Mark Chapter 13
Memory verses for
this week: Judg 21:25 In those days there
was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own
eyes.
Introduction:
We continue with our study
of Mark this week as we cover Chapter 13. In last week’s lesson,
Jesus taught the people with the parable of the wicked husbandmen.
The leaders realized it was against them, and sought a way to destroy
him. They sent the Pharisees unto him to try and trick him in a
question concerning paying tribute to the government. The Sadducees
then came with their strange question about the man who had no
children and was married by each of the seven brothers and none had
children. They wanted to know whose wife she would be in the
resurrection. The scribe then questioned Christ about the Great
Commandment. We closed with the record of the gift given by the poor
widow. Christ said the little she gave was more than all the rich
gave because it was all of her lively hood.
I. The Disciple’s
Questions
Mark 13:1 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples
saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings
are here!
Mark 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these
great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that
shall not be thrown down.
The disciples beheld the beauty of the temple. One of the
disciples calls attention to Christ about the stones that were in the
temple wall. Josephus, the great Biblical historian, wrote, “Now the
temple was built of stones that were white and strong, and each of
their length was twenty five cubits, their height was eight, and their
breadth about twelve.” The sanctuary was said to have been over a
hundred feet high, with walls of white marble and a roof that had a
thin layer of gold. You know this had to be a beautiful and
impressive sight. Jesus tells the disciples that there would not be
one stone upon another that would not be thrown down. To imagine the
impact of that statement, imagine if that were to be our church
building that was to be destroyed. The very place where the worship
of God takes place. This had to be upsetting to the disciples.
Mark 13:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the
temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
Mark 13:4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be
the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
The four disciples come to Christ privately and ask him two
questions in verse 4. “When shall these things be?” and “what shall
be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?” This
prediction Christ made come to pass as does all true prophecy from
God’s Word. In A.D. 70, the Roman armies under Titus destroyed
Jerusalem and the temple.
II. The Course of
this Age
Mark 13:5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest
any man deceive you:
Mark 13:6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and
shall deceive many.
Jesus answers their questions by beginning with a warning…
Take heed lest any man deceive you. He predicts that many would come
in His name and say that they were Christ. In our own generation, we
have seen many make claims like this. Jim Jones led a large number of
people to their death as did David Koresch. Had the people who
followed these men knew their bible, they would have recognized these
men for who they were… false christs that have no power whatsoever
with the Heavenly Father. The Christ we worship today sits on the
right hand of God, and the next word we will get from Him is when we
see Him coming in the east at the shout of the Archangel.
Mark 13:7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be
ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not
be yet.
Mark 13:8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and
there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of
sorrows.
Does this not sound familiar? We would hear of wars and
rumors of wars. In addition to international wars, there will be
earthquakes and famines. We know that almost every month we hear of
an earthquake in places that normally don’t have them. There are all
sorts of troubles that face people today. We have outbreaks of
illnesses that sometimes have never been heard of before. Twenty
years ago, there was no Aids virus. How about this new SARS disease
that attacks the pulmonary breathing functions of the body? Many have
died from this, particularly in China.
The dictionary defines famine as:
1. extreme food scarcity: a
severe shortage of food resulting in widespread hunger |
2. deficiency of something: a
severe shortage of something |
3. extreme hunger: extreme
hunger and starvation
|
There are people starving to death in many areas of the
world. What represents a famine? We think of it as a time of
shortage and people with widespread hunger. When Sam Varaugheses, a
missionary to India, was with us last week, he pointed out the number
of people in India today, and the numbers were staggering. India is
primarily a Hindu nation, but it has the second largest number of
Moslems of any country in the world. Just due to the sheer numbers of
people in the limited amount of space there, they will most likely
continue to have food shortages. Some of the saddest images of our
recent war in Iraq was seeing those people without food and water.
God help us to appreciate what we have, and to open our eyes to the
fact that we are nearing the end times.
Matthew Henry points out some interesting points in his
commentary on Mark.
I. They must take heed
that they be not deceived by the seducers and
imposters that should now shortly arise (v. 5, 6); "Take heed
lest any man deceive you, lest, having found the true Messiah,
you lose him again in the crowd of pretenders, or be inveigled
to embrace others in rivalship with him. Many shall come in my name
(not in the name of Jesus), but saying, I am the Christ,
and so claiming the dignities which I only an entitled to.’’ After the
Jews had rejected the true Christ, they were imposed upon, and so
exposed by many false Christs, but never before; those false
Christs deceived many; Therefore take heed lest they deceive
you. Note, When many are deceived, we should thereby be awakened
to look to ourselves.
