Mar 13:5-23 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Mark 13:5-23: 13:5-23 This section is often divided into two parts, 13:5-13 and 13:14-23 . The first part is often interpreted as describing the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in AD 70, while the second part is taken to describe the coming of the Son of Man in the future. It is best, however, to interpret all of 13:5-23 as describing events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 because: (1) 13:5-23 is Jesus’ answer to the two questions (13:4 ) that deal with the destruction of Jerusalem (13:2 ); (2) The commands to flee Judea (13:14-16 ), the woe announced upon pregnant and nursing women (13:17 ), and the prayer that it not take place in winter (13:18 ) make sense if they refer to the events of AD 70 but not if they refer to the future return of Christ; (3) Three warnings in this passage (13:5 , 9 , 23 ) tie this passage together and indicate that 13:5-23 should be understood as a unit. • The subdivisions of this section are arranged as a chiasm (X-pattern): A: Deceivers claim to be the Messiah (13:5-6 ). B: There are reports of fighting and natural disasters (13:7-8 ). C: There is persecution of believers (13:9-13 ). B': The fighting in Judea and resulting tribulation begin (13:14-20 ). A': Deceivers claim to be the Messiah (13:21-23 ). Summary for Mark 13:5-6: 13:5-6 Jesus warned his followers not to be misled by the many false messiahs who would come claiming, ‘I am the Messiah’ and would deceive many into following them. These false claimants would profess to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah (not Jesus per se) or to speak on the Messiah’s behalf. Such claimants included Theudas the Galilean (Acts 5:36 ), Simon the son of Gioras, and John of Gischala, who deceived many in the AD 60s.

Summary for Mark 13:5-23: 13:5-23 ^a This section is often divided into two parts, 13:5-13 ^b and 13:14-23 ^c. The first part is often interpreted as describing the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in AD 70, while the second part is taken to describe the coming of the Son of Man in the future. It is best, however, to interpret all of 13:5-23 ^d as describing events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 because: (1) 13:5-23 ^e is Jesus’ answer to the two questions (13:4 ^f) that deal with the destruction of Jerusalem (13:2 ^g); (2) The commands to flee Judea (13:14-16 ^h), the woe announced upon pregnant and nursing women (13:17 ⁱ), and the prayer that it not take place in winter (13:18 ^j) make sense if they refer to the events of AD 70 but not if they refer to the future return of Christ; (3) Three warnings in this passage (13:5 ^k, 9 ^l, 23 ^m) tie this passage together and indicate that 13:5-23 ⁿ should be understood as a unit.

• The subdivisions of this section are arranged as a chiasm (X-pattern): A: Deceivers claim to be the Messiah (13:5-6 ^o). B: There are reports of fighting and natural disasters (13:7-8 ^p). C: There is persecution of believers (13:9-13 ^q). B': The fighting in Judea and resulting tribulation begin (13:14-20 ^r). A': Deceivers claim to be the Messiah (13:21-23 ^s).
Summary for Mark 13:5-6: 13:5-6 ^t Jesus warned his followers not to be misled by the many false messiahs who would come claiming, ‘I am the Messiah’ and would deceive many into following them. These false claimants would profess to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah (not Jesus per se) or to speak on the Messiah’s behalf. Such claimants included Theudas the Galilean (Acts 5:36 ^u), Simon the son of Gioras, and John of Gischala, who deceived many in the AD 60s.
13:7 ^v The Greek word translated must is also used in 8:31 ^w. In both instances, God’s sovereignty over events is emphasized.

• but the end won’t follow immediately: These things would occur, and just as birth pains are followed by childbirth, God’s judgment on Jerusalem would follow. However, these events did not indicate that it was going to happen right away.
13:9 ^x The second watch out! warns of persecution that was to come upon Christians (see 6:11 ^y; 8:34-38 ^z; 10:30 ^aa; see 4:17 ^ab). Jewish Christians would be brought before local councils of Jewish leaders, who had authority over Jewish communities. We read of such a council in Matt 10:17 ^ac and probably in Matt 5:22 ^ad (see also Acts 4:1-22 ^ae).

• beaten in the synagogues: Paul’s beatings in 2 Cor 11:24-25 ^af were probably inflicted in the local synagogue.

