Mark 13: An Introduction

In our verse-by-verse study through Mark's Gospel, we come to chapter 13, where Jesus offers a vivid description of mysterious things to come. For some Bible teachers, the imagery in this passage has caused unintentional confusion.

So rather than venture into Mark 13 without context, today on Truth for Life, Alistair Begg gives us a helpful introduction. Well, the final letter that we have of Paul that is reckoned to be his final letter that we have, in any case, is 2 Timothy. And it is in 2 Timothy that he is announcing the fact of his departure, and so he is entrusting some of his responsibility to this young pastor and teacher. And as he gives him guidelines for ministry, he gives him certain words of warning, certain words that are cautionary words, and then words that are more directive. Aim for God's approval by being the kind of person who, when he works with the Scriptures, has no need to be ashamed, because, Timothy, I want you to be rightly dividing the word of truth—cutting a straight line through the text, not being a deviator, not being someone who is delighted by notions of intrigue and so on. But studying to make sure that you have no reason for shame when finally you stand before God in the way in which you have handled the text of Scripture.

Now, that is timeless instruction. It is instruction not only for Timothy as a young pastor in the first century, but it is instruction for every pastor, teacher, in every century. It is always relevant in every part of the Bible. It is particularly relevant, I would suggest to you, when you come to a chapter such as the one that is now before us—Mark chapter 13. Because these verses are difficult, and because their interpretation throughout all of time has been the occasion of all kinds of debate.

And if you have been around Christian circles for any time, then you know that to be the case. Leon Morris says that the reason for this kind of controversial debate is because, quotes, there are some puzzling exegetical problems. That is masterful understatement, I would suggest—that there are not just some puzzling exegetical problems, but it is an exegetical minefield.

In other words, once you just open the door into 13, it's like you went up to your knees in a quagmire, and you find yourself trying to extricate yourself as quickly and as carefully as you possibly can. And the reason for the exegetical problems is on account of the fact that we find ourselves trying to discern how much of what Jesus says has to do specifically with the issue of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, and how much of what Jesus has to say has to do with the end of the age, with the end of time, with the prospect of his return. And as you read through 13—and I trust that you will continue to read it and study it on your own—you realize that there is a sense in which these two perspectives are telescoped, or they are conflated.

And that's what makes it hard to reckon with. And that's the challenge that is before us. What we're going to do this morning is think for a moment or two about alignment—about how do you line up to the text of Scripture? How do you stand up to the text of Scripture so that you do not simply read into the text of Scripture your own preconceptions, so that you do not simply look into this and find reflected your convictions that are dear to you over a long period of time? In other words, so that we actually study the Bible and we sit underneath the instruction of the Bible rather than that we bring our understanding of it and press it in upon the text. But at its very core, there are certain simplicities that allow us to proceed with clarity. And perhaps the most basic of all is one that I think we have come to share together over time. And that is that we routinely say to one another as we turn to the Scriptures—especially if there is perplexity, difficulty in the text—we remind ourselves of this core notion, which is—you should all be able to say this immediately to me—the main things are the plain things, and the plain things are the main things.

Okay? The next book that we're going to read as elders together is the latest book by Christopher Asch, and it is about hearing the Spirit of God through the Word of God. And in this book, he identifies what he refers to as two equal and opposite dangers in terms of interpreting the Bible. He gathers his thoughts under two words. One word is anarchy, and the other word is tyranny. Anarchy, tyranny. And so he says, when you go to the local Bible study, you will often encounter what he refers to as interpretive chaos.

All right? It's the blind leading the blind. Now, Asch then goes on to say, when that is present in a congregation, the way that most people respond to it in the pulpit is what he refers to as interpretive dogmatism, so that anarchy is then replaced by tyranny. And a congregation can move very quickly from anarchy to tyranny.

