Chapter Thirteen

1–4. Discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem, the second coming of Christ, and the end of the world. — 5–13. The occasion for the discourse. — 14–27. The time preceding the end. — 28–32. The last times and the approach of the end. — 33–37. Exhortations to watchfulness.

Mark 13:1. And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him: Master! Look, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings! Mark 13:2. And Jesus said to him in answer: Do you see these great buildings? All this will be destroyed, so that not one stone will be left on another. Mark 13:3. And when he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately: Mark 13:4. Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be fulfilled? (See Matt 24:1-3). The evangelist Mark is more precise than Matthew in depicting events. “One” (and not all) disciple pointed out to Christ the stones and buildings of the temple. Four disciples, closest to Christ (and not all), turned with a question to Christ on the Mount of Olives. The stones of which the second temple was built were exceedingly large: about 25 cubits in length, 12 in width, and 8 in thickness. “Opposite the temple”. From the Mount of Olives the whole temple was clearly visible. “Peter and James and John and Andrew”. As at the beginning of the open activity of Christ (Mark 1:16-20), so also at the end of it does the evangelist Mark bring forward these two pairs of brothers. Then they heard the message that the time was fulfilled and that the kingdom of God was at hand, now Christ proclaims to them about the future fate of this kingdom. “When will this be”, i.e., when will the temple be destroyed. “What will be the sign when all these things are about to be fulfilled?” The apostles, doubtless, merged in their understanding the destruction of the temple with the end of the world and the revelation of the glorious kingdom of God. Therefore, they say “all these things”. Thus, in the first question they speak of the time of the coming of the end, in the second — of the sign by which one can expect this end.

Mark 13:5. And answering them, Jesus began to say: Take heed that no one deceive you, The evangelist transmits the speech of Christ with abbreviations, but at the same time reports certain sayings omitted by Matthew. (Matt 24).

Mark 13:6. for many will come in my name and will say: I am he; and will lead many astray. “I am he”. Here Christ does not speak of the fact that some will present themselves as the returned Jesus Christ, but that they will call themselves “Christs” or “Messiahs”.

Mark 13:7. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, be not frightened; for this must come to pass — but the end is not yet. Mark 13:8. For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and commotions. This is the beginning of the birth pangs. “Commotions” (ταραχαί) — only here. In Matthew’s Gospel: “earthquakes”, i.e., various disturbances in the life of the people, which will throw them into confusion (from the root ταραχή — ταράσσω — “I throw into confusion”).

Mark 13:9. But watch yourselves, for they will deliver you to councils and beat you in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them. “But watch yourselves”, i.e., do not lose sight of yourselves, and do not forget your calling to come forward as preachers of the Gospel. “They will deliver...” (see Matt 10:17-18).

Mark 13:10. And the Gospel must be preached to all the nations. In explaining how the apostles will find themselves in judgment, Christ says that first, i.e., before the coming of the “end”, understood as the destruction of Jerusalem (verse 7), his disciples must preach the Gospel to all nations, and for this very preaching they will be brought to trial (cf. Matt 24:14).

Mark 13:11. And when they lead you away to deliver you up, do not worry beforehand what you will say, and do not prepare it; but whatever is given to you in that hour, speak that, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. Mark 13:12. And brother will deliver brother to death, and a father his children; and children will rise up against their parents and put them to death. Mark 13:13. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake; but the one who endures to the end will be saved. (See Matt 10:19-22). According to all probability, the evangelist Mark placed these words of Christ more correctly than Matthew in Christ’s eschatological discourse. To the sending of the disciples on preaching of which the evangelist Matthew speaks in chapter 10, they do not apply; the apostles at that time were not yet being brought to trial before rulers and kings.

Mark 13:14. And when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing where he should not — let the reader understand — then let those in Judea flee to the mountains; (See Matt 24:15). Remarkably, in Mark’s Gospel the word “standing” represents a participle in the masculine gender and should be more correctly conveyed by the word “standing” (masculine) (ἑστηκότα). There is no agreement with the noun to which this participle refers (“abomination” — in Greek βδέλυγμα — neuter gender), and doubtless, the evangelist intended to say something by this. What then? It is quite possible that the “abomination” appeared to him as a man, who would come forth as an opponent of Christ in the sanctuary, as a kind of anti-god or antichrist (cf. 2 Thess 2:3 and following). He, of course — so the apostles should have understood — would appear in Jerusalem, in the Jerusalem temple, which was the true house of God (John 2:16).

