Mark 13:4
in Mark 13“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to be fulfilled?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when these things are all about to be accomplished?
KJV
Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
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This verse in Mark 13
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
The chapter we have now begun is full of prophecy — prophecy of which part has been fulfilled, and part remains to be accomplished. Two great events form the subject of this prophecy. One is the destruction of Jerusalem, and the consequent end of the Jewish dispensation. The other is the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the winding up of the state of things under which we now live. The destruction of Jerusalem was an event which happened only forty years after our Lord was crucified.
This site's exposition
Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately
on Mark 13:3-4
The question asks when will these things happen, and the sign that they are about to be fulfilled. Matthew's parallel adds the end of the age, so the discourse answers a near horizon and a far one together.
This site's exposition
what will be the sign
The disciples ask two things, the time and the sign. Matthew's form of the question adds his coming and the end. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown think the disciples took the temple's fall and the end as one event.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
There is no discrepancy in the Gospels as to facts of the end time, although one may supply details which another may pass over or describe differently. Rather, they supplement each other when compared, and thus give direction to the mind of the reader.
(Epist. cxcix. 9.) In answer to the disciples, the Lord tells them of things which were from that time forth to have their course; whether He meant the destruction of Jerusalem which occasioned their question, or His own coming through the Church, (in which He ever comes even unto the end, for we know that He comes in His own, when His members are born day by day,) or the end itself, in which He will appear to judge the quick and the dead.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Since the Lord spoke much about the desolation of Jerusalem, for example: "your house is left unto you desolate" (Matt. 23:38), the disciples marveled that such magnificent and beautiful buildings were to perish, and therefore they showed Him the striking splendor of the temple. But …
(ubi sup.) Because the Lord, when some were praising the buildings of the temple, had plainly answered that all these were to be destroyed, the disciples privately enquired about the time and the signs of the destruction which was foretold; wherefore it is said: And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, Tell us when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Tell us when shall these things be?.... When the temple will be destroyed, and these fine buildings shall be demolished, and not one of these large stones shall be left upon another: and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? And what is the sign of his coming, and of the end of the world, as Matthew relates; See Gill on Mat 24:3.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?--"and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" They no doubt looked upon the date of all these things as one and the same, and their notions of the things themselves were as confused as of the times of them.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
The chapter we have now begun is full of prophecy — prophecy of which part has been fulfilled, and part remains to be accomplished. Two great events form the subject of this prophecy. One is the destruction of Jerusalem, and the consequent end of the Jewish dispensation. The other is the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the winding up of the state of things under which we now live. The destruction of Jerusalem was an event which happened only forty years after our Lord was crucified. The second coming of Christ is an event which is yet to come, and we may yet live to see it with our own eyes. Chapters like this ought to be deeply interesting to every true Christian. No history ought to receive so much of our attention as the past and future history of the Church of Christ. The rise and fall of worldly empires are events of comparatively small importance in the sight of God. Babylon, and Greece, and Rome, and France, and England, are as nothing in His eyes by the side of the mystical body of Christ. The march of armies and the victories of conquerors are mere trifles in comparison with the progress of the Gospel, and the final triumph of the Prince of Peace. May we remember this in reading prophetical Scripture! "Blessed is he that reads." (Rev. 1:3.) The first thing that demands our attention in the verses before us, is the prediction of our Lord concerning the temple at Jerusalem . The disciples, with the natural pride of Jews, had called their Master's attention to the architectural splendor of the temple. "See," they said, "what massive stones and what buildings are here!" They received an answer from the Lord very different from what they expected, a heart-saddening answer, and one well calculated to stir up inquisitive thoughts in their minds. No word of admiration falls from His lips.
The words behind it
14 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εἰπὸν | eipon | do tell | G2036 → | 925 times |
| ἡμῖν· | hemin | us: | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| πότε | pote | when | G4219 → | 19 times |
| ταῦτα | tauta | these things | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| ἔσται | estai | will be | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| τί | ti | what [will be] | G5101 → | 563 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| σημεῖον | semeion | sign | G4592 → | 75 times |
| ὅταν | hotan | when | G3752 → | 123 times |
| μέλλῃ | melle | may soon | G3195 → | |
| ταῦτα | tauta | these things | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| συντελεῖσθαι | sunteleisthai | to be accomplished | G4931 → | |
| πάντα;¶ | panta | all | G3956 → | 1235 times |
εἰπὸνdo tell
eiponG2036 →925 times
ἡμῖν·us:
heminG3165 →1936 times
πότεwhen
poteG4219 →19 times
ταῦταthese things
tautaG3778 →1381 times
ἔσταιwill be
estaiG1510 →2333 times
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
τίwhat [will be]
tiG5101 →563 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
σημεῖονsign
semeionG4592 →75 times
ὅτανwhen
hotanG3752 →123 times
μέλλῃmay soon
melleG3195 →
ταῦταthese things
tautaG3778 →1381 times
συντελεῖσθαιto be accomplished
sunteleisthaiG4931 →
πάντα;¶all
pantaG3956 →1235 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 24:3While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and…
it leads to
- Acts 1:7
Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Mark 13:3–4
While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,
- 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you.
- Matthew 13:49
So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous,
- Matthew 24:37
As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
- Acts 1:7
Through
Daniel 12:6One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long until the fulfillment of these wonders?”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 9:2
And I saw six men coming from the direction of the Upper Gate, which faces north, each with a weapon of slaughter in his hand. With them was another man clothed in linen who…
- Zechariah 1:12–13
Then the angel of the LORD said, “How long, O LORD of Hosts, will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been angry these seventy years?”
- Daniel 8:13
Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long until the fulfillment of the vision of the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender…
- Ezekiel 9:2
Where this verse is studied
About Mark
This page draws on Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 199, TO HESYCHIUS 25; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748) and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark.