Mark!!
Lesson*#14*Crisis,*
the*Olivet*Discourse*(Mark*13:*1<37)*
1!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
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Lesson!#13!offered!an!Excursus!on!the!Roman!Empire!at!the!:me!of!Mark’s!Gospel.!!In!it!we!learned!that!the!Roman!Empire!of!A.D.!64G70!experienced!tremendous!turbulence:!!
• The!Great!Fire!of!Rome!burned!a!large!por:on!of!the!city!on!18!July!A.D.!64,!and!the!Emperor!Nero!blamed!the!destruc:on!on!Rome’s!Chris:ans;!!
• Consequently,!Nero!(A.D.!54G68)!launched!the!first!stateGsponsored!persecu:on!against!the!Church,!A.D.!64G68.!!Both!Peter!and!Paul!were!martyred!during!this!:me,!along!with!“a!great!mul:tude”!of!others;!!
• Nero!commi_ed!suicide!on!9!June!A.D.!68;!!
• Civil!war!broke!out,!and!four!Emperors!followed!in!quick!succession,!three!of!whom!were!assassinated!or!commi_ed!suicide;!and!!
• In!A.D.!66!the!Great!Jewish!Revolt!began!in!Pales:ne,!resul:ng!in!the!destruc:on!of!the!Temple!on!29/30!July!A.D.!70,!the!death!of!1.2!million!Jews!by!the!end!of!the!revolt,!and!the!Diaspora!that!lasted!nearly!2,000!years.!
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2!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
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This!extraordinarily!tumultuous!:me!formed!the!historical!and!cultural!context!from!which!the!Gospel*according*to*Mark!emerged,!shaping!our!author’s!narra:ve,!rhetorical!and!stylis:c!strategies,!as!well!as!the!portrayal!of!his!characters!and!his!sequencing!of!events!in!the!story.!!!!
Understanding!this!greatly*informs*our!reading!of!Mark’s!version!of!the!Olivet!Discourse!in!13:!1G37,!the!subject!of!our!next!lesson.!!!!!
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3!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
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In!the!Olivet!Discourse!(13:!1G37)!Jesus!speaks!of!a!:me!of!great!tribula:on;!the!destruc:on!of!the!Temple;!the!coming!of!the!Son!of!Man!(the!parousiva,!“parousia,”!=!in!classical!Greek,!“the!physical!arrival!of!a!person!who!is!not!currently!present,”!e.g.,!Jesus’!“2nd!Coming”);!and!the!“end!:mes.”!!!!
Tradi:onally!read!as!eschatological!prophecy,!the!Olivet!Discourse!draws!heavily!upon!the!Book!of!Daniel!for!its!imagery!(the!“Son!of!Man”!coming!on!the!clouds;!the!“desola:ng!abomina:on”!standing!where!he!should!not),!and!it!applies!that!imagery!to!the!events!that!are!unfolding!in!the!Roman!Empire!at!the!:me!of!the!Gospel’s!composi:on.!!!!!
4!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
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Mark builds Jesus’ “Olivet Discourse” (13: 1-37) on a simple
4-part structure: 1. Question asked (1-4) 2. Question answered, Part 1 (5-23) 3. Question answered, Part 2 (24-31) 4. What to do in the meantime (32-37).
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5!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
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6!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
Mark builds Jesus’ “Olivet Discourse” (13: 1-37) on a simple 4-part structure:
1. Question asked (1-4) 2. Question answered, Part 1 (5-23) 3. Question answered, Part 2 (24-31) 4. What to do in the meantime (32-37).
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7!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
Holy*cow!*
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To!understand!the!magnitude!of!Jesus’!comment!in!13:!2—and!his!disciples’!reac:on!to!it—we!need!a!solid!understanding!of!the!Temple!in!Jerusalem.!!!!!*
8!Triumphal!Entry!
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King!Solomon!began!building!the!1st!Temple!in!Jerusalem!in!the!4th!year!of!his!reign,!966!B.C.!(1!Kings!6:!1).!!He!completed!it!in!seven!years,!and!he!!dedicated!it!in!959!B.C.!(1!Kings!6:!38).!!!
Solomon’s!Temple!wasn’t!large,!only!30!meters/90!feet!long!by!10!meters/30!feet!wide!and!10!meters/30!feet!high.!!But!it!was!the!most!beau:ful!building!on!earth,!a!Fraberge!Egg,!a!glistening!gem.!!
