I. THERE IS A CURIOSITY CONCERNING THE FUTURE WHICH Is NATURAL AND LEGITIMATE. The disciples were not rebuked when they came with their inquiry. It was not so when Peter asked, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" (John 21:21). Some inquiries concerning the future are therefore lawful, others not. How are we to distinguish between them? We may ask concerning things the knowledge of which is necessary to the rational direction of spiritual aims and efforts. God has chosen to make known the general scheme of redemption in its evolution in the world's history. The prophecies of Scripture ought, therefore, to be studied in the light of contemporary events. The teaching of Christ on this occasion was manifestly the germ of the Apocalypse.

II. THIS CURIOSITY IS GRATIFIED BY OUR SAVIOUR FOR MORAL AND SPIRITUAL ENDS. (Vers. 5, 7, 9, 13, 23, 34-37.) The great discipline of the disciples was to take place after their Master's death, and before the general inauguration of his kingdom. The three general directions of Christ are:

(1) Take heed unto yourselves;

(2) beware;

(3) watch. It does not behove us to know time and hour, but to observe the signs antecedent to the judgment of God' (Starke). The Holy Spirit is promised, amid all trials and difficulties, to them who truly believe. The gospel itself was to receive universal proclamation, notwithstanding the perils and evils that were to take place. So that the disciples were assured, whatever might occur in the external life of the world, of ultimate glorious realization of all the spiritual ends of God's kingdom.

III. MANY TEMPORARY EVILS WERE TO FORESHADOW, AND TO PREPARE FOR, A PERMANENT DIVINE GOOD.

1. The catalogue of woe is long, detailed, and specific: spiritual delusions; wars, earthquakes, and famines; persecutions; pollution and destruction of the temple; political and cosmical revolutions.

2. These are all to pass, in their process tempered and modified by Divine mercy and guidance.

3. And they were to result in the advent of the Divine kingdom. The gospel was to be proclaimed and the universal communion of saints to be realized. The political and natural troubles were to be justified by their being made instrumental of moral and spiritual benefits. So in the general experience of Christians all things work together for good.' - M.

Our Lord is here foretelling the persecutions which the disciples would be called upon to suffer for the gospel's sake, and is arming them against the errors, the deceits, and the cruelties of those times. He is also enjoining upon them how they are to conduct themselves under the subtlety and fury of the oppressor, and is giving them directions which, if they rightly follow, will not only determine the excellence of their discipleship, but the certainty of their triumph over the jeopardy and envy of circumstances and foes. (See verses 9 to 13.) Dealing directly with the eleventh verse, we see —

I. That when suffering persecution the disciples were to be led, and not driven. "But when they shall lead you." It is always better to be led than forced; more is to be gained from obedience than coercion. We are led, or we lose that obedience which constitutes the soul of godliness. We follow, or we are not led as Christ was and would have us to be. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, etc. Stephen, the martyr, was led; so Paul the apostle. So also was Ridley and Latimer, each ending their earthly lives in the very track and spirit of their Lord and Master. But observe again —

II. The disciples were to be delivered in opposition to becoming resistful and violently taken sacrifices. "But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up." Both led and delivered. Not to be led, and then to take a final stand of opposition. The deliverance must not be less loyal and true than the leading has been. The sacrifice must be complete. Begun in being led, in true following, it must not end in rebellious resistance and forsaking. No; we are to be delivered up, not thrust up — self-offered and complying rather than conflicting with our foes. (See Isaiah 50:6; 1 Peter 2:21-23). Then further, the text teaches —

III. That in times of persecution the disciples were not to prepare and to rely upon mechanical defences. "Take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate; but whatsoever," etc. The reasons for this are evident. Self-thought, self-prepared plans of defence, would —

1. Disturb and disorder their minds. Scheming for words of reply and methods of escape would result in mental distraction. They would be confused. And, moreover, trusting to means of self-defence would —

2. Deny and neutralize the proper office and power of the Holy Spirit. "Whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye; for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost." Thus, then, acting as true believers should — serving Christ fearlessly, all our self-reserve given up to His guidance and power — we shall find the Holy Spirit (in all those cases morally correspondent to the circumstances of our text) to —

(a)Sufficiently enlighten our minds.

