Download JUDAISM AND ITS TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM, REPLACED BY THE

JUDAISM AND ITS TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM,
REPLACED BY THE KINGDOM OF GOD’S SON
Mark 13:1-37
13.1 Καὶ ἐκπορευομένου αὐτο ἐκ το ἱερο λέγει αὐτ ες τν
μαθητν αὐτο, Διδάσκαλε, ἴδε ποταποὶ λίθοι καὶ ποταπαὶ οἰκοδομαί. 13.2
καὶ ὁ ̓Ιησος επεν αὐτ, Βλέπεις ταύτας τὰς μεγάλας οἰκοδομάς; οὐ μὴ
ἀφεθ δε λίθος ἐπὶ λίθον ὃς οὐ μὴ καταλυθ.
13.1 And as he is going out from the temple, one of the disciples
of his says to him, "Teacher, look--what kind of stones, and what kind
of buildings!" 13.2 And the Jesus said to him, "You see these, the
great buildings? There will not be left here a stone upon a stone that
will not be thrown down!"
13.3 Καὶ καθημένου αὐτο εἰς τὸ ῎Ορος τν ̓Ελαιν κατέναντι το
ἱερο ἐπηρώτα αὐτὸν κατ̓ ἰδίαν Πέτρος καὶ ̓Ιάκωβος καὶ ̓Ιωάννης
καὶ ̓Ανδρέα 13.4 Εἰπὸν ἡμν πότε τατα ἔσται καὶ τί τὸ σημεον ὅταν
μέλλῃ τατα συντελεσθαι πάντα;
13.3 And as he is sitting in the Mountain of the Olive-Orchards,
opposite the temple, Peter was asking him privately, also Jacob, and
John and Andrew, 13.4 "Tell us, when will these things be? And what
(is) the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?"
13.5 ὁ δὲ ̓Ιησος ἤρξατο λέγειν αὐτος, Βλέπετε μή τις ὑμς
πλανήσῃ· 13.6 πολλοὶ ἐλεύσονται ἐπὶ τ ὀνόματί μου λέγοντες ὅτι ̓Εγώ
εἰμι, καὶ πολλοὺς πλανήσουσιν. 13.7 ὅταν δὲ ἀκούσητε πολέμους καὶ ἀκοὰς
πολέμων, μὴ θροεσθε· δε γενέσθαι, ἀλλ̓ οὔπω τὸ τέλος. 13.8
ἐγερθήσεται γὰρ ἔθνος ἐπ̓ ἔθνος καὶ βασιλεία ἐπὶ βασιλείαν, ἔσονται
σεισμοὶ κατὰ τόπους, ἔσονται λιμοί· ἀρχὴ ὠδίνων τατα.
13.5 So then the Jesus began to say to them, "Watch out--so that
no one may lead you astray! 13.6 Many will come in the name of mine,
saying that 'I, I am!' And they will lead many astray. 13.7 So then
when you may hear (of) wars, and reports of wars, don't be frightened.
It is necessary to happen--but rather, the end (is) not yet. 13.8 For
nation will be raised up against nation; and kingdom against kingdom;
there will be earth-quakes in various places; there will be famines.
These things (are) a beginning of birth-pains!
13.9 βλέπετε δὲ ὑμες ἑαυτούς· παραδώσουσιν ὑμς εἰς συνέδρια καὶ
εἰς συναγωγὰς δαρήσεσθε καὶ ἐπὶ ἡγεμόνων καὶ βασιλέων σταθήσεσθε ἕνεκεν
ἐμο εἰς μαρτύριον αὐτος. 13.10 καὶ εἰς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη πρτον δε
κηρυχθναι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον. 13.11 καὶ ὅταν ἄγωσιν ὑμς παραδιδόντες, μὴ
προμεριμντε τί λαλήσητε, ἀλλ̓ ὃ ἐὰν δοθ ὑμν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τ ὥρᾳ τοτο
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λαλετε· οὐ γάρ ἐστε ὑμες οἱ λαλοντες ἀλλὰ τὸ πνεμα τὸ ἅγιον. 13.12
καὶ παραδώσει ἀδελφὸς ἀδελφὸν εἰς θάνατον καὶ πατὴρ τέκνον, καὶ
ἐπαναστήσονται τέκνα ἐπὶ γονες καὶ θανατώσουσιν αὐτούς· 13.13 καὶ
ἔσεσθε μισούμενοι ὑπὸ πάντων διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου. ὁ δὲ ὑπομείνας εἰς τέλος
οτος σωθήσεται.
13.9 "But then you people, watch out (for) yourselves! They will
hand you over to governing bodies, and you will be beaten in gatheringplaces; and you will be brought before governors and kings on my behalf,
for a testimony to them. 13.10 And it is necessary first for the Good
News to be proclaimed to all the nations. 13.11 And when they may lead
you people away, handing you over, don't be anxious beforehand what you
should say, but rather, whatever may be given to you in that hour, say
this--for it is not you people, the ones speaking, but rather the Setapart Spirit. 13.12 And brother will hand over brother to death, and a
father a child, and children will rise up against parents, and they will
put them to death. 13.13 And you will be hated by all, on account of
the name of mine. But then the one enduring to (the) end, this one will
be delivered!
13.14 ῞Οταν δὲ ἴδητε τὸ βδέλυγμα τς ἐρημώσεως ἑστηκότα ὅπου οὐ
δε, ὁ ἀναγινώσκων νοείτω, τότε οἱ ἐν τ ̓Ιουδαίᾳ φευγέτωσαν εἰς τὰ
ὄρη, 13.15 ὁ [δὲ] ἐπὶ το δώματος μὴ καταβάτω μηδὲ εἰσελθάτω ραί τι ἐκ
τς οἰκίας αὐτο, 13.16 καὶ ὁ εἰς τὸν ἀγρὸν μὴ ἐπιστρεψάτω εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω
ραι τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτο. 13.17 οὐαὶ δὲ τας ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσαις καὶ τας
θηλαζούσαις ἐν ἐκείναις τας ἡμέραις. 13.18 προσεύχεσθε δὲ ἵνα μὴ
γένηται χειμνος· 13.19 ἔσονται γὰρ αἱ ἡμέραι ἐκεναι θλψις οἵα οὐ
γέγονεν τοιαύτη ἀπ̓ ἀρχς κτίσεως ἣν ἔκτισεν ὁ θεὸς ἕως το νν καὶ οὐ
μὴ γένηται. 13.20 καὶ εἰ μὴ ἐκολόβωσεν κύριος τὰς ἡμέρας, οὐκ ἂν ἐσώθη
πσα σάρξ· ἀλλὰ διὰ τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς οὓς ἐξελέξατο ἐκολόβωσεν τὰς ἡμέρας.
13.14 "So then when you may see 'the detestable thing of the
desolation' having stood where it should not”--let the one reading
understand!--"then let those who are in Judea escape into the mountains!
13.15 [And then] let the one upon the house-top not come down nor enter
in to carry anything out of the house of his! 13.16 And let the one in
the field not turn back to the things behind to get his coat! 13.17 So
then how sad for those who are pregnant, and for those who are breastfeeding in those days! 13.18 So then pray that it may not happen in
winter! 13.19 For those days will be a distress, of such a kind as has
not happened since the beginning of creation which God created, until
now--and should not happen! 13.20 And if (the) Lord did not shorten
the days, no flesh would be delivered!
But rather, because of the
chosen people, whom he chose, he shortened the days.
13.21 καὶ τότε ἐάν τις ὑμν εἴπῃ, ῎Ιδε δε ὁ Χριστός, ῎Ιδε ἐκε,
μὴ πιστεύετε· 13.22 ἐγερθήσονται γὰρ ψευδόχριστοι καὶ ψευδοπροφται καὶ
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δώσουσιν σημεα καὶ τέρατα πρὸς τὸ ἀποπλανν, εἰ δυνατόν, τοὺς
ἐκλεκτούς. 13.23 ὑμες δὲ βλέπετε· προείρηκα ὑμν πάντα.
13.21 "And then, if anyone should say to you people, 'Look! Here
(is) the Anointed One!' 'Look, there!', don't believe (it)! 13.22 For
false anointed ones and false spokespersons will be raised up, and they
will give signs and wonders, in order to cause the chosen ones, if
possible, to go astray. 13.23 So then you people, watch out! I have
forewarned you (of) all things.
13.24 ̓Αλλὰ ἐν ἐκείναις τας ἡμέραις μετὰ τὴν θλψιν ἐκείνην ὁ
ἥλιος σκοτισθήσεται, καὶ ἡ σελήνη οὐ δώσει τὸ φέγγος αὐτς, 13.25 καὶ
οἱ ἀστέρες ἔσονται ἐκ το οὐρανο πίπτοντες, καὶ αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ ἐν τος
οὐρανος σαλευθήσονται. 13.26 καὶ τότε ὄψονται τὸν υἱὸν το ἀνθρώπου
ἐρχόμενον ἐν νεφέλαις μετὰ δυνάμεως πολλς καὶ δόξης. 13.27 καὶ τότε
ἀποστελε τοὺς ἀγγέλους καὶ ἐπισυνάξει τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς [αὐτο] ἐκ τν
τεσσάρων ἀνέμων ἀπ̓ ἄκρου γς ἕως ἄκρου οὐρανο.
13.24 "But rather, in those days, after that distress, the sun
will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 13.25 and the
stars will be falling out of the heaven, and the powers, the ones in the
heavens will be shaken. 13.26 And then they will see the Son of the
Person, coming in clouds, with great power and radiant glory. 13.27
And then he will send out the messengers, and he will gather together
the chosen ones [of his] out of the four winds, from earth’s corner to
heaven’s corner.
13.28 ̓Απὸ δὲ τς συκς μάθετε τὴν παραβολήν· ὅταν ἤδη ὁ κλάδος
αὐτς ἁπαλὸς γένηται καὶ ἐκφύῃ τὰ φύλλα, γινώσκετε ὅτι ἐγγὺς τὸ θέρος
ἐστίν· 13.29 οὕτως καὶ ὑμες, ὅταν ἴδητε τατα γινόμενα, γινώσκετε ὅτι
ἐγγύς ἐστιν ἐπὶ θύραις. 13.30 ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμν ὅτι οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἡ γενεὰ
αὕτη μέχρις ο τατα πάντα γένηται. 13.31 ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γ
παρελεύσονται, οἱ δὲ λόγοι μου οὐ μὴ παρελεύσονται.
13.28 "So then from the fig-tree learn the comparison: when
already the branch of it may become tender, and may put forth the
leaves, you know that the summer is near. 13.29 In this way also, you
people, when you may see these things happening, know that it is near,
at (the) doors. 13.30 Truly I say to you people, that this generation
may not pass away until all these things should happen! 13.31 The
heaven and the earth will pass away, but then the words of mine will not
pass away!
13.32 Περὶ δὲ τς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης ἢ τς ὥρας οὐδεὶς οδεν, οὐδὲ οἱ
ἄγγελοι ἐν οὐραν οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός, εἰ μὴ ὁ πατήρ. 13.33 βλέπετε,
ἀγρυπνετε· οὐκ οἴδατε γὰρ πότε ὁ καιρός ἐστιν. 13.34 ὡς ἄνθρωπος
ἀπόδημος ἀφεὶς τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτο καὶ δοὺς τος δούλοις αὐτο τὴν
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ἐξουσίαν ἑκάστῳ τὸ ἔργον αὐτο καὶ τ θυρωρ ἐνετείλατο ἵνα γρηγορ.
13.35 γρηγορετε ον· οὐκ οἴδατε γὰρ πότε ὁ κύριος τς οἰκίας ἔρχεται,
ἢ ὀψὲ ἢ μεσονύκτιον ἢ ἀλεκτοροφωνίας ἢ πρωῒ, 13.36 μὴ ἐλθὼν ἐξαίφνης
εὕρῃ ὑμς καθεύδοντας. 13.37 ὃ δὲ ὑμν λέγω πσιν λέγω, γρηγορετε.
13.32 "But then concerning that day, or the hour, no one knows-not even the messengers in heaven, not even the Son–only the Father!
13.33 Watch out; be on the alert! For you people do not know when the
time is. 13.34 Like a person, a traveler, (who), leaving his house,
and giving to his slaves the responsibility, to each one his task, and
gave order to the door-keeper that he should be wide awake–13.35 you
therefore must be wide awake, for you do not know when the master of the
house is coming, whether at evening, or at midnight, or at roostercrowing, or at early morning. 13.36 (So that if) coming unexpectedly,
he may not find you people sleeping. 13.37 So then what I say to you
people, I say to all, 'Be wide awake!'"
Text with Footnotes:2184
2184Mark
13 is very important for many reasons. It has been part of
the biblical basis used by many religious leaders in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries for predicting the “end of time,” the “final
catastrophe,” the “end of the world.” It (along with its parallel
passages in Matthew 24 and Luke 21) has also been used by reputable
biblical scholars as a basis for dating the authorship of the Gospels.
They have held that these Gospels must have been written after 70 A.D.,
because they refer pointedly and graphically to the destruction of
Jerusalem and its temple which occurred in 70 A.D., and therefore they
must have been written after that event. This conclusion, however, is
not at all necessary–for what Jesus predicts in this chapter is closely
similar to what Amos predicted concerning the destruction of Samaria,
and what Jeremiah and Ezekiel predicted concerning the destruction of
Jerusalem and its temple. Biblical Theology depicts God’s spokespersons
as having been given clear messages concerning on-coming catastrophes
before their happening–else, what was the value of their warnings? It
is only the non-biblical assumption that Jesus could not predict the oncoming destruction that causes
these scholars to draw the conclusion concerning the dating of the
Gospels after this event.
Before continuing with the study of these notes, please read the
entire chapter carefully, both in the translation given here, and in at
least two other translations, comparing and contrasting their
differences. Then see if you can answer the following questions, before
going further with your study:
1. Can you draw a picture in your mind of the Jewish temple as it
existed before 70 A.D.? Where was it located? What did it look like?
How can we find any genuine information with regards to these questions?
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What can modern archaeology tell us?
2. Where was Jesus located, as he spoke about the terrifying
future awaiting the Jewish temple?
3. When Jesus speaks of “the end,” what does he mean? Are there
other places in the Jewish Bible that speak in this way of “the end”?
Where are they? What do they mean?
4. What does Jesus mean when he speaks of his disciples’ seeing
“the detestable thing of desolation”? Where does such language come
from? Can you possibly understand this matter without knowing a great
deal about Ezekiel and Daniel?
5. Are there clear signs of the author of Mark’s “editorial
comment” in this chapter? Where?
6. Jesus predicts the coming of “false anointed (kings),” and
“false spokespersons” before the destruction of the temple. Did his
prediction come true? Where can we learn about these things?
7. Is there biblical precedent for the “cosmological phenomena”
that Jesus predicts in verses 24-25? Where can it be found? To what
does it refer? Is such biblical language meant literally, or
symbolically?
8. When Jesus predicts the coming of the Son of the Person “with
the clouds,” what does he mean? Is this a description of his “SecondComing” at the “end of time”? Where is this language rooted in the
Jewish Bible?
9. What does Jesus’ language say concerning people who attempt to
date the time of “the end,” or the time of the “coming with the clouds”?
Do they know more than the heavenly messengers, or more than the Son of
God himself?
10. If we can’t know “the time of the end,” what can we know?
France states concerning this chapter that “...The old structure of
authority in which God’s relationship with his people has hitherto been
focused, is due for replacement. The language of a [temple not made by
human hands] to replace the existing man-made structure (14:58), while
it is not explicit at this point, is clearly implied. As Matthew 12:6
has it, ‘Something greater than the temple is here.’ The discourse [of
Jesus in this chapter] will fill out the nature of that ‘something
greater.’” (P. 494)
Again, he states, “The mutual hostility between Jesus and the
Jerusalem establishment has now reached its culmination in Jesus’ open
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13.12185 And as he is going out from the temple,2186 one2187 of the
disciples of his
prediction of the destruction of the temple, with its powerful symbolism
of the end of the existing order and the implication that something new
is to take its place. This is to be a time of unprecedented upheaval in
the life and leadership of the people of God. Jerusalem and the temple
which is the focus of its authority, is about to lose its central role
in God’s economy. The divine government, the basilei,a tou/ qeou/,
basileia tou theou, ‘Kingdom of the God,’ is to find a new focus.” (Pp.
497-98)
2185The story of religious leaders in the United States of America
during the 19th and 20th centuries who have used the Bible as a basis
for declaring the soon-coming "End of the World" is very important for
us to remember and understand.
William Miller, who was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1782,
began studying the Bible in his mid-thirties--using only the King James
Bible and a Cruden's Concordance. He came to believe that the main
thrust of the biblical message related to the "end-times," and he also
became convinced that the Bible clearly indicated the point in history
when Christ would return.
In addition to studying the Bible, Miller paid close attention to
world affairs--and it was this combination that led him to conclude that
the return of Christ was near. He said, "Finding all the signs of the
times and the present condition of the world to compare harmoniously
with the prophetic descriptions of the last days, I was compelled to
believe that this world had about reached the limits of the period
allotted for its continuance." But Miller was not only certain that his
generation was the last generation. He searched out
prophetic passages for specific clues that would pinpoint the Lord's
second coming, and found the information he was looking for in the Book
of Daniel.
Miller noted that Daniel speaks of a period of 2,300 days, of a
period of seventy weeks, and of another period of 1,335 days. He
thought that these "days" meant "years," and manipulated the periods in
such a way that he reached the following conclusion: "Reckoning all
these prophetic periods from the several dates assigned by the best
chronologers for the events from which they should evidently be
reckoned, they would all terminate together, about A.D. 1843."
At first, no one would pay much attention to Miller--but then he
enlisted an advertiser in his service, and began to spread his
conclusions nation-wide, through a Boston-based newspaper, "The Sign of
the Times," and in 1842 in the New York based "The Midnight Cry." The
movement began to spread rapidly, and as the clock ran down on Miller's
momentous year, excitement began to build. You can imagine what
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happened. The year 1843 came and went, with nothing happening, and
Miller told his disciples that the calendar year 1843 had been extended
into 1844--to March 21, the time of the vernal equinox. Many of
Miller's disciples honestly believed that the world would come to an end
on that day, and when it didn't, were caught up in what came to be known
as "The Great Disappointment."
Later, disappointed disciples of Miller found a way to solve their
Great Disappointment. One of his disciples had a vision, in which he
saw the Lord coming--not on the very day Miller had calculated, March
21, 1844, but on the tenth day of the seventh month (the Jewish "Day of
Atonement"), on October 22, 1844--only, he came not to earth, but
instead entered into the heavenly "Holy of Holies," to "cleanse the
heavenly sanctuary," in what later came to be known among Seventh Day
Adventists as the "Investigative Judgment."
Among those who were deeply influenced by the views of William
Miller, and Seventh Day Adventism, was a man by the name of Charles Taze
Russell (1852-1916). In 1879, Russell began a publication by the name
of "Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence." Russell had
become convinced that Christ had invisibly returned in 1874, and was
present in the world, preparing his armies for the great, soon-coming
"Battle of Armageddon."
Russell determined that the year 1914 would be the crucial
prophetic date to watch for. He too based many of his calculations on
the Book of Daniel, using the expression "seven times" as a key
expression for making calculations. It meant seven prophetic years of
360 days, equaling 2,520 days, and by arbitrarily beginning that period
in 607 B.C., Russell reached the year 1914--which, of course, was the
year when the First World War began. Russell tied in Jesus' words
spoken in Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21, and insisted that this date,
1914, was the end of the world pointed to by Jesus in those chapters.
Jesus had predicted that "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against
kingdom." Here was something never seen before--for the first time in
history the whole world was at war!
And even though the world didn't come to an end in 1914, Russell
and his disciples, the “Jehovah's Witnesses,” continued to insist that
1914 was the date when Christ's active rulership on earth began. The
secretly returned Lord had begun judgment on the world in 1914, and had
selected the Watch Tower organization as his means for sending his
message out to all the world.
Following Russell's death, he was succeeded by a man named Joseph
Franklin Rutherford (1869-1942), known as "Judge Rutherford."
Rutherford downplayed the significance of the year 1874, and focused the
attention of the Witnesses on the year 1925, when, he claimed, "the
completion of all things" would take place. Basing his view on the Book
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of Revelation, Rutherford taught that the Battle of Armageddon would be
a universal war, during which time all people outside the Watch Tower
organization would be destroyed. Only a remnant of 144,000 would then
go to heaven, and the remainder would spend eternity on earth. It was
another tremendous disappointment when the year 1925 came and went with
no such thing occurring.
Later Jehovah's Witnesses, in 1966, made the prediction that the
year 1975 would be the end of the world. This date was based on
findings that showed there had been a one-hundred-year miscalculation in
the original designation of 1874 as the end of the world. Once again,
Witnesses were swept up in enthusiasm, preparing for the soon-coming
end. When 1975 came and went with no end of the world, many of the
Witnesses were disenchanted, and began to leave the organization in
record numbers (almost 40 percent left). How it has been done seems
strange, but still today this organization, a descendant of William
Miller's date-setting, continues to grow and thrive despite those losses
following 1975.
Another "descendant" of William Miller's date-setting belongs to
the twentieth century: Herbert W. Armstrong. Armstrong was born in
Iowa, and was a very active advertiser, who had no interest in religion.
However, his wife became a Seventh Day Adventist, and during the 1920's,
when Armstrong suffered financial disaster, he began to challenge her
religious beliefs and began to read the Bible for himself. In 1928 he
began preaching, and in 1934 began an independent ministry based on his
radio program, "The Radio Church of God." He also began printing his
message in a publication sent free to any inquirer, called "The Plain
Truth." Armstrong believed that God had called him to be the twentieth
century "Apostle," just as he had called Jesus and Paul in the first
century.
According to Armstrong, the history of the world would be limited
to a period of 6,000 years, followed by a thousand year "Millennium" He
held that God created the world in 4,075 B.C., and so concluded that
1975 would be the time of "the end." Beginning in 1966, he predicted
that this "Wonderful World Tomorrow" would come about in just ten or
fifteen years. Armstrong taught that the most pivotal prophecy in all
the Bible was to be found in Leviticus 26, where YHWH states, "I will
punish you seven times more for your sins." Armstrong dated that
prophecy at 717 B.C. Then, figuring the "seven times" as being actually
seven years of 360 days, and taking each day to mean one year, he came
up with 2,520 years, which brought him to 1800 or 1803. That was the
time, Armstrong insisted, when Great Britain and America "entered into
their birth-right." These two nations, the descendants of Joseph (a
theory called "British Israel"), had come into possession of almost
three-fourths of the world's resources!
Then, Armstrong taught, God's "birth-right blessing" was taken from
Britain and America in the mid-twentieth century--as they suffered the
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First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War. No longer
was the divine blessing seen being placed on these two nations.
Armstrong, although timid about setting specific dates, pointed forward
to the year 1972, when the end of the world as we know it would come.
When that date failed, he did not despair--but later, in 1978, wrote
that "Happily, the 6,000-year sentence on Adam's world--being cut off
from God, is due to end in our present living generation."
Within his life-time, Armstrong held, Satan would be banished, and the
Millennium would begin. But Armstrong died in 1986, and still his
predictions have not come to pass.
You may ask, "Why bring all of this up? What difference does all
of this make to us?" The answer is, it is just this use of the Bible
that has caused millions of Americans (and others all around the world)
to lose faith in the Bible, and to conclude that the book
that teaches such things as this deserves to be put aside and forgotten!
Many of our young people, having grown up in the churches that have
taught this way of interpreting the Bible, and having gone away to
college and university, where, beginning to think for themselves, have
decided that they want no part of the Bible.
We have to ask ourselves, "Is this truly what the Bible teaches?"
And, "Is there a better interpretation, that can truly make sense of the
biblical message, without leading to such fantastic and misleading
teachings?" Our answer is, "No, this is not at all what the Bible
teaches!" and, "Yes, there is a better way--a much better way--of
understanding the biblical message, a way that makes sense, and that
meets genuine human need in this twenty-first century!"
Commentators on Mark 13 have commonly entitled this chapter
something like "The Drama of the Last Days" (Hugh Anderson, p. 287), and
have insisted that the technical vocabulary and language of Jewish
"Apocalyptic" literature is used in this chapter, in an attempt to
describe the ultimate "end of the world." As a result, this chapter
(along with its parallels in Matthew 24 and Luke 21) has been used by
these modern predictors of the "end of time." But we insist that such
an understanding of the chapter has been imported into it--for in fact,
this chapter is not about the so-called “end of time,” or “the end of
the world,” but is concerned with the destruction of Jerusalem and its
temple, and the end of the first century world of Judaism--to be
followed by the coming of the Kingdom of the Son of the Person in human
history, which will serve as the "universal temple" for humanity's
worship.
Here, in our interpretation of the chapter, we intend to show how
this chapter deals with the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, an
historical event that occurred in the first century (70 A.D.), during
the life-time of the contemporary generation of Jesus. We will show
that the language of this chapter is rooted, not in the "Apocalyptic
1219
Literature" that
Anderson claims, but in the Jewish Bible's motif of the "Day of YHWH."
And with that, we will show how the teaching of Jesus is both factually
true, and gives us the basis for hope in our modern world.
The “Day of YHWH as described throughout the Jewish Bible is an
"eternal day"-one that comes again and again in human history, announcing the "end" of
mighty earthly powers, when the enemies of YHWH God are completely overthrown--including his own chosen people, and their sanctuary, when they
turn away from him to make something else their highest loyalty in life.
Such "comings of the end" have occurred numerous times in the Bible--for
example, that day came on Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18-19), and on the
Capital City of Israel, Samaria (called "the end" in Amos 8:2), and on
the City of Jerusalem (see Ezekiel 7, where the words "the end has
come!" occur over and over, with regards to the fall of Jerusalem), and
on the worldly power Babylon (as described in Isaiah 13:1-14:27).
Jesus announces the coming of just such a day of YHWH upon
Jerusalem and its temple, because Israel has rejected him, God's chosen
King. It means "the end" of the Jewish temple, and of the Levitical
sacrificial system there. But it does not mean the "end of the world,"
or the end of the worship of God--for in the place of that ancient
Jewish temple and sacrificial system there will be the "Coming of the
Kingdom of the Son of the Person," a Kingdom made up of people called
from every nation and people, who live the new life taught and
exemplified by Jesus, who bring hope and peace to all the earth, and who
worship God "in spirt and in truth" (John 4) from the new temple of God,
not made with human hands, but built by the Spirit of God at work in
their hearts!
If this is to be described as "Apocalyptic," then it is the kind of
"Apocalyptic" commonly found in the Jewish Bible, in its descriptions of
the divine overthrow of numerous kingdoms and cities on the "Day of
YHWH"--not that of the bizarre materials found in the Pseudepigrapha of
Judaism, or in the dreams and visions of these men such as Miller,
Russell, Rutherford, Armstrong, or other modern-day proclaimers of the
end of time, such as David Koresh.
2186The Jewish temple in Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Gospel of
Mark until 11:11, where Jesus is described as entering into the temple.
From that point on, the ministry of Jesus is largely centered in the
temple--see 11:15, 16, 27; 12:35; here, 13:1 (Schweizer speculates that
this may be meant by Mark as depicting the definitive separation between
Jesus and the Judaism of his day, p. 267), 13:3; and 14:49. France
comments that “Jesus has been in the temple continuously since 11:27;
now he leaves it, and will not return again in Mark’s narrative.” (P.
