Eschatological discourse:

1 And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look what these stones and these buildings are!” 2 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another that will not be thrown down.” 3 And 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? And what will be the sign when all these things are accomplished?” 5 And Jesus answered them and began to say, “Take heed that no one deceive you. 6 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ 7 Therefore when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for these must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and disturbances. These are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Take heed therefore to yourselves. For they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Therefore when they bring you to hand you over, do not worry beforehand what you will speak, nor be anxious, but whatever is given to you in that hour, that speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will deliver brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise up against their parents and kill them. 13 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 14 So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not to be, 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 to the house or enter to take anything from his house, 16 and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. 17 And woe to those who are with child and those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 And pray that your flight will not be in the winter. 19 For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation that God created until now, no, nor ever will be. 20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom he chose, he shortened the days. 21 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ do not believe it. 22 For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 But take heed; I have told you all things beforehand.
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and glory, 27 and then he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28 Now learn a parable from the fig tree: When its branch is tender and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also you, when you see these things happening, know that it is near, at the doors. 30 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray, for you do not know when the time will come. 34 As if a man traveling far away left his house, and gave authority to his servants, to each his work, and commanded the gatekeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrow, or in the morning, 36 lest he come suddenly and find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Watch.” (Mark 13:1-37, Matthew 24:1-51, Luke 21:5-36)

Chapter 13 is entirely composed of sayings of Jesus concerning the fate of Jerusalem and the end of the world. It is often called by commentators the “eschatological discourse” (i.e., concerning the end of days), the “apocalyptic discourse,” the “brief vision,” or the “little vision.” Jesus, before his passion, speaks to his disciples about what will happen in the future, ultimately urging them to stay awake. The images and expressions used come from Jewish apocalyptic literature and were familiar to the listeners. What interests us today is the message that these sayings carry, which has endured through the ages, even if the external apocalyptic form seems strange and strange in our time. Just as the means of expression pass through heaven and earth, so too do they pass and change from age to age. But Jesus’ sayings “do not pass away.” (Verse 31) These words addressed here to the disciples mean that: The fate and end of the world are in the hands of God, the Master of History.No time limit is given for the end of the world (as is the case in Jewish apocalyptic texts), but Jesus only emphasizes the need for constant vigilance in view of the imminent end, but its delay (“but the end is not yet,” Verse 7).

We do not know exactly whether we have in this chapter a continuous discourse of Jesus or whether it is a collection by the Evangelist (or by the tradition that preceded him) of sayings of Jesus in different circumstances, all related to the subject of the afterlife. Modern commentators tend to the second view.

The eschatological discourse comes on the occasion of the disciples’ astonishment in front of the temple. (Verses 1-2) which they were leaving with the Master. While the disciples were merely taking an impression of the present scene, Jesus appears and foretells the painful scene of the future, when the great buildings of the Temple will be destroyed to the point that not a single stone will be left standing. Jesus does not here give a specific prophecy of an event that will take place (Vaticinium ex eventu), because then he must speak of the destruction of the Temple by fire that occurred in the year 70 by the Romans.

Then Jesus sits on the Mount of Olives facing the Temple and four of his first disciples, Peter, James, John and Andrew, ask him when all this will happen (“when”) and what “sign” will precede it (vv. 3-4). Thus, as Grundmann notes, the disciples who are first called to the apostolic mission receive the final revelations of Jesus. It is noteworthy that Jesus does not answer the disciples’ question of “when” this will happen, but rather moves from the destruction of the Temple to the signs that will precede the end of the world. He speaks of false Christs who will deceive people, of wars or rumors of wars that they must not be alarmed by, of earthquakes, of famines, of various temptations that will befall them in carrying out their apostolic work. All of this is “the beginning of sorrows” “but not yet the end” because the Gospel must first be preached to all nations. (Verses 5-10).

With these words, Jesus precedes and speaks about the Church’s apostolic activity within the world in order to achieve the divine providence’s program of salvation. He clearly recommends that this apostolic work be carried out after his resurrection. (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19)The view of some Protestant commentators that Jesus was awaiting the coming end of the world is one-sided and contradicts the statements here. In order to avoid the dilemma, they attribute the words of verses 7, 10 and 13 to the Evangelist and not to Jesus. Of course, Jesus often speaks of the coming judgment in order to exhort Christians to constant vigilance, but he also foretells the Church’s apostolic work “in all nations,” which requires a long period of time (see the parables of chapter 4 and the related commentaries. The image of the seed used there: blossom, blossom and fruit, suggests life, progress and progress, and does not express a static relationship between the present seed and the fruits but a dynamic process within history).

in Verses 11-13 He also speaks of the persecutions and trials of the apostles “for the name of Christ” as well as their strengthening by the Holy Spirit who guides them on how to speak in every difficult situation. “The war is three-sided,” says Victor of Antioch: from the household, from the deceivers and from the warriors, but the consolation (of the Holy Spirit) surpasses them all.”

in Verses 14-23 Jesus refers to the imminent destruction of Jerusalem and describes it in a dramatic way. The phrase “the abomination of desolation” has caused much discussion. It comes from the Book of Daniel (9:27, 11:31, 12:11) where it is connected with the desecration of the Temple by Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the placing of the statue of Dios in it (see 1 Maccabees 1:45…). Jesus precedes and says that the destruction will begin with such a desecration of the Temple. But what exactly does he mean? Some commentators mention the suggestion of the Emperor Caligula in 40 AD that his statue be placed in Solomon’s Temple, which did not happen because of his death in 41 AD. Others say that he means the entrance of the Zealots into the Temple during the Jewish revolt against the Romans and the arrival of the Roman army and the destruction of Jerusalem; others that the desecration comes from the Antichrist (the word in the text refers to a male person), and still others speak in general of the power of evil whose destructive work begins in the Temple. It is characteristic here that Theophylactus attempts to give a “moral” interpretation of the phrase: “The abomination of desolation is every demonic meaning lurking in any holy place, in our own mind. Then… let the confessor hasten to the mountains of virtue.”