Mark 13:15. and the one who is on the roof must not come down and not go into his house to take anything out of his house; Mark 13:16. and the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. Mark 13:17. Woe to those who are pregnant and nursing mothers in those days. Mark 13:18. And pray that it may not happen in winter. Mark 13:19. For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of creation which God created until now, and never will be. Apparently, here the discourse concerns the persecution which will befall those who believe in Christ, but one can also see here indications of the political commotions from which Jerusalem’s Christians will suffer greatly.

Mark 13:20. And if the Lord had not shortened those days, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. “No one” — consequently, also the believers in Christ. “But for the sake of the elect”, i.e., these very believers in Christ, the days of tribulation will be cut short, in accordance with the eternal decree of God.

Mark 13:21. Then if anyone says to you: Look, here is the Christ, or: There he is — do not believe it. Mark 13:22. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will work signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Mark 13:23. But watch. I have told you all things beforehand. Mark 13:24. But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, Mark 13:25. and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Mark 13:26. And then they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. Mark 13:27. And then he will send his angels and will gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. Mark 13:28. Learn a lesson from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. Mark 13:29. So also, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the doors. Mark 13:30. Truly I tell you: this generation will not pass away before all these things take place. Mark 13:31. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Mark 13:32. But concerning that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. “Concerning that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (verse 32; see Matt 24:36). To the words found in Matthew, the evangelist Mark adds the expression: “nor the Son”. This expression has long aroused serious disputes among commentators. It troubled them precisely because the Son is attributed ignorance, which, however, cannot be attributed to him as the Person of the Godhead. Saint Ambrose of Milan, not finding a way to reconcile this expression with the lofty conception of the Person of the Son of God, supposed that this expression was inserted into Mark’s Gospel by Arians, to show the Orthodox that Christ is not God (“On Faith”, book 5, chapter VI). But such a supposition cannot be accepted, if only because the Church fathers who fought against Arians would have undoubtedly exposed them in this corruption of the Gospel text. Besides, Matthew’s Gospel includes the same thought as this expression, for he also says that only the Father knows the time of the coming of the last day, consequently, the Son does not know this even according to Matthew’s Gospel. Therefore, even if one allows that Saint Ambrose’s supposition is correct, one would still have to pause in perplexity over Matt 24:36. Other Church fathers, not resorting to such dangerous suppositions, tried to explain this enigmatic expression by saying that Christ attributed to himself “ignorance” according to his human nature, which is why they added the adjective “Human” to the word “Son” (Saints Gregory the Theologian, Athanasius the Great, Cyril of Alexandria). But this interpretation cannot be accepted because it divides Christ, whereas both natures in him — both divine and human — are inseparable in their manifestations. Saint Sophronius, the Monk John of Damascus opposed the heretics of the 6th century — the Agnoetes, who taught that Christ, as man, “does not know certain things”. According to the opinion of Saint Basil the Great (Works, part 7, p. 159), this expression should be rendered as: “the Son would not know if the Father did not know, because from the Father is given to him knowledge”. But here, evidently, the text of the Gospel is changed by the addition... Some recent Western commentators (in Russia, Gladkov follows their opinion in his “Expository Gospel”, see p. 572, 3rd edition) understand this expression as a testimony that the determination of the time of the last Judgment is the work of the Father and that such a determination has not yet taken place... But this interpretation cannot be accepted, because it contradicts the universal Christian teaching, which recognizes that the destiny of the world has been predetermined by God from eternity, which must be assumed when one holds the conviction in God’s omniscience. Finally, some commentators allow that Christ truly did not know this day, because, according to the word of the apostle Paul (Phil 2:7), he was on earth in the form of a slave and lived as a man, i.e., he limited himself in relation to his divine properties and, in particular, to omniscience. But one cannot agree with this opinion in view of the fact that such sayings as: “All things have been delivered to me by my Father” (Matt 11:27; cf. Luke 10:22; John 6:46) do not allow one to ascribe to the Son ignorance of the time of the parousia and to distinguish the realm of the Father’s knowledge from the realm of the Son’s knowledge... Then, by virtue of the hypostatic union of divinity and humanity in Christ with the preservation of the divine person, one cannot speak of any limitation of the divine nature of the incarnate Son of God. Thus reasons S. Savvinsky in his dissertation: “The Eschatological Discourse of Christ the Savior” (Kiev, 1906, p. 115). Mr. Savvinsky himself, following the opinion of Saint John Chrysostom, the blessed Jerome, Augustine, Theophylact and others, understands this ignorance by the Son of the day and hour of the “parousia” (from Greek ἡ παρουσία — “the second coming”) not as “the weakness of ignorance, but as an educational means of a wise pedagogue”. According to the words of the aforementioned fathers, the Lord, as it were, says that although he knows, he does not wish to open this term to the disciples, because it would not be beneficial for them to know: the knowledge that there is still a long time before the judgment would make them negligent in piety. This thought is more precisely expressed by Lagrange (1911) in his commentary on Mark’s Gospel in the following words: The Son knows, but has not received from the Father a commission to communicate what he knows, and in this sense “does not know”. The Son does not know, consequently, as sent by the Father Messiah; it is not within his authority to reveal to people the time of the end of the world (p. 327).

