But watch yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them. The Good News must first be preached to all the nations. When they lead you away and deliver you up, don’t be anxious beforehand, or premeditate what you will say, but say whatever will be given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
“Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved. But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let him who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out of his house. Let him who is in the field not return back to take his cloak. But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babies in those days! Pray that your flight won’t be in the winter. For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be. Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days. Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ don’t believe it. For there will arise false christs and false prophets, and will show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones. But you watch. “Behold, I have told you all things beforehand.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 13, 14, 19 The hearing of you preaching shall be a most…
The hearing of you preaching shall be a most evident witness against them, so that they shall not be able to pretend ignorance.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–20 9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall…
9 But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.
Ver. 9. See Mat 10:17; Mat 24:9. {See Trapp on "Mat 10:17"} {See Trapp on "Mat 24:9"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 21 This, so far as concerneth those to whom Christ…
This, so far as concerneth those to whom Christ spake, can only be a sign of the destruction of Jerusalem; but so far as it concerneth others, it is also a sign of the end of the world. It is the fifth sign he gives them; the persecution of the ministers of Christ and the saints of God, for the preaching and profession of the gospel. See Poole on "Mat 24:9".
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv11, 14, 15, 19, 21 Here our Saviour acquaints his disciples, that for preaching…
Here our Saviour acquaints his disciples, that for preaching the gospel they should be brought before kings and rulers; but advises them, when they should be so brought, not to be anxiously thoughtful and solicitous what they shall say: for it should be suggested to them by the Holy Ghost what to say in that hour.
Note here, That this promise seems to be peculiar to the apostles, and that is belonged to them only, when they were brought before kings and rulers, to plead the cause of Christ.
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Learn hence, That though the truth of Christ may be opposed, yet the defenders of it should never be ashamed: for rather than they shall want a tongue to plead for it, God himself will prompt them by his Holy Spirit, and suggest such arguments to them as all their enemies shall not be able to gainsay.
Observe, farther, How our Saviour describes the enmity of the world against the preachers of the gospel, to be such as would overcome and extinguish even the natural affection of the dearest relations one towards another: The brother shall betray the brother to death.
Observe, lastly, How our Saviour comforts his disciples, that there would be an end of these their sharp and bitter sufferings: assuring them, that if their faith and patience did hold out unto the end, they should be saved. This is our comfort, our sufferings for Christ must be sharp, but they shall be short; if our sufferings for Christ end not in our lifetime, they will end with our lives.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v14 The Jews, in rebelling against the Romans, and in…
The Jews, in rebelling against the Romans, and in persecuting the Christians, were hastening to their own ruin apace, both efficiently and meritoriously, were setting both God and man against them; see Th1 2:15. Now here we have a prediction of that ruin which came upon them within less than forty years after this: we had it before, Mat 24:15, etc. Observe,
I. What is here foretold concerning it.
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1. That the Roman armies should make a descent upon Judea, and invest Jerusalem, the holy city. These were the abomination of desolation, which the Jews did abominate, and by which they should be made desolate. The country of thine enemy is called the land which thou abhorrest, Isa 7:16. Therefore it was an abomination, because it brought with it nothing but desolation. They had rejected Christ as an abomination, who would have been their salvation; and now God brought upon them an abomination that would be their desolation, thus spoken of by Daniel the prophet (Dan 9:27), as that by which this sacrifice and offering should be made to cease. This army stood where it ought not, in and about the holy city, which the heathen ought not to have approached, nor would have been suffered to approach, if Jerusalem had not first profaned the crown of their holiness. This the church complains of, Lam 1:10, The heathen entered into her sanctuary, whom thou didst command that they should not enter into the congregation; but sin made the breach, at which the glory went out, and the abomination of desolation broke in, and stood where it ought not. Now, let him that readeth this, understand it, and endeavor to take it right. Prophecies should not be too plain, and yet intelligible to those that search them; and they are best understood by comparing them first with one another, and at last with the event.
2. That when the Roman army should come into the country, there would be no safety any where but by quitting the country, and that with all possible expedition. It will be in vain to fight, the enemies will be too hard for them; in vain to abscond, the enemies will find them out; and in vain to capitulate, the enemies will give them no quarter; a man cannot have so much as his life given him for a prey, but by fleeing to the mountains out of Judea; and let him take the first alarm, and make the best of his way. If he be on the house-top, trying from thence to discover the motions of the enemy, and spies them coming, let him not go down, to take any thing out of the house, for it will occasion his losing of time, which is more precious than his best goods, and will but encumber him, and embarrass his flight. If he be in the field, and there discover the approach of the enemy, let him get away as he is, and not turn back again, to take up his garment, Mar 13:16. If he can save his life, let him reckon it is a good bargain, though he can save nothing else, and be thankful to God, that, though he is cut short, he is not cut off.
3. That it would go very hard at that time with poor mothers and nurses (Mar 13:17); "Woe to them that are with child, that dare not go into strange places, that cannot shift for themselves, nor make haste as others can. And woe to them that give suck, that know not how either to leave the tender infants behind them, or to carry them along with them." Such is the vanity of the creature, that the time may often be, when the greatest comforts may prove the greatest burthens. It would likewise be very uncomfortable, if they should be forced to flee in the winter (Mar 13:18), when the weather and ways were bad, when the roads would be scarcely passable, especially in the mountains to which they must flee. If there be no remedy but that trouble must come, yet we may desire and pray that, if it be God's will, the circumstances of it may be so ordered as to be a mitigation of the trouble; and when things are bad, we ought to consider they might have been worse. It is bad to be forced to flee, but it would have been worse if it had been in the winter.
4. That throughout all the country of the Jews, there should be such destruction and desolation made, as could not be paralleled in any history (Mar 13:19); In those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of time; that is, of the creation which God created, for time and the creation are of equal date, unto this day, neither shall be to the end of time; such a complication of miseries, and of such continuance. The destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans was very terrible, but this exceeded it. It threatened a universal slaughter of all the people of the Jews; so barbarously did they devour one another, and the Romans devour them all, that, if their wars had continued a little longer, no flesh could have been saved, not one Jew could have been left alive; but in the midst of wrath God remembered mercy; and, (1.) He shortened the days; he let fall his controversy before he had made a full end. As a church and nation the ruin was complete, but many particular persons had their lives given them for a prey, by the storm's subsiding when it did. 2. It was for the elects' sake that those days were shortened; many among them fared the better for the sake of the few among them that believed in Christ, and were faithful to him. There was a promise, that a remnant should be saved (Isa 10:22), and that God would not, for his servants' sakes, destroy them all (Isa 65:8); and these promises must be fulfilled. God's own elect cry day and night to him, and their prayers must be answered, Luk 18:7.
II. What directions are given to the disciples with reference to it.
1. They must shift for the safety of their lives; "When you see the country invaded, and the city invested, flatter not yourselves with thoughts that the enemy will retire, or that you may be able to make your part good with them; but, without further deliberation or delay, let them that are in Judea, flee to the mountains, Mar 13:14. Meddle not with the strife that belongs not to you; let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth, but do you go out of the ship when you see it sinking, that you die not the death of the uncircumcised in heart."