II. They must take heed that they be not
disturbed
at the noise of wars, which they should be alarmed with, v. 7, 8. Sin
introduced wars,
and they come from men’s lusts. But at some times the
nations are more distracted and wasted with wars than at other times;
so it shall be now; Christ was born into the world when there was a
general peace, but soon after he went out of the world there were
general wars; Nation
shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
And what will become of them then who are to preach the gospel to
every nation? The
clash of arms, the voice of law is not heard.
"But be not troubled at it.’’
1. "Let it be no
surprise to you; you are bid to expect
it, and such things
must needs be, for God has appointed
them, in order to further accomplishment of his purposes, and by the
wars of the Jews’’ (which
Josephus has given us a large account of) "God will punish the
wickedness of the Jews.’’
2. "Let it be no terror to you, as if your
interest were in danger of being overthrown, or your work obstructed
by these wars; you have no concern in them, and therefore need not be
apprehensive of any damage by them.’’ Note, Those that despise the
smiles of the world, and do not court and covet them, may despise the
frowns of the world, and need not fear them. If we seek not to rise
with them that rise in the world, why should
we dread falling with them that fall in the world?
[i]
Mark 13:9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you
up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall
be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony
against them.
Jesus warms them that they would be delivered up to councils
and be beaten in synagogues. If they hated the master, they will
hate us who follow him. These predictions refer to some of the early
Jewish persecution of the believers.
Acts 4:1 And as they
spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and
the Sadducees, came upon them,
Acts 4:2 Being
grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the
resurrection from the dead.
Acts 4:3 And they
laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was
now eventide.
Acts 4:4 Howbeit
many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men
was about five thousand.
Acts 5:17 Then the
high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the
sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
Acts 5:18 And laid
their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
Acts 5:19 But the
angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them
forth, and said,
Acts 5:20 Go, stand
and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.
…. Acts 5:27 And
when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the
high priest asked them,
Acts 5:28 Saying,
Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name?
and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend
to bring this man's blood upon us.
Acts 5:29 Then Peter
and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather
than men.
After this, many were brought before Gentile rulers and kings
for a testimony to them. Paul stood before many of these Gentile
rulers and testified of Christ.
Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all
nations.
Mark 13:11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take
no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate:
but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it
is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
Mark 13:12 Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and
the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents,
and shall cause them to be put to death.
Mark 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:
but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
The gospel was to be preached among all nations. There was
a partial fulfillment of this recorded in Acts 2:5.
Acts 2:5 And there
were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under
heaven.
Acts 2:6 Now when
this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were
confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own
language.
Acts 2:7 And they
were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not
all these which speak Galilaeans?
Acts 2:8 And how
hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
Acts 2:9 Parthians,
and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in
Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Acts 2:10 Phrygia,
and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and
strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
Acts 2:11 Cretes and
Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of
God.
Acts 2:12 And they
were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What
meaneth this?
Christ told them as they came before the councils, God would
give them words to speak in that hour. What confidence this must
have given the disciples. God is always with us as walk in the
direction of the Holy Spirit. Evil may befall us, but God knows all
about it and works it all to our own good. He warns in verses 12 and
13 that Christ’s followers would be hated of all men. Being saved
during the seven years of tribulation will be difficult. But those
that endure to the end of the tribulation will be blessed of the Lord
at this time and delivered.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are
ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all
manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice,
and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so
persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
III. The Great
Tribulation
Mark 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him
that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the
mountains:
Jesus gives instructions for those that may be living during
the tribulation. This is primarily written to the Jews that will be
living during this time. The abomination of desolation spoken by
Daniel concerns his words about the man of sin and his reign here on
earth.
Dan 8:13 Then I
heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain
saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily
sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the
sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
Dan 8:14 And he said
unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the
sanctuary be cleansed.
2 Th 2:3 Let no man
deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there
come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition;
2 Th 2:4 Who
opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing
himself that he is God.
Mark 13:15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into
the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:
Mark 13:16 And let him that is in the field not turn back again
for to take up his garment.
Mark 13:17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that
give suck in those days!
Mark 13:18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
Mark 13:19 For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not
from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time,
neither shall be.
Mark 13:20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no
flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen,
he hath shortened the days.
Jesus warns of some of the hardships the people will endure
during this time. There will be affliction like has never been
seen. The elect of Israel will be saved and delivered at the close
of the tribulation.
Mark 13:21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is
Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and
shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the
elect.
Mark 13:23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all
things.
Jesus again warns about false christs that will come. There
will be many false prophets and they will have great powers to seduce
people. It says they would even fool the elect if it were possible.
