Mark 13

CHAPTER XIII

It is still Tuesday, but near the end of this momentous day. Mark indicates a new minor division by saying that Jesus left the Temple (13:1–37). Note the clearness with which the three subparts (which go together) are marked: 1) Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem (10:32); 2) Jesus enters Jerusalem and the Temple (11:1); 3) Jesus leaves the Temple for good (13:1, etc.).

Mark 13:1

1 And while he is going out of the Temple, one of his disciples says to him, Teacher, see, what stones and what buildings! And Jesus said to him, Seest thou these great buildings? In no wise shall there be left here stone on stone which shall not be dislodged.

Jesus is through with the Temple; he never again entered it. While he was in the act of leaving, Mark specifies, one of his disciples spoke to him about the glorious Temple structure. Matthew says that all the disciples came to Jesus, and Luke that some of them spoke. They all came to Jesus and probably hesitated a little; then one spoke as Mark reports—probably Peter who told Mark; then others, too, joined in. With ἴδε, which is an aorist imperative and not an interjection, this disciple bids Jesus take a look at all the magnificence of the Temple buildings. How he and then others came to think of this is indicated in Matt. 23:38 where Jesus had told Jerusalem that her house would be left desolate.

The thought of the disciples is: “Look at all these grand structures—and they are all to be completely deserted?” The stones are mentioned first, great, massive, wonderfully carved and laid; and then the wonderful buildings that had been erected with these stones. All of fifty years, half a century, had already been spent in replacing one building after another in grander and richer form. The work was not yet completed; it went on for years until shortly before the great war which wrecked Jerusalem and utterly destroyed its fine Temple.

Mark 13:2

2 Whereas Jesus spoke to this one disciple, we see that his answer is, of course, intended for all. In The Life of Christ Farrar has a good description of the Temple of this time. Jesus turns the disciple’s words around. Was he to look at these stones and buildings? Well, let the disciple himself regard them: “Seest thou these great buildings?” There is no question about their greatness, and the eye may well feast upon them. Now, however, there comes the astounding announcement that all these buildings shall not only be deserted and left desolate but that they shall be literally destroyed, and that utterly.

These wonderful stones—not one should be left on another that shall not be dislodged. We have οὐμή twice, in both the main and the subordinate clause; in both cases the negation is as strong as it can be made and is expressed with a subjunctive (also with a future). The passive aorist subjunctive ἀφεθῇ is futuristic; read R. 928, etc.; so is the καταλυθῇ in the relative clause. The statement is direct prophecy. It is the last word, as far as we know, that Jesus spoke in the Temple, and it is tragic in the highest degree.

3, 4) And while he is sitting on the Mount of Olives over against the Temple, there inquired of him Peter and James and John and Andrew, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what the sign when, these things all are about to be accomplished?

The writer stood on the lower slopes of Olivet toward evening and looked across the Kidron valley to the Temple hill within the walls, where now stands the Mohammedan Dome of the Rock (sometimes called the Mosque of Omar), the Temple’s great dome of dull gold magnificently lit up by the rays of the sinking sun, the city on Zion hill behind it rising to a higher elevation. So Jesus is now sitting with Herod’s great Temple and the brilliant Sanctuary (Holy and Holy of Holies) sparkling in the dying sun.

When Jesus was leaving the Temple, crowds surrounded him; he is now alone, κατʼ ἰδίαν, “in private,” with the Twelve. The four disciples named ask him to tell them more; all, of course, wanted to know. By ταῦτα they refer to the destruction of the Temple (v. 2)—when shall that be? They also desire to know “the sign when these things all are about to be accomplished,” brought to a complete finish. The imperfect ἐπηρώτα holds us in suspense until we hear what the answer shall be. By “the sign” they mean “the sign of thine own Parousia” (Matt. 24:3), by which Jesus’ own coming and presence at the end of the world shall be announced, which they take to be the sign that shall usher in the accomplishment or complete finish (Matthew) of all things.

No date is asked for with πότε, and Jesus never gives a date (Acts 1:7), and Jesus has no date to give (v. 32). This “when” merely goes together with “the sign” as indicating the return to judgment and the winding up of all things at the end. It is rather useless to figure out just how the disciples combined their two questions, in particular whether they imagined that there would be an interval between the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world. All that the synoptists intend to convey is that the question of the disciples induced Jesus to make his long reply which went beyond even what was asked. The important thing is this reply.

Mark 13:5

5 And Jesus began to say to them, See to it lest anyone deceive you! Many shall come on my name, saying, I myself am he, and shall deceive many.

“Began to say to them” is circumstantial and marks the length and the importance of what Jesus said. His heart is full of concern for his disciples. The introduction to the great discourse is a mighty warning. They are to “see to it,” to keep their eyes open, “lest anyone deceive you,” trick you to believe what is not true, the aorist denoting actuality.

Mark 13:6

6 Jesus has only too good a reason for this warning: many shall try this deception by coming ἐπὶτῷὀνόματίμου, “on my name” (explained at length in 9:37), on the basis of my revelation, abusing it and misusing it for their evil purposes. They shall go so far in this abuse of the revelation of Jesus that they shall solemnly declare: Ἐγώεἰμι, “I myself am he,” i.e., the Christ, and arrogate this name to themselves as if they were fulfilling the prophecies of Jesus, and impersonate him directly or indirectly.

The procession of such deceivers from Simon Magus and Barcochba on to the great Antichrist and all the little antichrists goes on to the end of time. Some are petty and have this or that little sect of fanatics following them, some are grand like the popes in their long succession, some are out for the hard cash, some are viciously lascivious. They all use the revelation of Christ as their sheep’s clothing. The sad thing is that they shall actually succeed in deceiving many, for all men have an affinity for religious error, and many yield to it with avidity and develop the strongest delusions. They have no limit in perverting to their own ends what the Scriptures say about the kingdom.

This introduction to the discourse is misconceived when it is made a rebuke to the Twelve for thinking of the glory of the end instead of thinking of the Passion of Jesus. It is no rebuke whatever, and the last discourses of Jesus as recorded by John most certainly comfort the disciples by pointing to his spiritual and also to his glorious coming.

Mark 13:7

7 The first section of the discourse (v. 7–13) deals with the entire time until the end of the world. The destruction of Jerusalem is, of course, included although Jesus will speak of that separately (v. 14–23) just as he will speak separately also of the end of the world (v. 24–37). But when you shall hear of wars and of rumors of wars, be not alarmed. It must be. But not yet is the end. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There shall be earthquakes from place to place; there shall be famines. A beginning of birthpains these things.

The thing heard is in the accusative, the person heard in the genitive; so we here have πολέμουςκτλ. The disciples shall hear of wars right at hand and rumors about wars in distant places. These, Jesus says, are signs of the end, for they signal the rotten condition of the world, but not of the end immediately to ensue. Hence the admonition: “be not alarmed,” troubled. These war noises are not to upset the equanimity of the disciples. Why? “It must be,” δεῖ, impersonal and to indicate any type of necessity, here a necessity due to the condition of the world and to God’s judgment upon that condition.

The aorist infinitive is constative; “be” includes all these wars and these rumors. “The end is not yet” when the disciples hear these things, τὸτέλος, the goal which God has set. These are only a part of the birthpains.