• The followers of Jesus would also be susceptible to trial before governors and kings (see Acts 23:24 ^ag; 24:10-27 ^ah; 25:1–26:32 ^ai). Such trials were due to their being followers of Jesus (Mark 13:9 ^aj, 13 ^ak), not on account of real wrongdoing (see 1 Pet 4:14-16 ^al).
13:10 ^am Such trials (13:9 ^an, 11 ^ao) would be a means through which the Good News would be preached to all nations. This would all take place first—i.e., before the destruction of Jerusalem. For Paul’s understanding of how the Good News had already been preached to every nation in his day, see Rom 16:26 ^ap; Col 1:6 ^aq, 23 ^ar (see also Rom 1:5 ^as, 8 ^at; 10:18 ^au; 15:19 ^av, 23 ^aw).
13:11 ^ax A word of encouragement follows the warning of 13:9 ^ay. Jesus’ followers need not fear what they should say in these circumstances. The early followers of Jesus were generally uneducated and without political influence (see Acts 4:10-17 ^az; 1 Cor 1:26 ^ba), so this assurance would have comforted them. Believers are not prohibited from thinking about what they will say, but they need not worry about it.
Summary for Mark 13:12-13: 13:12-13 ^bb There would be no single group, not even their own families, to whom persecuted Christians could automatically flee or turn for help (see Matt 10:35-36 ^bc; Luke 12:53 ^bd). They would be universally hated because of their allegiance to Jesus (because you are my followers). Those who remain faithful to death (to the end) will be saved from eternal punishment (see also Mark 8:35 ^be; Rev 2:7 ^bf, 10 ^bg, 17 ^bh, 26-28 ^bi; 3:5 ^bj, 12 ^bk, 21 ^bl).
Summary for Mark 13:14-20: 13:14-20 ^bm Jesus now gave the sign requested in 13:4 ^bn and instructed his followers how to respond when they saw it. In 13:5-13 ^bo, they were told not to be alarmed. Here they are told that those in Judea must flee to the hills. 13:14 ^bp The day is coming when you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration: Mark did not explain what this object would be, but Jewish readers in the first century were familiar with the term. The prophet Daniel had foretold that such an object would stand in the Temple in Jerusalem (Dan 9:27 ^bq; 11:31 ^br), and many Jews understood the events in Jerusalem in 167–164 BC, during the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, to be a fulfillment of that prophecy. (The deuterocanonical book of 1 Maccabees, written about 100 BC, narrates Antiochus’s reign and describes how Antiochus and his followers erected a “sacrilegious object causing desecration on top of the altar for burnt offerings,” 1 Maccabees 1:54, 59).

• standing where he should not be: In light of the historical background and the reference to Jerusalem (Mark 13:2 ^bs, 4 ^bt) and Judea (13:14 ^bu), this clause clearly refers to something inappropriate happening in the Temple in Jerusalem.

• (Reader, pay attention!): Mark alerted his original readers to pay attention to his description of this sign, which indicates that the expression required careful thought and discernment. Mark’s readers were to look for a sign that was similar to what had happened in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes.

• Although the phrase sacrilegious object that causes desecration is grammatically neuter, the word standing is grammatically masculine, so it refers to a person and not a thing. Suggestions as to who it might have been include: (1) the emperor Caligula, who in AD 39–40 attempted to erect a statue of himself in the Temple (Josephus, Antiquities 12.8.2-3); (2) Pontius Pilate (AD 26–36), who attempted to have the Roman soldiers march into Judea displaying their standards, which were considered idolatrous by Jews (Josephus, War 2.9.2-3); (3) the Zealots in AD 69–70, when they committed atrocities in the Temple, appointed an unqualified person as the high priest of the nation, and “came into the sanctuary with polluted feet” (Josephus, War 4.3.4-8); (4) the Roman general Titus, who after conquering Jerusalem in AD 70 forced entry into the Temple as well (Josephus, War 6.4.7); (5) Titus’s soldiers, who set up their standards in the Temple, sacrificed to them, and proclaimed Titus as emperor (Josephus, War 6.6.1); (6) the destruction of the Temple itself in AD 70; or (7) a future event involving the coming of the antichrist (see 2 Thes 2:3-4 ^bv). The context and source of the expression eliminate several of these theories. In Daniel and 1 Maccabees, the expression involves the Temple, its altar, and its sacrificial rituals. In Mark 13:14-20 ^bw, it is a sign for people to flee Judea, and what it refers to must occur while there is still time to flee (i.e., before the Roman army had occupied Judea and besieged Jerusalem). Explanations 1 and 2 are too early to serve as a recognizable sign to flee Judea, they didn’t actually defile the Temple, and the Christians did not flee Jerusalem. Explanations 4–6 ^bx occurred too late, for there would have been no opportunity to flee after Titus entered Jerusalem. Explanation 7 does not refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, which is the subject of 13:14-20 ^by, and the coming of the antichrist would not be limited to Judea. Explanation 3, however, fits well: It occurred in AD 69–70, shortly before Titus besieged Jerusalem, which would have given Christians a brief opportunity to leave Jerusalem before it was besieged; and it involved actions that defiled the holy place in the Temple. This interpretation also helps to distinguish the sign of the coming disaster (the sacrilegious person) from the disaster itself (the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple).

