Mark 13

Mark 13:1-99

Chap. 13. Jesus prophesies of His coming, and of the times of the end. Mat_24.Luke 21:5-36 Luke 21:5-36. The accounts are apparently distinct, and each contains some fragments which have escaped the others. On the matter of the prophecy, I have fully commented in Matt., where see notes: also those on Luke.

1. ποταποὶλίθοι ] Josephus, B. J. v. 5. 2, 3, says, πέτραιδὲτεσσαράκονταπήχειςτὸμέγεθοςἧσαντοῦδομήματος . And again, vi. 4. 1, ἓξἡμέραιςἀδιαλείπτωςἡστεῤῥοτάτηπασῶνἑλέπολιςτύπτουσατὸντοῖχονοὐδὲνἤνυσεν · ἀλλὰκαὶταύτηςκαὶτῶνἄλλωντὸμέγεθοςκαὶἡἁρμονίατῶνλίθωνἦνἀμείνων . See also Antt. xv. 11. 3.

2. Πέτ . κ . Ἰάκ .… = οἱμαθηταἰ Matt., = τινές Luke.

3. ταῦταπ . implies that they viewed the destruction of the temple as part of a great series of events, which had now by frequent prophecy become familiar to them. ‘ All these things about which thou so often speakest.’

4. ἤρξατολέγειν — with this begins our Lord’ s full explanation on the matter. See reff.

5. ἔσονται … ἔσονται ] By these repetitions majesty is given to the discourse.

6. ἀρχαί is put forward for emphasis— the mere beginnings.

ὑμεῖς likewise has the emphasis— let your care be …

εἰςσυναγ ., a pregnant construction— ‘ ye shall be taken into the synagogues and beaten there.’ So also in ver. 16. Bp. Wordsw. explains the εἰς , “ Ye will be exposed before the eyes of congregations in synagogues, for their pleasure:” and ἐνσυν . would mean, “ in the buildings, without any reference to the people in them.” But how will this apply to ὁεἰςτὸνἀγρὸνὤν ver. 16? Meyer, with Lachmann ., would punctuate after συναγωγάς , and take δαρήσεσθε by itself. This is most improbable, especially when we remember that the synagogues were the places where the scourging was inflicted (see Acts 22:19), not to mention the objection to taking the verb thus by itself, which seems to me (against Meyer) alien from the character of the discourse.

11. Mark has vv. 10, 11 peculiar to himself. Luke (vv. 14, 15) has something very like them— Matt. nothing: but they occur Matthew 10:19, where see note.

Meyer remarks that μελετᾶτε is the regular technical word for premeditating a discourse— in contrast to extempore speaking.

Observe the emphasis on ἐστε — it is not you at all, but another.

12. = καὶἀλλήλουςπαραδώσουσινκαὶμισήσουσινἀλλήλους Matt.

13. ὑπομείνας ] Scil. in the confession implied by διὰτὸὄνομάμου preceding.

14. ὅπουοὐδεῖ ] See note on Matt. ver. 15. This is a less definite description of the place than we find there. In connexion with the reading ἑστηκότα in the text, the Oxf. Catena explains τὸβδέλ . τῆςἐρημ . by τὸνἀνδριάντατοῦτότετὴνπόλινἑλόντος .

15. Matt. adds μηδὲἐνσαββάτῳ . Mark wrote mostly for Gentile readers, and thus perhaps was not likely to report this.

19, 20. κτίσεωςἧςἔκτισεν … and ἐκλεκτοὺςοὓςἐξελέξατο , peculiarities of Mark’ s style— for greater solemnity. [John 17:26: 5:16, cited strangely by Mr. Elliott to disprove this, are no cases in point. In both those, the expression is necessary to the sense: here, and usually in St. Mark, it is merely idiomatic.]

Meyer remarks that the first ι in θλιψις , being long by nature, and not by position only, ought to be circumflexed.

24. ἀλλά is to be noticed. It is more than the simple ‘ but:’ and is best rendered by nevertheless: qu. d., though I have forewarned you of all things, yet some of those shall be so terrible as to astound even the best prepared among you.

ἐνἐκ . τ . ἡμ . μετὰτ . θλ . ἐκ .— then those days come after that tribulation: see note on Matt. ver. 29.

25. ἔσονταιπ . (= πεσοῦνται Matt.), Mark’ s usage. Our Evangelist omits the mourning of the tribes of the earth, and the seeing the sign of the Son of Man.

26. ἀπ ʼ ἀκροῦγῆς , from the extremity of the visible plane of the earth, shall the collecting begin: and shall proceed ἕωςἀκροῦοὐρανοῦ , to the point where the sky touches that plane on the other side.

27. αὐτῆς , emphatic, when her branch … conveying an a fortiori in the application. If in so humble an example as the fig-tree you discern the nearness of a season, much rather should you in these sure and awful signs discern the approach of the end.

28. ἡγενεὰαὕτη ] See on Matt. ver. 34. Meyer, who is strongly for the literal and exact γενεά , states in a note that γενεά never absolutely means ‘ nation,’ but that it may by the context acquire this sense accidentally from its meaning as race, ‘ progenies.’ This is exactly what is here wanted. Never were a nation so completely one γενεά , in all accuracy of meaning, as the Jewish people.

29. This is one of those things which the Father hath put in his own power, Acts 1:7, and with which the Son, in his mediatorial office, is not acquainted: see on Matt. We must not deal unfaithfully with a plain and solemn assertion of our Lord (and what can be more so than οὐδὲὁυἱός , in which by the οὐδέ He is not below but above the angels?) by such evasions as “ He does not know it so as to reveal it to us,” Wordsw. (“ non ita sciebat ut tunc discipulis indicaret.” de Trin. xii. 3 (it should be i. 12 (23), vol. viii.)). Of such a sense there is not a hint in the context: nay, it is altogether alien from it. The account given by the orthodox Lutherans, as represented by Meyer, that our Lord knew this κατὰκτῆσιν , but not κατὰχρῆσιν , is right enough if at the same time it is carefully remembered, that it was this κτῆσις of which He emptied Himself when He became man for us, and which it belongs to the very essence of His mediatorial kingdom to hold in subjection to the Father.

33-37. Peculiar to Mark, and containing the condensed matter of Matt. vv. 43-47, and perhaps an allusion to the parable of the talents in Mat_25.

The θυρωρ . is the door-porter, whose office it would be to look out for approaching travellers,— answering especially to the ministers of the word, who are (Eze_33) watchmen to God’ s church.

The construction of ver. 34 is remarkable; the participial clauses being in subordination to ἀφείς , and constituting part of the householder’ s arrangements of departure, and the direct tense being assumed at ἐνετείλατο , as signifying what took place at his very going out of the door, where the porter would be stationed: as if it had been ἀφεὶςτ . οἰκ . αὐτοῦ (καί , &c.) ἐνετείλατοκ .τ .λ .