Today's reading in our daily plan is Mark 13. Take a moment to pray, asking God to speak to you from this passage. Then read, using the following notes and questions to help you get everything out of the passage.
SAY WHAT? (What is the passage saying?)
- Many Bible scholars believe that there are two interpretations of this passage:
- Jesus was referring to a literal event that happened in 70 AD, when the Roman Empire squashed an Israeli uprising, resulting in the destruction of the Temple
- He was also speaking of when he will come back to earth someday. The Bible teaches that Jesus is coming again, this time not as a human, but as God and in power, to end the world as we know it.
- If you want to dig into this more deeply, you can study the passages Jesus quotes (Isaiah 13:10;34:4 and Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) and the parallel writings in the other gospels (Matthew 24:1-51 and Luke 21:5-36).
SO WHAT? (What are the underlying principles?)
- People try to use these prophecies to figure out when Jesus will return and the end will come, but Jesus makes it clear in verses 32-35 that we cannot know. Instead, Jesus says that we are to live our lives in a state of alert readiness.
- If you knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow, how would you live today? Would you change anything? And if so, what? Jesus teaches us that we need to live with that kind of attitude every day. We should live in holiness and purity. When Jesus shows up, wouldn't you hate to be in the middle of sinning? We should also try to help other people know Jesus so they can go to Heaven with him when he returns. When Jesus shows up, wouldn't you hate for your friends to ask why you never shared your faith with them?
