“Fruit of Rejection” – MARK 13:14-31

Many people today read these words of Jesus as a prophecy of the “end times” and miss the whole context of His message to the apostles.

He is not predicting the end of the world, but the judgment of God upon Jerusalem for rejecting Messiah. When Jesus said the temple would be destroyed (13:2), Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Him when these things would occur and what the signs would be (13:4) that pointed to the time of this destruction. From verse 5 through verse 31 we can read the answer. Beginning in verse 32, Jesus goes on to speak of His Second Coming.

It is crucial to understand Jesus’ words in context.

Much of His prophesy is presented in “apocalyptic language” (the same as some OT prophets used and is also found in Revelation), especially verses 24-27. “Apocalyptic” simply means “veiled” or “hidden”. One statement that is clearly NOT veiled or hidden is when Jesus says that “this generation shall not pass away until ALL these things occur” (13:30). If Jesus were predicting the “end times” as so many today claim, then Jesus lied, made an error or spoke without knowing what He was talking about. That generation DID pass away. The truth of the matter is that those events DID occur when the Roman army of Titus laid siege to Jerusalem and destroyed it and the temple in AD 70. When He speaks of His Second Coming (13:32-37), He begins with the contrasting word “but”, instead of “and” or “therefore”.

Folks, we have to take Jesus at His word!

Jesus quotes (13:14) from the OT prophesy of Daniel 9:27 to attribute its fulfillment to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Those who proclaim the premillennialist theology claim that the temple must be REBUILT so that it can be destroyed AGAIN to fulfill this prophesy of Jesus at the “end times”. Why? Especially considering that Jesus said it would happen while these men and their generation were still living (13:30). Even more, the events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem perfectly fulfilled Jesus’ prophecy, and the Christians saw the signs and fled the city in great haste, just as instructed (13:15-20). Why would Jesus give them signs to look for and then tell them that of the day “no one knows” (13:32). On the destruction of Jerusalem they would know, just as surely as they knew summer approached when the fig tree puts forth leaves (13:28-19).

Folks, we must allow Jesus’ words to be in harmony!

This all begs the question, “Why was Jerusalem destroyed?” The answer is found throughout Jesus’ ministry (Luke 13:34-35 and Matthew 23:37-38, for example) in that the Jewish leaders rejected the prophets and the Christ and God would destroy them for it (Mark 12:1-11). God had come expecting fruit (Mark 11:12-14) and found none (11:20). The vineyard of God’s covenant would pass from the Jews to the church until Jesus comes again and the world ends (“the consummation” according to Daniel), a time we call the “church age” (“times of the Gentiles” according to Luke and Paul). In apocalyptic language, the term “coming in the clouds” occurs 4 times and refers to God’s judgment upon a specific nation. In Ezekiel 30:3 and Isaiah 19:1 the term speaks to God’s judgment upon Egypt. In Revelation 1:7 the term is used in relation to God’s judgment upon Rome. Here, the One rejected by the Jews will come in judgment (using the Roman legions) on the Jewish nation.

Folks, we need to stand in awe of the power of God in Jesus!

There are other reasons for the destruction of the temple, too. If it continued to stand, many Jews would resist the gospel call because of its special nature to them. With the once for all sacrifice of Christ, there was no longer any need for the temple – Christ was the sacrifice and the church is His dwelling place. In Christ the “old” had passed away and the “new” was ushered in. The temple had served its purpose. Think for a minute … why would the temple now need to be rebuilt and the sacrifices restored if Christ, indeed, is the once for all sacrifice?

Folks, we need to look to Jesus alone for atonement and dwell in His temple courts (the church) until He comes again!