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JESUS’ DISCOURSE ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE
13:1-37. As they are coming out of the temple, the disciples call Jesus’ attention to the greatness of the stones, and of the building itself. Jesus predicts its complete destruction. They ask him the sign of this, and Jesus shows them first, the danger that they will be deceived by false Messiahs, and by premature omens. They are not to be disturbed by these, but are to look out for themselves, exposed to great dangers, and burdened with the great responsibility of making known their message to all nations (v. 1-13). But when they see the desolating abomination, the Roman army, standing where it ought not, before the city itself, then they are to get out of the city, and not stand on the order of their going. That is to be a time of unparalleled distress, of false and specially plausible Messiahs, and is to be followed immediately by the coming of the Son of Man with the usual Divine portents (v. 14-27). As to the time of these events, it is to be within that generation, but no one, not even the Son of Man, knows the exact time. They need to be on the watch, therefore (v. 28-37).
There have been, up to recent times, two interpretations of this discourse. Both of them separate it into two principal parts: the prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the prophecy of the consummation of all things with the advent of the Messiah in glory. But one of them, the traditional interpretation, postpones the latter part indefinitely, and is still looking for the world-catastrophe which its advocates suppose to be predicted here. The difficulties in the way of this interpretation are grave and insuperable. It ignores the coupling together of the two parts in the discourse, as belonging to one great event. Mt. v. 29, says that they will follow each other immediately. Mk., that they belong to the same general period. It passes over also, or attempts to explain away, the obvious notes of time. All of the accounts wait until they have come to the end of the prophecy, including both parts, before they introduce the statement of the time of all these events, and the statement itself is, that that generation was not to pass away till all these things came to pass. Further, it leaves unexplained the expectation of an immediate coming which colors all the other N.T. books, and all the life of the Church in the subsequent period. But especially, it runs counter to the historical interpretation of prophecy, which gives us the only key to its rational exegesis, by postponing to an indefinite future events which the prophecy itself regards as growing out of the present situation.
The other interpretation, the common one at present, interpreting the prophecy itself in the same way, places the time of its fulfilment in that generation. That is, they involve Jesus himself in the evident error of the other N.T. writings and of the Church in the subsequent period. The error of this interpretation, exegetically not so serious as the other, is that it takes literally language which can be shown to be figurative. But the other and more serious difficulty is, that it commits Jesus to a programme of the future which is directly counter to all his teachings in regard to the kingdom of God.
A third interpretation, the one adopted here, holds that the event predicted in the second part did take place in that generation, and in connection with the destruction of Jerusalem. The event itself, and the signs of it, it interprets according to the analogy of prophecy, figuratively. It finds numerous instances of such use in O.T. prophecy. God coming in the clouds of heaven with his angels, and preceded or announced by disturbances in the heavenly bodies, is the ordinary prophetic manner of describing any special Divine interference in the affairs of nations. See especially Dan_7:13, Dan_7:14, Dan_7:27, where this language is used of the coming of the Son of Man, i.e. of the kingdom of the saints, to take the place of the world-kingdoms. The prophecy becomes thus a prediction of the setting up of the kingdom, and especially of its definite inauguration as a universal kingdom, with the removal of the chief obstacle to that in the destruction of Jerusalem.
1. Κὶἐπρυμνυἐ τῦἱρῦAnd as he was coming out of the temple. The previous scene was in the court of the temple. ἱρνdenotes the whole temple-enclosure. εςτνμθτνone of his disciples. We are not told who it was. Mt. says, his disciples; Lk., certain people.1 πτπὶλθιwhat manner of stones.Liddell and Scott2 Josephus gives the dimensions of these stones as 25 cubits in length, 12 in breadth, and 8 in height. Ferguson, in Bib. Dic., gives the measurements of the temple proper, the νό, as about 100 cubits by 60, with inner enclosure about 180 cubits by 240, and an outer enclosure 400 cubits square, the enclosures being adorned with porticoes and gates of great magnificence.
2. ΚὶὁἸσῦ επνατ, Βέεςτῦα τςμγλςοκδμσ ο μ ἀεῇὧελθςἐὶλθν ὃ ο μ κτλθ—And Jesus said to him, Seest thou these great structures? There will not be left here stone upon stone, which will not be destroyed. This is a rhetorical statement of utter destruction. It would not be a non-fulfilment of this prophecy to find parts of the original structure still standing.
Omit ἀορθὶ, answering, after Ἰσῦ, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBL 33, 115, 237, 255, one ms. Lat. Vet. Egyptt. Pesh. Insert ὧε here, after ἀεῇ Treg. WH. RV. אBDGLM2 U Δmss. Lat. Vet. Pesh. Tisch. objects to this insertion as being taken from Mt., where it occurs without variation. λθν instead of λθ, after ἐὶ Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBGLMUX ΓΠ1, 13, 28, 33, 69, etc. D and a number of mss. of Lat. Vet. add here, and after three days, another will rise up without hands! See J. 2:19.
