Mark 13:9-13-- The Door of the Kingdom

"But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them. The gospel must first be preached to all the nations. When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved."

Jesus had just warned his four disciples against false signs and indications of the end—the destruction of the temple and of the authorities of Israel.  Now he is warning them about the persecution they must endure.  In preparation for the end, Jesus’ gospel must be preached to all the nations—which could mean to the Jews spread out throughout the world, but it could also mean the Gentiles who need to hear of God’s word.  

In response to this preaching—for Jesus and against the temple and the authorities— many will come against the followers of Jesus and persecute them.  The kind of persecution Jesus mentions is particularly political and legal—arrested, flogged in the local courts, put on trial before Gentile leaders.  But not only will the police and leaders be involved in the persecution, but also one’s family and neighbors—they will all betray them to the authorities to be arrested.  

The disciple of Jesus has only three defenses—the truth of the gospel (especially the revolutionary message of the unworthiness and destruction of the Jewish authorities), the Holy Spirit who will tell them how to defend themselves, and the perseverance of the disciples.  Only if they remain with Jesus through all the persecution and rejection will they gain the blessings of God Jesus spoke of.

Many people wonder why the innocent suffer.  Jesus didn't.  He told his disciples that suffering was the natural result of living a good, loving life.  The world which operates on punishment doesn't want mercy, and doesn't want to be reminded that the unmerciful will perish.  It will attack those who attack their attacks.

The most important thing, Jesus says, is endurance.  That we need to persevere in the truth of Jesus' gospel, remain with Jesus, no matter what gets thrown at us.  This is not an easy task.  It isn't easy to love our enemies when our enemies try to destroy us.  It isn't easy to forgive when people do such unforgivable things to us.  But loving and enduring through suffering is the path of Jesus.  To enter the kingdom we must pass through the door of suffering. 

Mark 13:5-8-- Everybody Wants to End the World

And Jesus began to say to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in my name, saying, 'I am He!' and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

The context Jesus is speaking of is the destruction of the temple and the destruction of the power structure of Israel—the priests and Sanhedrin. This is “the end” that Jesus declares.  Possibly it might also imply the destruction of the world power that controls Israel, but it is not necessary, since Jesus never spoke of the Romans being destroyed. Jesus first speaks of the fact that it would be easy to be confused about when the end occurs.  Jesus mentions that prophets would come claiming to be the Jewish emperor, but Jesus clearly says that they are not to be listened to.  Also, he says, there are events that could mislead one to think that the end has come.  There will be many wars, people will talk about possible wars, there will be earthquakes and famines.  But these are not indications of the end.  They are merely “birth pangs”—pains that happen before the actual birth, but are not the event.  They are not the indications one should be looking for, for the final events are still to come.

When it comes to prophecy or the end of the world, people are simply not rational.  No matter how many times Jesus says you can't predict the time of the end, that doesn't stop a popular prophet from declaring that very thing every decade or so.  It amazes me how often people, even Bible students, take this passage to interpret it to mean the opposite of what it says.  They take this passage and then look at the increase of wars, earthquakes, famines and other such signs as indications of the end.  Some people want the end so badly, they will read it in everything.  Every Bible passage, every newspaper article, every new immorality is an indication that the world is right on the edge of falling off a cliff.

Jesus says the exact opposite. There are horrors and disasters and immoralities and suffering and traumatic events... but that's just the way the world goes. Not every war is the final war-- in fact, if there is only one final war that means that almost all wars are NOT the final war.  Not every earthquake is the final, devastating, God-judging earthquake. In fact, most earthquakes are just run-of-the-mill, everyday earthquakes.  No big deal at all. 

I guess what Jesus is saying is, stop making everything so dramatic.  There are enough problems and disasters in the world, let's not make everything about the end of the world.  Show some balance.  Please.  We are crazy enough, we don't need to be pointed at because we can't stop predicting an end that never comes.