On Sunday we moved into the Advent season. The season of preparation and watching. The season of anticipation. We are making ready for our celebration of God’s incarnation as the promised messiah, Emmanuel - God is with us!
In this lectionary cycle we accompany the Gospel according to Mark as our guide for Jesus’ life and ministry. As with every first Sunday of Advent, we do not begin with chapter one, verse one. We begin with the apocalyptic words of Jesus somewhere near the end of his earthly life. This year we are confronted with Mark 13 right out of the gate!
We should not fear or misunderstand apocalyptic literature in the Bible. It is not prophecy or prediction. Apocalypse, simply meaning “an uncovering,” is about telling a truth that is hidden in plain sight. Biblically, apocalyptic literature is about how to keep the faith in the midst of oppression.
The book of Daniel is there earliest example of this style of literature in scripture.
Jewish Apocalyptic Literature:
Daniel 7, 9, 11: 160s BCE
1 Enoch: Mid 3rd BCE - 1st Century BCE
4 Ezra: 1st Century CE
Assumption of Moses: 1st Century BCE
Jesus’ mini-sermon in Mark 13 is meant to confront the historical realities unfolding in his time around 30CE.
“The power of the apocalyptic tradition was that it was both profoundly contextual and transferable. Its central myths could be re-interpolated into new circumstances. What is ideologically important about Mark’s intertextuality here is the fact that he chooses to appeal directly to a literary corpus that was already recognized by his readers as the tradition of political resistance under Hellenism (Myers, Binding the Strongman, 327).”
In the unfolding uncertainty, other people claimed titles of messiah and liberator, seeking to return ancient Israel to glory. Jesus sternly warned his disciples to be weary. Mark, writing four decades later, issued the same warning.
“Who could resist the pull of patriotism, or the lure of the hope that here at last was the long-deferred prophetic promise of that final battle in which Yahweh would vindicated Israel? In such a moment, there was only one voice that could match the persuasive call of the rebel recruiters: Jesus the living teacher. So to this Jesus that disciples turn in a direct plea for clarity on the meaning of the historical moment (Myers, Binding the Strongman, 330).”
When you hear….
(Mark 13:3-8)
Historical realities of famines, earthquakes, and other natural disasters was very real. Famine in Palestine of the early 50s C.E. Earthquakes in Laodicia and Pompei in 61-62 C.E.
The Rumors of war play into the apocalyptic imagination as well as real wars going on in the region. Consistent guerrilla skirmishes with Roman forces by revolutionary groups. The great war of 66-70 C.E.
You Will Be Handed Over
(Mark 13:9-13)
Jesus was not naive to the reality that the unfolding kingdom caused conflict with the earthly, imperial authorities. The collusion of the regional and local Judean leadership made matters much worse for any movement seen as treasonous to the occupiers. The Judean leaders wanted no more attention than they already garnered for their religious practices.
But there were always people who rebelled against those in power.
“The armed struggle of the rebels make the war (i.e., the siege of Jerusalem) inevitable; similarly, the nonviolent resistance of the disciples leads to the mission ‘to all nations’ (Myers, Binding the Strongman, 333).”
“The fact that he anticipates political opposition from all sides is strong testimony to the difficulty and cost of the ‘nonaligned radicalism’ that he was advocating in his debate with the rebels. As comfort Mark cites only the classic apocalyptic promise: ‘The one enduring to the end will be saved (cf 4 Ezra 5:9) (Myers, Binding the Strongman, 334).”
When You See…
(Mark 13:14-23)
“The next section begins (13:14) with another temporal clause: just as the disciples were warned about what they would hear from the rebel recruiters. so they are warned equally about what they would see: the ‘devastating sacrilege.’ This celebrated apocalyptic euphemism from Daniel 11:31, 12:11, and 1 Maccabees 11:54 was originally coined in reference to Antiochus IV’s attempted desolation of the temple (168 B.C.E.) (Myers, Binding the Strongman, 335).”
Daniel 11:29-31
29 “At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but this time it shall not be as it was before. 30 For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall lose heart and withdraw. He shall be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay heed to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 Forces sent by him shall occupy and profane the temple and fortress. They shall abolish the regular burnt offering and set up the abomination that makes desolate.
Daniel 12:9-11
9 He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are to remain secret and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many shall be purified, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked shall continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. 11 From the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that desolates is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred ninety days.
1 Maccabees 11:54
54 After this Trypho returned, and with him the young boy Antiochus who began to reign and put on the crown.
In the time of Mark, the legions we closing in on Jerusalem and were occupying Galilee. The allusion to Antiochus would hit very close to home.
“In the tradition of Jeremiah (Jer 21), defying the logic of patriotism, Mark abandons Jerusalem and the restoration project as a lost cause (Myers, Binding the Strongman, 335).”
Keep awake…
(Mark 13:37)
“Mark calls the discipleship community to live in history with open eyes, to look deep into present events, beyond conflicting claims of those vying for power. They must search for and attack the very roots of violence and oppression that hold the human story hostage. The coming of the kingdom has nothing to do with triumphalism; it comes from below, in solidarity with the human family in its dark night of suffering. The world is Gethsemane, and we are called to ‘historical insomnia’ (Myers, Binding the Strongman, 353).”
One of our Markan readings for Sunday, Mark 13:24-37, was meant as a warning, both to Jesus’ disciples, and then later Mark’s community. Our approach should be historical, critically engage the context in w
hich the story was constructed. Only then can it becomes a lens for us to use to take a critical look at our own realities. We too are called to “Keep Awake” in our historical moment, faithfully embodying our call to love God and neighbor.
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