495)
The biblical treatment of the temple of God is one of the most
important theological themes in both the Jewish Bible and the Christian
1220
scriptures. The importance of the "central sanctuary" in Israel, over
against the pagan temples located throughout the country, plays a
dynamic role in the Deuteronomic protest against idolatry, and the
treatment of YHWH as simply another fertility god like the Canaanite
Baal.
Still, the Jewish Bible reveals a worship of the Most High God that
existed in Jerusalem, and in other places throughout Israel, and in
other countries--long before the building of the temple by Solomon. The
Canaanite high priest by the name of Melchizedek worshiped there, and
Abraham shared in that worship according to Genesis 14. Cain and Abel
worshiped; Noah worshiped; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all worshiped God–
all of these long before the building of the temple of Solomon. There
are texts that declare any earthly temple is far too small a building to
be the "dwelling-place" of YHWH, who is God of all the earth, and can
even be worshiped from the belly of a large fish (as in Jonah 2). See
such passages as Isaiah 66:1-2; 57:15; 1 Kings 6:27 and Jeremiah 23:24.
The New Testament goes to great length to show that the true and
living God is indeed God of all the earth, whose worship is centered in
the temple of the human heart, not on one certain mountain or another,
but wherever and whenever human beings seek after him "in spirit and in
truth" (see especially John 4:16-26). But for Orthodox Judaism in the
time of Jesus, the unique importance of the temple in Jerusalem was a
basic belief, as can be demonstrated clearly from the Jewish Mishnah.
In the tractate Kelim 1:6-9, it is stated that: "There are ten degrees
of holiness. The Land of Israel is holier than any other land...The
walled cities of the Land of Israel are still more holy...Within the
wall of Jerusalem is still more holy...The Temple Mount is still more
holy...The Rampart is still more holy...The Court of the Women is still
more holy...The Court of the Israelites is still more holy...The Court
of the Priests is still more holy...Between the Porch and the Altar is
still more holy...The Sanctuary is still more holy...The Holy of Holies
is still more holy." That is, the "holiest" place on earth is at the
heart of the temple in Jerusalem. It is the place, according to
Orthodox Judaism, where YHWH God meets with his people; it is the only
legitimate place of sacrificial worship.
This view, of course, was faced with incredible difficulty
following the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. by the Roman armies
of Titus, when it became impossible for the temple worship to continue.
But for the disciples of Jesus, largely on the basis of the teaching of
Jesus as reflected in Mark 13, this constituted no problem at all. The
"new temple" of YHWH God was to be found wherever the messengers of the
risen Jesus proclaimed the gospel, the good news, Jesus was welcomed
into human hearts in obedient faith–and as a result of that
proclamation, people from all races and nations entered into the
"Kingdom of the Son of the Person," and the Church made up of his
1221
says2188 to him, "Teacher, look--what kind of2189 stones,2190 and what kind
of2191 buildings!"2192
the great buildings?
13.2
And the Jesus said to him,2193 "You see these,
There will not be
disciples, known as the "Body of Anointed One Jesus" was viewed as the
new spiritual temple. That new temple was to be found wherever faith in
the risen Lord Jesus was found, with YHWH God's worship ascending from
the hearts of his "New Israel." It was the conviction of the early
Christians that God himself had decreed and carried through the total
destruction of Judaism's temple--replacing it with the "new temple"
universal in nature, centered in the hearts of those who accepted and
followed Jesus as their Lord and King, and as the High Priest par
excellence, who reigns in the true "Holy of Holies," at the right hand
of God, and in their hearts, wherever they might be!
2187The preposition evk, ek, “out of,” is interpolated into the text
by Alexandrinus, Bezae, Delta, Theta, Families 1 and 13 of Minuscules,
Minuscules 28, 565, 579, 700, 892, 2542, some other Greek manuscripts
and the Coptic tradition.
The text without this preposition is read by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus,
L, W, Psi, Minuscules 33, 2427 and the “Majority Text.”
The interpolated word does not change the meaning of Mark, but is
an attempt by copyists and translators to “enhance” the original text.
2188Once again Mark uses the present tense (the present participle
ἐκπορευομένου, ekporeuomenou; the present indicative verb λέγει, legei,
“he says”) in a story of the past,
thereby treating his readers as if they were present, listening in on
the conversation between Jesus and his disciples.
2189The nominative plural adjective po,tapoi, potapoi normally
means "of what sort or kind," but here the context seems to demand the
meaning "how great, how wonderful." See France, p. 496, for this same
conclusion.
2190Meir Ben-Dov, in the book In The Shadow of the Temple, describes
the stones used in the massive retaining-walls built around the temple
in Jerusalem: "The technique of
using high retaining walls to extend the level area around the sanctuary
was chosen because it provided solutions to a number of construction and
aesthetic problems. Whoever examines the Temple Mount's walls as they
have been exposed by our archaeological excavations is amazed by the
high quality of their construction. Two thousand years have passed
since these walls were built, yet they are still as solid and sturdy as
if they had been built rather recently...If we examine the spots where
the stones meet, we can see that they have not moved at all, not even so
much as a millimeter...
1222
"The secret of the strength of these retaining walls lies first and
foremost in their remarkable foundations, which were always built on
bedrock. Sometimes the masons dug down only 2 meters before reaching
bedrock, sometimes they had to go down 7-10 meters. Occasionally the
wall's foundation extended 20 meters below street level, for that is how
deep the bedrock was and there was absolutely no exception to the rule
that the wall's foundation was to be built on the natural rock...
"The smallest of these blocks--and the majority of the stones used
in the walls--weighed 2-5 tons. Many other weighed 10 tons or more, and
some stones (particularly at the corners) exceeded even that weight; the
southwest corner of the Temple Mount contains ashlars that weigh about
50 tons a piece! The length of such a stone is 12 meters, and its
height is 1 meter, and its thickness is 2.5 meters. A number of massive
stones were also uncovered in the western wall north of Wilson's Arch.
Unequaled in size anywhere in the ancient world, one of these blocks is
12 meters long, 3 meters high, about 4 meters thick, and weighs close to
400 tons! The use of such monumental stones solved the problem of
stability and is responsible for the fact that the walls still stand in
our own day, 2,000 years after being built." (Pp. 87-88) The temple
itself was also built out of massive stones. See footnote 2192 for
Josephus' description of the huge white marble stones used in
construction of the temple.
footnote 2189. The same adjective, po,tapoi, “how
great” is used here.
2192France comments that “The unnamed disciple’s admiration of the
temple buildings would be typical of a Galilean visitor to Jerusalem.”
(P. 496)
2191Compare
Modern archaeological research has furnished much additional
information concerning the nature of the Jewish temple and its environs.
See Meir Ben-Dov’s book referred to in footnote 2190. Ben-Dov gives an
archaeologist's rendition of what the temple probably looked like in the
first century, following its reconstruction by Herod the Great--see
pages 98-101.
The temple buildings were renowned throughout the first-century
world. Lane describes them as "A mountain of white marble decorated
with gold [that] dominated the Kidron gorge as an object of dazzling
beauty." (P. 451) His opinion is based on the description of the
temple given by the first century historian Josephus:
"[The first gate opening into the temple facade had its] entire
face...completely overlaid with gold, as was the whole wall around it.
It had, moreover, above it those golden vines, from which depended
1223
grape-clusters as tall as a man; and it had golden doors fifty-five
cubits high and sixteen broad..." (The Jewish War, V. 210-11)
"The exterior of the building wanted nothing that could astound
either mind or eye. For, being covered on all sides with massive plates
of gold, the sun was no sooner up than it radiated so fiery a flash that
persons straining to look at it were compelled to avert their eyes, as
from the solar rays. To approaching strangers it appeared from a
distance like a snow-clad mountain; for all that was not overlaid with
gold was of purest white. From its summit protruded sharp golden spikes
to prevent birds from settling upon and polluting the
roof. Some of the stones in that building were forty-five cubits in
length, five in height and six in breadth." (The Jewish War, V. 222-24)
The Roman historian Tacitus stated that "...Titus [the Roman
general who conquered Jerusalem]...declared that the first thing to
decide [after the fall of Jerusalem] was whether or not to destroy the
temple, one of humanity's consummate building achievements. A few of
[his officers] felt that it would not be right to destroy a holy
building renowned as one of the greatest products of human endeavor..."
(Quoted by Ben-Dov, p. 73) A favorite saying of the Jewish Rabbis was,
"Whoever has not seen Herod's building has never seen a beautiful
structure." (Ibid.) Ben-Dov has given a sketch of what the temple
facade probably looked like--see his page 40.
Luccock notes that Jesus had just been impressed by the sight of
the poor widow woman making her tiny offering, and had said, "Look at
that!" His disciples, however, were impressed by the sight of the
magnificent temple complex, with its massive stones, and said "Look at
that!" "Both Jesus and the disciple said...it in wonder and awe. But
they were looking at different things. The disciple said, 'Look at the
buildings!'--'What a size!'
"...Jesus also said 'Look!' But he was staring at a poor woman
whose self-forgetful sacrifice was far more wonderful than any stones.
Jesus was interested in quality of life, not in quantity of
material...In a world full of stones thrown down into ruins because of
the moral and religious failure of [people] and nations, the words of
Jesus, his judgment on mere size and quantity, have inescapable
force...And what have we to say to him? 'Look, Master, at this! What
wonderful buildings! It is St. Croesus' Church, with a floor space
almost equal to the railroad station!' He is not impressed. As on the
day of Mark's story, his eye wanders off in search of other things,
evidences of a richness of inner life and
devotion to God's kingdom. He looks for the love and sacrifice akin to
the gift of a poor widow." (Pp. 854-55)
2193The phrase καὶ ὁ ̓Ιησος επεν αὐτ, kai ho Iesous eipen auto,
literally “And the Jesus said to him,” is read by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus,
L, Psi, Minuscules 33, 579, 892, 2427 (see), a few other Greek
manuscripts, the Sinaitic Syriac (see), the Peshitta Syriac, a few
1224
left here2194 a stone upon a stone2195 that will not be thrown down!"2196
manuscripts of the Sahidic Coptic, and the Bohairic Coptic.
The phrase is changed to read kai. o` vIhsou/j avpokriqei.j
ei=pen auvtw/|, kai ho Iesous apokritheis (many Greek manuscripts read
this verb in a different word-order) eipen auto, literally “And the
Jesus, answering, said to him,” by Alexandrinus, Bezae (see), Families 1
(see) and 13 of Minuscules, the “Majority Text,” the Latin Vulgate, a
few of the Old Latin witnesses (see), some manuscripts of the Sahidic
Coptic (see), and the Harclean Syriac.
W and Theta have this same variant reading, only without the
article and name, o` vIhsou/j, ho Iesous. The variant reading does
not change the meaning of Mark, but only says the same thing in a
slightly different way, demonstrating the freedom felt by copyists and
translators to make such minor changes to the text being copied /
translated.
2194The adjective, used as an adverb, δε, hode, “here,” is omitted
by Alexandrinus, K, Gamma, Minuscules 1241, 2542, many other Greek
manuscripts, the Latin Latin Vulgate and a few of the Old Latin
witnesses.
It is read by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Bezae, L, W, Delta, Theta,
Psi, Families 1 and 13 of Minuscules, Minuscules 28, 33, 565, 579, 700,
892, 1424, 2427, many other Greek manuscripts, a majority of the Old
Latin witnesses, the Sinaitic Syriac, the Peshitta Syriac, the Harclean
Syriac (with markings to indicate the reading was not found in the
exemplar being followed), the Sahidic Coptic and the Bohairic Coptic
(see).
Whether read or not makes little difference for the meaning of
Mark.
2195The
accusative singular λίθον, lithon, “stone,” is changed to
the dative singular li,qw|, litho, “(on) a stone,” by Alexandrinus,
Bezae, K, Minuscule 565 and the “Majority Text.”
This variant reading does not change the meaning of Mark, but
appears to be a grammatical correction of the original text by these
copyists, who think that the preposition evpi,, epi, “upon,” should be
followed by the dative case rather than the accusative.
2196At the end of verse 2, the following statement (taken from Mark
14:58) is interpolated into the original text: kai. dia. triw/n
h`merw/n av,lloj avnasth,setai av,neu ceirw/n, kai dia trion
hemeron allos anastesetai aneu cheiron, “and during (perhaps, ‘after’)
1225
three days
another (different one) will be raised up without hands,” by Bezae, W
and a majority of the Old Latin witnesses.
This interpolation is in fact a change of the original teaching of
Mark, which had no such statement given here–but in fact does not change
the overall teaching of Mark, since the statement is taken from a later
part of the document (although there it is on the lips of the opponents
of Jesus, not on his own). If the statement is read as original here in
chapter 13, it means that Jesus actually had made such a claim, and his
accusers were not putting words into his mouth.
We understand the interpolated statement to be of the nature of
early commentary on Mark, and a very insightful comment at that, because
the overall meaning of chapter 13 is that the old order with its temple
is being overthrown, and in its place is the coming reign of the Son of
the Person at God’s right hand.
The fact of history is that in 70 A.D. the Roman armies under Titus
destroyed the entire temple compound, tearing down to the bare ground
every one of its magnificent
buildings. Thus, it is literally true that not a stone of the temple
buildings was left upon another stone, but all were cast down; and still
today, in 2004, not one trace of those Jewish buildings is left on the
Temple Mount, where the Muslim buildings, the Dome of the Rock, and the
Mosque El Aqsa now stand.
Josephus tells the story: "The army now having no victims either
for slaughter or plunder, through lack of all objects on which to vent
their rage--for they would assuredly never have desisted through a
desire to spare anything so long as there was work to be done--Caesar
ordered the whole city and the temple to be razed to the ground, leaving
only the loftiest of the towers, Phasael, Hippicus, and Mariamme, and
the portion of the wall enclosing the city on the west: the latter as
an encampment for the garrison that was to remain, and the towers to
indicate to posterity the nature of the city and of the strong defenses
which had yet yielded to Roman prowess. All the rest of the wall
encompassing the city was so completely leveled to the ground as to
leave future visitors to the spot no ground for believing that it had
ever been inhabited. Such was the end to which the frenzy of
revolutionaries brought Jerusalem, that splendid city of worldwide
renown." (Josephus, The Jewish War, VII, I. 1)
However, many of the huge ashlars forming the retaining wall around
the top of the Temple Mount remain until today, still in place upon the
bedrock where they were originally laid. Many of the stones used in the
temple buildings have been uncovered at the southern end of the Temple
Mount, buried in the debris of centuries, oftentimes having been used in
the construction of other, later buildings. As France comments, “Even
the now-sacred Western Wall was not part of the temple but only the
1226
supporting structure for the platform on which it was built.”
(P. 496)
Anderson comments that "In prophesying the destruction of the
temple, Jesus stands in line with the prophets of Israel (Micah 3:12
[‘Therefore because of you people, Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound
overgrown with thickets’ New International]; Jeremiah 26:6 [‘I will make
this house, i.e., the temple, like Shiloh, which had been long
destroyed, and this city an object of cursing among all the nations of
the earth’ New International], 18 [‘where Micah 3:12 is quoted, and used
as an argument that Jeremiah should not be put to death for his words
concerning the destruction of the temple]..." (Pp. 290-91)
Anderson also joins with others in observing that "In the outcome,
the prophecy was fulfilled, but only partially so, for in the sack of
Jerusalem in AD 70 Roman soldiers actually burned the temple, which was
subsequently dismantled stone by stone. Obviously then the general
saying of verse 2 has not been adapted to match precisely what happened
after the event and can scarcely be taken to support a post-AD 70 date
for Mark's Gospel." (P. 291)
France in like manner comments that “Jesus was not the first to
predict the temple’s destruction. God’s declaration to Solomon at the
temple’s dedication envisaged such a possibility if Israel proved
disobedient (1 Kings 9:6-8 [But if you people or your sons turn away
from me and do not observe the commands and the decrees I have given
you, and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut
off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I
have consecrated for my Name...’]), and the threat was taken up by Micah
(3:12 [see two paragraphs above]), and repeatedly by Jeremiah (7:12-15
[‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my
Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people
Israel...What I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my
Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your
fathers...’]; 12:7 [‘I will forsake my house, abandon my
inheritance...]’; 22:5 [‘But if you do not obey these commands, declares
YHWH, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin’]; 26:6 [see
two paragraphs above])...
“It was only the memory of Micah’s prophecy which saved Jeremiah
from execution for treason on this basis (Jeremiah 26:10-19), and
another prophet with the same message, Uriah, was not so fortunate
(Jeremiah 26:10:20-23). A generation after the death of Jesus another
Jesus, son of Hananiah, was put on trial for threats against the city
and its temple (Josephus, War 6.300-309). Jesus was embarking on a
dangerous course.” (P. 495)
France adds that “For the disciple’s touristic awe Jesus
substitutes a cruel realism. Splendid as the structure may be, its time
is over.” (P. 496)
1227
13.3
And as he is sitting2197 in the Mountain of the Olive-
Orchards, opposite the
temple,2198 Peter2199 was asking him privately, also Jacob, and John and
Andrew,2200 13.4 "Tell us, when will these things be?
And what (is) the
2197Mark
uses a present participle, καθημένου, kathemenou, “is
sitting,” once again making readers a sort of present observers of
Jesus' teachings.
2198See Mark 11:1, for the first mention in Mark of the "Mountain of
the Olive Orchards." Also see 14:26. The pilgrim to Israel today is
taken to the Mountain of the Olive Orchards, along the western ridge of
which runs a highway, from which there is an excellent view of the Old
City of Jerusalem. On this western slope of the Mountain of Olive
Orchards is located the Church of All Nations, on the traditional site
of the "Garden of Gethsemane," where Jesus prayed with his disciples,
and was later arrested and taken into Roman custody. From the Church of
All Nations, and the garden on its northern side, the pilgrim can look
straight to the west to the Golden Gate, which lay directly to the east
of the Jewish temple. Jesus, from this position, would be able to look
down into the temple compound, and see both the temple and its adjacent
buildings.
France comments that “It does not take a very profound knowledge of
the Book of Ezekiel to recall the dramatic description of God’s
abandonment of his temple as the chariot throne of God’s glory rises up
from inside the temple, pauses at the east gate, and comes to rest on
‘the mountain east of the city’ (Ezekiel 10:18-19; 11:22-23). So now
again the divine presence [i.e., in Jesus, the Son of God] is withdrawn
from the temple, and it is left to its destruction.” (P. 495) The
text, however, does not make this connection with Ezekiel explicit.
2199The definite article o`, ho, “the,” is given before the name
Peter, i.e., ho Petros, “the Peter,” by Sinaiticus, Bezae, Theta,
Minuscule 565 and a few other Greek manuscripts.
The additional word makes no difference for the meaning of Mark,
and probably only reflects the differing convictions among Greek writers
across the centuries as to whether or not the article should be used
with nouns and names.
2200Lane comments that "The four disciples whom Jesus first called
(Mark 1:16-20) privately asked him to clarify his pronouncement." (P.
454) He also notes on p. 507 that “This is the only place after 1:16-20
where Andrew joins the ‘inner circle’ (compare 5:37; 9:2; 14:33.”
1228
sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?"2201
present passive infinitive suntelei/sqai, sunteleisthai,
means, according to Bauer Arndt Gingrich Danker:
2201The
1. to complete something that has been in process, bring to an end, complete, finish,
close something, such as a teaching, or a speech, or a trial, or commandments, or the building
of a tower, or the work
2. to carry out or bring into being something that has been promised or expected, to carry
out, to fulfill, to accomplish something, such as one’s word, or a sacrificial ritual, or what has been
written in the Bible, or a covenant; perhaps in Mark 13:4, “when all this is to be accomplished,”
i.e., the things concerning the destruction of the temple
3. to exhaust the supply of something
4. to come to the end of a duration, come to an end, be over; perhaps in Mark 13:4, “when
the time is when all this is to come to an end”
The two-fold question of the disciples of Jesus means, "When will
the overthrow of the temple happen, and what is there that can enable us
to know when the destruction of the temple is about to be accomplished?"
This question sets the stage for the remainder of Mark 13, all of which
is given as a response by Jesus to the question asked by his disciples.
France comments that “The completion of this process, the stage by which
every last stone had been dislodged, is appropriately expressed by
suntele,w, ‘to bring to completion.’ While the verb could
appropriately be used to describe an eschatological consummation, its
normal use (as in Luke 4:2 [‘when the days were completed, he
hungered’], 13 [‘when the devil finished all the tempting’]; Acts 21:27
[‘when the seven days were nearly completed’]) is of the ‘carrying out,’
‘accomplishing,’ ‘completing’ of a process.” (P. 507) These are the
only occurrences of this verb in the New Testament.
The disciples did not ask concerning the "final wind-up of planet
earth," or concerning the parousi,a, parousia, the so-called “Second
Coming of Jesus,” but only concerning the City and temple of firstcentury Israel. To read and interpret Jesus' answer to their question
as if he is describing the ultimate "end of the world," or the “Second
Coming of Jesus,” is to take this chapter completely out of its original
context. Such interpretations have led to all sorts of fantastic and
irresponsible speculations! See the lengthy footnote 2185.
Grant holds that this request for a "sign" was in direct opposition
to Jesus' teaching elsewhere--see Mark 8:11-13 [‘...Why does this
generation ask for a sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given
to it’]...” (P. 856) But there is a great difference between demanding
a miraculous "sign from heaven" in order to prove that Jesus is the
Anointed One, and the request for a "sign" in history that can point to
1229
13.5
So then the Jesus began to say to them,2202 "Watch out2203--so
that no one may lead you astray!2204
13.6
Many2205 will come in the name
coming events. Indeed, Jesus is pictured in Matthew 16:1-4 [verses 2-3
are not in the oldest and best manuscripts] as rebuking his disciples
for their failure to be able to read the "signs of the times."
2202The phrase ὁ δὲ ̓Ιησος ἤρξατο λέγειν αὐτος, ho de Iesous
erksato legein autois, literally “So then the Jesus began to say to
them,” is read by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, L, Psi,
Minuscules 33, 579 (see), 892, 2427, a few other Greek manuscripts, the
Peshitta Syriac, some manuscripts of the Sahidic Coptic and the Bohairic
Coptic.
It is changed to read o` de. VIhsou/j avpokriqei.j auvtoi/j
hv,rxato le,gein, ho de Iesous apokritheis autois erksato legein, “So
then the Jesus, answering them, began to say,” by Alexandrinus, the
“Majority Text,” the Harclean Syriac and some manuscripts of the Sahidic
Coptic.
It is
auvtoi/j,
Jesus said
2542 and a
changed to read kai. avpokriqei.j o` vIhsou/j ei=pen
kai apokritheis ho Iesous eipen autois, “And answering, the
to them,” by Bezae, Theta, Minuscules 565, 700, 1424 (see),
few other Greek manuscripts.
It is changed to read kai. avpokriqei.j auvtoi/j o`
vIhsou/j hv,rxato le,gein, kai apokritheis autois ho Iesous erksato
legein, “and answering them the Jesus began to say,” by W, Families 1
and 13 (see) of Minuscules, Minuscule 28 and a few other Greek
manuscripts.
We suspect that there has been a problem in the primitive text at
this point, and later copyists and translators have dealt with it in
their individual ways. But none of the variant readings change the
meaning of Mark–they all say approximately the same thing, only in
slightly differing ways.
2203The opening verb of Jesus’ answer to the question of his
disciples is the imperative verb ble,pete, blepete, “watch out.” This
same verb is repeated in verses 9, 23 and 33 along with the related
imperative verbs avgrupnei/te, agrupneite, “be vigilant in awareness of
threatening peril,” “be on the alert,” “be on guard” (verse 33) and grhgorei/te,
gregoreite, “to stay awake,” “to be in constant readiness” (verses 35,
37). France states that the use of this verb in this opening statement
“sets the tone as one of warning, requiring of the disciples not so much
an intellectual grasp of the future time-table (as their question might
imply) as an attitude of careful preparedness.” (Pp. 509-510)
2204The aorist subjunctive verb πλανήσῃ, planese means "may lead
astray," "may cause to wander," and is used in a figurative sense to
1230
mean "may mislead," "may deceive." As a passive verb, it means "may go
astray," "may be misled," "may wander about."
The common assumption in biblical literature is that the word of
YHWH God points his people in the "right way." The main problem in
human existence, and the source of human suffering and death, is the
constant tendency of humanity to "get off course," to "wander away" from
that divine pathway (for example, all humanity in the days of Noah,
Genesis 6:12). See 13:6 where this verb is used again.
Jesus' first word concerning this request for information
concerning future events is to "Watch out--so that no one causes you to
wander away!" Whenever the disciples of Jesus become inquisitive
concerning future events, they set themselves up for misleading, false
teaching, for being led astray from the truth. How true that has proven
to be throughout the history of the disciples of Jesus, and especially
in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries here in America, as thousands
and thousands of people have been led astray by deceptive conclusions
and claims (see footnote 2185). As Lane points out, it is this element
of warning and exhortation that distinguishes Jesus' teaching in Mark 13
from the Jewish apocalyptic documents of the first century. (P. 445)
Speculation concerning future events, combined with the setting of
dates, is in truth a “happy hunting ground for fools,” and many a person
has been led astray and left puzzled and disillusioned by such efforts.
Jesus’ warning is to be very careful when people begin to teach such
things.
Luccock states that "Such curiosity too easily becomes mechanical
rather than spiritual...It leads one astray from the primary task and
duty of following Jesus; from the ethical and religious truth that is
known, to the fruitless focusing on the unknown, on a time-table...
“If all the attention and concern which in Christian history have
been given to last things had only been given to first things, the power
of Christianity in the world and its service to the world would have
been enormously increased...
“Preoccupation with 'When?'--with arranging dates on a calendar-may change a spiritual revelation into a Chinese puzzle...
“The Book of Common Prayer has a perfect collect for us..."Eternal
God, who commits to us the swift and solemn trust of life; since we do
not know what a day may
bring forth, but only that the hour for serving You is always present,
may we wake to the instant claims of Your holy will, not waiting for
tomorrow, but yielding today." (Pp. 856-57)
2205The conjunction ga,r, gar, “for,” found in the parallel Gospels
(Matthew 25:5 and Luke 21:8) is interpolated into the text before the
word “many” by Alexandrinus, Bezae, Theta, Families 1 and 13 of
1231
of mine, saying 'I, I am!'2206
And they will lead many astray.2207
13.7
Minuscules, Minuscule 33 and the “Majority Text” (in some versions).
The text without the conjunction is read by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus,
L, W, Psi and Minuscule 2427.
The interpolated word does not change the meaning of Mark, but does
reflect an early tendency towards the formation of a “four-fold Gospel.”
2206This phrase, ̓Εγώ εἰμι, Ego eimi, "I, I am," is very
significant, implying a claim to be divine, or at least a claim to be a
representative of the divine. See Mark 6:50 and also compare Mark
14:62. This astounding claim has been made by Jesus--so Mark affirms.
But now Jesus warns against others who will come, making that same
claim--but whose claim will be false and misleading.
Lane interprets as follows: "The reference in verse 6 is to be
understood primarily in terms of the messianic pretenders [those
claiming to be divinely ordained ‘kings’ or ‘rulers’] who throughout the
first century won momentary support from segments of the Jewish
population by the promise to provide the tokens of redemption that would
validate their claims. A succession of false messiahs appeared and
gathered disciples, but the movements which took their impetus from them
were dissipated with their capture and death. They represented a
misplacement of hope that could only yield deception and disaster." (P.
