Mark

13:24-27

Entering the promised land, 11:1-16:20

3. Prophecies concerning the kingdom of Israel, 13:1-37

iii] The coming of the Son of Man

In this third section of Mark's "little apocalypse", Jesus prophesies the destruction of the temple and the enthronement of the Son of Man.

This unit consists of a series of allusions to prophetic texts which Jesus stitches together into a apocalyptic revelation depicting the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, v24-24, his own enthronement at the right hand of the Ancient of Days to receive glory, honor and power, v25-26, and the calling of the lost into God's new and eternal kingdom, v27.

Mark's "little apocalypse" contains a prophetic word from Jesus which answers a question from his disciples. Jesus had commented that the temple would one day be destroyed, v1-2. The disciples naturally want to know i] when this will happen (Jesus will later explain that it is within his own generation) and ii] how / the sign of "these things" (ie. the events leading up to and surrounding the destruction of the temple/Jerusalem) will be accomplished, v3-4. So, Jesus goes on to detail the preliminary events, "the birthpangs" (events which are not signs of the end), v5-13, he then explains "these things" (the most notable event and thus sign of the end, being "the desolating sacrilege", v14 - the Roman military action against the Jewish rebellion which led up to the destruction of the temple/Jerusalem in 70AD), v14-23, and then, using apocalyptic language, he speaks of the destruction of the temple, his enthronement, and the gathering of the lost, v24-27.

Jesus' depiction of the destruction of the temple is presented using Old Testament prophetic imagery, first of cosmic upheaval shattering the wold of human affairs, and then of Daniel's coming Son of Man who, on coming to the Ancient of Days, inaugurates his cosmic reign. Only a few commentators read this passage as depicting the destruction of the temple, eg. N.T. Wright, Dodd, France, also Hatina The Parousia or the Destruction of the Temple?. Most view the passage as depicting the parousia, of Christ's return to earth in the last day, so Cranfield ("cosmic signs immediately heralding the Parousia"), Gundry, Evans, Boring, Marcus ("the disintegration of the universe and the return of the Son of Man"), Taylor, Swete, Lane, Hurtado, Anderson. Given that prophecy is layered, it is more than likely that the passage primarily addresses the destruction of the temple, but at the same time serves as a paradigm for the end of the age, so Edwards. See the introductory notes in Mark 13:28-31 for a discussion on the multi-layered nature of prophecy.

Jesus now uses apocalyptic language to describe an earth-shattering event, v24-25. As noted above, the actual event is in dispute, but given the disciples' question and the logical sequence of the events described, with the conclusion "this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened", v30, then obviously the destruction of the temple/Jerusalem is the subject. The verses are not exact quotations from the prophets, but certainly pick up on their language. Verse 24b is usually identified with Isaiah 13:10, a word against Babylon. Wright argues that verse 25 alludes to Isaiah 14:13f, a word against the king of Babylon, although the text is usually identified with Isaiah 34:4, a word against Edom. Either way, both texts allude to a cataclysmic intervention of divine judgment against the unrighteous. The prophets commonly used this type of cosmic language when depicting judgement against the enemies of Israel, but now Jesus turns this very language onto Israel itself, or more specifically onto "God's house in Jerusalem", France.

alla "but" - Usually read as adversative, but here mildly contrastive, best left untranslated.

en ekeinaiV taiV hJmeraiV "in those days" - A typical apocalyptic term, eg. Zech.8:23. "At that time", Barclay.

meta + acc. "after [that distress]" - after [that distress, tribulation]. Referring to what immediately follows the events associated with the "desolating sacrilege", ie. the lead up to the destruction of the temple/Jerusalem. It could be argued that it "simply denotes temporal succession", TH, but more likely an "immediate sequel", France. "After the period of suffering", Barclay.

esontai ... piptonteV (piptw) pres. part. "will fall" - will be falling. The future of the verb to-be with the present participle forms a periphrastic future, probably emphasizing aspect.

aiJ dunameiV "the [heavenly] bodies" - the powers. Obviously in parallel with the first clause, such that "stars" and "powers" are both heavenly bodies. So, "the orbs of the heavens will be shaken", Moffatt, rather than "and the hosts which have their dwelling in the heavens will be made to totter", Cassirer.

aiJ en toiV ouranoiV "heavenly [bodies]" - which [are] in heaven.

saleuqhsontai (saleuw) fut. pas. "will be shaken" - "The picture is of heaven and earth shaken by God's appearance", Evans, or more particularly his "coming" in judgment. "And the heavenly bodies will be driven out of their normal course", TH.