• Then: At the appearance of the sacrilege, those in Judea were to flee to the hills. The early church historian Eusebius tells of a prophetic oracle given to the Jerusalem church that caused them to flee the city before its destruction (Eusebius, Church History 3.5.3).
Summary for Mark 13:15-16: 13:15-16 ^bz A person relaxing on the roof of their Judean home should not even pack after seeing this sign, but come down and flee. Likewise, a person out in the field should not return home to retrieve his coat. Believers were to flee from the approaching Roman army as soon as they saw the sign of 13:14 ^ca. The Roman army did not practice a swift “blitzkrieg” kind of warfare. Their movement tended to be cautious, methodical, and relentless. But Jesus warned against playing a waiting game to see how things would develop.
13:17 ^cb The intensity of the coming disaster is illustrated by the suffering of the most vulnerable. In that day, the joy of motherhood (see Luke 1:25 ^cc, 57-59 ^cd) would be accompanied by terrible trouble.
13:18 ^ce In winter, the wadis (canyon-like riverbeds) are flooded, travel is more difficult, and survival is harder.
13:19 ^cf greater anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world: Such hyperbole is common in Semitic expression; it heightens the terror of that horrible time and should not be taken as an exact statistical analysis of how this suffering ranks alongside other disasters.

• And it will never be so great again: The events of 13:14-23 ^cg would not bring history to an end; history would continue after the destruction of the Temple in AD 70.
13:20 ^ch God’s shortening of his timetable for the days of calamity is referred to frequently in intertestamental Jewish literature (e.g., 2 Esdras 2:13; 2 Baruch 20:1). This statement emphasizes the horrors of this tribulation experienced by God’s people, but also God’s mercy in shortening this time.

• not a single person will survive: The whole population of Judea might have been destroyed if the days of anguish had been longer.

• chosen ones (literally elect): Followers of Jesus.
Summary for Mark 13:21-23: 13:21-23 ^ci The larger section (13:5-23 ^cj) concludes with another warning about messianic pretenders. Here the pretenders are associated with the events of AD 70, whereas in 13:5-6 ^ck they were associated with the normal course of events. Along with false messiahs, prophets would appear and perform miraculous signs and wonders (13:22 ^cl), hoping to deceive not only the Jews of Judea and Jerusalem but even the Christians (God’s chosen ones). Jesus warned his followers not to believe such reports. When the Messiah comes from heaven (13:26 ^cm), everyone will see and know it (see Rev 1:7 ^cn).

• Watch out! This warning unifies the section (Mark 13:5-23 ^co) and brings it to a close. Jesus’ teaching in this section was to warn his followers in Judea and Jerusalem not to be misled by false messianic hopes and claims. Many Jews succumbed to such claims in the late AD 60s, and Josephus (Antiquities 17.10.8) describes the great harm done by these pretenders, who encouraged the Jewish people to resist the Romans. Nothing should distract Christians from fleeing Judea and Jerusalem when they see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration taking place.

• For Mark’s readers in Rome, Jesus’ message had a different application. Mark wanted his readers to watch out for those who promised timetables for prophecy to be fulfilled. They could not know the time (13:32 ^cp), and a frenzy about the second coming of Christ was forbidden, but they were to be alert (13:33-37 ^cq) and prepare themselves for persecution (13:9-13 ^cr; see 8:34-38 ^cs) according to Jesus’ words of encouragement (13:11 ^ct, 13 ^cu).