457)
"During the period when Fadus was procurator of Judaea [A.D. 4446], a certain impostor named Theudas persuaded the majority of the
masses to take up their possessions and to follow him to the Jordan
River. He stated that he was a prophet and that at his command the
river would be parted and would provide them an easy passage. With this
talk he deceived many. Fadus, however, did not permit them to reap the
fruit of their folly, but sent against them a squadron of cavalry.
These fell upon them unexpectedly, slew many of them and took many
prisoners. Theudas himself was captured, whereupon they cut off his
head and brought it to Jerusalem." (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities XX 9799)
"In Judaea matters were constantly going from bad to worse. For
the country was again infested with bands of brigands and impostors who
deceived the mob. Not a day passed, however, but that Felix [Procurator
of Judaea A.D. 52-58] captured and put to death many of these impostors
and brigands..." (Josephus, Ibid., 160-61)
"Moreover, impostors and deceivers called upon the mob to follow
them into the desert. For they said that they would show them
unmistakable marvels and signs that would be wrought in harmony with
God's design. Many were, in fact, persuaded and paid the penalty of
their folly; for they were brought before Felix and he punished them.
1232
“At this time there came to Jerusalem from Egypt a man who declared
that he was a prophet and advised the masses of the common people [some
30,000 people] to go out with him to the mountain called the Mount of
Olives, which lies opposite the city at a distance of five furlongs.
For he asserted that he wished to demonstrate from there that at his
command Jerusalem's walls would fall down, through which he promised to
provide them an entrance into the city. When Felix heard of this he
ordered his soldiers to take up their arms. Setting out from Jerusalem
with a large force of cavalry and infantry, he fell upon the Egyptian
and his disciples, slaying four hundred of them and taking two hundred
prisoners. The Egyptian himself escaped from the battle and
disappeared." (Josephus, Ibid., XX 168-72; compare The Jewish War, II,
254-63)
"When Festus arrived in Judaea [to serve as Procurator, A.D. 5862], it happened that Judaea was being devastated by the brigands, for
the villages one and all were being set on fire and plundered. The socalled sicarii--these are brigands--were particularly numerous at that
time. They employed daggers, in size resembling the scimitars of the
Persians, but curved and more like the weapons called by the Romans
sicae, from which these brigands took their name because they slew so
many in this way. For...they would
mingle at the festivals with the crowd of those who streamed into the
city from all directions to worship, and thus easily assassinated any
that they pleased. They would also
frequently appear with arms in the villages of their foes and would
plunder and set them on fire.
"Festus also sent a force of cavalry and infantry against the dupes
of a certain impostor who had promised them salvation and rest from
troubles, if they chose to follow him into the wilderness. The force
which Festus dispatched destroyed both the deceiver himself and those
who had followed him." (Josephus, Ibid., 185-88)
"...A certain Menahem, son of Judas surnamed the Galilean--that
redoubtable doctor who in old days, under Quirinius, had upbraided the
Jews for recognizing the Romans as masters when they already had God-took his intimate friends off with him to Masada, where he broke into
king Herod's armory and provided arms both for his fellow-townsmen and
for other brigands; then, with these men for his bodyguard, he returned
like a veritable king to Jerusalem, became the leader of the revolution,
and directed the siege of the palace...The [subsequent] reduction of the
strongholds and the murder of the high-priest Ananias inflated and
brutalized Menahem to such an extent that he believed himself without a
rival in the conduct of affairs and became an insufferable tyrant..."
(Josephus, Jewish War II 430-48)
[Josephus explains that the destruction of the Jewish temple was
not the responsibility of the Romans, but of the Jews themselves.]
1233
"They owed their destruction to a false prophet, who had on that day
proclaimed to the people in the city that God commanded them to go up to
the temple court, to receive there the tokens of their deliverance.
Numerous prophets, indeed, were at this period suborned by the tyrants
to delude the people, by bidding them await help from God...
“Thus it was that the wretched people were deluded at that time by
charlatans and pretended messengers of the deity; while they neither
heeded nor believed in the manifest portents that foretold the coming
desolation, but, as if thunderstruck and bereft of eyes and mind,
disregarded the plain warnings of God...a star...a comet...a brilliant
light...a cow that gave birth to a lamb...a gate in the temple that
opened of its own accord...a miraculous phenomenon...before sunset
throughout all parts of the country chariots were seen in the air and
armed battalions hurtling through the clouds and encompassing the
cities...a voice in the temple proclaiming 'we are departing
hence'...the ominous cries of a rude peasant named Jesus, son of
Ananias, who predicted the soon-coming destruction..." (Josephus,
Jewish War VI 285-309)
[Even long after the fall of Jerusalem and her temple, this madness
continued among those few survivors of the catastrophe.] "The madness
of the Sicarii further attacked, like a disease, the cities around
Cyrene. Jonathan, an arrogant scoundrel, by trade a weaver, having
taken refuge in that town, won the ear of not a few of the indigent
class, and led them forth into the desert, promising them a display of
signs and
apparitions..." (Josephus, Jewish War VII, 437-38)
2207Compare footnote 2204.
The same verb (only, in the future
tense) is used here, πλανήσουσιν, planesousin, “they will lead astray.”
Schweizer notes that "A warning must be uttered concerning an immediate
danger which the church is facing...This is a danger which threatens the
reader also, not something which endangers only future generations.
Apparently there were [people] at that time who claimed to be the
Christ...These [people] worked within the fellowship of Jesus...They
claimed to be either Christ himself who had reappeared, or a
reincarnation of Christ...
“This is evidence that there was a time of extreme fanaticism in
early Christendom (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 [‘Concerning the coming /
presence of our Lord Jesus, Anointed One, and our being gathered to him,
we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some
prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us...’]). Since
Acts 20:29-30 [‘I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in
among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men
will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after
them...’] and 1 John 2:18 [‘...This is the last hour; and as you have
heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have
come. This is how we know that it is the last hour,’ a strange statement
for those who hold ‘the last hour’ is only to come some two thousand or
more years later!] witness to the presence of such persons within the
1234
So then when you may hear2208 (of) wars, and reports
of wars,2209 don't be frightened.2210
It is necessary2211 to happen2212–but
Christian church, these were not simply instances where some Jews
claimed to be the Messiah. These were persons such as Simon the
Magician..." (P. 268)
2208The 2nd person plural aorist subjunctive verb ἀκούσητε, akousete,
“you may hear,” is changed to read avkou,hte, akouete, also meaning
“you may hear,” the 2nd person plural present subjunctive, by Vaticanus
and Minuscule 2542.
It is changed to read avkou,ete, akouete, “you are hearing,” or
“you hear,” by Family 13 of Minuscules and Minuscule 2427.
These variant readings are simply minor changes by later copyists
that attempt to correct or improve on the grammar of the original. They
do not change the meaning of Mark, but demonstrate the freedom of later
copyists to slightly change the text they are copying.
2209A reading of Josephus' The Jewish War will quickly show the
continual warfare between rival kings and kingdoms that punctuated the
decades immediately prior to 70 A.D. and the destruction of Jerusalem
and its temple. Indeed, throughout the eight years preceding the fall
of Jerusalem, Israel was literally riddled with wars and rumors of wars.
As a matter of historical fact, there has never been a century, or
long period of time in human history when there have not been "wars and
rumors of wars." Thus this phrase used by Jesus has easily been taken
to point to the "end of time" in century after century, much as the
Jehovah's Witnesses used it with regards to the First World War of 1914,
and as foretellers of the "end of the world" have claimed in the last
half of the twentieth century, pointing to the twentieth century as the
unique time of "wars and rumors of wars." A
reading of Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire will
quickly reveal the constant wars and rumors of wars that marked Roman
history from beginning to end.
2210Instead of the present passive imperative verb θροεσθε,
throeisthe, found only here in Mark, Bezae and a few Greek manuscripts
read the verb qorubei/sqe, thorubeisthe, “(don’t) be troubled,”
substituting a synonym for the verb found in the original, without
changing the meaning of Mark.
The verb qroe,w, throeo means "cry aloud," "shriek out," or "tell
out," "speak," "announce." Here, used in the passive, it means "to be
inwardly aroused," "to be disturbed or frightened." Sudden, emotional
outbursts in response to bad news concerning hostilities or cataclysmic
events, is simply not a proper response on the part of the disciples of
Jesus. His disciples need never be afraid for the future, or become
overly alarmed by geo-political upheavals--confident that this is God's
1235
world, and that God's Kingdom will ultimately be victorious.
France compares the use of this verb in 2 Thessalonians 2:2, “where
it is parallel
with being ‘shaken from your mind’ by reports that the Day of the Lord
has already come. The disciples are to be calm and not to jump to hasty
conclusions...Wars are sure to happen, and their occurrence is not to be
seen as having any eschatological significance...
”The years between Tiberius and Nero were relatively peaceful in
the Roman empire as a whole, but an inhabitant of Palestine might have
heard, for instance, of the wars in Parthia in A. D. 36 and sporadically
thereafter, or the war between Antipas and the Nabatean king Aretas, in
which Rome also became involved in A. D. 36-37, long before Judaea
itself was engulfed in war, not to mention the series of local uprisings
which were ruthlessly put down by the Romans in the years before the
war...” (P. 511)
As Anderson observes, "...Despite wars and rumors of wars God is
still in control." (P. 292) Lane likewise states that "It would have
been natural for the disciples to have seen in the outbreak of conflict
in the land or in the disturbances of A. D. 62-66, when rumors of revolt
were common, a sign that the end was imminent. Wars, in themselves,
however, do not indicate that the consummation is at hand...However
calamitous and portentous such developments may appear to be they do not
signify the breaking in of the
end. They constitute only the beginning of a period of suffering which
can be expected to become more intense." (P. 458)
Compare Jeremiah 51:46, “Do not lose heart or be afraid when rumors
are heard in the land; one rumor comes this year, another the next,
rumors of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.” The same
thing is true in our day. Wars and rumors of war are signs of human
brokenness and sinfulness, but are not signs of “the end.” Christian
believers do not need to get nervous, or be afraid. God is on the
throne; He alone is Lord of History. The divine plan will come to pass,
in spite of human failure and evil!
2211Following the verb δε, dei, “it is necessary,” the conjunction
ga,r, gar, “for,” which is found at this point in the parallel Gospels
(Matthew 24:6 and Luke 21:9), is interpolated into the text by a
corrector of Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Bezae, L, Theta, Families 1 and
13 of Minuscules, Minuscule 33, the “Majority Text,” the entire Latin
tradition, the Sinaitic Syriac, the Harclean Syriac, some manuscripts of
the Sahidic Coptic and some manuscripts of the Bohairic Coptic.
The conjunction is not read by the first writer of Sinaiticus,
Vaticanus, W, Psi, Minuscule 2427, the Peshitta Syriac, some manuscripts
of the Sahidic Coptic or the Bohairic Coptic.
1236
rather, the end2213 (is) not yet.2214
13.8
For nation will be raised up
The additional word does not change the meaning of Mark, but
reflects an early beginning of the formation of a “four-fold Gospel.”
2212Lane holds that the phrase "It is necessary for these things to
happen" may be a reflection of Daniel 2:28 in its Greek form (p. 455).
But this is not certain.
We ask, "Why is it 'necessary' for such things as wars to happen?
Is there some divine necessity for people to hate and fight and kill one
another? Has God pre-determined that wars must take place?" Perhaps
the proper answer to our question is that it is "necessary" because of
God's gift of human freedom, and because of the constant attempt of
human beings to make their pleasures, or possessions, or power, their
"god," rather than choosing to serve the true and living God, and rather
than giving equal rights to their fellow human beings.
Since God has made the world a place for human freedom and
decision, and since human beings make such war-engendering choices, "it
is necessary" for wars to occur, not because God wants it to happen, but
because God has given his human creatures the freedom to do so. But
these misuses of human freedom, while tragic, will not ultimately thwart
the divine plan for the ages!
2213The phrase τὸ τέλος, to telos most probably here means "the
end," and refers to the coming "end" of Jerusalem and its temple. In
Matthew 24:3, this phrase is replaced by the words συντελείας το
αἰνος, sunteleias tou aionos, "completion of the age," meaning, we take
it, the completion of the age “age of Judaism,” the age in which the
Jewish temple in Jerusalem played its central role, but which was now to
be replaced with the universal temple and worship of the Kingdom of the
Son of the Person.
Exactly what is intended by this phrase "the end" is uncertain due
to its use in various senses in Greek literature, including:
(1) "The completion or fulfillment of anything"; in the Greek
Mystery religions the phrase means "consummation of all preliminary
requirements by being admitted to initiation."
(2) "Termination" or "cessation," the end of a period of time.
think this is its meaning here in Mark 13:7.
We
(3) "The end," "the goal" (toward which a movement is being
directed), "the outcome."
(4)
"The complete state, full condition."
(5)
"Consummation"; Christian dictionaries have commonly given the
1237
meaning "the last part," "close," "conclusion," especially of the last
things, the “final act in the cosmic drama.” But none of this is
contained in the phrase itself, and all of this must be "read into" the
phrase from its context. This is the meaning that has been commonly
assigned to Mark 13:7, but it is much more likely that it means "the
consummation of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple," rather than "the final
end of the cosmic drama."
(6)
office."
(7)
"The highest station," the possession of full power or
"The tax that is due," "property that is subject to taxation."
For an understanding of what Jesus meant by his use of "the end,"
with reference to his prediction of the coming destruction of Jerusalem
and its temple, it is most helpful to see similar usage of this phrase
in the Jewish Bible with reference to the coming destruction of Samaria
/ Jerusalem and their temples in such passages as:
laeêr"f.yI yMiä[;-la, ‘#Qeh; aB'Û,
h[kei to. pe,raj evpi. to.n lao,n mou Israhl "The end has come
upon my people, Israel!" (Amos 8:2, referring to "the end" that came
upon Samaria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 721 B.C.) This
phrase, to. pe,raj, to peras, is a synonym for the phrase to. te,loj,
to telos, both of which mean “the end.”
"And now, son of a human, in this way my Lord YHWH has spoken to
the Land of Israel: 'An end has come--the end, over the four corners of
the earth / land! Now the end is upon you...An end has come! The end
has come, it has made an end for you, look it has come!...The time has
come, the day is near!...Look--the day, look--it has come!...The time
has come, the day has arrived!..." (Ezekiel 7:2-12)
Could there be a more emphatic way of saying that "the end" had
come upon the Nation of Judah of Ezekiel's day, and upon her temple, all
of which was fulfilled when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and
destroyed the Temple of Solomon in 586 B.C.?
This is the proper context for the understanding of Jesus' language
concerning "the end." It is the context of the "Day of YHWH" that comes
again and again in human history, visiting divine wrath upon his
impenitent children who should be his representatives, making his light
and life available to all the nations, but who instead have used their
religious prerogatives to enrich themselves and to further their own
selfish interests. Jesus announces that the same divine judgment that
came upon Samaria and its worship, and then upon Jerusalem and its
temple-worship, in the temple built by Solomon, is now to come once
again upon Jerusalem and its corrupt first-century worship in the second
temple built by Herod the Great. The "age of Judaism" and its temple1238
against nation; and kingdom against kingdom;2215 there will be earthquakes2216 in various places;2217 there will be2218 famines.2219
These
centered worship is coming to its “end." In its place will come the
"Kingdom of the Son of the Person," with a universal worship spring up
from the temple of human hearts that respond to his call.
To read into this phrase connotations of "the ultimate wind-up of
planet earth," and to turn Jesus' words from a description of the first
century destruction of Jerusalem and its temple into a description of
"the end of the world," is in fact unwarranted, and has resulted in a
great deal of confusion in Christian theology.
2214Anderson
comments that "If we take account of this...’not yet’
and also of the great restraint expressed regarding the end in the
sayings of verses 28-37, it appears that for his part Mark wants indeed
not to encourage apocalyptic speculation and excitement but to suppress
it." (Pp. 288-89)
Schweizer holds that "The wars are clearly distinguished from the
end...This may have been done to counteract a pessimistic mood in early
Christianity which interpreted the distress of the war in the sixties as
a sign that the end...would dawn immediately...The spreading of the
conflict to world-wide proportions was distinguished as a new
development, in contrast to limited local war. But even this is only
the 'first pains of child-birth' and is not to be identified with the
end." (P. 269)
2215The conjunction kai,, kai, “and,” is interpolated into the text
at this point by Alexandrinus, Theta, Families 1 and 13 of Minuscules,
Minuscule 33, the “Majority Text,” the Latin Vulgate, some of the Old
Latin witnesses and the Syriac tradition.
It is not read by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Bezae, L, W, Psi,
Minuscule 2427, a few other Greek manuscripts or the Coptic tradition.
The interpolation does not change the meaning of Mark, but is only
an “enhancement” of the original text by later copyists and translators,
who did not feel themselves bound to copy exactly every word in the
original.
2216France comments that “First-century earthquakes might include
one experienced at Jerusalem in A.D. 67 (Josephus, War 4.286-87; compare
1.370 for an earlier severe earthquake in Palestine), and further afield
Acts 16:26 mentions an earthquake in Philippi, while news of the partial
destruction of Pompeii by an earthquake in A.D. 62 or of a major
earthquake in Asia Minor in A.D. 61 would probably have reached
Palestine...” (P. 512)
1239
Modern archaeology has shown how prone the entire Jordan Valley has
been to frequent earthquakes, as is graphically seen in the
archaeological discoveries at Qumran.
2217France, along with Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich-Danker notes that the
phrase kata. to,pouj, kata topous, literally “according to places,”
means “from place to place.” (P. 512)
2218The third person plural verb ἔσονται, esontai, “there will be,”
is read by a corrector of Sinaiticus (the first writer has a
homoioteleuton, a mistake due to words with similar endings, at this
point), Vaticanus, L, Psi, Minuscules 28, 892, 2427 and a few other
Greek manuscripts.
It is changed to read kai. ev,sontai, kai esontai, “and there
will be,” by Alexandrinus, Families 1 and 13 of Minuscules, Minuscule
33, the “Majority Text,” the Old Latin
Manuscript q, the Peshitta Syriac, the Harclean Syriac and a few
manuscripts of the Sahidic Coptic.
It is changed to read only kai,, kai, “and,” by Bezae, Theta,
Minuscules 565, 700, the Latin Vulgate, a few of the Old Latin witnesses
and some manuscripts of the Sahidic Coptic.
The phrase is omitted by W and the Sinaitic Syriac.
We think there has been a problem in the primitive text at this
point, and later copyists and translators have dealt with it as best
they could, uncertain as to the exact original. Nonetheless, none of
the variant readings changes the overall meaning of Mark.
2219The phrase kai. taracai,, kai tarachai, “and disturbances (of
the usual order),” is interpolated into the text at this point by
Alexandrinus, W (see), Theta (see), Families 1
and 13 of Minuscules, Minuscule 33, the “Majority Text,” the Old Latin
Manuscript q, the Syriac tradition and some manuscripts of the Sahidic
Coptic.
The phrase kai. loimoi. kai. taracai,, kai loimoi kai tarachai,
“and pestilences and disturbances,” is interpolated by Sigma and a few
other Greek manuscripts.
The phrase kai. loimoi,, kai loimoi, “and pestilences,” is
interpolated by Minuscule 2542 and a few other Greek manuscripts.
The text without these interpolations is read by a corrector of
Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Bezae, L, Psi, Minuscules 579, 2427, the Latin
Vulgate, a few of the Old Latin witnesses, some manuscripts of the
Sahidic Coptic and the Bohairic Coptic.
These variant readings indicate a desire on the part of these
copyists and translators to enhance the meaning of Mark by making it
1240
things (are) a beginning2220 of birth-pains!2221
more graphic and inclusive; but they do not change the meaning of the
original text.
France comments that “There was a major famine in the reign of
Claudius, c. A.D. 46 (Acts 11:18; Josephus, Antiquities 3.320;
20.101...).” (P. 512) We are reminded of the two famines recorded in
Genesis, during the life-times of Abraham and Isaac, and then of the
great 7-year famine during the time of Joseph. There’s nothing new or
unusual in the occurrence of famines, as may be seen in their constant
occurrence still in our modern world, in spite of constant progress in
agriculture and hydrology.
2220The singular noun avrch,, arche, “a beginning,” is read by
Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Bezae, K, L, Delta, Theta, Psi, Family 13 of
Minuscules, Minuscules 28, 33, 565, 579, 892, 1424, 2427, 2542, some
other Greek manuscripts, the Latin Vulgate, a few of the Old Latin
witnesses and the Sahidic Coptic.
It is changed to the plural form avrcai,, archai, “beginnings,” by
Alexandrinus, Family 1 of Minuscules, the “Majority Text” and the Old
Latin Manuscripts b and l.
The word is omitted, along with the next two words, ovdinw/n
tau/ta, odinon tauta, “birth-pains, these things,” by W and the Old
Latin Manuscript c.
The omission of the phrase leaves out what we think is an important
statement in Mark, concerning the nature of suffering in human history.
But the change to the plural does not at all change the meaning; it only
shows the freedom felt by these copyists and translators to enhance the
original text by this slight change.
2221France notes that “...Evidence for anything like a technical
term ‘birth pang of the Messiah’ (always singular in the rabbis) comes
from after the New Testament period. Before that labor pains were used
as a metaphor for great suffering in a wide variety of
contexts...sometimes referring to death (2 Samuel 22:6; Psalm 18:4) but
more often depicting the suffering of nations and cities in crisis
(Isaiah 13:8 [spoken concerning Babylon, ‘Terror will seize them, pain
and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor...’];
Jeremiah 6:24, spoken concerning Jerusalem, ‘We have heard reports about
them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that
of a woman in labor,’ as the reports of the coming Babylonians are
heard]; 22:23 [spoken concerning Jerusalem, identified as ‘Lebanon’];
Micah 4:9-10 [spoken concerning Jerusalem identified as ‘Zion,’ ‘Why do
you now cry aloud–have you no king? Has your counselor perished, that
pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor? Writhe in agony, O
Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city
to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon...’]).” (P. 512)
1241
See also Psalm 48:7; Isaiah 42:14; Jeremiah 30:6; 49:24 and 50:43.
There is an important, optimistic biblical "philosophy of history"
contained in these words of Jesus, and in these biblical passages. It
is that the seeming "catastrophes," the "natural disasters" and the
terrifying wars and revolutions that mar human history, are not at all
to be seen as the “final end of history,” but rather are experiences
being used by God for the "bringing forth of," or "giving birth to," his
"new world."
It is devastatingly true, says Jesus, that terrible things are
coming upon Jerusalem and its temple. But that does not mean that God's
purposes for his world have failed, or
come to an end. Quite the contrary--all of these terrifying experiences
are to be compared to "labor-pains," as God gives birth to his new
world!
Compare Romans 8:22, "All the creation is groaning together and
having birth-pains together until now." Jesus’ words, combined with
these other biblical passages, unite to teach us that out of the fearful
tribulations and upheavals in history, a new age is being born–what an
inspiring, hope-filled teaching!
Lane states: "Events of greater significance and intensity than
those described in verses 5-8 may be expected to follow. From this
perspective, the parallel statements 'the end is not yet' (verse 7c) and
'these things are the beginning of travail' (verse 8b) are delaysayings, designed to prepare the people of God for facing a turbulent
world with firm confidence and unwavering faith. For Mark's readers in
Rome, harassed by the State and disturbed by the confused reports of
turmoil in Galilee and Judea, Jesus' word provided assurance that these
events fall within the...purpose of God. Their task is to be vigilant
so as not to be led astray and to refuse to be disturbed by contemporary
events, which are in God's control." (P. 459)
That is, wars come, and wars go–but they are not the final end.
They are only the beginning, only the “labor-pains of the new world, the
new age, the new order” that God is bringing to birth. So don’t be
afraid. Kingdoms rise, and kingdoms fall, but God, the eternal King, is
on his throne, and his Kingdom will never fall! God is replacing the
old, worn-out, corrupt order, with his new and better order. In place
of the narrow, ethnocentric religion of Judaism with its center of
worship in a man-made temple in Jerusalem, God is bringing into being
the Kingdom of his Son, with its universal worship, in a temple not made
by human hands, but made by the Spirit of God in human hearts.
If we apply this
21st century, with the
City, the Pentagon in
the constant fighting
biblical reasoning to our modern experience in the
terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York
Washington D.C., the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq,
between Israel / Palestine, and now the terrible
1242
13.92222
"But then you people, watch out (for) yourselves!2223
They
devastation in South-east Asia from the Tsunami, we can take heart,
refusing to be afraid or perplexed, believing that out of these terrible
ordeals God is at work, bringing to birth his new world. What do you
think?
2222France comments on verses 9-13 that “In the unsettling period
described in verses 6-8, which is to be expected before the fulfilment
of Jesus’ prediction, the disciples will not be merely spectators.
Indeed, those who follow Jesus can expect to be singled out for hatred
and ill-treatment by those in power, just as he himself has been. This
is not a theme peculiar to this discourse: Jesus has warned them before
of difficult times ahead for those who follow him (6:11; 8:15, 34-38;
10:30; compare 4:17 [trouble and persecution come because of the Word of
God])...The disciples must...be prepared for what may prove to be a
longer time of waiting for the end than they may have imagined, a time
which will put their faithfulness to a severe test...
“The sayings which make up verses 9-13 do not read as an organic
whole so much as a collection of sayings brought together around the
themes of persecution, proclamation, and endurance...” (P. 513)
2223The opening phrase of verse 9, βλέπετε δὲ ὑμες ἑαυτούς, blepete
de humeis heautous, literally “watch out then, you people, yourselves,”
is omitted by Bezae, W, Theta, Family 1 of Minuscules, Minuscules 28,
565, 700, a majority of the Old Latin witnesses and the Sinaitic Syriac.
We see no reason for this omission, and consider it simply a
mistake on the part of Bezae that has been repeated in these other
“western” witnesses. It may be that the
omission was caused by the feeling that this warning is emphasized
sufficiently elsewhere in this chapter, and is unnecessary here.
Grant states that "This repeated warning [to ‘watch out!’] verses
5, 9, 23, 33, leads up to the final climactic word in the discourse,
'Watch' (verse 37), and helps set the tone of the whole chapter. [Such
teaching] is not mere speculation, but has an intensely practical
purpose: to reassure, strengthen, and nerve believers as they face the
impending woes." (Pp. 857-58)
Luccock notes that "One is almost startled to find here this direct
word to individual disciples...’Take heed to yourselves’ is a needed
warning in any time of crisis. There is always danger that when great
impersonal forces are in powerful action the importance of the
individual will be minimized, and the sense of personal responsibility
relaxed...In the turbulent days of persecution, so vividly described in
this chapter of Mark, what counted was the quality of individual men and
women. It was the fidelity and fortitude of those who did ‘take heed to
themselves’ that made possible the survival of Christianity as a leaven
in this world...In our own days we are continually exposed to the
1243
will hand you over2224 to governing bodies,2225 and you will be beaten in
defeatist mood: 'What difference does one life make? It is so little
among so much'...Then add the insidious illusion that some truly
significant whole can be fashioned without paying attention to the
dismally insignificant units...Any hope for a saved world lies in people
who do take heed to the quality of their own lives, and who are willing
to make dominant in themselves the motives and goals they would like to
see prevail in the outside world." (Pp. 857-58)
Disciples of Jesus in the first century needed to hear that exhortation;
so do his disciples in this twenty-first century!
