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Mark 13:24
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Paul BramsenSummary
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- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Matthew Henry
- Tyndale
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
But in those days, after that tribulation--"Immediately after the tribulation of those days" (Mat 24:29). the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.
John Gill Bible Commentary
And then shall they see the son of man,.... Not in person, but in the power of his wrath and vengeance; of which the Jews then had a convincing evidence, and full proof; and even of his being come in the flesh, as if they had seen him in person: this shows, that the sign of the son of man, in Mat 24:30 is the same with the son of man: coming in the clouds with great power and glory; not to judgment, but having taken vengeance on the Jewish nation, to set up his kingdom and glory in the Gentile world; See Gill on Mat 24:30.
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
These verses seem to point at Christ's second coming, to judge the world; the disciples, in their question, had confounded the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world (Mat 24:3), which was built upon a mistake, as if the temple must needs stand as long as the world stands; this mistake Christ rectifies, and shows that the end of the world in those days, those other days you enquire about, the day of Christ's coming, and the day of judgment, shall be after that tribulation, and not coincident with it. Let those who live to see the Jewish nation destroyed, take heed of thinking that, because the Son of man doth not visibly come in the clouds then, he will never so come; no, he will come after that. And here he foretels, 1. The final dissolution of the present frame and fabric of the world; even of that part of it which seems least liable to change, the upper part, the pure and more refined part; The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall no more give her light; for they shall be quite outshone by the glory of the Son of man, Isa 24:23. The stars of heaven, that from the beginning had kept their place and regular motion, shall fall as leaves in autumn; and the powers that are in heaven, the heavenly bodies, the fixed stars, shall be shaken. 2. The visible appearance of the Lord Jesus, to whom the judgment of that day shall be committed (Mar 13:26); Then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds. Probably he will come over that very place where he sat when he said this; for the clouds are in the lower region of the air. He shall come with great power and glory, such as will be suited to the errand on which he comes. Every eye shall then see him. 3. The gathering together of all the elect to him (Mar 13:27); He shall send his angels, and gather together his elect to him, to meet him in the air, Th1 4:17. They shall be fetched from one end of the world to the other, so that none shall be missing from that general assembly; they shall be fetched from the uttermost part of the earth, most remote from the places where Christ's tribunal shall be set, and shall be brought to the uttermost part of heaven; so sure, so swift, so easy, shall their conveyance be, that there shall none of them miscarry, though they were to be brought from the uttermost part of the earth one way, to the uttermost part of the heaven another way. A faithful Israelite shall be carried safely, though it were from the utmost border of the land of bondage to the utmost border of the land of promise.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
13:24-27 At that time, after the anguish of those days: Many scholars argue that the cosmic signs of 13:24-25, the coming of the Son of Man in 13:26, and the gathering of the chosen ones from throughout the world in 13:27 are metaphorical ways of referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and to the vindication of the Son of Man by that event. The traditional interpretation, though, is that, whereas the former material refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, this passage refers to the coming of the Son of Man (the parousia) that will occur at the end of history. This interpretation fits better for several reasons: (1) After the anguish of those days means after the destruction of Jerusalem, not during it, and at that time (literally in those days) could occur at any time after the events of 13:5-23; (2) several words used in 13:26 are used elsewhere to describe the coming of the Son of Man: glory (8:38), power and clouds (14:62); and (3) in light of the early church’s longing and praying for the return of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor 16:22; Rev 22:20), Mark’s readers would have interpreted Mark 13:26 as the second coming of Jesus, which will bring history as we know it to a close. The prophets, Jesus, and the Gospel writers described this event as though seen through a telescope, and the distance between events is unclear; no one knows the time for this event except God himself (13:32). The events of 13:5-23 and 13:24-27 are part of the same great, divine act that includes the coming of the Son of Man, his ministry, death, and resurrection, the judgment of Jerusalem in AD 70, and the Son of Man’s final coming in glory. 13:24b-25 Some of the language used in the New Testament to describe Jesus’ second coming, such as the “trumpet call of God” (1 Thes 4:16), appears to be metaphorical, and in the Old Testament, cosmic language is frequently used to describe historical events metaphorically (see Isa 11:1-9; 13:9-11; Jer 4:23-28; Ezek 32:1-16). So it is possible that this imagery could refer to a past event, such as the destruction of Jerusalem, if that is the meaning of Mark 13:24-27. However, the New Testament writers clearly understood the coming of the Son of Man to be the visible and personal return of Jesus in the future (see Acts 1:9-11).