Solomon’s!Temple!stood!in!Jerusalem!for!380!years,!un:l!14!August!586!B.C.,!when!the!Babylonians!sacked,!looted!and!destroyed!it!and!Jerusalem!(2!Kings!25:!8G9).!!
There!are!no!extant!images!of!the!1st!Temple,!only!wri_en!descrip:ons!of!it.!
!9!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
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Nebuchadnezzar!King!of!Babylon!a_acked!Jerusalem!for!the!first!:me!in!605!B.C.,!again!in!597!and!a!third!and!final!:me!in!588!B.C.,!resul:ng!in!a!2Gyear!siege!of!the!city.!!Jerusalem!fell!to!the!Babylonians!on!14!August!586!B.C.,!and!the!survivors!were!taken!cap:ve!to!Babylon.!!
There!they!stayed!un:l!539!B.C.!when!Cyrus!the!Great,!King!of!Persia!conquered!Babylon!and!allowed!all!the!cap:ve!people!(not!just!the!Jews)!to!go!home!to!rebuild!their!ci:es,!temples!and!infrastructures,!the!rebuilding!financed!by!Persia.!!
The!first!wave!of!Jews!returned!in!538!B.C.!and!they!began!rebuilding!the!Temple,!comple:ng!it!on!12!March!!516!B.C.!(Ezra!6:!15).!!
10!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
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This!2nd!Temple!was!a!big!disappointment,!however,!for!it!fell!far!short!of!!Solomon’s!1st!Temple.!!Indeed,!we!read!in!Ezra:!!
“Many*of*the*priests,*Levites,*and*heads*of*ancestral*houses,*who*were*old*enough*to*have*seen*the*former*house,*cried*out*in*sorrow*as*they*watched*the*foundaJon*of*the*present*house*being*laid.**Many*others,*however,*liMed*up*their*voices*in*shouts*of*joy.**No*one*could*disJnguish*the*sound*of*the*joyful*shouJng*from*the*sound*of*those*who*were*weeping*.*.*..”*
! ! ! ! ! ! !(3:!12G13)!The!“old!:mers”!who!had!seen!Solomon’s!Temple!wept!!!
11!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
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This!2nd!Temple!stood!for!497!years,!from!516–19!B.C.,!when!Herod!the!Great!began!a!massive!renova:on!project!designed!to!bring!1,000,000!people!to!Jerusalem!three!:mes!each!year!on!Passover,!Pentecost!and!Tabernacles—s:mula:ng!the!economy!and!genera:ng!significant!tax!revenue!for!Rome.!!!
Herod!expanded!to!Temple!planorm!to!37!acres!in!size,!enough!to!accommodate!nearly!!400,000!people;!he!built!a!complex!network!of!water!cisterns!throughout!Jerusalem!to!channel!spring!water,!store!rain!water!and!move!the!stored!water!to!accommodate!the!large!crowds;!and!he!built!accompanying!infrastructure!to!support!his!project.!!!
12!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
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Importantly,!during!Herod’s!construc:on!projects!the!2nd!Temple!con:nued!func:oning!uninterrupted.!!Herod!did!not*build!a!new!3rd!Temple;!rather,!he!greatly!renovated!the!exis:ng!2nd!Temple.!!
This!renovated!2nd!Temple!is!the!one!Jesus!knew,!and!it!is!the!one!he!addresses!in!the!Olivet!Discourse.!!
13!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
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! ! “Palm!Sunday”!!!!!!!!!road!!!
Mount!of!Olives!!!!
"!Temple!Planorm!
Temple!
14!Triumphal!Entry!
Jesus!and!his!disciples!are!!walking!up!the!Mt.!of!Olives.! X
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!The!Temple!in!Jesus’!day,!as!he!would!have!seen!it!from!the!Mt.!of!Olives.!
(1.50*scale*model*of*1st<century*Jerusalem,*Israel*Museum.)!Photography*by*Ana*Maria*Vargas*
15!Triumphal!Entry!
470!meters/!513!yards!!(Eastern!Wall)!
280!meters/!306!yards!!(Southern!Wall)!!
150,00!m2/!37!acres!!!!!(Planorm!Area)!
30!meters/!9!stories!
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16!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
Temple!Model!(1.50*scale*model*of*1st<century*Jerusalem,*Israel*Museum.)!