2224The phrase παραδώσουσιν ὑμς, paradosousin humas, “they will
hand you people over,” is read by Vaticanus, L, Psi, Minuscule 2427, a
few other Greek manuscripts, some manuscripts of the Sahidic Coptic and
the Bohairic Coptic.
It is changed to read paradw,sousin ga.r
gar humas, “for they will hand you people over,”
Alexandrinus, Family 13 of Minuscules, Minuscule
Text,” the Latin Vulgate, a few of the Old Latin
Syriac, the Harclean Syriac and some manuscripts
u`ma/j, paradosousin
by Sinaiticus,
33, the “Majority
witnesses, the Peshitta
of the Sahidic Coptic.
It is changed to read kai. paradw,sousin u`ma/j, kai
paradosousin humas, “and they will hand you people over,” by W (see),
Family 1 of Minuscules, Minuscule 28, a few other Greek manuscripts and
the Peshitta Syriac.
It is changed to read ei=ta u`ma/j auvtou.j paradw,sousin,
eita humas autous paradosousin, literally “then you people (accusative,
as object of verb) them (also accusative, as object of verb) they will
hand over,” a seemingly non-sensical statement.
We think there may well have been a problem in the primitive text
at this point, and that later copyists and translators have dealt with
it in their varying ways. The first two variants say the same thing in
slightly different ways, while the last variant seems to be simply a
mistake.
France notes that the choice of this verb paradi,dwmi,
paradidomi, “to hand over,” “with its echoes of 9:31; 10:33, suggests a
link between their treatment and that of Jesus himself.” (P. 514)
2225The noun used here is συνέδρια, sunedria, the plural form of the
normally singular "Sanhedrin," the "Supreme Court" of the Jewish Nation.
There were local "sanhedrins" throughout Israel, but Jesus probably here
envisions more than persecution by Jewish judicial bodies. This same
noun was used to describe the "city councils" throughout the GraecoRoman world.
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gathering places; and you will be brought before governors2226 and
kings2227 on my behalf, for a testimony to them.2228
13.10
And it is
2226The
noun ἡγεμόνων, hegomon is used of Jewish "princes," but
especially in the first century for the Roman Imperial "Governors" in
the provinces of Rome, and particularly for the “Procurators” or
“Prefects” in Judea such as Pontius Pilate (26-36 AD), or the later
Fadus (44-46 AD), Felix (52-58 AD) and Festus (58-62 AD).
What Jesus was about to experience himself in being brought before
Pilate, would be the later experience of his disciples--such as Paul who
was brought before both Felix and Festus--see Acts 24 and 25--including
King Agrippa as well.
Jesus seems to say to his disciples, “Did you think that I would
have to suffer for the Kingdom of God, but you, my followers, would be
exempt from sharing in my sufferings? In fact, you will also have to go
through much suffering for the sake of the Kingdom–don’t even think that
your life as my followers will be all peace and light–there will be dark
days of suffering and persecution for you to endure!”
Let us not in our modern world think that genuine Christianity is a
call to an easy life, without any sacrifice or suffering involved.
There are still constant enemies to be faced, and we will be constantly
called to stand bravely for the truth of God in the midst of an
unbelieving world, as we seek to proclaim the good news.
2227Herod the Great was truly a "King," while his son, Herod
Antipas, although called "king" was not really a king, but a "tetrarch."
Other kings for the first century world include Herod Agrippa, Agrippa
II, Aretas, "King" of Nabataea--and even the Roman Emperor himself. All
sorts of wars and catastrophes will occur during your life-times, says
Jesus,
but you stay true to your calling, to witness to the Good News at every
opportunity, even under the most intense of persecutions.
France comments that “The disciples must therefore be prepared for
official opposition in both Jewish and Roman courts (as the Book of Acts
well illustrates). Both could be found in Palestine, though the next
verse suggests also a wider perspective.” (P. 515)
2228France notes that “...This verse...is the most explicit
indication in Mark’s Gospel of the universal scope of the good news and
therefore of the Christian mission...” (P. 516)
Luccock reminded readers that truly confessing disciples of Jesus
belong to a long role of martyrs [“witnesses,” who are willing to die
for their testimony] throughout Christian history: "There is Jesus
before Pilate, Paul before Agrippa, the great host of the martyrs before
the tribunals of Rome...Huss at the Council of Constance; Luther before
Charles V at Worms; Latimer and Ridley condemned to the stake...During
1245
necessary first2229 for the Good News2230 to be proclaimed to all the
the years of World War II thousands of Christians laid down their lives
for their faith. Surely in any event the day of standing before
governors and kings is not over, and never will be over, as long as time
endures. The form of the tribunal changes, but the trial still goes on
[consider the untold suffering endured by the Christian martyrs in the
Gulag Archipelago and by Christian missionaries in both Afghanistan and
Iraq]...
“We still need the sustaining faith of the martyrs--faith in a God
to whom fidelity makes an infinite and eternal difference." (P. 858)
2229The phrase πρτον δε, proton dei, “first it is necessary,” is
read by a corrector of Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Bezae, Psi, Minuscules 28,
892, 2427, a few other Greek manuscripts, the Latin Vulgate and a few of
the Old Latin witnesses.
It is changed to read dei/ prw/ton, dei proton, “it is necessary
first,” by Alexandrinus, L, Families 1 and 13 of Minuscules, Minuscule
33, the “Majority Text,” the Old Latin Manuscript q and the Harclean
Syriac.
It is changed to read prw/ton de. dei/, proton de dei, “first
then it is necessary,” by W, Theta, Minuscule 565, a few other Greek
manuscripts, a majority of the Old Latin witnesses and the Peshitta
Syriac.
It is changed to read prw/ton lao.n dei/, proton laon dei,
literally “first people (as object) it is necessary,” by the first
writer of Sinaiticus.
The last variant seems to be an attempt by this normally accurate
copyist to insert a mention concerning “to the Jews first,” but in a
rather strange way. The other readings seem to point to a problem in
the primitive text of Mark; nonetheless, all of them say about the same
thing.
France comments that “The proclamation of the gospel to all nations
is the precursor to the event which the disciples have asked about, and
that...is the destruction of the temple...The temple will not be
destroyed (and with it the central role of Israel in God’s purposes come
to an end) until the good news has already gone out beyond Israel to
[all the nations], and so the new ‘temple’ which replaces the physical
building will not be a solely Jewish institution...The good news for the
Jews has become the good news for the Gentiles...
“Mark, writing in Rome...would have found no difficulty in
perceiving that the good news had indeed been proclaimed to [all the
nations] while the temple was still standing. There was already in
1246
nations.2231
13.11
And when they may lead you people away, handing you
existence an international people of God even if not every nation on
earth had yet heard the good news (or indeed was even known to exist at
that time).” (Pp. 516-17)
2230Following the noun εὐαγγέλιον, euaggelion, “Good News,” the
phrase evn pa/si toi/j ev,qnesin, en pasi tois ethnesin, literally
“in everything to the nations,” perhaps meaning “among all the nations,”
is interpolated into the original text by Bezae, the Old Latin
Manuscript ff2 and some manuscripts of the Sahidic Coptic (see).
Whatever the phrase means, it does not change the meaning of Mark.
The definite noun τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, to euaggelion, “the Good News,”
occurs in Mark at 1:1, 14, 15; 8:35; 10:29; here, 13:10; 14:9, and in
the "long ending," at 16:15. The good news that Jesus came to proclaim
is not simply good news for the Jews–it is good news for all the
nations, it is universal in its extent.
2231It is obvious from these passages mentioned in the preceding
footnote that Mark pictures Jesus as predicting the universal
proclamation of the Good News before the coming of the "end."
It is a fact that before the end of Jerusalem and its temple, the
Good News had been proclaimed throughout the "inhabited earth" of the
first century world-view. See such passages as Romans 1:5, 8 (the faith
of the Roman Christians is “being proclaimed all over the world”); 10:18
[Paul applies Psalm 19:4 to the message of Jesus: “Their voice has gone
out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world”]; 15:18-24
[Paul states that through his ministry the good news has been proclaimed
“from Jerusalem to Illyricum” (i.e., modern Bosnia-Herzogovinia);
Colossians 1:6 (“all over the world the good news is bearing fruit”) and
23 (“the good news has been proclaimed to ‘every creature under
heaven,’” an obvious over-statement, which should not be taken woodenly
and exactly). This is a major theme of Luke's Book of Acts.
Lane comments that "Involvement with mission identifies them with
Jesus and exposes them to the rejection he faced. Nevertheless, a
divine compulsion stands behind mission activity throughout the world.
The proclamation of the gospel to all [humanity] is an absolute priority
in the divine plan of salvation...
“This word of Jesus provided assurance that the Kingdom of God
cannot be impeded by any local persecution in Palestine or elsewhere.
Despite all opposition, the gospel must be preached throughout the
world." (P. 462) This must be their first concern!
Schweizer holds that "The worldwide proclamation is of primary
importance to Mark (compare 4:32 [from the tiny mustard seed comes the
huge plant in which the birds of the heaven can nest]; 11:17 [Jesus
quotes Isaiah 56:7 concerning the Lord’s desire that his temple be
1247
over,2232 don't be anxious beforehand what you should say, but rather,
whatever may be given to you in that hour, say this--for it is not you
people, the ones speaking, but rather the Set-apart Spirit.2233
13.12
called ‘a house of prayer for all nations’]; 15:39 [the Roman centurion
confesses Jesus to be God’s Son]. Therefore under no circumstances can
this proclamation be omitted from a survey of the future." (P. 270)
We agree with this, and find a deeply biblical motive behind it.
YHWH God's intention for his people Israel was that they should be a
"light to the nations"--see the theology Isaiah 40-66. YHWH's purpose
in entering into covenant relationship with Israel was that she should
become "a Kingdom of priests" among all the nations of earth. That is,
Israel was divinely intended to teach all the nations, and bring all the
nations into the worship of YHWH God (see Exodus 19). But Israel had
forsaken that light-giving mission, content to center in upon herself,
rejecting YHWH God's call to worldwide proclamation of the light.
Jesus, in calling together his "New Israel," intends fully that the
world-wide mission of Israel of old will be fulfilled in and through
them, in spite of terrifying opposition and persecution. Whatever the
future may hold, they must be deeply committed to the worldwide
proclamation of the Good News. This is their purpose, and this should
be their central concern, even in the midst of all sorts of trials.
As Swete notes, "The work which began in Galilee with the personal
Ministry of the Lord...was to be carried forward by the Apostolic
ministry to the ever-expanding confines of the habitable world..." (P.
301)
2232The active participle παραδιδόντες, paradidontes is from the
verb paradi,dwmi, paradidomi, “to hand over,” which is used by Mark at
1:14; 3:19; 4:29; 7:13; 9:31; 10:33, 33; 13:9, 11, 12; 14:10, 11, 18,
21, 41, 42, 44; 15:1, 10, and 15. John the Immerser had been "handed
over"; Jesus predicted the "handing over" of the Son of the Person to
the Jews and to the Roman authorities; he himself experienced that
"handing over" to crucifixion and death.
Here in chapter 13 Jesus predicts that his disciples will have to
experience a similar "handing over" as they faithfully bear their
witness to the Good News in its universal proclamation.
2233Anderson comments, "The promise of the Spirit here is a strong
consolation to the Church, for in the intimidating surroundings of a
Roman court or tribunal the lowly Christian must often have felt 'stuck
for words.' The consolation is not that in the ordeal Christians can
expect a miracle (of divine speech) to secure their release, but that
they do not need to rely on their own poor resources, since the Spirit
will help them to match the hour with an unswervingly loyal witness to
Christ." (P. 294)
1248
Lane states, "In the past he had equipped his servants to speak in
the courts of Egypt and Judah (Exodus 4:12; Jeremiah 1:9), and he
graciously promises to do so once again." (P. 463) They will not be
left alone, "on their own"--quite the contrary, they will always be
accompanied and undergirded by the living Spirit of God, as they bear
their witness to the Good News.
Very foolishly, these words of Jesus have been taken by some
preachers as a pretext for not preparing their sermons carefully;
instead of working in the study, they depend upon the instantaneous
"inspiration of the Holy Spirit" on Sunday mornings! Luccock asked
concerning such: "Is this, then, a benediction on brainless,
extemporaneous 'babbling'? Such distortion has done endless harm to the
preaching and teaching of the Christian gospel...!" (P. 859)
Jesus is not talking about the normal, day-to-day responsibilities
of his disciples; rather, he is talking about those very exceptional
occasions, when they are "under the gun," when there is no possibility
of quiet study or preparation, when they are drug before condemning
authorities, to respond to capital charges. He assures his disciples
that they will never be forsaken, and that in their moment of crisis,
the presence of the Holy Spirit will be with them, speaking through
their words.
"If we have a living faith in God, out of that faith and out of our
continual relationship with him will come the word and action for the
particular occasion...' Do not become preoccupied with yourself, how
you shall manage. Do not memorize a form of words. Put at the center
of life a great faith and a great devotion. Out of that will spring
wisdom and strength to supply every need.'" (Luccock, P. 859)
Grant comments, "As a general direction addressed to martyrs (the
original meaning of 'witnesses') concerning their defense when brought
before the local sanhedrins or Gentile rulers, this...procedure of
depending only upon the momentary inspiration of the Spirit may have
been common at one stage, probably very early, in Christian history.
But it was soon abandoned, as the church girded its loins for the long,
grueling contest with paganism in the persecutions. Later counsels to
the martyrs, when the struggle became world wide, urged careful
preparation, preliminary discipline, and thorough training...The verse
is apparently a survival from the very earliest period in the spread of
the gospel." (P. 859)
Indeed, some of the greatest literature produced by the early
church consisted in "Apologies," long literary works carefully thought
out and written down for use in defense of the Christian faith against
its adversaries. We believe that the Gospel of Luke and the Book of
Acts are the first and greatest of these “apologies,” written in defense
of the Christian movement, showing to the Jews and to the Romans
especially how they had nothing to fear from the Christians, but only
1249
And brother will hand over brother to death, and a father a child, and
children will rise up against parents, and they will put them to
death.2234
13.13
And you will be hated
by all, on account of the name
much to gain.
France comments that “The promise that words will be supplied is
for hard-pressed disciples on trial, not for lazy preachers! Given the
low social status of most of Jesus’ early disciples, the prospect of an
appearance even before a local [governing body] would be daunting
enough, much more before [governors and kings], but their inadequacy
will be supplied by divine aid, so that the opportunity for effective
[testimony] will not be lost.” (P. 517)
Compare Luke 12:11-12; 21:12-15 (“I will give you words and wisdom
that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict”);
Acts 4:8 (Peter is filled with the Set-apart Spirit as he bears
testimony in the Jewish court), 31; 5:32; 6:10 (the opponents of Stephen
could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by which he spoke);
13:9; John 14:26; 15:26-27; 16:8-11 (the promise of the Spirit, the
Comforter, Who will teach the disciples of Jesus what to say, convicting
the world).
2234Grant notes that this statement "...Reflects conditions that
actually existed in religiously divided families from the first days of
Christian history, and as long as the persecutions raged." (P. 859) In
the Kingdom of God and its fellowship, the disciples of Jesus find a new
loyalty that far transcends their older family relationships; for that
Kingdom, they must be prepared to sacrifice the dearest relationships on
earth--in hopes of ultimately drawing their own precious families into
the eternal family of God. The same thing had happened to Jesus himself
and his earthly family. See Mark 3:20-21.
There is a biblical background for this warning of Jesus:
Micah 7:1-7:
see
"What misery is mine!
I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the
vineyard;
there is no cluster of grapes to eat,
none of the early figs that I crave.
The godly have been swept from the land;
not one upright human being remains [compare Elijah’s
pessimistic complaint
in 1 Kings 18:10, 14].
All of them lie in wait to shed blood;
each hunts his brother with a net.
1250
of mine.2235
But then the one enduring to (the) end,2236 this one will be
Both hands are skilled in doing evil;
the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes,
the powerful dictate what they desire-they all conspire together.
The best of them is like a brier,
the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen has come, the day God visits you.
Now is the time of their confusion.
Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend.
Even with her who lies in your embrace be careful of your
words.
For a son dishonors his father,
a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law-a man's enemies are the members of his own household.
But as for me, I watch in hope for YHWH,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me!"
It is to be noted how similar this entire passage is to Mark 13.
Micah is proclaiming the coming of the "Day of YHWH" upon Judah, and
shows how terribly wicked Judah had become, calling forth that divine
judgment. Reading these words of Micah is very similar to reading
Flavius Josephus' description of the terrible inhumanity and dishonesty
that prevailed in first century Jerusalem before her destruction. When
the Day of YHWH comes in human history, it comes in judgment upon the
injustices and broken relationships of humanity.
In such a time, the people of YHWH / Jesus must place their trust
in God their Savior, and not fall victim to placing their trust even in
their most intimate of family members!
France comments that “This is a level of persecution against
Christians for which we have little direct evidence in the first century
at least until Nero’s anti-Christian purge following the fire of Rome in
A.D. 64, though the deaths of Stephen and of the two Jameses (Acts 12:13; Josephus, Antiquities 20.200) and the persecution headed by Saul show
what might happen even within a Jewish context. [Handing over to death]
suggests the role of informers: already in the Neronian persecution
being a Christian was a sufficient cause for execution, and people were
convicted on the testimony of others...By
the time of Pliny’s governorship in Bithynia c. 112 A.D. such informing
on Christians was normal (Pliny, Epistle, 10.96.5-6).” (P. 518)
2235Luccock called this the "true apostolic succession."
"The
advent of Christ into any time or situation in which evil is powerful is
always a threat to its power; and the answer of threatened powers is
always hatred." (P. 860)
1251
delivered!2237
But, Luccock warned, "The question must be faced: Is the
opposition I meet, the hostility I incur, really for Christ's sake, or
does it have some less flattering origin?...
“The very words here are dangerous. If we do not think clearly and
humbly, we may make of them a ready and easy excuse for all our
difficulties... Most of our troubles have their source in our own faults
and failures...We persuade ourselves that we are being hated for our
uncompromising loyalty to Christ's truth, when all the time we have been
displaying an unsanctified stubbornness, self-will, and lust for
power...An honest look at ourselves would show something very different,
a lack of love in speaking the truth, a way of riding roughshod over
people's sensibilities, a brittle dogmatism which leaves no room for
tolerance, an unbridled conceit." (P. 860)
2236Luccock, along with others, has noted the contrast between mere
"survival" and "endurance." "To survive is to keep on breathing and
eating and sleeping; to endure is to keep on straining and wrestling and
holding out--to the last notch." (P. 860) Grant, in similar fashion,
holds that "’To the end’ is not to the end of the world, or of the
messianic
woes, but eivj te,loj, eis telos, to the last degree, to the final
pitch of patient endurance." (Ibid.)
Compare footnote 2213, where the phrase is to teloj, to telos,
“the end,” while here it is eivj te,loj, eis telos, literally “unto
end.” France comments that this phrase “...is a standard expression
xcnl
(often reflecting the Hebrew
, lanetsach, ‘forever’; for New
Testament examples see Luke 18:5; John 13:1) with the general meaning of
‘right through,’ ‘forever,’ without any specific [end] being in focus
(compare our idiom ‘for as long as it takes’)...” (P. 519)
2237Grant holds that "...This section [9-13] has clearly been edited
with the later church in mind, and as a whole it sounds more like some
early Christian visionary speaking in Christ's name than it does like
the historical Jesus himself." (P. 857) But this is an arbitrary
judgment, based on a conviction that Jesus could not have foreseen and
predicted the coming suffering of his disciples. If he foresaw his own
suffering and death, why could he not foresee the same things happening
to his disciples?
Anderson comments that in verses 9-13, "...More clearly than
anywhere else in the Gospel are mirrored the conditions prevailing in
the church to which, in a situation of crisis and indeed of suffering
and distress, Mark addressed his version of the good news of Jesus
Christ. That Church is perplexed and confused by some in the midst who
not only are filled with apocalyptic zeal in the conviction that the end
1252
13.142238
"So then when you may see 'the detestable thing2239 of the
is very close but also believe they are the chosen agents of God to
bring it about. The Church is here directed away from such apocalyptic
fervor to a patient but none-the-less active waiting that fills the
critical interim with the constructive task of preaching the gospel
(verse 10)." (P. 289)
Lane comments, "That this word should be treasured and recorded in
Rome where persecution threatened to divide and decimate the young
church should occasion no surprise...The persecution under Nero had lent
a terrible reality to this prophecy. The Gospel of Mark made clear that
no suffering had come to them that had not been foreseen by the Lord and
experienced by him." (P. 464)
France comments that “There is no expectation that this hostility
will be overcome, only that it must be endured...It is the disciple who
endures whatever may come without giving up who will ultimately come out
alright...This last sentence of the section is...not so much a
prediction about the ‘end’...as a call to endurance and the assurance
that those who suffer for Jesus will not be ultimately the losers.” (P.
519)
2238France comments on verses 14-23 that “Jesus has begun his answer
to the question about when the temple will be destroyed by speaking of
unsettling events which must happen, but ‘the end is not yet,’ and he
has gone on to focus on the disciples’ experience of persecution during
that time and to exhort them to faithful endurance. During this time
also the good news about Jesus mut be taken beyond Israel to [all the
nations]. It is a time of uncomfortable readjustment, as the new
situation resulting from the coming of Jesus causes the familiar lines
to be redrawn, in preparation for the drastic denouement which he has
predicted. But now it is time for him to begin to answer their question
more directly. [‘When you may see’] introduces a ‘sign’ more specific
and visible than anything which has emerged from verses 5-13, which
indicates that we have moved from the period of delay towards that of
fulfilment.” (P. 519)
2239The noun βδέλυγμα, bdelugma means "the subject of abhorrence."
"In the legal parts of the Bible the reference may be to things which
are cultically...'unclean,' 'repugnant' or 'abhorrent,' and especially
to certain pagan things which are particularly abominable to the God of
the Jewish Bible.
~yciWQvi
Thus idols themselves [in Hebrew,
, shiqqutsiym, see
1 Kings 11:5, 7, 7; 2 Kings 23:13, 13, 24; Isaiah 66:2; Jeremiah 4:1;
7:30; 13:27; 16:18; 32:34; Ezekiel 5:11; 7:20; 11:18, 21; 20:7, 8, 30;
37:23; Hosea 9:10; Nahum 3:6; Zechariah 9:7; Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
and 2 Chronicles 15:8] may be called bdelu,gmata, bdelugmata." (Werner
Foerster, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, I, P. 598)
Foerster holds that here in Mark 13:14, "The expression...is taken from
1253
desolation'2240 having stood2241 where it should not"2242–let the one
Daniel 12:11, where it denotes the desecration of the temple by an image
or altar of Zeus." (P. 600)
Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich-Danker defines the noun bde,lugma, bdelugma
as meaning “generally something that causes revulsion or extreme disgust, a ‘loathsome,
detestable thing,’ with reference to what is detested by God.” It means “something disgusting that
arouses wrath, ‘a loathsome thing.’” It also means “something that is totally defiling, an
abomination, or a pollutant, that is abhorred because it defiles a sacred place and causes it to be
left desolate,” compare 1 Maccabees 1:54, “Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev,
in the one hundred and forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating
sacrilege upon the altar of burnt offering...” The Greek text is
bde,lugma evrhmw,sewj, bdelugma eremoseos; here in Mark 13:14 the
phrase is to. bde,lugma th/j evrhmw,sewj, to bdelugma tes
eremoseos.
France comments that “The mention of [‘the detestable thing of the
desolation'] focuses our attention again on the temple, in which Daniel
had originally spoken of the unwelcome presence of such a [detestable
thing] (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11), and the response to its appearance
there is to be that the people in Judea must escape to the mountains
(verses 14-16)...
“The time of distress which will then set in (verses 17-20) is
generally recognized, as its context surely demands, as referring to the
period of Roman conquest of Judea and of Jewish infighting in the
capital which culminated in the siege of Jerusalem and would be brought
to its climax in A.D. 70 with the capture and devastation of the city
and the destruction of the temple...This section...presents an account
of the situation preceding the fall of the city, from the appearance of
the [detestable thing of the desolation], the last chance to escape,
into the horrors of the siege.” (Pp. 519-20)
2240The phrase τὸ βδέλυγμα τς ἐρημώσεως, to bdelugma tes eremoseos
means something like "the detestable thing that accompanies (or causes)
devastation." Very similar words are to be found in Daniel 9:27; 11:31;
and 12:11 (exactly the same words as in Mark 13:14), and in 1 Maccabees
1:54 (see the preceding footnote where this text is quoted). This is
said concerning Antiochus Epiphanes' desecration of the Jewish temple in
Jerusalem in 168 B.C.
Compare 2 Maccabees 6:1-2, “...The king sent an Athenian senator to
compel the Jews to forsake the laws of their fathers and cease to live
by the laws of God, and also to pollute the temple in Jerusalem and call
it the temple of Olympian Zeus.” That pollution consisted of an altar
built for the worship of Olympian Zeus and probably included a statue of
Zeus erected in the temple. It is obvious from this language that Jesus
expected and predicted that just such an occurrence could be expected by
his disciples in the near future--a desecration of the Jewish temple,
similar to that which had been experienced in the time of Antiochus
1254
Epiphanes--which would be followed by the destruction of the temple.
As France notes, this “detestable thing” must be in some way
“recognizable in terms of its meaning in Daniel, which was of a
profanation of the temple involving the setting up of [the detestable
thing that accompanied devastation] and the cessation of regular
sacrifices. The setting in Daniel makes it clear that this refers to
the abolition of the temple cult [which was] ordered by Antiochus
Epiphanes in 167 B.C., and 1 Maccabees 1:54, 59 confirms that [it]
represents the altar of Zeus which was then built over the altar of
burnt offering in the temple...Some such sacrilege will mark the
beginning of the process which leads to the temple’s destruction.” (P.
520)
Swete thinks that this refers to the presence of the Roman army
encircling the City of Jerusalem and the temple, which would be in
itself a βδέλυγμα, bdelugma of the worst kind, and one which foreboded
coming ruin (pp. 304-05).
2241France comments on the masculine participle e`sthko,ta,
hestekota, that it is unexpected, since the noun bde,lugma, bdelugma
is neuter. “Is Mark then transferring the language to speak of a
personal violator of the temple? That has been the conclusion of many
who have then associated this passage with the prophecy in 2
Thessalonians 2:3-4 of the [‘man of lawlessness’] who will take his seat
in the temple of God proclaiming himself to be God, and have taken it as
referring not to the events preceding the destruction of the temple but
to the eschatological conflict [i.e., at the end of time]. That is not
the only explanation of Mark’s masculine, however...If Mark had in mind
a counterpart to such a statue of the (male) god Zeus, he might well
have spoken of ‘him’ standing (masculine) in the temple.” (P. 523)
2242What can be meant by "having stood where it should not be"?
The
best interpretation is probably that a statue of Zeus, or some other
symbol of Roman religion has been erected and set up in the temple
dedicated to the worship of YHWH, God of Israel, and was definitely "out
of place" there in YHWH's temple.
Lane holds that during the period from November 67 to the spring of
68, "The Zealots moved into and occupied the temple area (Josephus, War
IV. iii. 7), allowed persons who had committed crimes to roam about
freely in the Holy of Holies (IV. iii. 10), and perpetrated murder
within the temple itself (IV. v. 4). These acts of sacrilege were
climaxed in the winter of 67-68 by the farcical investiture of the clown
Phanni as high priest (IV. iii. 6-8).