Mark 13:8

8 That wars result when nation rises against nation (ἔθνος, a body of people that is held together by the same customs) and kingdom against kingdom (a body of people that is under one king or government) is rather self-evident. These clashes are, however, always the height of abnormality. The passive ἐγερθήσεται, “shall be raised up,” is used also for the middle “shall raise itself up,” i.e., “shall rise.” The passions that cause such uprisings need not be mentioned. Since famines and earthquakes are mentioned together, and the latter are not produced by wars, we may conclude that famines are likewise to be understood as being independent of, and not mere phenomena of, wars. The distributive κατά means “from place to place.” The world of nature is affected in the same way by sin as is the world of men, and thus these disturbing manifestations are signs of the end. But not signs after which the end is at once due. No; more of these manifestations will be piled up, not always consecutively but often concurrently and simultaneously.

These are only a prelude, “a beginning of birthpains,” much severer pains and writhings must be added before the new, heavenly eon comes to full birth. Jesus adopts the term that was used by the rabbis when they referred to the sufferings and woes which were to precede the Messiah’s coming: cheblē hamashiach, dolores Messiae, which tribulations were to bring forth the new era. Jesus shows that these “birthpains” pertain only to his second coming and the judgment.

Mark 13:9

9 But do you on your part see to yourselves! For they shall deliver you over to councils, and in synagogues you shall be hided; and before governors and kings shall you be made to stand on account of me, for a testimony to them. And unto all the nations must first the gospel be preached.

In v. 5 Jesus uses the word βλέπετε to warn the disciples to see to it lest others deceive them; now he uses the same word βλέπετε to caution them regarding themselves. We make ὑμεῖς emphatic: “you on your part see to it,” etc. Amid all coming signs of the end, these preliminary birthpains, the disciples must be constantly on the watch (the present imperative is durative) in regard to themselves lest they in some way come to lose their faith and thus perish.

The account of the persecutions which the disciples shall suffer which Mark now brings is not found in Matthew’s report of this discourse (chapter 24) but in the ordination address recorded in Matt. 10:17–22; all save v. 10 which accords with Matt. 24:14. The usual explanation is that Mark himself inserted a part of the ordination address into the address delivered on Mount Olivet. But Mark reports what he had received from Peter, and such a mixing of the addresses would have to be charged against Peter. It is beyond question that Jesus repeated some of his statements. This must be the case here. We are confirmed in this opinion by the fact that the statements in question fit perfectly in both addresses.

Jesus told the disciples from the very start and in the plainest possible way about the severe persecutions that they would encounter in a world that was fast ripening unto judgment. He does so here. And again (in v. 11) he adds his mighty word of comfort. The subject of παραδώσουσι does not need to be expressed. The vicious opponents of Jesus and the gospel “shall deliver you over” to the different judicial tribunals. The future tenses are, of course, prophetic but at the same time express “the certainty of expectation that is involved,” R. 870.

Jesus mentions the worst of the persecutions that the disciples must expect, trials before tribunals and all that goes with them, accusation, denunciation, arrest, imprisonment, verdicts of guilty, and the execution of these verdicts. All lesser sufferings are thus taken for granted. They will come in proportion.

The συνέδρια (σύν plus ἕδρα or “seat”) were the minor, local Jewish courts in which twenty-three judges sat together to try cases. To be haled before such a “council” was an indignity. These councils could decree scourging with rods, and the penalty would be carried out right in the synagogue where the council sat and under the eyes of the judges (Acts 22:19; 26:11; 2 Cor. 11:24). This scourging was severe enough to be called flaying; δαρήσεσθε is the future passive of δέρω, “to give a hiding.” The two clauses are arranged chiastically, the verbs being placed first and last, the phrases between the verbs. The second εἰς is static: “in synagogues,” R. 593.

From the Jewish tribunals Jesus turns to the pagan courts that were presided over by “governors” or procurators and even by “kings.” The ἐπί has the resultant idea of “before,” R. 603. The Herodian rulers were popularly styled kings although they were only tetrarchs (over a fourth); Archelaus was an ethnarch. The implication is the infliction of severer penalties and even death itself. A terrible prospect indeed! But Jesus never withheld or softened what the disciples had to expect (compare Matt. 5:10–12). We regard σταθήσεσθε as passive, “you shall be made to stand,” not as active, “shall stand” (R. V.).

The emphasis is on ἕνεκενἐμοῦ, “on account of me.” Whatever they suffer is for him. He sends them, him they represent, him and the royal rule of his kingdom they proclaim. A second phrase interprets the first: “for a testimony to them,” to the Jews, the prime movers in these persecutions, and to the pagan tribunals, officers and men, including the populace. This will be an effective testimony indeed, which will be greater than ordinary preaching. For it will compel all these high authorities to investigate judicially the whole course of the gospel and to note all that the gospel contains and all that it does for man. Whether this testimony makes a salutary impression or not, its mere rendering is the will of Jesus (Acts 1:8, “witnesses unto me”); and its saving effect will always be felt by some.

Mark 13:10

10 Mark abbreviates Matt. 24:14. In Matthew the statement stands by itself, but in Mark it appears as an explanation for the fact that the disciples shall be haled before pagan judges. This shall be done because the gospel shall be preached to all nations. This “must be”; the necessity expressed by δεῖ is that of God’s good will and counsel concerning the salvation of all men. And πάντατὰἔθνη are “all nations,” ἔθνος is used as it is in v. 8, and the Jews, too, are regarded as an ethnos. Evangelization is to be world-wide.

Both the verb and the noun are distinctive in κηρυχθῆναιτὸεὐαγγέλιον. See 1:4 on the former. It is the verb which denotes the public heralding of the gospel, the uttering a proclamation for all to hear. The construction with εἰς as a substitute for the dative is perfectly regular, R. 535. On εὐαγγέλιον see 1:1.

The substance of the good or glad news (“gospel,” an old English term) is all that pertains to Jesus and his work and rule of grace in his kingdom for the salvation of men. This wonderful news must resound among all nations. Mark writes only the adverb πρῶτον: it must “first” be heralded; Matthew gives us the interpretation: “and then shall come the end.” This is the clearest statement in the Gospels concerning the actual time of the end—“first” the gospel must reach all nations. They must all be brought to face the question of faith or unbelief, whether they will accept this gospel or reject it. This “must be,” it is God’s own will. What a profound statement!

Imagine Jesus sitting there with the Twelve on the slopes of Olivet on Tuesday evening before the Friday of his death and speaking of the world-wide penetration of his gospel! Yet this is exactly what has come to pass. The world cannot end until the gospel has been carried, amid all manner of persecutions, to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8), Rev. 22:20.

Mark 13:11

11 And whenever they bring you, delivering you up, stop worrying what you shall utter; but whatever shall be given you in that hour, that go on and utter, for you are not the ones making utterance but the Holy Spirit.

