Talk 40 Mark 13:24-37 Signs of His Coming? Welcome to Talk 40 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Last time we were looking at Mark 13:1-23 and considering some of the problems in interpreting this difficult chapter. I suggested that most of what Jesus says in that passage relates primarily to the events that would occur around the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70, which Jesus so accurately predicted in verses 1-4. Today we’re considering the rest of chapter 13, verses 24-37, where, as we shall see, some verses are by no means easy to understand. But let’s begin by reading verses 24-31. 24"But in those days, following that distress, "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' 26 "At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. 28 "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Before we get into the passage let me remind you of what I said last time about difficulties interpreting the whole chapter. This will be a very brief summary, so, if you haven’t yet listened to, or read the notes on, last week’s talk, I recommend that you do so before going any further. The first problem arises from the fact that Jesus is answering two questions asked by the disciples at the beginning of the chapter and it’s not always easy to decide which part of Jesus’ answer refers to which question. Is this verse talking about the destruction of the temple or does it refer to the second coming? The second difficulty is deciding which parts of Jesus’ answer are to be taken literally and which are to be taken symbolically. In my view, much of the chapter is to be understood literally, but some verses must be intended to be understood symbolically or metaphorically. In attempting to resolve these difficulties, I said that the first thing we must do is to find out more about the context, and I gave a brief description of what we know from history about the horrendous events that occurred surrounding the time of the destruction of the temple in AD70. So now, in today’s talk, I want to do three things: · Examine two very different interpretations of verses 24-31. · Emphasise why it’s a mistake to be constantly looking for signs of the Lord’s return (vv.32-37). · Summarise what lessons we have learnt from the chapter as a whole. Verses 24-31 Two different interpretations Interpretations of these verses fall into two main categories: a) Those who see most or all of this passage as referring to the second coming b) Those who understand most or all of the passage to refer to the events around AD70. Clearly these are two very different points of view, and we won’t have time to deal with them in great detail. So what I’m going to do is summarise four main arguments that seem to support the view that this passage relates to the second coming, and alongside them to state a counter argument that is sometimes made by those who take the alternative view. It is not my intention to be dogmatic, and, in fact, part of my purpose is to encourage you to form your own conclusions, but not to be too dogmatic, whatever your view may be. 1) In Matthew’s account one of the questions the disciples asked Jesus was about the second coming (Matthew 24:3). We would, therefore, expect that at least part of Jesus’ answer would relate to the second coming. HOWEVER, one problem with this argument is that in verse 30 Jesus says, I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. So these verses, it is argued, cannot refer to the second coming unless Jesus himself mistakenly believed that the second coming would take place within a generation of his making the statement, which it clearly did not, but the fall of Jerusalem certainly did! 2) The events described in vv.24-25 would appear to be unique in world history. They are the kind of things one might expect at the end of the age and verse 27 talks of the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. HOWEVER, in Daniel 7:13-14 we read: In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all ...
