“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”-Matthew 23:37
This Wednesday, we are scheduled to study Mark chapter 13. These passages are some of the most disputed in the word of God. Is Jesus referring to the judgement day at the end of time? Is this the Rapture being described? Is this the vengeance of God on a people who turned their back on his Son and crucified Jesus the Messiah? Save for question number two (No), elements of the other questions are included in this one book of the Bible.
Mark chapter 13 is parallel to Matthew chapter 24 and Luke chapter 21. As you prepare for this week’s lesson, it will serve you well to study them as one passage.
There is no doubt these three sections deal with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. This event is an historical fact. The Jews rebelled against their Roman overlords over a period of four years. In that time, Rome killed over a million people in Jerusalem and Titus, the general for the campaign, eventually became emperor.
The difficulty in understanding this piece of Jesus’ teaching comes from the prophetic language used. In Old Testament books like Isaiah and Ezekiel, God states his messages in word pictures. He wants us to sense basic things. Is this scene good or bad? Are God’s people saved or destroyed? For instance, in Isaiah 7:18; “the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.” Are we to think that swarms of bees and flies came down and destroyed Israel? No, God is letting us know, this will be bad. Prophetic language deals with actual events, but they are described in visions and hyperbolic wording.
Here are a few tips for understanding Jesus’ words. In Matthew 24:3 are the apostles asking two questions or three? Mark and Luke record two (When will these things be & what sign will precede them?). Matthew adds a third (What will be the sign of the end of the age/world?).
Commentators differ on which parts refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and which belong to the end of time. Matthew Chumbley in his commentary on Matthew ascribes almost the entire chapter to the destruction of Jerusalem. In the Gospel Advocate commentary, H. Leo Boles sees Jerusalem in AD 70 and a future date for the second coming and judgement day. Here is Boles on Matthew 24:40, “Again Jesus emphasizes the suddenness of the destruction of Jerusalem and of his second coming and the judgment.”
Read all three accounts: Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21. Then join us Wednesday night!
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