To be arrested and haled before judges low or high is enough to upset anyone. Aside from the shame, fear, and other conflicting emotions, the trial itself and the matter of their defense would cause terrible anxiety to the apostles and to other heralds of the gospel. Their anxiety would not, however, concern itself merely with the manner in which they might defend themselves and escape the infliction of penalties, their anxiety would be concerned chiefly with the honor of Christ and the gospel, that in the midst of their mental confusion, by mistakes, weakness, ignorance, or other handicaps they might injure the Lord’s cause. After spending one or more sleepless nights in a foul cell, and having no advocate at their side, in what condition would they be to do justice to the gospel? “Stop worrying what you shall utter!” contemplates and meets this situation. Matthew has the aorist: “Drop all worrying completely!” Mark has the present imperative which when it is used with a negative means to stop an action already begun, R. 851, etc. The aorist λαλήσητε speaks of the complete utterance made at the trial. Note the use of λαλεῖν (not λέγειν) throughout this passage, “to make utterance,” to open the mouth and to speak as opposed to keeping silence.

The command not even to give the matter thought is astonishing. Even the powers, abilities, faculties, talents, wisdom, faith, courage, etc., which God gives us and wants us to use are to be left out of consideration in these ordeals. Our dependence is to be on nothing in ourselves but wholly on God: “but whatever shall be given you in that hour, that go on and utter!” This is a mighty promise in the form of a command. The passive δοθῇ implies God as the agent, and the aorist denotes one complete act of giving. In the verb “give” there is the strong connotation of grace. When God gives, the gift corresponds to him. The indefinite relative clause is made emphatic by τοῦτο, “that, and that alone go on uttering,” λαλεῖτε, durative, as needed in that hour.

When God gives a man what he shall utter—do not overlook λαλεῖν—the proper name for that is inspiration. In fact, we have here an exact description of this act. Without previous thinking, planning, imagining the defendants will in their trials at court receive directly from God just what they are to utter. It will drop into their minds just as it is needed and will thus come to their lips to be uttered aloud. That is in fact the whole of their part in this matter—λαλεῖν, “to utter.”

The clause introduced by γάρ explains what this divine gift in the hour of need really means: “for you are not the ones making utterance but the Holy Spirit,” i.e., in reality not you, but in reality he. When the predicate has the article it is identical and interchangeable with the subject (R. 768); that is the case here with regard to ὑμεῖς and its predicate οἱλαλοῦντες. Note that λαλεῖν is the verb that is still used. The fact that the Holy Spirit is a person is beyond question, he is the third person of the Godhead. This Spirit dwells in the believer and will increase his gracious power in the believer in this special and most wonderful way. The believers will, indeed, make utterance, and yet they will not, for their act is due to the Holy Spirit, and this is done in such a way that he is the one that does the uttering.

Everything mechanical, magical, unpsychological is completely shut out, for Matthew adds ἐνὑμῖν, the Spirit and his grace that are dwelling within the disciples. They are not like the demoniacs whose organs of speech and very wills were violated by a demon or by several. The absolute contrary takes place: mind, heart, will operate freely, consciously, in joyful, trustful dependence on the Spirit’s giving, who enables them to find just what to say and how to say it down to the last word and prevents any mistake or even wrong word that may be due to faulty memory or disturbed emotions.

This is, of course, inspiration, verbal inspiration (note λαλεῖν used throughout), than which none other exists. It is here promised for specific occasions, but that does not change what is promised. The argument is quite invincible that, if God’s Spirit inspired these disciples when they were subjected to trials at court, he was able to inspire them in the same manner also at other times for interests that were far greater (the written Word for all ages and nations) according to the promise given in John 14:26. The fact that he did so is attested in 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:19–21; Hos. 12:11; Ezek. 3:27; in Matthew, for instance, by all the διά phrases beginning with 1:22 and scattered throughout the New Testament. It is most tremendously attested by the result, the Bible itself, its every page being a product that is beyond human ability.

We cannot agree when modernists tell us that what Jesus promises here is mere “presence of mind” at the trials in court; what Jesus promises is vastly different. The claim that inerrancy is not promised is equally untenable—the disciples did not need the Holy Spirit to help them make false statements, they could do that without his help. Or are we to suppose that when the Holy Spirit (note the emphatic adjective added by a second article, R. 776) makes utterance he is like men, liable to utter falsities, mistakes, errors? Who would doubt that Jesus could extend what he promises the Twelve also to others? The main point remains: what Jesus promises makes the Spirit the causa efficiens, men the causæ instrumentales as the old dogmaticians state it. God moves to speak (or to write), furnishes the thought and the words (suggestio rerum et verborum), so that the utterance is also properly called his.

We do not have “two factors” that are hitched together like two horses in a synergistic partnership, between which theologians may draw a line. There is only a Giver from whom the entire gift emanates; beneath him are only the recipients who receive the entire gift.

The thing is a fact and not in the least a “theory” although many talk about “the theory of inspiration.” The fact is, of course, incomprehensible like millions of mighty facts, yet for all that it is real, actual, a fact indeed. Our dogmaticians illustrate this fact: a man dictates to his amanuensis, a blower plays a flute, a player strikes the lyre with the plectrum. The first of these illustrations is still misunderstood by many who think that it suggests “the dictation theory” of inspiration. But why not talk also of “the flute theory,” “the lyre theory”? If there is anything amiss about these illustrations, then, please, bring on better ones. To use an illustration in order to destroy a fact and the doctrine enunciating it is unfair.

Mark 13:12

12 To what extremes hatred of Christ will go is graphically described. And brother will deliver up brother unto death, and father child. And children will rise up against parents and will bring them to death. And you shall continue to be hated by all because of my name; but he that did endure to the end, he shall be saved.

Jesus is speaking of frightful cases of denunciation in pagan courts, some of which occurred during the ten great persecutions. Besser writes that two things are stronger than natural love, the one is born of hell, the other is born of heaven. The verb ἐπανίστημι is used regularly regarding rebellious uprising. The two examples are samples, one of the subverted fraternal relation, the other of the paternal relation.

Mark 13:13

13 The periphrastic future, ἔσεσθε with the present participle, is used to bring out the continuousness of the hatred that the disciples shall meet, R. 357, 889. “By all” is the popular way of indicating general hatred. The reason for it is the ὄνομα of Christ, which here, too, signifies more than merely the personal names “Jesus,” “Christ,” etc.; it includes all by which he is known. Hence in phrases such as this “name” is equivalent to “revelation.” Men will in dislike and opposition turn against everything that reveals Christ and makes him known. The implication in “name” is that the apostles and those who succeed them will always proclaim this “name” or revelation and will thus arouse the hatred. In the Acts the persecutors avoid even pronouncing the name Jesus wherever possible.

These predictions regarding all kinds of most painful and terrible persecutions are crowned by a glorious promise. The aorist participle ὁὑπομείνας, “he that did endure,” is in relation to the future tense of the verb “shall be saved.” The enduring all completely is followed by the deliverance and the condition of safety (σώζειν always includes both). “To the end” refers to death, for “bring to death” immediately precedes. This phrase does not refer to the Parousia and the Judgment Day. To endure thus means to hold out in faith with all patience until the Lord himself comes with relief. Οὗτος repeats the subject emphatically in the sense that he, he alone, shall be saved and not he that fails to endure; the tense “shall be saved” is the effective future, R. 871.