The phrase “let the reader understand” (“what he reads” is added in some manuscripts) indicates that the previous expressions were more understandable to the reader of the Gospel than they are today. It is the custom of the evangelists in the New Testament to mention various cases or people known in their midst but not understood by us. As for the blacklist expressions used and the recommendations (flight to the mountains, flee without delay…), there is no exaggeration in them. One only has to read the description of the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in the historian Josephus (The Jewish Wars, Book V) to see that Jesus’ words are true. The destruction of Jerusalem was so horrific that it is taken as an image of the end of the world.The two images are so intertwined in Jesus’ sayings and the evangelist’s pen that we move from one to the other without a clear definition.

Described The End of the World and the Presence of the Son of Man in Verses 24-27 In expressions taken from Isaiah 13:10 (the day of the Lord), Isaiah 34:4, Daniel 7:13, Zechariah 2:10, Deuteronomy 30:4. Jewish apocalyptic literature contains many similar descriptions (see, for example, 4 Ezra 9:3, 13:30, the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch 27:2-13, 48:32, 70:8-9, etc.). The main signs of such a description are three: the transformation of the present world (see v. 31 heaven and earth pass away), the presence of the Son of Man with great power and glory, and the gathering of the “elect” from all the earth. Even if he does not speak of the judgment of the whole world, this does not mean that only the elect will rise, for we must supplement these verses with what is said in other places in the Bible about the resurrection and judgment (e.g. Matthew 25:31-46, 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, etc.). On the other hand, we must point out that in chapter 13 and its entirety the idea of God’s concern for his elect prevails (see verse 11, the strengthening of the Holy Spirit, verse 20, the shortening of the days of misery for the elect, etc.).

Jesus answers the two clarifications of the disciples’ question “When will these things be?” and “What will be the sign of all these things?” in a manner similar to The Fig Tree (verses 28-30) Which sprouted its leaves in the winter, and sprouted new leaves before the summer, and from that one knows the coming of summer. Thus, when he sees the fulfillment of those signs mentioned in the eschatological discourse, he then understands that the end is at hand. The confirmation that this generation will not pass away “until all these things happen” (Verse 30) The question arises whether Jesus’ previous words refer to the destruction of Jerusalem or to the destruction before the end of time. Theophylactus dispels the difficulty by saying that the phrase “this generation” refers to the generation of Christians who will not disappear from history until the end of the world: “He means the generation of Christians as a consolation to the apostles, and so that they will not lose faith when they hear of all these sorrows, he says to them, ‘Take heart, the generation of believers will not disappear and will not “pass away.”’” The correct interpretation, as we have already indicated, is that the destruction of Jerusalem and the judgment form a unity so that whenever Jesus mentions the first event, the second event is also meant.

His words will be fulfilled because they are not human words but the words of God revealed to mankind. This is emphasized in verse 31, where the impermanence of divine words is contrasted with the change and passing away of heaven and earth.

The answer to the disciples’ question, “When,” which is the question of every Christian, lies in Verse 32 Where he says that that day (the Lord’s Day according to the expression of the Old Testament) and that hour, the hour of judgment, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, “not even the Son,” but only the Father. The Fathers interpret the phrase “not even the Son” in connection with the human nature of Christ. “It does not mean the lack of knowledge of God the Word, but the lack of knowledge of Him who took the form of a servant, who knew this much at that time inasmuch as the divinity dwelling in Him was revealed to Him” (St. Cyril of Alexandria). St. Basil’s interpretation is as follows: the Son would not know this if the knowledge had not been given to him by the Father. Theophylactus says that Jesus mentions this phrase in order to avoid further questions from the disciples about that day.

Instead of curiously asking when that day will come, Jesus urges his disciples to watch so that they will not be surprised. The theme of watchfulness continues to the end of the eschatological discourse, where he emphasizes it through the parable of “the master of the house who comes.” (Verses 33-37; see Luke 12:36-38). Staying awake is necessary because we do not know when the master of the house will come: in the evening, at midnight, at cockcrow, or in the morning. It is remarkable how Theophylactus interprets the passage in an “existential” way: “The end is the evening, it is death when you are old, at midnight when you are halfway through your life, at cockcrow when the word of God is fulfilled in us, in the morning, that is, when you are young. So everyone must prepare for the end.”

Conclusion:

The request to stay awake is not only directed to the disciples but to all members of the Church. “And what I say to you, I say to you.” For all “Watch.” Jesus looks at the life and work of the Church in the world at the same time that he speaks of waiting for the end. The ecclesiological and eschatological outlooks are so intertwined that every moment in the Church’s temporal course is a propitious opportunity for apostolic work and for preaching the Gospel to all nations, and at the same time this moment is the “time” in which the Son of Man can suddenly come to judge. The whole world and history are thus in the hands of God, the “Lord of the House.”