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Sermon Notes

Mark–the Right Now Gospel
Chapter 13
Pt 20
“The Olivet Discourse”
Mark 13:1-23
Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple
1 “Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”
2 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”
Now, the other two synoptic gospels–Matthew and Luke–where the Olivet discourse is also recorded, are very important to get a full understanding of what Jesus has said here, including the nature of the disciple’s questions.
Both Matthew and Luke simply tell us that “the disciples” asked Jesus the questions. Only Mark reveals it was Peter, James, John, and Andrew.
Jesus has just predicted the utter destruction of the Temple. Shocked by this prediction, the four disciples in Mark’s account ask Jesus “When will these things be?”–referring to the destruction of the Temple. In Lukes account it is the same–“What sign will there be when these things (the destruction of the Temple) are about to take place?”
Only with Matthew’s account do we have more added–“When will these things be” (the destruction of the Temple)? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?” The Lord’s return and the end of the age are additions that matter much in understanding His response.
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Jesus proceeds to launch into the longest prophecy of His ministry. Based on the disciple’s questions, he will address–what will be the signs preceding the destruction of the Temple. And what will be the signs of the end of the age and His return?
So let’s deal with the first question first. “What will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?–regarding the destruction of the Temple.
Now, when Jesus spoke these words it was around 33 AD. In 70 AD His prediction was fulfilled. So we have around 37 years where the things Jesus is about to predict would all come to pass. Let’s read:
5 “And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many.”
So first, according to the Lord there would be a flood of deception in the years leading up to 70 AD and the Temple’s destruction. The deception would come by way of false Messiahs saying “I am He.” And in vs 22 Jesus includes false Christs and false prophets that will show signs and wonders.
Did this happen? Yes!
According to the Jewish historian Josephus who personally witnessed the fall of Jerusalem:
In the mid-40’s AD, during the time when one Cuspius Fadus was procurator of Judea, a magician named Theudas claimed to be a prophet and promised to divide the River Jordan. He gathered many followers.
He also describes the rise of the Sicarii (si-kar’-ee), who were magicians, and an Egyptian false prophet during the reign of Emperor Nero. These false prophets stirred unrest among the Jews and contributed to the tensions that would later erupt into the Roman/Jewish wars and the Great Jewish revolt.
Josephus goes on to record that even during the siege by the Romans there were a number of false prophets in Jerusalem. One of them made a public proclamation that God was commanding the people to gather in the temple, and there they would receive miraculous signs of their deliverance. No such deliverance came and many of them were burned alive when the temple caught fire.
So false Christs and false prophets were everywhere to be seen in the years leading up to AD 70.
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Then Jesus predicted:
7-8 “But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles.”
Again, did these things happen? Yes!
The Roman historian Tacitus writes of the months leading up to A.D. 70 and the strife that raged during this time:
“I am entering on the history of a period rich in disasters, frightful in its wars, torn by civil strife, and even in peace full of horrors. Four emperors have perished by the sword. There have been three civil wars; and even more with foreign enemies.”
So CHECK! So far the Lord is 100% accurate!
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Then Jesus also predicted famines, earthquakes and pestilence (plague) in many places leading up to 70 AD. Again, the Roman historian Tacitus, when recording events from the year A.D. 51, wrote,
“This year witnessed many houses flattened by repeated earthquakes…Further signs were seen in shortages of corn, resulting in widespread famine.”
Then writing of the years A.D. 65-66:
“Heaven, too, marked this crime-stained year with tempest and pestilence. Campania was ravaged by a hurricane which destroyed houses, orchards, and crops. At Rome, a plague devastated the entire population. Nothing was discernible in the air, yet the houses were full of corpses, and the streets filled with funerals. Neither sex nor age brought immunity. Slave or free, all succumbed just as suddenly.”
Jesus said of these signs, “These are the beginnings of sorrows (birth pangs).”
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Next, the Lord predicted his representatives would be brought before kings:
9 “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.”
One need only read the Book of Acts to see the fulfillment of this prediction. The apostles were hauled before the Sanhedrin. Stephen was the first martyr killed by the Sanhedrin. And Paul the Apostle was brought before:
• Felix – The Roman governor of Judea.
• Porcius Festus – The Roman governor who succeeded Felix.
• King Agrippa II – The ruler of Galilee and Perea.

And while Acts doesn’t confirm it, he was also likely brought before the Emperor Nero.
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Then Jesus predicted a galloping gospel!

10 “And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.”
Did this happen before 70 AD? Yes! Paul writes to the Colossian church,
” 3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world,”–Col 1:3-6
The gospel had spread to all of the known world of that time prior to 70 AD!
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Then next, Jesus predicts fierce persecution and deep betrayals, even by family members:
11 “But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
Again, the Roman historian Tacitus writes that Nero “inflicted the most exquisite tortures on Christians. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burned alive. Nero even had Christians tied to posts, covered with tar, and lit to serve as a nightly illumination. The insane Nero even offered up his garden for the spectacle.”
And Stephens powerful, Spirit-inspired message to the Sanhedrin leading to his martyrdom is a great example of Jesus’s prediction that “it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit!”
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And finally, Jesus predicted the Abomination of Desolation:
14 “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
Matthew’s gospel puts it, “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand).–24:15
Now, the abomination of desolation has been a hot topic reaching all the way back to the Book of Daniel, which Jesus references. Danial wrote:
Daniel 11:31 “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.”
Now, Mark says the abomination will “stand where it ought not.” And Matthew’s gospel puts the abomination, “standing in the holy place.” Putting Daniel’s prophecy and Christ’s together, we have “armed forces standing where they ought not, in the holy place.”
We often think, and have been taught, that the abomination of desolation must take place in the Temple, in the holy of holies. Something abominable walks in there and desecrates it.
But I want to suggest that the ‘holy place’ in this context is the land comprising Jerusalem and surrounding the ‘holy city.’ And the ‘abomination’ is the Roman army. All of that land bequeathed to them by God was considered holy land. It was here where Messiah Jesus had walked. And much of the Roman army was actually encamped on the Mt of Olives during the siege!
Keep in mind that the abomination of desolation is a Hebrew expression meaning ‘an abominable or hateful destroyer.’ The Romans fit the bill perfectly! The Romans were an abomination to the Jews. Not only were they Gentiles, but they worshipped false gods, some of which were emblazoned on their armor and flags.
One commentator writes, “Jesus predicted, you shall see the abominable armies stand in the holy place. That is, upon the holy ground, (as all Judea was).”
So the abomination of desolation in this context is the Roman army that makes Jerusalem desolate.
Here is where Luke’s gospel sheds light.
Luke 21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.”
Now remember, Jesus is still responding to the question, “What will be the sign when all these things (the destruction of the Temple) will be fulfilled?” He’s still answering that question!
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I shared with you last time that in 66 AD, the Roman army temporarily surrounded Jerusalem in a sort of dress rehearsal for what was coming. The Christians in Jerusalem remembered Jesus’s warning about fleeing when that went down:
“Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains…”–vs 14
So they fled. Approximately 10,000 of them fled out of Jerusalem.
Four years later the abominable or hateful destroyer surrounded the holy city and made it desolate!
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Now, starting with verse 24, Jesus begins answering the second question as recorded in Matthew, “And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Next time!