Mark 13:14

14 Jesus has thus far spoken comprehensively regarding the whole time until the end of the world. He now turns to the destruction of Jerusalem in particular. The change of thought is altogether obvious. The destruction of Jerusalem is thus discussed as being an event of great importance for the Twelve (v. 1, 2) and for their work and as being of vital importance for all future ages, for the destruction of Jerusalem, like the Flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, stands as a type of the end of the world.

Now when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it must not (he that reads let him understand!), then those in Judea, let them be fleeing into the mountains. And he upon the housetop, let him not go down nor go inside to remove something out of his home; and he in the field, let him not turn to the rear to remove his robe.

Jesus first of all tells the disciples when to flee out of the country, namely when they see the abomination of desolation standing where it must not, i.e., “in the holy place” (Matthew), which is the Temple. “Abomination” is the main term, it is something that is utterly abominable in God’s sight, and that right in the Temple that has been consecrated to him. The genitive “of desolation” is qualitative and describes the abomination by the effect it must produce, namely desolate the desecrated Temple, leave it empty of worshippers. The moment the believers see this (and it is something that is evidently unmistakable and easy to see) they are to flee the country posthaste. Mark omits the reference to the prophecy of Daniel as recorded by Matthew; Mark generally simplifies for the readers that he has in mind.

Commentators have wrestled with this word of Jesus and have offered many interpretations. All those are excluded which have “where it must not” refer to the Jewish land, or which find the abomination during or after the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans. The latter views are plainly shut out by the fact that it would then be impossible to flee the land. All views are likewise shut out which have the abomination refer to a person, Antiochus redivivus, an impersonation of the Antichrist, for, according to Matthew, this abomination is neuter, τὸῥηθέν, “the thing spoken,” i.e., by God through the prophet; ἑστός, “the thing standing.” In Mark the participle ἑστηκότα is not masculine singular but a neuter as it is in Matthew and a plural in a constructio ad sensum (B.-D. 134, 2), the abomination being conceived as being composed of many parts, of all the polluting blood.

The abomination of desolation occurred in the Temple prior to the siege under Titus, when the Zealots, who held the Temple with arms, admitted the Idumeans, and as a result the Temple was deluged with the blood of 8, 500 victims. Read Josephus, Wars 4, 5, 1–2; also 4, 6, 3 the last sentences: “These men, therefore, trampled upon all the laws of men and laughed at the laws of God; and for the oracles of the prophets, they ridiculed them as the tricks of jugglers.… For there was a certain oracle of those men that the city should then be taken and the Sanctuary burnt, by right of war, when a sedition should invade the Jews, and their own hands should pollute the Temple of God.” Whatever may be said of this “oracle” to which Josephus refers, the pollution of the Temple which he describes tallies with the abomination of which Jesus speaks.

Because the Jews themselves in conjunction with the Idumeans made their Temple an abomination, special insight is required, and Jesus thus inserts parenthetically: “he that reads (Daniel’s statement about the abomination of desolation), let him understand!” At the time of the first fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy an idol altar was erected on the altar of burnt offerings, 1 Maccabees 1:57, 62. At the time of this second and final fulfillment the desecration will be worse, it will be perpetrated, not by a pagan, but by the Jews themselves; not by pagan sacrifices, but by the blood of Jews themselves fouling the whole place “where it must not.” So while Mark omits the name Daniel, by retaining Daniel’s word “the abomination of desolation” he has Jesus refer to Dan. 11:31 and 12:11. Jesus bids every reader of Daniel note well and understand that “the abomination of desolation” shall occur in a new and a more terrible way. The idea that the parenthesis is an insertion into Jesus’ words by Mark is in conflict with Matthew who has the same parenthesis.

“Those in Judea” are all the Christians in the land, including, of course, also those in Jerusalem. They are to flee to the mountains, but not to those of Judea itself where they could not be safe during the war; these mountains are outside of Judea, beyond the Jordan, in Perea. The Christians followed this bidding of Jesus. Eusebius 3, 5 reports that the congregation in Jerusalem, following a revelation received by reliable men before the war, migrated to Pella in Perea. As far as one can judge, this must have been done at the very time when bloody factions in the city were making an abomination of the Temple.

Mark 13:15

15 Jesus named the latest moment for flight; hence the haste that he enjoins for all who wait that long. This is due to the brief time left in which flight is yet possible and to the mounting dangers. The examples which Jesus gives are drastic and concrete. The housetop was a favorite place for retirement. He who happens to be there, let him rush down the outside steps and get away. Let him by no means come down and go into the house to remove something out of it to take with him on his flight—even such a delay may prove fatal. Moreover, he may be stopped, robbed, turned back, and fail to escape.

Mark 13:16

16 A second example. A man who is out in the field (static εἰς, the same as Matthew’s ἐν, R. 593) and working only in a tunic is not to turn back to the city, εἰςτὰὀπίσω, like an adverb: “to the rear,” literally, “to the things in the rear,” back to the city where he left his robe, to bring that and to take it along. Life is more than many robes.

Mark 13:17

17 But woe to them that are with child and to them suckling in those days. Pray, however, that it may not occur during winter, for those days shall be tribulation such as there occurred not the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never shall be. And unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would be saved; but because of the elect whom he elected for himself he did shorten the days.

Jesus’ heart melts at the thought of the hardships that such a flight from the doomed city and country will bring upon the pregnant and suckling women, the former being burdened with unborn babes, the latter with babes in arms. “Woe” to them amid all the hurry and the dangers of the road! Ἐνγαστρὶἔχω is idiomatic for pregnancy.

Mark 13:18

18 Jesus thinks also of other things such as the cold and the wet of the Palestinian winter and the possibility that the flight would come during that season, the genitive χειμῶνος expressing time within. The present imperative means to keep on praying, and ἵνα introduces the object clause which states the contents of the prayer. All things are in God’s hands. He can hasten or delay the day of judgment for the Jewish nation. In the durative imperative “keep praying” there is the veiled promise that God will answer such praying.

Mark 13:19

19 The reason (γάρ) for all these biddings is the terrible state of the nation when the Roman war will be about to begin. The word of Jesus which identifies those days with θλῖψις, Bedrængnis: “for those days shall be tribulation,” and which declares that the like has never been and never shall be, is literally true—read the detailed account of Josephus in his Wars. No nation had ever piled up a guilt like that of the Jews who had been chosen of God, were infinitely blessed, and yet crucified God’s Son, trampled upon all his further grace; no judgment had ever been or can ever be so severe. In the entire history of the world no judgment can compare with this that wiped out the Jews as a nation. The addition of τοιαύτη to οἵα is redundancy, R. 731, which the R. V. imitates: “such as … the like”; ἧς is used for ἥν, which is attracted to the genitive by its genitive antecedent. The subjunctive in the main clause, οὐμὴγένηται, is simply futuristic and very similar to the future indicative.

Mark 13:20

20 The intensity and the severity of the θλῖψις will be so great that any prolongation would cost the lives of everybody in the nation. The conditional sentence is one of past unreality and is perfectly regular also in having μή as the negative of the protasis and οὐ in the apodosis. The Greek idiom construes the οὐ with the verb, “all flesh” being the subject; we reverse this in English so that οὐ is construed with πᾶς and means “no flesh.” The negation is absolute. We see the force of the two passive verbs ἐκολόβωσε in the verbal κολοβός which means “docked.”

