Introductory remarks:
Mark presents an abridged account of the Olivet Discourse. For a more complete and involved account see my exposition on Matthew. This chapter will deal with eschatological doctrine, that is, things yet in the future. This chapter may be outlined as follows: the destruction of the temple foretold vv. 1-2; the beginning of woes vv. 3-13; the Great Tribulation vv. 14-23; the coming of the Son of Man vv. 24-27; the lesson of the fig tree vv. 28-31; the unknown day and hour vv. 32-37.
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold
(Matt. 24:1-2; Luke 21:5,6)
Verse 1, "And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"
LGT "And He was going forth out of the temple, one of His disciples says to Him, Teacher, behold what manner of stones and what manner of buildings!"
In the days of Jesus the temple was called "Herod's Temple' because Herod took up the work of attempting to finish the rebuilding of the Temple. Peter calls Jesus' attention to the magnificence of this great structure. The Jewish Historian, Josephus, in Antiquities 15:11,3 describes Herod's Temple:
"So Herod took away the old foundations, and laid others, and erected the temple upon them, being in length a hundred cubits [a cubit being sixteen inches], and in height twenty additional cubits, which [twenty], upon the sinking of their foundations, fell down: and this was that we resolved to raise again in the days of Nero. Now the temple was built of stones that were white and strong, and each of their length was twenty-five cubits, their height was eight, and their breadth about twelve; and the whole structure of the royal cloister, was on each side much lower, but the middle was much higher, till they were visible to those that dwelt in the country for a great many furlongs, but chiefly to such as lived over against them and those that approached to them. The temple had doors also at the entrance, and lintels over them, of the same height with the temple itself. They were adorned with embroidered veils, with their flowers of purple, and pillars interwoven: and over these, but under the crown-work, was spread out a golden vine, with its branches hanging down from a great height, the largeness and fine workmanship of which was a surprising sight to the spectators, to see what vast materials were there, and with what great skill the workmanship was done. He also encompassed the entire temple with very large cloisters, contriving them to be in a due proportion thereto; and he laid out larger sums of money upon them than had been done before him, till it seemed that no one else had so greatly adorned the temple as he had done. There was a large wall to both the cloisters; which wall was itself the most prodigious work that was ever heard of by man. The hill was a rocky ascent, that declined by degrees toward the east parts of the city, till it came to an elevated level. This hill it was which Solomon, who was the first of our kings, by divine revelation, encompassed with a wall; it was of excellent workmanship upwards, and round the top of it. He also built a wall below, beginning at the bottom, which was encompassed by a deep valley; and at the south side he laid rocks together and bound them one to another with lead, and included some of the inner parts, till it proceeded to a great height, and till both the largeness of the square edifice and its altitude were immense, and till the vastness of the stones in the front were plainly visible on the outside, yet so that the inward parts were fastened together with iron, and preserved the joints immovable for all future times. When this work [for the foundation] was done in this manner, and joined together as part of the hill itself to the very top of it, he wrought it all into one outward surface, and filled up the hollow places which were about the wall, and made it a level on the external upper surface, and a smooth level also. This hill was walled all around, and in compass four furlongs, [the distance of] each angle containing in length a furlong: but within this wall, and on the very top of all, there ran another wall of stone also, having, on the east quarter, a double cloister, of the same length with the wall; in the midst of which was the temple itself. The cloister looked to the gates of the temple: and it had been adorned by many kings in former times; and round about the entire temple were fixed the spoils taken from barbarous nations; all these had been dedicated to the temple by Herod, with the addition of these he had taken from the Arabians."
Verse 2, "And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down."
LGT "And Jesus said to him, You see these great buildings? Not at all will one stone be left upon stone, which will not be thrown down."
The temple had been started by Herod fifty years previously, and would not be completed for another generation. Jesus recognized the beauty of the temple, and then He pronounced its destruction, that not one stone would be left upon another, but that all would be thrown down.
The Beginning of Woes
(Matt. 24:3-14; Luke 21:7-19)
Verse 3, "And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,"
LGT "And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew, asked Him privately,"
Mark is the only evangelist that mentions these four by name; they are bewildered at Jesus' comments, and they ask Him aside to explain; as He begins this great Discourse, the others draw near to Him.
