Jesus Speaks of the Destruction of the Temple
Mark 13:1-8
Good News Translation (GNT)
*************************
1 As Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of his
disciples said, "Look, Teacher!
What wonderful stones and buildings!"
2 Jesus answered, "You see these great
buildings? Not a single stone here will be left
in its place; every one of them will be thrown
down."
Troubles and Persecutions
3 Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives,
across from the Temple, when Peter, James,
John, and Andrew came to him in private.
4 "Tell us when this will be," they said, "and tell
us what will happen to show that the time has
come for all these things to take place."
5 Jesus said to them, "Watch out, and don't let
anyone fool you.
6 Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come
and say, 'I am he!' and they will fool many
people.
7 And don't be troubled when you hear the noise
of battles close by and news of battles far
away. Such things must happen, but they do
not mean that the end has come.
8 Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will
attack one another. There will be earthquakes
everywhere, and there will be famines. These
things are like the first pains of childbirth.
*************************
Commentary taken from
'The Applied New Testament Commentary'
(Kingsway)
Signs of the End of the Age
Mark 13:1-8
The Jewish temple was one of the biggest and most magnificent buildings in the ancient world.
Around it were many colonnades and courtyards and smaller buildings.
The temple area filled one sixth of the city of Jerusalem.
Its front was covered with gold.
Some of its stones were thirty feet long and twelve feet wide.
Therefore, it was not surprising that one of Jesus' disciples exclaimed: "What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!"
It surely seemed as if the temple could never be destroyed.
Yet Jesus told His disciples that every one of those stones would be thrown down.
And forty years later, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D., they destroyed the temple, too.
And since that time, the temple has never been rebuilt.
Peter, James, John, and Andrew were amazed at Jesus' statement that the temple would be destroyed.
"Tell us, when will these things happen?" they asked.
According to Matthew 24:3, the disciples also asked, "... and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
The disciples asked both of these questions together, because they supposed that the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world would come at the same time.
But Jesus answered their question in two parts.
To understand this chapter, we must not confuse the two parts of Jesus' answer.
In verses 5-23,28-31, Jesus answers the disciples' question about the destruction of Jerusalem.
In verses 24-27,32-37 (Matthew 24:29-31,36-44; Luke 21:25-28,34-36), Jesus answers their question about the end of the world and His second coming.
We must also keep in mind that although Jesus knew when the destruction of Jerusalem would come (verse 30), He did not know when the end of the world would come (verse 32).
Only God Himself knows that.
But we can understand from this chapter that the signs that preceded the destruction of Jerusalem are similar to the signs that will precede the end of the world.
In other words, the destruction of Jerusalem is a foretaste of the events that will occur at the end of the world.
Therefore, even those parts of this chapter that refer to the destruction of Jerusalem can also serve as a warning to us about what will happen at the end of the world.
It should be mentioned that this entire chapter is difficult to understand.
Bible scholars have different opinions about the meaning of certain verses.
This commentary attempts to present the most common interpretations.
The disciples wanted to know when these things would happen.
But Jesus tells them something more important: "Watch". "Be on guard".
If the disciples remained always ready and on guard, then it would not be so necessary for them to know the exact time at which these events would take place.
This is Jesus' word for us today also.
Let us not always be asking, "When?" "Where?" Rather, let us remain always ready and watchful.
"Watch out that no one deceives you," Jesus said.
Deceivers are much more dangerous to the church than persecutors.
Satan's main weapon against Christians is not persecution but deception.
"Many will come in my name ... and will deceive many" (verse 6).
Many have been seduced into following new Christs and new Gospels, and have thereby lost their faith in the true Christ.
In verses 6-8, Jesus prophesied that three kinds of events would occur before the fall of Jerusalem.
First, many would appear saying, "I am he; I am the Christ" (Matthew 24:4).
The disciples must not believe these false Christs (verses 21-22).
Many of these false Christs did appear before the fall of Jerusalem (see Acts 5:36-37).
Second, Jesus said that there would be wars and rumours of wars between nations.
Indeed, in 62-66 A.D., only a few years before Jerusalem was destroyed, there were many wars throughout the Roman Empire and many rumours of revolts against the emperor.
Third, Jesus said that there would be earthquakes in various places, and famines.
Indeed, there were famines in various parts of the Roman Empire before the destruction of Jerusalem (Acts 11:28).
According to Roman historians, there were also several earthquakes in different parts of the Empire during that time.
According to Luke 21:11, Jesus also said that there would be great signs from heaven before the destruction of Jerusalem.
According to both Roman and Jewish historians, these signs did take place.
For example, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, a comet appeared over Jerusalem for many nights with a tail shaped like a sword.
Yet all these things were only the beginning of birth pains (verse 8).
These events that occurred before the destruction of Jerusalem were only the beginning of the events that will ultimately lead to the end of the world.
We know that in the past 1900 years, even greater wars have occurred, and even greater earthquakes and famines.
False Christs even today are rising up in different parts of the world.
Jesus' prophecy not only was fulfilled before the fall of Jerusalem, but it is also continuing to be fulfilled right up to this present time, as we await His coming again at the end of the world.
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