“The days” are those of the fanatical Jewish rebellion which merged into the actual war and continued for something like four or five years, from 66 to beyond the year 70. “The days” were “docked” at that, and the history of this brief period furnishes the strongest evidence that if the Jewish fanatical craze had continued at this time it would have ended in Jewish self-annihilation. The agent back of the passive verbs is, of course, God in whose hand is the entire course, of every judgment. The verb ἐσώθη means “saved” from physical death. This shortening was not due to the wicked Jews whose day of reckoning had come. God saw nothing to cause him to withdraw his hand before extinction was reached.

He looked at “the elect (on οἱἐκλεκτοί see Matt. 22:14) whom he-elected for himself,” at their interests, and for their sakes docked these days. The elect are those whom God elected from the entire human race to enter heaven and to be with him forever. That act took place in eternity and thus involved God’s foreknowledge. The verb ἐξελέξατο is middle: he freely and graciously chose these persons for himself as his own. The Scriptures reveal who they are: all who persevere in faith to the end. God knew them already in eternity.

The Scriptures also reveal why these are the elect, and why they were elected by God, these and none others. This is not due to an absolute decision of God which issued an arbitrary, absolute decree; nor to some unrevealed mystery in God before which we can only bow. This is due to God’s grace in Christ and to his whole gracious plan of salvation. The elect are elect because God’s grace succeeded in bringing them to faith and to heaven; the nonelect are what they are because they obdurately and to the very end rejected this saving grace of God. God wanted to include all men among the elect; many absolutely refuse to be included. Since the whole course of the world and every man’s complete life were present to God in eternity, he made his election already then.

This act of God’s in shortening the days of Jerusalem’s destruction for the sake of the elect is misunderstood when this is taken to refer only to the elect who lived at that time. It is then conceived as enabling them to go through those days, which had been shortened sufficiently, without losing their faith. But the elect never passed through the horrors that occurred prior to the siege and during the siege. The believers escaped betimes. Moreover, many elect were at that time scattered about elsewhere in the Roman empire, far from the horrors that were occurring in Judea. There is also no restriction in “the elect whom he elected for himself” as if only those living at that time were referred to. The very first clause states that the effect of the shortening was to enable some of the Jews to remain alive.

All this shows that “because of the elect” refers not only to the elect in general but likewise to their spiritual interests. By the hand of God the Jews were then kept from extinction, and they are still kept as a strange phenomenon in the world. They never amalgamate with other nations and races and are thus a sign for the elect of all ages. The Jews today, scattered all over the world, without a land, government, or any other tie such as other nations have, persisting as outcasts from their own country, are miraculously marked for all time by a divine attestation for all the elect, whose enlightened eyes are to see what God has thus placed before them.

Mark 13:21

21 And then if anyone shall say to you, Lo, here the Christ! or, Lo, there! do not believe. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall furnish signs and wonders with a view to keep leading astray, if possible, the elect. But do you on your part see to it! Lo, I have told you all things in advance.

Jesus repeats the warning given in v. 5 and v. 9 but now—restricts it to the period that is marked by the disintegration of the Jewish nation. “Then” refers to this particular time. The condition of expectancy, ἐάν with the subjunctive, implies that Jesus expects such cries to reach the disciples. As former Jews and present believers in Jesus as the Christ they would be especially susceptible to the deception involved, for had Jesus not promised them his glorious return, and might he not be returning at this very time? The old love for their nation would also play its part: Jesus would be delivering the Jews and making them conquerors of the world. “Lo, here the Christ! or, Lo, there!” already reveals the uncertainty. But the peremptory aorist subjunctive (always the subjunctive, not the imperative, in aorist prohibitions) stops any trust in these cries about “the Christ.” When they were in dire need the Jews would long for “the Christ,” for one who would grant them their notion of deliverance.

Mark 13:22

22 Since γάρ explains how the call that Christ is here or is there comes to be uttered, we are still in the time that is marked by “then” in v. 21; and the supposition that Jesus is now speaking in general of the great world era is untenable. During the period of Jewish calamity itself false Christs and false prophets shall arise and shall even furnish signs and prodigies (τέρατα, things that astound) in order to deceive the people. Deut. 13:1–3. The assertion is made that the history of the downfall of Jerusalem furnishes no evidence for the fulfillment of this prophecy. But the accounts of Josephus are quite to the contrary although even he could hardly have recorded all that occurred. Read Wars, 2, 13, 4: “These were such men as deceived and deluded the people under pretense of divine inspiration … and these prevailed with the multitude to act like madmen and went before them into the wilderness as pretending that God would there show them the signals (signs) of liberty.” The next paragraph (5) tells of the Egyptian who “pretended to be a prophet also,” starting “from the wilderness” with 30, 000 men, ending in a miserable defeat on the Mount of Olives.

Wars, 6, 5, 2: “A false prophet was the occasion of these people’s destruction, who had made a public proclamation in the city that very day that ‘God commanded them to get up upon the Temple, and that there they should receive miraculous signs for their deliverance.’ Now there was then a great number of false prophets suborned by the tyrants to impose on the people, who denounced this to them, that they should wait for deliverance from God.” Compare Matt. 24:26 on the wilderness or desert. It is true that Josephus mentions no false Christs in so many words, but the line between prophet and Christ fluctuated among the Jews, and at a critical time like this, if ever, the hope of a Messiah to deliver them must have been strong when these prophets arose.

Πρὸςτό with the present infinitive means “with a view to,” R. 1075, and denotes purpose (result), B.-D. 402, 4. Mark has this construction only here. The object of these false Christs and false prophets would be “to deceive,” and to do that with a continuous deception (present infinitive); compare πλανᾶν in v. 5 and 6 with ἀποπλανᾶν. We have ἀπό in the verb because of the object “the elect” (on which see v. 20); the intent will be to deceive them “away from” the faith that makes them the elect. “If possible” implies that this damnable purpose shall fail. It is impossible to make the elect believe in any of these false prophets or false Christs and to run after them “here” or “there.” The impossibility is objective. Even the great signs and prodigies offered (δώσουσι) by these deceivers to substantiate their claims, however many others they may deceive, shall fail in the case of the elect.

We have no intimation that these signs and wonders are actual miracles that were wrought by diabolical powers; they were rather the contrary, for the works of false Christs and false prophets will be only pretense. Those who credit them with real miracles overlook 2 Thess. 2:9 where even the great Antichrist is credited only with “all power and signs and lying wonders,” false, pseudo, sham miracles. Almighty God alone works true miracles. Satan’s whole purpose is attained when, by means of a “lying” wonder, he makes men think that they see a genuine miracle. The tendency to ascribe too much power to Satan and his demons is still altogether too prevalent and is liable to do much harm. If the elect could be actually and permanently deceived they would not, of course, be the elect.

What prevents their fatal deception is not a mysterious decree of God that protects them alone but the effective power of his grace, the effectiveness of which is foreknown by God in their case. This also explains their title in Scripture, οἱἐκλεκτοί, they whom God chose as his own from eternity, they who were already then present to God as saved effectively and forever by his grace in Word and Sacrament.

