Mark 13:1-13 | “The End is Coming, Stay the Course”

The Olivet Discourse

This morning we’re continuing our study of the Gospel of Mark.  We’ve come all the way to chapter 13, and will, Lord willing, end on Easter Sunday, April 12^th.  Mark 13 contains Jesus’ longest discourse, or teaching, in the Gospel of Mark.  It’s often called the “Olivet Discourse” because it takes place on the Mount of Olives.  It’s Jesus’ teaching on the end times and his second coming.  We’re going to spend three weeks in chapter 13, covering verses 1-13 today, verses 14-23 next week, and verses 24-37 the week after that. 

This chapter is important because it’s the bridge connecting Jesus’ public ministry to his death.  The next thing that happens after the Olivet Discourse is Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion.  This is the last sermon Jesus gives his disciples in Mark before he dies.  He wants to make some things clear about his return before he’s killed.  What bold confidence he had that the Father would resurrect him!

Jesus’ main purpose in the Olivet Discourse isn’t to give us a timeline of future events but to call us to present faithfulness.  Jesus wants his disciples to focus on being faithful in the present, not on predicting the future. 

Context of Mark 13

Before we look at the text, let’s consider the context.  In chapter 11, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, went to the temple, and began a series of seven exchanges with the temple leaders.  He said that the temple was going to wither away like the fid tree.  He pronounced judgment on it and its leaders because they’d turned it into a “den of robbers” (11:17).  He contrasts the small faith of its leaders with the great faith of the widow who gave everything she had to God. 

Mark makes it clear that Jesus went to the temple to replace it and its leaders.  It must be brought down and replaced with a new “building,” a new place where people can meet God, and with new leadership.  Through Jesus, God is going to build a new house where his presence will live.

Our text this morning uses Jesus’ prophecy that the temple will be destroyed as a jumping off point to say that following him will be hard, but those who follow him to the end will be rewarded.  This is the main point of our text this morning.  Suffering must precede glory.  Appearances aren’t everything.  God is in control of history and he will save his people.  We can divide the text like this: the temple will be judged (vv. 1-4), but the disciples must stand firm (vv. 5-13). 

The Temple Will Be Judged

In verses 1-4, we learn that the temple will be judged.  What Jesus says in the Olivet Discourse is linked to what he said previously about the temple.  Verse 1 makes this clear, “he came out of the temple.”  Jesus literally left the temple, but these words also symbolize his definitive break from the temple.  Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, leaves the center of Jewish faith and life, never to return.  Jesus did not come to uphold Jewish buildings and institutions.  He came to create a new people from among all the peoples of the world for the praise of his name.  He left the temple because he rejected its corrupt practices and leadership.  He rejected it because the continuation of its sacrificial system would undermine his sacrificial death on the cross.  He rejected it because he knew that God was about to begin building something even better and more beautiful. 

His disciples, however, still didn’t understand this.  They were amazed by the temple’s beautiful architecture (v. 1).  The temple complex was truly amazing.  Herod the Great had been remodeling it for fifty years.  It covered 35 acres, or twelve football fields.  The sanctuary and part of the walls were one hundred and fifty feet tall.  Some of the blocks of stone were sixty feet long and weighed over a million pounds.  The columns were so thick that it took three men to reach around them.  Ancient historians say that, from a distance, it looked like a mountain of marble decorated with gold. 

The temple was absolutely stunning.  People thought that it would stand for a thousand years.  Jesus had a different view (v. 2).  Jesus doesn’t share the excitement and wonder of his disciples.  Mark doesn’t tell us what the reaction of the disciples was, but he does tell us that they wanted to know when this would happen (vv. 3-4).

The Mount of Olives is right next to the temple mount, rising a few hundred feet higher.  Jesus and his disciples had a front row seat to its splendor from there.  The disciples don’t question Jesus’ prophecy, but they do ask about its timing, “When will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” (v. 4).

These two questions refer to the same event, the destruction of the temple, an event that took place in AD 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.  But there’s a hint here that the disciples are asking about more than just the destruction of the temple.  They ask when will “all these things” take place, indicating that they sensed that Jesus was talking about something more than just the destruction of the temple.  Many Jews believed that the destruction of Jerusalem would coincide with the end of the world.  The disciples’ question is about the temple and the end times. 