3. κὶκθμνυατῦεςτ ὄο τ ἐαω3—And he seating himself on the Mount of Olives. Mk. alone adds, over against the temple, as the situation would recall the previous conversation on coming out of the temple. ἐηώαατνκτ ἰίνΠτο κὶἸκβςκ Ἰάνςκ ἈδέςPeter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately. Mk. retains here the order of these names given by him in the account of the appointment of the twelve.4
ἐηώα instead of ἐηώω, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBL 13, 28, 33, 69, 229, Harcl. marg. επν instead of επ, Tisch. Treg. WH. אBDL 1, 13, 28, 33, 69, 346.
4. Επν ἡῖ, πτ τῦαἔτιTell us, when these things will be. τῦαrefers to the destruction of the temple just mentioned.6 But in giving the answer of Jesus, Mk. introduces false Messiahs in such a way as to seem to imply a previous reference to his own reappearance, so that Mk.’s report taken as a whole would imply more than this single reference of the τῦα But this appearance of false Messiahs in Mk.’s account may easily be explained as one of the premature signs of the catastrophe which makes the single subject of the prophecy so far. Moreover, the way in which the destruction of the temple, the reappearance of Jesus, and the consummation of the age are introduced in Mt. (24:2, 3) shows conclusively that in that Gospel the three are all treated as parts and titles of the one event.
5. Ὁδ Ἰσῦ ἤξτ λγι ατῖ, Βέεεμ1—And Jesus began to say to them, Beware lest.
Omit ἀορθὶ, answering, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBL 33, Egyptt. Pesh.
6. πλο ἐεσνα ἐὶτ ὀόαίμυMany will come in my name.
Omit γρ for, Tisch. (Treg. marg.) WH. RV. א B Egyptt.
This warning against false Messiahs coming in his name is occasioned apparently by a part of their question, given by Mt. alone, who states their inquiry thus—what is the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age? Nothing has been said by Mk. to lead up to this warning. The prophecy has been the destruction of the Temple, and the question of the apostles has been when that is to take place. But nothing has been said of his coming. The account of the previous conversation in Mt. would seem necessary therefore to supplement the account of Mk. But see note on τῦα v. 4. Moreover, the πρυί, the coming, of Mt. has no antecedents, and yet it is introduced as something well understood by the disciples, of which they inquired only the time. Before this, the Gospels have taken us only as far as the resurrection of Jesus predicted by himself. And even that prediction they tell us that the disciples did not understand. And yet, here they are talking of his coming again as an understood fact. If it was, then their dismay at his death, and their unbelief of his resurrection, are unaccountable. ἐὶτ ὀόαίμυ in my name. Not his personal name, but his official title. They would not assume to be Jesus returned to the earth, but they would claim his title of Messiah.
7. πλμυ κ ἀοςπλμνwars and rumors of wars. Jesus speaks first of false Messiahs, against whom he warns them. Now, he comes to those commotions which are apt to be taken by men living in critical times and looking forward to great events, as signs of the future. μ θοῖθ—be not alarmed.2 The reason of this injunction is given in what follows, δῖγνσα, they have to come, although γρafter δῖis to be omitted.3 These wars and rumors of wars are necessary, being involved in the nature of things; they are always happening, and so men are not to be disturbed by them as if they were things out of the ordinary course to be construed as signs. They are necessary, but they are not signs of the end; the end is not yet.
Omit γρ for, after δῖ it is necessary, Tisch. (Treg. marg.) WH. RV. א B Egyptt.
8. ἘεθστιγρἔνςἐʼἔνςFor nation will rise against nation. A confirmation of the preceding statement, that wars must be. ἔοτισιμὶκτ τπυ1—there will be earthquakes in divers places. ἔοτιλμίthere will be famines. The statement gains in impressiveness by the omission of κὶbefore these clauses; it reads, For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in divers places; there will be famines.
Omit κὶ and, before ἔοτισιμὶ Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א 28, 124, 299, Egyptt. Omit κὶbefore ἔοτιλμί Tisch. (Treg.) WH. RV. א BL 28, Memph. Omit κὶτρχί and tumults, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א and c BDL mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. Memph.
ἀχ ὠίω τῦαthese things are a beginning of travails. The word ὠίω was in popular use to denote the calamities preceding the advent of the Messiah, and the reason of the figure is to be found not only in the pains, but in the joyous event which they ushered in. But they do not mark the end, but the beginning of that process of travail by which the new birth of the world is to be brought about. The whole paragraph, so far, is a statement of things which need not alarm them, since they are not, as men take them to be, signs of the end.
ἀχ, instead of ἀχὶ Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א U Δ* mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg.