Mark 13:23

23 Jesus uses βλέπετε for the third time (see v. 5 and v. 9), “see to it,” but the emphasis now rests on ὑμεῖς, “you on your part,” no matter what others may think or do. With open eyes they are to recognize the deception at once; βλέπειν is to nullify πλανᾶν and will always do so. Would that Christians always kept their eyes open! Jesus makes it so easy for them. The grace that saves the elect is operative right here, and Jesus even calls special attention to it by the exclamation “lo.” He has told in advance all these things that might otherwise prove dangerous to the disciples. The perfect “I have told you beforehand or in advance” is stated from the standpoint of the event when these deceptions begin to operate. The believers are then to tell themselves: “He has told us in advance,” and already the fact that he prophesied and forewarned most truly is to keep them undeceived and safe.

Mark 13:24

24 Jesus answered the disciples (v. 3) most exactly regarding both the Temple and the end. He first offers a general sketch (v. 5–13), a world survey which brings us to the end; he next sketches the overthrow of the Jewish nation (v. 14–23); and now, in the third place, Jesus sketches his actual Parousia at the end of the world (v. 24–37).

Now in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be made dark, and the moon shall not give her brightness, and the stars shall be falling out of the heaven, and the powers in the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he shall send the angels and shall gather up together his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.

Ἀλλά is not always the strong adversative “but”; it is here copulative and introduces the new statements about the end of the world. See R. 1185, etc. Much useless effort has been spent on the phrase “after that tribulation” by putting peculiar emphasis upon it alone, especially in Matthew’s version, “immediately after the tribulation of those days.” Why not read the entire paragraph? This presents the actual Parousia just as it shall occur. Why look only at the θλῖψις in Jerusalem (v. 19) and disregard that described in v. 9, etc.? The former is very limited, but think of the latter.

In determining what “in those days” and “after that tribulation” mean, why shut the eyes to v. 10 which states that the gospel shall be proclaimed to all the nations, which will occur long after the demolition of the Jewish nation, and the end of the world will not come until then? The discourse is entirely plain. When the last days arrive, the tribulations of all the preceding days are concluded, and then shall occur what Jesus now describes. No interval shall separate the events and lengthen the time any farther. All shall happen in quick succession.

Mark 13:25

25 The whole siderial world shall collapse. All these καί present what happens at the same time. This is made plain by the last: “the powers in the heavens shall be shaken,” i.e., dislocated. All that holds the heavenly bodies in their orbits and enables sun, moon, and stars to light the earth, shall give way. Thus the sun’s light will be extinguished, the moon’s radiance will disappear in the same instant, and the stars will come tumbling from their places. Let no man try to imagine this cataclysm! It is utterly beyond human conception. Since there are so many stars, the periphrastic future ἔσονταιπίπτοντες is used, which brings out the duration of this successive falling.

Mark 13:26

26“And then,” here and in v. 27, denotes merely succession, but almost instantaneous succession. Mark’s account is simpler than Matthew’s and says only that “they shall see the Son of man coming,” etc. The subject of ὄψονται is understood, it is all the living inhabitants of the earth. The world will be plunged into impenetrable darkness, and then, coming out of heaven, the Son of man (see 2:10) will appear in superearthly brilliancy and glory. He shall come as is promised in Acts 1:9, 11; “in clouds,” as stated in Dan. 7:13. The clouds are God’s chariot, Ps. 104:3; Isa. 19:1, the symbol of his heavenly majesty for men. Μετά indicates accompaniment: “in company with great power and glory.” This “power” is Christ’s omnipotence, which is manifested already in what is done to the heavenly bodies; and his “glory” is the sum of all his divine attributes shining forth for men (Titus 2:13; 1 Cor. 1:4, revelation; 2 Thess. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:7; 4:13). At one time the Son of man appeared on earth in lowliness even as he now sat on the Mount of Olives and later allowed himself to be crucified; but at the end his omnipotence and all his glory will be displayed to all the world.

Mark 13:27

27“And then” means immediately. The angels are always represented as the mighty servants through whom Jesus exerts his will at the end of the world. The angels who came with Jesus in his glory he will send, and through them “he will gather up together,” ἐπί, up, in one place, at Jesus’ right hand (Matt. 25:33), σύν, all together in one host, all the elect (see v. 20). The resurrection of the dead is, of course, implied, for only a few of the elect will be living at the last day. Nothing is added about the nonelect; the disciples are not greatly interested in them, and they are thus often not referred to.

The Biblical conception of the earth’s form is that it has four quarters, the four directions from which the winds blow, hence “from the four winds,” which was found also by Deissmann in the papyri as well as in Zech. 11:6 (R. 599). This is still the common conception: north, south, east, west. Our scientific conceptions of the form of the earth are no advance on that of the Bible. The apposition “from the end of earth to the end of heaven” only emphasizes the preceding phrase by naming every remote part (ἄκρον, the extreme point) of the earth and under heaven.

Some call these phrases poetical, but they are altogether realistic regarding the winds that blow over the earth and regarding the far extent of the earth under the canopy of heaven. The trouble is with our idea of the earth as a globe, the one hemisphere being opposite to and hidden from the other. Hence we might ask how both hemispheres shall at the same time see the Son of man in the clouds, hear the angel trumpet (Matthew), and yield up the dead. Or how all the millions that have lived on earth shall find room to stand, and how long it will take till the last name is reached for the purpose of judgment. The answer to all these questions is the fact that after the events recorded in v. 25 none of these present limitations of ours will exist.

Mark 13:28

28 Now from the fig tree learn the parable. When now her branch becomes tender and makes the leaves grow out, you realize that the summer is near. So also you, when you see these things taking place, realize that it is near, at the doors. Amen, I say to you, that in no wise shall this generation pass away until these things all shall occur. The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away.

We now enter the admonitory section; we first have the objective facts (v. 24–27) and then the application to the disciples. Although the prophecy unrolled a picture of dread, it is, nevertheless, bright with hope for the elect. So Jesus bids the disciples learn from the fig tree “the parable,” the one now offered, the aorist μάθετε to indicate actual learning. When its branch becomes soft with swelling sap and then goes on producing leaves, the disciples realize that summer, beautiful summer, is at hand, and that makes them glad. The aorist γένηται is punctiliar, the softness is attained; but ἐκφύῃ is durative (present active subjunctive), the branch is in process of growing leaves. The incorrect ἐκφυῇ would be the second passive aorist subjunctive, R. 232. Note also the present γινώσκετε—the realization grows; the aorist would say that it is complete, R. 827.

Mark 13:29

29 When we interpret the parable we should note that καὶὑμεῖς has the emphasis. The matter of the fig tree is observed by all men, but that it pictures what Jesus here states even the disciples need to be told: “Realize” what these things mean! The form is the present imperative: “go on realizing,” whereas in v. 28 this form is the present indicative. The aorist ἴδητε refers to actual seeing, and the present participle γινόμενα to the procession of signs described above. But we have no reason to stress ταῦτα (Matthew πάνταταῦτα) to mean that the disciples would not come to the realization of what the signs signify until they had actually seen all of them returning in many repetitions throughout the centuries. They need to see a false Christ, a false prophet, a war, and persecution only once to see them all and thus to be impressed by what “these things” really signify. It ought also to be plain that v. 24, 25 are not included because these events constitute the end.

