Jesus reassured disciples - Mark 13:20
Jesus reassured his disciples of God's mercy and care for them. God would
shorten that tribulation to
save his
elect. God's chosen ones will be preserved in the middle of his most severe judgment on sin.
False messiahs and prophets - Mark 13:21-22
The political upheaval of the days leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem created fertile opportunity for false messiahs and false prophets.
Be on guard - Mark 13:23
Again Jesus warned them to
be on guard. The reason he spent this whole chapter telling them about the future was so they would not be taken by surprise, but would be faithful.
Jesus' second coming - Mark 13:24-27
Jesus then told them about other future events. These were events that would surround His return in glory. These verses were intended to help the disciples distinguish between the destruction of the temple that they had asked about and Jesus' own second coming. This was necessary because of the terrible tribulation surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem that led to false messiahs arising.
After the tribulation - Mark 13:24
Jesus said
after the tribulation. With those words
he separated the days of the earthly events he had already spoken about from the cosmic events he next described. He described them using the language of the Old Testament prophets (Isa. 13:10; Joel 2:10; 3:15; and especially Joel 2:31 with its reference to
the great and dreadful day of the Lord). There is difference of opinion about whether these words should be interpreted literally or figuratively. What is clear is that at the second coming of Christ there will be universe-wide cosmic changes as God's people and the new heavens and the new earth are prepared for each other. See 2 Pet. 3:12, 13; Rev. 21:1-4.
Titles of Jesus - Mark 13:26
The
coming of the Son of Man picks up the language of Dan. 7:13. See the article on the Titles of Jesus. The clouds are a symbol of the divine presence (9:7; 14:62). This is the visible, powerful appearance of Jesus in all his
glory at the end of this age. (Note v. 7.) This second coming stands in complete contrast to Jesus' birth which was hidden from most and clothed in weakness.
Angels - Mark 13:27
Frequently Christ is said to return with his
angels (e.g. 8:38; Matt. 25:31).
Parable of the fig tree - Mark 13:28-30
After telling them about events surrounding his second coming in verses 24-27 Jesus used the parable of the
fig tree to go back and answer the disciples' question about when the temple would be destroyed. It would happen within the
generation of the disciples themselves. Some interpreters believe Jesus was referring to his return instead of the destruction of the temple.
Jesus claimed authority - Mark 13:31
Jesus claimed the same authority for his own
words as for the Word of God in the Old Testament. Jesus spoke with the authority of God.
Time of Christ's return - Mark 13:32
Jesus taught that God the Father knows the time of Christ's return. When he said that the
Son does not know he was referring to Jesus' fully human nature. As a human being he learned things and did not know some things. At the same time as fully God he knew all things. See the article on the Person of Christ.
Importance of being alert - Mark 13:33-37
Jesus concluded this message to his disciples by stressing how important it was for them to
be alert! Everything he said in this chapter was aimed at preparing them to live and serve after he was no longer with them. The short parable about a man going on a
journey makes the point that every follower of Jesus must always be ready for him to return. No one knows when he is coming, but Jesus will certainly
come back. See
WCF 33.3;
HC 127.
Related Resources
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
International License.
