- 30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. 31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
- 33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
- 35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
- Compare: Matthew 24:29-35,42-44; Luke 21:25-36
The End is Here!
Although the majority of chapter 13 has been directed at reducing people’s anxiety towards the coming apocalypse, now Jesus is advising a more watchful stance. Perhaps people shouldn’t be afraid, but they should definitely be vigilant and careful.
These verses are directed at Mark’s local church community rather than the disciples whom Jesus was supposed to be addressing. Mark’s church was the house missing its master, Jesus, who is expected to return at some unknown hour. In anticipation of that, the servants (Christians) must keep watch of the house and take care of it.
This portion of prophecy balances two competing inclinations: to promise that the End is coming soon, but to also insist that no one knows exactly when it is coming. How soon? Soon enough that “this generation” will still be alive to see it. This is slightly different from when Jesus is quoted as saying “there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.”
Earlier Jesus was specific: some actually there and hearing him would still be alive to see the kingdom of God come. Now Jesus is much more general and vague: this “generation” will not have entirely died off before the kingdom of God arrives. Perhaps this is evidence of changing expectations in Mark’s community — the kingdom of God was taking a bit too long to arrive and some sort of explanation was needed.
Who is “this generation”? That’s occupied Christian theologians for quite some time. The most obvious and natural interpretation is that Jesus was speaking and referring to the same generation — people his own age, or at the very least, those who were children at the time he was preaching. The second best interpretation would be that the words were put in Jesus’ mouth by Mark, so they refer to the generation of Mark’s audience.
It’s obvious, though, that all of those generations passed away long ago without the End having arrived. That this would occur became apparent very early on to Christian leaders who had to quickly reinterpret the passage, although none have done so very successfully.
Some have argued that it refers to the “generation” reading the passage, but that could be anyone and renders the prophecy meaningless. Others have argued that “generation” actually means something like “race,” and therefore Jesus’ message was that despite the wars that would come, the “race” or “tribe” of Judah would not be lost until everything was finally fulfilled.
Why does Jesus claim that heaven will pass away like the Earth will? It’s certainly not a part of Christian orthodoxy that heaven is a temporary existence; yet unless Jesus is simply engaging in a bit of literary license or hyperbole, that’s definitely what he seems to be suggesting.
It is interesting that in trying to emphasize the fact that God alone knows when the End will come, Jesus is willing to go so far as say that even the Son of man (meaning himself) does not know. If Jesus is also God, how can that be? Opponents of orthodox Trinitarianism, which didn’t exist yet at this time, used this passage as part of their arguments.