2. They must provide for the safety of their souls; "Seducers will be busy at that time, for they love to fish in troubled waters, and therefore then you must double your guard; then, if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or, Lo, he is there, you know he is in heaven, and will come again at the end of time, to judge the world, and therefore believe them not; having received Christ, be not drawn into the snares of any antichrist; for false Christs, and false prophets, shall arise," Mar 13:22. When the gospel kingdom was in the setting up, Satan mustered all his force, to oppose it, and made use of all his wiles; and God permitted it, for the trial of sincerity of some, and the discovery of the hypocrisy of others, and the confusion of those who rejected Christ, when he was offered to them. False Christs shall rise, and false prophets that shall preach them up; or such, as, though they pretend not to be Christs, set up for prophets, and undertake to foretel things to come, and they shall show signs and lying wonders; so early did the mystery of iniquity begin to work, Th2 2:7. They shall seduce, if it were possible, the very elect; so plausible shall their pretences be, and so industrious shall they be to impose upon people, that they shall drawn away many that were forward and zealous professors of religion, many that were very likely to have persevered; for nothing will be effectual to secure men but that foundation of God which stands immovably sure, The Lord knoweth them that are his, who shall be preserved when the faith of some is overthrown, Ti2 2:18, Ti2 2:19. They shall seduce, if it were possible, the very elect; but it is not possible to seduce them; the election shall obtain, whoever are blinded, Rom 11:7. But, in consideration hereof, let the disciples be cautious whom they give credit to (Mar 13:23); But take ye heed. Christ knew that they were of the elect, who could not possibly be seduced, and yet he said to them, Take heed. An assurance of persevering, and cautions against apostasy, will very well consist with each other. Though Christ said to them, Take heed, it doth not therefore follow, that their perseverance was doubtful, for they were kept by the power of God; and though their perseverance was secured, yet it doth not therefore follow, that this caution was needless, because they must be kept in the use of proper means. God will keep them, but they must keep themselves. "I have foretold you all things; have foretold you of this danger, that, being fore-warned, you may be fore-armed; I have foretold all things which you needed to have foretold to you, and therefore take heed of hearkening to such as pretend to be prophets, and to foretel more than I have foretold." The sufficiency of the scripture is good argument against listening to such as pretend to inspiration.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–23 But take heed to yourselves,.... This does not so…
But take heed to yourselves,.... This does not so much regard their doctrine and conversation, they were to take heed to; in which sense this phrase is sometimes used; but the security of their persons and lives; and the advice is, to take care of them selves, as much as in them lay, how they came into the hands of the persecuting Jews, and exposed themselves to danger, when at any time it could be avoided:
for they shall deliver you up to councils; their greater and lesser sanhedrim; the one consisting of seventy one persons, the other of twenty three, and the least of three only; and before the greater of these, Peter and John were brought, quickly, after the ascension of Christ:
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and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten; with forty stripes, save one, as the Apostle Paul was, five, times:
and ye shall be brought before rulers; governors of Roman provinces, as the same apostle was, before Gallio, Festus, and Felix:
and kings for my sake; for the sake of professing Christ, and preaching his Gospel; as some of the apostles were, before Herod, Agrippa, Nero, Domitian, and others:
for a testimony against them: both against the rulers and kings before whom they should be brought, and bear a testimony for Christ, and against the Jews, who should bring them thither; See Gill on Mat 10:17; see Gill on Mat 10:18.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 14, 19, 20, 21 Luke xxi, 12.
Luke xxi, 12.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 20 Verse 9. Councils] συνεδρια, Sanhedrins. The grand Sanhedrin consisted…
Verse 9. Councils] συνεδρια, Sanhedrins. The grand Sanhedrin consisted of seventy-two elders; six chosen out of each tribe; this was the national council of state; and the small Sanhedrins, which were composed of twenty-three counsellors.
Synagogues] Courts of justice for villages, &c., consisting of three magistrates, chosen out of the principal directors of the synagogue in that place.
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Rulers] Or governors. The Roman deputies, such as Pontius Pilate, &c.
Kings] The tetrarchs of Judea and Galilee, who bore this name. See Mr 6:27.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 21 Mar 13:9. Take heed to yourselves — Walk circumspectly,…
Mar 13:9. Take heed to yourselves — Walk circumspectly, and arm yourselves both with patience and fortitude, that you may be able to perform your duty amid all the opposition and persecution which you shall meet with. For they shall deliver you up to councils, &c. — See note on Mat 10:17; Mat 24:9. And in the synagogues ye shall be beaten — “It is certain,” says Whitby, “both from Scripture and the Jewish writers, that whipping and beating were punishments used in the synagogues of the Jews. Thus Paul says, he punished the Christians oft in every synagogue, Act 26:11; and that he did beat in the synagogue those that believed, Act 22:19 : and that it was usual to whip both their wise men and their disciples, when they had acted perversely, in their synagogues, is fully proved by Campegius Vitringa de Synag. Ver.” And ye shall be brought before rulers and kings — Thus Peter and John were called before the sanhedrim; James and Peter before Herod; and Paul before Nero the emperor, as well as before the Roman governors, Gallio, Felix, and Festus; and some were beaten, as Peter and John, (Act 5:40,) Paul and Silas. For a testimony against them — The persecutions which you shall suffer shall become a glorious proof, both of your innocence, and of their guilt in rejecting the gospel. See note on Mat 10:18.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 12, 15 Take heed to yourselves - Be cautious that no…
Take heed to yourselves - Be cautious that no man deceive you; or, take care of your lives, not to run into unnecessary danger.
To councils - The higher ecclesiastical courts of the Jews, including the Sanhedrin, or great council of the nation.
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Rulers and kings - Referring to Roman officers.
For a testimony against them - Rather to bear testimony to them, or to be witnesses “before them” of the truth. This was” for the sake” of Jesus, or because they were attached to him; and God would overrule it so that at the same time they should bear witness “to” the rulers of the truth, as was the case with Peter and John, Acts 4; with Stephen, Acts 6–7; and with Paul, Acts 23; Act 24:24-25.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9, 14, 19, 20 In the synagogues, or assemblies. The word is here…
In the synagogues, or assemblies. The word is here taken for assemblies of judges, and of justice. --- For a testimony to them; i.e. that you may bear witness of me and my doctrine, and also against them. (Witham) --- Some solicitude perhaps had seized upon the minds of the disciples, when they were informed by their divine Master, that they should stand accused before kings, and princes of the earth, for fear they should not be able, for want of human learning, to make a proper defence. Our Saviour therefore says: be not thoughtful beforehand; for when we are brought to the bar in defence of our holy faith, it is only necessary for us, under such circumstances, to make an offer of our will; Christ himself will speak for us: and in our answers will be infused the grace of the Holy Ghost: for it is not you that speak, but the Holy Ghost. (Ven. Bede)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v9 9. They shall deliver you — From the sorrows…
9. They shall deliver you — From the sorrows of the Jews our Lord now turns to the persecutions of the Christians. Compare Mat_24:9. The fulfilment of the predictions of the Christian persecutions is thus given by Whitby:
“1. They suffered “a great fight of afflictions,” (Heb_10:32-33,) being persecuted by those of their own nation, (1Th_2:14-15,) and suffering fiery trials from them. 1Pe_4:12. “I persecuted them,” saith St. Paul, “to strange cities.” Act_26:11.
