As
he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are all about to be fulfilled?”
Mark 13:3-4
Mark 13 [2.] Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone on another, which will not be thrown down.”
Mark 13 [3.] As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are all about to be fulfilled?”
Mark 13 [5.] Jesus, answering, began to tell them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and will lead many astray.
Meaning:
Jesus had just said that not one stone of the temple would be left on another (Mark 13:2). Leaving the city, he crossed the Kidron Valley and sat down on the Mount of Olives. From there four of his disciples asked him privately when this would happen and how they would know it was near. Their two questions open what is often called the Olivet Discourse, Jesus’ teaching about the fall of Jerusalem, the troubles to come and his own return (Matthew 24:3).
- “As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple”
The Mount of Olives rises east of Jerusalem, across the Kidron Valley, and looks straight down on the temple mount. From its slopes the disciples could see the whole temple, the very buildings Jesus had said would fall. Jesus sat, the usual posture of a teacher in Israel.
The place was full of meaning. Jesus had begun his entry into Jerusalem from here (Mark 11:1). The prophet Zechariah had spoken of a day when God would come to rescue his people: “His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east” (Zechariah 14:4). On this hill, in the garden called Gethsemane, Jesus would pray on the night of his arrest (Mark 14:32).
- “Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately”
These four were the first disciples Jesus called, two pairs of brothers who left their nets by the Sea of Galilee to follow him (Mark 1:16-20). Peter, James and John were the inner circle who saw him raise Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:37) and saw his glory on the mountain (Mark 9:2). They would also be with him in his agony in Gethsemane (Mark 14:33).
Jesus often explained things to his disciples privately that the crowds did not hear (Mark 4:34). What follows is not a public sermon but careful instruction for those who would lead his church after he was gone.
- “Tell us, when will these things be?”
“These things” are the destruction of the temple that Jesus had just predicted. For devout Jews the temple’s fall was almost unthinkable; it would surely mean the end of the age. In Matthew’s account the disciples ask about “the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age” (Matthew 24:3). They seem to have assumed that the temple’s ruin and the final coming of God’s kingdom would happen together.
Jesus’ answer will speak of both, but he will separate them. Some things would happen within “this generation”, while the day of his return is known to no one but the Father (Mark 13:30; Mark 13:32).
- “What is the sign that these things are all about to be fulfilled?”
The disciples wanted a clear sign, a timetable. Jesus gave signs, but not in the way they expected. He warned them first against being led astray (Mark 13:5-6), told them that wars and earthquakes are only “the beginning of birth pains” (Mark 13:7-8), and spoke of the sign that would tell believers in Judea to flee (Mark 13:14). Again and again he returned to one command: watch.
After his resurrection the disciples asked a similar question, and he answered, “It isn’t for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:7-8).
The Significance of Mark 13:3-4
- Bring your questions to Jesus
The disciples did not hide their confusion; they asked Jesus privately. We too can bring our questions about the future to him in prayer and in his word.
- Readiness matters more than dates
Jesus answers curiosity about timing with a call to faithfulness. What matters is not knowing the day but being found ready.
- The future is in God’s hands
Jesus spoke calmly about the end of the temple and of the age, because the Father rules over history. That truth gives believers peace.
Cross-References:
Matthew 24:3: "Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" Matthew’s version of the question.
Zechariah 14:4: "His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east" The Mount of Olives in prophecy.
Acts 1:7: "It isn’t for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within his own authority." Jesus’ answer to a later question about timing.
Mark 1:16-17: "Come after me, and I will make you into fishers for men." The calling of the same four disciples.
Conclusion: Sitting on the Mount of Olives with the temple spread out before them, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Jesus when the temple would be destroyed and what sign would show it was near. Their questions led to Jesus’ great teaching about the future. He would give them warnings and signs, but above all he would call them to watch, to endure and to trust the Father, who holds the times and seasons in his own authority.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible