A 5-day per week study.
February 20– Reading Mark 13:1-36.
Read and believe in Jesus.
“Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.” Mark 13:33
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The Gospel according to Mark 13:1-36
Jesus (and His disciples) have been at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem all day. He has been teaching the crowds and confronting the religious leaders. He ends the time with praise for an extremely poor, but generous, widow and her meager offering.
Now, as they leave for the day, one of His disciples exclaims at the grandeur of the Temple buildings, specifically the great huge gleaming white marble stones.
(Some of the foundation stones were 40’x12’x12′. The ones on the east-facing wall were covered with gold plates that gleamed in the morning sun. This was the Temple that Herod was rebuilding.)
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Vss. 1-2.
“Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” said one of the twelve.
“Do you see these great buildings?” Jesus asked. “There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
That silenced them. How did that relate to Jesus coming into His Kingdom, since they believed it was about to happen? (Remember His triumphant ride into Jerusalem?)
(What Jesus was talking about was the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D., when the Roman general, Titus, invaded. He built large wooden scaffolds around the temple buildings, piled them high with flammable materials, and set them on fire. The heat was so intense that the great stones crumbled. Later, the rubble was sifted to retrieve the melted gold. The remaining ruins were “thrown down” into the Kidron Valley.)
(Most of the disciples will be martyred before this happens. We only know for sure that John lived to hear of Jerusalem’s destruction. (It’s believed John died in 100 A.D.) It’s also possible that Simon the Zealot lived a couple of years after (74 A.D.). But before General Titus came, all the disciples would have left the city to carry the Gospel “to the uttermost parts of the world.”)
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Vss. 3-8.
Once outside the city, Jesus and the men rested on the Mount of Olives before continuing over and down to Bethany to His friends’ home, where they would stay the night. From where they sat, the Temple Mount was in clear view. (Today, the Muslim Dome of the Rock stands in that place.)
Jesus’ four closest disciples came near, and one asked Him, “Tell us when these things will be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to happen.”
Of course, the disciples “thought” that Jesus was about to usher in His Kingdom. They probably thought some huge miracle would happen – like the Temple being gone – to announce the coming Millennial Kingdom of Jesus.
They had a rude awakening.
“See that you are not led astray,” Jesus warned. “Many will come in my name. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Do not be alarmed. This MUST take place, but the end … is not yet.”
Jesus went on to tell of continuous wars, earthquakes, and famines that would happen. But THAT was only the beginning (the birth pangs) of the End.
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Vss. 9-13.
Jesus speaks of persecution and martyrdom, of their witness before kings, and of the gospel first spreading to all nations, and warns, “Be on your guard.”
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Vss. 14-23.
Then Jesus warns them about “the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be.” (This first happened during the time of the Maccabees when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a pig on the altar. But it would be duplicated in the end times by the Antichrist, who would also set up an image of himself in the Holy place.)
Jesus tells them that those living in Judea at that time should immediately flee to the mountains. (He says, “Let the reader beware,“ speaking to those who live in the end times, and not to His disciples.) The tribulation in THOSE days will be worse than ever before, since Creation. Many will try to duplicate Jesus and deceive people. But the Lord says again, “Be on guard!”
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Vss. 24-27.
Jesus tells them that after “that” tribulation (the Great Tribulation in the end times), horrific signs will occur in the literal heavens (sun, moon, and stars) and in the spiritual heavens (the “powers” will be shaken).
And THEN, they will see “the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” And He will send out His angels to gather His elect from the ends of the earth.
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Vss. 28-31.
Jesus seems to return to the disciples’ initial question, “When will this happen, and what is the sign of your coming?” Perhaps His gaze took in that withered fig tree from a day ago, and He said, “From the fig tree (a healthy one), learn its lesson. When its branch puts out leaves, you know summer is near. So also when you see these things taking place, you know that He is near, at the very gates.”
Jesus then says that “THIS generation,” meaning the one who lives in the end times, “will not pass away until all these things take place.”
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Vss. 32-37.
Then to keep the disciples, and indeed US READERS. from predicting exactly when Jesus will return, He says, “Concerning that day or that hour, NO ONE KNOWS, not even the angels in heaven, NOR THE SON, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For YOU do not know when the time will come.”
It’s like a master going away (Jesus says) and leaving his servants to stay awake and watch for his return. The servants won’t know if he is to return in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning. They are just to stay awake and be ready to open the door and welcome him in.
Jesus concludes with, “What I say to you, I say to all: STAY AWAKE.”
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(NOTE: Take some time with your Bible and a Bible commentary, and read this again. See where Jesus is talking about the disciples, and when He tells about the times still future to us, when the Antichrist will appear, the Great Tribulation will happen, and Jesus’ glorious second coming in the clouds.
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Also, realize that these disciples do not know that their world is about to be turned upside down. Jesus is about to be arrested, tried, and crucified in just a matter of days. All their beliefs of becoming partners in His earthly reign NOW, will be replaced by fear and confusion. Then, the resurrection, the ascension, and the Holy Spirit’s power on them. They won’t be thinking of beautiful walls falling, or crowns on their heads. They will begin fulfilling the Great Commission to take the Good News throughout the world.
Morning Meditations 