Mark 13:1-16

The Destruction of the Temple

13:1 Now ¹  as Jesus ²  was going out of the temple courts, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look at these tremendous stones and buildings!” ³  13:2 Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another. ⁴  All will be torn down!” ⁵ 

Signs of the End of the Age

13:3 So ⁶  while he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, ⁷  and Andrew asked him privately, 13:4 “Tell us, when will these things ⁸  happen? And what will be the sign that all these things are about to take place?” 13:5 Jesus began to say to them, “Watch out ⁹  that no one misleads you. 13:6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ ¹⁰  and they will mislead many. 13:7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. ¹¹  13:8 For nation will rise up in arms ¹²  against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines. ¹³  These are but the beginning of birth pains.

Persecution of Disciples

13:9 “You must watch out for yourselves. You will be handed over ¹⁴  to councils ¹⁵  and beaten in the synagogues. ¹⁶  You will stand before governors and kings ¹⁷  because of me, as a witness to them. 13:10 First the gospel must be preached to all nations. 13:11 When they arrest you and hand you over for trial, do not worry about what to speak. But say whatever is given you at that time, ¹⁸  for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. 13:12 Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against ¹⁹  parents and have them put to death. 13:13 You will be hated by everyone because of my name. ²⁰  But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²¹ 

The Abomination of Desolation

13:14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation ²²  standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee ²³  to the mountains. 13:15 The one on the roof ²⁴  must not come down or go inside to take anything out of his house. ²⁵  13:16 The one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.

[13:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[13:1]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:1]  ³ sn The Jerusalem temple was widely admired around the world. See Josephus, Ant. 15.11 [15.380-425]; J. W. 5.5 [5.184-227] and Tacitus, History 5.8, who called it “immensely opulent.” Josephus compared it to a beautiful snowcapped mountain.

[13:2]  ⁴ sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in a.d. 70.

[13:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”

[13:3]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[13:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “and James and John,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[13:4]  ⁸ sn Both references to these things are plural, so more than the temple’s destruction is in view. The question may presuppose that such a catastrophe signals the end.

[13:5]  ⁹ tn Or “Be on guard.”

[13:6]  ¹⁰ tn That is, “I am the Messiah.”

[13:7]  ¹¹ tn Grk “it is not yet the end.”

[13:8]  ¹² tn For the translation “rise up in arms” see L&N 55.2.

[13:8]  ¹³ sn See Isa 5:13-14; 13:6-16; Hag 2:6-7; Zech 14:4.

[13:9]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “They will hand you over.” “They” is an indefinite plural, referring to people in general. The parallel in Matt 10:17 makes this explicit.

[13:9]  ¹⁵ sn Councils in this context refers to local judicial bodies attached to the Jewish synagogue. This group would be responsible for meting out justice and discipline within the Jewish community.

[13:9]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on synagogue in 1:21.

[13:9]  ¹⁷ sn These statements look at persecution both from a Jewish context as the mention of councils and synagogues suggests, and from a Gentile one as the reference to governors and kings suggests. Some fulfillment of Jewish persecution can be seen in Acts.

[13:11]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “in that hour.”

[13:12]  ¹⁹ tn Or “will rebel against.”

[13:13]  ²⁰ sn See 1 Cor 1:25-31.

[13:13]  ²¹ sn But the one who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works, because he had already taught that it is by grace (cf. 10:15). He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.

[13:14]  ²² sn The reference to the abomination of desolation is an allusion to Dan 9:27. Though some have seen the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in the actions of Antiochus IV (or a representative of his) in 167 b.c., the words of Jesus seem to indicate that Antiochus was not the final fulfillment, but that there was (from Jesus’ perspective) still another fulfillment yet to come. Some argue that this was realized in a.d. 70, while others claim that it refers specifically to Antichrist and will not be fully realized until the period of the great tribulation at the end of the age (cf. Mark 13:19, 24; Matt 24:21; Rev 3:10).

[13:14]  ²³ sn Fleeing to the mountains is a key OT image: Gen 19:17; Judg 6:2; Isa 15:5; Jer 16:16; Zech 14:5.

[13:15]  ²⁴ sn Most of the roofs in the NT were flat roofs made of pounded dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stones, supported by heavy wooden beams. They generally had an easy means of access, either a sturdy wooden ladder or stone stairway, sometimes on the outside of the house.

[13:15]  ²⁵ sn The nature of the judgment coming upon them will be so quick and devastating that one will not have time to come down or go inside to take anything out of his house. It is best just to escape as quickly as possible.