Mark 13:21

• The larger section (13:5–23) ends with another warning about false messiahs. In this passage, these false leaders are connected with the events leading up to AD 70. In 13:5–6, however, they are connected more generally with ongoing events in history. Along with false messiahs, false prophets would appear and perform signs and wonders (13:22).

  Jesus warned his followers not to believe such claims. When the Messiah comes from heaven, "every eye will see Him" (13:26; see Revelation 1:7).

• be on your guard: This warning unifies the section (Mark 13:5–23) and brings it to a close. Jesus gave this teaching to warn his followers in Judea and Jerusalem not to be misled by false hopes and false messianic claims. Many Jews accepted such claims in the late AD 60s.

  Josephus describes the great harm caused by these false leaders, who encouraged the Jewish people to fight against the Romans (Antiquities 17.10.8). Christians were not to let anything stop them from fleeing Judea and Jerusalem when they saw the abomination of desolation.

• For Mark’s audience in Rome, the message of Jesus had a different application. Mark wanted his audience to be careful of people who claimed to know when the fulfillment of prophecy would occur. They could not know the time (13:32).

  Jesus also forbade unhealthy excitement about his second coming. Instead, believers were to stay alert (13:33–37) and prepare for persecution (9–13; see 8:34–38). They were to trust the words of encouragement Jesus spoke (13:11, 13).

• 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.