9. Βέεεδ ὑεςἑυος ὑεςis emphatic. But do ye take heed to yourselves. They are not to go about after false Messiahs nor studying portents; they will have their work to do in looking after themselves. πρδσυιὑᾶ—they will deliver you up. σνδι—councils. The word is used of the local tribunals to be found in Jewish towns, modelled somewhat after the Sanhedrim, the great council of Jerusalem. κὶεςσνγγςand into synagogues. The words belong to the preceding πρδσυι, and δρσσεstands by itself. It reads, They will deliver you up to councils and to synagogues. You will be beaten.2 The synagogues were the ecclesiastical tribunal of the town, as the σνδι were the municipal court. ἡεόω—the word used in Greek to denote the Roman provincial governors. To sum up, σνδι and σνγγίwere Jewish tribunals,1 and ἡεόε and βσλῖ were Gentile rulers. They were to be brought before both. ἕεε ἐο—for my sake. It was to be because of their attachment to him, that they were to be brought to trial. εςμρύινατῖ—for a testimony to them. This was the Divine purpose of their appearance before earthly tribunals. They were to stand there to testify to Jesus.
Omit γρafter πρδσυι Tisch. (Treg.) Treg. marg. WH. BL Memph.
10. Κ εςπνατ ἔν—And in all the nations must the glad tidings first be heralded. This is suggested by the mention of Gentile rulers in the preceding. It is a part of that, moreover, which makes it necessary for them to look out for themselves during this period. They are to be subject not only to private persecutions, but to governmental oppositions, and under that pressure they are nevertheless to become heralds of the good news of the kingdom of God in every nation, before the end comes. Hence they have themselves to look out for, and not rumors and portents and signs. Moreover, this shows what he means by the care of themselves that he enjoins upon them. It is not care for their safety, but for their spiritual condition in the face of such opposition, and of so difficult a work.
11. Κὶὅα ἄωι ὐὰ πρδδνε—This is difficult to render. It means, whenever, in the act of delivering them up, men are leading them to the authorities.
κὶὅα, instead of Ὅα δ, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBDL 33, mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. Memph. ἄωι, instead of ἀάωι, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אABDGHKLMUX Γ.
μ ποειντ2 τ λλστ, ἀλ ὃἐνδθ ὑῖ ἐ ἐεν τ ὥᾳ τῦολλῖεdo not be anxious beforehand what to say; but whatever is given you in that hour, this speak. The etymological sense of ποειντ fits in here; do not be distracted before hand; do not let your attention be divided and drawn off from the more important matters before you. ἐ ἐεν τ ὥᾳwhat to speak will be given you at the time of your trial, contrasted with ποειντ. The fact, that it is the Holy Spirit which is to speak in them, shows that it is not their defence of which Jesus is thinking, but of the testimony to the kingdom, v. 9, which is the Divine purpose in bringing them there. This title, Holy Spirit, which became so common in Christian phraseology, is found already in the Jewish writings (not the O.T.) Sap. 1:5. See note on 1:8.
Omit μδ μλττ, nor rehearse, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBDL 1, 33, 69, 157, 209, mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. Egyptt.
12. κὶπρδσιἀεφςἀεφνεςθντνAnd brother will deliver up brother to death.
κὶπρδσι instead of πρδσιδ, אBDL mss. Lat. Vet. Egyptt.
They will be subject not only to governmental opposition, but to private persecution, and this will extend even to members of their own families, so bitter will be the hostility awakened against them.
13. ὁδ ὑοενςεςτλςBut he who has remained steadfast to the end. ὑοέωdenotes steadfastness under trial and opposition. This closes Jesus’ statement of the reason for their taking heed to themselves. They will be persecuted by the powers of the world, and hated by everybody, even in their own families, and in the face of this opposition will have to carry the Gospel to all nations, and the price of their salvation will be steadfastness under it all, even to the end.
14. Ὅα δ ἵηετ βέυμ τςἐηώεςἐτκτ ὅο ο δῖJesus comes now to the real cause of alarm, the sign of the end. It is the βέυμ τςἐηώες the abomination of desolation, or the desolating abomination, standing where it ought not. This title is taken directly from the Sept. of Dan_11:31, Dan_12:11, where it refers probably to the idol altar placed on the altar of burnt offerings by Antiochus Epiphanes. But it seems probable here, that the word, as is frequently the case in N.T. quotations from the O.T., are to be taken not in their historical sense, but in a sense more applicable to the N.T. occasion, and easily contained within the words themselves. Lk. supplies us with this interpretation, when he makes Jerusalem surrounded by armies to be the sign of the end. Jerusalem would be the holy place (Mat_24:15) where the abomination of desolation ought not to stand, and the abomination of desolation would be the abhorred and devastating armies of Rome. Wars and rumors of wars, as long as they keep away from the holy place, are not signs of the end, but when they attack the holy city, then beware. ὁἀαιώκννετ—let him that reads understand. There has been much debate whether these words belong to Jesus’ discourse, or have been interpolated by the writer. The use of ἀαιώκν instead of ἀοω, decides this, as the omission of the words τ ῥθνδὰΔνὴ, τ πο, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, leaves nothing for ἀαιώκνto refer to, except what Jesus himself says, and it is only after that has been committed to writing, that ἀαιώκνcan be used in reference to it. Mk. intends to call special attention to this part of Jesus’ prophecy. And evidently this is because his readers stood in the shadow of this approaching event, and it became them therefore to read intelligently what Jesus has to say about it. If it is asked why attention is called to this particular part of the prophecy, it is because Jesus himself calls attention to it as containing the key to the situation; this is the sign of the end. When that takes place, they need expect no other result of the siege, than that predicted. εςτ ὄηinto the mountains. Mountains are mentioned as the natural places of refuge.
