Mark 13 Background Information with Maps and Images (Picture Study Bible - Mark) Free Bible Online

Mark 13

1 - As he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Teacher, see what kind of stones and what kind of buildings!"

As he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Teacher, see what kind of stones and what kind of buildings!"

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2 - Jesus said to him,"Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone on another, which will not be thrown down."

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 - Jesus, answering, began to tell them,"Be careful that no one leads you astray.

6 - For 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, don't be troubled. For those 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 and troubles. These things are the beginning of birth pains.

9 - But watch yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them.

10 - The Good News must first be preached to all the nations.

11 - When they lead you away and deliver you up, don't be anxious beforehand, or premeditate what you will say, but say whatever will be given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

12 - "Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.

13 - You will be hated by all men for my name's sake, but he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.

14 - But when you see the abomination of desolation,Daniel 9:17; 11:31; 12:11spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,

15 - and let him who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out of his house.

16 - Let him who is in the field not return back to take his cloak.

17 - But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babies in those days!

18 - Pray that your flight won't be in the winter.

19 - For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be.

20 - Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days.

21 - Then if anyone tells you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, there!' don't believe it.

22 - For there will arise false christs and false prophets, and will show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

23 - But you watch."Behold, I have told you all things beforehand.

24 - But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light,

25 - the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.Isaiah 13:10; 34:4

26 - Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

27 - Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.

28 - "Now from the fig tree, learn this parable. When the branch has now become tender, and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near;

29 - even so you also, when you see these things coming to pass, know that it is near, at the doors.

30 - Most certainly I say to you, this generationwill not pass away until all these things happen.

31 - Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

32 - But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

33 - Watch, keep alert, and pray; for you don't know when the time is.

34 - "It is like a man, traveling to another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, and to each one his work, and also commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch.

35 - Watch therefore, for you don't know when the lord of the house is coming, whether at evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning;

36 - lest coming suddenly he might find you sleeping.

37 - What I tell you, I tell all: Watch."

The Book of Mark

Mark 1:15 - And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 2:12 - And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

Mark in The New Testament - A Brief Overview

Painting of St. Mark by Titian - 1560

Introduction to The Gospel of Mark

The Word Gospel. The second book of the English Bible that most of us read from is the Gospel of Mark. Mark is the second of the four gospel writings, yet there is only one gospel about Jesus Christ and there are four different writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word "Gospel" means "good news", and the good news is about Jesus Christ dying on the cross and then 3 days later conquering death and rising from the dead, offering salvation to all mankind, this is the Gospel.

Summary of The Book of Mark

Brief Summary. Jesus of Nazareth is the suffering servant who came to die for the sins of all men. He did His work and "immediately" went to the cross, so be encouraged all who are suffering because Christ suffered for you.

Purpose. The Book of Mark is the shortest of the 4 Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. and he seems to write his account of the Gospel of Christ with a sense of urgency. He mentions the word "immediately" 27 times. In Mark many times Jesus exercises actions rather than words, which would impress his Roman readers who the Book seems to be addressing. He portrays Jesus as a man of power and miracles, who could set aside the laws of nature at will. Yet this powerful Son of God was the suffering servant who would give up His life as a ransom for all mankind (Mark 10:45). The clear purpose of mark was to encourage those suffering persecution that their master suffered first, and He suffered for them.

Audience. Apparently Mark wrote his Gospel account to encourage gentile Christians in Rome who were facing the persecutions of the Emperor Nero. History is clear about the atrocious behavior of the Romans and especially the insanity of Nero. The other evidence that scholars bring up concerning mark's audience as being gentiles is the fact that Mark does not deal with Jewish Laws and he only quotes one prophecy from the Old Testament. There is also careful thought into explaining Jewish customs and idioms. (See Mark 3:7; 5:41; 7:2; 10:46; 14:36; 15:34; 9:43; 14:12; 15:42).

Authorship. The gospel of Mark does not proclaim who the author is within the document, yet the information that we know about Mark can be seen in the writer of this gospel. It is evident that the writer was Jewish, he was a Christian, and he was familiar with every day Jewish life, as well as the Jewish Scriptures. We know from the Scriptures that Mark was Jewish, and he knew the teachings of Jesus very well. He also knew the teachings of the rest of the apostles. It is also important to notice that after Peter was imprisoned he went to the house of Mary, the mother of Mark (Acts 12:12-17). Also Peter mentions in his epistle "my son Mark" (1 Peter 5:13). During Paul's missionary journeys Mark became a companion of Paul and Barnabas, and he left them at Perga in Pamphylia (Acts 13:13), after Paul had rebuked him. Many years later Mark regained the favor of Paul  (Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11). Early Church tradition unanimously ascribes the second gospel to Mark as a companion of Peter and the writer of the second Gospel. One prologue to the Gospels which was written around 160 AD has this statement: "Mark� Was Peter's interpreter, and after Peter's decease wrote down this gospel in the region of Italy." Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian also attest to Mark as the author.

Location. Nothing in the Gospel of Mark indicates where it was written from. Most of the early writers who boast of Mark as the author also name Rome as the place it was written.

Date. Early Christian writers and traditions place the Gospel of Mark sometime close to the end of Peter's life, around 60-65 AD. Most scholars agree that the Gospel of Mark was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, while the Second Temple in Jerusalem was still standing (Mark 13:1-2). Many scholars do not believe in the miracle of predictive prophecy and argue that the Gospel of Mark was written after the fall of Jerusalem, because of the accurate details of the events that Jesus spoke about.  Mark's Gospel account seems to have been written as encouragement to the Christians who were facing the persecution of the Emperor Nero which took place in 64 AD.

Outline of the Book of Mark

The Servant Comes - Chapter 1:1-13
The Servant's Work - Chapters 1:14-13:37
The Servant's Death - Chapters 14:1-15:47
The Servant's Resurrection - Chapter 16:1-20

The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".

Mark Resources

Outline of the Life of Jesus in Harmony
Simple Map of First Century Israel
Topographical Map of First Century Israel
Map of the Ministry of Jesus
Map of the Roads in Ancient Israel
Map of the Roman Empire