Chapter 13 of Mark focuses on predictions Jesus made about the future. Last week we heard how He told the disciples that the temple in Jerusalem would be totally destroyed and that there would be much trouble and persecution for the disciples, as they sought to bear witness about Jesus. The disciples wanted to know when these things would be and what were signs of these coming events - times and signs. Jesus listed some “signs” but they were events that happened again and again through the years that fol...
Chapter 13 of Mark focuses on predictions Jesus made about the future. Last week we heard how He told the disciples that the temple in Jerusalem would be totally destroyed and that there would be much trouble and persecution for the disciples, as they sought to bear witness about Jesus. The disciples wanted to know when these things would be and what were signs of these coming events - times and signs. Jesus listed some “signs” but they were events that happened again and again through the years that followed - wars, earthquakes, famines, and kingdoms rising and falling.
All these events are to remind us that the end of all things as we know them will be coming and that the end might be coming soon. We are therefore to be on guard against false teachers who could lead people astray and to be prepared for the end by continuing faith in our Savior and by doing what our Lord calls us to do, especially proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus to all nations.
Surprisingly, Jesus said that He could not tell us just when the end will be, because only the Heavenly Father knows. Skip ahead and read Mark 13:32-33. Though Jesus was the Son of God, He did not always use His Godly power and at least while He was on earth, He did not know when the end would be. Churches and people who spend much of their energy on trying to figure out when and how the end will come are missing what is more important - being spiritually awake, by faith in Christ, and doing what He calls us to do, as His servants.
Jesus told a parable of a man going on a journey and leaving his servants to do the work until he returned, at a time unknown (Mark 13:34-37). They were to be awake and ready for him, whenever he returned. For us, that means being spiritually awake and active as a believer and not being spiritually asleep and uncaring about our Master and His wishes for us.
Go back now to Mark 13:14-18. Jesus referred to an “abomination that causes desolation” that was coming. This was a phrase that was first used in the Book of Daniel, in Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11. It predicted a time, before Christ, when the temple in Jerusalem would be desecrated by a terrible Greek leader who wanted the Jews to follow false gods. (We can’t go into all this here; but if you go back far enough on the podcast site, you will find a study of Daniel and these passages and much more detail about this.)
Jesus used this same phrase in Mark 13:14 to refer to another coming destruction of the temple and much of Jerusalem that He was predicting. He warned people that it would be a terrible time and that they should flee away from Jerusalem and Judea, when they saw this coming. They should not even try to gather up things, but just leave the area quickly and pray that it would not be in winter or during a woman’s pregnancy or at any time when it would be harder get away (Mark 13:14-18).
Early Christians remembered these words of Jesus, and most of them escaped from Jerusalem just before 70 AD, when Roman armies came to put down a Jewish rebellion and destroyed the city and desecrated and destroyed the temple, just as Jesus had predicted. That temple has never been rebuilt, since that time.
These words of Jesus also go beyond this terrible time. The destruction of Jerusalem was also a kind of prediction of trouble for Christians near the very end times of the world. In Mark 13:12-13, Jesus told of families turning against one another, and Christians being hated just for following the name of Jesus. (Such things have happened at various times in the past. Even in more recent times, groups like Hitler and the Nazis and Communist groups and some Islamic groups have been very anti-Christian and have sought to turn people against their own families and family life. But this passage and others in the Scriptures seem to speak of even more possible trouble near the end.)
See the description of great “tribulation” and “false christs” and “false prophets” who seem to do amazing things that could lead many astray, in Mark 13:19-22. (Again, other Scriptures warned of antichrists, even in the days of the early church; but it may be that the challenges will be even tougher for Christians near the end. The Lord will be with His believers, “the elect,” though, and will help them and “shorten” these troubled times.)
The key thing, again, is to be on guard and trust Jesus and endure in faith, even if we have to live through such troubled times as Christians. Jesus has warned us about this, and He will be with us (Mark 13:13, 23). And the forces against Christ and Christians will be defeated by the return of Christ on the last day. Jesus, the Son of Man, will come back with great power and glory, and will gather all believers to Himself for eternal life. The universe as we know it will pass away and we will have a whole new and perfect existence with our Lord (Mark 13:24-27).
Jesus used one more parable to assure his disciples. As a fig tree and its growth and leaves indicate that summer is near, so Christ will be near to us and rescue us, at just the right time, with His return (Mark 13:28-29).
Jesus gave a difficult saying in Mark 13:30. Some people thought from this that Jesus would return within their own life span, their generation, very soon. That obviously was not the case. The word “generation” can also refer to a group or race of people - in this case the Jewish nation or the Christian believers. Still today, both Christians and Jews survive. The Lord takes care of the believers in Christ, and there are Jews who are Christians, and there is still opportunity to be a witness for Christ to Jewish people, so that more can trust in Jesus, too. All that will continue to the end.
Jesus also said, “Heaven and earth will pass away.” That happens at the end, when Christ comes back. “But my Words will not pass away.” The promises and predictions of Jesus are certain, and we will have eternal life with Him one day, as our Savior (Mark 13:31).
So much more could be said, and so many other Scriptures could be given to explain and support what I have given here. Here are just a few, with their subject:
The Return of Jesus on the Last Day
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-21
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-57
End Time Enemies
- 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8
- 1 John 4:1-6.
- Revelation 20:9-10
The Abiding Word of God
New Heaven and New Earth
- 2 Peter 3:7-13
- Revelation 21:1-4
Waiting for the Lord to Come
- Luke 12:35-46
- Revelation 3:19-22
Confidence in Jesus
Finally, I talked a little in this podcast about learning several languages in order to become a pastor, including Latin and German, as much Biblical commentary is written in those languages. Most important were Biblical Hebrew, in which the Old Testament was written and Biblical Greek, in which the New Testament was written. This allows a pastor to compare different translations of the Bible and see which are most accurate in an English or other translation.
There are insights that one learns, too, that are not clear in all translations. Look at Mark 13:8. Notice that the events described there are called “birth pains." What does that mean? The Greek word normally means the pains a woman goes through during the birth of a child. The pains can be terrible, but from them comes the great joy of the birth of a child and the blessings that brings. Jesus used that very image in John 16:20-23 to encourage His disciples, with sorrowful times coming.
Mark 13:8 tells us that we may face trouble and pain, if we happen to be in the last times, when there are wars and famines and earthquakes and other challenges. But out of that will come new life and eternal joy with the Lord. When I was just learning Greek, I found that same Greek word in Acts 2:24. My Bible translates that as “the pangs of death” that Jesus went through for us. What it really means is that Jesus suffered “the birth pangs of death.” His death for us was terribly painful, more than we can imagine; but out of those birth pains came new life for Jesus, as He rose from the dead, and new and eternal life for us, too, who trust in Him. For us, as well, death may be painful, but these pains are only birth pangs that bring us to eternal life and joy with our Lord. Some of the predictions in Mark 13 are scary; but words like “birth pains” put things in perspective and encourage us, even in hard times. Remember that every Word of Scripture is important for us.
