Mark 13:12-13

Betrayal even by family members will be another trial disciples may have to bear (cf. Micah 7:2-6; Luke 12:51-53). Persecution would come through official channels but also from blood relatives. All kinds of people would hate them for their testimony.

"As there is nothing that excites such love as the gospel, when intelligently received, so there is nothing that occasions such hate as this same gospel, when passionately rejected." [Note: Morison, p. 359.]

The last part of Mark 13:13 states a general principle. Faithful endurance of persecution to its end results in deliverance. Disciples who endure their persecution faithfully to the end of that persecution will experience deliverance from it while they are alive. Disciples who endure their persecution faithfully to the end of their lives will experience deliverance from it by death. Disciples living just before Jesus returns who endure their persecution faithfully to the end of the present age will experience deliverance at Jesus’ second coming.

Faithful endurance of persecution also results in the privilege of reigning with Jesus in His kingdom (cf. 2 Timothy 2:12). Note that Jesus did not teach that all will endure to the end faithfully. Unfortunately some disciples do not (2 Timothy 2). Notwithstanding, our ultimate salvation does not depend on enduring persecution faithfully but on God’s faithfulness to His promises to keep us secure (2 Timothy 2:13; cf. John 10:27-28; Romans 8:31-39; et al.).

This pericope should be a special encouragement for disciples undergoing persecution for their faith, including Mark’s original readers. It is easier to endure suffering for our faith when we view it in the context of God’s plan for the future. This perspective gives us hope.