Mark Vol. 3 - Week 8 (13:24-37)
Mark 13:24-37
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Mark 13:24-37
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Mark 13:24-37 〰️ Mark 13:24-37 〰️
When (we take a shot at) reading, interpreting, and applying passages such as this, it can be far too easy to get wrapped up in the details of what Jesus is teaching. While we should take His words here as He says them, we must observe and look at what Jesus tells us, not the details of how it will play out. We'll break down this passage with a little more of a Bible-study approach that we can hopefully share with our people and give them some skills and perspectives on how to read and study a passage that might not yield its fruit as easily. As always, even with the more challenging parts of Scripture, they are all equally inspired by God and, therefore, are something that the Lord desires us to engage with, learn, and obey. With that in mind, let's jump in.
This passage opens with Jesus continuing his discourse on the end times. Jesus describes what it will be like. Verses 24-26 are likely very literal and don't really change anything for us in our relationships with Him. Verses 24-26 set the scene up to this point, but v27 describes what will happen during this tribulation: "He will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven." This verse contains the main point of this passage: our Lord will return and gather His people. In the remainder of this passage (v28-37), Jesus is telling us that no one will know when this will happen.
Many have tried to predict when the end will come, but Jesus tells us that no one will know. There will be signs of the end of the age (v29), but no one but the Lord will know. The signs, Jesus says, will be observable, like the blooming of a fig tree: "As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize that he is near—at the door." (v28-29). There will be physical evidence of the end drawing near, and we are to watch carefully. What this means for us is to stay vigilant and alert in following Christ and advancing the Kingdom. The few years we are here on Earth is our "shift," so to speak, in advancing the Kingdom of God. We do not want to be asleep during our shift, ignoring the commands from our Lord. "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20).
Key Terms and Doctrine
The Incarnation
In this passage, we see another angle of the mystery of the incarnation of Jesus. Throughout Mark (and all the gospels), Jesus claims and exercises His divinity (2:28; 4:39; 5:19). However, one of the most challenging aspects to understand is how someone could be fully God and fully man. Similar to the nature of the Trinity, it's not something we can fully wrap our minds around within the confines of how we interpret reality. It's a bit in the weeds, but we have to remember that we interpret and understand things through the lens of our reality here on Earth. If we don't fully understand something, we try to compare it to something we do understand to grasp it better. This is where many theological fallacies originate, as we often unintentionally limit or confine the nature and will of God. This is where we limit our understanding and faith in the Creator by comparing Him to creation.
And so, as we read Mark 13:32, we're probably taken aback: "Now concerning that day or hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son—but only the Father." So, there is something that Jesus doesn't know? Sort of. Daniel Akin explained it well, with a healthy degree of humility, as this is something we don't fully understand in this age:
"In taking on a human nature and entering into the time-space reality, the Son of God did not surrender His deity, but He did lay aside His glory (John 17:5; see also Phil. 2:6-11). In doing so, our Lord for a time relinquished the free exercise of His divine attributes such as omniscience...This also explains why our Lord could be hungry, experience thirst, grow tired, and be killed."¹
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from the passage?
Does anything in this passage remind you of another part of Scripture?
Do you have any questions?
What do you think Jesus is trying to teach us in this passage?
What is the lesson from the fig tree?
Why did Jesus tell us to "watch and be alert" in v33? What does that look like for us today?
In what ways might we be "sleeping" when Jesus returns?
What do you think v32 means? How would you explain it to someone who asked you about it?
How does knowing that the Lord will return for His people provide hope and comfort?
1. Daniel L. Akin, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus In Mark (Nashville, TN: Holman Press, 2014), 317.