Jesus continues in apocalyptic mode, alluding to Daniel 7:13-14. The destruction of the national life of Israel, just described in the terms of a cosmic shaking, is consequent on the coming of the Son of Man. Jesus, as the mysterious Son of Man, comes to the Ancient of Days to receive authority and power such that all knees bow before him. The righteous reign of God, once evident in the national life of Israel, is now exercised in the corporate Son of Man. The kingdom has come.

oyontai (oJraw) fut. "men will see" - they will see. Who are the "they"? Probably only those with eyes to see.

ercomenon (ercomai) pres. part. "coming" - The participle is adjectival, limiting "Son of Man", "the Son of Man who comes ...." It is important to note that the "coming" is to the Ancient of Days, not to the earth, ie. it is a coming to heaven. The coming is witnessed, as Stephen witnessed it, Act.7:55-56, in the exercise of power, particularly in judgment, and in this case, judgment upon Israel evidenced in the destruction of the temple. Divine comings are not good news!

en "in [clouds]" - in, on. A Daniel allusion. Possibly a symbol of divine glory. Jesus leaves the earth in a cloud and comes to heaven in a cloud.

meta + gen. "with [great power and glory]" - As a king would come.

Concluding his apocalyptic prophecy, Jesus draws on the exodus imagery of the gathering in the lost remnant to the kingdom cf. Isaiah 11:11, 27:12, Zech.2:6-11, 10:6-11. Jerusalem is destroyed, the Son of Man is on his throne, and so the call goes out to join with him in his eternal reign. The immediate fulfilment of this prophecy is the world-wide Christian mission which began at Pentecost, but on another level it is Gabriel's horn.

apostelei (apostellw) "he will send" - Send as authoritative representatives. The subject is obviously "the Son of Man."

touV aggelouV (oV) "his angels" - the messengers. The "angels/messengers" are usually identified with the heavenly host who gather believers into heaven before the end (the rapture). In the fulfilment of the not yet of Jesus' prophecy this is most likely the case, but in the now it is fulfilled in the apostolic gospel mission to the ends of the earth. This view was forcefully put by D.B. Knox some years ago and has been adopted, with qualifications, by some commentators, cf. France.

episunaxei (episunagw) fut. "gather" - he will gather together, assemble. Zech.2:6, "the gathering of Israel's exiles", Evans, the exiles scattered and lost, bound in captivity. The calling of lost Israel is well illustrated in Paul's missionary strategy - to the Jews first and then the Gentiles. Zechariah paints a beautiful picture of the lost of Israel streaming in to the new kingdom with ten Gentiles holding on to the tassels of each Jew.

touV eklektouV adj. "[his] elect" - of the elect. The adjective functions as a noun. Variant "his [elect]" is not well supported and usually either omitted, or bracketed in Gk. texts. "The elect", a term only used here in Mark, "are those who belong to the Son of Man", Boring. How the elect "belong" is not by birth, race, religious association, obedience, ..... but by grace through faith.

ek + gen. "from [the ends of the earth]" - out of, from [from the four winds]. "A common expression for the four corners of the earth", Zerwick.

apo ...... e{wV "from [the ends of heaven] to [the ends of heaven]" - This construction gives the sense "from one end to the other", Zerwick. Jesus has again drawn on Biblical language for this expression, eg. Deut 4:32, 13:8, although the wording is usually "from one end of earth to the other", or "from one end of heaven to the other" (heaven being the canopy around the earth rather than the dwelling of God). Manson is probably right when he argues that Jesus is simply paralleling the previous statement, "from one end of earth to the other." "From the limits of the earth to the limits of the sky", Barclay.

Mark Introduction

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