about those who claimed to be Christians but dropped out along
the way..."They went out from us, but they were not really of us;
for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went
out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us." In almost anything we do, how we
finish is as important or perhaps more important than how we begin... should be
our prayer as Christians that we will persevere and finish well...
What is
Jesus’ point in mentioning these things?
It is that these are the very things that unscrupulous teachers have
used to manipulate and mislead people in every generation. Every generation has had those who take the
events of contemporary history and tried to see in them eschatological significance. A good example of that is how every
generation seems to find a unique way to prove that some prominent
international figure is the antichrist, from Adolf Hitler to Henry Kissinger.
Verses 14-23 provide a
picture of how difficult things will become when the Romans conquer and destroy
Jerusalem.
“…abomination
of desolation…" – This is a phrase taken from the prophecy of
Daniel. Historically, the first fulfillment
of Daniel’s prophetic use of the expression (Dan. 11:31-32) was the desecration
of the temple in 167 b.c. by the
Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes. He erected an altar to the pagan Greek god
Zeus over the altar of burnt offering and sacrificed a pig on it (cf.
apocryphal 1 Maccabees 1:41-64; 6:7; and Josephus The Antiquities of the Jews
12. 5. 4). Jesus’ use of “the
abomination of desolation” referred to another fulfillment—the temple’s
desecration and destruction in a.d.
70.[3]
The return
of Christ (13:24-27)
This is the OT
apocalyptic language of the end-time (cf. Ezek. 32:7–8; Joel 2:10; 3:15;
28:3–4; Amos 8:9; also see II Esdras 5:5; Assumption of Moses 10:5; and I Enoch
80:4–7). This is a series of OT quotes: (1) v. 24 is from Isa. 13:10; (2) v. 25
is from Isa. 34:3; and (3) v. 26 is from Dan. 7:13. Yet this may refer to
upheavals in nature as the Creator approaches (cf. II Pet. 3:7, 10, 11, 12;
Rom. 8:18–22).[4]
Well aware
that equally committed and equally competent Bible scholars differ radically concerning
the events surrounding the second coming of Jesus...are a number of views, each
supported to some degree or another by Scripture, about the events surrounding
the Lord's return...not my desire today get bogged in evaluating and dissecting
those views...
But think
one thing from this passage is crystal clear and can be agreed on by all who
take the Bible seriously...and that is the time is coming when Jesus will
return to this world...doesn't say may return or might return...He will
return...according to one writer about 1/20th of NT speaks of His return...23
of the 27 NT books refer to it...are over 300 references to second coming in
Bible (Lucado, And the Angels Were Silent, p.135)...
Parables
warning us to be ready (13:28-33)
And think
most appropriate thing can learn from Mark 13 is what we should do in light of
fact that the Lord is coming back...and three times in last paragraph Jesus
states what our response should be...v.33 - "...keep on the
alert"/v.35 - "...be on the alert"/v.37 - "...be
on the alert"...
In the book And
the Angels were Silent Max Lucado tells about one of Sir Ernest
Shackleton's expeditions to the Antarctic Circle... left some men on Elephant
Island with intent of returning and taking them back to England...but
Shackleton was delayed and by time could go back for the men, the sea had
frozen and he had no access to the island...three times tried to reach them and
each time was prevented by the ice...finally, on fourth try broke through ice
and found a narrow channel leading to the island...
Much to his
surprise, when arrived found crewmen all packed and ready to board the
ship...in amazement he asked them how they knew he was coming that day...they
told him had no idea what day would return, but knew one day would come
back...so every morning when they awakened, their leader rolled up his sleeping
bag, packed his gear, and said to the crew, "Get your things ready,
boys, the boss may come today."
Not a bad
way for Christians to live...each day should say to ourselves, "Get
ready, the Lord may come today."
[1] Walvoord,
J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An
Exposition of the Scriptures (Mk 13:1). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Utl- ey,
R. J. D. (2000). Vol. Volume 2: The Gospel according to Peter: Mark and I
& II Peter. Study Guide
Commentary Series (158). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons
International.
[3] Walvoord,
J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An
Exposition of the Scriptures (Mk 13:14). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Utley, R.
J. D. (2000). Vol. Volume 2: The Gospel according to Peter: Mark and I
& II Peter. Study Guide Commentary Series (166). Marshall, Texas: Bible
Lessons International.
