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Scripture Reading: Mark 13:1-37
Before we begin to consider 13:1-37, where the Lord Jesus speaks of things to come, I would like to give a further word on chapter twelve.
In 12:35 the Lord Jesus, teaching in the temple, says, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?” Then the Lord Jesus went on to ask how the Christ could be the son of David when David himself called Him Lord. The Lord’s question concerning Christ silenced the opposers. Verse 37 says, “And the great crowd heard Him gladly.”
As the immediate continuation of 12:35-37, verse 38 says, “And in His teaching He said, Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and like greetings in the marketplaces.” This word, no doubt, is spoken in relation to the fact that, though the scribes supposedly knew the Bible, they knew very little concerning Christ. They knew something of Christ’s humanity; however, they did not know anything at all regarding His deity. Hence, they were devoid of the proper knowledge of the reality of Christ. Because of this shortage, the Lord Jesus warned the people to beware of the scribes.
According to the Lord’s word, the scribes not only liked to walk around in long robes and liked the greetings in marketplaces, but they also liked the chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at dinners (v. 39). Furthermore, the scribes “devour the widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers” (v. 40). This indicates that the scribes had only an appearance; they did not have reality. The fact that the scribes liked to walk around in long robes indicates that they cared for position, honor, and glory. They also enjoyed receiving the people’s respect and regard. This indicates strongly that they were empty, vain teachers of the Bible, altogether lacking the reality of Christ. In their living there was no reality. Instead, they were seeking position, respect, honor, and glory.
We all need to heed the Lord’s warning regarding the scribes. There is the possibility that even among us in the Lord’s recovery some may be like the scribes in principle. They may have some knowledge of the Bible and the eloquence to speak in a way that attracts others. However, they may not have the reality of the God-man, the One who is both God and man, the all-inclusive Christ as our universal replacement. We should be warned concerning those who lack the inward reality of Christ and yet are seeking position, respect, honor, and glory.
We have seen that in 12:41-44 the Lord Jesus appraised a poor widow in her loyalty. This widow probably did not have much knowledge of the Bible. Nevertheless, she had reality, for her heart was sincere, honest, and faithful to God. There was inward reality in her daily life. This widow is presented in contrast to the scribes with their empty knowledge.
Mark 13:1-37 is usually considered a chapter of prophecy. However, this chapter is not merely a prophecy; it is also part of the Slave-Savior’s preparation for His redemptive service. In 13:1—14:42 the Lord Jesus prepared the disciples for His death. We have seen that in 11:1—12:44 the preparation of the Slave-Savior for His redemptive work included three matters: entering into Jerusalem and lodging in Bethany (11:1-11), cursing the fig tree and cleansing the temple (11:12-26), and being tested and examined (11:27—12:44). This work of preparation involved both the Lord’s followers and His opposers. If we consider chapters eleven and twelve carefully, we shall see that although the opposers had been subdued by the Lord, they had also been speeded up in their efforts to put Him to death. The preparations had been made by the Lord for the opposers to put Him to death at the appointed time, on the day of the Passover.
Although the opposers had been put to silence, they did not cease from their endeavors to put the Lord to death. Actually, they were stirred by the situation to intensify their efforts to kill Him.
With respect to the opposers and the environment, everything had been prepared. The people had been gained by the Lord, and the situation had been subdued by Him. Those who tested and examined Him could not find anything at all wrong with Him. They did not have the legal ground to do anything to Him. Nevertheless, they had been prepared by the Lord’s confrontation with them to do whatever was necessary to kill Him.
In chapters eleven and twelve the Lord thoroughly prepared the environment and the opposers for His death. Then in 13:1—14:42 the Lord no longer paid attention to the opposers, but turned to His disciples and had a private time with them in order to prepare them for His death.
In His preparation for His redemptive work (11:15—14:42), the Slave-Savior, after confronting the opposers (11:15—12:37), stayed with His followers to prepare them for His death (13:1—14:42)— a shocking and disappointing event for them. He prepared them by telling them the things that would come (13:2-37), by enjoying their love expressed in a feast and being anointed with costly pure nard (14:3-9), by instituting His supper (1 Cor. 11:20) so that they might remember Him (Mark 14:12-26), and by warning them concerning their stumbling and charging them to watch and pray (14:27-42). Immediately after such a preparation He was arrested to be crucified (14:43—15:28).
