Mark 13:15

A person relaxing on the roof of their Judean home should not even pack after seeing this sign, but come down and flee. Likewise, a person out in the field should not return home to retrieve his cloak. Believers were to flee from the approaching Roman army as soon as they saw the sign of 13:14.

Their movement was usually cautious, methodical (careful and step-by-step), and relentless (steady and not stopping). But Jesus warned people not to wait and see how things would develop.

Jesus now gave the sign requested in 13:4 and instructed his followers how to respond when they saw it. In 13:5–13, they were told not to be alarmed. Here they are told that those in Judea must flee to the hills.

• Scholars often divide this section into two parts, 13:5–13 and 13:14–23. The first part is often interpreted as describing the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in AD 70, while the second part is taken to describe the coming of the Son of Man in the future. It is best, however, to interpret all of 13:5–23 as describing events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 because:

  1. 13:5–23 is the answer from Jesus to the two questions (13:4) that deal with the destruction of Jerusalem (13:2);

  2. The commands to flee Judea (13:14–16), the woe announced upon pregnant and nursing women (13:17), and the prayer that it not take place in winter (13:18) make sense if they refer to the events of AD 70 but not if they refer to the future return of Christ;

  3. Three warnings connect this passage (13:5, 9, 23) connect this passage together and show that 13:5–23 should be understood as a unit.

• The section is arranged as a chiasm (a literary pattern shaped like an X). The themes appear in this order:

  • A: Deceivers claim to be the Messiah (13:5–6).

    • B: There are reports of fighting and natural disasters (13:7–8).

      • C: There is persecution of believers (13:9–13).

    • B': The fighting in Judea and resulting suffering begin (13:14–20).

  • A': Deceivers claim to be the Messiah (13:21–23).

This passage brings to a conclusion the section begun at 11:1. Israel did not produce spiritual fruit (11:12–26; 12:38–40). Its leaders were opposed to God's chosen one, the Christ (11:1–11, 27–33; 12:13–17, 18–27). This would result in judgment and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.