GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 13:24
Communicate Clearly
The major philosophers from the pre-Socratics to twentieth-century writers like Sartre reject anthropomorphic references to God, that is, references to God as having hands, feet, eyes, and so forth. Rather, they choose terms such as form, freedom, nihilism, and existentialism, as well as related abstract concepts. Without exception, however, these writers slip into anthropomorphic language when explaining these abstract terms. Why? Because that’s the way humans conceptualize. One may talk about abstract terms, such as existentialism, but to communicate or explain them, one uses anthropomorphic language, i.e., “man’s existence precedes his essence,” or “a dog’s existence precedes its essence.” One does not come into existence with a built-in meaning; one has to create one’s own meaning through the choices one makes and how one lives.
In his lesson about the future, Jesus talked about the coming catastrophe that would befall Palestine under the Roman invasion. Then he switched the focus of his lesson further into the future with the phrase “but in those days” (Ἀλλὰ ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις), that is, in the days following the capture of Jerusalem, when there will be even greater suffering. “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.” (Mark 13:24) To communicate the monumental events, writers point out that Jesus used language that every Jew in his audience understood—language found in Amos 8:9; Joel 2:10; 3:15; Ezekiel 32:7-8; and parallel biblical literature like 4 Ezra 9:3; 13:31; Second Baruch 27:5-13.
One point is that, to communicate, one must use words or symbols the audience can grasp. The philosophers end up using anthropomorphic symbols, and Jesus used symbols his audience understood. It seems that the same principle applies to communicating the gospel message to our generation.
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