(b)To be timely and powerful in the exercise of His help. Either the help of deliverance, or that of loyal resignation; complete escape, or patient endurance.In illustration and proof of these, see Exodus 4:10-12; Jeremiah 1:7-9; Luke 21:14, 15; 1 Corinthians 2:13. In this aspect of heaven's cause the answer and the help must be from heaven, and not from the earth. "A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven" (John 3:27). Here alone is the true light and the power that prevails. It is therefore plain —

IV. That where the Holy Spirit thus operates all human self-assertion is suppressed. "For it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost." And this takes place —

1. For our sake as Christ's true disciples. This is the victory He gives, and without which we could not overcome the world.

2. To prevent self-glorying. In these crises the tongue of the learned and the pen of a ready writer come from God. Human sagacity can claim no credit. This wisdom is not of man, lest he should boast. And —

3. To secure the Divine victory and praise. To Him who directs and speaks belongs the glory. "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Thine, therefore is the victory, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

(Thomas Colclough.)

Andrew, Daniel, James, Jesus, John, PeterJerusalem, Judea, Mount of OlivesAlong, Anxious, Arrest, Arrested, Beforehand, Bring, Careful, Deliver, Delivering, Discourse, Ghost, Holy, Hour, However, Judged, Judgment, Lead, Marching, Premeditate, Prepare, Speak, Speakers, Speaking, Spirit, Trial, Troubled, Whatever, Whatsoever, Worry1. Jesus foretells the destruction of the temple;
9. the persecutions for the gospel;
10. that the gospel must be preached to all nations;
14. that great calamities shall happen to the Jews;
24. and the manner of his coming to judgment;
32. the hour whereof being known to none, every man is to watch and pray

Mark 13:11

     3050   Holy Spirit, wisdom
     3120   Holy Spirit, descriptions
     3140   Holy Spirit, teacher
     3212   Holy Spirit, and mission
     3263   Holy Spirit, guidance
     3269   Holy Spirit, in Christ
     3278   Holy Spirit, indwelling
     3281   Holy Spirit, inspiration
     5842   eloquence
     5931   resistance
     5944   self-defence
     8426   evangelism, motivation

Mark 13:3-26

     9170   signs of times

Mark 13:4-22

     1450   signs, kinds of

Mark 13:9-11

     8221   courage, strength from God

Mark 13:9-13

     5593   trial
     9140   last days

Mark 13:11-13

     7742   missionaries, support

Authority and Work
'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.'--Mark xiii. 34. Church order is not directly touched on in the Gospels, but the principles which underlie all Church order are distinctly laid down. The whole community of Christian people is a family or household, being brethren because possessors of a new life through Christ. In that household there is one 'Master,' and all …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Credulity of Unbelief
'Many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many.'--Mark xiii. 6. 'When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?'--Luke xviii. 8. It was the same generation that is represented in these two texts as void of faith in the Son of Man, and as credulously giving heed to impostors. Unbelief and superstition are closely allied. Religion is so vital a necessity, that if the true form of it be cast aside, some false form will be eagerly seized in order to fill the aching …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

On the Words of the Gospel, Mark xiii. 32, "But of that Day or that Hour Knoweth no One, not Even the Angels in Heaven, Neither
1. The advice, Brethren, which ye have just heard Scripture give, when it tells us to watch for the last day, every one should think of as concerning his own last day; lest haply when ye judge or think the last day of the world to be far distant, ye slumber with respect to your own last day. Ye have heard what Jesus said concerning the last day of this world, "That neither the Angels of heaven, nor the Son knew it, but the Father." [3176] Where indeed there is a great difficulty, lest understanding …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

"But the End of all Things is at Hand, be Ye Therefore Sober and Watch unto Prayer. "
1 Pet. iv. 7.--"But the end of all things is at hand, be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer." If ye would ask what ye should do till Christ come again, or what should be your exercise and employment in this old age of the world, here ye have it in a word, "be sober, and watch unto prayer." When Christ was to go away to his Father, and leave his disciples in this world, as he left them not orphans, or comfortless, without the Comforter, so neither left he them without counsel and direction. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