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2. They were imprisoned: Peter, Act_4:3; Paul and Silas, Act_16:23; 2Co_11:23; “I delivered up to prison men and women.” Act_22:4. “I shut up many of the saints in prison,” saith St. Paul. Act_26:10.
3. They were beaten in the synagogue: St. Paul and Silas, Act_16:23; 2Co_11:23-25; Peter and John, Act_5:18.
4. They were brought before councils and sanhedrims: Peter and John, Act_4:3; Act_4:6; the disciples, Act_8:3. Before kings: James and Peter before Herod, Act_12:1-2; Paul and Peter before Nero. Before rulers: Paul before Gallio, Felix, and Festus. Act_18:12; Act_23:33; Act_25:6.
5. They were killed: Stephen by the judgment of the council, Act_7:59; James the Greater by Herod, Act_12:1; the Less by Ananus the high priest; yea, multitudes of Christians were persecuted to the death by Saul, Act_22:4; by Nero, Tacit. Annal. 15, p. 363; by the Jews, Justin. Mart. Dial. cum Tryph., p. 234, 235.
6. We learn from Tacitus, in the place forecited, that Christians were delivered up by their parents, brethren, kinsfolk, friends; from Josephus, that contention sprang up in their very houses; and that the Idumeans slew many of their own kindred; and from the Scripture, that the Jews persecuted those of their own country. 1Th_2:14.
7. That upon occasion of these persecutions “the love of many waxed cold, and many Jews” revolted from the Christian faith. And, lastly, of the care of God in preserving his faithful servants in this time of imminent danger, Eusebius informs us, saying, that “before the war all the faithful of the Church of Jerusalem were astonished by an oracle delivered by revelation to men approved there, to depart from the city, and to get over Jordan, and to go to Pella.” The occasion of this departure was, saith Dr. Hammond, wonderful; for Cestus Gallus then besieged the city; and if he would, saith Josephus, he might easily have taken it, and put an end to the war; but he, without cause, raising the siege and going from it, many eminent Jews fled from the city as from a sinking ship, among whom doubtless were those Christians who remained after the destruction of Jerusalem.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23 9. to councils] Of the actual hearers of the…
9. to councils] Of the actual hearers of the Lord some were destined to find this true within little more than fifty days. Thus, in Act_4:3, we find all the Apostles brought before the Sanhedrim, and again in Act_5:18; Act_5:27. Similarly, St Paul was brought before the same Council, Act_23:1.
in the synagogues ye shall be beaten] “Of the Jews,” says St Paul (2Co_11:24), “five times received I forty stripes save one;” “thrice was I beaten with rods.” It was part of the duties of the Chazzan, or minister in each synagogue, to maintain order, and scourge the condemned.
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before rulers and kings] Thus St Paul stood before Felix (Act_24:10-22), before Festus (Act_25:1-11), before Agrippa (Act_26:1-23), before Nero (2Ti_4:16). Our Lord also, we may believe, alluded to the general persecutions of the Christians in later times, and especially to that of the emperor Nero, in which St Peter and St Paul suffered martyrdom.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 23 (9) But take heed to yourselves.—The emphatic repetition of…
(9) But take heed to yourselves.—The emphatic repetition of the warning is peculiar to St. Mark (comp. Mar_13:23). The description of the sufferings of the disciples (Mar_13:9-13) is found in Luk_21:12 and in Mat_10:17-22 (where see Notes), but not in St. Matthew’s report of this discourse.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23 And the gospel must first be preached unto all…
And the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations. St. Matthew (Mat_24:14) says it shall be preached "in the whole world, for a testimony unto all the nations" (en olh th oikoumenh eiv marturion). This literally took place, as far as the inhabited world was concerned at that time, before the destruction of Jerusalem. St. Paul (Rom_10:18) reminds us that "their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the world;" and he tells the Colossians (Col_1:6) that the gospel was come unto them, and was bearing fruit and increasing in all the world. But even if we regard these expressions as somewhat hyperbolic, it is unquestionable that before the armies of Titus entered Jerusalem, the gospel had been published through the principal parts and provinces of the then inhabited world (oikoumenh). And it is certainly a wonderful fact that within fifty years after the death of Christ, Christian Churches had been planted in almost every district of the earth as then known to the Romans. But if we extend these prophetical sayings so as to reach onwards to the end of all things, we must then understand the expression, "all the nations," in its most unrestricted sense; so that the prophecy announces the universal proclamation of the gospel over the whole inhabited earth as an event which is to precede the time of the end. It is interesting to observe the difference in the amount of knowledge possessed by us of this earth and its population at the present time, as compared with the knowledge which men had of it at the time when our Lord delivered this prediction. It was not until the beginning of the sixteenth century, nearly fifteen hundred years after Christ, that Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci laid open that other hemisphere which takes its name from Amerigo; and there are few facts more interesting to a philosophic mind than the discovery of this new continent, now so important to us in England as the chief receptacle, together with Australia, of our redundant population. But this new world, as we call it, although there are material evidences that portions of it at least were occupied in very remote times by men of high civilization, was present to the mind of our Lord when he said that "the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations." So that the prophecy expands, as the ages roll onwards and the population of this earth increases; and it still demands its fulfillment, embracing the vast multitudes now dwelling on the face of the earth to the number of about 1, 450, 000, 000. Such a consideration may well lead us to the inference that we are now approaching sensibly nearer to the end of the world. There are no other new worlds like America or Australia now to be discovered. The whole face of the earth is now laid open to us; and there is now hardly any part of the world which has not at some time or other received the message of salvation.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 22 And the gospel must first be published among all…
Mar_13:10
And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
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Extent of apostolic missionary labours
Doubtless this prediction will only receive its complete accomplishment in the secondary application of the prophesy, but we hardly realize how near it was to fulfilment before the destruction of Jerusalem. The Acts of the Apostles fill us with amazement at the rapid progress of Christianity in Europe and Asia, under the teaching of two of them. What should we not learn if the whole Twelve had found chroniclers to record their labours? Scattered traditions, with more or less of certainty, show at least this, that missionary work was carried on throughout the then known world. There is little doubt that St. Thomas established the church in Parthia and on the shores of India; that St. Andrew penetrated far into Russia; that Bartholomew preached in Arabia and among the fire worshippers of Persia; and it has been said that even Central Africa, which the present generation burns to win back to Christ, was the scene of St. Matthews labours eighteen centuries ago. St. Pauls appeal to the hope of the gospel which was preached to every creature which is under heaven (Col_1:23), though doubtless written with Oriental exaggeration, testifies to a widespread diffusion of the truth. (H. M. Luckock, D. D.)