15. ὁ(δ) ἐὶτῦδμτςμ κτβτ, μδ εσλάω ἆα τ ἐ τςοκα ατῦ(And) let not him who is upon the house descend, nor go in to take anything out of the house. They are not to descend, but flee immediately by the external approach to the roof, instead of going down into the house for any purpose. The whole is an expression of the haste necessary to escape the impending event.
Omit δ (Treg. marg.) WH. BFH, one ms. Lat. Vet. Memph. Omit εςτνοκα, into the house, Tisch. WH. RV. אBL two mss. Lat. Vet. Egyptt. Pesh. εσλάω instead of -θτ, Tisch. Treg. WH. א Δ13, 28, 346.
16. Κὶὁεςτνἀρνμ ἐιτεάωεςτ ὀίωἄα τ ἱάινand let not him who is in the field turn back to take his outer garment. The picture is of a man who has left his outer garment in the house for work in the field.
Omit ὢ after ἀρν Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBDL Δ1, 28, 209, 245, 299, mss. Lat. Vet. Memph.
18. ποεχσεδ ἵαμ γντιχιῶο—And pray that it may not take place in the winter time. The catastrophe is meant, and not their flight. The reason given, viz. the unheard-of greatness of the calamity, shows this.
Omit ἡφγ ὑῶ, your flight, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א* and ca BDL most mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg.
19. ἔοτιγρα ἡέα ἐ. θίι—for those days will be tribulation, instead of a time of tribulation. Wetstein translates the expression, one prolonged calamity. οαο γγν τιύηliterally, such as there has not been such.2
ἢ, instead of ἧ, after κίες Tisch. Treg. WH. אBC * L 28.
20. Κὶε μ ἐοόωε3 κρο τςἡέα, οκἂ ἐώηπσ σρ—And if the Lord had not shortened those days, no flesh would have been saved. The aor. tenses put this action in the past—if the Lord had not shortened the time, no flesh would have been saved. The language is proleptic, stating the event as it already existed in the Divine decree.1 It is needless to say that ἐώηis used of physical deliverance, though it has been interpreted of the deliverance from temptation to unfaithfulness in such an hour of trial. τὺ ἐλκοςοςἐεέαοthe elect, whom he elected.2 There will be some among that multitude given over to destruction who are God’s own chosen ones, and on their account he shortened (in the Divine decree) these days. It would be the number, and not the length of those days, that God would shorten.
21. Κὶττ ἐντςὑῖ επ, Ἴε ὧεὁχιτς ἴε ἐε, μ πσεεεAnd then, if any one says to you, See, here the Messiah, see, there, believe it not. ττ, then, is added to the warning against false Messiahs appearing in the preceding period (v. 6).
Ἴε instead of the first ἰο, Tisch. Treg. WH. אBL. Ἴε instead of second Ἰο, Tisch. Treg. WH. אBDL 28. Omit ἤ or, before it, Tisch. WH. אLU 40, 69, 127, 131, 157, two mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. πσεεε instead of πσεστ, Tisch. Treg. WH. אABCDEFHLV Δ
22. ἐεθσνα γρ(δ) ψυόρσο κὶψυορφτι κὶδσυι(πισυι σμῖ κὶτρτ,4 πὸ τ ἀολνν ε δντν τὺ ἐλκοςfor (and) false Messiahs and false prophets will arise, and will give (do) signs and prodigies, in order to deceive, if possible, the elect.
δσυιbelongs especially to σμῖ, rather than τρτ. A sign is something given in proof of one’s claim. τρτ denotes miracles as wonders, abortive, unearthly, and portentous phenomena, and thus corresponds most exactly to our word miracles. πὸ τ ἀολνν may denote result, as well as object.6 But ε δντν if possible, points to the signification of object. ἐλκος here and in v. 20, does not have its dogmatic sense, but the literary sense of choice or picked men seems to accord with the spirit of the passage. They are distinguished from the common crowd.
This manifestation of false Messiahs and prophets is to be distinguished from the one in v. 6, in the time before the end, being accompanied by these miracles and signs, so that the danger of deception is greater.