Verse 4, "Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?"
LGT "Tell us when these things shall be? And what [will be] the sign when these should be about to be accomplished?"
I believe the disciples are concerned about what is about to happen in Jerusalem, that is, the destruction of the temple, and the fall of Jerusalem; the disciples want to be "forewarned and forearmed" (Bruce).
Verse 5, "And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:"
LGT "And Jesus began to say to them, Take heed lest anyone mislead you."
Jesus encourages the disciples to remain cool and collected depending on His Word alone through the perilous times about to come upon them.
Verse 6, "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many."
LGT "For many will come in My name, saying, I am [He, the Christ], and they will mislead many."
"The Messianic hope misconceived was the ruin of the Jewish people" (EGNT). Throughout this Great Discourse Christ will continually warn His people about false Christ's.
Verse 7, "And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet."
LGT "But when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be disturbed: it is necessary to come to pass, but not yet [is] the end."
The Lord has taken them beyond the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple to the end times, when He will return, and reestablish them as a nation. We must keep in mind throughout this discourse, that Christ is dealing with the nation Israel and not the church; this is the eschatological program for Israel not the church.
Verse 8, "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginning of sorrows."
LGT "For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in different places; there will be famines; these are the beginning of troubles [as a women with birth-pangs]".
It looks as though Israel is passing through some of their distresses even now. This period will culminate during the seven years of Tribulation for Israel, during the Time of Jacob's trouble.
Verse 9, "But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them."
LGT "But take heed to yourselves: they will deliver you up to [the] Sanhedrim, and to [the] synagogues; ye will be beaten, and brought before governors and kings, for My sake, a testimony to them."
Christ was predicting an immediate prophecy that would be fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem, and a final prophecy at the end of the Tribulation.
Verse 10, "And the gospel must first be published among all nations."
LGT "And unto all nations it is necessary that the Gospel be proclaimed."
This Gospel of course is the Gospel of the Kingdom. The difference between the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Gospel of Grace is expressed in the future, that is, in the Gospel of the Kingdom, Christ's Millennial reign is in view, and in the Gospel of Grace, our Redemption Draweth nigh. In the Gospel of the Kingdom and the Gospel of Grace there is a fact common to both, Ye must be born again.
Verse 11, "But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost."
LGT "And whenever they may lead you away delivering you up, do not be careful beforehand what you should say, but whatever may be given you in that hour, that speak: for you are not the ones speaking, but the Holy Spirit."
Christ is not referring here to the preaching but to the defense they might give; this is peculiar to the time before and after the destruction of Jerusalem and the time of the Great Tribulation. During this age of Grace we have the Word of God coupled with the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit making our defense. Sometimes we wonder how the martyrs had the courage to allow themselves to be tortured, and then sing as they were dying; it could never be strength in the flesh, for in our flesh dwelleth no good thing; courage comes from heaven, and we should never become anxious as to whether or not we would be able to stand; we definitely would.
Robertson wrote:
"Jesus is not here referring to preaching, but to defenses made before these councils and governors. A typical example is seen in the courage and skill of Peter and John before the Sanhedrin in Acts 4. The verb merimnao is from merizo (meris), to be drawn in opposite directions, to be distracted (See on Matt. 6:25). They are to be stricken with fright beforehand, but to face fearlessly those in high places who are seeking to overthrow the preaching of the gospel. There is no excuse here for the lazy preacher who fails to prepare his sermon out of the reliance upon the Holy Spirit. They will need and will receive the special help of the Holy Spirit (cf. John 14-16)."
Verse 12, "Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death."
LGT "And brother will deliver up brother to death, and father child, and children will rise up against parents, and will put them to death."
"The brother shall give up in a treacherous manner his brother to be put to death, on account of his attachment to Jesus. Through fear, or from the hope of reward and from the hatred of the gospel, he will overcome all the natural ties of brotherhood, and give up his own kindred to be burnt or crucified" (Barnes). How much this resembles communism in the third world countries.
Verse 13, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
LGT "And you will be hated by all because of My name. But the one who endures to [the] end. He shall be saved."
