Mark 13:4 - Barnes' Book Notes

Mark 13:4

2 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^aNot 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, ^aPeter, ^bJames, ^cJohn, and ^dAndrew asked Him privately,

4 ^a“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”

5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: ^a“Take heed that no one deceives you.

6 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many.

7 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.

8 For nation will rise against nation, and ^akingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines¹ and troubles. ^bThese are the beginnings of sorrows.

9 “But ^awatch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will¹ be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.

10 And ^athe gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

11 ^aBut when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand,¹ or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, ^bbut the Holy Spirit.

12 Now ^abrother 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 ^aAnd you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But ^bhe who endures to the end shall be saved.

The Great Tribulation

14 ^a“So when you see the ^b‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then ^clet those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

15 Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house.

16 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

17 ^aBut woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

18 And pray that your flight may not be in winter.

19 ^aFor in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.

20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

21 ^a“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it.

22 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and ^awonders to deceive, if possible, even the¹ elect.

23 But ^atake heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.

The Coming of the Son of Man

24 ^a“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;

25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be ^ashaken.

26 ^aThen they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His¹ elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

28 ^a“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.

29 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that¹ it is near—at the doors!

30 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but ^aMy words will by no means pass away.

No One Knows the Day or Hour

32 “But of that day and hour ^ano one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the ^bFather.

33 ^aTake heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.

34 ^aIt is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave ^bauthority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.

35 ^aWatch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—

36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.

37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”

Book Notes:

Barnes' Book Notes

Preface to Mark

Of Mark, the writer of this Gospel, little is certainly known. He is commonly supposed to be the same that is several times mentioned in the New Testament. He was not an apostle, or companion of the Lord Jesus, during his ministry, though some of the fathers affirm that he was one of the seventy disciples. This is improbable, as he is mentioned by Peter I Peter 5:13 as "his son;" from which it is supposed that he was converted by the instrumentality of Peter.

From the New Testament we learn that he was sister' s son to Barnabas Colossians 4:10; and that his mother' s name was Mary, a pious woman in Jerusalem, at whose house the apostles and primitive Christians often assembled, Acts 12:12.

His Hebrew name was John Acts 12:12, and it is probable that he adopted a name better known or more familiar when he visited the Gentiles, a practice not uncommon in that age. He was at first the companion of Paul and Barnabas in their journeys to propagate Christianity, Acts 12:25; Acts 13:5; Acts 15:37. He chose not to attend them through their whole journey, but left them in Pamphylia, and probably returned to Jerusalem, Acts 15:38. Probably at this time he was the companion of Peter, and traveled with him to Babylon, I Peter 5:13. Afterward he went with Barnabas to Cyprus, Acts 15:39. Subsequently he went to Rome, at the express desire of Paul, in company with Timothy, II Timothy 4:11. He remained at Rome while Paul was a captive there, but how long is uncertain, Colossians 4:10; Philemon 1:24. From Eusebius, Epiphanius, and Jerome we hear that Mark went from Rome to Alexandria, in Egypt, where he planted a church, and died in the eighth year of the reign of Nero, 64 ad

The time when this Gospel was written is not certainly known. It is supposed to have been between the years 56 and 63 a.d. It is allowed by all that it was written at Rome; of course it was during the latter years of his life, after the apostles had left Judea, Mark 16:20. Mark was for a considerable time the companion of Peter. Though he had not himself been with the Saviour in his ministry, yet, from his long acquaintance with "Peter," he was familiar with the events of his life, and with his instructions. The uniform testimony of the fathers is that he was the "interpreter" of Peter, and that he wrote this Gospel under the eye of Peter and with his approbation. It has come down to us, therefore, with the sanction of Peter' s authority. Its right to a place among the inspired books has never been questioned. That it was written by Mark, that it was with Peter' s approbation, that it was a record of the "facts" which Peter stated in his ministry, and that it was therefore an inspired book, has never been questioned.

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