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24!meters/8!stories!
Gold!Trim!!!
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Excava:ons!at!the!Western!Wall!from!1993G1997!exposed!the!Herodian!street!that!paralleled!the!wall.!!This*is*the*pavement*that*Jesus*would*have*walked*upon!***!
The!stones!at!the!far!end!fell!from!the!Temple!when!it!was!destroyed!in!A.D.!70.!!They!remain!where!they!fell!nearly!2,000!years!ago.!
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17!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
Photography*by*Ana*Maria*Vargas*
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Detail!of!the!fallen!stones,!many!s:ll!charred!from!the!
intense!fire.!!!
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18!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
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19!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
Mark builds Jesus’ “Olivet Discourse” (13: 1-37) on a simple 4-part structure:
1. Question asked (1-4) 2. Question answered, Part 1 (5-23) 3. Question answered, Part 2 (24-31) 4. What to do in the meantime (32-37).
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20!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
“When will all this happen?”
Here are the signs:
1. In general (5-8) 2. In particular—to you (9-11) 3. In particular—to others (12-13) 4. And then things will get WORSE!
(14-23)
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The!“desola:ng!abomina:on”!is!referred!to!in!Daniel!9:27,!11:!31,!12:11;!in!1!Maccabees!1:54,!6:7;!and!in!the!synop:c!Gospels!in!the!“Olivet!Discourse.”!!In!Daniel!
and!1!Maccabees!it!refers!to!an!image!of!An:ochus!IV!Epiphanes!set!up!in!the!Temple!in!167!B.C.,!during!the!Maccabean!revolt.!
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22!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
Mark builds Jesus’ “Olivet Discourse” (13: 1-37) on a simple 4-part structure:
1. Question asked (1-4) 2. Question answered, Part 1 (5-23) 3. Question answered, Part 2 (24-31) 4. What to do in the meantime (32-37).
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23!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
After the Tribulation
The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken (24-25).
“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power
and glory” (26).
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24!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
Mark builds Jesus’ “Olivet Discourse” (13: 1-37) on a simple 4-part structure:
1. Question asked (1-4) 2. Question answered, Part 1 (5-23) 3. Question answered, Part 2 (24-31) 4. What to do in the meantime (32-37).
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William!Blake.!!The*Parable*of*the*Wise*and*Foolish*Virgins*(Watercolor,!brush!and!gray!wash,!pen!and!black!ink!over!graphite),!c.!1803G1805.!!!
New!York,!Metropolitan!Museum!of!Art.!!
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Jesus!said,!“Amen,*I*say*to*you,*this*generaJon*will*not*pass*away*unJl*all*these*things*have*taken*place”!(13:!30).!!
In!light!of!Jesus’!own!words,!contemporary!events!in!the!Roman!Empire!and!the!lived!experience!of!Chris:ans!during!the!composi:on!of!the!Gospels,!virtually!everyone*in!the!1st!genera:on!of!the!Church!believed!that!Jesus!would!return!in*their*lifeJme.!!
26!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
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By!the!late!80s!and!early!90s,!we!witness!the!remnants!of!1st!genera:on,!and!it!is!during!these!final!days!that!the!Book*of*RevelaJon!emerges,!the!masterpiece!in!a!long!line!of!Apocalyp:c,!“endG:me”!literature.!!But!that’s!a!topic!for!
another!day!!
27!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!
Ques:ons!for!discussion!and!thought!*
1. When!did!Jesus!expect!“the!end”!to!come?!2. What!is!the!“desola:ng!abomina:on”!Jesus!refers!
to!in!Mark!13:!14?!3. What!set!of!events!will!precede*Jesus!“coming”?!!!4. When!Jesus!returns!what!signs!will!accompany*
him?!!!5. What!should!his!disciples!(you!and!I)!do!in!the!
mean:me?!
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Copyright!©!2014!by!William!C.!Creasy!! All! rights! reserved.! No! part! of! this! course—audio,! video,!photography,! maps,! :melines! or! other! media—may! be!reproduced!or!transmi_ed!in!any!form!by!any!means,!electronic!or! mechanical,! including! photocopying,! recording! or! by! any!informa:on! storage! or! retrieval! devices! without! permission! in!wri:ng!or!a!licensing!agreement!from!the!copyright!holder.!
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29!Crisis,!the!Olivet!Discourse!