Anarchy is too unsettling. I don't really know what anything means. Well, I'll just go on Sunday, and the guru can tell us all what it means. So then, all of a sudden now, we've ceased to think. All we do is wait until we're told what this passage means. Now, don't misunderstand this. Of course, God has given us pastors and teachers.

We're supposed to do the hard work and so on. But remember what I just said. There's fifteen different interpretations of Mark chapter 13. Do you think I'm going to be so pompous as to tell you that I am the guy that has understood Mark chapter 13, and no one ever has before, and nobody ever will again? I think you know me well enough to say, one, I wouldn't say that, and two, if I said it, you'd shout out, Bologna.

Any way you slice it, it's Bologna. No question about it. So you have chaos replaced with dogmatism. Dogmatism reads like this. There is only one correct meaning of Mark chapter 13, and I have it.

Okay? That's very unsettling. So you will find that you're gravitating to either the interpretive chaos camp or the interpretive dogmatism camp. Both camps are dangerous and should be avoided—particularly interpretive tyranny from the pulpit. Be careful when you hear people from the pulpit or on the radio or on the TV, and their tyranny arrives at the party dressed up in the, quote, authority of the text. I believe in the authority of the text. Of course we do. But actually, what is often being said is, I believe in the authority of my view of the text.

There's a big difference. Because, you see, God's Word is infallible. But no individual is an infallible interpreter of God's Word.

You get that? God's Word is infallible. It's true in every dimension. But no individual is an infallible interpreter of God's Word. Now we see through a glass darkly. One day we will see face to face. It is inevitable. And it is that conviction which needs to be part of our thinking when we come to a text like Mark 13. The end of all things, verse 24. As soon as you get to, like, verse 24, and the people come out of the bunkers, but in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling—and all the people go, Oh, I love this stuff.

Let me get started on this. And it's quite fantastic, really. And apparently, nobody pays any attention at that point when they're having one of those flights of fancy to verse 32. Concerning that day or that hour, no one knows. No one knows.

How hard is that to understand? No one knows. Don't waste my time, please, with your big, fat book. No one knows. The angels don't know. Jesus didn't know.

If he didn't know, why in the world do you think you know? Cut out the nonsense, okay? And yet, for the life of my lifetime, I have been on the receiving end, I could be buried under a vast mound of material that is seeking to disprove what Jesus says absolutely clearly there in verse 32. At the time of Christ's first advent, there were all kinds of views concerning how it would take place. Because you have all the prophetic words. All the shadowy lines from the Old Testament are running forward. They have asked for a king, but no king has really fulfilled what they look for in a king. And so they look for this one who will sit on David's throne forever and ever. What's it gonna be like when the king comes? They've had these prophets, and they've spoken well of God, but it seems that there is more to be said. We look for the prophet who is to come. The priests have offered sacrifice, and yet still they go back day after day after day.

When will there be this ultimate sacrifice for sin? So you have those threads and other threads like them set in shadowy motion, running all the way through. And there were a variety of views about how it would actually work itself out. Surely those people who were anticipating the arrival of a king would never have gone to look for him in a manger scene in Bethlehem. And so what happened was, it took the event of the incarnation to clarify all the bits and pieces of the jigsaw. If you like, all of the shadowy lines that are forming up suddenly make sense only in the reality of the event—only in the historic event. Now people are able to look back and say, Well, that's what the prophet meant.

Now let me ask you a question. Why do you think it would be any different in terms of the second coming of Jesus Christ? It's going to take the reality of the event to allow us to understand all of the shadowy jigsaw bits and pieces that are represented even in Mark 13 alone. One day, when Christ returns, there surely will be somebody there who is just finishing a cup of coffee, explaining their view of the end of time, dogmatically saying, And it cannot possibly happen until seven weeks from Tuesday, and then, Pa-tah-tah-tah-tah!

What was that? Oh, that was Jesus. He just came back.

No, he can't come back. It's because, look, I just was explaining… Look, hey, he's here. Right? You get it? That's why the creeds are so good. We said the apostles' creed this morning. It's the basics, isn't it?

