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Mk.xiii.8. 8. πάντα δὲ ταῦτα ἀρχὴ *
ὠδίνων.
ϱ. Τότε παραδώσουσιν Spas
«Τμεςςν. εἲς θλίψιν, καὶ ἀποκτενοῦσιν Spas: καὶ ἔσεσθε μισούμενοι ὑπὸ
3.
πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν διὰ τὸ ὄνομά µου.
1Ο. καὶ τότε σκανδαλισθή-
σονται πολλοί, καὶ ἀλλήλους παραδώσουσι, καὶ µισήσουσιν ἀλλήλους;
out of your wits (θροέω, originally = cry aloud ; later use = to terrify, as if with a scream ; here passive in neuter sense). This reference to coming wars of libera- tion was natural, and necessary if the aim was to fortify disciples against future events. Nevertheless at this point, in the opinion of many critics, begins the so-called ‘‘ Jewish apocalypse,” which Mk. and after him Mt. and Lk. have interwoven with the genuine utterance of Jesus. The latter embraces all about false Christs and apostolic tribulations (4-5, 9-14, 22-23), the former all about war, flight, and the coming of the Son of Man with awful accompaniments (7-8, 15-22, 20-31). Vide Wendt, L. J.,i., p. 10 f., where the two series are given separately, from Mk., following in the main Weiffenbach. This critical analysis is ingenious but not convinc- ing. Pseudo-Christs in the sense ex- plained and wars of liberation went together in fact, and it was natural they should go together in prophetic thought. The political Messiahs divorced from the politics become mere ghosts, which nobody need fear.—Set γὰρ y. Their eventual coming is a divine necessity, let even that consideration act as a sedative ; and for the rest remember that the beginning of the tragedy is not the end —dAN’ οὕπω τ.τ.: the end being the thing inquired about—the destruction of the temple and all that went along with it.—Ver. 7. Further development of the war-portent, possibly here the prophetic range of vision widens beyond the bounds of Palestine, yet not necessarily. In support of limiting the reference to Palestine Kypke quotes from Josephus words describing the zealots as causing strife between people and people, city and city, and sap | the nation in civil war (B. J., iv., 6).—Atpot καὶ λοιµοί, famines and pestilences, the usual accompaniments of war, every way likely to be named together as in T. R.—kai σεισμοὶ, and earthquakes, representing all sorts of unusual physical phenomena having no necessary connection with the political, but appealing to the imagina- tion at such times, so heightening the gloom. Several such specified in com- mentaries (vide, ¢.g., Speaker’s C., and Alford, from whom the particulars are
quoted), but no stress should be laid on them.—kara τόπους: most take this as meaning not earthquakes passing from place to place (Meyer) but here and there, passim. Vide Elsner and Raphel, who cite classic examples. Grotius enumerates the places where they occurred.—Ver. 8. πάντα δὲ: yet all these but a beginning of pains. It is not necessary to find here an allusion to the Rabbinical idea of the birth pangs of Messiah, but simply the use of a natural and frequent Biblical emblem for distress of any sort. As to the date of the Rabbinical idea vide Keil. The beginning: such an accumulation of horrors might well appear to the in- experienced the end, hence the remark to prevent panic.
Vv. 9-14. Third sign, drawn from apostolic experiences. This passage Weiss regards as an interpolation into the prophetic discourse by Matthew following Mark. It certainly resembles Mt. x. 17-22 (much less, however, than the corresponding passage in Mk.), and individual phrases may be interpolations : but something of the kind was to be ex- pected here. The disciples were not to be mere spectators of the tragedy of the Jewish nation destroying itself. They were to be active the while, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, propagating the new faith, bringing in a new world. Jesus would have them go on with their work undistracted by false enthusiasms, or warlike terrors, and to this end assures them that they will have both to do and to suffer a great deal before the final crisis of Jerusalem comes. The ground of this prophetic forecast as to their experience is faith that God will not allow the work He (Jesus) has inaugu- rated to perish. The gospel will be preached widely, with whatever tribula- tions to the preachers.—Ver. 9. θλίψιν, from θλίβω, originally pressure (wrévacis, Hesychius), in N. T. tropical, pressure from the evils of life, affliction. Again in ver. 29, in reference to the Jewish people. The apostles also are to have their thlipsis.—amoxrevotow ὑμᾶς, they will kill you. Lk. xxi. 16 has “some of you” (ἐξ ὑμῶν). Some qualification of the blunt statement is needed ; such as: they will be in the mood to kill you (cf.