The End of an Age
There have been countless books written and movies made about time and humanity’s desire to control it. Some want to go back in time to see historic events with their own eyes. Others want to go back to change things or have just another hour or two with a loved one. Still others wish for the power to see into the future to know what is coming around the corner, because we seem to think that would give us an advantage of some sort. And maybe it would, but time treats us all the same, and we have to trust God who upholds all things by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3).
When Jesus taught the things recorded in Mark 13, Jesus knew his death was coming soon. He also knew that the end of the sacrificial system that had been centered there at Jerusalem’s second temple for over five hundred years was about to come to an end. It’s those things that he talks about with his disciples as they marvel at the colonnades, pillars, and massive stone walls all around them. Knowing the context of Jesus’ teaching makes it a little easier to make sense of Mark 13, but it doesn’t make it easy.
Many people read Mark 13—or at least parts of it—as teaching about the end of the world, and too many people get caught up trying to decipher world events in a way that they think will help them predict the timing of Jesus’ return. That seems to me, however, to be a fool’s errand. There are things that we cannot possibly know, and the timing of Christ’s return falls fully in that category. But we do know that Jesus Christ is indeed coming back, and we know there will be a great judgment when he does. The relevant question is whether or not you and I will be ready to meet him.
Mark 13, The End of an Age
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