A Short and Easy Method of Prayer
CHAPTER I The Universal Call to Prayer What a dreadful delusion hath prevailed over the greater part of mankind, in supposing that they are not called to a state of prayer! whereas all are capable of prayer, and are called thereto, as all are called to and are capable of salvation. Prayer is the application of the heart to God, and the internal exercise of love. S. Paul hath enjoined us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. v 17), and our Lord saith, "I say unto you all, watch and pray" (Mark xiii. …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

All are Commanded to Pray --Prayer the Great Means of Salvation
CHAPTER I. ALL ARE COMMANDED TO PRAY--PRAYER THE GREAT MEANS OF SALVATION, AND POSSIBLE AT ALL TIMES BY THE MOST SIMPLE. Prayer is nothing else but the application of the heart to God, and the interior exercise of love. St Paul commands us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. v. 17). Our Lord says: "Take ye heed, watch and pray." "And what I say unto you, I say unto all" (Mark xiii. 33, 37). All, then, are capable of prayer, and it is the duty of all to engage in it. But I do not think that all are …
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

The Noonday.
Or, The Doctrines Of An Apostate Religion Obscuring The Gospel Light. The prophet Isaiah said. "The morning cometh, and also the night." Isa. 21:11, 12. A dark night succeeded the morning of this gospel day. Jesus said to his disciples, "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." Mark 13:24. The tribulation here spoken of was the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, the city of the Jews, by the son of Vespasian, A.D. 70, in which …
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day

The Four Gospels.
General Character and Aim of the Gospels. Christianity is a cheerful religion and brings joy and peace from heaven to earth. The New Testament opens with the gospel, that is with the authentic record of the history of all histories, the glad tidings of salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. [871] The four canonical Gospels are only variations of the same theme, a fourfold representation of one and the same gospel, animated by the same spirit. [872] They are not full …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

The Jewish War and the Destruction of Jerusalem. A. D. 70
"And as He went forth out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto Him, Master, behold, what manner of stones and what manner of buildings! And Jesus said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left here one stone upon another, which shall not be thrown down."--Mark 13:1,2. Sources. Josephus: Bell. Jud., in 7 books; and Vita, c. 4-74. The history of the Jewish war was written by him as eye-witness about a.d. 75. English translations by W. Whiston, in Works of Jos., and …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

The Midnight Cry.
"And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."--Mark 13:37. "Der Herr bricht ein, um Mitternacht." [79]Zinzendorf. [[80]Johann Christoph Rube] transl., Sarah Findlater, 1858 The Lord shall come in dead of night, When all is stillness round; How happy they whose lamps are bright, Who hail the trumpet's sound! How blind and dead the world appears! How deep her slumbers are! Still dreaming that the day she fears Is distant and afar! Who spends his day in holy toil? His talent used aright, That …
Jane Borthwick—Hymns from the Land of Luther

Texts Explained; Eleventhly...
Chapter XXVIII.--Texts Explained; Eleventhly, Mark xiii. 32 and Luke ii. 52 Arian explanation of the former text is against the Regula Fidei; and against the context. Our Lord said He was ignorant of the Day, by reason of His human nature. If the Holy Spirit knows the Day, therefore the Son knows; if the Son knows the Father, therefore He knows the Day; if He has all that is the Father's, therefore knowledge of the Day; if in the Father, He knows the Day in the Father; if He created and upholds all …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Content of Revelation. God Three in one and the Incarnation.
To dwell at length on the theology of Athanasius under this head is unnecessary here, not because there is little to say, but partly because what there is to say has been to some extent anticipated above, §§2, 3, and ch. ii. pp. xxxii., xxxvi., partly because the history of his life and work is the best exposition of what he believed and taught. That his theology on these central subjects was profoundly moulded by the Nicene formula is (to the present writer at least) the primary fact (see …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Things Perishing and Things Stable
"And as He went forth out of the temple, one of His disciples saith unto Him, Master, behold, what manner of stones and what manner of buildings! And Jesus said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left here one stone upon another, which shall not be thrown down. And as He sat on 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 these things are all about …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Impending Judgment
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there shall be earthquakes in divers places; there shall be famines: these things are the beginning of travail. But take ye heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in synagogues shall ye be beaten; and before governors and kings shall ye stand for My sake, for a testimony unto them. And the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations. And when they lead you to judgment, and deliver you up, be not …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Doctrine of Angels.
I. THEIR EXISTENCE. 1. THE TEACHING OF JESUS. 2. THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. II. THEIR NATURE. 1. CREATED BEINGS. 2. SPIRITUAL BEINGS. 3. GREAT POWER AND MIGHT. 4. VARIOUS GRADES. 5. THE NUMBER OF ANGELS. III. THE FALL OF ANGELS. 1. TIME AND CAUSE. 2. THE WORK OF FALLEN ANGELS. 3. THE JUDGMENT OF FALLEN ANGELS. IV. THE WORK OF ANGELS. 1. THEIR HEAVENLY MINISTRY. 2. THEIR EARTHLY MINISTRY. a) In Relation to the Believer. b) In Relation to Christ's Second Coming. THE DOCTRINE OF ANGELS. We are not …
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible

