Introduction To The Olivet Discourse - Mark 13:1-4 Series

So as we go through the Olivet Discourse, I’ll be on the lookout for both. I’ll watch for clues from Jesus and Mark and I’ll watch for ways the other NT authors interpret or apply Jesus’ words. What I won’t do is try to jam everything in the Olivet Discourse into one theological system or another to sup-port one of the end times schemes. I’m going to try my hardest not to have a dog in the fight of pre-terism vs futurism or any other “ism.” We’ll just take each paragraph as it comes and let the theologi-cal “ism” chips fall where they may.

Jesus Forsakes the Temple

Let’s take a look at what prompted the Olivet Discourse. Mark 13:1 As he was leaving the temple I think we’re meant to see more in this than just the fact that Jesus was exiting the building. Given all that’s gone on in the last two chapters:

• Jesus stormed the Temple and overturned tables.

• He rebuked them for making it a den of robbers

• He said, “You want to know what all that means? Watch this …” and he killed a fig tree and said it would never bear fruit again and it immediately dried up from the roots.

• Then he talked about “this mountain” being cast into the sea—a reference to judgment.

• Then he devastated the Temple authorities in public debate and told a parable about how God would take his vineyard from them, give it to others, and then come and kill them.

• Then he talked about how they will be punished most severely and receive the greater damna-tion.

After all that, when it says he left the Temple—that’s more than just him finding an exit. Jesus is forsaking the Temple for good, never to return. Even after his resurrection, he didn’t go back there.

He leaves and heads east to the Mount of Olives, which calls to mind the moment in Ezekiel when the glory of God abandoned the Temple. The chariot throne of God’s glory rises up from inside the temple, pauses at the east gate, and comes to rest on the Mount of Olives. And now once again, the glory of God in the person of Christ leaves the Temple, heads east, and comes to rest on the Mount of Olives. 3 Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple It could be translated “opposing the Temple” or “over against the Temple.” The Temple was on a hill and the Mount of Olives was a higher hill (about 200 ft. higher) and in between was a deep valley and Jesus stand above it and against it.

Announcement of Judgment

1 … one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent build-ings!"

We could spend the whole hour talking about how magnificent the Temple was. It was twice the size of Solomon’s glorious Temple, and was the greatest structure in the world at the time. Nothing in the Roman Empire or anywhere else compared to it, no pagan temple or any other kind of building compared to it. Some of the blocks in the wall were 60 ft. long and weighed over a million pounds.

2 "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."