In ἐγγύςἐστινἐπὶθύραις the subject is not expressed. It seems best to supply no subject at all, certainly not “he” (the Son of man) as is done in the R. V., on the ground that “at the doors” refers to a person about to enter a building. The general context is sufficient. The Greek needs nothing, but the English requires “it” (A. V.) in the general sense of the end. The meaning of Jesus is that every sign advertises the end as being “near.” From the days of the apostles to our own time these advertisements read to the same effect. Just when the end will arrive no man knows. We are always to be ready for its coming since all the signs have already occurred again and again. “At the doors” is in apposition to “near” and states just how near: ready to step in at any moment.

Mark 13:30

30 With great solemnity, and using his wellknown seal for verity (“amen”) and authority (“I say to you”)—see 4:28—Jesus declares that “this generation” shall not pass away “until these things all shall occur.” The statement that γενεά and especially ἡγενεὰαὕτη refers only to the contemporary generation, those living at the time when Jesus spoke, needs to be examined carefully. A look at the use of dor in the Old Testament and at its regular translation by γενεά in the LXX when the sense is evil reveals that “generation” means a kind of men, the evil kind that reproduces and succeeds itself in many physical generations. Look at Ps. 12:7: “Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever”; 78:8, the fathers (many physical generations of them); 14:5, “the generation of the righteous”; 24:6; 73:15; 112:2; Deut. 32:5, 20; Prov. 30:11–14; Isaiah often; Jer. 7:29; etc. From these passages turn to the New Testament and note the Gospels and Acts 2:40; Phil. 2:15; Heb. 3:10. The evil found in the kind of men referred to is sometimes indicated by a modifier as it is in Matt. 16:4; 17:17; Mark 8:38; etc., but the context often does this.

In the present connection the meaning of “generation” is plain, for already in v. 7 “the end” was mentioned, and in v. 24–27 the end itself was fully described. The contention that ταῦταπάντα must be identical with the ταῦτα in v. 29 claims too much because it overlooks the verbs. In v. 29 the disciples shall see “these things,” evidently not all of them throughout the ages to the very end; but in v. 30 “these things all shall occur” (γένηται, aorist, occur completely) before this generation passes away—the succession of signs through the ages while this kind of men continues and their tribe has not ceased.

It is an unsatisfactory interpretation that refers “this generation” to the human race or even only to the Christians. But those who are on the right track and think of a moral class of men that continues to the very end, nevertheless are mistaken when they include all the wicked in “this generation.” Why such a solemn assurance with “amen, I say to you,” for a thing that is so obvious that a race of unbelievers and persecutors shall persist through the ages? Does Jesus not show them at his Parousia beating their breasts in dismay (the passage in Matt. 24:30)?

“This generation” is the type of Jews that Jesus contended with during this last Tuesday, 12:27–40. He foretells the destruction of their nation (13:14, etc.), and one might easily conclude that that would end the generation of Jews that is like these Sadducees and these Pharisees. But no; we are solemnly assured (and for this the assurance is in place) that this type of Jews will continue to the very Parousia. It has not “passed away” to this very day. The voice of Jewish rejection of Jesus as the Christ is as loud and as vicious as ever: He is not the Messiah, not the Son of God! Here, therefore, is Jesus’ own answer to those who expect a final national conversion of the Jews either with or without a millennium.

Mark 13:31

31 The statement that “the heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away” is made rather trivial when it is regarded as an assurance of the fact that the contemporaneous generation of Jews will not have disappeared before all things foretold by Jesus shall have reached an end. Who would think of saying that the Jews then living would not continue to live for thirty or forty years more if, indeed, the end of the world was to come within that time? The statement becomes an entirely different matter when the prophecy it utters is correctly understood. Verse 30 is only one of Jesus’ words. He uses the unrestricted plural “my words,” which include all of them. Not one of them shall pass away.

We regard οὐμή with the future indicative or, as here, with the subjunctive as the strongest negation; see the same complete negation in v. 30. The physical heaven and earth, Jesus says, despite all their seeming durability “shall pass away” (the predictive and certain future tense).

The question as to whether this means annihilation, sinking back into nothingness, or transformation to a different form of existence cannot be answered by παρελεύσονται in this passage or by the indeterminate wording of many others. The most decisive passage is Rom. 8:19–23 together with 1 Cor. 7:31 (only the σχῆμα of the world shall pass away) and Rev. 21:1–5 (the divine heaven and the earth shall be united). So the physical heaven and the physical earth shall change completely; when they are changed at the Parousia, we shall not recognize them. But the words of Jesus will never undergo even the slightest change in meaning or in form—the modernistic speaking of “outworn categories of thought” or “thought forms” to the contary notwithstanding. The subjunctive παρέλθωσι is simply futuristic and an aorist to indicate one act, that of passing away, no more to count or to be recognized.

Mark 13:32

32 Now concerning that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, save the Father. See to it, be wakeful and be praying; for you do not know when the season is.

Jesus has in a way told the disciples when the end and his Parousia would come, namely by pointing them to the signs. But this is after all not specific. Jesus now tells them that the Father alone knows the exact date. We should note that ἡμέρα, “day,” is here understood in the narrow sense, i.e., the precise day and date, and ὥρα in the wider sense, i.e., the general period of time into which the “day” falls. We do not refer “hour” to the hour of a specific day.

The fact that the angels, though they are in heaven, do not know the date and period is no special surprise to us, but the fact that “the Son” should not know day and hour does cause surprise. The term “the Son” is placed alongside of “the Father.” But whereas Jesus thus names himself according to his divine person and nature, what he predicates of himself is something that pertains to his human nature. The Scriptures show that Jesus may be named according to either nature, and yet that something that belongs to the opposite nature may constitute the predicate. Analogous to the expression used here is Acts 3:15: “you killed the Prince of life”; also 1 Cor. 2:8, “crucified the Lord of glory.” In their essential oneness the three persons know all things, but in his humiliation the second person did not use his divine attributes save as he needed them in his mediatorial work. So the divine omniscience was used by Jesus only in this restricted way. That is why here on Mt.

Olivet (v. 3) he does not know the date of the end. How the incarnate Son could during his humiliation thus restrict himself in the use of the divine attributes is one of the mysteries of his person; the fact is beyond dispute.

Many have tried to know more concerning the end and its exact date than Jesus knew in his humiliation. That date has been often set, and yet when it arrived, the world went on, and no end came. Compare Matt. 24:44.

Mark 13:33

33 Mark preserved a portion of the great discourse which Matthew omitted. Luke has still another portion that is not used by either Matthew or Mark. The general thought is alike in all, especially the call to watch. The explanation of the differences is the fact that Jesus spoke at greater length than is recorded by any one evangelist, and that each evangelist made his selection from the abundance of what Jesus said. The idea that Mark himself composed v. 33–37 from scattered sayings of Jesus is untenable. Why should anyone compile sayings for the conclusion of this great discourse when the rich and full conclusion spoken by Jesus himself was available, any part or all of which might be placed in the Gospel record?

The theory of a compilation by Mark leaves unexplained how Matthew and how Luke wrote their conclusions to this discourse. It is too tenuous a thread to hang this compilation theory on the slight resemblance between v. 34 and Matt. 25:14; and between v. 35 and Matt. 24:42.

