Daily Verse Daily Verse by Faithlife | Mark 13:26
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26 καὶ τότε ὄψονται τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενον ἐν νεφέλαις μετὰ δυνάμεως πολλῆς καὶ δόξης, “And then they will see ‘the son of man coming in clouds,’ with great power and glory.” The phrase τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, “son of man,” is drawn from Dan 7:13 and apparently was the key to Jesus’ messianic self-understanding (see Comment on 8:31, as well as Comment on 2:10 in Guelich, 89–94).
The combination δυνάμεως … καὶ δόξης, “power and glory,” is found in the OT (e.g., Ps 62:3[63:2]; with synonyms, see 1 Chr 29:11; Dan 2:37; 4:30). The first two passages speak of God’s power and glory, but the second two refer to a human king. The ὄψονται, “they will see,” anticipates Jesus’ reply to Caiaphas and those who gathered to find evidence against him: “you will see [ὄψεσθε] the ‘son of man’ ” (14:62).
27καὶ τότε ἀποστελεῖ τοὺς ἀγγέλους, “And then he will send his angels.” The assertion that the “son of man” will send his angels is astounding and only underscores the heavenly authority that has been invested in this individual (cf. Dan 7:14: “And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him”), for throughout the OT it is God who commands and directs the angels of heaven. In Mark 8:38 Jesus had said that the “son of man” would “come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” According to Matt 13:41, “The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers.”
καὶ ἐπισυνάξει τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς [αὐτοῦ] ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων ἀνέμων ἀπ ʼ ἄκρου γῆς ἕως ἄκρου οὐρανοῦ, “and will gather together [his] elect from the four winds, from the corner of the earth to the corner of heaven.” The glorious and powerful “son of man” will send forth his angels (or messengers) to gather the elect who have been scattered to the four winds (on the salvation of the elect and the appearance of the “son of man,” see 1 Enoch 62:13–14). The allusion is to Zech 2:6 (MT 2:10), which is part of an oracle that foretells the gathering of Israel’s exiles. The gathering of the exiles is a messianic task (see Pss. Sol. 8:28; 11:1–4; 17:21–28; Tg. Isa 53:8; Tg. Hos 14:8; Tg. Mic 5:1–3), an idea that coheres with both the literary context in Mark and the ministry of Jesus, as seen in his appointment of the Twelve (see Mark 3:13–19; Grundmann, 101; Cranfield, 127; Schweizer, 81; Meyer, Aims, 153–54; Sanders, Jesus and Judaism, 95–106), in the expectation of the gathering of the scattered people of Israel (Matt 8:11 = Luke 13:28–29; cf. Isa 11:12; 27:12–13; 60:1–9), and in his promise that the Twelve would sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt 19:28 = Luke 22:30).
There is nothing mysterious about the meaning of “the four winds, from the corner of the earth to the corner of heaven.” It is pleonastic language and simply means that God’s elect will be gathered, no matter how scattered and far-flung they may be (Swete, 313; Lambrecht, Redaktion des Markus-Apokalypse, 189; cf. Philo, Cherubim 99; Migration 181).
There may be an important parallel here with the Testament of Moses, an early first-century pseudepigraphon. We read that a second punishment will befall God’s people, so severe that it will “exceed the former one” (T. Mos. 9:2, in reference to the Babylonian destruction and exile); “Then [God’s] kingdom will appear throughout his whole creation” (T. Mos. 10:1). The sequence here is the same as in Mark 13: terrible tribulation followed by the appearance of God’s kingdom. The only difference is that in Mark the kingdom is consummated through the coming of the “son of man,” the person to whom God entrusts the kingdom.
Evans, C. A. (2001). Mark 8:27–16:20 (Vol. 34B, pp. 329–330). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.
Explanation
Jesus has taught his disciples that following the unprecedented tribulation of vv 14–23 a series of heavenly portents will take place signaling the glorious and powerful coming of the “son of man.” Then the tribulation will be over; then the elect will be gathered from every part of the planet. No matter how fearful and uncertain events become, the disciples may rest assured that the “son of man,” God’s agent, will assuredly make a sudden and decisive appearance. When this will take place is uncertain, and in fact in v 32 Jesus will inform his disciples that no one, not even he, knows when that day will be; but the fact of its coming is the important point, and in light of that fact the disciples must be watchful, discerning, and prepared.
Evans, C. A. (2001). Mark 8:27–16:20 (Vol. 34B, p. 330). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.