St Mark Chapter XIII : Verses 1-13
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| Master, behold what manner of stones and what buildings are here..J-J Tissot |
[1] And as he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him: Master, behold what manner of stones and what buildings are here.
[2] And Jesus answering, said to him: Seest thou all these great buildings? There shall not be left a stone upon a stone, that shall not be thrown down.
[3] And as he sat on the mount of Olivet over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him apart:
[4] Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall begin to be fulfilled?
[5] And Jesus answering, began to say to them, Take heed lest any man deceive you.
[6] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am he; and they shall deceive many.
[7] And when you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, fear ye not. For such things must needs be, but the end is not yet.
[8] For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and famines. These things are the beginning of sorrows.
[9] But look to yourselves. For they shall deliver you up to councils, and in the synagogues you shall be beaten, and you shall stand before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony unto them.
[10] And unto all nations the gospel must first be preached.
[11] And when they shall lead you and deliver you up, be not thoughtful beforehand what you shall speak; but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye. For it is not you that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
[12] And the brother shall betray his brother unto death, and the father his son; and children shall rise up against the parents, and shall work their death.
[13] And you shall be hated by all men for my name's sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, he shall be saved.
[1] Et cum egrederetur de templo, ait illi unus ex discipulis suis : Magister, aspice quales lapides, et quales structurae. [2] Et respondens Jesus, ait illi : Vides has omnes magnas aedificationes? Non relinquetur lapis super lapidem, qui non destruatur. [3] Et cum sederet in monte Olivarum contra templum, interrogabant eum separatim Petrus, et Jacobus, et Joannes, et Andreas : [4] Dic nobis, quando ista fient? et quod signum erit, quando haec omnia incipient consummari? [5] Et respondens Jesus coepit dicere illis : Videte ne quid vos seducat : [6] multi enim venient in nomine meo, dicentes quia ego sum : et multos seducent. [7] Cum audieritis autem bella, et opiniones bellorum, ne timueritis : oportet enim haec fieri : sed nondum finis. [8] Exsurget enim gens contra gentem, et regnum super regnum, et erunt terraemotus per loca, et fames. Initium dolorum haec. [9] Videte autem vosmetipsos. Tradent enim vos in consiliis, et in synagogis vapulabitis, et ante praesides et reges stabitis propter me, in testimonium illis. [10] Et in omnes gentes primum oportet praedicari Evangelium. [11] Et cum duxerint vos tradentes, nolite praecogitare quid loquamini : sed quod datum vobis fuerit in illa hora, id loquimini : non enim vos estis loquentes, sed Spiritus Sanctus. [12] Tradet autem frater fratrem in mortem, et pater filium : et consurgent filii in parentes, et morte afficient eos. [13] Et eritis odio omnibus propter nomen meum. Qui autem sustinuerit in finem, hic salvus erit.
Notes
1. as he was going out of the temple. He probably went with His Apostles down the eastern steps towards the valley of Cedron, thence up the slopes of Olivet towards Bethania. The great prophecy was therefore uttered in the evening of the Tuesday in Holy Week. St Matthew says the disciples addressed our Lord as He went away , after having come out of the temple (xxiv. 1). In a manner, when Jesus left the Temple He fulfilled the prophecy, Your house shall be left to you desolate (St Matt, xxiii. 38).
one of his disciples. St Luke has some saying of the temple , etc. (xxi. 5). Possibly the disciples had spoken of its beauty and magnificence as they gazed upon it from Mount Olivet, when the rays of the setting sun were reflected from the splendid golden roof and pinnacles, and from its colonnade of purest white marble Then one, as spokesman, called, our Lord’s attention to its beauty.
