20<\/strong>. except that the Lord had shortened<\/em> ] The word rendered “ shortened<\/em> ” only occurs here and in the parallel, Mat 24:22<\/span>. It denotes to dock<\/em> or curtail<\/em>. It occurs in the LXX. version of 2Sa 4:12<\/span>, where we read that David “commanded his young men, and they cut off<\/em> the hands and the feet” of the murderers of Ishbosheth. If in God’s pitying mercy the number of those awful days had not been shortened, no flesh could have been saved.<\/p>\n for the elect’s sake<\/em> ] i. e. for the sake of the Christians.<\/p>\n he hath shortened<\/em> ] Had the horrors within and without which accompanied the siege of Jerusalem been prolonged, the utter desolation of the country would have been the result. But in mercy they were shortened, (1) by the swift and energetic measures of the invading armies, and (2) by the infatuation of the besieged. On his part Titus encircled the city with a wall five miles in extent, and fortified it with thirteen strong garrisons in the almost incredibly short space of three days, and Josephus makes special mention of his eagerness to bring the siege to an end. On the other hand, the leaders of the factions within slew the men who would have taught them how the siege might be prolonged, burnt the corn which would have enabled them to hold out against the enemy, and abandoned the towers, which were in reality impregnable. Thus the city, which in the time of Zedekiah (2Ki 25:1-6<\/span>; Jer 39:1-2<\/span>) had resisted the forces of Nebuchadnezzar for sixteen months, was taken by the Romans in less than five.<\/p>\n Mar 13:20<\/span><\/p>\n Shortened those days.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n God shortened the siege<\/strong><\/p>\n Many circumstances combined to secure the primary fulfilment of these words. The incomplete state of the fortifications, the paucity of food, the factious fights within the city, etc., shortened the siege; and Titus himself exclaimed, God has fought for us: what could human hand or engines do against these towers! <\/em>(Stock.<\/em>)<\/p>\n Verse 20. Had shortened those days<\/B><\/I>] Because of his chosen<\/I>, added by D, Armenian<\/I>, and five of the Itala<\/I>. See Mt 24:22<\/span>.<\/P><\/p>\n 20. And except that the Lord hadshortened those days, no flesh<\/B>that is, no human life. <\/P> should be saved: but for theelect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days<\/B>Butfor this merciful “shortening,” brought about by aremarkable concurrence of causes, the whole nation would haveperished, in which there yet remained a remnant to be afterwardsgathered out. This portion of the prophecy closes, in Luke, with thefollowing vivid and important glance at the subsequent fortunes ofthe chosen people: “And they shall fall by the sword, and shallbe led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be troddendown of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”(Lu 21:24<\/span>). The language aswell as the idea of this remarkable statement is taken from Dan 8:10<\/span>;Dan 8:13<\/span>. What, then, is itsimport here? It implies, first, that a time is coming when Jerusalemshall cease to be “trodden down of the Gentiles”; which itwas then by pagan, and since and till now is by Mohammedanunbelievers: and next, it implies that the period when this treadingdown of Jerusalem by the Gentiles is to cease will be when “thetimes of the Gentiles are fulfilled” or “completed.”But what does this mean? We may gather the meaning of it from Ro11:1-36<\/span> in which the divine purposes and procedure towards thechosen people from first to last are treated in detail. In Ro11:25<\/span> these words of our Lord are thus reproduced: “For Iwould not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lestye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part ishappened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”See the exposition of that verse<\/span>,from which it will appear that “till the fulness of the Gentilesbe come in”or, in our Lord’s phraseology, “till thetimes of the Gentiles be fulfilled”does not mean “tillthe general conversion of the world to Christ,” but “tillthe Gentiles have had their full time<\/I> of that place in theChurch which the Jews had before them.” After that period ofGentilism,<\/I> as before of Judaism,<\/I> “Jerusalem”and Israel, no longer “trodden down by the Gentiles,” but”grafted into their own olive tree,” shall constitute, withthe believing Gentiles, one Church of God, and fill the whole earth.What a bright vista does this open up!