"It was in response to this specific action that the retired high
priest Ananus, with tears, lamented: 'It would have been far better for
me to have died before I had seen the house of God laden with such
1255
abominations and its unapproachable and hallowed places crowded with the
feet of murderers' (IV. iii. 10). Jewish Christians who had met in the
porches of the temple from the earliest days would have found this
spectacle no less offensive. It seems probable that they recognized in
Phanni 'the appalling sacrilege usurping a position which is not his,'
consigning the temple to destruction." (P. 469)
A comparison with Ezekiel 8-11 is important for an understanding of
this phrase. In those chapters, especially chapter 8, Ezekiel speaks of
an "idol of the jealousy that provokes to jealousy," an "utterly
detestable thing," that is causing the God of Israel's glory to depart
from Israel's temple, and that will ultimately result in the terrible
destruction of the temple by the Babylonians--that is, the destruction
that occurred in 587 / 86 B.C.
Ezekiel is told by the divine voice the things that the people of
Israel are doing are
tAlødoG> tAb’[eAT,
to(ebhoth gedholoth, literally "great
abhorrent things" or "great abominations." When Ezekiel went inside the
temple court in Jerusalem, he saw inscribed upon the wall "every figure
#q,v,
of creeping animals and cattle, detestable things (
, sheqets), and
all idols of Israel's house." Israel's official leaders were standing
before those inscriptions, censers in hand, offering up the smoke of
their incense to these idolatrous gods, since they assumed that YHWH God
had forsaken Israel.
Ezekiel was also shown the women of Israel, "weeping for Tammuz"-which means that they had joined in the fertility worship of the
Babylonian god Dumuzi [in Greek, "Adonis"], a dying, rising god of the
ancient fertility religions, similar to the worship of Baal and Asherah
among Israel's Canaanite neighbors. Ezekiel also was shown a number of
Israelite leaders of worship, with their backs to the set-apart place of
YHWH, and their faces to the east, worshiping the sun [
Shemesh, a divine name among Israel's neighbors].
vm,v,,
However, Ezekiel is told, YHWH will not forsake them forever, but
will come to them in their exile, and bring their remnant back to
Israel, where the returnees will destroy all the detestable things
~yciWQvi,
[
to(ebhoth].
shiqqutsiym] and abhorrent things [
tAb’[eAT,
It seems obvious that the statements in Daniel concerning the
"detestable thing that desolates" should be understood in the light of
Ezekiel 8-11. It refers to the presence of idolatrous worship in the
temple of YHWH, a turning away from YHWH to the gods of the surrounding
nations, resulting in YHWH's glory departing from his people, and
1256
reading understand!2243--"then let those who are in Judea2244 escape into
leading to the destruction of both the temple and the Nation of Israel.
Jesus' use of this same language implies that the same thing that
had occurred in the time of Ezekiel, and then of Daniel, was about to
happen again in the first century, as Israel turned from YHWH God to
worship something other, something idolatrous, that would result in the
divine destruction of her temple and land, as the Romans would come with
their armies to destroy the Jewish temple.
It is clear from the reading of Flavius Josephus' Jewish War that
just such a perversion of Israel's religion had occurred in the temple
in Jerusalem during those years immediately preceding the Roman
destruction in 70 A.D. Thus Jesus warns of something which observers
could easily see and understand in terms of the background found in the
Jewish Bible. Any interpretation that moves far from this biblical
understanding of the language, quickly becomes speculative and
misleading.
2243Following the phrase ὁ ἀναγινώσκων νοείτω, ho anaginoskon
voeito, “let the one reading understand,” the phrase ti anaginoskei,
“what he is reading,” is interpolated into the text by Bezae and the Old
Latin Manuscript a. We think this variant reading is of the nature of
early commentary on the original text, and that it is a correct
commentary, making explicit what is implicit in the original.
Obviously, these words, "Let the reader understand," have been
inserted into the words of Jesus by the author of Mark, warning the
reader of the difficulty involved in this language. It is not an easily
understood concept, and demands diligence on the part of the reader.
This is another example of what we call “the whispering wizard,” the
voice of the omnipresent, omniscient author, taking care for his
readers, explaining his meaning,
warning them of difficulties, detailing information impossible for the
reader to know otherwise.
France agrees with this conclusion (p. 523). He states that “...In
view of the cryptic nature of the reference to a bde,lugma, bdelugma
‘detestable thing’ standing where he should not it is probably also a
warning that the meaning is not on the surface and will need to be
thought out if the reader is to be a position to take appropriate note
of this ‘sign’ (compare Revelation 13:18; 17:9 for the need for nou/j,
nous, ‘mind’ in order to profit from cryptic symbolism.” (P. 524)
2244The limitation of this warning to the people of Judea shows
clearly that a universal drama is not envisioned, but rather, a "Judean
drama," to be unfolded in the coming destruction of the temple located
in Judea.
1257
the mountains!2245
13.15
[And then] let the one2246 upon the house-top
France comments that “The imperatives of verses 14-16 are in the
third person [i.e., ‘let them...’], directed at ‘people in Judea’ rather
than the disciples specifically. If they are involved in these events
at all, it is as part of the general populace of Judea, not with a
special role in their own right.” (Pp. 521-22)
2245France states that “Once the presence of the ‘detestable thing’
is perceived, action must not be delayed...” (P. 524)
The early church historian Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History
III. v, states that "...The people of the church in Jerusalem were
commanded by an oracle given by revelation before the war to those in
the city who were worthy of it to depart and dwell in one of the cities
of Perea which they called Pella. To it those who believed on Christ
migrated from Jerusalem, that when holy men had altogether deserted the
royal capital of the Jews and the whole land of Judea, the judgment of
God might at last overtake them for
all their crimes against the Christ and his Apostles..." (Pp. 200-201,
Kirsopp Lake's translation in the Loeb Classical Library)
France comments that “Such a call could fit into what we know of
the war in Judea at a number of points. In Josephus’ account the actual
siege of Jerusalem does not begin until the early part of A.D. 70, by
which time the war in Judea had already lasted on and off for three and
a half years...It was not until Passover of A.D. 70, after Vespasian had
again suspended the war to become emperor, that Titus’ army arrived
before the walls of Jerusalem. At what point in this sequence of events
in Judea it might have been appropriate to escape to the hills is a
matter of speculation.” (P. 524)
He suggest three possibilities–(1) the instruction by the emperor
Gaius Caligula that a statue of himself should be installed in the
temple at Jerusalem (but which was never carried out); (2) the carrying
of standards with religious symbolism into the temple area by Roman
soldiers, considered idolatrous by the Jews; and (3) the appointment of
a mock high priest named Phanni by the Zealots in the winter of A.D. 6768. (Ibid.)
2246The phrase ὁ δὲ, ho de, “the one, then,” is read by Sinaiticus,
Alexandrinus, L, W, Psi, Families 1 and 13 of Minuscules, the “Majority
Text” and the Harclean Syriac.
It is read simply o`, ho, “the one,” by Vaticanus, Minuscules 1424,
2427, 2542, some other Greek manuscripts, the Old Latin Manuscript c and
the Coptic tradition.
It is changed to kai. o`, kai ho, “and the one,” by Bezae, Theta,
Minuscules 565, 700, the Latin Vulgate, a few of the Old Latin
witnesses, the Sinaitic Syriac and the Peshitta Syriac.
1258
not come down2247 nor enter in to carry anything2248 out of the house of
his!
13.16
And let the one in the field not turn back to the things2249 behind
The variants make it possible that the particle de,, de, “but
then,” may have not been original, and thus it has been placed in the
text, but within brackets. The variant readings do not change the
meaning of Mark, but are only different ways of saying the same thing.
2247Immediately following the phrase μὴ καταβάτω, me katabato, “let
him not come down,” the phrase eij thn oikian, eis ten oikian, “into
the house,” is interpolated into the text by Alexandrinus, Bezae, W,
Theta, Families 1 and 13 of Minuscules, the “Majority Text,” the Latin
Vulgate, a few of the Old Latin witnesses, the Sinaitic Syriac and the
Harclean Syriac.
This additional phrase is not read by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, L,
Psi, Minuscules 892, 2427, a few other Greek manuscripts, the Old Latin
Manuscripts c, k, the Peshitta Syriac and the Coptic tradition.
The interpolated phrase simply makes explicit what is implicit in
the original text, and does not change its meaning.
2248The phrase ραί τι, arai ti, “to carry anything,” is read by
Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Bezae, Theta, Families 1 and 13 of Minuscules,
the “Majority Text” and the entire Latin tradition.
It is changed to read ti a=rai, ti arai, “anything to carry,” by
Vaticanus, K, L, Psi,
Minuscules 892, 2427, and a few other Greek manuscripts.
Only the infinitive a=rai, arai is read by W and Minuscule 2542.
The change in word-order does not effect the meaning of Mark. The
omission of ti, ti, “anything,” doesn’t change the meaning, but makes it
a little more difficult to read.
Normally the more difficult reading would be considered original, but
here the textual witness is too weak for this reading to be considered
original.
2249The phrase εἰς τὰ, eis ta, “into the things,” is omitted by
Sinaiticus, Bezae, Uncial Manuscript 083, Minuscule 579 and a few other
Greek manuscripts.
We think that this variant is an improvement of the original text,
in which these words create a difficulty in reading–and this very fact
causes us to think the phrase was original in Mark. The omission, we
think, does not change the meaning of Mark, but makes its meaning
clearer.
1259
to get his coat!2250
13.17
So then how sad for those who are pregnant,
and for those who are breast-feeding
2250France
comments that “Insofar as [this warning] is to be taken
literally it shows that the situation envisaged is not of the siege in
Jerusalem, but of people living out in the countryside of Judea and
still able to run away...” (P. 526)
For the background in the Jewish Bible for this kind of divine
warning concerning "not turning back" on the Day of YHWH, compare the
story of Lot's wife in Genesis 19:26. When the divine destruction of
YHWH's Day is seen approaching, there is no time to take thought for
anything other than escape! Such things as precious possessions kept in
the home, or personal clothing or other items left beside the fields by
the workers, must be forgotten and left behind, due to the critical
importance of quickness in escaping the on-coming destruction.
Evidently this kind of warning enabled the disciples of Jesus living in
Judea to escape the destruction that fell upon the Jews in 70 A.D.
1260
1261
in those days!2251
winter!2252
13.18
13.192253
So then pray that it may not happen in
For those days will be a distress,2254 of such a
2251The
reason for this expression of grief over expectant and
nursing mothers is that there will simply be no time for special
provisions for their critical needs. Anyone who has
ever gone on a trip with a pregnant woman or with a nursing mother knows
well what Jesus referred to in that time before baby bottles and nursing
formulas!
2252The phrase γένηται χειμνος, genetai cheimonos, “(that it) may
(not) happen during winter,” is read by the first writer of Sinaiticus,
Vaticanus, W, Uncial Manuscript 083, Minuscule 2427, the Sinaitic Syriac
and a few manuscripts of the Bohairic Coptic.
The phrase is changed to read cei,mwnoj ge,nwntai, cheimonos
genontai, “(that) during winter they may (not) happen,” by Bezae.
It is changed to read ge,nhtai tau/ta cei,mwnoj, genetai tauta
cheimonos, “(that) these things may (not) happen during winter,” by
Theta (with a different word-order), Family 13 of Minuscules, Minuscules
28, 565, a few other Greek manuscripts, the Old
Latin Manuscripts a (see) b (see) the first writer of n (see), q (see)
and some manuscripts of the Latin Vulgate (see).
It is changed to read cei,mwnoj tau/ta gi,netai hv sabba,tou,
cheimonos tauta ginetai e sabbatou, “(that) during winter these things
happen, or during a Day of Rest,” by L, some other Greek manuscripts
(see), a corrector of the Old Latin Manuscript n, a few
manuscripts of the Sahidic Coptic (see) and a few manuscripts of the
Bohairic Coptic (see).
It is changed to read ge,nhtai h` fugh. u`mw/n cei,monoj,
genetai he phuge humon cheimonos, “(that) your flight may not happen
during winter,” by a corrector of Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Psi, Family
1 of Minuscules, the “Majority Text,” the Old Latin Manuscript k (see),
the Peshitta Syriac, the Harclean Syriac and the Coptic tradition.
What an array of variant readings! It seems apparent that copyists
and translators had difficulty in making sense of the original reading,
and slightly changed the wording, adding in their commentary-like
additions in order to make its meaning clearer.
None of these variant readings change the basic meaning of Mark,
however, which urges the hearers to pray that the coming of the
destroying armies will not happen at a time when flight will be impeded
1262
kind as has not happened since the beginning of creation which God
created,2255 until now--and should not happen!2256
13.20
And if (the)
or difficult. Winter is the time of rainy, stormy weather--when rapid
escape will be even more difficult, due to the unsure footing, and
additional necessity for warm clothing and shelter that will be
unavailable at such a time.
2253France comments on verse 19 that “...Now there is no more talk
of flight to the hills and the reference seems to include more
specifically the siege in Jerusalem, whose horrors Josephus so
graphically describes...” (P. 527)
2254The noun θλψις, thlipsis means "pressure"; then, in a
figurative way, it means "oppression," "affliction," "tribulation."
France comments that the expression here recalls the language of Daniel
12:1 (Theodotian). “But since this is the sort of language which is
used frequently of a great disaster (compare Exodus 9:18; 10:14 (“Never
before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be
again”); 11:6 (“There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt–worse than
there has ever been or ever will be again”); Joel 2:2 (“...A large and
mighty army [of locusts] comes, such as never was of old, nor ever will
be in ages to come”; but compare this with Exodus 10:14!); 1 Maccabees
9:27...Revelation 16:18 (“No earthquake like it has ever occurred since
man has been on earth”), it is probably unwise to press too closely any
specific link with the Daniel text here...
“These [passages] are apparently, stock expressions for
unparalleled suffering, and are not to be pressed literally...” (P.
527) Indeed, if they are pressed literally, there is a great problem of
which was the greatest ever locust invasion, that of Exodus 10:14 of
that of Joel 2:2!
2255The phrase h]n e;ktisen o` qeo.j, hen ektisen ho theos,
“which the God created,” is omitted by Bezae, Theta, Minuscule 565, a
few other Greek manuscripts and a majority of the Old Latin witnesses.
Here again we see Bezae shortening the text, rather than expanding
it. The omission does not change the meaning of Mark, but in fact
eliminates a redundant statement from the original text, unnecessary for
its meaning.
2256This statement of Jesus should be compared with Daniel 12:1,
...ἐκείνη ἡ ἡμέρα θλίψεως οἵα οὐκ ἐγενήθη ἀφ̓ο ἐγενήθησαν ἕως τς
ἡμέρας ἐκείνης..., ekeine he hemera thlipseos hoia ouk egenethe aph’ hou
egenethesan heos tes hemeras ekeines, “...that day of tribulation, which
has not come since when they began until that day.” Jesus’ words are,
“For those days will be a distress, of such a kind as has not happened
since the beginning of creation which God created, until now--and should
not happen!”
1263
Lord did not shorten2257 the days, no flesh would be delivered!2258
But
rather, because of the chosen people, whom he chose, he shortened the
days.2259
Some have quoted this saying of Jesus as proof that Jesus is
referring to the "end of the world" and not to the destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 A.D., because, they say, the suffering of 70 A.D. was
not as terrible as that of the Jewish holocaust in Nazi Germany, or that
of the sufferers in the Gulag Archipelago as described by Alexander
Solzynetsin.
However, it is a very difficult matter to "weigh" the amount of
suffering involved in the massive overthrows of nations and in
genocides. It may be best simply to understand Jesus' language in terms
of "hyperbole"--in which shocking language is used to emphasize
the horrible nature of the suffering, but which is not intended to be
taken literally. Compare footnote 2254. Josephus described the
destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. as follows:
"Indeed, in my opinion, the misfortunes of all nations since the
world began fall short of those of the Jews; and since the blame lay
with no foreign nation, it was impossible to restrain one's grief."
(The Jewish War, I. 12) "No other city ever endured such miseries, nor
since the world began has there been a generation more prolific in
crime." (Ibid., V. 443)
Josephus estimated that some three million people died in 70 A.D.
in Jerusalem; did the Nazi holocaust equal that intensity over such a
short period of time? And, we ask, was that destruction brought upon
the Jewish people by the Jews themselves, as happened in 70 A.D.?
2257The phrase ἐκολόβωσεν κύριος, ekolobosen kurios, literally
“shortened, Lord,” meaning “the Lord shortened,” is read by Sinaiticus,
Vaticanus, L, Minuscules 892, 2427, a few other Greek manuscripts, the
Latin Vulgate and a few of the Old Latin witnesses.
It is changed to read o` qeo.j evkolo,bwsen, ho theos
ekolobosen, “the God shortened,” by Theta, Psi (see–it has a different
word-order), Family 13 of Minuscules, Minuscules 28, 565, 2542, a few
other Greek manuscripts, the Old Latin Manuscript b (see), c (see), ff2
(see) and k (see).
The variant reading does not change the meaning of Mark, except for
making definite what is left ambiguous in the original text. That is,
the original (with ku,rioj, kurios, “Lord”) can be understood as
referring to either God or to Jesus as “Lord of history.” But the
variant makes it definite–God is the subject who “shortens” the period
1264
of distress. The verb ἐκολόβωσεν, ekolobosen can mean either "he
mutilated," or "he curtailed." It is used here in a figurative sense,
"he curtailed,” “he shortened."
France comments that “For the idea, if not the language, compare
Isaiah 65:8, where the threatened judgment is held back for the sake of
God’s ‘servants’ (and compare Genesis 18:23-33, where the presence of
even ten ‘righteous’ would have rescued
Sodom)...The siege of Jerusalem, though terrible, lasted only five
months, and that relatively short period is attributed to God’s concern
for his [chosen ones]...” (P. 527)
2258Literally, "all flesh would not then be saved / delivered."
2259Anderson comments that "At the oracle's close this declaration
would have brought great comfort to Christians, conveying as it does the
message that come what may even of unprecedented tribulations, God is
still in charge and his mercy is assured to the faithful." (P. 297)
It is the teaching of the Jewish Bible that the Day of YHWH can be
averted or escaped by repentance--as in the story of the Prophet Jonah.
See especially Jeremiah 18:7-10: "If at any time I [YHWH] announce that
a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if
that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not
inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I
announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if
it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider
the good I had intended to do for it." It is the further teaching of
the Jewish Bible that even when the divine destruction is inevitable
because of the failure of human beings to repent, YHWH God still cares
for and delivers his "chosen people," making of them the "remnant" from
which a "new world" and future will arise.
In our comments at the close of verse 8, we have insisted that no
matter how terrifying the events of history may be, the believing
Christian can trust that God is at work in human history, bringing his
new world to birth in the midst of all the evil and destruction that may
surround them. Again, at the close of verse 14, we have emphasized that
no matter the terrible persecution that may arise against the followers
of Jesus, all of those who patiently endure “to the end” will be saved,
will be delivered. That means, we are not fighting a losing battle, but
we will be ultimately victorious in spite of all the suffering and
losses we may be forced to endure in history.
We agree with Anderson’s comment in the first paragraph of this
note. History will not be all peace and quiet–quite the contrary, our
history will be filled with distress, and the need for fleeing from
armed conflicts that threaten our lives. But the followers of Jesus
need never be in despair–for in spite of human wickedness, God is still
on the throne, and in charge of history, intervening for the protection
1265
13.212260
And then, if anyone should say to you people, 'Look!
Here (is) the
Anointed One!'2261
'Look, there!', don't believe (it).2262
13.22
For2263
and deliverance of his chosen people!
2260France comments on verses 21-22 that “If there was scope for
messianic pretenders in the decades between Jesus’ ministry and the
outbreak of war...the years of war and siege offer more...We may note
the pretensions of Menahem, son of Judas of Galilee, who (according to
Josephus, War 2.433-48) around A.D. 66 came into Jerusalem ‘as if he
were really a king’ (434) and worshiped in the temple ‘arrayed in royal
robes’ (444); similarly Simon Bar-Giora (War 4.503-44, etc.) about A.D.
69 gained the obedience of his fellow citizens ‘as to a king’ (510).
Such language in a Jewish context suggests messianic pretensions.” (P.
528)
The fact is, God has given us human beings great freedom. We are
free to listen for God’s word, and obey it, becoming citizens of his
eternal kingdom. But we are also free to refuse to listen, and refuse
to obey, making great claims for ourselves, taking divine honors upon
ourselves. We think of these first century pretenders, Menahem and
Simon Bar-Giora; but we also think in the late twentieth century of such
pretenders as James Jones and David Koresh, and many, many others, who
have claimed to be divine (Koresh claimed to be YHWH’s Anointed One, a
new “Cyrus”). Jesus warns his followers to always be on the lookout for
such pretenders, and to refuse to follow their leadership, no matter
their egotistical claims. You can tell the difference: the false
pretenders call people to themselves, to further their egotistical
objectives; the true representatives of God only call people to God and
the divine objectives. The false spokespersons make predictions that
don’t come true; the true spokespersons for God make predictions that
come true.
2261The conjunction kai,, kai, “and,” is interpolated into the text
at this point by Vaticanus, Minuscule 2427, a corrector of the Old Latin
Manuscript r, the Peshitta Syriac and some manuscripts of the Sahidic
Coptic.
The particle hv, e, “or,” is interpolated by Alexandrinus, Ephraemi
Rescriptus (see), Bezae, K, Gamma, Delta, Theta, Family 1 of Minuscules,
Minuscule 28, many other Greek manuscripts, a majority of the Old Latin
witnesses, the Harclean Syriac, a number of manuscripts of the Sahidic
Coptic and the Bohairic Coptic(?).
The text without either of these words is read by Sinaiticus, L, W,
Psi, Uncial Manuscript 083, Family 13 of Minuscules, Minuscules 565,
579, 700, 892, 1241, 1424, 2542, many other Greek manuscripts, the Latin
1266
false anointed ones and2264 false spokespersons will be raised up, and
they will give2265 signs and wonders,2266
Vulgate, a few of the Old Latin witnesses and the Sinaitic Syriac.
Neither interpolation changes the meaning of Mark, but both of them
demonstrate the freedom felt by copyists and translators to slightly
change the text being copied in order to improve on its reading.
2262Again Jesus renews his warning against placing confidence in
those who make sensational claims to knowledge concerning "the last
things." Lane comments that "Here the point is...not to be deterred
from flight by the claim that the Messiah was here, or there." (P. 472)
See footnote 2185 again. Many a disillusioned believer later wished
they had not placed confidence in the predictions of Miller, Russell,
Rutherford, the Armstrongs, James Jones or David Koresh!
2263The conjunction γὰρ, gar, “for,” is changed to de,, de, “then,”
by Sinaiticus and Ephraemi Rescriptus.
Ga,r, gar is read by Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Bezae, L, W, Theta,
Psi, Uncial Manuscript 083, Families 1 and 13 of Minuscules, Minuscule
2427 and a number of versions of the “Majority Text.” Whichever word is
read makes no difference for the meaning of Mark.
2264The phrase ψευδόχριστοι καὶ..., pseudochristoi kai..., “false
anointed (kings) and...,” is omitted by Bezae, a few other Greek
manuscripts, and the Old Latin Manuscripts I and k.
There could well have been a skipping of the eye of the copyist
from the ending -oi kai, -oi kai of this phrase to the ending -ai
kai,, -ai kai of the next phrase, ψευδοπροφται καὶ, pseudoprophetai
kai, “false spokespersons and,” but that would have caused the omission
of the second phrase, not the first. We conclude that the copyist of
Bezae has
considered the original text redundant at this point, and has chosen to
simply eliminate the first phrase. See footnotes 2260 and 2262 for this
warning.
2265The future verb δώσουσιν, dosousin, “they will give,” is read by
Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, L, W, Psi,
Uncial Manuscript 083, Family 1 of Minuscules, Minuscule 2427 and some
versions of the “Majority Text.”
It is changed to the future verb poih,sousin, poiesousin, “they
will do” (or ‘make’), by Bezae, Theta, Family 13 of Minuscules,
Minuscules 28, 565, a few other Greek manuscripts, and the Old Latin
Manuscript a.
The variant reading is obviously an attempt to “improve” on the
1267
in order to cause the chosen ones, if possible,2267 to go astray.2268
original text, where the verb “give” seems somewhat out of place, and
the verb “to do” or “to make” is more appropriate. However, the variant
reading scarcely changes the meaning of Mark.
2266The accomplishment of "signs and wonders" is not necessarily a
proof of the validity of those who perform them! There are many false
spokespersons and magicians who can give striking signs and wonders, but
who are not truly representatives of God. Far too many people today, as
throughout history, are prone to be "chasers after miracles and signs,"
believing that anybody who does such things or makes great claims is
truly from God. But, Jesus warns, there is plenty of "counterfeit"
religion in the world, and we should not quickly put our confidence in
such claims or experiences. Compare Deuteronomy 13:1-3.
2267Strangely, this statement has been taken as a proof-text for the
doctrine of the "impossibility of apostasy" on the part of God's chosen
people. But to say "if possible" is not the same thing as saying "It is
impossible"! Rather, it leaves the matter open. Is it possible? That
depends upon the chosen ones! It is not possible if the chosen ones
keep their hearts and lives loyal to the one choosing them; but it is
possible if they turn away from their first love. If it were not
possible, why does Jesus follow this statement with the warning for his
disciples to "Watch out!"?
France comments that “...This is a deception which would lead the
[chosen ones] away from their Christian discipleship. The addition of
[if possible], however, conveys an optimistic expectation that their
faith will prove equal to the test.” (P. 529)
Yes, it is an optimistic expectation expressed by Jesus. He
believes that those who commit themselves in faith to following him will
not easily be led astray.
2268Such
passages as Josephus, The Jewish War, II, 254-263 provide
important historical background for this kind of bad religious
leadership:
"...A new species of banditti was springing up in Jerusalem, the
so-called sicarii [today we would call them ‘terrorists’], who committed
murders in broad daylight in the heart of the city. The festivals were
their special seasons, when they would mingle with the crowd, carrying
their short daggers concealed under their clothing, with which they
stabbed their enemies...The first to be assassinated by them was
Jonathan the high-priest...
“Besides these there arose another body of villains, with purer
hands but more impious intentions, who no less than the assassins ruined
1268
13.23
So then you people, watch out!2269
I have forewarned you (of) all
the peace of the city. Deceivers and impostors, under the pretence of
divine inspiration fostering revolutionary changes, they persuaded the
multitude to act like madmen, and led them out into the desert under the
belief that God would there give them tokens of deliverance. Against
them Felix, regarding this as but the preliminary to insurrection, sent
a body of cavalry and heavy-armed infantry, and put a large number to
the sword.
"A still worse blow was dealt at the Jews by the Egyptian false
prophet. A charlatan, who had gained for himself the reputation of a
prophet, this man appeared in the country, collected a following of
about thirty thousand dupes, and led them by a circuitous route from the
desert to the mount called the mount of Olives. From there he proposed
to force an entrance into Jerusalem and, after overpowering the Roman
garrison, to set himself up as tyrant of the people, employing those who
poured in with him as his bodyguard. His attack was anticipated by
Felix, who went to meet him with the Roman heavy infantry... The
Egyptian escaped with a few of his disciples; most of his force were
killed or taken prisoners..."
