Jesus’ Discourses

Eschatological Discourse

Synopsis

In this learning unit we will study Jesus’ eschatological discourse. This discourse is unique because it is his longest continuous speech in the gospel and is given in the style of apocalyptic writings. This makes it difficult for us to understand because we are not used to this way of writing. The key to understanding this discourse is found in its context. When Jesus says to the apostles regarding the temple that, “There will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down” (Mk 13:2) the apostles are shocked and ask when this will happen and what the signs will be, that it is about to happen. The discourse is Jesus’ answer to these questions. Approximately 40 years later, the temple was, in fact, destroyed by the Romans.

According to ancient Jewish mentality, the temple was a miniature copy of the universe. So, Jesus starts his discourse by speaking about the destruction of the physical temple but then moves on to speak about the destruction of the universe at the end of times because these themes are intrinsically related. When studying this chapter, it is important for us to distinguish between these two events.

Learning Objectives

You will have successfully completed this learning unit when you can:

Explain how the eschatological discourse refers to both the destruction of the temple Jesus’ second coming.

Describe the signs which preceded the destruction of the temple and explain how they were fulfilled.

Describe the structure of the discourse and explain how this helps us understand its meaning.

The Discourse

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ second and last discourse is called the “Eschatological Discourse.” The word “eschatology” is derived from the Greek words logia, which means “discourse”, and éschatos, which means “last.” Broadly speaking, eschatology is the study of the last things; that is, the things that will happen at the end of a person’s life (death, judgment, and the final destiny), the world, or an age. In his discourse, Jesus is speaking about things that will happen in the future: the destruction of the temple, the persecution of Christians, the desolating sacrilege, the coming of the Son of man, and the passing away of heaven and earth.

This discourse is unique in Mark for several reasons. First of all, at almost 700 words long, it is by far the longest discourse in the gospel. Remember, Mark was much more interested in reporting on Jesus’ deeds than his teachings, so he usually only gives us short snippets of what Jesus said.

Second, it is the only continuous discourse. In the other major discourse, Jesus’ parables, Mark wove together several parables and introduced them with the phrase, “And he said to them.” This makes it seems as if Jesus had taught them all in one sitting. However, this was probably not the case as Mark tells us that this was Jesus’ normal way of teaching. “With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything” (Mk 4:33–34).

Finally, the language and genre of the discourse are unlike anything else in the gospel. It is written according to the style of apocalyptic writings and includes many predictions about the future as well as commands given in the imperative (“take heed, watch and pray”). These things are rare in the rest of the gospel.

These distinctive features accentuate the discourse’s significance.

The Structure of Mark 13

The Basic Structure

Faithful to Mark’s style, this chapter is highly structured. Its basic outline is:

Introduction (13:1–4)
Main body
- Section 1 (13:5–23): signs of the temple’s destruction
- Section 2 (13:24–27): the coming of the Son of man
- Section 3 (13:28–32): the timing of the temple’s destruction
Conclusion (13:33–37): call to take heed, watch, and pray

As we might expect, we also find other structures overlaid on top of this.

Chiasms

The first and third sections have a chiastic arrangement:

Many will lead people astray (13:5–6)

“When you hear” (13:7)

Foretelling of persecution (13:9–13)

“When you see” (13:14)

False prophets will lead the elect astray (13:21–22)

Parable of the fig tree (13:28–29)

“This generation will not pass away before all these things take place” (13:30)

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (13:31)

“But of that day or that hour no one knows” (13:32)

Parable of man going on a journey (13:33–34)

Repetitions and Inclusios

We also find several repetitions which could also be inclusios.

“Take heed” (13:5)

“Take heed” (13:9)

“Take heed” (13:23)

“Take heed” (13:33)

“Watch” (13:34)

“Watch” (13:35)

“Watch” (13:37)

The Center of the Discourse

Remember, ancient authors often placed the most important idea in the center. This was a common way of highlighting an idea back then. The second section (verses 24 to 27) is this discourse’s center and it speaks of the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. This image is taken from the Book of Daniel:

I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

and was presented before him.

And to him was given dominion

and glory and kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

that shall not be destroyed. (Dn 7:13–14)

The text emphasizes the definitive victory of Christ and his disciples.

But Daniel 7 is not the only Old Testament passage alluded to in Mark 13. There are many other explicit and implicit references to it.

The Interpretation of Mark 13

Jesus’ use of eschatological language and images makes it difficult for us to understand his meaning because we are no longer accustomed to this way of writing. He speaks of rumors of war, the desolating sacrilege, the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the stars from heaven. What do these things mean?

He also states that these things will occur within a generation. This has led to diverging interpretations. Some claim that he erred because 2000 years have passed since then and the sun and mooning are still shining and the stars are still in the sky. How are we to interpret this? As usual, we need to look at the context when studying difficult passages.

This chapter begins with Jesus and his disciples leaving the temple. The disciples are amazed by its magnificence and praise its construction. In response, Jesus says to them, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down” (Mark 13:2). Given its grandeur, the news of the temple’s destruction would have been shocking, so Peter, James, John, and Andrew ask him in private: “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign when these things are all to be accomplished?” Note the details. They ask two questions: (1) When will this happen? And, (2) what will the signs be before it happens?