As I mentioned in my exposition on Matthew chapter twenty four that this does not mean that the one who holds out to the end is the one who endures; all believers will prevail for Christ has never lost a soul. All believers are over comers. Christ is not telling the disciples that only the ones who hold out will be saved, for this is not dealing with immediate salvation, but final salvation. What Christ is teaching is that even though they may be killed, they will be saved; that eternal life is far greater than this temporal life.
The Great Tribulation
(Matt. 24:15-28; Luke 21:20-24)
Verse 14, "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand), then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains."
LGT "But when you see the abomination of the desolation standing where it should not, the one who reads let him understand; then the ones in Judea, let them flee into the mountains."
"Standing where it ought not,"
This will be a sign for the believing Jews to flee to the mountains. (For an extending commentary on this verse see my exposition on Matthew 24:15). The antichrist will go into the Holy Place and erect an altar of himself and demand worship as God. This all will take place in the midst of the seven years Tribulation Period.
Verse 15, "And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:"
LGT "[And] the one upon the housetop, let him not come down nor go in, to take anything out of his house."
"The roofs of the houses in Eastern countries were made flat, so that they were favorable places for walking and retirement. The meaning here is, that he who should be on the house-top when calamity came upon the city should be without delay; he should not even take time to secure any article of apparel from his house. So sudden would be the calamity, that attempting to do this he would endanger his life" (Barnes).
Verse 16, "And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment."
LGT "And the one in the field, let him not return to the things behind, to take his garment."
Again the urgency of the time is stressed; the farmer in the field would leave his coat that he wore in the early morning, and then as the sun rose he would shed the coat; he was to leave it behind and flee.
Verse 17, "But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!"
LGT "But oooiee to the ones that are with child, and to those who give suck in those days!"
Christ shows his concern for the little babies; this will not be a time for childbearing.
Verse 18, "And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter."
LGT "And pray that your flight may be not in winter."
The going will be difficult enough without it being in wintertime.
Verse 19, "For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be."
LGT "For there shall be in those days tribulation such as has not been the like from the beginning of creation, which God created, until now, and not at all shall be."
If this verse doesn't convince a person that the Jews have not yet faced this kind of tribulation, I have no idea what could. What Titus did when he sacked Jerusalem in 70 AD is but a foreshadowing of what will take place in The Great Tribulation.
Verse 20, "And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days."
LGT "And unless [the] Lord had shortened the days, there would not have been saved any flesh: but on account of the elect whom He chose, He has shortened the days."
The physical life of the Jew is being here considered; the term 'saved' is the same Greek word used for 'deliverance', and it is in this context that word is used here. Unless the days were shortened, no remnant of the Jews would survive.
Verses 21-23 "And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, Lo, he is there; believe them not. For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible the elect. But take heed: behold, I have foretold you all things."
LGT "And then if anyone say to you, Behold, here [is] the Christ, [or] behold there, you shall not believe [it]. For there will arise false Christs and false prophets, and will give signs and wonders, to deceive if possible, the elect ones. But ye take heed: I have foretold to you all things."
False Christs and false prophets will perform many strange things, using strange devices, empowered by Satan himself, and Christ tells them not to believe their cunning, because He has told them ahead of time; to be forewarned is to be forearmed. (See notes on Matt. 24:23, 24)
The Coming of the Son of Man
(Matt. 24:29-31; Luke 21:25-28)
Verse 24, "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,"
LGT "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light."
Just the opposite of the Coming of the false Christ's and prophets, with their wizardry; at the coming of the true Christ, there will be true miracles performed by God, to introduce His Son the second time, at the end of the Tribulation to this earth.
Verse 25, "And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken."
LGT "And the stars shall be falling from the heaven, and the powers, which [are] in the heavens shall be shaken."
There will be a continuous falling of the stars; the "powers in the heavens" also refer to the stars.
Verse 26, "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory."
LGT "And then they shall see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory."
Christ will be His own sign by coming with Great power and glory. (See also Matt. 24:30) He will descend just as He ascended after His first advent, and after He finished His work of Redemption of mankind.
