Mark 13:3 – 37 The Transition from the Old to the New Age

Mark chapter 13 is an example of a genre called “eschatology”. Its concern is with the things that mark out the end of this age and the beginning of the new age. It is thinking about the transition into the new age. That there is a new age approaching, and now is very near, is assumed in much of the Second Testament. An early example of this is found in Paul’s 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11. Some of its concerns are; how do we know it is about to happen, what will happen, what signs/events will accompany it, what about those who have already died – will they miss out, what function will Jesus have in all this? Eschatology is by no means confined to early Christianity.

Mark 13 is frequently, but less helpfully, referred to as “apocalyptic”. This is not strictly the case. Apocalyptic is a literary genre that purports to tell us what is happening now in the real world, i.e. in the divine realm where God, the angels and the dead are. The most famous example would have to be the last book in the Second Testament, “Revelation,” that takes its name from the uncovering that is the hallmark of apocalyptic literature. An example from the First Testament is the visions of Daniel. The apocalyptic genre is the literature of the persecuted who are being killed for their faith. The key question is: “Who really is my Lord and my God?” "Is it the Emperor or is it “the Lamb who was slain”? The vision of this real world above is peopled with bizarre animals, birds and implements of the temple and is often encrusted with strange mathematical sequences and sets. It is a vision that is wrapped up in code that suggests its origin in times of intense oppression where the truth needs to be wrapped up for its own good.

The bulk of Mark 13 has to do with the “times and seasons” of the transition to this new age, the coming of false messiahs and the coming of the Son of Man. The call to stand firm under persecution (vv. 9-13) indicates the ethos of apocalyptic but not its substance.

For us as readers, the question is: how does chapter 13 relates to the rest of Mark’s story of Jesus? For the moment, let’s just note it as an example of the unresolved tension that is an essential part of a good story. (Does ‘cop out’ have a silent ‘q’ at the front?)

“When in doubt, look for the structure of the passage” – that’s rule number two
v4 Introduction: When and with what signs?
v5 Header Watch out
v6 Beginning of frame: warnings about false messiahs
vv7-20 Necessary proclamation and persecution
v21-22 Ending of frame: warnings about false messiahs
v23 Conclusion Watch out
vv24-27 The Coming of the Son of Man
vv28-37 The timing of all this

Introduction: “When will all this happen and what will be the signs that all these things are about to be accomplished?” These are the questions of the transition from this age to the next, of “eschatology” The gathering of the key disciples, “in private”, sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple are all signals to us that something significant is about to happen. The only other discourse of such length, spoken by Mark’s Jesus, is in chapter 4. There we heard the words: “… but he explained everything in private to his disciples”(4:34).

The header: “watch out, lest you be lead astray” This command to be on our guard occurs five times in this discourse (vv. 2, 5, 9, 23, 33) In verses 5 and 23, they help to form a frame (or bookends) around the main block of teaching about what has to happen before the transition really gets under way with the arrival of the Son of Man. There is a danger that the disciples will be deceived and diverted from their task of preaching the gospel.

The necessary proclamation/preaching and persecution. Things are going to get a whole lot worse: physical and social turmoil, earthquakes and wars, hatred and family division, being delivered over to the authorities. All this can be powerfully distracting from the task of “preaching the gospel to all the nations” (v.10). The detail of the traditional eschatological language can distract us from hearing the story of the gospel and passing it on.

Verse 14 has probably had more written about it than all the other verses combined. Is the metaphor of the “desolating sacrilege” more than just some intriguing color taken over from Daniel (9:27, 11:31, 12:11) or is it an apt, coded-allusion to the entry of the Roman General Titus into the Holy of Holies of the Temple in 70CE? The Markan “wink to the readers” (“let the reader understand”) also comes in that verse. The narrator addresses a comment to the readers, maybe to draw their attention to the code and encourage them to make the necessary connection. Maybe it is addressed to the (public i.e. the reading out aloud) reader of the text to read the word 'he' rather than ít' (“standing where he ought not to be”); this would, presumably, reinforce the application of the metaphor to Titus standing in the Holy of Holies (Titus is the desolating sacrilege).

The frame is closed: false christs will abound. Possibly because the tumults and wars and persecutions are always going to be around, the claims of would-be messiahs, complete with signs and wonders, are potentially the more confusing and capable of causing mischief. Hence the warning of the frame: “Watch out, lest you be lead astray”. They are all false!

The coming of the Son of Man is the expectation of Mark’s community, rather than the coming of the Messiah (the Christ). This coming of the Son of Man is in stark contrast to the many comings of the many christs. Its color comes from Daniel 7:13 and it serves to indicate that it is a singleton. (Let the reader go and look that word up in the dictionary and then understand!)

These things will surely happen within the lifetime of the current generation, just like the fig tree will give fruit during the summer. Are we intended to see “these things” as the death and resurrection of Jesus which we readers know has already happened? Or, is it referring to a unique cosmic event that was supposed to happen literally (whatever that might mean) and whose non-occurrence now causes a problem? Our presuppositions about reading this story would lead us to pick the former option. Either way,

No one knows when this will happen, not even the angels or the Son. Rather than being a problem, the non-occurrence becomes a mystery, a case of “cognitive dissonance”. (I had to say that!) The less it happens, the more true it becomes to the believer. We are all included with the “fab four”: as the waiting servants we are to be awake and on watch; no one knows when it will happen.