<\/P><\/p>\n And except that the Lord had shortened those days<\/strong>,…. Had determined that those days of affliction should be but few, and not last long; that the siege should not be longer continued, and the devastations within and without be prolonged:<\/p>\n no flesh should be saved<\/strong>; there would not have been a Jew left; that nation and race of men must have been utterly destroyed from off the face of the earth:<\/p>\n but for elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen<\/strong>; in Christ, unto eternal salvation; who were either then upon the spot, called or uncalled, or that were to spring from in succeeding times:<\/p>\n he hath shortened the days<\/strong>; he hath determined they shall be but few, that a remnant might be saved, and among them his elect; or from whom should descend, such as he had chosen, who should be saved with an everlasting salvation: though the people in general have been given up to blindness and unbelief, yet they are preserved as a distinct people in the world; and in the latter day will be called and converted, and all Israel shall be saved and therefore it was the will of God to shorten those days of affliction, that they might not be entirely cut off, but that a number might be left, as a stock for future ages; [See comments on Mt 24:22]<\/span>.<\/p>\n Whom he chose <\/B> ( <\/SPAN><\/span>). Indirect aorist middle indicative. In Mark alone. Explains the sovereign choice of God in the end by and for himself. <\/P> <\/p>\n Shortened. See on Mt 24:22<\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n 1)“And except that the Lord had shortened those days,” <\/strong>(kai ei me ekolobosen kurios tas hemeras) “And unless the Lord had shortened the days,” of desolation, in the Roman Army’s pursuit of the Jews in AD 70, Luk 21:24<\/span>, as He shall The Tribulation The Great, to end it Himself.<\/p>\n 2) “No flesh should be saved:-<\/strong> (ouk an esothe pasa sarks) “No flesh would be saved at all,” no Jewish flesh, Mat 24:22<\/span>.<\/p>\n 3) “But for the elect’s sake, whom He hath chosen,” <\/strong>(alla dia tous eklektous ous ekseleksato) “But on account of the chosen whom He chose,” referring not to “church elect” but to His chosen elect Israel, whom He has cut off for a time, Rom 11:1-2<\/span>; Rom 11:5<\/span>; Rom 11:7<\/span>; Rom 11:15<\/span>.<\/p>\n 4) “He hath shortened the days.”<\/strong> (ekolobosen tas hemeras) “He has shortened(in His purpose) the (number of) days,” for the regrafting of Israel in, after her Tribulation the Great woes are full, when Jesus comes in “power and Great Glory,” to put down all enemies, and set up His righteous reign on David’s throne, in <\/strong>and from <\/strong>Jerusalem, Rev 19:11-16<\/span>; Luk 1:32-33<\/span>; 1Co 15:22-28<\/span>.<\/p>\n DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM<\/strong><\/p>\n “It is worth any man’s while to read the story of the destruction of Jerusalem as it is told by Josephus. Women devoured the flesh of their own children, and men raged against each other with the fury of beasts. All ills seemed to meet in that doomed city, it was filled within with horrors and surrounded without by terrors. Portents amazed the sky both day and night. There was no escape, neither would the frenzied people accept of mercy. The city itself was the banqueting hall of death. Josephus says: ‘All hope of escaping was now cut off from the Jews, together with their liberty of going out of the city. Then did the famine widen its progress, and devour the people by whole houses and families; the upper rooms were full of women and infants that were dying by famine, and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged; the children, also, and the young men wandered about market places like shadows, all swelled with famine, and fell down dead wherever their misery seized them. When Titus, on going his round, along these valleys, saw them full of dead bodies, and the thick putrefication running among them, he gave a groan, and spreading out his hands to heaven, called God to witness this was not his doing,’.”<\/p>\n – C. H. Spurgeon. <\/strong>319<\/p>\n ‘And unless the Lord had shortened the days no flesh would have been saved. But for the elect’s sake, whom he chose, he shortened the days.”<\/p>\n The destruction and killing would be so bad that if the Lord did not intervene none would remain alive. But we are told that He would shorten the days ‘for His elect’s sake’. Even though many of the Jerusalem church had fled there would still be in Jerusalem those given by the Father to Jesus, and the idea is that many of them would be preserved, and others would therefore be spared with them. We can compare how God marked off His own in Ezekiel 9<\/span> at a time when the previous city and Temple were to be destroyed. The thought may even be that God stayed the hand of Rome to some extent so that some would survive and become Christians as a result, having awoken spiritually during the siege. Thus would good come from this final destruction. The parallel with Mar 13:13<\/span> suggests that we are to see in this more than just physical survival. ‘When God’s judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the earth learn righteousness’ (Isa 26:9<\/span>). It must, however, also include physical survival.