Those who risked or lost their lives in following the leadership of
the banditti / sicarii, or the impostors claiming divine inspiration, of
the Egyptian false prophet, would have been well served to have heard
and heeded this warning of Jesus, just as would those in our present day
who have followed the Muslim jihadists, or the likes of David Koresh or
James Jones!
2269Following the warning, βλέπετε, blepete, “you people, watch
out!”, the word ivdou,, idou, “look–“ is interpolated into the text,
conforming to the parallel Gospel (Matthew 24:25), by Sinaiticus,
Alexandrinus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, Bezae, Theta, Families 1 and 13 of
Minuscules, the “Majority Text,” the Latin Vulgate, a few of the Old
Latin witnesses, the Syriac tradition and a few manuscripts of the
Bohairic Coptic.
The text without this interpolation is read by Vaticanus, L, W,
Psi, Uncial Manuscript 083, Minuscules 28, 2427, a few other Greek
manuscripts and the Coptic tradition.
Whether read or not makes no difference for Mark. The evidence is
almost evenly divided, and the word may well have been original,
although we see no reason for omitting if it was original.
It is a repetition of the basic warning of Mark 13–always be on
your guard, always be careful to “watch out,” when it comes to people
claiming to have special knowledge of the future, or to know the time of
the end. We will all be well served to heed this warning of our Lord!
1269
things.2270
13.242271
"But rather,2272 in those days,2273 after that distress,2274
2270The
Lord knows what the future holds for his chosen ones. As
Grant notes, "This is the assurance that Christian believers possess.
Christ has foreseen it all, and will guide his disciples through the
struggle...But they must take heed, watch, and endure." (P. 862) Don’t
even begin to think that there will be no struggle, for there will be,
and the struggle is to the death. But no matter what comes, even death,
the great Lord of the Church will know what is happening, and will see
his people through safely to the end!
2271France comments on verses 24-31 that “...We reach at last the
destruction of the temple, described not only in prosaic terms of verse
2 but in the richly colored and evocative language of Old Testament
prophecy. Almost every word of verses 24b-27 is drawn from the
prophets...The passages cited in verses 24b-25 use the language of
cosmic disintegration to denote, as often in prophecy,
climactic...changes in the existing world order. The lights are going
out in the centers of power, and the way is being prepared for a new
world order. And in verses 26-27 it comes: Daniel’s vision of the
enthronement of the Son of Man will be seen to be fulfilled, and that
Son of Man will send out his angels from his heavenly throne to collect
into his kingdom the [chosen ones] not now of Israel only but of all
nations...
“The imagery has powerfully conveyed to those who are familiar with
Old Testament prophecy the fundamental ‘change of government’ which is
symbolized by the destruction of that now discredited building in
Jerusalem and all that it represented. From now on it will not be the
national shrine which will be the focus of the people of God, but the
Son of man to whom has now been given, as Daniel 7:14 predicted, an
everlasting and universal dominion which embraces all nations and
languages...
”The key to this understanding in particular of verses 24-27 lies
in our willingness and ability to hear the prophetic imagery as it would
have been heard by those in Jesus’ day who were at home in Old Testament
prophetic language, rather than as it is ‘naturally’ heard by Christian
readers for whom the ‘coming of the Son of Man’ has since gained a
different connotation through its association with the idea of
parousi,a, parousia, ‘coming / presence’ [a word which has been
mistakenly taken to mean “Second Coming,” and also, a word that is
conspicuously absent from this discourse in Mark].” (Pp. 530-31)
2272France notes that “It is sometimes suggested that the ‘strongly
adversative avlla,, alla, ‘but rather,’ indicates a change of subject,
and alerts the reader that the spotlight is at this point moving away
from the time of the Jewish War to a more ultimate perspective of the
1270
the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,2275 13.25
parousi,a, parousia, ‘presence / coming’ [mistakenly taken to mean
“Second Coming”] and the end of the world...That is a lot to derive from
an alla,, alla, ‘but rather’! It does indeed indicate a contrast
between what has just been described and what is to follow, but that
contrast does not need to be in time, but in the scale of events, as we
move from the preliminaries, horrible as they may be, to the climax of
Jesus’ vision of what is to come. Indeed, the following words firmly
rule out any suggestion that the discourse has now moved to a different
time or place: [‘in those days’] could not be more explicit. What is
to be described in these verses will take place at the same period as
the events of verses 14-22...” (Pp. 531-32)
2273The phrase "In those days" is a stereotyped expression in the
Jewish Bible. See, for example, Jeremiah 3:16, 18; 31:29; 33:15-16 (the
coming days of the “Branch,” i.e., the Anointed One); Joel 3:1 (future
days, when YHWH restores the fortune of Judah and Jerusalem) and
Zechariah 8:23. Simply by itself, however, it has no specific meaning,
other than pointing out into the future, or as here, to the days that
are to come just after those days already having been described.
2274For this language, compare verse 19, "For those days [when the
Roman armies invade Judea and Jerusalem] will be a (time of)
distress..." It is noteworthy that according to this passage, the
heavenly portents that were commonly described as accompanying the
coming of YHWH's Day in the Jewish Bible, are here said to follow that
invasion, which would result in the destruction of Jerusalem and its
temple. Jesus evidently means that this invasion is a precursor of the
“Day of the Lord,” which is coming upon Jerusalem and its temple,
resulting in the overthrow of both the nation and religion of Israel.
2275The language of verse 24b is paralleled at several points in the
prophetic literature:
Isaiah 34:4, during YHWH's judgment against Edom,
that: "All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved
rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall
leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig
it is predicted
and the sky
like withered
tree."
Ezekiel 32:7-8, when Babylon snuffs out Pharaoh of Egypt, YHWH will
“cover the heavens, and darken their stars; YHWH will cover the sun with
a cloud, and the moon will not give its light; all the shining lights in
the heavens YHWH will darken over Pharaoh...”
Joel 2:10, before the invading army of locusts, “the earth shakes,
the sky trembles, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer
shine...”
Joel 2:31, when the day of the Lord comes, after that locust
invasion, “the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood...”
1271
Joel 3:15, when the nations go down into the “Valley of Decision,”
the sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine...
Amos 8:9, when the end comes on Northern Israel, as the Assyrians
invade and take its people captive, YHWH will make the sun go down at
noon and darken the earth in broad daylight...
But France holds that the most closely related passage in the
Jewish Bible is the Greek translation of Isaiah 13:10, part of the
oracle against Babylon, which states that the day of the Lord is coming
on Babylon, the destroyer of Judah, and her Kingdom is going to fall.
When this happens,
oi` ga.r avste,rej tou/ ouvranou/ kai. o` VWri,wn kai.
pa/j o` ko,smoj tou/ ouvranou/ to. fw/j ouv dw,sousin kai.
skotisqh,setai tou/ h`li,ou avnate,llontoj kai. h` selh,nh ouv
dw,sei to. fw/j auvth/j
“For the stars of the heaven and the [bright constellation of] Orion, and all the world of the
heaven, the light they will not give, and it will be darkened, the sun as it rises, and the moon will
not give its light.”
France states that “In most of these passages the immediate reference is to the imminent
downfall of specific nations (Egypt, Babylon, Edom, Israel, and Judah), though in Joel 3:15 there
is a more universal perspective (all the nations gathered for judgment before Jerusalem)...
“In the original prophetic context...such ‘cosmic’ language conveys a powerful symbolism of
political changes within world history, and is not naturally to be understood of a literal collapse of
the universe at the end of the world...
“It is, in the words of N. T. Wright, ‘typical Jewish imagery for events within the present
order that are felt and perceived as ‘cosmic’ or, as we should say, ‘earth-shattering.’ The events
so described are catastrophic for the nations concerned, and to use such language adds a heavy
ideological loading of divine judgment. God is redrawing the map of world politics, and the familiar
structures of international affairs will never be the same again. But the dramatic collapse of the
power structures is not the end of world history, but the beginning of a new and better phase, in
which God’s purpose will be worked out...
”What is startling about the use of such language by Jesus in this context is not that he
uses the same imagery as the prophets, but that he uses it with regard to the fate of Jerusalem
and its temple. In most uses of such language in the prophets the target was a
Gentile nation which posed a threat to Israel or Judah [but note that Amos 8:9 is a threat against
Northern Israel]. But now the target is Jerusalem itself, and more specifically God’s house in
Jerusalem.” (Pp. 532-33)
1272
and the stars will be falling out of the heaven,2276 and the powers, the
ones in the heavens will be shaken.2277
13.262278
And then they will see
2276The
phrase ἔσονται ἐκ το οὐρανο πίπτοντες, esontai ek tou
ouranou piptontes, literally “they will be out of the heaven falling,”
is read by Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus (reading the verb evkpi,pontej,
ekpiptontes), Vaticanus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, Theta, Psi, Minuscules 579
(see), 892, 1424, 2427 (see), a few other Greek manuscripts and the Old
Latin Manuscripts a and I.
The phrase is changed to read tou/ ouvranou/ ev,sontai
evkpi,ptontej, tou ouranou esontai ekpiptontes (L and the Old Latin
Manuscript aur read pi,ptontej, piptontes), “from the heaven they will
be falling out,” by L, Family 1 of Minuscules, the ‘Majority Text,” the
Old Latin Manuscripts aur, l, the Latin Vulgate and the Harclean Syriac.
It is changed to read oi` evk tou/ ouvranou/ ev,sontai
pi,ptontej, hoi ek tou ouranou esontai piptontes, the ones which out
of the heaven will be falling,” by Bezae, Family 13 of Minuscules (see),
Minuscules 28 (see), 2542 (see), a few other Greek manuscripts (see) and
the Harclean Syriac margin.
It is changed to read evk tou/ ouvranou/ pe,sountai, ek tou
ouranou pesountai, “out of the heaven they will fall,” by W, Minuscules
565 (with a different word-order), 700 (with a different word-order) and
the Old Latin Manuscript e.
These variant readings do not change the meaning of Mark, but say
the same thing in slightly different ways; they demonstrate the freedom
felt by copyists and translators to slightly change the text being
copied, without changing its meaning.
2277As shown in footnote 2275, much of the language found in verses
24-25, beginning with the words "The sun will be darkened..." to the
phrase "...The powers in the heavens will be shaken," is rooted in
similar statements found in descriptions of the Day of YHWH in the
Jewish Bible.
Lane notes that "No other section of [Mark 13] is more indebted to
scriptural imagery and language. The entire description is drawn from
Old Testament material, which has been brought together through common
motifs or keywords which present the coming of the Son of Man in terms
of Yahweh's theophany on the Day of the Lord for the gathering of his
people." (Pp. 474-75)
What are we to make of all this "cosmic" and "celestial" imagery?
Miller and those who later took up his manner of interpretation (see
1273
footnote 2185) held it in common that they interpreted this imagery in
terms of the “end of the world,” and the “Second Coming of Christ.”
However we may interpret it, it is obvious that the imagery was not
originated by Jesus, but rather, is the traditional imagery used in the
Jewish Bible, and that has been taken up by Jesus as a vehicle for
describing what would happen when Jerusalem and its temple were
destroyed. It is the typical imagery of what happens when the Day of
YHWH comes in human history, and great upheavals and dramatic
transformations are made in earthly kingdoms.
Lane recognizes this, and comments that "In the prophets and later
Jewish apocalyptic writings the dissolution of the cosmic structure
frequently orchestrates the
intervention of God in history. The imagery employed indicates an
important turning point in history, but not necessarily the last act of
the historical process...In Mark 13 the judgment upon Jerusalem marks
the passing of one era and the establishment of another in which the
glory of God is no longer concentrated in the temple but in the Son of
Man." (P. 475)
Swete likewise comments that "In all of these cases physical
phenomena are used to describe the upheaval of dynasties, or great moral
and spiritual changes; and it is unnecessary to exact any other meaning
from the words when they are adopted by Christ. The centuries which
followed the fall of Jerusalem were destined to witness dynastic and
social revolutions greater and wider than any which swept over Babylon
and Egypt, and to these portents of Christian history the Lord's words
may reasonably be referred..." (P. 311) That is, Swete does not think
this imagery applies to the overthrow of Jerusalem and its temple, but
rather applies to the overthrow of powerful nations and dynasties (such
as the fall of Rome) which would follow in history. We see how Swete
has interpreted in this way, but consider it mistaken; it should be
applied, in our opinion, to the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of
the temple, which followed the preceding distress that the followers of
Jesus would experience.
2278France comments that “...In verses 26-27 we turn to the
positive, the new order which is to take [the place of the old order of
Judaism and its temple]...Here the echo [of Daniel 7:13-14] is even more
explicit...It is the imagery of setting up a new kingship to replace the
failed regimes of previous empires, and it is located not on the earthly
scene, but in the presence of God in heaven. Here then is the ultimate
divinely sanctioned authority, to which ‘all peoples, nations and
languages’ must now be subject.” (P. 534)
It is important to note that Daniel 7:13-14 is not a depiction of a
son of man coming to earth, but rather a depiction of a son of man
coming with the clouds to the Ancient of Days in heaven, where he is
1274
the Son of the Person2279 coming in clouds,2280 with great power and
given royal authority and power, an everlasting dominion that will never
be destroyed–and all peoples, nations and people of every language
worship him. This cannot be a picture of the so-called “Second Coming
of Jesus to the earth,” but rather it is a picture of the ascension of
Jesus to heaven, where he becomes the King of an eternal, universal
kingdom.
2279For this phrase, "The Son of the Person," see Mark 2:10 and
8:31. It is our conviction that this is the phrase that Jesus chose for
his self-identification, and that it is rooted in Daniel 7:13-14.
2280It is very important to clarify the background in the Jewish
Bible of this phrase, "Coming in or with [the] clouds..." Oftentimes
this phrase has been understood to be a direct reference to the "Second
Coming" of the risen Lord Jesus "at the end of time." However, in the
light of the Jewish Bible and its use of the phrase, it is much more
likely that the meaning is quite different--referring to the coming of
the Son of the Person to God in heaven, i.e., in his “ascension,” where
he receives "absolute dominion" over human history, and then as he comes
as the Lord of History, the Judge of all nations and kingdoms, and the
Deliverer of his people throughout all of history, in every time of
oppression.
The phrase is rooted in the Canaanite religions, in which the god
Baal was commonly described as the "rider of the clouds." This usage
was taken up in the Jewish Bible as belonging not to Baal, but to YHWH,
the one true God of all the earth--the "Lord of History," the "Divine
Warrior," Who “rides the clouds,” coming in boh judgment and salvation
throughout history. The following passages should be studied in detail,
along with their commentaries, which show the rootage of this language
in the Baal worship of Canaan:
"YHWH came from Sinai, and dawned over them from Seir; he shone
forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of set-apart ones from the
south, from his mountain slopes...There is no one like the God of
Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you, and on the clouds in his
majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the
everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you..."
(Deuteronomy 33:2, 26-27) Here YHWH is described as the one who comes
"on the clouds," "in majesty," to deliver his people. How similar is
this description to the language of Mark 14:62, where Jesus predicts at
his trial that the Jewish leaders will see "the Son of the Person coming
in or with [the] clouds, with great power and glory.” It is the
astounding claim that even though he is being put to death by those
leaders, death would not be the end–but they would witness his powerful
coming as the “Lord of History,” just as YHWH had been viewed in their
Bible.
1275
"O YHWH, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the
Land of Edom, the earth shook the heavens poured, the clouds poured down
water. The mountains quaked before YHWH, the one of Sinai, before YHWH,
the God of Israel... From the heavens the stars fought, from their
courses they fought against (Israel's enemies)... The river Kishon swept
them away...Then the land had peace..." (Judges 5:4-5, 20-21, 31) Here
in this ancient description of YHWH's deliverance of Israel from her
enemies, his coming is described in terms of his coming in the midst of
storm-clouds. This is the kind of imagery that is behind the
description of the Son of the Person in Mark 14:62, who will come with
the clouds in judgment upon the leaders of Israel.
"The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the
mountains shook; they trembled because he [YHWH] was angry. Smoke rose
from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals
blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were
under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the
wings of the wind. He made darkness his covering, his canopy around
him--the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his
presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. YHWH
thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded [amid
hailstones and bolts of lightning]. He shot his arrows and scattered
the enemies, great bolts of lightning and routed them. The valleys of
the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth were laid bare at
your rebuke, O YHWH, at the blast of breath from your nostrils...YHWH
lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! He is the God
who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, who saves me from my
enemies...Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O YHWH...!"
(Psalm 18:7-15, 46, 29) YHWH God, the Deliverer of Israel and its King,
is pictured in terms of the dark storm-clouds that accompany his
judgments in history, giving Israel victory. This is the biblical
background for the language of Jesus in Mark 14:62.
"YHWH reigns--let the earth be glad; let the distant shores
rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround him; right relationships
and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and
consumes his foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the
earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before YHWH,
before the Lord of all the earth..." (Psalm 97:1-5) Again, this is the
biblical background for Mark 14:62.
"See, the name of YHWH comes from afar, with burning anger and
dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a
consuming fire. His breath is like a rushing torrent, rising up to the
neck. He shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction; he places in
the jaws of the peoples a bit that leads them astray...YHWH will cause
people to hear his majestic voice and will make them see his arm coming
down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm
1276
and hail. The voice of YHWH will shatter Assyria..." (Isaiah 30:27-28,
30-31) Again, this is the biblical background for Mark 14:62, the Son of
the Person coming in judgment on the leaders of Israel.
"God came from Teman, the Set-apart One from Mount Paran. His
glory covered the heavens, and his praise filled the earth. His
splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his
power was hidden. Plague went before him; pestilence followed his
steps. He stood, and shook the earth; he looked and made the nations
tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills
collapsed...You rode with your horses and your victorious chariots...You
uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth
with rivers; the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept
by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high. Sun and moon stood
still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the
lightning of your flashing spear. In wrath you strode through the earth
and in anger you threshed the nations. You came out to deliver your
people...You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great
waters..." (Habakkuk 3:3-6, 8-13, 15) Here also YHWH's coming to the
deliverance of his people is pictured in terms of a great thunder-storm,
as revealing the glory of the God of human history! Again, this is
again the background for Jesus’ prediction in Mark 14:62.
It is in the light of these passages that the language of Jesus in
Mark 14:62 should be understood.
But there is another passage in the Jewish Bible that speaks of one
“like a son of a man,” who comes with the clouds, not to the earth, but
to heaven, to the “Ancient of Days,” where he is crowned and given
dominion over a universal, eternal kingdom
hteäa' vn"ßa/ rb:ïK. aY"ëm;v.
ynEån"[]-~[i ‘Wra]w: ay"ël.yle(
ywEåz>x,B. ‘tywEh] hzEÜx'
`yhiWb)r>q.h; yhiAmßd"q.W hj'êm.
‘aY"m;Ay* qyTiÛ[;-d[;w> hw"+h] 7.14
‘!j'l.v' byhiÛy> Hle’w>
‘~l;[' !j"Ül.v' HnEùj'l.v' !Wx+l.p.yI
Hleä aY"ßn:V'liw> aY"±m;au aY"©m;m.[;(
lkoåw> Wkêl.m;W rq"åywI
7.13
1277
`lB;(x;t.ti al'î-yDI HteÞWkl.m;W
hDEê[.y< al'ä-yDI(
7.13 “I was seeing in visions of the night, and look–with clouds of the heaven, like a son of
man [or, ‘like a human being’]; he was coming; and as far as the Ancient of Days he attained; and
before him, he drew near. 7.14 And to him was given dominion and honor and a kingdom; and all
the peoples, the tribes and the languages will serve him; his dominion is a long-lasting dominion
which will not pass away, and his kingdom–which will not be destroyed.”
The Greek translation of this text reads as follows:
7.13 vqew,roun evn o`ra,mati th/j nukto.j kai. ivdou.
evpi. tw/n nefelw/n tou/ ouvranou/ w`j ui`o.j avnqrw,pou
h;rceto kai. w`j palaio.j h`merw/n parh/n kai. oi`
paresthko,tej parh/san auvtw/| 7.14 kai. evdo,qh auvtw/|
evxousi,a kai. pa,nta ta. e;qnh th/j gh/j kata. ge,nh kai.
pa/sa do,xa auvtw/| latreu,ousa kai. h` evxousi,a auvtou/
evxousi,a aivw,nioj h[tij ouv mh. avrqh/| kai. h` basilei,a
auvtou/ h[tij ouv mh. fqarh/|
7.13 “I was observing in a vision of the night, and look–upon the clouds of the heaven, like
a son of a person was coming, and like an Ancient of Days he was present with him.
7.14 And authority was given to him, even (over) all the nations of the earth, by their kinds; and all
glory was serving him; and his authority is a long-lasting authority, which will not be taken away;
and his kingdom, which will not be destroyed.”
It is a common conclusion among biblical students that this passage is the origin of Jesus’
title by which he again and again identified himself, although with the definite article, as “the Son
of the Person.” Here Daniel sees in a vision “a son of man” who, like YHWH, rides the clouds.
But here the riding of the clouds is not in terms of coming in judgment or salvation to the earth, but
rather, it is a coming into heaven, to God, the “Ancient of Days.” And the purpose of that “coming”
is coronation–to be crowned , and given universal dominion and a kingdom that will never be
destroyed.
According to Mark 13:26, the human Jesus, surrounded by his tiny band of disciples, dares
to say that Israel and her magnificent temple will be destroyed--but in spite of all that the Jewish
leaders may do to him, he will come with the clouds to God, where he will be crowned King, and
receive the universal, eternal Kingdom, a Kingdom that will reach out to share that Kingdom with
all peoples and nations.
Combining these two passages, Mark 14:62 and Mark 13:26, we see Jesus’ own claim
concerning his true identity. He is the “Son of the Person,” and as such, he is the One Who
comes to God, the “Ancient of Days,” to receive the universal and unending Kingdom; in
addition, He is the powerful Lord of human history, taking up the same role that YHWH God has
1278
radiant glory.2281
13.27
And then he will send out the messengers,2282
and he will gather
played throughout human history, whose coming with the clouds of judgment will be seen in the
future as Israel experiences his overwhelming judgment.
What an astounding claim! But history has proven the truth of the words of Jesus, and our
future history will continue to prove their truth!
2281When Jesus describes the Son of the Person as "coming in or with
[the] clouds, with great power and glory," it is obvious that he is
referring to the description of the Son of a Human that is found in
Daniel 7:13-14, and it is also obvious that Jesus affirms that the
eternal victory of God's Kingdom is assured in him. See the preceding
footnote.
France states that “Here a vision of Israel’s triumph is
transferred to a ‘Son of Man’ whose authority is to supersede that which
Jerusalem’s temple has hitherto represented. Here, for those who
appreciate the nuances of the Old Testament language, is a startling
statement of the idea that Jesus himself, and derivatively the church,
that international body of people who acknowledge his sovereignty, is
now to be understood as the true Israel, the people of God through whom
God’s earthly agenda, hitherto focused on Jerusalem and its temple, is
now to be carried forward.” (Pp. 534-35)
2282The personal pronoun auvtou/, autou,”his,” is interpolated into
the text at this point, in conformity with the parallel Gospel (Matthew
24:31), by Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, Theta, Psi,
Families 1 and 13 of Minuscules, the “Majority Text,” the Latin Vulgate,
a few of the Old Latin witnesses, the Syriac tradition and the Latin
translation of Origen (no date).
The text without the pronoun is read by Vaticanus, Bezae, L, W,
Uncial Manuscript 083, Minuscule 2427, a majority of the Old Latin
witnesses and some manuscripts of the Bohairic Coptic.
The additional word does not change the meaning of Mark, but does
show a beginning of the movement to form a “four-fold Gospel.”
Does Jesus mean the "heavenly messengers" [that is, the "angels"],
or does he mean the "gospel messengers," his disciples who go throughout
the wide earth, calling to all the peoples of the earth to enter into
the Kingdom? The words of Jesus can be interpreted in either sense, but
the latter is by far the most probable, when this passage is placed in
the context of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in the first
century, and the accompanying worldwide proclamation of the Good News of
King Jesus by the disciples!
1279
together2283 the chosen ones [of his]2284 out of the four winds, from
earth’s corner to heaven’s corner.2285
2283The
3rd person singular future verb is ἐπισυνάξει, episugaksei,
means "He will gather together"; very closely related to this is the
description of the chosen people as his "synagogue," his "gathering
together" of people. The great Son of the Person is pictured as
"gathering together" his synagogue, his church through his messengers.
This will be the “new temple,” where universal worship “in Spirit and in
truth” will occur.
France comments that “The sovereignty bestowed on the Son of Man
(Daniel 7:14) is to be exercised in the gathering of his [chosen ones]
from all over the world...Their ‘gathering’...echoes Old Testament
predictions of the ‘gathering’ of the Jewish exiles back to their
land...” (P. 536).
France states that “The gathering of the [chosen ones] of the Son
of Man will be from the whole world not by extracting Jewish exiles from
their places of captivity, but by including people of all nations in
what had been hitherto the Jewish community of the people of God. This
is the fulfilment of the vision of verse 10, that the [good news] will
be proclaimed to all nations.” (P. 536)
2284The possessive pronoun autou, “of his,” is read by Sinaiticus,
Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, Theta, Uncial Manuscript
083, Family 13 of Minuscules, Minuscule 2427, the “Majority Text,” the
Latin Vulgate, a few of the Old Latin witnesses and the Syriac
tradition.
It is omitted by Bezae, L, W, Psi, Family 1 of Minuscules,
Minuscules 28, 565, 892, a few other Greek manuscripts, a majority of
the Old Latin witnesses and the Latin translation of Origen (no date).
We see no reason for the omission, other than a desire to eliminate
unnecessary words from the text. But whether read or not makes no
difference for the meaning of Mark.
2285This is a radical statement as far as historical Israel is
concerned. The "new people of God" being "gathered together" by Jesus,
the Son of Humanity, are a people who come from every nation under
heaven. They are not just the people of earthly Israel; they come from
"every nook and cranny" of the inhabited earth! Jesus is here referring
to the universal mission of his Kingdom, in reaching out to the "ends of
the earth" to find and welcome all who will respond to the good news
into his Kingdom. It was on just such a mission that the risen Jesus
sent his disciples, a mission that by the end of the first century had
truly become "universal."
1280
13.28
"So then from the fig-tree learn the2286 comparison:2287 when
Lane comments that with such statements, Jesus "...Reinterpreted
Israel's hope in a profound way. Until that time the temple of
Jerusalem had been the visible center for the gathering of the scattered
chosen people. The destruction of the temple, however, would not result
in their permanent dispersement. On the contrary, it will be followed
by the regathering of the new people of God around the Son of Man, that
is, around Jesus. The counterpart to the destruction of Jerusalem and
the sanctuary is the...salvation of the elect. The remnant of Israel
will recover their lost unity through Jesus, the triumphant Son of Man.
To be gathered by the Son of Man is to participate in the [divinely
chosen] community and to experience the messianic blessing.” (P. 477)
For this description, compare the statements in the Jewish Bible to
be found in Deuteronomy 30:4 ("Even if you have been banished to the
most distant land under the heavens, from there YHWH your God will
gather you and bring you back!") and Zechariah 2:6, "'Come! Come! Flee
from the land of the north,' declares YHWH, 'for I have scattered you to
the four winds of heaven,' declares YHWH!"