This discourse is Jesus’ answer to these questions, but he answers them in reverse order. In the first section, Jesus describes the signs that will appear before this will happen. They include:

Wars and rumors of wars (13:7)
Earthquakes and famine (13:8)
Persecution against the Christians (13:9–13)
The desolating sacrilege (13:14)
False prophets (13:22)

The desolating sacrilege is the most difficult of these signs for us to understand. Jesus got this language from the Old Testament.

Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the continual burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. (Dn 11:31)

And from the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. (Dn 12:11)

Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-fifth year [that is, 167 BC], they erected a desolating sacrilege upon the altar of burnt offering. (1 Mc 1:54)

The desolating sacrilege described in the Old Testament refers to an historical event. When the Greek King Antiochus IV conquered Israel in the 2nd century BC, he desecrated the temple by replacing the daily Jewish morning and evening sacrifices with pagan sacrifices. We are not sure what Jesus had in mind, but it is likely that he was speaking of a future desecration of the temple. This could refer to:

Pilate’s attempt to impose Caesar’s ensigns in Jerusalem
Caligula’s desire to place a statue of himself in the temple
Titus’ entering and desecrating the Holy of Holies

However, we can’t know for sure. Whatever the case, the fact is that the temple was destroyed in the year AD 70 as Jesus had predicted. After a five-month siege, Jerusalem finally fell. The Romans destroyed the city and burned down the temple. Their vengeance was so great that not one stone was left upon another, just as Jesus had predicted.

The third section of the discourse gives us Jesus’ answer as to when this would happen: “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these things take place” (Mk 13:30). The word “generation” has different meanings in the Bible, but many scholars accept, that after the era of the patriarchs, it referred to a period of 40 years. If this is what Jesus meant, then his prediction was quite accurate because he died around the year AD 30 and the temple was destroyed in the year AD 70.

What about the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling of the stars from heaven? One characteristic of apocalyptic language is that it speaks on different levels at the same time. On one level, Jesus was referring to the judging of the temple and its eventual destruction, on another level, he was speaking about the coming of the Son of Man at the end of the world and his final judgment. In ancient Jewish mentality, both events were related.

The apocalyptic literature of the Old Testament speaks about the Day of the Lord, that is, the time when the Lord would come as judge to set everything right by punishing the guilty and rewarding the faithful. The end of this world and the destruction of the temple are seen as distinct but related events.

It is very common for apocalyptic literature to us dramatic metaphors that convey deeper meaning. It was believed that the Day of the Lord would bring a great cosmic upheaval.

“And on that day,” says the Lord God,
“I will make the sun go down at noon,
and darken the earth in broad daylight. (Am 8:9)

But we shouldn’t interpret everything literally, as if Jesus meant that the stars would actually fall from the heavens. Back then, people used the sun, moon, and stars to measure time. So, the darkening of the sun and moon and the falling of the stars were metaphors that meant that time had run out and God was going to bring judgment. For example, this was Isaiah’s message to the Babylonians.

Behold, the day of the Lord comes,

cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,

to make the earth a desolation

and to destroy its sinners from it.

For the stars of the heavens and their constellations

will not give their light;

the sun will be dark at its rising

and the moon will not shed its light.

I will punish the world for its evil,

and the wicked for their iniquity;…

Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,

and the earth will be shaken out of its place,

at the wrath of the Lord of hosts

in the day of his fierce anger….

Whoever is found will be thrust through,

and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.

Their infants will be dashed in pieces

before their eyes;

their houses will be plundered

and their wives ravished. (Is 13:9–11, 13, 15–16)

These metaphors sound strange to us because they come from another culture and we are not used to them. But this way of speaking should not surprise; we still communicate in the same way, using dramatic analogies to refer to important events. For example, we speak of a stock market crash as Black Thursday. Today, if we wanted to speak of a future catastrophe, we might compare it to the collapse of the Internet.

Another important detail is that the temple was a considered to be a replica in miniature of the whole universe. The temple itself represented the earth, the bronze basin filled with water represented the oceans, and the inside of the sanctuary, painted with stars, symbolized the heavens. So, Jesus starts his discourse by speaking about the destruction of the physical temple, but he then moves on to speak about the destruction of the universe at the end of times.

This way of speaking is common in apocalyptic literature. That is why we must distinguish between the events mentioned, when studying these types of texts. If Jesus were only talking about the end of the world, then it wouldn’t make much sense for him to warn his disciples to flee to the mountains. They, too, will be destroyed when the time comes.

Take heed, watch and pray

“But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Watch therefore—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Watch.” (Mk 13:32–37)

Jesus’ conclusion reveals the purpose of this discourse. He is warning his disciples to be watchful. He repeats the command “to watch” three times. He expected his disciples to be alert and take heed of the signs, first of all, those that would indicate the imminent destruction of the temple. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, 1.1 million Jews locked up in Jerusalem were killed by the Romans. However, when the first Christians saw the signs happening, they left the city and fled to the nearby mountains. They were spared because they had followed Jesus’ advice.

Jesus also invites us to be watchful. Although he told the apostles when the temple would be destroyed, about the timing of the end of the universe, he just stated that “of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mk 13:32). His return is certain, but since we don’t know when, he commands us to watch, take heed of the signs, and pray.

Assignments

Describe the basic structures of the discourse and the main theme for each part.

Read Felix Just, S.J., “The Eschatological Discourse in the Synoptic Gospels” for an analysis of the Old Testament citations and allusions in Mark 13.

Did Jesus err when he said: “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these things take place” (Mk 13:30)? Explain why or why not.

Why did so few Christians die when the Romans conquered and destroyed Jerusalem?

Home