Tisch. reads δ, instead of γρ at the beginning of the verse with אC, regarding γρas copied from Mt., where it is the invariable reading. Also πισυι, instead of δσυι with D 13, 28, 69, 91, 124, 299, 346, two mss. Lat. Vet., for the same reason. Omit κὶbefore τὺ ἐλκος Tisch. (Treg.) WH. RV. אBDgrk.
It is singular to see David George (1556), Lodowick Muggleton (1746), John Cochran (1868), enumerated among the Messiahs foretold in this prophecy. (Morison.) Whatever opinion is held as to the contents of the prophecy, whether it refers simply to the destruction of Jerusalem with whatever significance may be attached to that, or includes also the visible coming of the Lord and the final judgment, there is general consent now that the prophecy is restricted in time to that generation, v. 30. In general, the historical interpretation of prophecy is fairly settled.
23. ὑεςδ βέεεBut do you be on the lookout. The effect of the insertion of the pronoun is to emphasize it. The purpose of the false prophets and Messiahs is to deceive even the elect. But they, the elect, are to take heed. They do not belong to the unprepared multitude, but have been prepared by their Master. Those who divide the prophecy into two parts, one referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the other to the end of the world, make the division at v. 20. But this ὑεςβέεεis strongly against any interpretation which makes the warning refer to a time when none of the disciples to whom it was addressed were living. The warning might include others besides these, but should certainly include them.
Omit ἰο, lo, before ποίηα I have told you beforehand, Tisch. Treg. WH. BL 28 one ms. Lat. Vet. Memph.
We come now to the coming of the Son of Man, with its accompanying portents, v. 24-27. It is placed after the destruction of Jerusalem, but in the same general period: in those days, after that affliction. The portents, the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the stars, belong to that event, and not to the destruction of Jerusalem. This separation of the two events which might seem to belong together, means that the fall of Jerusalem is a preparation for the Advent, which cannot take place without it. It is that end of the old order which must precede the beginning of the new.
24. ἐ ἐενι τῖ ἡέαςin those days. These words denote the general period which he is describing, the fall of Jerusalem. This coming of the Son of Man belongs to that epoch. μτ τνθίι ἐεννafter that calamity. The θίι referred to is that of v. 19; so that what follows is included in the period, but placed after the calamity. ὁἥιςσοιθστιthe sun will be darkened. This disturbance of the heavenly bodies, and the prediction of the coming of the Son of Man, have been supposed to be decisive of the view that this prophecy looks beyond the fall of Jerusalem to the end of the world. But this darkening and fall of the heavenly bodies is so common an accompaniment of O.T. prophecy, and its place is so definitely and certainly fixed there, as belonging to the Apocalyptic imagery of prophecy, and not to the prediction of events, that it presents no difficulty whatever, and does not even create a presumption in favor of the view that this is a prophecy of the final catastrophe. In Isa_13:10, it reads, “For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. …I will make the heaven to tremble, and the earth shall be shaken out of her place.” But this is a part of the prophecy of the destruction of Babylon by the Medes. In Isa_34:4, it reads, “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and all their host shall fade away as the leaf fadeth from off the vine, and as a fading leaf from the fig tree,” where the event predicted is the judgment of Edom. In Eze_32:7, Eze_32:8, similar language is used of the judgment of Egypt, and in Amo_8:9, of the northern kingdom. In Joe_2:30, Joe_2:31, Joe_2:3:15, where the subject is the judgment of the nations in connection with the return of Judah from captivity (see 3:1), it says: “I will show wonders in the heavens above, and in the earth blood and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. …The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.” That is to say, this language is intended to portray the greatness of the doom of such nations as come under the judgment of God. When he comes in judgment, the earth and even the heavens dissolve before him. But it is needless to minimize these words into eclipses, or earthquakes, or meteoric showers, or to magnify them into actual destruction of sun and moon and stars. They are not events, but only imaginative portrayal of what it means for God to interfere in the history of nations. α δνμι α ἐ τ ορνῖ. δνμςis used frequently in Greek writers of armies, hosts, and hence it is used to translate the Heb. צבאהשּמיםthe host of heaven, a phrase used of the stars (2 K. 17:16, 23:4, Isa_34:4). See Thay.-Grm. Lex.
ἔοτιἐ τῦορνῦ instead of τῦορνῦἔοτι Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אABCU Π mss. Lat. Vet. Egyptt. Pesh. πποτς instead of ἐπποτς same editors, and אBCDL Π mss. Lat. Vet.