Mark 13:33. Watch, be vigilant, pray, for you do not know when that time will come. Exhortation to watchfulness (see Matt 24:42). The word “pray” in the best modern editions is not read. “Time” (καιρός) can mean an individual moment, but usually means a period or epoch (cf. Mark 1:15). From this it is seen that the apostles did not receive an indication of any definite sign which could herald the coming of the last day. Neither could the destruction of the temple be such a sign. Wellhausen even expresses the thought that this place was inserted into the Gospel at a time when Christians saw that the destruction of Jerusalem did not lead to the destruction of the world. In this thought, certainly, only this is correct: that in the Gospel and precisely in Christ’s eschatological discourse these two moments were never joined at all...

Mark 13:34. Like a man who went on a journey and left his house and gave his servants authority, and to each his own work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Christ here offers a second parable, parallel to the first one — about the fig tree (verse 28). Only here there is no symbol, but directly an exhortation to watch so as not to be caught unawares. “Like a man...” The particle ὡς, standing here, doubtless, begins a parable, like ὥσπερ γάρ in Matt 25:14, and has no correspondence either in the preceding or in the following, so that there is only a subordinate clause without a main clause. Nevertheless, the main clause is clear — it should be taken from verse 33, and with this additional main clause, the parable reads as follows: “I call upon you to watch, like a man who left (ἀπόδημος, in Russian translation imprecisely — “going away”), left” and so on. The apostles and all believers are represented here as servants who have received from their departed master a certain freedom of action (ἐξουσία, in Russian translation not quite apt — “authority”; authority over whom?). They must vigorously carry out their appointment which Christ will give them. Especially must the doorkeeper watch, to whom, properly speaking, the apostles are first of all compared. Of course, this does not mean that they will live until the second coming: in them Christ addresses believers of all subsequent generations, who must always preserve the expectation of the second coming of Christ in judgment.

Mark 13:35. Therefore, be vigilant, for you do not know when the master of the house will come: in the evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning; The moral lesson is set forth here in the very same expressions of which the parable itself is composed, so that the whole takes on the character of an allegory. The master of the house — is Christ himself. Instead of determining the time by “watches” (as the evangelist Luke does — (Luke 12:38), Mark uses the names of the times that were common among the people: evening — from 6 to 9 o’clock, midnight — more precisely, the very night — from 9 to 12, cockcrowing — from 12 to 3 o’clock in the morning, and morning — from 3 to 6 o’clock. Thus, the mentioned expressions encompass the whole night time, which, properly speaking, is a time of sleep. But it is in this, apparently, time that one should expect the return of the master of the house.

Mark 13:36. lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. Here the purpose of watchfulness is indicated, as before, in verse 35, the motive for watchfulness was indicated. You must be vigilant, says Christ, so that the lord, returning unexpectedly, “does not find you sleeping”. The state of sleep, of course, is taken here in a figurative sense, as moral slumber, as complete indifference to the higher questions of the soul.

Mark 13:37. And what I say to you I say to all: be vigilant. Although the eschatological discourse, according to Mark’s representation (verses 3–5), is addressed only to the four apostles, nevertheless, it is directed toward all believers, as is clearly stated in this verse.