Progress of the gospel
I remember hearing a story in connection with our battlefields. One weary, dreary night, while our army was on the eve of a great and important battle, a soldier paced up and down before the tent of his general. Wearied with his work, he began to sing half to himself, When I can read my title clear. After a little his voice grew louder, and he sang the hymn as though it were a song of victory. His tones rang out on the still night air. After a little another soldier, off yonder, hearing the music, and fascinated by it, joined in. There was a duet. A little longer, and another voice, farther off, joined, and there was a chorus, and it was not long before the whole army, as far as the mind could reach on either side, were joining in that wondrous chorus, and singing in the presence of the enemy,
When I can read my title clear,
To mansions in the sky.
Well, brethren, when I heard the story, it seemed to me that I could see in the far-off distance that wondrous carpenters Son of Nazareth, standing alone and singing, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill to men. After a little twelve disciples took up the refrain, and joined in the chorus. After a little longer, in the next century, a still larger company gathered and sang it with all their hearts. In the next century a still larger number added their voices, and now, after eighteen hundred years have gone by, the music of that wondrous song, which began with Him who stood in His fathers workshop, is sung, and echoed, and re-echoed the whole wide world over. It is our revelation from God, and it is the impulse that lifts us all up to God. (Christian Mirror.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv9, 18 9. Take heed to yourselves. In Matthew's report persecution…
9. Take heed to yourselves. In Matthew's report persecution is foretold, but the injunctions of verses 9, 10, 11, or rather given in Matt. 10:18–20, on which see notes. Take heed. Not to escape persecution, but to be ready for it. They shall deliver you to councils. Jewish courts. Besides the great national council, the Sanhedrim, each principal town had a smaller council, or local Sanhedrim. In the synagogues ye shall be beaten. In every Jewish synagogue there were three magistrates authorized to inflict certain punishments, scourging being one. The number of stripes could not exceed forty (Deut. 25:3); hence they always stopped at thirty-nine. Governors and kings. Roman officials, such as Felix, Festus, Gallio, King Agrippa and Nero.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v14 Mar_13:14. The abomination of desolation.—Hebraism for the abomination that…
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Mar_13:14. The abomination of desolation.—Hebraism for the abomination that makes desolate. See Dan_9:27; Dan_11:31; Dan_12:11. A comparison of this verse with the parallel passage in Mat_24:15-16, makes it evident that the scene of this was to be the Temple. Once already had it been desecrated (1Ma_1:54), when Antiochus Epiphanes set up the statue of Jupiter on the altar of burnt sacrifice. But a worse profanation was yet to follow. Josephus (Wars of the Jews, IV. vi. 3) mentions an ancient saying current among the Jews, that “Jerusalem would be taken, and the Temple be destroyed, when it had been defiled by the hands of Jews themselves”—a prophecy that was literally fulfilled when, during the first siege of Jerusalem under Cestius (A. D. 68), the Temple was taken possession of by a band of Zealots, who committed fearful outrages of lust and murder within its sacred precincts. Such, in the opinion of the writer, was the portent to which Christ pointed as the signal to His followers to lose no time in seeking a place of safety beyond Judea. Flee to the mountains.—History records that when the time came the Christians fled from Jerusalem and Judea to Pella, identified with the ruins of Fahil, among the hills of Gilead.
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Mar_13:17. Woe to them.—Alas! for them … Cp. Luk_23:28-29; and see Josephus, Wars, VI. iii. 4.
Mar_13:18. In God’s mercy the prayer which the Christians doubtless offered in accordance with this injunction was heard, and the awful calamity of a winter flight averted. The Roman army first encompassed Jerusalem in October, when the weather is still mild; and the final siege took place in April or May.
Mar_13:19. Josephus unconsciously echoes these words: “All calamities, from the beginning of time, seem to me to shrink to nothing in comparison with those of the Jews.” He gives an awful description of these calamities in Wars, VI. iii.
3. See also Tacitus, History, Mar_13:13; Milman, History of the Jews, Mar_2:16; Merivale, History of the Romans, 6:59.
Mar_13:20. The city which had stood the siege of Nebuchadnezzar for sixteen months (2Ki_25:1-6; Jer_39:1-2) was taken by the Romans in less than five. Among the providential circumstances which combined to bring this about may be mentioned—
(1) the order of Claudius forbidding Herod Agrippa from completing the fortifications;
(2) the wars of factions in Jerusalem itself;
(3) the destruction by fire of large stores of provisions;
(4) the Jews’ abandonment of the towers on the approach of Titus;
(5) the swift and energetic measures of the Roman armies.
Mar_13:22. False Christs.—Not necessarily assuming the name of Christ, but pretending to a fuller revelation than Christ’s. Theudas; Simon Magus. False prophets.—See Josephus, Antiquities, XX. viii. 6; Tacitus, History, Mar_13:13. Cp. also 2Th_2:1-10. To seduce.—With a view to leading astray. Whether or not successful in this, Christ leaves an open question for the future to decide.
Mar_13:28-29. See R. V. rendering.
Mar_13:30. This generation.—Always used by Christ of persons then living on earth (Mat_11:16; Mat_12:41-42; Mat_12:45; Mat_23:36; Mar_8:12; Mar_8:38; Luk_7:31; Luk_11:30-32; Luk_11:50-51; Luk_17:25). Evidently, then, the terminus ad quem of “all these things” is the destruction of Jerusalem.
Mar_13:32. Neither the Son.—He who as Son of God possesses with the Father and the Holy Spirit the Divine attribute of omniscience, condescended as Son of Man to acquire during His earthly life only such instalments of knowledge (Luk_2:52) as were consistent with a creaturely form of existence (Php_2:6-7). The knowledge of the time of the Last Advent being wholly unnecessary to the Church, was not communicated to Him, its Head. The main thing to remember as to this limitation is that it was voluntary on our Lord’s part—a Self-emptying for the purposes of His Mission to our fallen race.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Mar_13:14-32
(PARALLELS: Mat_24:15-36; Luk_21:20-33.)
Christ’s manifestation in glory.—The manifestations of Christ are not exhausted yet. The Infant, the Child, the Man, the Worker of miracles, the Teacher by parables—He has been revealed to us as all these; but there is still another revelation of Him to come in the unknown future. He came once to visit us in great humility; He shall come again to judge us in glorious majesty.