26. κὶττ ὄοτιτνυὸ τ ἀθώο ἐχμννἐ νφλῖ—And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds. This language is not to be taken literally, any more than that about the heavenly bodies. That is, usage makes it unnecessary, and in this case, the immediate connection with the destruction of Jerusalem makes it impossible. In Psa_97:1-5, the reign of God on earth has the same accompaniment of clouds, darkness, and fire. In Isa_19:1, Yahweh is represented as coming on a swift cloud to Egypt. In Zec_9:14, when God stirs the sons of Zion against the sons of Greece, he, himself, is seen above the combatants, sending forth his arrows like lightning, blowing the trumpet, and coming in the whirlwinds of the south. And in Psa_18:5-16, is the locus classicus, where all the powers of nature are made to contribute to the pomp of Yahweh’s coming to the rescue of his servant. But the passage from which this language is taken is Dan_7:13, in which one like a Son of Man comes with the clouds of heaven, and the Ancient of Days gives him an everlasting and universal kingdom. The writer has seen a vision of four beasts, which are four kingdoms, and then he has a vision not of a beast, but of a Son of Man, to whom is given not a perishable kingdom like that of the beasts, but an everlasting kingdom. And when he explains this kingdom like the others, it appears to be the kingdom of the saints of the Most High. But the point is, that in this vision, the clouds are not to be taken literally; they make a part of the picture, intended to represent that this kingdom to be set up on the earth is after all not an earthly kingdom, but one coming down out of heaven, a theocracy. If any one had suggested to the writer, that it was to have a literal fulfilment, he would have said that that was not in his mind. Jesus then, in adopting this language, meant that this prophecy out of the O.T. was to be fulfilled in himself at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. Then the kingdom of God is to be set up in the world, that unworldly and everlasting kingdom of which the sign is not a beast, but one like a Son of Man coming in the clouds. But here, we face the question, what there was in this catastrophe of the Jewish nation which can be described as a coming of the Son of Man in the clouds with power and great glory. All the marks of time in the chapter point to that one time and confine us to that; and, as we have seen, the language, which seems to point to a world-catastrophe and the consummation of all things, does not take us beyond that, since it is used elsewhere of events, such as the destruction of Babylon and the judgment of Edom, which have the same general character as this destruction of Jerusalem. But what is there about this event that can be called a coming of the Son of Man with power and great glory? The answer to this is to be found in the fact that Christ is said in the N.T., to have assumed the seat of power at the right hand of God, and especially that the government of the world has been committed to him. The same language that has been used in the O.T., therefore, to represent a Divine intervention in the affairs of the world, especially in great national crises, is now applied to the Messianic King, who rules, not on an earthly but a heavenly throne. And neither in the one case nor the other is a visible coming implied. But Mt., in the account of the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrim, uses a word which is decisive of the way in which the coming of the Son of Man is to be taken. Jesus says, Mat_26:64, ἀʼἄτ ὄεθ τ υὸ τ ἀθώο κθμννἐ δξῶ τ δνμω, κ ἐχμννἐὶτ νφλνHenceforth, from this time on, you will see the Son of Man seated on the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven. This settles two things: first, that the coming is not a single event, any more than the sitting on the right hand of Power; and second, that it was a thing which was to begin with the very time of our Lord’s departure from the world. Moreover, the two things, the sitting at the right hand of Power, and the coming, are connected in such a way as to mean that he is to assume power in heaven and exercise it here in the world. The period beginning with the departure of Jesus from the world was to be marked by this assumption of heavenly power by the Christ, and by repeated interferences in crises of the world’s history, of which this destruction of Jerusalem was the first. With it, there was to be a consummation of that age, σνέεατῦαῶο, a winding up of the Jewish period, and with it the removal of the great obstacle at that time to the setting up of the kingdom of God in the world.
27. κ ττ ἀοτλῖτὺ ἀγλυ, κ ἐιυάε τ ἐλκος etc.—And then he will send forth the angels, and will gather (his) elect. This gathering of the elect is the process of establishing the kingdom, and has been going on from the beginning. All the processes by which men are brought to the acknowledgment of Christ and the obedience of the kingdom belong to the gathering of the elect. The angels represent the invisible heavenly agencies in an earthly event. The introduction of them means that there is that invisible, Divine side to a human transaction. Back of all that men are doing for the conversion of the world, is the Lord Christ with the hosts of heaven, see J. 1:51. As for the time, it begins then, at the time of the consummation of the Jewish age, because Judaism was the great obstacle at that time to the universal spread of the kingdom. Under its influence, Christianity threatened to become a mere appendage of Judaism, to have the particularism, formalism, and legalism of that religion grafted upon it in such a way that it could never become a universal religion. With the removal of this obstacle, could begin, not the gathering of the elect, but the gathering of them from the four quarters of the world, the universal gathering.
Omit ατῦ his, after τὺ ἀγλυ, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. BDL mss. Lat. Vet. Omit ατῦafter ἐλκος Tisch. Treg. (WH.) DL 1, 28, 91, 299, mss. Lat. Vet. Tisch. regards ατῦas taken from Mat_24:31.