Master , behold what manner of stones , etc. The Jews were naturally proud of their Temple. Josephus tells us that some of the stones were 45 feet in length (most of them 371/2 feet, 12 feet high, and 18 feet broad) (Josephus, Antiq ., xv. 11, 3). The Apostles had heard our Lord say, your house shall be left to you desolate , and were deeply moved. Their remark seems to imply a petition that the doom foretold might be revoked. They could not realize that Jerusalem, so full of life and activity, that the Temple, so full of worshippers, should ever be ruined and desolate. “ The Zorobabelic Temple was rebuilt by Herod ; and, viewed either in regard of its strength of structure, its magnificence, its costly materials, its rare beauty and ornamentation, it was an object of wonder and admiration.”
2. Seest thou all these great buildings , etc. ? In plain words, Jesus solemnly foretells its utter destruction. Strong as that mighty Temple seemed, it was to be destroyed, and some of those who listened to our Lord’s prophetic utterances lived to witness this awful catastrophe, when our Lord’s prediction and an older prophecy were simultaneously fulfilled. Sion shall be ploughed as a field , and Jerusalem shall be as a heap of stones (Micheas iii. 12). The temple was destroyed by fire, a.d. 70, in spite of the desire of Titus, the general in command, to save it. He himself, when he saw the massive foundations and its mighty stones, attributed his victory to the hand of God. The Tenth Legion, under Terentius Rufus, carried out the work of destruction. Only the towers of Phasael, Hippicus, and Marianne were spared, as a proof to posterity of the glorious victory, won by the Romans over a people who possessed such massive fortifications. The few ruins of the Temple now visible are merely fragments of the foundations and its enclosure walls. The Temple proper was utterly destroyed. The discourse recorded in this chapter was uttered just thirty-eight years before its fulfilment ; but as St Mark wrote his gospel somewhere between 63 and 70, the destruction of the Temple was near at hand, and the realization of many of the signs predicted by Jesus had already been seen.
3. he sat on the Mount , etc. From Mount Olivet the spectator would have a splendid view of the Temple.
Peter and James and John and Andrew. St Mark alone mentions that it was the privileged three, and St Andrew who questioned Jesus “apart.”
apart. Some commentators understand by this, that these four disciples questioned Jesus apart from the other disciples. Others take it to mean that they questioned Him apart from the multitude, but in the hearing of the other disciples.
The disciples, wishing to have further particulars on such an important question, would naturally, from love of their Master, have refrained from questioning Him on a subject which would have exasperated the Pharisees and Scribes more than ever. St Stephen died a martyr’s death, because a false accusation of speaking words against the holy place and the law was brought against him by false witnesses (Acts vi. 13).
4. Tell us , when shall these things be ? St Matthew (xxiv. 3) gives the question more fully —
1. When shall these things be ?2. What shall be the sign of thy coming?3. What shall be the sign of the consummation of the world?
The disciples would have remembered the words of our Lord, For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels , and then will he render to every man according to his works. A men, I say to you , there are some of them that stand here that shall not taste death till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom (St Matt. xvi. 27, 28). The connection between the three events in St Matthew’s mind is so close and inseparable that they are described as following each other in rapid succession.
5. Take heed lest , etc. These are words of warning against those who would try to turn Christ’s disciples from their allegiance to Him. “ The four moral keynotes of the discourse on the ‘ last things ’ are Beware, Watch, Endure, Pray.”
6. many shall come, etc. History records the names of various impostors who arose at different times, the majority of whom lived after the destruction of Jerusalem.
False prophets were far more numerous than false Christs. The prophecy is also understood to refer to those, who shall arise before Christ’s second advent.
7. wars and rumours of wars. Josephus and Philo both describe the disturbed state of Judea about forty years before the fall of Jerusalem. The Jews were massacred at Cæsarea and Alexandria, in Babylonia and in Syria. The reigns of Caligula, Claudius, and Nero were terrible times of bloodshed, tyranny and revolt. On one occasion 50,000 were massacred at Seleucia. It was during this period that the Germans, Britons, and Gauls rose in rebellion against Rome, while at the same time the Roman nation was torn with intestine struggles between the various adherents of Vitellius, Galba, Otlio, and Vespasian.
fear ye not. The Apostles were to have confidence in God in spite of all these exterior trials.
such things must needs be. “ Not from absolute necessity , but as a matter of consequent necessity , like scandals, heresies, etc. on the one hand, and the decrees of God, drawing good out of evil which He permits, on the other” (MacEvilly, Commentary).
the end is not yet , — i.e. the evils which are to overtake Jerusalem. Greater ones will follow. Perhaps these words refer to the wars of antichrist, which are to precede the end of the world. The word “ end ” most likely refers to —
1. the destruction of Jerusalem.2. the end of the world.