Mark 13:24
The Return of the Son of Man
23So be on your guard; I have told you everything in advance. 24But in those days, after that tribulation: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Matthew Henry
- Tyndale
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
But in those days, after that tribulation--"Immediately after the tribulation of those days" (Mat 24:29). the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.
John Gill Bible Commentary
And then shall they see the son of man,.... Not in person, but in the power of his wrath and vengeance; of which the Jews then had a convincing evidence, and full proof; and even of his being come in the flesh, as if they had seen him in person: this shows, that the sign of the son of man, in Mat 24:30 is the same with the son of man: coming in the clouds with great power and glory; not to judgment, but having taken vengeance on the Jewish nation, to set up his kingdom and glory in the Gentile world; See Gill on Mat 24:30.
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
These verses seem to point at Christ's second coming, to judge the world; the disciples, in their question, had confounded the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world (Mat 24:3), which was built upon a mistake, as if the temple must needs stand as long as the world stands; this mistake Christ rectifies, and shows that the end of the world in those days, those other days you enquire about, the day of Christ's coming, and the day of judgment, shall be after that tribulation, and not coincident with it. Let those who live to see the Jewish nation destroyed, take heed of thinking that, because the Son of man doth not visibly come in the clouds then, he will never so come; no, he will come after that. And here he foretels, 1. The final dissolution of the present frame and fabric of the world; even of that part of it which seems least liable to change, the upper part, the pure and more refined part; The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall no more give her light; for they shall be quite outshone by the glory of the Son of man, Isa 24:23. The stars of heaven, that from the beginning had kept their place and regular motion, shall fall as leaves in autumn; and the powers that are in heaven, the heavenly bodies, the fixed stars, shall be shaken. 2. The visible appearance of the Lord Jesus, to whom the judgment of that day shall be committed (Mar 13:26); Then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds. Probably he will come over that very place where he sat when he said this; for the clouds are in the lower region of the air. He shall come with great power and glory, such as will be suited to the errand on which he comes. Every eye shall then see him. 3. The gathering together of all the elect to him (Mar 13:27); He shall send his angels, and gather together his elect to him, to meet him in the air, Th1 4:17. They shall be fetched from one end of the world to the other, so that none shall be missing from that general assembly; they shall be fetched from the uttermost part of the earth, most remote from the places where Christ's tribunal shall be set, and shall be brought to the uttermost part of heaven; so sure, so swift, so easy, shall their conveyance be, that there shall none of them miscarry, though they were to be brought from the uttermost part of the earth one way, to the uttermost part of the heaven another way. A faithful Israelite shall be carried safely, though it were from the utmost border of the land of bondage to the utmost border of the land of promise.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
13:24-27 At that time, after the anguish of those days: Many scholars argue that the cosmic signs of 13:24-25, the coming of the Son of Man in 13:26, and the gathering of the chosen ones from throughout the world in 13:27 are metaphorical ways of referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and to the vindication of the Son of Man by that event. The traditional interpretation, though, is that, whereas the former material refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, this passage refers to the coming of the Son of Man (the parousia) that will occur at the end of history. This interpretation fits better for several reasons: (1) After the anguish of those days means after the destruction of Jerusalem, not during it, and at that time (literally in those days) could occur at any time after the events of 13:5-23; (2) several words used in 13:26 are used elsewhere to describe the coming of the Son of Man: glory (8:38), power and clouds (14:62); and (3) in light of the early church’s longing and praying for the return of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor 16:22; Rev 22:20), Mark’s readers would have interpreted Mark 13:26 as the second coming of Jesus, which will bring history as we know it to a close. The prophets, Jesus, and the Gospel writers described this event as though seen through a telescope, and the distance between events is unclear; no one knows the time for this event except God himself (13:32). The events of 13:5-23 and 13:24-27 are part of the same great, divine act that includes the coming of the Son of Man, his ministry, death, and resurrection, the judgment of Jerusalem in AD 70, and the Son of Man’s final coming in glory. 13:24b-25 Some of the language used in the New Testament to describe Jesus’ second coming, such as the “trumpet call of God” (1 Thes 4:16), appears to be metaphorical, and in the Old Testament, cosmic language is frequently used to describe historical events metaphorically (see Isa 11:1-9; 13:9-11; Jer 4:23-28; Ezek 32:1-16). So it is possible that this imagery could refer to a past event, such as the destruction of Jerusalem, if that is the meaning of Mark 13:24-27. However, the New Testament writers clearly understood the coming of the Son of Man to be the visible and personal return of Jesus in the future (see Acts 1:9-11).