I. There will be a manifestation of Christ in truth and unmistakable reality.—Till the moment of His coming it will be possible to deceive. False prophets were the bane of the old dispensation; false Christs are the bane of the new. We scarcely wonder that false Messiahs could command followers at a time like the siege of Jerusalem. It was just the crisis from which they would expect a Messiah to deliver them. But we do wonder, and we ought to wonder, that false Christs have arisen since, and that they arise still. That men who do not believe that Christ has come yet should be prepared to accept a self-styled Christ, if only his credentials satisfy them, is at least consistent, if not almost excusable; but for men who believe that Christ has already come, and then discredit His perfect life and Divine teaching by seeking elsewhere for light and guidance—for these we have no excuse, no explanation. Whatever may be said of the results of Christian effort in these days, there can be no question as to its tendencies. Give it full power and fair play, and it would reform the world. This is as much as to say that, so far forth as Christianity succeeds in exhibiting Christ, so far she is a trusted leader of society. Where she has failed to help the world, she has failed to represent Christ. Our contention is, and must be, this: that Christianity leads to Christ, and Christ to God; that the knowledge of God is the highest of all knowledge; that all which leads away from Him must end in nothingness, and can but be a loss to those who gain it. There is an inherent “deceivableness of unrighteousness”—an essential capacity for “strong delusion”—as to the highest of all truths which we are led by the Holy Spirit always to expect, and increasingly till the end of time, possibly that the contrast at the end might be the more marked. While they are all at their very busiest, and the “very elect” themselves almost dizzy with the whirl in the religious air, He will stand before them, true and unmistakable. “Every eye shall see Him” then; the mists from men’s minds and the cobwebs of men’s weaving will be swept away, and at that moment they shall know, even as they, are known. “I am the Truth” will be condemnation enough for millions in that day, if no other sentence were to proceed out of His mouth.
II. Christ will be manifested in universality.—At present it is here and there, as men carry the message. Dark corners have to wait till they can be attended to. “Go ye into all the world and preach” is the world’s only chance: for “how shall they hear without a preacher?” Nor is this all. It was not enough to light the lamp of the Tabernacle with heavenly flame; it required daily tending and replenishing with oil. We overcome the darkness of night with artificial light; and we keep up the gospel light in men’s hearts by human means. If Christ is our Sun of Righteousness, it is only to be expected that He should seem sometimes to set. The Church is His own devised system for arresting His beams and deriving His rays to ourselves. But the coming of the Son of Man shall be no longer, as it is now, like the coming and the going of the sun in the heavens—a sun, too, whose light can be admitted or excluded at will. It shall be rather like the lightning-flash, of which you say, “It is lightening in the east,” and yet, at the selfsame moment, it is in the west too—the lightning which seems to follow no law, but penetrates everywhere—awfully beautiful, irresistibly destructive, fearfully silent, and which has done its work, its irreparable work, before the roar of the thunder is heard. The highest attract it first, and yet it may pass the highest and strike the lowest. All that we can say for certain is, that whatsoever withstands it in its course will utterly be destroyed. Lightning always appals, though it leaves us unscathed. Its downward dart suggests a doomed mark, and its rapid zigzag forbids us to guess its aim; all are in peril where any one may be struck. It may well be that the suspense at the coming of the Son of Man will be the first instalment of the torments of the lost.
III. The awfull majesty in which He will appear.—This is set forth in the appalling changes that will come over the material heavens. The sun darkened, so that the moon can no longer shine with his reflected light—an image, surely, of the helplessness of the blinded followers of blind leaders. The stars falling from heaven, as not presuming to govern this night of no mere physical darkness, and in a dismay corresponding to the joy with which they sang together when the corner-stone of the earth was laid. The powers of heaven shaking, as in anticipation of their “passing away with a great noise.” And then the appearance of the sign of the Son of Man. What that sign shall be—whether, as Christian history leads us to suppose, the sign of the Fiery Cross, or whether rather a new sign, corresponding to the new heavens and the new earth—we cannot tell. Christian poetry may weave thoughts into scarcely understood words, so that for a time we think that we picture it; meditation may help us to forget ourselves, till we say, “I feel it, but I cannot put it into words”; we can approach it in similes and illustrations; but when all is done, we shall but have listened, felt, thought as men; and as men we still must confess at last, “We cannot bear it now.”
IV. Christ will be manifested then as in search of His own.—It were idle to ask, “Who would not be of the elect then?” It is more to the purpose to inquire, “What do men mean by being ashamed of Christ now?” It is to shew no faith, no love, no trust; it is to put man before God, to put worldly men before the saints; it is to give the lie to all our religious phrases, and falsify all our Christian hopes; it is to tempt God to take us at our word and say, “According to your faith, so be it done unto you.”—E. T. Marshall.
Mar_13:32. The limitations of our Lord’s manhood.—It has generally been considered very difficult to reconcile the passage before us with the doctrine of the Deity of Christ. The common explanation, which refers our Saviour’s ignorance of the date of the approaching judgment to His human nature only, is indignantly denounced as a miserable subterfuge by those who deny His Divinity. And even some of the ablest among the orthodox have abandoned this interpretation as unsatisfactory, if not evasive. To us, however, it seems perfectly just and Scriptural; while its supposed difficulties admit, we think, of solutions which are not only sound in logic, but are commonly applied in the interpretation of many other passages. We shall endeavour to support this opinion in the following argument.
I. Jesus Christ, while truly God, was also truly man, and therefore possessed a human soul.—Innumerable acts and feelings are attributed to Christ in the Scriptures, which, on the one hand, are incompatible with the nature of God, and, on the other, could not be asserted of any mere physical organisation. “He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” “He groaned in spirit and was troubled” at the grave of Lazarus. “He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” “In all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren.” He prayed unto the Father “with strong crying and tears, and was heard in that He feared.” “He increased in wisdom, and in favour with God and man.”
II. The union of the Divine and human natures in the person of our Lord did not extinguish or confound the essential attributes of either.—We can easily understand that two different natures, distinguished by the most opposite qualities, may yet be so connected as to constitute one person. We experience the truth of this in our own mysterious conformation. But this implies no confusion of their separate peculiarities. Because the body and the soul, in their present inexplicable conjunction, make up the individual man, does it follow that matter thinks, or that mind is extended in three dimensions? And if not, why should we imagine that the finite and the Infinite lost their respective differences and were merged into a common medium in the person of Immanuel, God with us? The widest possible diversity subsists between these two classes of attributes. And if we are justified in pronouncing the properties of the circle and the square to be intrinsically incompatible, we may surely maintain that the union of Deity and manhood in the person of the Lord left the essence of each undestroyed, unabsorbed, entire, and perfect in all its qualities.
III. Omniscience is one of the incommunicable attributes of God, in which, therefore, the reasonable soul of Christ had no participation.—Of God, and of God alone, can it be said that “His understanding is infinite.” When, therefore, omniscience is ascribed to the Redeemer, it must be understood of His Divine, not of His human nature. We may, indeed, with good reason believe that the rational soul of Christ received successive and great additions of knowledge from its connexion with the Eternal Word; but these, whatever their amount, did not exalt the creature into an equality with God. We have already quoted the scripture which declares that Christ “increased in wisdom.” Now that which is susceptible of increase is clearly at an infinite distance from infinity. If, then, the knowledge of the man Christ Jesus, however extended, was still the knowledge of a creature, and therefore finite, what inconsistency is there in believing that there were secrets in the counsels of God concealed even from Him?