8. nation shall rise against nation. This is apparently a development of wars and rumours of wars. History relates many such facts ; there were terrible rebellions at Scythopolis, Joppa, etc. (Cf. Jos., Wars, bk. ii., xviii.)
earthquakes in divers places. Many remarkable examples of this awful scourge are recorded during the forty years in question and after that time, thus showing the double allusion in our Lord’s prediction.
Josephus speaks of “a prodigious storm in the night, with the utmost violence and very strong winds, with the largest showers and continued lightnings, terrible thunderings and amazing concussions and bellowings of the earth, that was called an earthquake.
He concludes that “ anyone would guess that these wonders foreshewed some grand calamities that were coming.” This happened when the Zealots were in open revolt, just before the destruction of Jerusalem.
Tacitus mentions that earthquakes took place in Crete, Rome, Apamea, Phrygia and Campania.
Seneca relates that in a.d. 58 earthquakes occurred in Achaia, Syria and Macedonia.
famines. There was a famine in the reign of Claudius. This is mentioned in the Acts (xi. 28). St Matthew and St Luke add pestilences and terrors in heaven, and great signs ; pestilence often results from famine. Suetonius relates how in the time of Nero 30,000 people died of the plague. As regards the signs in the heavens , see notes on the Herodian Dynasty, Part IV.
the beginnings of sorrows : literally of birth-pangs , The words express intense pain. These are summed up under six headings —
1. False Christs shall arise.2. Wars and rumours of wars (seditions, St Luke xxi. 9).3. Earthquakes.4. Famines.5. Pestilences (St Matt, and St Luke).6. “ Terrors from heaven” and “great signs ’’ (St Luke).
9. look to yourselves. Here our Lord ends the catalogue of general woes, which we believe will be repeated on a larger scale and herald His second coming. Turning to the Apostles, He describes in detail what trials await them personally.
they shall deliver you up. etc. Here we may tabulate the facts which fulfilled this prediction.
Note. — St Matthew adds, Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted , and shall put you to death (xxiv. 9). This prediction was verified when each of the Apostles in turn gave his life for Christ and the Gospel. St John alone died a natural death ; he was the martyr “ in will but not in deed.”
for a testimony unto them: in order that they might bear witness to Christ and the Gospel.
10. unto all nations , etc. This must primarily refer to the end of the world. Yet even in the lifetime of the Apostles, the gospel had been proclaimed throughout the vast Roman empire.
11. be not thoughtful beforehand: literally “be not anxious.” They were to trust in God to inspire them, since they were told whatsoever shall be given you in that hour , that speak ye. Thus St Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, spoke in presence of the council (Acts iv. 8).
12. the brother shall betray , etc. A repetition of the doctrine which Christ had taught when He sent out the Twelve on their first mission. Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth : I came not to send peace , but the sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father , and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies shall be they of his own household (St Matt. x. 34-36).
13. hated by all men : because the servant is not greater than his master (St John xv. 20).
But he that shall endure, etc. To those who fight bravely till the hour of death salvation is promised, and they will merit to receive the crown of life. All who listened to these solemn words persevered, except the traitor who, that very day, made an agreement with the chief priests to deliver up Christ, and so brought about his own ruin. But three days passed and the traitor went to his own place. The words he that shall endure, etc., are also applicable to each individual Christian, for whom eternal life crowns final perseverance, which is a pure gift of God ; none can merit it, strictly speaking.