See also such passages as Isaiah 11:11 (as the nations rally to the
“Root of Jesse,” YHWH will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim
the remnant that is left of his people from the many nations where they
have been scattered); 27:12 (in the day of Israel’s deliverance, a
trumpet will sound, and those perishing in Assyria, and the exiles in
Egypt will come to worship YHWH on the set-apart mountain in Jerusalem);
Ezekiel 39:27-29 (YHWH will gather his people from the countries of
their enemies); Zechariah 10:6-12 (though YHWH’s people have been
scattered by him among the peoples, even in distant lands they will
remember YHWH, and YHWH will bring them back); Psalms 106.47 (a prayer
for YHWH to gather his people from the nations) and 147:2 (YHWH gathers
the exiles of Israel).
This language can be interpreted in terms of the "home-coming" of
the Jewish peoples scattered over the wide earth; but the fact is that
on the lips of Jesus, such language takes on much wider, more universal
meaning, including all of God's people from among all the nations. It
is a “new Israel,” made up not only of ethnic Jews, but also of peoples
from all the nations, who hear and respond to the good news.
2286Literally, "the,” although we are tempted to translate “this.”
2287Taylor holds that "The fig tree is mentioned because in
Palestine, where most trees are evergreens, the rising of the sap in its
branches and the appearance of leaves is a sure sign that winter is
past." (P. 520) And Swete comments in similar fashion that "Under
Christ's guidance teaching may be extracted from...the most familiar of
natural objects. The fig-tree was among the commonest products of the
neighborhood of Jerusalem; yet
1281
already the
branch of it2288 may become tender,2289 and may put forth the leaves, you
know2290 that the summer is near.2291
13.29
In this way also, you people,
twice within two days it furnished Him with materials of instruction."
(P. 313) See Mark 11:12-15; 20-21.
2288The phrase ἤδη ὁ κλάδος αὐτς, ede ho klados autes, “already the
branch of it,” is read by Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi
Rescriptus, Bezae, L, Theta, Psi,
Family 13 of Minuscules, Minuscules 565, 579, 892, 2427, 2542 and many
other Greek manuscripts.
It is changed to read auvth/j hv,dh o` kla,doj, autes ede ho
klados, “of it already the branch,” by K, Gamma, Delta (see), Family 1
of Minuscules, Minuscules 28, 700, 1241 and many other Greek
manuscripts.
It is read auvth/j o` kla,doj, autes ho klados, “of it the
branch,” by W, Minuscule 1424 and a few other Greek manuscripts.
The variant readings do not change the meaning of Mark, but show
that later copyists had difficulty in reading the original, and slightly
changed it in order to make the phrase easier to read.
2289The adjective ἁπαλὸς, hapalos, means “tender,” “soft,” “gentle,”
“delicate.”
2290The 2nd person plural, present indicative active verb γινώσκετε,
ginoskete, “you people know,” is changed to the 3rd person singular,
passive form of the verb, ginw,sketai, ginosketai, “it is known,” by a
corrector of Vaticanus, Bezae, L, W, Delta, Theta, Minuscules 28, 579,
some other Greek manuscripts and a number of manuscripts of the Bohairic
Coptic.
This is apparently simply a mistake, caused by copyists working by
ear.
2291Jesus
teaches his disciples that they can "read the signs" of
nature, in such common objects as a fig-tree. If you watch the fig-tree
carefully, it will have important lessons to teach you. When its fruit
has been given, and its leaves begin to fall, you can know for sure that
winter is coming near; when it begins to put forth new leaves, and its
branches become tender with new life, you can know for certain that
"summer is near."
Schweizer comments that "The nearness of summer is more noticeable
in Palestine than it is in our country, because it sets in very quickly
there, immediately after the end of the rainy season." (P. 281)
1282
when you may see these things2292 happening,2293 know that it2294 is near,
Compare Song of Solomon 2:11-13.
This kind of "sign" is possible for the discerning disciples of
Jesus. "The catastrophe of sacrilege which will profane the temple
(verse 14) will enable the disciples to know that the destruction of the
temple is imminent in the same manner that the coming of summer is
imminent to the moment when the fig tree covers itself with leaves."
(Lane, p. 479)
2292The phrase ἴδητε τατα, idete tauta, “you people may see these
things,” is changed to read tau/ta iv,dhte, tauta idete, “these things
you people may see,” by W, the “Majority Text” and the Old Latin
Manuscript a (see).
It is changed to read iv,dhte pa,nta tau/ta, idete panta tauta,
“you people may see all these thing,” by Bezae, Minuscules 579 (see--in
a different word-order), 2542 (see–in a different word-order), a few
other Greek manuscripts, the Old Latin Manuscript I, the Sahidic Coptic
and the Bohairic Coptic (in part).
These variant readings do not change the meaning of Mark, only
changing the word-order, or adding the word “all” to make the statement
more inclusive, and at the same time demonstrating the freedom felt by
these copyists and translators to slightly change the original text
being worked with.
2293To what events is Jesus referring?
The coming of false
religious leaders (verse 6); times of wars and revolution, along with
earth-quakes and famines (verses 7 and 8); persecution of his disciples
(verse 9); world-wide proclamation of the good news (verse 10); family
divisions and hatred against his disciples (verses 12-13); something
very similar to the terrible desecration of the temple as in the days of
Ezekiel and Daniel, from which his disciples must flee as quickly as
possible, without making any provisions (verses 14-20); a time of
desecration, during which there will be counterfeit religious leaders
seeking to lead God's chosen ones astray (verses 21-22); then, the
coming of YHWH's Day, when all of nature will be convulsed with the
overthrow of earthly powers (verses 24-25); and a world-wide, universal
calling together of the people of God by the coming of the Son of the
Person with power and glory (verses 26-27). All of these events will
serve, like the changes in the fig-tree, to enable the disciples of
Jesus to recognize the "signs" of what is happening in their history.
His disciples can know that in the midst of all these changes in
history, he is always near them, guiding human history out into its
intended divine future. These are not the kind of events that enable a
specific pin-pointing of the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and
its temple; but they do provide the disciples of Jesus with an overall
understanding of what was happening during the first century, from about
1283
at (the) doors.2295
13.30
Truly2296 I say2297 to you people, that this
generation2298 may not pass away2299 until all these things should
30 to 70 A.D. and beyond; and with this teaching of Jesus in their
heart, his disciples would be guarded against feeling forsaken or
thinking that something strange was happening to them; they would know
that their great Lord had foretold all of this, and that there was a
glorious future awaiting them.
Meditating on all of these "signs," and observing the corresponding
historical events in the first century, they would not be perplexed by
the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, or think that their future
had come to its end. The same Lord who can foretell coming events, is
the King whose Kingdom is always "near at hand," "just outside the
door"!
2294The Greek here can mean "it" or "he," and can be taken as
referring to the coming of the Son of the Person, or to the coming of
the Kingdom of God.
2295To
be "near," "at (the) doors," means that the great Son of the
Person and his Kingdom, are not "far away," "far distant from the time
of the disciples of Jesus." Quite the contrary, the divine reality is
near, standing just outside the door. It is this confidence that can
enable the disciples of Jesus to move forward fearlessly, no matter how
desperate their earthly circumstances may appear. Very similar language
is used in Jacob ("James") 5:7-9.
2296Here again is the affirmative ἀμὴν, amen, the giving of his
personal backing, to what is being said or promised. Compare Mark 3:28.
France comments that the language of this verse is “clear and
definite, not now in symbols but in a straightforward statement of a
time limit. It is moreover, emphatic and authoritative...” (P. 538)
2297Mark once again pictures Jesus as using the present tense, λέγω,
lego, “I say,” “I am saying,” and therefore as speaking directly to his
hearers.
2298The noun genea,, genea occurs in Mark at 8:12; 9:19 and here,
13:30. In order to understand Jesus' language in terms of the "end of
the universe," it is necessary to make this noun “generation” mean
something like "the human race," or "this dispensation." But this is
not what the noun means, and is only an attempt to force Jesus' language
into a pre-determined understanding. If Jesus means "this present
generation of people, alive together in the first century," then the
entire 13th chapter must be interpreted in terms of
the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, which actually happened
1284
happen!2300
13.31 The heaven and the earth will pass away,2301 but then
within the life-time of many of his contemporary generation of living
human beings.
France mentions that attempts to re-interpret “this generation” to
mean something other than the people then living are simply “attempts to
evade this obvious sense...The proposal to read [‘this generation’] as
the Jewish race goes back at least as far as Jerome, but has little to
be said for it...The vast majority of uses [of ‘this generation’] relate
to time, and in particular to ‘contemporaries’...Another suggestion is
that [‘this generation’] does not mean ‘this generation’ but ‘that
generation,’ namely, the people who will be alive at the time when
[these things] of verse 29 (interpreted of some future age unconnected
with the fall of Jerusalem) begin to happen...Still less plausible is
the suggestion that [‘this generation’] could mean the human race in
general, a sense for which there is no relevant parallel, and which
would surely have needed to be expressed in a less misleading way...
”There is a clear continuity between the question when [‘all these
things are about to happen’] and the answer that this generation will
not pass away until [‘all these things may happen’]...[‘All these
things’] in this context must therefore refer to the whole complex of
events Jesus has just been predicting in verses 14-27. The answer to
the disciples’ question is thus comprehensively rounded off by as plain
and definite a time scale as they could have wished for.” (Pp. 539-40)
2299The
verb παρέλθῃ, parelthe, “may (not) pass away,” is the 3rd
person singular aorist subjunctive form of the verb pare,rcomai,
parerchomai. The use of the subjunctive rather than the future
indicative makes the prediction less “certain.”
2300The phrase τατα πάντα γένηται, tauta panta genetai, literally
“these things, all of them, should happen,” is read by Sinaiticus,
Vaticanus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, L, Delta, Theta, Psi, Family 13 of
Minuscules, Minuscules 565, 700, 892, 1241, 2427, some other Greek
manuscripts, the Old Latin Manuscript d, the Sinaitic Syriac, and the
Peshitta Syriac.
It is changed to read pa,nta tau/ta ge,nhtai, panta tauta
genetai, “all these things should happen,” by Alexandrinus, Bezae, W,
Family 1 of Minuscules, the “Majority Text” and the Harclean Syriac.
It is changed to read pa,nta ge,nhtai, panta genetai, “all
things should happen,” by Minuscules 579, 1424, 2542, a few other Greek
manuscripts, the Old Latin Manuscripts a, c (see), and the first writer
of k.
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It is changed to read pa,nta ge,nhtai tau/ta, panta genetai
tauta, “all things should happen, these,” by Minuscule 28 and a few
other Greek manuscripts.
The variant readings demonstrate the freedom of copyists and
translators to slightly change the text of the original, especially with
regards to word-order, or even dropping a word–but without changing the
meaning of Mark.
Compare Mark 9:1, "...Truly I say to you that there are some of
those standing here who may (or, ‘should’) not taste of death until they
may (or, ‘should’) see the Kingdom of God having come with power!"
There Jesus is depicted as using the subjunctive tense, just as here in
this passage. It is very arbitrary to limit the phrase "these things"
to what has been said earlier in verses 5-23, and to exclude verses 2427, as do Lane and others. Their only reason for doing so is their
insistence that verses 24-27 refer to the "Second Coming of Jesus" at
the "final end of time," rather than finding its reference to his
victorious "coming and presence" in the proclamation of the first
century Church throughout their contemporary "world."
2301The aorist subjunctive verb used in verse 30, παρέλθῃ, parelthe,
“may pass away,” now occurs in the future tense, παρελεύσονται,
pareleusontai, “they will pass away.” The verb pare,rcomai,
parerchomai is commonly used to mean "go by," "pass by," as a
description of people or animals "going along," or "passing by" someone
or something. It is also used of time that "passes." But then it is
used in a figurative way of "passing away," "coming to an end,"
"disappearing."
In stating that "heaven and earth will pass away," are we to
understand Jesus as affirming that the physical universe will come to an
end? For example, does Jesus mean the opposite of Ecclesiastes 1:4,
"Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever"?
Or does he mean "The heaven and earth that we know, the universe of our
time and place"? See the next footnote, especially Luccock's comment,
in which he takes "heaven and earth" in terms of the "cultural universe"
of a period in human history.
France comments that, “For the fixed order of the created universe
as a guarantee of permanence compare Isaiah 51:6; 54:9-10; Jeremiah
31:35-36; 33:20-21. This verse is not therefore speaking of a future
passing away of heaven and earth as something which may be contemplated,
still less as part of what Jesus is predicting, but rather, as in Isaiah
and Jeremiah, using the unthinkableness of such an event as a guarantee
for the truth of what Jesus has declared.” (P. 540)
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the words of mine will not2302 pass away!2303
13.32
"But then concerning2304 that day,2305 or the hour,2306 no one
2302The
double negative, οὐ μὴ, ou me, which strengthens the
negation, is read by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, L,
Delta, Theta, Psi, Minuscules 892, 1424, 2427, a few other Greek
manucripts, the Old Latin Manuscript k (see) and the Harclean Syriac
margin.
The second negative is omitted by Vaticanus, Bezae, W, Families 1
and 13 of Minuscules, the “Majority Text,” the Latin Vulgate, a few of
the Old Latin witnesses, the Peshitta Syriac and the Harclean Syriac.
It may be that this variant has been caused by copyists who thought
that the double negative turned the phrase into an affirmation rather
than a negation. But the variants do not change the meaning of Mark.
2303Jesus is occasionally recorded as having spoken of "my words" or
"my word." See Mark 8:38; 13:31; Matthew 7:24, 26; 24:35; Luke 6:47;
9:26; 21:33; 24:44; John 8:31, 37; 8:43, 51-52; 14:24; 15:3, and 20.
Schweizer comments on this that the revelation of God in Jesus
"...Is the one thing which has stability in the midst of all the change
of the rapidly occurring events...It is the firm ground upon which the
church can dare to live and to meet courageously all the terrors which
are coming before the end." (P. 282)
Luccock similarly remarked concerning "...the permanent validity of
everything Jesus said and of the revelation he has given us of God.
Spoken in the framework of a time which has completely passed away, his
words have not passed away. They have never become obsolete. They have
a profound and timeless relevance to the life of [humanity] and to the
world...He addresses every age as 'the eternal Contemporary'...The old
earth has passed away, with its period costumes, its clothing and ideas.
But Jesus' words have not passed away. The long parade of history has
only served to validate them." (P. 864) Lane notes that "This claim of
high dignity for Jesus' words implies a christological affirmation:
what is said of God in the Old Testament may be equally affirmed of
Jesus and his word." (P. 480)
France comments that Jesus’ statement here “...Echoes the
declaration of Isaiah 40:7-8, what while grass and flowers may wither,
God’s word stands forever. The reliability of the word of Jesus is no
less than that of the word of God himself.” (P. 540)
2304France comments on the phrase peri. de,, peri de, “but then
concerning,” that “...as the opening phrase of a paragraph signals a
change of subject. It is used several times in this way in 1
Corinthians as Paul moves from answering one question to the next [1
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Corinthians 7:1, 25; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1; compare also 1 Thessalonians 4:9;
5:1; Acts 21:25] ...Here it naturally suggests a similar shift to a new
topic...a pair of phrases (th/j h`me,raj evkei,nhj hv th/j w`,raj,
‘of that day or the hour’) which are introduced into the discourse for
the first time. While the plural [the days, or those days] has been
used several times to describe the period of the siege of Jerusalem
(verses 17, 19, 20, 24), no singular day has been mentioned which
provides a suitable antecedent to [‘that day’] in verse 32. Moreover,
the statement of ignorance concerning this ‘day or hour’ contrasts
strongly with the resounding certainty [‘truly I say to you people] of
Jesus’ pronouncement of the time within which [these things] described
in the previous verses will occur (verse 30). We have moved
emphatically from the known to the unknown.” (P. 541)
France will go on to suggest that “the day” means the parousi,a,
parousia, the time of the so-called “Second Coming” of Jesus. But we
disagree with France. As France himself observes, this noun does not
occur anywhere in Mark 13, and it is much more natural to understand
“the day” to mean “the exact day (and hour),” on which the destruction
of Jerusalem and its temple would occur, on the “day of the Lord.” The
overall passage teaches that we can know the signs of that day’s coming,
enough so to be able to escape before its coming, but it is not ours to
know the exact time of its coming. It is quite true that in Matthew
24:36 the noun parousi,a, parousia, is introduced into Matthew’s
version of this same speech by Jesus. But we insist that there is no
basis on which to take this to mean “Second Coming,” at the end of the
world, instead of its normal meaning of “presence / coming,” that occurs
again and again throughout history, just as the “day of the Lord” comes
again and again throughout the Jewish Bible.
2305In Biblical Theology, the term "day" is oftentimes used as a
synonym for "time" (also for "season") and for "end." See Ezekiel 7:112. Prior to this in Mark 13, Jesus has spoken of "those days"--see
verses 17, 19, and 24, or of "the days"--see verse 20. Only here does
he speak of "that day," evidently meaning the same thing as "the hour"
and "the end." It is most probable that Jesus means the "time" of the
coming of YHWH's Day in history.
2306In biblical literature, the word "hour" is a common synonym for
t[e
"time." The Hebrew word
, (eth, "time," is oftentimes translated in
the Greek Bible by w`,ra, hora, "hour." See the preceding footnote
concerning the meaning of "day."
Thus there is hardly any distinction to be made in biblical
literature between "day," "time," "hour," and "season." We may conclude
from these facts that when Jesus says that "no one knows the day or the
hour," that he means human beings have no way of ascertaining the exact,
specific time of the coming of YHWH's Day in human history. Even when
the divine word states that "the time has come," repentance on the part
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knows2307–not even the messengers2308 in heaven,2309 not even the Son2310–
of those upon whom that "day or hour" has come may mean that the divine
judgment will be avoided, and only God can know such things!
2307The verb οδεν, oiden is actually in the "perfect" tense; but it
is used as a present tense in the Greek, that is as "knows" rather than
as "has known."
Some hold that although we may not be able to know the day or the
hour, we can know the season. But in the next sentence, Jesus affirms
that we do not know "the time"--which would include day, hour, and
season (see the preceding two footnotes, where it is shown how all of
these words are used as synonyms in biblical literature).
Jesus' acknowledgment of the limitation of his own and our
knowledge in this area is in sharp contrast to the claims of many
throughout the centuries of Christian history, including the 19th and
20th centuries, to be able to pin-point the exact time of God's
"coming"! What a blessing it would have been if William Miller and his
disciples had paid more attention to this statement of Jesus, rather
than to the mentioning of numbers of days in Daniel!
2308The phrase οἱ ἄγγελοι, hoi aggeloi, “the messengers,” is read by
Sinaiticus, Bezae, the first writer of K, L, Theta, Family 13 of
Minuscules, Minuscules 28, 565, 700, 892, 1241, 1424 and some other
Greek manuscripts.
It is changed to read av,ggeloj, aggelos, “a messenger,” by
Vaticanus, Minuscule 2427 and the Bohairic Coptic (in part).
It is changed to read oi` av,ggeloi oi`, hoi aggeloi hoi, “the
messengers, the ones...” by Alexandrinus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, W, Psi,
Uncial Manuscript 0116, Family 1 of Minuscules, the “Majority Text” and
the Harclean Syriac.
The variant readings do not change the meaning of Mark, but are
only different ways of saying the same thing, and again demonstrate the
freedom felt by copyists and translators to slightly change the wording
of the original text.
2309In much of the so-called "Apocalyptic literature" which
developed out of Judaism, including the great biblical Apocalypses,
Daniel in the Jewish Bible, and Revelation in the New Testament, secret
knowledge is said to be revealed to those receiving the apocalypse by
"heavenly messengers." But Jesus warns here that not even the heavenly
messengers know the "day or the hour"! So, whenever we interpret those
biblical books as somehow imparting secret knowledge of the time of the
end, enabling us to know the day or the hour (i.e., the exact time of
God’s coming / presence / judgment in human history), we are claiming to
know more than the Son of God, and are revealing our pride /
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only the Father!2311
13.33
Watch out;2312 be on the alert!2313
For you
foolishness.
2310The phrase οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός, oude ho huios, “not even the Son,” is
omitted by Chi, a few other Greek manuscripts, k and a few manuscripts
of the Latin Vulgate.
This omission does not change the meaning of Mark, and most
probably the omission is because of these textual workers’ conviction
that the phrase is belittling to Jesus. This is one of the few
instances in the textual history of Mark in which doctrinal
considerations have played a role in the text, as “orthodox” copyists
sought to get rid of anything that seemed to question the equality of
the Son with the Father.
It is common knowledge that Jesus constantly identified himself
according to the New Testament Gospels as "The Son of the Person." But
according to this passage (and compare Matthew 11:27), Jesus also
identified himself simply as "the Son"--that is, as God's "Son" in a
unique way. Schweizer holds that "When this passage speaks of the 'Son'
instead of the 'Son of Man,' the emphasis falls upon his subordination
to God instead of his majesty and honor...Whenever 'the Son' is used
absolutely, it calls to mind the contrast to 'the Father' and at the
same time it describes a subordinate position in relation to the
Father...[It stresses the fact that] Jesus was not a second God, but
that in him the one God turned his attention to the world...He it is
who...turns the attention from himself to God and makes God a present
reality." (Pp. 282-283)
In sharp contrast to many proud pretenders to hidden knowledge
throughout the history of Christianity, Jesus openly acknowledges his
lack of knowledge at this point in the original text of Mark. How much
better it would be if we, his disciples, would likewise confess our own
ignorance concerning the future!
If Jesus, the Son of God doesn't know, how much likelihood is there
that William Miller and his descendants in the Seventh Day Adventist
Church and its offshoots, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and the Worldwide
Church of God, or some other modern television or radio evangelist
knows? What a healthy thing it would be if we religious leaders would
humbly confess our ignorance of such things, rather than smugly
pretending that we have some "inside source of knowledge," and that in
fact, we are much more "in the know" than Jesus, the Son of God!
2311Many commentators have remarked how this statement cannot have
originated in the Church, following the life of Jesus, but must be an
original word of Jesus--since the tendency of the later disciples of
Jesus was to treat Jesus as "equal" with God the Father. With this
statement, Jesus apparently confesses himself to be in some way
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"inferior" to the Father, at least in terms of not possessing the
fulness of knowledge that God the Father has.
Taylor concludes, "Its offense seals its genuineness. In later
times, in reaction to the Arian controversy, the saying raised the
greatest difficulties...In modern times, it is widely recognized that it
is of the glory of the Incarnation that Christ accepted those
limitations of knowledge which are inseparable from a true humanity."
(Pp. 502-03)
Anderson comments, "This statement, which freely confesses a
limited knowledge on the part of the Son, raised an embarrassing
theological problem for the Church later... On the ground that the
Church would not have created a saying which clearly attributed such
limitation to the Son, it has been regarded (by Schmiedel and others) as
one of the pillar passages for scientific reconstruction of the
historical life of Jesus...If even the Son does not presume to possess
every secret in the Father's keeping, far less should Christian
believers seek to force God's hand by subjecting his day...to their own
fallible calendrical calculations." (P. 301)
We agree that such a statement cannot be attributed to the later
church; but we do not accept the assumption held by many today that if a
statement of Jesus can possibly be attributed to the later church, it
must! We hold that unless a statement attributed to Jesus can be
clearly shown to have originated at a later time, we should assume that
Jesus said it.
This confession of ignorance concerning the time of YHWH's Day is
perhaps the most distinguishing aspect of Jesus' teaching in Mark 13.
It stands in sharp contrast to the proud claims and puzzling charts of
much of the literature seeking to deal with this subject.
France comments that “The list of those who might be expected to
know the secret is apparently in an ascending order which places [the
Son] above the angels, and second only to [the Father]. Such a high
christology reflects the divine declarations in 1:11 and 9:7, but here
the statement is attributed to Jesus himself...His claim to be [the Son
of the Blessed One] will eventually be made publicly and definitively in
14:61-62. But here Mark indicates that his closest disciples should
already have been able to recognize him as the Son who stands in the
divine hierarchy above the angels and next to God himself.
“It is ironic that a saying which has such far-reaching
christological implications has in fact become more familiar in
theological discussion as a christological embarrassment. The assertion
of Jesus’ ignorance on a subject of such importance as the time of his
1291
own parousi,a, parousia seems to many incompatible with his status as
Son of God [but note that France is reading this noun parousi,a,
parousia into the text, not finding it there]...
“If this title implies that he is himself divine, and God is
omniscient, how can the Son of God be ignorant? More specifically, if
this is a matter which the Father does know and the Son does not, must
we conclude that to be the Son of God means something less than full
participation in the divine attributes?
“Even to express these questions directly is to be aware
immediately of a change of context. This is the language of later
Christian theological debate, not of the Gospel of
Mark. Whatever later readers may have made of it, Jesus’ ‘confession of
ignorance’ seems to pose no embarrassment or even surprise for Mark...
“The focus of verse 32 is not on christology, but on eschatology
[here again, France is reading this word ‘eschatology’ into the text; in
fact, we think, the focus of the verse is on the day and hour of the
destruction of Jerusalem, not of the final end of the world, or the
‘Second Coming’]. Unlike the thoroughly predictable end of the temple,
the time of Jesus’ parousi,a, parousia [again, this noun is being read
into the text by France, not found there; we take Jesus to mean the
exact day and hour of the coming of YHWH’s ‘day’] is known only to God.
Even the Son himself, who might most have been expected to share the
secret, does not know. The situation calls, therefore, not for
calculation of dates or careful observation of signs, but for constant
readiness.” (P. 544)
2312The 2nd person plural imperative verb βλέπετε, blepete, "watch
out!", occurs in this chapter in verses 5, 9, 23, and 33. It also
occurs at Mark 4:24; 5:31; 8:15, and 12:38.
Since this verb occurs in four different statements in Mark 13, it
must also be considered as one of the distinguishing marks of the
teaching of Jesus concerning the coming Day of the Lord. The important
thing with reference to the future is to "watch out"--to be on the
alert, to always be ready for God's action--not the calculation of
specific times and dates! We are ignorant of those matters, but we are
not ignorant of our duty!
2313The additional imperative phrase, kai. proseu,cesqe, kai
proseuchesthe, “and pray!” (taken from Mark 14:28) is interpolated into
the original text at this point by Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Ephraemi
Rescriptus, L, W, Theta, Psi, Families 1 and 13 of Minuscules,
the “Majority Text,” the Latin Vulgate, a few of the Old Latin
witnesses, the Syriac tradition and the Coptic tradition.
The additional phrase is not found in Vaticanus, Bezae, Minuscule
1292
people do not know when the time is.2314
13.34
Like a person, a
traveler, (who), leaving his house, and giving to his slaves the
responsibility, to each one his task, and gave order to the door-keeper
that he should be
wide awake–2315 13.35 you therefore must be wide awake,2316 for you do not
2427, a few other Greek manuscripts nor in the Old Latin Manuscripts a,
c, and k. There would be no
reason for the phrase to be omitted by copyists and translators if it
were in the original. But even if accepted as original, the phrase does
not change the meaning of Mark.
The verb ἀγρυπνετε, agrupneite is also in the 2nd person plural
imperative; it means "keep yourselves awake," or even "keep watch over,"
"guard." Here again this fundamental characteristic of Jesus' teaching
according to Mark concerning the Day of the Lord becomes very clear.
2314The 3rd person singular present indicative active verb ἐστιν,
estin, “it is,” is omitted by Bezae, W and the Old Latin Manuscripts a
and c. The omission does not change the meaning of Mark, but makes it a
little more difficult to understand.