IV. Though the union of the Divine and human natures in the Saviour involved no permutation or absorption of their respective peculiarities, it constituted Him one person, of whom, therefore, the attributes of God and man might be predicated indifferently.—The inspired writers affirm many things of Christ which are true only of His Divine nature—many which, in strictness of speech, apply only to His humanity. Yet they seldom mark the distinction. They did not think it necessary to say that “by Him,” in His Divine nature, “were all things created”—“by Him and for Him,” that is, as He was God; “and He is before all things, and in Him all things consist,” considering Him as Divine. They did not say that, as God, “He is Lord of all”—that, as one with the Father, He is “the First and the Last”—that “Thou, Lord, in the beginning,” by Thine eternal power and Godhead, “hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of Thine hands.” Nor did they usually adopt any such guarded phraseology in speaking of Jesus as man. We do not read that, in His human nature, “He was an hungered”—that, as man, “being wearied with His journey, He sat thus on the well”—that, as partaker of flesh and blood, “He was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow”—that, in His character as a creature, He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Sometimes, it is true, we meet with qualifying expressions in reference to His humanity—such as, “according to the flesh,” “the offering of the body of Jesus,” etc. But these instances are comparatively few, and easily accounted for by the context; while, in the current phraseology of the Scriptures, both Divine and human attributes are given to Christ without any express limitation of either to the one nature or to the other. Is it any harder to believe that the human soul of Jesus was left in ignorance of future times and seasons, than to believe that it sorrowed, complained, and prayed?
V. It may be asked, “But is not such a method of interpretation somewhat unnatural? Is it not assumed without proof?”—We think that in answering these questions we can produce a form of expression exactly parallel to that against which the objection is raised, yet employed in general conversation without ever incurring the charge of impropriety or any danger of misconstruction. No one will deny that, in the opinion of an immense majority, the body and the soul of man are two different natures, distinguished by opposite and incompatible qualities. It is equally clear, as we have already observed, that this conjunction involves no loss and no confusion of their characteristic peculiarities. There is a mutual influence of the two natures, we readily admit. The feelings and volitions of the mind act on the nerves of the body; and certain affections of the nerves produce sensations in the mind. But matter is still matter, mind is mind; and this reciprocal activity of both occasions no interchange or assimilation of their several powers. And yet we familiarly employ, with reference to man in general, language which is strictly true only of one part of his nature. We do this continually in common discourse, and in written style, without formally announcing the distinction; and we do it without any risk of misinterpretation. We say of any individual with whom we are acquainted that he is tall or short, light or heavy, brown or fair. Yet we never think of adding a prudent parenthesis to inform the company that we are speaking only of the body of the individual in question. On the other hand, we describe the same individual, it may be, as imaginative, choleric, or timid—as fond of reasoning, or deficient in memory, or conscientious even to scrupulosity. Yet we do not deem it necessary to restrict the application of these phrases to the spiritual nature of the man. The two classes of attributes are too distinct to be confounded. And were not the Divine and human natures of our Lord as perfectly distinct in all their powers? Are the qualities of the creature and the perfections of God so much alike as to be distinguished with difficulty, and perpetually liable to be confounded? Assuredly if error of this kind be rendered anywhere impossible, from the nature of the case, it is so in the incarnation of “the Mighty God.” It has been observed by an eminent writer that “the pet texts of a Socinian are quite enough for his confutation with acute thinkers. If Christ had been a mere man, it would have been ridiculous in Him to call Himself the Son of Man; but being God and man, it then became, in His own assumption of it, a peculiar and mysterious title.” The same remark may be applied, we think, to the passage now under consideration. Let the name of any of the prophets or apostles be substituted for the designation of Christ, and a sentence is produced at which even a Socinian might stagger. “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither Moses, but the Father.” It matters little what particular name is selected for the experiment. Isaiah, Daniel, Paul, or John, in such a collocation, would be alike incongruous with the whole phraseology and spirit of the Bible. Why, then, would such an announcement have revolted us, while the name of the Son, in this identical connexion, awakens no surprise? Manifestly because the human soul of Christ, from its conjunction with “the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the express image of His person,” was admitted to a knowledge of the counsel of God which is never ascribed to any other creature; manifestly because “in Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” The audacity of those who deny the possibility of such a union has been too often rivalled by the presumption of others who have pretended to explain it. On such a subject our only wisdom is to receive, with the faith of “little children,” the words “which the Holy Ghost teacheth,” not “adding to them, lest we be reproved.”—J. M. Mackenzie.
OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Mar_13:14-18. A fruitful warning.—As they were not to linger in the guilty city, so we are to let no earthly interests arrest our flight—not to turn back, but promptly and resolutely to flee unto the everlasting hills. As they should pray that their flight through the mountains should not be in the winter, so should we beware of needing to seek salvation in the winter of the soul, when the storms of passion and appetite are wildest, when evil habits have made the road slippery underfoot, and sophistry and self-will have hidden the gulfs in a treacherous wreath of snow.—Dean Chadwick.
Mar_13:18. Winter flight.—How late is it to begin our flight from the world and sin in the winter of old age and death! In the winter the days are short, the ways bad, the season rainy, the night comes on before we are aware, and we meet with a thousand impediments and hindrances of flight and travelling: these are a lively representation of those hindrances of salvation which men find at the end of their lives. The grace to prevent them by a speedy conversion is obtained only by prayer.—P. Quesnel.
Mar_13:22. False Christs.—There have been many of them. David George, for instance, who ultimately settled at Basle, where he died in 1556. He claimed, according to the account of Dr. Henry More, to be the true Christ, the dear Son of God, born not of the flesh, but of the Spirit. He was to restore the house of Israel, and re-erect the tabernacle of God, not by afflictions and death, as the other Messiah, but by that sweetness, love, and grace that were given him of the Father. He had the power of the remission of sins, and had come to administer the last judgment. He averred that “the Holy Scriptures, the sayings and testimonies of the prophets, of Christ, and of His apostles, do all point, if rightly understood, in their true mystery, to the glorious coming of David George, who is greater than the former Christ, as being born of the Spirit, and not of the flesh” (Enthusiasmus Triumphatus, § 34). This David George, says Dr. More, was a man “of notable natural parts, of comely person, and a graceful presence.” And he had many adherents, who believed in him. In our own day there are persons—out of asylums—who put forth corresponding claims. There is lying before the writer a Tract on the Second Advent fulfilled, in which it is said that “the enrolling of the saints commenced on the anniversary of the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles of the year 1868, that is, on the 9th of October, 1868. The following,” it is added, “is the declaration to be made and signed: ‘I believe Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah at His first coming and the antitypical Paschal Lamb who died for sin in allegory, and I believe John Cochran of Glasgow to be that Messiah at His second coming and the antitypical High Priest who has taken away sin in reality.’ ” Of all such persons it has, in consequence of their obscurity, to be said, “Lo, here! Lo, there!” “Believe not,” says our Saviour.—J. Morison, D.D.