Note that βλέπετε, “see to it,” is repeated for the fourth time (v. 5, 9, 23). How the disciples are to see to what Jesus is revealing to them is made plain by the next two present imperatives: “be wakeful and praying.” These two imperatives are like an explanatory apposition to βλέπετε. Having several times called out, “See to it,” Jesus now states just what he means. The disciples are to keep their eyes open constantly to observe what is happening and how it agrees with what Jesus foretold. Constant praying is to be combined with this alertness. The contents of these prayers will naturally be appeals to God to keep the disciples true in faith and ready for Christ’s coming. The reason for this conduct of the disciples is the fact that they do not know “when the season is,” ὁκαιρός, that special, fitting period selected for Christ’s coming. Καιρός is more than just “time,” it is a smaller section of time that is marked by what is to occur in it, hence this word is generally translated “season.” The uncertainty of the time of the Lord’s coming is to keep us wide awake, to call on God, and thus to be ever ready.

Mark 13:34

34 Like a man gone abroad, having left his house, also having given to his slaves the authority, to each his work, commanded also the doorkeeper to watch.

The sentence is incomplete, ὡς is without a following οὕτως or an equivalent. Some call this anantapodoton, R. 1203 calls it aposiopesis—something is missing. But when it is read in its connection, the sense is plain. The whole situation which Jesus has been describing is like a man gone abroad, etc. This man pictures Jesus. In Matt. 25:14 we have the participle ἀποδημῶν, “in the act of going abroad”; here the picture is different, for the adjective ἀπόδημος describes the man as already having “gone abroad.” This describes Jesus as having left earth and having ascended to heaven.

The aorist participle and the main verb state what this man did before he left home to go abroad; the minor actions are expressed by the two participles, and the major action by the finite verb. This feature is lost in the A. V., which translates with three finite verbs, but is preserved in the R. V. The application which Jesus himself makes shows that the tertium comparationis lies in this command to the doorkeeper to watch. That is why this is expressed by a finite verb whereas the other actions are indicated by participles.

The idea is that a man travelling afar (ἀπόδημος) has, of course, left his house, having turned it over to his slaves. Since before leaving he gave the authority (the article denotes the special authority involved) to his slaves, καὶδούς means: “also (not and) having given.” “To each his work” depends on “having given” and not on “he commanded”; it indicates what is meant by “the authority.” The latter includes all the slaves and is then split up individually, “to each his work.” The point of the illustration is blurred when we construe: “he commanded to each his work and to the doorkeeper to watch.” The application rests on the doorkeeper alone and not on the tasks of the other slaves. To insert these causes confusion. All that the participial clauses intend to convey is the idea that this man has arranged his household so that he could leave for an indefinite time. All this was a matter of course. But one thing he did in particular, he left strict orders for the doorkeeper to be constantly on the watch; ἵνα is subfinal and states what he commanded (R. 993), and γρηγορῇ is the durative present.

The fact that Jesus on ascending to heaven arranged the household of his church so as to leave to each believer his special task is quite the natural thing—no man would leave without doing that. But this command to watch for his return is a special feature, the very one that Jesus is emphasizing right along, and it is therefore embodied in the illustration.

Mark 13:35

35 Be watching therefore, for you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether at evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning; lest having come suddenly, he find you sleeping. Moreover, what I say to you, I say to all, be watching!

We see at once that Jesus has the application turn only on the doorkeeper and the command to him to watch. While other slaves who have other tasks appear in the illustration, and one might attach applications also to them, Jesus wants us all to be like this doorkeeper, on the watch. The imperative γρηγορεῖτε is properly the present tense, for the watching is to be continuous. Some complete the ὡς clause (v. 34) by attaching this command to it: so I command you, “Be watching therefore.” But this connection is found only in the thought and not in the construction of the clauses.

With οὐκοἴδατε Jesus repeats v. 33, but the object clause is now different. In v. 33 the reference is general, only to the καιρός or “season”; it is now specific: the disciples do not know the time of the night in which the lord of the house will return. In his exposition of the illustration Jesus retains its language and even adds to the illustrative features. Thus he speaks of “the lord of the house” instead of naming himself; of this lord’s coming instead of his own return from heaven. Most interesting of all are the four designations of time, two adverbs: “at evening” and “in the morning,” and between them two genitives of time within: “at midnight,” “at cockcrow.” Some texts have an accusative in place of the first genitive, which expresses extent of time: “through midnight”; but the sense as well as the symmetry of the terms (two adverbs and two genitives placed chiastically) are against the accusative. The question of the arrival of this lord is not made one of the date, nor even of the time of day, but of the time of night.

And he does not state which night but which watch of the night (from 6–9 the first watch; 9–12 the second; 12–3 the third; 3–6 the fourth). Jesus purposely places the arrival at some time during a night in order to illustrate that the Son of man will come at an hour when we think not, Matt. 24:44. By naming the night watches Mark is more specific than is Matt. 24:42.

Mark 13:36

36 Jesus continues the figurative language. He still speaks of the lord of the house, i.e., himself. He still retains the imagery of the nighttime, when a careless doorkeeper would be inclined to sleep. The applicatory feature is in the literal ὑμᾶς, find you sleeping. Come suddenly means unexpectedly, the sleeping doorkeeper is not ready to receive his master. The reality would be that we cease watching for Jesus, grow dull and unresponsive spiritually, and thus call forth the wrath of the Lord instead of his good pleasure. Woe to those who sleep thus when the Lord of glory suddenly appears!

Mark 13:37

37 As he sits on the Mount of Olives Jesus has the Twelve as his auditors. What he tells them about watching and being constantly ready is not intended for them alone but for all his followers. This shuts out the interpretation of v. 34 that the common Christians are to devote themselves to their several tasks in the church, and that the watching is to be done only by the leaders and pastors of the church. This interpretation still appeals to some, but the bidding: “Be watching!” is directed to every one of us.

Modernism finds difficulty in interpreting this chapter. For one thing, the rationalistic view is repeated that all that Jesus says in this discourse is to take place during the lifetime of the Twelve—and yet did Peter not die in the year 64, six years before Jerusalem fell (Zahn, Introduction, II, 160)? All that is mentioned in this chapter did not, as a matter of fact, take place during the lifetime of the Twelve. Modernism thus resorts to the assertion that “many disciples today (i.e., the modernists who call themselves thus) gravely doubt whether it will ever be fulfilled in the literal sense.” So the whole is made figurative—but they do not seem to know what the figure is. At this point the favorite modernistic expedient is applied: Jesus used “the thought forms” of his day; he was “necessarily limited” by them, being a child of his age. These are outworn “thought patterns,” obsolete “categories of thought.” Hence the modernists feel free to recast the entire chapter into such thought forms as suit them.

But we thus get figures that are still undetermined; realities back of these figures that are still undefined. The modernistic interpretation is not satisfactory; it has no definable answer.

R. A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, by A. T. Robertson, fourth edition.

B.-D. Friedrich Blass’ Grammatik des neutestamentlichen Griechisch, vierte, voellig neugearbeitete Auflage besorgt von Albert Debrunner.