<\/p>\n The idea of ‘the elect’ is prominent in this passage (Mar 13:20<\/span>; Mar 13:22<\/span>; Mar 13:27<\/span>). It does not occur elsewhere in Mark. But here they are those whom He chose, and it therefore clearly refers to those who have been ‘given to Him’ by His Father (Joh 6:37<\/span>; Joh 6:39<\/span>; Joh 6:44<\/span>). They are those who behold the Son and believe on Him (Joh 6:40<\/span>). They are His new nation (Mat 21:43<\/span>), His new ‘congregation’ (Mat 16:18<\/span>), living branches of the true Vine (Joh 15:1-6<\/span>). For the idea of God ‘shortening the days’ of His judgment compare 2Sa 24:16<\/span>, where He stays the hand of the avenging angel; Isa 65:8<\/span> where He declares that He will not destroy all for His servants’ sake.<\/p>\n 20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Ver. 20. Except the Lord had shortened<\/strong> ] Mutilaverat, truncaverat, <\/em> . Not in respect of the divine decree, but, 1. Of the long miseries that the people had deserved. 2. Of the enemies’ rage, that would have exceeded. See Zec 1:13<\/span> . <\/p>\n Mar 13:20<\/span> . The merciful shortening of the days, out of regard to the elect, is here directly ascribed to God. Mt. uses the passive construction, where vide<\/em> as to the idea of shortening and the reason. , the elect whom He elected, recalling “the creation which God created” in Mar 13:19<\/span> ; but more than a mere literary idiosyncrasy, emphasising the fact that the elect are God’s elect, whom He loves and will care for, and whose intercessions for others He will hear.<\/p>\n the LORD. App-98. <\/p>\n shortened. See on Mat 24:22. <\/p>\n no flesh. Not as in Mar 13:11) any flesh. <\/p>\n should be = should have been. <\/p>\n elect’s sake. See note on Mar 13:19, above. He hath shortened. See note on Mat 24:22, and App-90. <\/p>\n Mar 13:20. , whom He hath chosen) Herein is illustrated the power of prayer.-, He hath shortened) by His decree.<\/p>\n for: Isa 1:9, Isa 6:13, Isa 65:8, Isa 65:9, Zec 13:8, Zec 13:9, Mat 24:22, Rom 11:5-7, Rom 11:23, Rom 11:24, Rom 11:28-32 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Deu 28:62 – few in number Isa 43:20 – my chosen Isa 45:4 – Jacob Eze 14:22 – therein Eze 20:5 – In the Dan 2:30 – but Mat 13:33 – Another Mat 19:25 – Who Mar 13:27 – his elect Luk 21:22 – all Col 3:12 – as 1Pe 1:2 – Elect 1Pe 4:18 – if<\/p>\n 0<\/p>\n The elect means the people who had elected or chosen to serve the Lord. For their sake the Lord was going to bring an end to the Jewish wars.<\/p>\n Verse 20 <\/p>\n Had shortened; should shorten.<\/p>\n Mark 13:24-27. This passage has given rise to much discussion among commentators. The language itself is such as seems intended to describe the final judgment at the end of the world; while the manner in which it is introduced, by the expression, “In those days,” at the commencement of the Mark 13:24, and still more decisively the declaration in the Mark 13:30, seem clearly to show that the passage relates to events which took place in the time of the apostles. If this latter is the case, the language is evidently highly figurative, and is intended to exhibit in the Mark 13:24,25, the terrible commotions of the times; in the Mark 13:26, the power and energy with which the cause of Christianity was to be advanced; and in the Mark 13:27, the rapid gathering in of converts from all countries and regions. If, on the other hand, this passage is to be considered as referring to the final judgment, it becomes necessary to suppose, as some commentators have done, that the sacred writer has omitted some portion of our Savior’s remarks, or transposed the order of them in such a way that this prediction seems to be included, with the rest, as the subject of the general statement in Mark 13:30, when in fact, if the omissions were supplied, or the order restored, it would appear that it was not so. It is difficult, however, to admit the possibility of such omissions or alterations, without impeaching the faithfulness, or at least the historical infallibility, of the record. <\/p>\n God will not shorten the Tribulation to a period less than the seven years He has already announced (Dan 9:26-27). He has already chosen to shorten it to a period of seven years. [Note: See Renald E. Showers, Maranatha: Our Lord, Come! A Definitive Study of the Rapture of the Church, pp. 50-54.] <\/span> If he did not limit the Tribulation to this relatively brief duration, no one would survive. God’s special love for believers led Him to shorten His judgment on the world then to only seven years.<\/p>\n And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. 20. except that the Lord had shortened ] The word rendered “ shortened ” only occurs here and in the parallel, Mat 24:22. It denotes to dock … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 13:20”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24724\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"