Mark 13:8

These are the beginnings of sorrows.

The beginnings of sorrows

I. The value of these facts in relation to the life and character of the Lord. He is the prophet of the church. He was a revealer of secrets. His word was verified to the letter. The church lives in evil times on the word of her unseen Lord.

II. There is also a suggestion of the connection of sorrows and sins. Jerusalem’s fate is a series of such sorrows. They arise out of religious unfaithfulness and moral deterioration. Nations are doomed by their own acts.

III. If we do not and will not learn the Divine uses of adversity, then the things we regret, and which are most painful to us, will only prove to be the beginnings of sorrows. If lesser Divine chastisements do not raise us to higher moods of being, there must be held in reserve some hotter fire of discipline. We should immediately yield to the disciplines of God. (The Preacher’s Monthly.)

The Christian’s support in troublous times

Whatever happens, we must calm ourselves by remembering that the great Christ is still in heaven, ruling by the changeless laws of righteousness. In presence of extraordinary events, the ordinary methods of God’s grace and providence will seem too slow, and the common gospel too calm; but it is exactly at such times that we most need to maintain our faith in them. (R. Glover.)

Horrors of famine at the siege of Jerusalem

During this dreadful time, the extremity of the famine was such, that a Jewess of noble family, urged by the cravings of hunger, slew her infant child, and prepared it for a meal. She had actually eaten one-half of it, when the soldiers, attracted by the smell of food, threatened her with instant death if she refused to show them where she had hidden it. Intimidated by this menace, she immediately produced the remains of her son; but, instead of sitting down to eat, they were utterly horror struck; and the whole city stood aghast, when they heard the horrible tale, congratulating those whom death had hurried away from such heartrending scenes. Indeed, humanity at once shudders and sickens at the narration; nor can any one of the least sensibility reflect upon the pitiable condition to which the female part of the inhabitants must at this time have been reduced, without experiencing the tenderest emotion of sympathy, or refraining from tears, when he reads our Saviour’s pathetic address to the women who bewailed Him as He was led to Calvary; for in that address He evidently refers to these very horrors and calamities.