Instead of claiming to have secret knowledge concerning the time of
YHWH's Day, the disciples of Jesus are urged to acknowledge their
ignorance at this point, and to act like people for whom such knowledge
is unavailable, and who must therefore be constantly on the alert. They
can know that it is imminent / coming, but cannot know its exact timing.
This is the proper attitude for the disciples of Jesus, and whenever we
begin to pretend to know more than we do, we place ourselves in great
danger of being led astray! We must constantly guard against claiming
to have any special knowledge concerning the time of God's coming!
Schweizer comments, "The 'time,' which cannot be calculated, is
always immediately at hand. It summons us to wakefulness--to that
attitude toward life which characterizes the [person] who always stands
accountable before the coming Lord and permits nothing to hinder him
from being ready for the Lord at all times. And so this 'time' which is
future becomes the factor which fully determines the present and gives
it its
tension, its hope, its objective, and its meaning...No moment is
unimportant, because any one could be the moment..." (P. 283)
2315The 3rd person singular present subjunctive verb used here,
grhgorh/|, gregore, “be wide awake,” is a synonym for the other verbs
used in this chapter, ble,pein, blepein, “to watch out,” and
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know when the master of the house is coming,2317 whether2318 at evening, or
at midnight, or at rooster-crowing, or at early morning.2319
13.36
(So
that if) coming unexpectedly,2320 he may not
find you people sleeping.2321
13.37
So then what I say to you people, I
avgrupnei/n, agrupnein, “be vigilant in awareness of threatening
peril.” It means, "he should not go to sleep on the job, even though he
must keep awake through a long night!"
2316Compare the preceding footnote.
Here the same verb occurs, only
nd
here in the 2 person plural imperative form, γρηγορετε, gregoreite,
“you people must be wide awake.”. Jesus states that his disciples must
follow the example of a watchful "door-keeper," never being guilty of
"falling asleep on the job"!
2317Against every human claim to know the time of his coming, Jesus
urges the acceptance of our ignorance concerning the time, and therefore
urges constant vigilance and readiness. Grant comments, "...The ethos
of the parable is certainly the ethos of early Christianity:
‘Watch...for you know not.’ It was this paradox which kept the spirits
of [people] alert through the long and torturing vigil of the days of
persecution..." (P. 865)
2318The particle ἢ, e, “if,” or “whether,” is omitted by
Alexandrinus, Bezae, W, Families 1 and 13 of Minuscules, the “Majority
Text,” the Latin Vulgate, a few of the Old Latin witnesses, the Peshitta
Syriac and the Harclean Syriac.
It is read by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, L, Delta,
Theta, Psi, Minuscules 892, 1424, 2427, a few other Greek manuscripts,
the Old Latin Manuscript k (see) and the Harclean Syriac margin.
Whether read or not makes no difference for the meaning of Mark.
2319The door-keeper does not know the time of his master's return-it may come at any one of the four [Roman] divisions of the night-evening, middle of the night, that time when roosters crow, or the very
earliest time of morning. Jesus does not include divisions of the daytime, when people are ordinarily awake and about their business.
2320The adverb ἐξαίφνης, eksaiphnes means "suddenly,"
"unexpectedly." People who long to calculate exact times are attempting
to get away from this possibility, but it is an impossibility, due to
our limited knowledge of the future.
2321What can Jesus mean by his disciples' "being asleep"?
Is there
not a very important divine warning for each of us today in this?
Anderson comments that "The two-edged parable of verses 34-36 commits
the future entirely to God, and also suggests in picturesque fashion
that every present moment is transformed and renewed in the light of
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say2322 to all,2323 'Be wide awake!'"2324
that future since it becomes the very moment in which God may surprise
[people] by his coming." (P. 301)
When we interpret the "coming of the Son of the Person" in terms of
his being the "Lord of History," who has come, and who comes in every
generation, and who is both present and coming in the future, in every
future time, the exact time of which we cannot know, this warning
becomes very practical and important. If we fall asleep on the job, we
may well miss his coming / presence in our time, in some needy person we
meet, or in the life of our church, or in the circumstances of our life,
or in the divine judgment that comes in our history! The view that sees
his "coming" only in terms of one "second coming" at the "end of time,"
makes this warning meaningless except for those persons who happen to
live in that time of the end.
2322The present tense used here, λέγω, lego, “I say,” implies that
Jesus' word is a "present word" for every reader of Mark. Why must we
be "alert"? Because, our risen Lord is the "Lord of History," who
"comes with the clouds," time and again, at just those times when we
expect him least. That is why we must always be awake, watchful, and
alert. We are living and serving in His temple, where his presence /
coming is always imminent.
2323The phrase o`. de. u`mi/n le,gw pa/sin le,gw, ho de humin
lego pasin lego, “that which, then, I say to you people, to all people I
say,” is read by Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi Rescriptus, K, L,
Delta, Psi, Minuscules 579, 892, 1424 (with a different word-order),
2427, some other Greek manuscripts, the Latin Vulgate, a few of the Old
Latin witnesses and the Coptic tradition.
It is changed to read a.` de. uvmi/n le,gw pa/sin le,gw, ha
de humin lego pasin lego, “the things then to you people I say, to all
(people) I say,” by Alexandrinus, W (see), Families 1 (see) and 13 of
Minuscules, the “Majority Text,” the Old Latin Manuscript q and the
Harclean Syriac.
It is changed to read evgw.. de. le,gw u`mi/n, ego de lego
humin, “I, then, I say to you people,” by Bezae, Theta (see), Minuscule
565 (see), and the Old Latin Manuscript a.
It is changed to read quod autem uni dixi, omnibus vobis dico, by
the Old Latin Manuscript k.
These variant readings do not change the meaning of Mark, but are
only slightly different ways of saying the same thing. They exhibit the
freedom felt by copyists and translators to slightly change the original
text being copied.
2324The verb used here is once again the 2nd person plural imperative
1295
γρηγορετε, gregoreite. Anderson comments, "It is therefore incumbent
upon the church not ever to be found asleep, or in that attitude of
passive waiting that always has plenty of time to spare before doing
anything. The call is to an active watchfulness (he puts his servants
in charge, each with his work) which makes ready for the coming Lord by
filling the here and now with faithful service and high responsibility,
in Mark's view particularly the responsibility of the worldwide
promulgation of the gospel (compare 13:10)." (P. 302)
Luccock comments, "The ending of this chapter, its impassioned
appeal for watchfulness, speaks as directly to every generation as it
did to the first Christian century... There are so many forms of sleepwalking--the glazed eyes which never notice that one's ideas are being
whittled away, one's purposes being pared down; never notice the evil
forces in the world, gaining strength. ‘Watch and pray’ against the sin
that so easily trips us up, the compromise with wrong, so reasonable in
the beginning, so deadly in the end... ‘Watch,’ lest the great
opportunities for service to God's kingdom come and pass by, unseen and
unseized." (Pp. 864-65)
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The student of Mark 13 has to be impressed with the audacity of
Jesus--because here one human being, with a tiny, insignificant band of
disciples, dares to speak of the impending destruction of the very
central shrine of Judaism--the temple of God in Jerusalem.
"You see these buildings? There will not be one stone left upon
another stone that will not be thrown down!" These magnificent temple
buildings, so saturated with centuries of sacred tradition, will be
destroyed completely! And then, later on, he says with total
confidence, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass
away!" This beautiful temple, which has taken a life-time to be built,
these magnificent buildings that have cost untold fortunes in
construction, will be reduced to nothing; but my words, the words that I
have taught you, will never pass away!
What audacity! What arrogance! Can't you hear the wealthy
Sadducees laughing at his claim? "Fat chance! Never in this world! No
way! Jesus himself will be rejected and put to death on a Roman
execution-post--we'll see to that! His motley little band of disciples
will be scattered to the winds. His words will never get beyond this
tiny circle of vagabonds that follow him! In just a few months, no one
will ever remember his teachings! But this great and sacred temple will
never fall! We'll stake our lives on that!" So, at least, some of the
contemporaries of Jesus who chanced to hear his words, could well have
said.
But the fact of history is that the words of Jesus have become the
undeniable truth of history. Jesus himself was rejected by Judaism, and
was killed; his disciples were scattered far from Judea to the four
corners of the earth. But in 70 A.D., what Jesus had said concerning
Jerusalem and the temple came to a terrible fulfillment.
The Roman armies of Titus, the son of the Roman Caesar Vespasian,
swept through the walls of Jerusalem, destroying the city, both burning
and then literally leveling the sacred Jewish temple buildings to the
ground. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, described the
destruction as follows:
"The army now having no victims either for slaughter or
plunder...Caesar [Titus] ordered the whole city and the temple to be
torn down to the ground, leaving only the loftiest of the towers...and
the portion of the wall enclosing the city on the west...All the rest of
the wall encompassing the city was so completely leveled to the ground
as to leave future visitors to the spot no ground for believing that it
had ever been inhabited." (The War, VII, I. 1)
As a result of that terrible destruction, the Temple Mount is still
bare today, 1900 years later, except for the "Dome of the Rock" and the
"Mosque El Aqsa," two Muslim religious centers that have been built in
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the place of the ancient Jewish temple and its outlying buildings. But
the words of Jesus--today those precious, life and light-imparting words
are being repeated and preached, sung and taught in homes and churches,
in schools and universities, in books, magazines, newspapers, and
compact discs, and over radio and television, in every continent on
earth, in more than two thousand different languages!
Yes, the magnificent temple has fallen; but Jesus' words live on,
in ever-increasing splendor and power. And, we may well believe, the
future of our modern world lies to a large extent in whether or not we
modern human beings will have the wisdom and the courage to follow those
words--words which point our world to the peace and love and justice of
the Kingdom of God. "The temple will fall; my words will never pass
away"--it is an audacious claim; but its audacity is matched only by its
truth!
Throughout the early centuries of Christian history, students of
the Gospel of Mark were divided over what this chapter is talking about.
Some understood it to be talking about the end of the world, while
others understood it to be talking about the end of Jerusalem and its
temple. That same perplexity continues on today in modern commentaries
on Mark. However, I believe that this question can now be resolved in a
very definite way, through a new understanding of Jesus' statements in
the light of their background in the Jewish Bible.
In verses 1-2, a disciple of Jesus points to the magnificent Jewish
temple buildings, and the stones with which they were built. Jesus, in
response, says that the entirety of the temple along with its associated
buildings will be thrown down. Then, in verses 3-4, his disciples ask
Jesus concerning the time of this overthrow, and ask for a "sign" that
will serve as a warning that the destruction of the temple is soon to
happen. The words of Jesus that follow are meant to answer that one
question, and to provide that "sign" for Jesus' disciples. Everything
Jesus says in Mark 13 can be well understood on just this basis, and it
is mistaken to try and understand his answer in terms of the "final
wind-up of the universe," or as a description of the absolute "end of
time."
Consider Jesus' words in verse 30: "Truly I tell you, that this
generation will not pass away until all these things happen!" That is,
everything that Jesus is describing in this chapter will happen within
the life-time of his contemporaries! If Jesus is talking about the
destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, all of which happened during
the life-time of his contemporary generation--in 70 A.D.--then this
statement is true. But if he is talking about the end of time, the
absolute winding-up of the universe, 2,000 years later or more--then
this statement is untrue. It has been proven completely untrustworthy
by the historical events.
Of course, there are difficulties connected with this view--and I
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want to mention them here. All of the difficulties are found in verses
24-27; not one is found in verses 5-23.
There is no difficulty with the statements of Jesus in verses 5-8,
for it is common knowledge that all of these things–noise of wars, and
rumors of wars; nation rising up against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom; earthquakes in various places, and famines--all of these
happened in the first century, between the time Jesus spoke, and the
fall of Jerusalem and its temple in 70 A.D.
Likewise, there are no difficulties connected with what is said in
verses 9-13, for all of these things likewise happened in the period
between 30 and 70 A.D.--disciples of Jesus being "handed over" to
governing bodies and synagogues, as well as to governors and kings,
where they would bear their witness to Jesus; the proclamation of the
Good News to the very ends of the known world, a task which had been
largely fulfilled by the time of Jerusalem's fall; family divisions
caused by loyalty to Jesus, and the endurance of hatred by others,
calling forth the courageous endurance of the disciples of Jesus. Jesus
is literally describing the manner of life of his committed disciples
who self-sacrificially bore their testimony and witness during those
earliest years of the Christian faith!
Neither is there any difficulty in the words attributed to Jesus in
verses 14-23, as far as relating them to events in the first century.
The "abomination of desolation," or, as I have translated it, the
"detestable thing that causes desolation" is notoriously difficult to
understand; but there is sufficient background in the Jewish Bible to
enable us to be reasonably sure as to what Jesus means (see footnotes
2239 and 2240).
This language originated in the terrible desecration of the temple
that occurred just prior to the destruction of Solomon's Temple in 587
B.C., when the Jewish leaders filled the temple with their idolatrous
worship and turned their backs on the worship of YHWH, God of Israel.
That experience was strangely repeated some four centuries later, in
what happened to the Second Temple in 168 B.C., when the Syrian ruler
Antiochus Epiphanes IV placed a pig on the altar and built a statue of
the Greek god Zeus on the temple grounds. Those acquainted with the
Jewish Bible, especially the Apocrypha, with its history of the
Maccabees and their revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes, would know well
of these terrifying experiences. Jesus' language affirms that something
very similar was in the process of happening in the first century A.D.
to the temple that had been recently
renovated by Herod the Great. This would be the "sign" which would
enable his disciples to know that the destruction of Jerusalem and its
temple was about to happen.
We need look no further than Flavius Josephus' description of the
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terrible profanation of the temple that occurred in those last years of
the Jewish war, when the Zealot leaders allowed the temple to become the
scene of murder, mockingly made a "clown priest" out of a commoner by
the name of Phanni, and filled the temple precincts with their selfserving acts of injustice and broken relationships. The very center of
Jewish worship had once again been filled with an "abomination of
desolation," with a "detestable thing that causes desolation." Instead
of leading the people of God into his worship, and into the kind of life
he demands, the temple had been filled with pollution, murder, hatred,
and every kind of foul deed. The disciples of Jesus could see all of
this happening, and know that the destruction of Jerusalem and her
temple was near.
Indeed, as the Christians living in Jerusalem saw those things
beginning to take place, they could use the words of Jesus as a divine
warning to flee from Judea--and indeed, they did just that, according to
the early church historian Eusebius, escaping to Perea, the area to the
east of the Jordan River, to the City of Pella, where they were safe
from the destruction of the invading Romans.
But to turn this language into a description of the "Anti-Christ"
or "Man of Sin" of later Christian teaching, is simply not appropriate,
if we are seeking to understand the words of Jesus in terms of their
background in the Jewish Bible. See footnote 2245, where it is stated
that "The limitation of this warning to the people of Judea [‘then let
those who are in Judea escape to the mountains!’] shows clearly that a
universal drama is not envisioned, but rather, a 'Judean drama,' to be
unfolded in the coming destruction of the temple located in Judea!"
There are those who hold that the statement of Jesus in verse 18
cannot be understood in terms of the first century--for, they say, the
terrible destruction of Jews in the Nazi "holocaust" and in the Gulag
Archipelago, far exceeded the losses and sufferings of the Jews in the
first century. But it has been argued in footnote 2256 that this view
is very questionable. Josephus believed that the destruction was
unprecedented in history, and his figure of three million Jews dying in
one year is in excess of the number of Jews dying in one year during the
Nazi holocaust, not to mention the terrible fact that much of the loss
of life in 70 A.D. was to a large extent the result of Jews murdering
their fellow Jews--not non-Jews like the Nazis! Such an understanding
treats the words of Jesus in a wooden, literalistic manner, that is
unfair; Jesus could well have been using shocking hyperbole, as he did
oftentimes elsewhere.
Josephus' historical description of the destruction of Jerusalem
and its temple, found in The Jewish War, details how many charlatans
and self-styled prophets arose during those tumultuous days, making
great claims for themselves, that they were the divinely chosen "ruler"
(“Messiah”) for Israel--all of whose claims were quickly proven to be
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false, just as Jesus warned.
The real problem in relating the words of Jesus to the events
surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple is to be found
in verses 24-27, and the problem there is three-fold.
First, it has to do with the "cosmic imagery" of Jesus' words in
verses 24-25, where Jesus says that after the terrible time of distress
occurring before the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the
temple, "The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens
will be shaken." These events, it is believed by many, have to be those
of "the end of time," of the "final wind-up of the physical universe"!
And it must be granted that they do seem to describe just such a
cataclysmic event.
But then it has to be realized that in these words, Jesus is using
the language of the Jewish Bible, in such passages as Isaiah 13 and 34,
Ezekiel 32, and Joel 2-3. All of these passages use just this kind of
"cosmic" imagery, and apply it to specific occasions in history when
great political powers have fallen--such as in the fall of Babylon
(Isaiah 13), or of Edom (Isaiah 34), or Egypt (Ezekiel 32), or on "the
day of YHWH" (Joel 2-3), a day that comes again and again throughout
history.
This usage in the Jewish Bible lets us know that this kind of
language is not meant in a literal way, but is a kind of "dramatic
imagery" used to emphasize the overwhelming impact of God's
interventions in human history. And so, with this understanding, it is
obvious that Jesus may well have been referring to a similar divine
overthrow of human governments, only this time the Jewish government,
along with its sacred temple, would be overthrown by God, without
meaning to refer to the "absolute end of the world" at all!
As William Lane has stated in his commentary on Mark, "In the
prophets and later Jewish apocalyptic writings the dissolution of the
cosmic structure frequently orchestrates the intervention of God in
history. The imagery employed indicates an important turning point in
history, but not necessarily the last act of the historical process...In
Mark 13 the judgment upon Jerusalem marks the passing of one era and the
establishment of another in which the glory of God is no longer
concentrated in the temple but in the Son of Man." (P. 475)
What Jesus' use of this "cosmic imagery" indicates, then, should be
understood in terms of a great intervention of God in human history, not
the absolute end of human history. The fall of Jerusalem and its temple
marks a decisive intervention of God, one in which the "old order"
passes away, and the "new order" takes its place. We can well
understand this language of Jesus to be describing the fall of Judaism's
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capital and temple, and even, perhaps, the further fall of the Roman
Empire which would follow, during all of which the Kingdom of the Son of
Humanity would be gathering together his chosen people, from all nations
and peoples of the earth, to become the "New Israel," the "New Order" of
human history.
The second difficulty in this section (verses 24-27) is found in
verses 26 and 27, in their statements concerning "The Son of the
Person." Verse 26 states, "And then they will see the Son of the Person
coming in the clouds, with great power and glory." These words of Jesus
have been commonly understood as referring to the "Second Coming" of
Jesus, at the "end of time." But this does not at all follow from this
language.
Rather, these words of Jesus are based on Daniel 7:13-14, a vision
of Daniel in which "one like a son of man" comes with the clouds of
heaven to YHWH God, the "Ancient of Days," and is given a universal
kingdom, that will never pass away, and that is then given to the people
of God, to be theirs forever. In contrast to all the former "beastly
kingdoms" of this earth, this humane kingdom is universal in extent, and
continues without end, with all peoples and nations and languages
joining in its worship. It is the same universal kingdom that Daniel 2
envisions, "a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will
it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and
bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever." (Daniel 2:44)
Such a kingdom does not mean "the end of the world," but rather the
hope and fulfillment of the world's fondest dreams and hopes! The
"coming of the Son of the Person" does not mean "the Second Coming at
the end of time," but refers, in Christian understanding, to the
resurrection and ascension of the risen Lord to the right hand of
Almighty God, his subsequent coronation as King of kings and Lord of
lords, and his universal presence and rule over the people of God
forever and ever, as he “comes with the clouds” at every critical
juncture in human history, and in the lives of his people, powerfully
acting for their salvation and deliverance (compare Mark 14:62, where
this last meaning is emphasized).
In footnote 2281, it has been argued that with this usage in the
Jewish Bible as a background, we may assume that Jesus, who described
himself as "The Son of the Person," intended thereby to identify himself
with the mysterious, heavenly "son of man" of Daniel's vision, and in
this way to assure his disciples that God's universal victory and
kingdom would be given to him, and then shared with them as a result of
his work. They would live to see all of this happening in the events
surrounding the fall of Jerusalem and its temple buildings, and the
divine interventions in human history to follow--all of which would
happen in a time of the worldwide proclamation of the Good News, as
people from all over the world hear and respond to the good news,
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becoming a part of that “New Israel,” worshiping God in the “New Temple”
not made with human hands.
The third and final difficulty that is found in verses 24-27 is
found in verse 27, where it is stated that the Son of the Person
"...will send out the messengers [most English Bibles read ‘the
angels’], and they will gather together (his) chosen ones from the four
winds, from earth’s corner to heaven’s corner." It has been held that
this can only refer to the "end of time," when, at the "Second Coming,"
the Lord Jesus sends out the heavenly angels to gather together the
chosen ones to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
So the language has been understood--but there is a much better
alternative possibility for understanding. It is that Jesus is
referring to his disciples who obey his command to "Go into all the
world" with the Good News--as "angels" or "messengers"--thereby issuing
his call to enter into his Kingdom and to become his chosen ones by
accepting his choice and in turn "choosing" to make him their Lord and
King.
Lane comments that with such statements, Jesus "...Reinterpreted
Israel's hope in a profound way. Until that time the temple of
Jerusalem had been the visible center for the gathering of the scattered
chosen people. The destruction of the temple, however, would not result
in their permanent dispersion. On the contrary, it will be followed by
the re-gathering of the new people of God around the Son of Man, that
is, around Jesus. The counterpart to the destruction of Jerusalem and
the sanctuary is the...salvation of the elect. The remnant of Israel
will recover their lost unity through Jesus, the triumphant Son of Man.
To be gathered by the Son of Man is to participate in the [divinely
chosen] community and to experience the messianic blessing." (P. 477)
In this way, all of the statements of Jesus in Mark 13 can be
beautifully and truthfully applied to the first century--to the events
surrounding the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of its temple--and
to the coming of the Son of the Person to God, in his ascension and
coronation as King of Kings, and then in his world-wide coming (with the
clouds of divine judgment and victory), as the risen Lord of History
comes to visit judgment on the wicked, and bring salvation to the
neediest persons on earth.
With this understanding of his words, we have no trouble in
understanding his statement in verse 30, just three verses later, when
he says: "Truly I tell you, that this generation will not pass away
until all these things happen!" To interpret the statements of Jesus in
terms of his "Second Coming" and "the absolute end of the world" makes
Jesus either mistaken, or demands a radical change in the meaning of his
words. We are then, fully justified in understanding the statements of
Jesus in Mark 13 as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem and its
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temple--not as referring to the final "end of the world."
What is new, what is unique in this teaching of Mark / Jesus, is
his claim that in the wake of Almighty God's judgments upon Jerusalem
and its temple, he himself, the "Son of the Person," would come with the
clouds to God, to receive the universal, eternal Kingdom, which will
gather together the people of God from every language and nation in a
“New Israel,” centered, not in a geographically limited place such as
the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, but in a spiritual temple, not made with
hands, that is located in the hearts of God’s people who love and serve
him. That is the astounding and disturbing claim of this chapter. It
is that Jesus--the humble, suffering servant--is none other than the
"Lord of History," the rightful King of all nations and people, and that
his Kingdom, given to the people of God, will endure forever and ever!
Proud Israel with its invincible capital city of Jerusalem, and with its
world-renowned, white marble, gold-plated temple and associated
buildings, will go down; so will all of the proud human governments that
rule by iron might. But his Kingdom will stand forever and ever!
That's the shocking claim of this chapter--one that challenges the faith
and commitment of the reader.
Yes, the novel, shocking thing about this chapter is that it takes
so seriously the audacious claim that "Jesus is the King of God's coming
Kingdom"--that from that time forward, all nations and peoples will have
to reckon with his Kingdom, and with his judgment in history.
No wonder that this chapter strikes the unbeliever as so audacious!
But for those who have placed confidence in Jesus as their Lord and
King, this chapter expresses the central truth of our deepest
confidence--it is that Jesus is our rightful King, the one in whom all
peoples and nations can find a glorious future, and through whom worship
can be given to God from all over planet earth.
How delighted later generations have sometimes been to pounce on
these words of Jesus, fitting them into their detailed time-tables of
"the events of the end-time," forcing the words of Jesus into their
time-tables of dispensational schemes and arbitrary date-settings (see
footnote 2185, with its story of William Miller and his spiritual
descendants)! If we wanted to, and had the time, we could find dozens
of additional examples of those who have claimed to be able to foretell
the future events of world history, and set the date for the "end of the
world," claiming as their basis these very words of Jesus.
But Jesus himself, in striking contrast to all such efforts,
rejected any such desire to calculate the time of the end. Instead,
when Jesus speaks of the coming future, his words are characterized, not
by setting dates, but by two major themes. They are:
(1)
A strong insistence on our ignorance, that prohibits any
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attempts at setting exact dates. "But concerning that day, or the hour,
no one knows--not even the messengers in heaven, not even the Son--only
the Father!...For you do not know when the time is...You therefore must
be wide awake, for you do not know when the master of the house is
coming..." Jesus says, "You do not know!" William Miller didn't know;
Russell and Rutherford and their disciples didn't know; Armstrong and
Koresh didn't know, in spite of all their grandiose claims. "We don't
know!" Genuine religion is not about figuring mystical chronologies,
and setting dates. "We don't know!" And when Jesus states frankly that
he himself does not know the time, we are impressed with his humility,
here in the midst of these seemingly audacious claims. Surely if Jesus,
the Son of the Person, the Son of God can’t set any dates, his later
followers are foolish to think that they are able to do so!
(2) Our need for wide awake caution, that guards against deception
by those who claim special knowledge concerning the future, and that
keeps us always awake, always on the job, knowing that the coming
judgments of the Lord of History are "at the doors." "Watch out--so
that no one causes you to wander away!...Watch out for yourselves!...If
anyone should say to you, 'Look! Here...look there...don't put
confidence in them...So you, watch out! ...Watch out; be on the
alert!...You therefore must be wide awake...Now what I say to you
people, I say to all people, 'Be alert!'"
During the course of history, all earthly kingdoms have passed
away, and are passing away, and will pass away, including our own United
States of America, and the greatest achievements of human culture. But
the Kingdom of the Son of the Person will never end--it is the "wave of
the future," it is always "at the doors," coming with great power and
glory. This we can believe with all our hearts, refusing to let earthly
upheavals and disasters overwhelm or discourage us. Indeed, all of
these things are only God's "labor-pains," as he brings into being his
new world! God is at work in human history, and he is bringing into
being a wonderful future for all his people, even in the midst of
tsunamis, and earthquakes, and floods, and world-wide wars. This we can
believe.
Ignorant of times and dates, we are not ignorant of our duty.
Warned by our great Lord, we can see disaster coming, whenever people
let something other than God take his rightful place on the throne of
human loyalties. And forewarned by our Lord, we can escape that
disaster. We can witness to him and his Kingdom, to the ends of the
earth, sharing as his messengers in calling together his New Israel, his
coming Kingdom. We will never be alone, but will always have his Spirit
with us; we can always live in the certainty that "He is near, at the
door.”
Believing this, we can be people of great confidence--for we serve
the God who holds our futures in his great hands--and whose Kingdom will
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never fail. Right now, in this present time, we can live in the light
of that coming Kingdom, sharing that light with everyone possible in our
world. That's our task! Let each of us who name him Lord join our
hands and hearts together to fulfill that task!
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