Dwell in the Word Mark 13:24-27
Consider these questions as we dwell in Mark 13:24-27:
1. The interpretation of Mark 13 can be challenging due to various perspectives on the timing and nature of the events described. How does the discussion of the destruction of the temple, the "Abomination of Desolation," and the coming of the Son of Man reflect Jesus' prophetic warnings? How might these events hold significance for both the disciples in their time and believers today?
2. The passage mentions the use of prophetic language and Old Testament imagery to convey its message. How do these symbolic elements help convey the impending judgment and the ultimate reign of Christ? How might understanding the historical context and prophetic language aid in interpreting the passage?
3. Regardless of one's interpretation of the events described in Mark 13, the call to "stay awake" and be prepared for Christ's return remains a central message. How can believers maintain a state of spiritual alertness and readiness for Christ's coming, both in terms of personal faithfulness and the proclamation of the Gospel? In what ways can this message impact our daily lives and outlook on the future?
Transcript:
All right, we come to a rather difficult passage of scripture to interpret here, because if we go back to the context of what this passage is sitting in, we are understanding that Jesus is talking about the destruction of the temple, and it's the temple that was sitting there right in front of him. And as I've mentioned before, Jesus prophesied that that temple would be destroyed prior to its destruction, and it did happen within a generation. Now, there are some people who come to this passage, and they say that this tribulation, this is what is being talked about here, the coming of the son of Man, is in the future for us. And there's others who interpret it, and they understand this to be the events that surrounded the destruction of the temple in the year 70. And so, as we think about this, we're getting some natural questions that come up because it says here, But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be dark and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven. The son of man will come in clouds with power and great glory. He'll send his angels to gather as elect from the ends of the earth.
Did that happen in the year '70? Well, the interpretation of that there is that these words that Jesus is using is prophetic language from the Old Testament. And so, when the sun, the moon and the stars were talked about, it was talking about the powers that be, that it would be the Jewish state of that time. And I can give you an example. The easiest way to understand what they're driving at here is we go back to the dream that Joseph had. What did he say about his mother and his father and his brothers? They were the sun, the moon and the stars. And so, the idea here is that the power of the Jewish state, that the power surrounding this group of people who were the cradle for the Messiah to come is going to fall. They're not going to have a large, powerful state of affairs in the world any longer, that their status is going to drop. And so, that is one interpretation. Well, what do we do with the son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory? Well, that's again, Old Testament prophetic language.
They would talk about God coming in judgment within the clouds in the Old Testament. And even when that happened, it was not God coming down and smiting people individually. It was foreign nations that came and God used them to judge the actions of the Jewish people. Again, this is an idea of prophetic language. And we can go back to Daniel, and we can see where it talks about the son of man coming in clouds up to the ancient of days. And so, in Daniel, the idea of the Son of Man coming on the clouds is in Ascension. The interpretation is that this is talking about the ascension. Well, what about sending out the angels and gathering his elect from the four winds? Well, after the destruction of the temple, that signifies that the power of God in salvation is not just coming to the Jewish people anymore, it's going out to the Gentiles. And so that's the interpretation of it there. Now, again, it can go either way here. Again, there's multiple interpretations of this, it being in the future or it being in the past. But as we think about what Jesus has said here, we need to take this interpretation seriously and the other interpretation of it being a future event seriously also.
But there's one thing that we want to be sure we understand as we come down to verse 32. Again, I apologize this is going to be a little bit longer because this is complicated. But if we come here, Jesus is telling his disciples who are standing there with him that no one knows the day or the hour that this would happen, that this judgment would come. But notice he's saying, Be on guard, keep away, for you do not know when the time will come. Jesus is talking to his disciples. Then we need to think about something. As we look at this, and we look at verse 30, Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Jesus is talking to his disciples. Clearly, he is assuming that whatever it is he's talking about here is going to happen within a generation. And so, as we look at what happened and what Jesus is talking about is going to be destroyed in regards to the temple, that was destroyed within a generation. And so, Jesus words of prophecy came to pass. The temple was destroyed. Jerush, Jerusalem fell from a state of power.
The religious state fell from power. Not religious state. The religious system fell from power. And so, as we think about this passage, there are two things that I want to come away with. Now, again, I'm trying to give an interpretation. Most people are familiar with the futurist view. The other interpretation surrounding the destruction of the temple isn't quite as well known, but I want to try. So, that's why I'm not giving equal time. It's a difficult thing to do here in a devotional commentary like we're doing today. This is far more, for lack of a better term, hair splitting than I like to do with these. But we can't come to this text and not think about the context and also consider what this means for us, regardless of what we think or how we view this passage regarding the destruction of the temple or the coming of the son of man. There's one message that comes to us through all of it. Verse 37, And what I say to you, I say to all, Stay awake. That is so important for us. Regardless of if we believe that the destruction of the temple was the fulfillment of this passage or whether we believe it's in the future, we still need to stay awake.
We need to be aware. Whether we believe that the coming of the son of man was the judgment at the destruction of the temple, or the coming of the son of man is a future event when Jesus returns, which, for the record, both people who view these two different events, interpretations of this passage, believe that Jesus is coming in the future. It's just whether or not this passage is pointing to that. But regardless of what we think about this passage, whether it's a past view or it's a future view. We still need to stay awake because Christ is coming to judge the living and the dead. It is so important that we stay awake. We can be lulled to sleep so easily to think that this world is just going to go on forever. Christ is not going to return. But the message here that Jesus has for his disciples is a message for us too. We need to stay awake. We need to be living our lives in such a way that we're prepared for the return of Jesus. We need to live our lives in such a way that there is an urgency to the message of the gospel going out because we don't know the day or the hour.
The disciples didn't know the day or the hour when the temple would be destroyed, and we don't know the day or the hour that Christ will return to judge the living and the dead at the end of history. We don't know. And so, it's important that we continually stay awake and trust God's word. It tells us that the temple would be destroyed, and it was we can trust God's word. It tells us that Christ is going to come to judge the living and the dead at the end of history and deliver his kingdom to his father. And he will, that will come to pass. So, we must stay awake, watching and waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to return.
