OIA 13.24-37

Observations

• Who: Jesus, one of the disciples, Peter, James, John and Andrew
• When: Wednesday of Jesus’ last week.
• Where: on Mount of Olives, opposite the temple
• What: Jesus’ concludes his private teaching for the 4 about the days ahead; Jesus’ final parable. (That is unless you, like Ron Kernaghan, see the entire book of Mark as a parable with Jesus’ last invitation to ‘meet me in Galilee’ as an open ended invitation to ongoing response!) Jesus answers the question about ‘when’.
• Connections: continues the ‘watch’ theme; possible link between the ‘angels’ (cf messengers) if v.10
• Contrasts: alert/asleep; this generation (9.1)
• Responses to Jesus: see chapters 14-16, and The Acts of the Apostles.

Interpretation

• Again it is very important to take this section in its context and listen to this conclusion of Jesus’ longest, and final, discourse in this gospel. This would be a great time to go the Resources section of the blog and review Interpretation and Let The Author Speak.
• Mark’s readers would have understood these verses in their own immediate context:
• ‘that tribulation’ in their minds equated to the savaging of Jerusalem in 70ad;
• the ongoing conflict with the power centers of this world: Jerusalem and Rome;
• efforts to proclaim the gospel to the four winds and the ends of the earth;
• immediate reference to the Garden where the disciples slept and Peter’s failed rescue attempt and denial
• Jesus is in fact gone on a journey
• Faithfulness now, as in Mark’s entire narrative, is central to following Jesus.
• Fittingly Jesus wraps up his farewell address with parables:
• a reminder of the fig tree parable,
• and now, with his resurrection we do see emerging fruit
• and with the coming of the Spirit in Acts we see even more fruit
• and a new parable about staying awake and alert
• of immediate necessity for the disciples
• and just as much for us today
• Jesus does finally answer the question of v. 4: when. His answer is:
• My words are eternal
• I do not know
• You do not know
• The Father does know

Application

• Stay awake!
• Remain faithful.