Preparing the disciples for His death, the Slave-Savior first told them, in chapter thirteen, the things to come. These are the things that would take place in the world during the church age after His resurrection until the time of His coming back. The Lord Jesus did not leave His disciples in darkness concerning the following matters: the destruction of the temple (vv. 1-2), which would take place in A.D. 70; the plagues at the beginning of birth pangs, which would begin after His resurrection and continue until the great tribulation (vv. 3-8); the preaching of the gospel and the persecutions in the church age (vv. 9-13); the great tribulation in the last three and a half years of this age and His coming back (vv. 14-27); and watching, praying, and awaiting the Slave-Savior throughout the church age (vv. 28-37). Such an enlightening word to the Slave-Savior’s suffering followers is like a “lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns” (2 Pet. 1:19).
In 13:1 the situation concerning the Lord Jesus was very serious. However, the Lord bore the situation in a very comfortable way. He brought certain of His disciples out of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives, to a higher level where the atmosphere was clear. Sitting on the Mount of Olives with them, He spoke about the future in order to prepare them for what was coming. This was the environment in which the Lord spoke to His disciples the prophecy recorded in Mark 13. Let us now consider this chapter verse by verse.
Mark 13:1 says, “And as He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples says to Him, Teacher, behold, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” The fact that the Lord went out of the temple indicates that He was leaving it. This was a fulfillment of His word in Matthew 23:38 concerning leaving the temple to the rejecting Jews as their house of desolation. This is equivalent to God’s glory leaving the temple in the ancient time (Ezek. 10:18).
In Matthew 23:38 the Lord Jesus says, “Behold, your house is left to you desolate.” Since “house” in this verse is singular, it must denote the house of God, which was the temple (Mark 11:15, 17). It had been the house of God, but now it became “your house,” because it had been made a den of robbers.
When one of His disciples spoke to Him about the wonderful stones and buildings, the Lord Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There shall by no means be left a stone upon a stone which will not be overthrown” (v. 2). This was fulfilled in A.D. 70, when Titus with the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem.
The Lord’s word in 13:2 corresponds to “desolate” in Matthew 23:38. The temple was left desolate when Jerusalem was destroyed.
We have seen that the Lord Jesus received a warm welcome from the people, that He cursed the fig tree, and that He cleansed the temple. The cleansing of the temple stirred up the opposers. For this reason, on the day after He cleansed the temple, He confronted the opposers, who examined Him and asked Him different questions. All these things took place before the eyes of His close followers. Nevertheless, in 13:1 one of them could still say, “Teacher, behold, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”
The Lord Jesus had sought to impress His followers with the fact that at this point He no longer had anything to do with the Jewish nation or with the temple. He cursed the fig tree, the symbol of the Jewish nation, and He cleansed the temple. These actions indicated that He, as God, was through with Israel and the temple for that period of time.
Mark 13:1 speaks of the Lord Jesus “going out of the temple.” When He went out of the temple, He forsook it. As we have pointed out, the temple was no longer God’s house; it was “your house,” the house of those who had made it a den of robbers. Therefore, their house was left to them for desolation. After the Lord walked out of the temple, He never returned to it. According to the Lord’s prediction, the temple was completely destroyed.
The Lord’s disciples witnessed the cursing of the fig tree and the cleansing of the temple, but they did not understand the significance of these things. This was the reason they could still marvel at the wonderful stones and wonderful buildings. This made it necessary for the Lord Jesus to speak further to them in order to prepare them for His death.
In 13:2 the Lord says to the disciples, “Do you see these great buildings? There shall by no means be left a stone upon a stone which will not be overthrown.” This prophecy was fulfilled in A.D. 70. In his writings, Josephus, a Jewish historian, records the details of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Jerusalem was utterly destroyed.
Mark 13:3 and 4 say, “And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew questioned Him privately, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” The fact that the Lord was sitting with the disciples on the Mount of Olives indicates that to receive the vision of the Lord’s prophecy of the things to come, we need to climb to the high mountain to enter into His presence. When the disciples questioned Him privately, they asked Him concerning the time these things would be and the sign when they would be accomplished.