28. τνπρβλνthe parable, the illustration or analogy to be drawn from the fig tree. ὅα …ὁκάο …ἀαὸ γντιwhenever its branch has become tender. When the young branches, or twigs, that produce the leaves are softened by the sap flowing through them. These things are a sign of approaching summer, and signs are just as reliable in the world of events as in the physical world. But they are signs of the same kind. Causes are to be found in effects, and effects in causes in both spheres.
29. οτ κὶὑεςthe pronoun is emphatic, distinguishing the restricted ὑες addressed only to his disciples, from the general ὑεςimplied in the preceding γνσεε You know, and so does everybody, the natural sign; and you disciples are to know in like manner these signs of coming events. τῦαthese things, the besieging armies, and the sufferings of the siege, see v. 14. ἐγςἐτνit is near; the subject is taken for granted as being in all their minds. ἐὶθρι— at the doors, a common figurative expression of nearness.
30. ἡγνὰατ—this generation. The word is always used by Jesus to denote the men living at that time. This use is sufficient against the supposition that it means the Jewish race, or the human race, devices introduced to make it possible to interpret the prophecy as applying to the end of the world. But what meaning would either have as marks of time for the general winding up of human affairs? No, the statement means that these events are to take place during the lifetime of Jesus’ contemporaries, and the events are, therefore, what the whole prophecy surely indicates, those connected with the fall of the Jewish state and the destruction of Jerusalem. πνατῦαHere is the answer to those who suppose that the prophecy is to be divided into two parts, one predicting the Jewish catastrophe, and the other the world-catastrophe. All these things, and not the minor part of them, are to take place within that generation.
31. A proverbial statement of the inevitableness of his words. The most stable and enduring of all physical things, in fact the whole physical frame of things, will pass away, i.e. will perish and come to naught; but his words are imperishable.
πρλύοτι instead of πρλῶι Tisch. Treg. WH. אBL. Omit μ, WH. BD *.
32. πρ δ τςἡέα ἐενςἢτςὥα—Jesus has given them the signs by which they may recognize the event when it comes, and has told them generally that it will be within that generation, but more specifically, the day, or the hour, no one knows. οδ …οδ. The use of οδ forbids our translating this neither, nor. The first means not even and the second nor. οδ is disjunctive, whereas neither, nor, is conjunctive. The preceding verses have fixed the time; this declares it to be unknown. And from this an inference has been made favorable to the view that the prophecy is divided into two parts, the fixed and near time being assigned to the near event, and the unknown time to the far event of the general catastrophe. But the conjunction of day and hour in the statement serves to call attention to the exact time, and to the greater or less approximateness of knowledge which Jesus disclaims in regard to it. This is emphasized, rather than a certain period contrasted with another. Moreover, here as elsewhere in the discourse, there is an absence of everything to mark off the two periods from each other.
οδ ὁυό—This denial of omniscience to the Son has caused all manner of theological tinkering. It means, say some, that he did not know it on his human side; or by a refinement, he did know it as man, but the knowledge was not derived from his human nature, but from the Divine; or he had no knowledge of it that he was authorized to impart, he was not supposed to know it; or the knowledge lay within his reach, but he did not choose to take it up into his consciousness; and some go so far even as to make the passage an Arian interpolation. But the statement need create no surprise in those who accept the statement of our Lord’s humanity, especially when it is accompanied by statements of this particular limitation of his humanity; cf. Luk_2:52, Mar_11:12, Mar_11:13. ε μ ὁπτρliterally, except the Father. This belongs with οδὶ οδν and should follow it immediately—no one knows, except the Father. The intervening clauses make an adversative statement more normal. This limitation corresponds to what we know of the nature of inspiration. It increases human knowledge, but does not alter the nature of it. It conveys a knowledge of the future as contained in the present, and so an approximate knowledge of the time, e.g. that the fall of the Jewish nation would come in that generation. But it would not enable a man to predict the exact time, the day, or the hour.
ἢ instead of κὶ before τςὥα, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. ABCEGHK Lam_2 UVWb X ΓΠmss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. Harcl. Omit ο before ἐ ορν, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אDK* LUW 11, 28, 115, 262, 299, mss. Lat. Vet. Vulg. Memph. Pesh.
33. Βέεε ἀρπετ1—Take heed, be watchful. This duty of watchfulness arises from the uncertainty of the time. Knowledge of it would leave time for them to be off their guard.
Omit κὶποεχσε and pray, Tisch. (Treg.) WH. RV.marg. BD 122, mss. Lat. Vet. one ms. Vulg.
34. ὡ ἄθωο ἀόηο …κὶτ θρρ ἐεελτ ἵαγηοῇ γηοετ—There is nothing to be supplied before ὡ like ἐτν but the correlative of ὡ is γηοετ. It reads—As a man away from home, having left his house, and having given the charge to his servants, also gave orders to the porter to watch, watch ye therefore. The full statement of the comparison would be, so I say to you, watch. The abruptness of the statement in its present form makes it more forcible.
Omit κὶbefore ἑάτ, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBC* DL 238, 248, mss. Lat. Vet.