It doesn't delve into the minutiae of things. It says, you know, Christ was born, Christ died, Christ was raised, Christ ascended, Christ will return. In other words, it focuses on the things that are undeniably clear. Now, it is this, you see, that helps us. Helps us not only come to terms with, you know, the Gospel of Mark and the challenges here, but it also helps us to articulate a Christian view of the world. Because, you see, what Mark chapter 13 is saying in part is this—that the God who initiated time—because before there was time, before there was anything, there was God—so the God who initiated time and who has broken into time in the person of Jesus is the one who controls the end of time and the transformation of all that is now into all that will be. That's what it's saying.

Why does that matter? Well, it matters because it says to men and women, the Christian conviction is not simply some view of Jesus living in my heart, but the Christian conviction is transformative in relationship to the way we view the totality of human existence. It struck me this week when I was finishing up a book that I bought for my wife so that I could read it myself, and if any of you read Alexander McCall Smith—he was a professor of medical law at Edinburgh University, and he writes all these books, and his most recent book is Sunshine on Scotland Street. And in Sunshine on Scotland Street, Angus, one of the key characters, is getting married. And as he stands before the one conducting this ceremony, he is struck by the solemnity of the language that is used. They're using ancient language in relationship to the married ceremony. And he is struck by phrases like, in the age of our innocency. In the age of our innocency. Which is a reference, in the wedding ceremony, to Adam and Eve in the garden, in the age of our innocency. And struck by the fact that this is taking place before God as well as before this congregation. And as he stands there, he reflects on this, and he says to himself, there was a time when we really did think that humanity had a future, and that our tiny human lives, our tiny human concerns, meant something, and that we were not just the brief tenants of an insignificant planet in a great and incomprehensible emptiness.

See what he's saying? We can look back to a time before the umbilical cord was cut between reality, time, history, and meaning, but that time is all gone now. Now we know ourselves simply to be putting in our time on an insignificant planet dealing with a great and incomprehensible emptiness. Do you realize that your friends and neighbors, they may not articulate it in that way, but unless they have come up with a view of the world that addresses that issue, that's exactly what they're dealing with? When you see them on 77 North tomorrow heading for downtown, and you see them again heading south out of downtown, and you meet them in the hallway, and you see them going through their routine deals, you've got to realize this—that unless they have come to an understanding of how they were made, who made them, why they were made, this God is the God who saves them—then that's exactly what they're dealing with.

Just on an insignificant planet, living with a vast and incomprehensible emptiness. And Mark chapter 13 says, No. The significance of the temple falling down has significance not simply in AD 70. It has an ongoing significance. The question of the rise and fall of empires has significance. Not because it is a random collocation of atoms, the unfolding drama without meaning, but because God is sovereign over history.

Do you know God? Is this your view? You see, the great danger is that you get into a chapter like Mark chapter 13, and it simply becomes a sort of whole-scale eschatological argument.

Nothing could be less helpful. Let's say these things. Number one, the whole purpose of God in giving us his Word is that we might have an intelligible message, not that we would deal with an incomprehensible mystery.

We could unpack that, but we won't. In other words, he has given us his Word for the sake of clarity, not to introduce us to confusion. Secondly, the purpose of his Word is practical and not theoretical. Tell us, when will these things be? What will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished? And Jesus began to say to them, See that no one leads you astray. That's an interesting answer, isn't it?

He doesn't immediately say, Oh, good, I'm glad you asked that question. Let me get down to the business of it immediately. See that no one leads you astray. And all the way through, be on your guard. Don't believe it.

Stay awake. Thirdly, we also need to understand what is obscure in light of what is clear, and what is partial in view of what is complete. It's very easy for us to see in the Bible what we want to see. And some of us read the Bible as if we're looking into a mirror. It simply reinforces our preconceptions. We only look into the Bible, we read Mark 13, and we say, There's no way that I'm going to really pay much attention to this, because I know what Mark 13 means.

