There are many Christians who are fearful that our society is becoming antagonistic toward Christianity. Our government is not so congenial toward Christians and their beliefs, if those beliefs do not support the government’s position. God has a message for those Christians; part of that message is found here in Mark 13.
THE CONTEXT – 13:1-4:
Notice the substance of the apostles’ questions in verses 3-4. They were concerned about the destruction of Jerusalem and they wanted to know what “signs” to look for in order to know when it was about to happen!
DO NOT BE MISLEAD – 13:5-13:
When things get hard, people often turn on each other. You can imagine when Jerusalem was seized that the Christians were telling their Jewish neighbors and friends: “This is happening because of what you did to Jesus.” You can also imagine the Romans telling both Jews and Christians: “This is happening because you are not worshipping the gods of the Roman Empire!” The Jews would be making similar accusations against both Christians and the Romans.
As then, so it is true now – we have to be faithful to God, regardless of the cost. Faithfulness to the gospel is our highest priority.
THE “SIGNS” OF THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM – 13:14-29:
The destruction of Jerusalem is the “abomination of desolation” prophesied by Daniel – verses 14-16:
Jesus says the “abomination of desolation” was going to be fulfilled when the Roman armies surround the city of Jerusalem. “Let the reader understand” (ver. 14).
Jesus warns His disciples – 13:17-23:
There would be those who would not allow a crisis to go to waste and who would claim to be the “Messiah.”
The Coming of the Son of Man in Judgment against Jerusalem – 13:24-27:
The “apocalyptic” description in these verses are standard prophetic descriptions of God’s judgment on nations (cf. other similar examples: 2 Samuel 22:7-10; Jeremiah 4:23-25).
The imagery of God sending out His “angels” is simply a figure of speech, a metaphor, showing that God will take care of His people. If they die at any time, anywhere, God will have an angel there to take His child home to God.
The parable of the Fig Tree – 13:28-31:
Jesus had cursed the fig tree in 11:13-14, 20-21 which was an “object lesson” to teach His disciples about the fruitlessness of the nation of Israel and her coming destruction.
GET READY FOR THE FINAL COMING! 13:32-37:
The focus in this last paragraph is that Christians – followers of Christ – need to “stay alert.” Jesus emphasizes this four times!
Let us endure unto the end, preaching the gospel of Christ so that others (and we ourselves) can be saved.
Paul Holland