Jesus’ answer in the rest of the chapter makes this clear.  Jesus will talk about events that happen before the temple is destroyed and events that will happen before his second coming.  His teaching applies immediately to the disciples in the first century, but more broadly to his disciples in every century. 

Before we move to the next section, let’s make sure we don’t make the same mistake the disciples did.  They were enamored with the outward appearance and beauty of the temple.  But all Jesus saw was a pile a bricks and smoldering rubble.  The temple was full of beauty but empty of truth, covered in gold but concealing corruption, busy with activity but idle in worship.  Is your life like the temple?  Do you look great on the outside but are empty of love and worship for God on the inside?  Do you have the appearance of godliness but deny its power (2 Tim. 3:5)?  Jesus isn’t impressed with our religion.  He will tear it down.  He wants our trust, our worship, our obedience.  He wants our hearts.

The Disciples Must Stand Firm

In verses 5-13, Jesus begins to answer their question, making it clear that the disciples must stand firm.  I love that Jesus begins by talking to them about their discipleship, not by answering their question about timing (v. 5).  Jesus is far, far, far more concerned with the faithfulness of his followers than he is with giving us a timeline of the end.  This is clear throughout the chapter.  Jesus warns and encourages his disciples to “watch out” (v. 5), “be on your guard” (v. 9), “be on guard” (vv. 23 and 33), and “stay awake” (v. 37).  Jesus knew that his disciples were in danger of being deceived and led away from the truth, so he tells them repeatedly to “watch out.” 

Jesus, in the Olivet Discourse, is more concerned with the integrity of his disciple’s faith than he is with a timeline of the end times.  The disciples wanted to know about the future.  Jesus told them to focus on the present.  He’s saying that speculation about the future is not nearly as important as obedience in the present.  This is true for Jesus’ disciples today as well.  Jesus doesn’t care too much about our eschatology.  He cares whether we’re faithfully following him.

The thrust of what Jesus says in the following verses is to tell the disciples not to be disturbed by the preliminary signs of the end or to confuse them with the end itself.  He wants to protect them from fear and from fanaticism.  Lots of bad things will happen in the world, but he wants his disciples to know that these bad things don’t mean the end is upon them.  He wants them to live with soberness and patience, not fear and speculation.

Four “Birth Pains”

In verses 6-13, Jesus mentions four things that some will claim as signs of the destruction of Jerusalem or the end of the world: false messiahs (v. 6), wars (vv. 7-8a), natural disasters (v. 8b), and persecution (vv. 9, 11-13).  Jesus insists that these things “must take place, but the end is not yet” (v. 7), and that “these are but the beginning of the birth pains” (v. 8). 

When a woman goes into labor, it means that a birth is about to take place.  But no one really knows how long the labor pains will last.  The birth-pains mean that the birthing process has begun, but they don’t tell us exactly when the child will be born.  The beginning of these things that Jesus talks about don’t tell us whether Jesus will come back tomorrow or next century.  God’s timetable is unpredictable.  He sometimes draws out events and accelerates them rapidly. 

Jesus’ point for us is that we must live lives of readiness and expectation, that we must not be led into panic over every contraction of the universe.  The end will come, the baby will be born, right on time, exactly as God has planned.  Trying to figure out when that will be is a fruitless endeavor (v. 32).

False Messiahs Will Come

Let’s go through the four “birth pains” that Jesus mentions.  First, verse 6 says that many false messiahs will come.  This has happened in the first century (Acts 5:36, 21:38) all the way to the present time.  In 1993, David Koresh led 75 people to their deaths just outside of Waco, Texas, claiming to be God’s spokesman. 

Threats to the faith of Jesus’ disciples will come from the inside, not just the outside.  People will come in his name, and many will follow them.  “See that no one leads you astray” (v. 5).

Wars Will Happen

Second, verses 7-8 say that wars will happen.  There will be actual wars and rumors of wars before the destruction of the temple, and before Jesus’ return.  Nations and kingdoms are continually rising against each other.  Jesus says “this must take place.”  God has willed international conflicts to spread across the earth, but that doesn’t mean the end is upon us.  “But the end is not yet” (v. 7). 