The Doctrine of the Last Things.
A. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. B. THE RESURRECTION. C. THE JUDGMENT. D. THE DESTINY OF THE WICKED. E. THE REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS. THE DOCTRINE OF THE LAST THINGS. Under this caption are treated such doctrines as the Second Coming of Christ, the Resurrection of both the righteous and wicked, the Judgments, Final Awards, and Eternal Destiny. A. THE SECOND COMING OF CHEIST. I. ITS IMPORTANCE. 1. PROMINENCE IN THE SCRIPTURES. 2. THE CHRISTIAN HOPE. 3. THE CHRISTIAN INCENTIVE. 4. THE CHRISTIAN COMFORT. …
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible

Why was the Fact of Our Lord's Return Presented in the Language of Imminency and the Exact Date Withheld?
At first sight it may appear strange that our Lord has not made known to us the precise date of His appearing. He has caused many details concerning the Blessed Hope to be recorded in the Word. He has made known many things which are to transpire at His second advent, and in view of the fact that so much has been revealed it may strike us as peculiar that the very point upon which human curiosity most desires enlightenment should have been left undefined. We need hardly say that it was not ignorance …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

God's Dealings with the Earth During the Tribulation Period.
The interval of time which separates the removal of the Church from the earth to the return of Christ to it, is variously designated in the Word of God. It is spoken of as "the day of vengeance" (Is. 61:2). It is called "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:7). It is the "hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world" (Rev. 3:10). It is denominated "the great day of the Lord" (Zeph. 1:14). It is termed "the great tribulation" (Matt. 24:21). It is the time of God's "controversy with the …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

Our Lord Himself Spoke of his Return in the Language of Imminency.
In the Olivet discourse, where the Master replied to the inquires of His disciples concerning the Sign of His Coming and of the End of the Age, He said--"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh. Who then is a faithful …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

Secret Study of the Holy Scriptures.
Like those Emmaus travellers we go Forth from the city-gate of things below; Christ at our side, His Scripture for our light, Here burning hearts and there the beatific sight. Already I have broken ground to some extent in the all-important subject of private Bible Study. Let me now put before my reader and Brother a few more detailed remarks and suggestions on that subject. Such is the holy Book, and such is the variety of possible modes of study, that all I can dream of doing is to touch some …
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren

To Each one his Work
As a man sojourning in another country, having given authority to his servants, to each one his work, commanded the porter also to watch.'--Mark 13:34 What I have said in a previous chapter of the failure of the Church to do her Master's work, or even clearly to insist upon the duty of its being done by every member has often led me to ask the question, What must be done to arouse the Church to a right sense of her calling? This little book is an attempt to give the answer. Working for God must take …
Andrew Murray—Working For God!

August 31 Evening
Occupy till I come.--LUKE 19:13. 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.--Unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.--Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?--Leaving …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

The Widened Mission, Its Perils and Defences
'Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18. And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20. For it …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Mark 13:11 NIV
Mark 13:11 NLT
Mark 13:11 ESV
Mark 13:11 NASB
Mark 13:11 KJV

Mark 13:11 Bible Apps
Mark 13:11 Parallel
Mark 13:11 Biblia Paralela
Mark 13:11 Chinese Bible
Mark 13:11 French Bible
Mark 13:11 German Bible

Mark 13:11 Commentaries

Bible Hub