Following on from my last post on Mark 13, here are some pointers to an over-realized eschatology of Mark 13.
| Mark 13 | Mark 14-15 |
| 'brother will deliver brother over to death' (v.12) | Judas betrays Jesus (14:10-11) |
| 'those who are in Judea flee to the mountains' (v. 14) | Jesus predicts that 'the sheep will be scattered' (14:27) when he is arrested and dies, which is what happens (14:50). |
| Jesus constantly commands that the disciples 'stay awake' and 'be on guard' (vv. 9, 23, 33, 35, 37) | Jesus in Gethsemane tries to encourage the disciples to keep watch and stay awake but they keep falling asleep (14:32-42) |
| Jesus predicts the disciples will be brought before governors, councils and kings (v.9) | Jesus is brought before the 'chief priests and the whole Council' and Pilate (14:53-15:5) |
| Jesus says that he may come 'when the rooster crows' (v.35) | Peter denies Jesus while and the rooster crows (14:66-72) |
| 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light' (v.24) | 'when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour' (15:33) |
| 'There will be earthquakes in various places' (v.8) | [As Jesus dies 'the earth shook, and the rocks were split' (Matthew 27:51)] |
Obviously they don't quite fit. But nevertheless there is a striking overlap. I suppose if the whole of history is concentrated and contained in Christ's passion and resurrection then it is to be expected.
Still don't know what to do with it though.
Have you read Peter Bolt on this, he sees a good fit between 13 and 14-16 in The Cross from a Distance, seeing the cross as the end of the world and the beginning of the kingdom.
ReplyDeleteHi there: always thought that tying in Biblical apocalyptic descriptions to some non-Biblical event eg Jerusalem's AD 70 fall, was somewhat strained. What better description of the horror of Calvary than the 'abomination of desolation'?
ReplyDeleteDave... I hadn't, but now I have. Thanks for the recommendation. I may blog on it again soon.
ReplyDeleteMark, I agree... and so does Peter Bolt it appears!
... You know it maybe starting to fit together! Thanks for all your interaction.
the question that nags me here is what about the return of jesus (eg Mark 8v34ff), if the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven is when jesus comes into his kingdom with the angels ie resurrection/mark 16).
ReplyDeleteAlso the question is whether matthews gospel is the same...
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI agree that Mark 13 cannot be fully realised in the death and resurrection. But if that is the event that shapes the whole of history then we should expect all the elements to be there, but amplified, elaborated and completed in the rest of history.
... filling up what was lacking as it were Col 1:24.
I think I'm going to get round to doing another post on this, relying on Bolt. You'll have to wait a little though I'm afraid.