We may find it surprising that at such a time the Lord Jesus had the heart to sit with His disciples on the Mount of Olives and speak to them concerning things to come. It certainly was a great matter for Him to have the heart to do this. Furthermore, this indicates that the Lord Jesus was at peace. Even though He knew that in a few days He would be put to death, He was still at peace. He could peacefully sit down on the mountaintop and look at the forsaken city of Jerusalem and the forsaken temple. In His sight, Jerusalem and the temple had already been forsaken.
In verses 5 and 6 the Lord Jesus says, “Beware, lest anyone lead you astray. Many will come in My name, saying, I am He! and will lead many astray.” In these verses the Lord says that many deceivers will come in the name of Christ and lead many astray. History tells us that this has been so. Since Christ ascended to the heavens, many have come claiming to be Christ.
In verse 7 the Lord goes on to say, “And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; it must happen, but the end is not yet.” The “wars” here refer to all the wars from the first century to the present. They are signified by the red horse of the second seal in Revelation 6:3-4.
The “end” in verse 7 is the consummation of this age (Matt. 24:3; Dan. 12:4, 6-7, 9), which will be the three and a half years of the great tribulation.
If you know world history, you will realize that from the day the Lord Jesus ascended to the heavens, wars have been increasing. We may say that human history is a history of wars. In 13:7 the Lord prophesied concerning the wars that would come after His resurrection and ascension.
In 13:8 the Lord Jesus says, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are the beginning of birth pangs.” In this verse “nation” refers to the people, the Gentiles, and “kingdom” refers to an empire. The rising of nation against nation, or people against people, refers to civil war, whereas the rising of kingdom against kingdom refers to international war. From the time of the Lord’s ascension there have been both civil wars and international wars. Moreover, there have been many famines, which are often the issue of war. According to history, war brings in famine, signified by the black horse of the third seal in Revelation 6:5-6. Therefore, the sequence is war, famine, and death.
In 13:8 the Lord also says that there will be earthquakes in various places. From the time of Christ’s ascension, earthquakes have been increasing through all the centuries and will be intensified at the end of this age (Rev. 6:12; 8:5; 11:13, 19; 16:18). It seems that each year there are more earthquakes than in the previous year.
Referring to wars, earthquakes, and famine, the Lord Jesus says in verse 8, “These things are the beginning of birth pangs.” The Jews, as God’s elect, will suffer “birth pangs” to bring forth a remnant who will participate in the Messianic kingdom, the earthly section of the millennium.
At this point we need to say a further word concerning the birth pangs spoken of by the Lord in 13:8. In order to understand this expression, we need to realize that from the time of the Lord’s resurrection, a birth has been taking place. This is the birth of the universal new man.
The man created by God, the old man, failed God and became useless in fulfilling God’s purpose. Because of this, through Christ’s death and resurrection God has begun to bring forth a universal new man. The birth, or delivery, of this new man began with the Lord’s resurrection, for we, God’s called people, were all resurrected with Christ.
At the time of the Lord’s resurrection, the delivery of the universal new man was not complete. Actually, that was only the beginning of the birth of the new man. This birth will continue until the end of the great tribulation.
Peter and the other disciples, according to the book of Acts, suffered the birth pangs. Throughout the centuries, many of the Lord’s faithful ones have suffered these pangs, and today many are still suffering birth pangs. The reason these birth pangs continue is that the delivery of the universal new man has not yet been completed.
Before He died, the Lord Jesus spoke concerning the birth of the new man: “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. When a woman gives birth she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she brings forth the child, she no longer remembers the affliction because of the joy that a man has been born into the world. And you therefore now indeed have sorrow; but I shall see you again and your heart shall rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you” (John 16:20-22). In one sense, a child, the new man, was born at the time of the Lord’s resurrection. But in another sense, the universal new man, revealed in chapters two and four of Ephesians, has not yet been fully delivered. On the contrary, this new man is still in the process of being born, and the process of birth, of delivery, involves suffering.
The persecutions endured by the saints are considered birth pangs by the Lord Jesus. These birth pangs began from the time of the Lord’s resurrection and ascension. Since the day of Pentecost, these birth pangs have not ceased to be experienced by the Lord’s followers. Because the delivery of the new man is still taking place, the birth pangs continue. What the Lord says in Mark 13:1-8 is related to the birth pangs for the bringing forth of the universal new man.