False prophets.—They have been legion in number. Lodowick Muggleton, for instance, who, on the title-page of his True Interpretation of the whole Book of the Revelation of St. John (1746), describes himself as “one of the two last commissionated witnesses and prophets of the only high, immortal, glorious God, Christ Jesus.” Madame Antoinette Bourignon, before him, was a far nobler being, yet she declared to Christian de Cort: “I am sent from God to bring light to the world, and to bear witness to the truth. He has sent me to tell that the last times are come; that the world is judged, and the sentence is irrevocable; that the plagues are begun, and will not cease till all evil be rooted out; and that Jesus Christ will come shortly to the earth to finish this, and then He will continue to reign with ‘men of goodwill,’ who shall enjoy eternal peace. I am sent with a commission to declare all these things to men, to the end that peradventure some of them may be converted and repent, that they may reign with Jesus Christ in His glory.”—Ibid.
False Christs and false prophets.—In those days it was an adventurer who traded on the religious enthusiasm of his compatriots—led them out to some desert or to some mountain-side to enjoy for a moment the delirium of an impossible delusion, and then, perhaps, to suffer the punishment of a supposed political offence. In our days it is a sceptical friend, it is an article in a review, it is the general atmosphere of the social circle in which we live. Our faith is undermined by people who talk and write in the very best English, and who have so much about them that is winning and agreeable that we cannot believe what is really going on. Still, after a time, we find that we have less hold on the Unseen than we had, that prayer is more difficult, that conscience is more sluggish, that religious exertion of all kinds is more unwelcome; and this, I say, means that the soul’s hold of the central realities is, to say the very least, weakened, if that is, indeed, anything like a full and true account of what has taken place. We cannot go on breathing a bad air, and be as we were when we lived high up upon the mountain, unless we take very great precautions. Not to take them under such circumstances as these is to be in the fair way to forfeit perseverance.—Canon Liddon.
Mar_13:25-27. The Second Advent.—The second coming of Christ will be even as the first coming at His incarnation—an historical fact taking place on the world in which we live; not anything like a figure of speech, but breaking violently into the uniform and hitherto unbroken continuity of time and nature, and thus freeing the soul and spirit of man from those physical relations on which man is now dependent, and giving the soul fresh opportunities and hopes in a world where all will be glorious. Such will be the second coming of Christ—the perfecting of the first. Not partial, however, and gradual as His first coming, when Christ was revealed here to one and there to one; but seen and recognised by all the tribes of the earth. Not gradual, for it has taken long to spread the Church, and the work is very far from being done even now; but sudden and instantaneous—revealed as a flash of lightning. By one act and one appearance will He unite the greatest terror with the greatest glory; He will transform the world and nature and time; He will judge the living and the dead, and carry the children of God to the inheritance of eternal life.—Jas. Lonsdale.
Mar_13:30. Two horizons.—In that landscape of the future, of which our Lord permitted His disciples to catch a glimpse in this great discourse of “the last things,” there were two horizons—one near at hand, the other afar off. “The boundary line of either horizon marked the winding up of an æon; each was a great ending; of each it was true that the then existing generation, first in its literal sense, then in its wider sense of ‘race,’ should not pass away until all had been fulfilled.” One event was the end of the Jewish nationality, the other the end of the world. The former was in many respects the type of the latter. The signs, both in the natural and moral world, which preceded and accompanied the overthrow of Jerusalem are measurably the same as those which will characterise the last ages of the world. And hence it is not easy to determine with precision what signs are applicable solely to one event, and what are applicable solely to the other. In true prophetic style they are much intermingled. But we must not forget that they are the words of “One whose whole being moved in the sphere of eternity and not of time”; that moral warning rather than chronological indication is the real object of prophecy; and that “to the voice of prophecy, as to the eye of God, all time is but one eternal present.”
Mar_13:31. The perishable and the imperishable.—
I. The things which shall pass away—the perishable things, the destructible things, the things which in this visible economy seem never to continue in one stay, and at last shall perish for ever.
1. Thus see what traces of instability and decay are written on the things men chiefly love and live for. Riches, honours, comforts, friends—youth, beauty, genius, strength—the prospering enterprise, the unfolding hope, the fellowship of kindred minds, and the hallowed domestic ties,—how slight is our hold on the fairest and best of these things!
2. See the same truth inscribed on what we might have thought would have a more enduring life; namely, the triumphs of man’s intellectual nature—the inventions of art, the applications of science, the treasures of literature, the profound researches of the learned, and the ingenious discoveries of the wise: all these are found to be of the earth, earthy.
3. Again, how strikingly are we reminded of this law of mutability and decay, as applied to all earthly things, when we contemplate the history of nations.
4. But not to indications, in the history and moral circumstances of mankind only, are we to limit the application of our Lord’s words. As the foregoing verses shew, the final consummation will be preceded by a mighty disturbance among the elemental powers of nature. Who shall say how soon all visible and material things, consumed and scattered, as it were by the springing of some invisible mine, may be called upon to shed the light of their dissolving glory on the day of Christ, and testify to the imperishableness of His words?
II. Christ’s words shall not pass away.—
1. Because they are founded on eternal truth, and on the fixed purposes of the unchangeable Jehovah.
2. Because of the eternal power and Godhead of Him who spake them.
3. Because of their connexion with His own glory as the Divinely constituted Mediator.—D. Moore.
The permanence of Christ’s words.—
I. The words which Jesus spake while on earth are permanently associated with our whole life.
II. All our literature is enriched by these words.
III. That which is spiritual must always be more permanent than the material.
IV. Yet the material prepares the way for the spiritual application.—
1. A lesson of warning, since we are in danger of attaching too much importance to the form, and too little to the truth, which the form embodies.
2. A lesson of encouragement; opinions may change and interpretations differ, but the truth remains always the same.—F. Wagstaff.
Mar_13:32. Christ’s voluntary limitation of knowledge.—What forbids us to believe that His knowledge, like His power, was limited by a lowliness not enforced, but for our sakes chosen; and that as He could have asked for twelve legions of angels, yet chose to be bound and buffeted, so He could have known that day and hour, yet submitted to ignorance, that He might be made like in all points to His brethren? Souls there are for whom this wonderful saying, “The Son knoweth not,” is even more affecting than the words, “The Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.”—Dean Chadwick.
To me this means that He who was to judge the world, who knew what was in man, and more, who alone knew the Father, was at that time content to have that hour hidden from Him—did not choose to be above the angels in knowing it—as He was afterwards content to be forsaken of the Father.—Dean Church.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 13
Mar_13:15-16. The danger of delay.—
1. Opportunity is like a string of stepping-stones across a ford. The traveller, coming up to them, may find the river so swollen with the rains that the stones are all but covered. If he delay, though his home be on the opposite bank, and full in sight, it may be too late to cross, and he may have a journey of several miles to reach his home.
2. Opportunity is like a narrow passage in the Arctic Seas. Sometimes, in these northern regions, ships get enclosed in a narrow space between ice-islands. The floating rocks glide nearer the ship on every side, and the dismayed seamen behold their only chance of escape from the fatal crash lies in a narrow channel, that every moment grows still narrower. How hurriedly they press their vessel through that strip to reach the safety of the open ocean! Even so must we press along the narrow way that leads to eternal life; for who knows how soon that narrow way may be closed against him.
