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Mark 13: The Eschatological Discourse

No study of Mark would be complete without a consideration of Mk 13.  It uses the important contemporary genre of apocalyptic writing, which otherwise appears only briefly in the .  This chapter is unique in Mark in that it is one continuous discourse carefully composed and woven together, unlike the short, pithy incidents otherwise given.  It is the one outlook on the future which clearly looks towards the future of the community. It is therefore of central importance for understanding the view put forward by Mark for the future mission of the Church.

Apocalyptic Writing

In the final centuries before Christ a Day of the Lord was awaited when the Lord would set everything to rights by punishing the guilty and rewarding the faithful. It is first mentioned in Amos 5:18-20, where it is a Day when the rich will be punished for their oppression of the poor. In Amos 8:9-10 it is described in lurid terms of cosmic upheaval, the sun going down at noon and the earth plunged into darkness. Such writing comes to be called “apocalyptic” i.e. “revelatory”; it reveals the future, but always uses certain conventions. Starting from the basis of Amos, its terms become more and more dramatic, especially in the latest chapters of : A cracking, the earth cracks open, A jolting, the earth gives a jolt, A lurching, the earth lurches backwards and forwards. The earth will reel to and fro like a drunkard, It will be shaken like a shanty, so heavy will be its sin on it. (Isaiah 24:19-20; cf Zephaniah 1:14-18; Zechariah 14)

Such writing reaches its fullest biblical development in the Book of , where it has a number of features which are regularly present. These may be illustrated from the vision of Dan 7:

1. It is pseudonymous i.e. attributed to an authoritative writer who is not the real author. Pseudonymity was a common phenomenon at this time: the Books of Wisdom and Ecclesiastes are both pseudonymously attributed to Solomon; the Books of Henoch are attributed to Henoch of Gen 5:24. The is attributed to a Daniel who was active in the Babylonian Exile. The stories of Dan 1-6 are a mish-mash of various periods and kings of , and Daniel himself is modelled on an ancient sage named Daniel, mentioned in Ezek 14:14. 2. It is conveyed by dreams (Dan 7:1), decoded by a heavenly interpreter (7:16) 3. It is full of bizarre imagery and symbolic numbers (7:6-7). 2

4. There is easy access between earth and heaven in both directions (7:13). 5. The message is divine vindication, the release of ’s People from pressing persecution (the four beasts stand for the empires which have oppressed Judaism, and the “” [7:13, 27] stands for the people of Israel who will eventually be vindicated from the oppression of Antiochus Epiphanes, who tried to suppress Judaism in 167 BC).

Such writing became widespread in C1st Judaism, as the people yearned more and more for release from Roman domination. Extra-biblical examples are the Books of Henoch, the Qumran Testament of Amram (4 Q Amram), Second Esdras etc. In the NT traces of the same style of writing occur e.g. in Paul’s description of the last trumpet and Christ’s triumphal procession (1 Thess 4:16- 17), Paul’s into the third heaven (2 Cor 12:2-4), the earthquake and the entry of the dead into the Holy City at the death of (Mt 26:51-53), and of course in the . Not all five features mentioned above are necessarily present in shorter episodes, but in the climax of Mk 13:24-26 the last three are clearly seen, bizarre cosmic imagery, transition between earth and heaven, and the promise of vindication after persecution.

The Structure of Mk 13

The discourse is carefully structured:

 After the introduction, each of the three sections is ruled by a biblical quotation, from Daniel in vv. 14, 26, from Isaiah in v.30.

 The first and third sections are in the form of a chiasmus i.e. each is symmetrically shaped, with the climax in the centre. Vv.5-6 balance vv.21- 22 (false prophets); v.7 balances v.14 (“when you hear”, “when you see”) and the climax is the persecution of vv.9-13. Similarly vv.28-29 balance vv.33-34 (); v.30 balances v.32 (solemn ), and the climax is the certainty of v.31.

 The whole is wrapped by “Be on your guard” in vv.5 and 33, repeated in vv.9 and 23. The conclusion is wrapped by the insistent “Stay awake”, vv.35 and 37, linked to vv.33 and 34.

 The language is unlike the rest of Mark. Predictions and imperatives are rare in Mark, while here they are constant. Count the number of occurrences of “will” and of commands! By contrast, the tedious “And”, at the beginning of almost every verse in Mk (35x in Mk 1), has almost disappeared (10x in vv.5-37). Some question whether Mark wrote this chapter. It has been suggested that Mark built upon a previous document and made it his own.

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Introduction

1 As he was leaving the Temple one of his disciples said to him, 'Master, look at the size of those stones! Look at the size of those buildings!' 2 and Jesus said to him, 'You see these great buildings? Not a single stone will be left on another; everything will be pulled down.' 3 and while he was sitting on the , facing the Temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew questioned him when they were by themselves, 4 'Tell us, when is this going to happen, and what sign will there be that it is all about to take place?'

The beginning of sorrows

5 Then Jesus began to tell them, 'Take care that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come using my name and saying, "I am he," and they will deceive many.

7 When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed; this is something that must happen, but the end will not be yet. 8 For nation fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is the beginning of the birth-pangs.

