Mark 13 Commentary
“As Jesus was leaving the temple …”. Verse 1. Many have commented on Mark as the “gospel on the move”. There are several references to ‘leaving’, ‘entering’, ‘arriving’, ‘going’, ‘following’… It is no subtle reference to the Christian journey of faith with the Master.
There are layers of application for today’s chapter. One could see the connection between “the stone the builders rejected” and the stones of the temple structures that will all be flattened and scattered.
But when will this happen? Will there be signs for this event?
Yes, the temple will be destroyed. Times around this event will be tough. Probably these are the times that the LORD God will shorten for the sake of the remnant. But let not God’s people mistake the flattening of the temple and the many other events after for the end of the time.
In addition to the destruction of the temple, there will be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, persecutions, famines, false messiahs, and false prophets. None of them is exactly the sign of the end of time. The end of time is marked by and is synonymous with the coming of the Son of God in the clouds. The sun will be darkened, the moon won’t give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
The darkening of the sun and the other clearly awesome events are part of the entourage. People will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds. And He will gather His elect. The date for this event remains unknown. And Mark appears to suggest that there are actually no signs for this date. This may agree with the other teachings where the coming of the Son of Man is like a thief at night.
The destruction of the physical temple in Jerusalem seems to have signs.
The physical temple isn’t important anymore. It is an institution that has rejected and killed the Son. The Father of the Son swoops down and destroys them. It is both spiritual and physical. It is both current and historical.
The declarations of Jesus that “it is finished”, “I have overcome the world”, or “I will build it in three days” may give us clues. Some of these events happened within days of these teachings – like the destruction of the spiritual temple. And in three days it was built with Jesus as the Cornerstone.
Also, take note of certain events during the trial and death of Jesus. There was actual darkness for three hours. But clearly, this darkness is different from the darkness that will accompany His second coming! But the Old Testament may report all these events in one swipe! For us today, not everything is ‘future’; not everything is ‘past’.
We can be sure of certain things. The physical temple was destroyed. We are yet to be gathered to our LORD Jesus by His angels.
This chapter is largely informational but there are several action points. Watch out that no one deceives you. Verse 5. You must be on your guard. Verse 9. Don’t believe the false messiahs. Verse 21. Be alert! Keep watch. Watch.
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