ἢὀέ ἢμσνκιν ἢἀετρφνα,1 ἢπω—either in the evening, or at midnight, or at cock-crowing, or in the morning. These words denote the four watches of the night, from six to six.2
Insert ἢbefore ὀέ Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. אBCL Δone ms. Lat. Vet. Memph. Harcl. marg. μσνκιν instead of -το, Tisch. Treg. WH. אBCL Δ
36. μ ἐθνἐαφη ερ ὑᾶ κθύοτςlest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. This clause depends on γηοετ, v. 35—watch, lest he find you sleeping. The last clause of v. 35 is parenthetical.
37. ὃδ ὑῖ λγ, πσ λγ, Γηοετ—and what I say to you, I say to all, Watch. What Jesus had said before applied especially to the apostles, whose duties, like those of porter in a house, required special watchfulness. But in the kingdom of God, this watchfulness is required of all, though it is specially necessary in those left in charge of things. It is not intended to carry out the comparison any further than this, that the apostles, like a doorkeeper in a house, needed specially to be on the watch.
1 Mat_24:1, Luk_21:5.
2 πτπίis a later form for the Greek πδπί On the etymology of the word, see Liddell and Scott, Thay.-Grm. Lex. Properly, the word denotes origin—from what country?—but from Demos. on, it has also the meaning, of what sort? Here, it is exclamatory, calling attention to the greatness of the temple buildings.
Bib. Dic. Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible (1st or 2d edition).
Tisch. Tischendorf.
Treg. Tregelles.
WH. Westcott and Hort.
RV. Revised Version.
אCodex Sinaiticus.
B Codex Vaticanus.
L Codex Regius.
33 Codex Regius.
Lat. Vet. Vetus Latina.
Egyptt. Egyptian Versions.
Pesh. Peshito.
D Codex Ephraemi.
M Codex Campianus.
U Codex Nanianus.
ΔCodex Sangallensis
G Codex Wolfi A.
ΓCodex Tischendorfianus
ΠCodex Petropolitianus
1 .Codex Basiliensis
13 Codex Regius.
28 Codex Regius.
69 Codex Leicestrensis.
3 On this use of εςwith a verb of rest, see Thay.-Grm. Lex.
4 See 3:16-18.
Harcl. Harclean.
marg. Revided Version marg.
346 Codex Ambrosianus.
5 The imper. επνis from sec. aor. επ.
6 The plural is used because this event is complex, including in itself a multiplied series of events.
1 On this unclassical use of βέεν see Thay.-Grm. Lex.
2 A late meaning of the word, which means properly, do not make an outcry.
3 Notice the asyndetic character of the entire discourse, so peculiar to Mk.’s abrupt style.
1 On this distributive use of κτ, see Win. 49 d, b).
Memph. Memphitic.
Vulg. Vulgate.
K Codex Cyprius.
S Codex Vaticanus.
2 So Erasmus, Tyndale, Meyer, Treg. Morison. The more common interpretation makes εςσνγγςa pregnant construction after δρσσεyou will be (taken) into synagogues (and) beaten. Meyer points out that to leave δρσσεstanding disconnected agrees admirably with the general asyndetic character of the discourse.
1 See Schü II. 1, §23, 11.; II, 2, §27.
A Codex Alexandrinus.
H Codex Wolfi B.
2 This verb is found only here in the N.T., and elsewhere only in ecclesiastical writings.
209 An unnamed, valuable manuscript.
1 On this form, see Win. 13, 1.
F Codex Borelli.
2 On this redundancy, see Win. 22, 4b.
C Codex Bezae.
3 ἐοόωε is used in the Greek only of physical mutilation. In the N.T., it is used only here and in the parallel passage in Mt., of cutting short time. A striking instance of the interdependence of the Synoptics.
1 Win. 42, 2 b; Mey. on Mat_24:22.
2 On this redundancy, and the similar fulness of expression in κίεςἣ ἔτσν creation which he created, v. 19, see Meyer’s Note.
E Codex Basiliensis.
V Codex Mosquensis.
3 Words compounded with ψυο are common in later Greek, but not in the classical period. ψυόατςis the Greek word for false prophet.
4 τρτ occurs only here and in the parallel passage in Mt., in the Synoptics. Its most frequent use is in the Acts.
5 ἀολννoccurs elsewhere in the N.T. only in 1Ti_6:10.
6 Win. 49 h.
Thay.-Grm. Thayer’s Grimm.
1 ἀρπετ is compounded of αprivative and ὕνς and means literally be sleepless. This and the parallel passage, Luk_21:36, are the only places where the word occurs in the Gospels, so that this is another instance of the quite certain interdependence of the Synoptical Gospels.
1 This word belongs to later Greek.
2 See Thay.-Grm. Lex. ἀετοωί.
3 On this use of the acc. to denote approximately the time of an event, see Win. 36, 2.