Mark 13:1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look at the magnificent stones and buildings!” 2“Do you see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” BSB
Cyrus of Persia allowed the Jews to return and rebuild the Temple but this second version fell short in comparison to Solomon’s Temple. This changed just prior to the time of Jesus as Herod the Great rebuilt the temple into its former glory. We are now at Tuesday and while the disciples have seen the temple before, viewing it is breathtaking (and a little overwhelming) to which the response of Jesus is that it is all coming down.
The Old Testament identifies three main offices: prophet, priest and king. Christ fulfills all three roles with this representing a prophetic action by Jesus. We tend to think of prophecy as a prediction of the future but it is usually a message (or warning) about bad things that are about to happen to people who aren’t doing what God wants them to do. The immediate context of this prophecy is the argument He has been having with the spiritual leaders of Judaism in chapter 12.
Mark 13:3 As He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are all about to be fulfilled?” 5 And Jesus began to say to them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he.’ and will lead many astray. 7 “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled. Such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines. These things are the beginning of birth pains. NHEB
The group has exited Jerusalem through one of the nine gates, crossed the Kidron Valley and climbed up the Mount of Olives. Once there, they are looking back at the temple and begin to question Jesus about “when” and “what”. This is no small matter as a first century Jew would view the destruction of the temple as a cataclysmic event that would mean the closing of the age and the coming of the Messiah. Their expectation is that all of this will happen at the same time. What we know is that the temple gets destroyed but the rest hasn’t happened. (Matthew, as the Gospel written to a Jewish readership, goes into greater detail on some of the specifics in chapter 24 than Mark will in chapter 13).
There are four possible ways that Christians can look at this section of teaching known as the Olivet Discourse. First, they can push everything to the future. Second is to take the preterist approach and say that everything has already happened. Third is to look at this as a history of the world that is gradually unfolding. Fourth is to view all of this symbolically or idealistically.
The Bible’s view of history is that it isn’t circular and doesn’t repeat. This stands in contrast to the agrarian nations surrounding Israel who view every year as being the same. Jesus has told the disciples the Temple is coming down and that has led to additional questions. He clarifies by telling them that the destruction of the Temple isn’t the end as these two events are not the same nor will they occur at the same time.
The answer to “when” starts at verse 5 and continues until verse 23. In verse 5, “Jesus began” indicates that this will be a complicated teaching. It starts with possibility of deception as the first indication. (And we know who the great deceiver is). There will be people who come along and claim to be the Messiah as well as wars and famines. This is only the beginning.
2Thessalonians 2:1 Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, displaying himself as God. NET
This letter to the Thessalonians was written before Mark yet there was already a conflict that Paul has had to address regarding the Second Coming. Paul’s counsel is to not be led astray. Same thing in Mark as the first thing Jesus tells them is that there is the possibility of deception and of people who purposely call themselves “messiah”. From the death of Jesus to the destruction to the Temple, there were eight “messiahs” who came along and claimed authority from God. Jesus warns us that if we see this happening, don’t believe it!