Do you? Some of us actually read the Bible as if we're looking at a piece of art in the Cleveland Art Gallery. I'm not good in art galleries.

I'm not good in museums at all. I go through them in about seven minutes. So I am a Philistine. I recognize that entirely. I confess to it.

But for the life of me, I think I see most of the stuff. And I've stood beside these people who stand in front of those paintings, and I marvel at what they come up with. Scale. Complexity. Tone.

Structure. I'm like, Excuse me, have you ever seen this picture? I mean, do you see what he's painting?

Forget all that stuff for the moment. Do you see why he painted this? And some people read their Bibles in that same way. They're going to go through Mark 13. They take it apart, parse every sentence, and at the end of it, they don't even know why Mark 13's in the Bible. Because they read the Bible as if they were viewing art in an art gallery. The way to read the Bible is if the Bible is a window to it that opens up the subject matter of the Bible, which is that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. So that when you read Mark chapter 13, you say, This part of the Bible is related to every other part of the Bible, which is about the fact that God has spoken in a way that brings clarity and not confusion. Therefore, when we approach the Bible, we must do so, first of all, cautiously.

Cautiously. When I failed my driver's test—not here in America, it's much too easy here—but when I failed it, as a seventeen-year-old boy in England, I know why I failed it, because it was written down on a sheet that was given to me afterwards. And this is what it said on the sheet. Proceeding from a junction without due care and attention. Okay?

So that's what I had done. I had proceeded from a junction without due care and attention, and he said, You failed your test. We can't have you doing that. Because you'll be a danger to yourself and a danger to everybody else. Okay?

You got the point? You proceed cautiously. Cautiously from chapter 12 into chapter 13. Do not proceed from the junction without due care and attention.

You'll cause trouble to yourself and everybody who's around you. Secondly, do so diligently. Diligently. If all you want to do in terms of Bible is just open up on a page and stick your finger in and find a blessed thought, then tough. But if you want to actually get to terms with the Bible, you need to be diligent. That's why the Bereans were such an example in Acts 17. They were more noble than the Jews in Thessalonica, Luke says, because they examined the Scriptures every day to see if these things were so. In other words, Paul—the apostle Paul—is preaching from the Old Testament. They said, We'd better go back and check that.

That seems to me to be a good word. And finally, we need to proceed humbly. I just came across a new little book written by some of that I'd never heard of before. I was reading it this week.

It's called A Little Book for New Theologians. And in this book, Capek says, We cannot fathom how all things work together. Every time we believe our accounts are exhaustive, we inevitably discover just how much we do not know, or all that we have misunderstood. So with all that said, having lined up to chapter 13, we will go forward. You're listening to Truth for Life with Alistair Begg. We hope that today's summary of Mark chapter 13 offers a helpful foundation for our ongoing studies in this chapter.

At Truth for Life, it's our tradition to say thank you for your financial partnership by providing resources and materials designed to enrich your life. Today we want to make available to you a wonderful book written by the late theologian John Stott. It's a short book that ties in naturally with our study of Mark's Gospel, because this book focuses on the way Jesus inspired his disciples to follow him. The book is called The Disciple, and in it John Stott helps us fine tune how we hear from God, reminding us that God is still speaking and actively communicating through his word to those who follow him. And among other things, he helps us understand what the Bible says about finding God's will in our life and ministry. Ask for your copy of The Disciple when you give a donation to support the ministry of Truth for Life.

You can do that on our mobile app or by calling this number 888-588-7884. You can also give and request the book online at truthforlife.org slash donate. In Mark 13, we read about a puzzling conversation between Jesus and one of his disciples regarding the temple in Jerusalem. Tomorrow, Alistair helps us understand the context of this question and how it helps us to prepare for a coming kingdom. Be sure to join us Friday. I'm Bob Lapine. This daily program features the Bible teaching of Alistair Begg, and it's furnished by Truth for Life, where the Learning is for Living.