Mark 13

Mark 13
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Image of page from the 7th century Book of Durrow, from The Gospel of Mark. Trinity College Dublin
Book	Gospel of Mark
Bible part	New Testament
Order in the Bible part	2
Category	Gospel

Mark 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains Jesus' predictions of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and disaster for Judea, as well as his eschatological discourse.

After his teachings in the previous chapter, all set in the Temple courts, Jesus finishes his teaching in the Temple for the day and leaves. On his way out of the Temple an unnamed disciple remarks how great the Temple (Herod's Temple) is. The buildings might have reached up to 150 feet (45.72 m) in height and they were adorned with gold, silver and other precious items.

"'Do you see all these great buildings?' replied Jesus. 'Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." (2) Jesus seems to say that the Temple will be destroyed, although not when or how. This is the last thing that Jesus does in the Temple.

Later Jesus travels back to the Mount of Olives. Mark says that Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Jesus privately, as he was sitting opposite the Temple on the mountain, "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?":

Sorrows is usually translated today as birth pains, showing the necessity of pain in order to achieve a greater goal. It was the general belief that if the Messiah had arrived in Jerusalem, the final Messianic victory and the kingdom of God were close at hand. Jesus however seems to set up many additional things that will occur before his final triumph.