Believe me, Satan has a tremendous amount of power, and he will
empower a lot of false prophets during this time. The man of sin,
the Anti-Christ, will rise up and come on a platform of peace. He
will be very believable, and the world will buy into his program.
The greater fulfillment of this prophecy will come during the seven
years of tribulation.
J.
Vernon McGee said this about these promises.
This is the beginning of the Great Tribulation. The first three and a
half years of it are comparatively quiet; it is the false peace of the
Antichrist. Then, in the midst of it, there appears this “abomination
of desolation” spoken of by Daniel the prophet. It will stand where it
ought not, that is, in the Holy Place. You see, if Mark had said to
the Romans that the abomination of desolation would stand in the Holy
Place, they would have said, “Where is that?” He says it will stand
where it shouldn’t stand. That’s more understandable to many of us
too. We need to understand that the Holy Place was given only to the
nation Israel. It was a specific place in the temple on earth. The
church has no Holy Place.
[ii]
IV. The Lord’s
Return in Glory
Mark 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun
shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
Mark 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that
are in heaven shall be shaken.
Mark 13:26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the
clouds with great power and glory.
Mark 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather
together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the
earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
Jesus tells us that when our Lord returns in power and great
glory, the sun will be darkened and the moon turned to blood. On that
day, the stars of heaven will fall. This is not the rapture of the
church (which happens before the beginning of the tribulation in our
pre-trib view), but speaks of when Christ come in power and great
glory at the end of tribulation when he will fight the great battle of
Armageddon. It says that Jesus sends his angels to gather together
his elect (Israel the nation) from out of every part of the earth.
V.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
Mark 13:28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is
yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
Mark 13:29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things
come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.
Mark 13:30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not
pass, till all these things be done.
In the parable of the fig tree, Christ teaches his disciples
about the end time. The fig tree of course typifies Israel. Jesus
tells them that when we see Israel gathering back to their country the
coming of the Lord is near. When a tree buds, we know that summer is
near. Here in Texas, we can almost always be sure that there will be
no more freezing weather when the mesquite trees bud out. In 1948,
Israel again became a nation and God has been gathering the people
back to their homeland ever since. This is a clear indication that
the coming of the Lord is near. It says this generation shall not
pass till all these ting be done. How long is a generation? 50
years. Then Christ would have returned by 1998. I don’t know
exactly how long a generation is, but be sure of this, it isn’t long
until Christ is coming back. It might be today. He says it will be
at a time when we think not. Are many looking for his soon coming? I
think not.
Mark 13:31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall
not pass away.
Mark 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not
the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Mark 13:33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the
time is.
We can rest secure in two things that are a surety. One is
our salvation if we know Christ as our Savior. The second is the
Bible. God promises that ‘my words shall not pass away’. If God
says it, you can count on it. Not a single promise God ever made has
failed, and not one ever shall.
Job knew how important God’s word was.
Job 23:12 Neither
have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the
words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
Psa 119:89 LAMED.
For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
Psa 119:90 Thy
faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth,
and it abideth.
2 Pet 1:19 We have
also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take
heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day
dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2 Pet 1:20 Knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private
interpretation.
2 Pet 1:21 For the
prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God
spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
One thing is certain. If someone says they know they know
when Christ is coming back, they are not a true teacher. Jesus says
no man knows the hour when he will return except God Himself.
VI. Watchfulness in
View of the Return of Christ
Mark 13:34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey,
who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every
man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
Jesus would have us learn something important by this verse.
He wants us to be responsible and be about our work for the Lord, and
we are to be watching for the soon return of Christ.
1 Th 1:6 And ye
became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in
much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:
1 Th 1:7 So that ye
were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.
1 Th 1:8 For from
you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia,
but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so
that we need not to speak any thing.
1 Th 1:9 For they
themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and
how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
1 Th 1:10 And to
wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even
Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Mark 13:35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of
the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or
in the morning:
Mark 13:36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
Mark 13:37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
In these verses, the Roman time is used. At Even speaks of
the time 6 to 9 in the evening. Midnight speaks of 9 to 12. The
cock crowing is 12 to 3, whereas the morning is 3 to 6. We are
warned to not ‘be asleep’ when Jesus comes. We are commanded to
watch. I’m afraid many times we don’t look as much as we should.
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Prov
4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth
more and more unto the perfect day.
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Practice Random Acts of Kindness. Each act spreads, and many will be
blessed.
[i]Henry,
Matthew, Matthew Henry’s
Commentary on the Bible,
(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers) 1997.
[ii]J.
Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible
commentary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System,
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1981 by J. Vernon McGee.