Verse 27, "And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather the elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven."
LGT "And then He will send the angels and He will gather [His] elect from the four winds, from [the] extremity of the earth, to [the] extremity of heaven."
This will complete His eternal process before He sets up His earthly Kingdom. The Lord does not have His angels with Him when He raptures the church; this gathering happens at the end of the Tribulation, and the rapture of the Church, I believe, happens at the beginning of the Tribulation.
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
(Matt. 24:32-35; Luke 21:29-33)
Verses 28, 29,"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors."
LGT "But learn from a parable of the fig tree: when already the branch of it is become tender, and puts forth leaves, you will know that the summer is near. So also ye in like manner, when ye see these things coming to pass, know that it is near, at [the] doors."
The fig tree represents Israel, and Christ is teaching that these things are about to come to pass, and when they do, their redemption draweth nigh; Christ will then be ready to set up His kingdom.
Verse 30, "Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done."
LGT "Verily I say to you, that in no way will this generation have passed away, until all these things come to be."
The term "this generation" refers to a total lifespan; so it seems to be referring to the generation of Israelites that will witness the things described previously by Christ; these things will happen during the Tribulation, and that generation will not pass, until His Word is completed.
Verse 31, "Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away."
LGT "The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My words, in no way, will pass away."
Christ is referring to this present world and the firmament; Christ tells His disciples that nothing but His Word can be depended on.
The Unknown Day and Hour
(Matt. 24:36-44)
Verse 32, "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."
LGT "But concerning that day or the hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father."
"There is no doubt as to the genuineness of these words here such as exist in Matthew 24:36. This disclaimer of knowledge naturally interpreted applies to the second coming, not to the destruction of Jerusalem which had been definitely limited to that generation as it happened in A.D. 70" (Robertson). The fact of Christ not knowing the time, being God Himself, is due to the self-limitation He imposed upon Himself at His incarnation, being human, He was finite.
Verse 33, "Take heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is."
LGT "Take heed, watch: for ye know not when the time is."
The word "watch' is in the Greek NT agreupeneite and means to be sleepless; if even Christ did not know the time, even more must His disciples watch. The phrase and pray is not in the better manuscripts.
Verse 34, "For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch."
LGT "As a man going out of the country, leaving his house, and giving to his servants the authority, and to each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper that he should watch."
The order to keep a watch for His coming was not just given to the doorkeeper, but to them all; ignorance of the time of his coming did not suggest sluggishness, but that they should be alert, and eagerly waiting his coming. Christ is about to leave, but He gave them plenty to watch for at His second advent; remember, the rapture of the Church is not the Second Advent; when Christ returns to earth and sets up His kingdom this is the Second Advent.
Verse 35, "Watch therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning."
LGT "Watch therefore: for you do not know when the master of the house comes, at evening, or at midnight, or at cock-crowing, or morning."
Jesus covers the entire evening watch.
Vincent adds:
"The apostles are thus compared with the doorkeepers, vs. 34; and the night season is in keeping with the figure. In the temple, during the nigh, the captain of the temple made his rounds, and the guards had to rise at his approach and salute him in a particular manner. Any guard found asleep on duty was beaten, or his garments were set on fire. Compare Rev. 16:15: Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments. The preparations for the morning service required all to be early astir. The superintending priest might knock at the door at any moment. The Rabbis use almost the very words in which scripture describes the unexpected coming of the Master. Sometimes he came at the cockcrowing, sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later. He came and knocked and they opened to him (Edersheim), The Temple)."
Verse 36, "Lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping."
LGT "Lest suddenly coming, he should find you sleeping."
This was partially covered in the last verse; He should find you inattentive, and not expecting His coming, He should find you sleeping.
Verse 37, "And what I say unto you I say unto all, watch."
LGT "And what I say to you I say to all, watch."
Stay awake until the Lord comes, be awake and on guard. "This instruction is for you and me today also, although watching is different. One can watch in anxiety and one can watch in fear. But the child of God is to be watching, looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing. That is joyful anticipation" (McGee).
Jesus ends this chapter with a very strong word watch! Those who watch with fear have no hope; those who watch expectantly are ready for their hope.
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