Mar_13:18. The horrors of a winter flight.—In the autumn of 1812 Napoleon entered Moscow with 120,000 soldiers, intending to pass the winter there in comfort. On October 13th (three weeks earlier than it had ever been known before) snow began to fall. The proud emperor looked out of his window in dismay, and decided to hasten back at once, and establish his winter quarters in the friendly cities of Poland. It was a march through a dreary and desolate region, of more than a thousand miles; but he put on a bold front, and the troops began to retire in good order. A week later, and the grand army was in full retreat. Bleak, chilly winds howled through the leafless trees; the weary soldiers were blinded by the flakes of snow and sleet; their embittered enemies attacked them in every unguarded point; order and discipline were forgotten; the ranks were broken, and each man struggled on as best he could; the dead and the dying were trodden down; hundreds of horses were slain for food; all ideas of conquest were banished; Napoleon himself left the army to its fate; and each day’s weary march was marked by heaps of broken waggons, and abandoned cannon, and white hillocks of snow, beneath which the frozen bodies of man and beast were buried. With such a dreadful picture of misery before you, it will be easy to understand the tender compassion which prompted the Saviour to say, “Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.” Especially ought we to remember those who are suffering the sad privations of poverty, and be glad to relieve their wants when we are able.
Mar_13:22. Danger of deception by false Christs.—In the frescoes of Signorelli we have “The Teaching of Antichrist”—no repulsive figure, but a grand personage in flowing robes, and with a noble countenance, which at a distance might easily be taken for the Saviour. To him the crowd are eagerly gathering and listening, and it is only when you draw close that you can discover in his harder and cynical expression, and from the evil spirit whispering in his ear, that it is not Christ.
Mar_13:28. A sign of summer’s approach.—When Dr. Rees preached last in North Wales, a friend said to him, “You are whitening fast, Dr. Rees.” The old gentleman did not say anything then; but when he got to the pulpit he referred to it, and said, “There is a wee white flower that comes up through the earth at this season of the year—sometimes it comes up through the snow and frost; but we are all glad to see the snowdrop, because it proclaims that the winter is over and that the summer is at hand. A friend reminded me last night that I was whitening fast. But heed not that, brother; it is to me a proof that my winter will soon be over, that I shall have done presently with the cold east winds and the frosts of earth, and that my summer—my eternal summer—is at hand.”
Mar_13:32. Christ’s second coming is to be of awful suddenness, overtaking a careless world with surprise, and not wholly expected even by the faithful watchman. Of such a sudden and awful change perhaps a faint illustration may be found in the catastrophe which took place about a century ago, when in an Alpine valley the whole side of a mountain suddenly fell and overwhelmed the village below, crushing châlets and houses, burying the church, and covering with earth and stones a merry wedding-party that had just entered the doomed valley. To be without warning or preparation is the character of the Second Advent, as compared with the long-planned arrangements and the deep foundations laid for the First Coming.—Dr. Hardman.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv10, 13, 14, 19 Cf. Mat 24:14 "Gospel of the Kingdom:" See note,…
And
Cf. Mat 24:14 "Gospel of the Kingdom:" See note, Rev 14:6 (See Scofield "Rev 14:6").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv9, 12, 14, 17, 21 Persecution of the believers:
Persecution of the believers:
v. 9. But take heed to yourselves; for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten; and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them.
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v. 10. And the Gospel must first be published among all nations.
v. 11. But when they shall lead you and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate; but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye; for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
Incessant watchfulness, untiring vigilance, the Lord enjoins upon His disciples. For the Jews and their leaders would not passively permit the extension of the Christian influence, the spread of the Christian religion. All their various courts would be called upon to hinder the work of the apostles and their assistants. Christ bluntly tells them: You, delivered to the synagogues, shall be maltreated. And for His sake they would have to stand before rulers and kings. All this will be a testimony not to them, but against them. It will be marked down in the judgment-book of God as another item calling down His punishment upon the enemies of His Word. As we read throughout the Acts of the Apostles, and in individual accounts given by St. Paul in his letters, these prophecies were literally fulfilled. And there is little difference between those days and ours, only that at the present time expediency and political measures are urged by the enemies of the pure Gospel in persecuting the believers throughout the world. But, in the midst of it all, Christ’s prophecy shines like a beacon light: And to all nations the Gospel must first be preached. In those days the apostles filled the known world with the glorious news of the salvation gained by Jesus for all men, and in our days there are always some to be found that go out in utter selflessness to bring the news of the reconciliation of God with men through the blood of Christ to every nation. With this promise to guide them, to cheer them, to fill them with new courage every day, the prospect of suffering injustice before the powers that be holds no terror for the believers. Christ tells them not to worry beforehand how they might duly defend themselves against the false accusations. At the critical moment He promises to give them the right words which they may use in defending themselves. The Holy Ghost would directly inspire their utterances, so that their defense would be, in each instance, a powerful vindication of the truth of the Gospel and of the power of God. And the history of the Church since the time of the apostles narrates instances in number which show that God, in times of great crises, awakens men with extraordinary abilities and powers to defend the Scriptures against false accusations and to vindicate Christianity. Though we do not yield to a false enthusiasm in their case, as, for instance, in that of Luther, and are far from claiming direct inspiration for them, yet we know that in their preaching, also in defense of the truth of the eternal Gospel, it was God and His Spirit that was with them.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 11, 14, 17, 21 Be on your guard
Be on your guard
"Be ready for what people will do to you"
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will deliver you up to councils
"take you and put you under the control of councils"
you will be beaten
This can be stated in active form. AT: "people will beat you" (See: Active or Passive)
You will stand before
This means to be put on trial and judged. AT: "You will be put on trial before" or "You will be brought to trial and judged by" (See: Idiom)
for my sake
"because of me" or "on account of me"
as a testimony to them
This means they will testify about Jesus. This can be made clear. AT: "and testify to them about me" or "and you will tell them about me" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
But the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations
Jesus is still speaking about things that must happen before the end comes. This can be made clear. AT: "But the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations before the end will come" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
deliver
council
synagogue
govern
king
testimony
good news
preach
nation
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 13:9 The second watch out! warns of persecution that…
13:9 The second watch out! warns of persecution that was to come upon Christians (see 6:11; 8:34-38; 10:30; see 4:17). Jewish Christians would be brought before local councils of Jewish leaders, who had authority over Jewish communities. We read of such a council in Matt 10:17 and probably in Matt 5:22 (see also Acts 4:1-22). • beaten in the synagogues: Paul’s beatings in 2 Cor 11:24-25 were probably inflicted in the local synagogue. • The followers of Jesus would also be susceptible to trial before governors and kings (see Acts 23:24; 24:10-27; 25:1–26:32). Such trials were due to their being followers of Jesus (Mark 13:9, 13), not on account of real wrongdoing (see 1 Pet 4:14-16).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.