Additional Notes
2. Jesus answering. Our Lord’s answer is obscure, because it is not given to us “ to know the times or moments which the Father hath put in his own power” ( Acts i. 7). Our Lord’s answers may be subdivided generally into four sections —
(a) Prophecies of events near at hand, which the Apostles were to see realised (verses 1-13).(b) The destruction of Jerusalem (verses 14-18).(c) The signs which shall precede the last day (verses 19-32).(d) How the Apostles are to conduct themselves (verses 33-37).
These sections do not exclusively refer to the headings above mentioned, since predictions, concerning the fall of Jerusalem and the end of the world, are so interwoven that the same words may be said to apply primarily to the former, and secondarily to the latter. Many of the prophecies of the Old Testament were susceptible of two interpretations, the one proximate, the other more remote. Thus the “head of the corner,” referred to in chap. xii. 10, refers to the Jewish nation and to Christ Himself, and these words even extend to the teaching Church, which represents Him on earth.
6. many shall come in my name. There are many examples of false prophets, who came either saying “ I am Christ ” (St Matt. xxiv. 5), or professing to have a divine mission. Among others we find Simon Magus : “ How there was a certain man named Simon, who before had been a magician in that city, seducing the people of Samaria, giving out that he was some great one ” (Acts viii. 9). Dositheus, the Samaritan of whom Origen speaks, was another impostor. Josephus relates how, when Cuspius Fadus was procurator (the third after Pontius Pilate), one Theudas, a certain magician, persuaded the people to follow him with their property to the banks of the Jordan, promising them that he would divide the river, as Moses had done of old. Fadus took Theudas alive, and cut off his head and carried it to Jerusalem ( Antiq ., xx. 5). The same author also refers to many “impostors and deceivers” who in the time of Felix “ persuaded the multitude to follow them into the wilderness, and pretended that they would exhibit manifest signs and wonders.” .... About this time there came one out of Egypt . . . . “ he said how at his command the walls of Jerusalem would fall down.” This impostor was also put to death. He is referred to when the tribune, questioning St Paul, asks, “ Art not thou that Egyptian who before these days didst raise a tumult, and didst lead forth into the desert four thousand men that were murderers ? ” ( Acts xxi. 38). In 120 a.d., however, we have the first recorded example of one who claimed to be “ the Christ.” He was a certain Bar-Cochba (son of a star), and he asserted that he was “ the star ” foretold by Balaam. Since he did not appear until fifty years after the destruction of Jerusalem, it would seem to prove that the prophecy “ many shall come in my name ” refers also to the end of the world, and that its complete fulfilment is not yet accomplished. St John, in his first epistle, speaks of antichrist that “ cometh : even now there are become many antichrists : whereby we know that it is the last hour” (ii. 18); and it is possible that St Paul refers to one, who put forth Messianic claims when he writes, “ the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth, and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God,” etc. (2 Thess. ii. 3, 4). In such troubled times it was perfectly natural that pretenders and impostors should arise and claim to be “the Christ,” and many such may have arisen of whom history is silent. Pillion, a French writer, enumerates twenty-nine of these impostors.
Christ’s promises to His disciples. Jesus comforted and strengthened them to endure these tribulations by the following promises : —
(1) “ And when they shall lead you and deliver you up, be not thoughtful beforehand what you shall speak ; but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye. For it is not you that speak, but the Holy Ghost” (St Mark xiii. 11).
(2) “ For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and gainsay ” (St Luke xxi. 15).
(3) “ But a hair of your head shall not perish ” (ver. 18).
(4) “In your patience you shall possess your souls” (ver. 19).
(5) “But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved” (St Matt. xxiv. 13).
10. unto all nations the gospel must first be preached. Our Lord does not promise that as soon as the Gospel has been preached throughout the world, the consummation of all things is at hand ; He merely asserts that His second advent will not take place until all men have heard the glad tidings of salvation.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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