Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,
Parallel translations
- WEB As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,
- KJV And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
- BSB While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,
- NASB As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew were questioning Him privately,
- NLT Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives across the valley from the Temple. Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to him privately and asked him,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
On the Mount of Olives facing the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew ask Jesus privately about his prediction. Their question prompts the Olivet Discourse.
Overview
The Mount of Olives, overlooking the temple, was associated with end-time expectation (Zechariah 14:4). The inner circle of disciples seeks understanding away from the crowds. Their private question opens Jesus' longest teaching in Mark about the future — the fall of Jerusalem, coming tribulation, and his return — given to prepare his people to watch and endure faithfully.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Matt 21:1When they came near to Jerusalem, and came to Bethsphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
- Mark 4:34Without a parable he didn’t speak to them; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
- Matt 24:3As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”
- Matt 17:1After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John his brother, and brought them up into a high mountain by themselves.
- Matt 13:10The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
- John 1:40–41One of the two who heard John, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
- Mark 5:37He allowed no one to follow him, except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.
- Mark 1:16–19Passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
- Mark 9:2After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, and brought them up onto a high mountain privately by themselves, and he was changed into another form in front of them.
- Mark 10:35James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, saying, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask.”
- Matt 13:36Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.”
- Mark 14:33He took with him Peter, James, and John, and began to be greatly troubled and distressed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 13:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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