For
in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be. Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days.
Mark 13:19-20
Mark 13 [7.] “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be troubled. For those must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines and troubles. These things are the beginning of birth pains. But watch yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them. The Good News must first be preached to all the nations. When they lead you away and deliver you up, don’t be anxious beforehand, or premeditate what you will say, but say whatever will be given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
Mark 13 [12.] “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let him who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out of his house. Let him who is in the field not return back to take his cloak. But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babies in those days! Pray that your flight won’t be in the winter. For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be. Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days. Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ don’t believe it. For there will arise false christs and false prophets, and will show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones. But you watch. “Behold, I have told you all things beforehand.
Mark 13 [24.] But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.
Meaning:
Jesus had just told those in Judea to flee as soon as they saw the abomination of desolation (Mark 13:14-18). Now he explains why the flight is so urgent. The days that follow will bring suffering beyond anything the world has known. Yet even in this dark picture Jesus shows God’s hand: the Lord himself sets a limit to the suffering, for the sake of his chosen people.
- “For in those days there will be oppression”
The word translated “oppression” is often rendered “tribulation”: crushing pressure, distress. Jesus’ language echoes Daniel, who was told of “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1).
The siege of Jerusalem in AD 70 was horrific. Josephus, who witnessed it, describes famine so severe that people fought over scraps, rival factions killing one another inside the walls, and thousands of captives crucified outside them. He records over a million deaths and nearly a hundred thousand taken captive. Even if his numbers are high, the suffering was immense.
- “Such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation… and never will be”
Jesus heaps up words to show how terrible these days will be: since “the beginning of the creation which God created”. The phrase “and never will be” shows that history continues afterwards; this is not yet the final day. Many readers understand Jesus to be speaking first of the unparalleled disaster that fell on Jerusalem and its people, and also of the final distress before his return, which the destruction of Jerusalem foreshadowed. Either way, his followers are not to be surprised when suffering is extreme.
- “Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved”
“Saved” here means kept alive, surviving. If the time of distress went on, no one would come through it. But the Lord sets its length. Suffering is never out of his control. The siege of Jerusalem, terrible as it was, lasted only a few months.
Scripture often speaks of God limiting the trials of his people. Paul writes, “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). The writer of Lamentations, looking at the ruins of Jerusalem after an earlier destruction, said, “It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail” (Lamentations 3:22).
- “For the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days”
The “chosen ones”, or elect, are the people God has chosen as his own. Mark uses a double expression, “the chosen ones, whom he picked out”, to stress that their place rests on God’s choice, not on their own strength. Paul says God “chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4).
For their sake God shows mercy to many. Long before, Abraham pleaded for Sodom, and God agreed, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake” (Genesis 18:26). The presence of God’s people in the world brings blessing even to those around them.
The Significance of Mark 13:19-20
- God sets the limits
However dark the times, the Lord decides how long suffering lasts. Believers can trust that he will not allow more than his people can bear.
- God’s people are precious to him
The days were shortened for the sake of the chosen ones. God watches over those who belong to him with special care.
- Hope in the darkest days
The psalmist could say, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1), even when the earth itself is shaken.
Cross-References:
Daniel 12:1: "there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time" The prophecy Jesus echoes.
1 Corinthians 10:13: "God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able" God limits the trials of his people.
Lamentations 3:22: "It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail." Mercy after Jerusalem’s fall.
Romans 8:28: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose." God’s purpose for his chosen ones.
Conclusion: Jesus warned that the days after the abomination of desolation would bring oppression unequalled since creation, as Daniel had foretold. The fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 fulfilled this terribly, and it foreshadows the distress before his return. Yet the Lord shortened those days for the sake of his chosen ones. Even in the worst suffering, God sets the limits, protects his people and shows his mercy, so that believers can face the future with hope.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible