Monday, March 11 - Mark 13
This discourse falls into five sections: 1) prediction of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (which did occur in the year 70 AD) and the question of the disciples 2) warnings against deceivvers and the signs of the end 3) the return of Christ, 4) the lesson of the fig tree, and 5) a call to watchfulness.
13:5-23 What things do you hear in today's world that suggest Christ will return soon? For what things does Jesus say to watch out (vv 5, 9, 23, 33, 35, 37)? Can you think of any examples of these kinds of things?
13:12-13 Have you seen families divided over faith in Jesus? What will help believers stand firm in their faith? Can you think of anyone in your life that needs some help in this area?
13:32-37 If you knew Jesus was going to return tomorrow, what would you like HIm to find you doing? Why? Is it different from what you would normally be doing? What changes might you make in your life so that each day you might be found doing what pleases Him?
Verse 30 has always confused me: "Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened." The Lutheran Study Bible explains that verses 24-27 which talk about the end of the world are not included in "all these things" from verse 30. How do we know that? (Other than the fact that the end of the world did not occur during that generation.) Does the way it was written in the original Greek make it clear that Jesus did not intend for verses 24-27 to be included in His words of "all these things"?
ReplyDeleteFrom Concordia Self Study Bible (Luke 21:32) If the reference is to the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred about 40 years after Jesus spoke these words, "generation" is used in its ordinary sense of a normal life span. All these things were fulfilled in a preliminary sense in the AD 70 destruction of Jerusalem. If the reference is to the second coming of Christ, "generation" might indicate the Jewish people as a race who were promised existence to the very end. Or it might refer to the future generation alive at the beginning of these things. It does not mean that Jesus had a mistaken notion he was going to return immediately."
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