9 'Be on your guard: you will be handed over to ; you will be beaten in ; and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as evidence to them, 10 since the must first be proclaimed to all nations. 11 'and when you are taken to be handed over, do not worry beforehand about what to say; no, say whatever is given to you when the time comes, because it is not you who will be speaking; it is the Holy Spirit. 12 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will come forward against their parents and have them put to death. 13 You will be universally hated on account of my name; but anyone who stands firm to the end will be saved.

14 'When you see the appalling set up where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judaea must escape to the mountains; 15 if a man is on the housetop, he must not come down or go inside to collect anything from his house; 16 if a man is in the fields, he must not turn back to fetch his cloak. 17 Alas for those with child, or with babies at the breast, when those days come! 18 Pray that this may not be in winter. 19 For in those days there will be great distress, unparalleled since God created the world, and such as will never be again. 20 and if the Lord had not 4

shortened that time, no human being would have survived; but he did shorten the time, for the sake of the elect whom he chose.

21 'and if anyone says to you then, "Look, here is the Christ" or, "Look, he is there," do not believe it; 22 for false Christs and false prophets will arise and produce signs and portents to deceive the elect, if that were possible. 23 You, therefore, must be on your guard. I have given you full warning.

The coming of the Son of Man

24 'But in those days, after that time of distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, 25 the stars will come falling out of the sky and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 and then they will see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and . 27 and then he will send the to gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the world to the ends of the sky.

The time of this coming

28 'Take the fig tree as a : as soon as its twigs grow supple and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 So with you when you see these things happening: know that he is near, right at the gates.

30 In truth I tell you, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place.

31 Sky and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

32 'But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.

33 'Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man travelling abroad: he has gone from his home, and left his servants in charge, each with his own work to do; and he has told the doorkeeper to stay awake.

Conclusion

35 So stay awake, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming, evening, midnight, cockcrow or dawn; 36 if he comes unexpectedly, he must not find you asleep. 37 and what I am saying to you I say to all: Stay awake! 5

Message: The Persecution and Rescue of the Disciples

1. A farewell speech to a great man’s followers is a convention of ancient literature. One of the most famous is Socrates’ farewell speech before he commits suicide, the Apologia. Biblical examples are the Discourses in Jn 14-17 and Paul’s discourse to the elders of Ephesus (Acts 20: 17-35). Such a speech normally warns of perils and dangers to come and assures the followers of help and eventual success. Mk 13 is just such a speech, warning the disciples of persecution and defections to come, and assuring them of eventual release and vindication. It makes use of the conventions of apocalyptic especially in vv.24-27.

2. The clue to the interpretation is the “appalling abomination” in v.14. This quotation of Daniel is an allusion (& the apocalyptic genre works by biblical allusions) to the idolatrous set up in the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes during his persecution of the in 167 BC. Now, however, it refers to the desecration of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD. The turmoil of wars and rumours of wars, nation fighting against nation, false and false prophets is the upheavals leading up to the Sack of . The formal, prophetic and allusive language is so much a part of the idiom of apocalyptic that it is impossible to tell whether the Sack has already taken place or is simply seen as inevitable. It is, however, seen as the birth-pangs (v.8), and the Sack of Jerusalem as somehow marking a significant stage in the coming of the Kingdom. This indeed it did, for the demise of Jerusalem marked the moment of liberation of from Judaism.

3. The timing of the coming remained a worry and a puzzle. There are three decisive sayings of Jesus in Mark which suggest that the realisation of the kingship of God is not to be long delayed:

a. Before the Transfiguration Jesus declares,

There are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingship of God come with power (9:1).

This is one of the most discussed verses in Mark’s gospel. Firstly a distinction must be made between the original meaning in Jesus’ mouth and the meaning which the verse takes in Mark. In Mark the striking position surely indicates that Mark is pointing it towards the 6

Transfiguration itself, and regards the Transfiguration as at least partly fulfilling it. Was this the original sense, or has Mark given the saying a different sense by inserting it in this context?

b. At the Last Supper Jesus says,

I shall never drink wine any more until the day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God (14:25)

This saying is not part of the original tradition of the institution of the eucharist; it has no inherent connection with this event. The saying must be an independent saying garnered by Mk and deliberately placed here. Mark therefore placed it here with the intention that the reader should see its fulfilment in the immediately-following Passion and account.

c. Similarly, before the High Priest Jesus replies

You will see the son of man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven (14:62)

Here it is the “you will see…” that is remarkable. Mark must have considered that in some sense the Coming would happen within their lifetime. This can only have been the Resurrection itself or the events foretold in Mk 13; the similarity of language points to the latter.

The fulfilment of the Kingship must therefore be seen as occurring in stages. There was no one utterly decisive moment. Included must be:

 (the conception of Jesus, the birth of Jesus – not in Mk)  The preparatory message of the Baptist,  The proclamation of Jesus,  The death and  The liberation from Judaism  The final coming of Christ.

About the timing of this last Mk 13 gives no indication beyond the urgent and repeated “stay awake” and the parables of 13:28-34. If Mark was written before the imminent Sack of Jerusalem, the question must be asked whether he foresaw this event as the occasion of the final Coming. This would coincide with Paul’s pressing expectation of the End in 1 Thess 4:15-5:3 and 1 Cor 7:29-31 and the early Christians prayer Maranatha (1 Cor 16:22).