R. C. Sproul says, “Many evangelicals today have a tendency, every time a war breaks out, to say, ‘There’s another sign of the times; Jesus must be coming back soon.’”  But Jesus is saying that wars are simply a part of life on the earth until the end, not that they signal when the end is happening.  Wars are horrific and we should try to avoid them at all costs.  But when they happen, Jesus says, “Do not be alarmed” (v. 7).  Wars don’t mean the world is ending.  Wars mean that the world is fallen.  The birth pains have begun, but who knows when the baby will come.

Natural Disasters Will Happen

Third, the middle part of verse 8 says that natural disasters will happen.  Earthquakes and famines have happened for thousands of years.  You may say, “But they’re happening more often now.”  How do we know that?  We can track and monitor what’s happening on the entire planet in the 21^st century.  This was not the case for most of human history.  We don’t know if more earthquakes are happening now than before because we don’t have the data to tell us what happened before.  All we know is that they’ve been happening periodically throughout history.

Let me repeat: Jesus is not inviting us into endless speculation about the end times.  He doesn’t want us to be afraid every time an earthquake or tsunami or tornado or hurricane or flood or wildfire or famine happens.  His point at the end of verse 8 is clear: all this stuff only means that the process has begun.  The beginning of the end is underway.  Labor is upon the earth, but “the end is not yet” (v. 7).  We’re going to learn in a couple weeks that we’ll know that the end of the world is happening.  It will be unmistakable.

Persecution of Christians Will Happen

The fourth birth pain is in verses 9-13.  Christians will be persecuted before the temple is destroyed and before the end of the world.  The beginning of verse 9 could be translated, “You must be clear in your own minds.”  Christians need to get rid of all utopian fantasies.  The world is not getting better.  The labor will only intensify. 

Jesus’ followers will be persecuted for following Jesus.  The disciples needed to know that persecution wasn’t an aberration of the Christian life, but a normal part of it.  They’ll be persecuted by Jews and Gentiles, by religious and secular authorities (v. 9).  They’ll be betrayed by their own family members (v. 12). 

But God will not abandon them in their moment of need (v. 11).  He’ll help them speak the truth (v. 11) and get the gospel to all nations (v. 10).  Notice that the spreading of the gospel among the nations happens in the context of persecution.  Persecution is an opportunity to spread the gospel of Jesus.

Notice again that verse 12 says that Jesus will divide families.  Those we love the most may hate us or harm us if we follow Jesus.  Why would God allow this?  I don’t know for sure.  But I do know that Jesus wants our whole allegiance, and he’ll often use those closest to us to test it.  Matthew 10:35-39 makes this clear.  Being willing to lose that which is most precious to us for Jesus’ sake reveals that Jesus is the most precious thing to us, which means we’re worthy to be his followers.  Is Jesus more precious to you than your family? 

“Those Who Endure to the End Will Be Saved”

People will hate us because of Jesus.  But what we lose for following Jesus on the earth is not worth comparing to what we gain, Look at the promise at the end of verse 13.  The one who stays faithful to Jesus to the end of their lives or the end of the world will be rewarded with eternal life.

Those who aren’t enamored with the beautiful edifices of the world and instead give themselves in love for Jesus and others will enter a world where true beauty and delight never ends.  Those who stay faithful to Jesus even though their friends and family think that they’re stupid will be greatly rewarded.  Jesus says it this way in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matt. 5:11-12).

We can’t stop the end of the world from happening, just as the Jews couldn’t stop the Romans from flattening their temple.  The labor pains have begun and will continue until Jesus returns.  We can’t stop the adversity and trials and sufferings and pain and persecutions that will fill our lives in this age.  God doesn’t expect us to.  He only expects us to do what we can do: stay the course, stay awake, be on guard, persevere, don’t quit, be steadfast, don’t move away from Jesus, keep going after him, and keep going after a world that’s dying without him. 

Following Jesus will be hard.  Count the cost, but also consider the reward (v. 13).  Those who follow Jesus and keep following him to the end will one day see that he was worth it.  The end is coming.  May God give us grace to not quit on Jesus until he comes or calls us home.