Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 13

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples, on looking at the temple in all its grandeur, uttered an exclamation over its beauty and massiveness. This chapter in Mark’s gospel is Jesus’ response.

The temple area, including the temple building itself, had been rebuilt by Herod the Great. The courtyard had been greatly enlarged (to about four hundred by five hundred yards) in order to accommodate the large throngs of Jews who came to Jerusalem for the festivals. To accomplish this enlargement, a huge platform had to be erected to compensate for the sharp falling off of the land to the southeast. An enormous retaining wall was built to hold the platform in place. The massive stones used in the construction of this wall may still be seen today. At the southeast corner the temple platform towered two hundred feet above the Kidron Valley.

In addition to the temple building itself, on the platform stood porticoes and cloistered courts flanked by beautiful colonnades. The temple area covered approximately one-sixth of the area of the city of Jerusalem. It was an architectural wonder, and its size and location dominated the ancient city.

Jesus’ reply was startling. Great though the temple buildings were, they would be completely destroyed. This prophecy was fulfilled in A. D. 70, when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Roman general Titus. All the buildings on the temple platform, including the temple itself to which the prophecy refers, were utterly destroyed. So completely were they destroyed that no trace of them remains today. Even their exact location on the temple mount is disputed.

Between v.2 and v.3 the location shifts. Jesus was now on the Mount of Olives. With him were the four disciples who had been the first to be called by him (cf. 1:16–20). From the top of the Mount they could clearly see the Kidron Valley running below the eastern wall of the city, and especially the temple mount.

The question the four disciples asked Jesus privately not only goes back to his statement made as they were leaving the temple area (cf. v.2) but actually expands it. The disciples wanted to know when the things Jesus predicted would take place. But they also wanted to know what the sign would be that the predicted events were “all about to be fulfilled.” The disciples thought that the destruction of the temple would come at the end of the age (cf. Matthew 24:3). Thus they wanted a sign, some sure way by which they might know that the destruction of the temple was about to occur and that the end of the age was approaching. But Jesus refused to give them eschatological signs. Throughout his discourse he was more concerned to prepare them by exhortation and warning for the trials that lay ahead than to give them dates and signs.

Between v.2 and v.3 the location shifts. Jesus was now on the Mount of Olives. With him were the four disciples who had been the first to be called by him (cf. 1:16–20). From the top of the Mount they could clearly see the Kidron Valley running below the eastern wall of the city, and especially the temple mount.

The question the four disciples asked Jesus privately not only goes back to his statement made as they were leaving the temple area (cf. v.2) but actually expands it. The disciples wanted to know when the things Jesus predicted would take place. But they also wanted to know what the sign would be that the predicted events were “all about to be fulfilled.” The disciples thought that the destruction of the temple would come at the end of the age (cf. Matthew 24:3). Thus they wanted a sign, some sure way by which they might know that the destruction of the temple was about to occur and that the end of the age was approaching. But Jesus refused to give them eschatological signs. Throughout his discourse he was more concerned to prepare them by exhortation and warning for the trials that lay ahead than to give them dates and signs.

The first word of the discourse proper is “Watch out” (GK 1063), a word that recurs throughout the passage (vv.9, 23, 33, where it is translated as “be on your guard”)—a clear indication that admonition is obviously one of Jesus’ main concerns. He was warning against false claimants to messiahship. That Jesus said there would be many such false messiahs suggests that his statement should be understood broadly. Although before A. D. 70 few claimed to be the Messiah in the strictest sense, many claimed to have messianic authority. Furthermore, the reference may also look to the time preceding the End.