Mark 13:16
And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.
Original Language Analysis
Historical Context
First-century Judean agriculture involved day laborers working fields outside villages. Outer garments (himation) were valuable—used as collateral (Exodus 22:26-27 required returning by sunset), nighttime covering, protection. Workers left them at field edges for mobility. When danger struck (bandits, invading armies, wild animals), workers fled immediately. Jesus' command: don't risk life retrieving property. AD 70's siege fulfilled this: those who hesitated to flee, attempting to save belongings, perished. Spiritually applicable throughout church history: Christians must abandon worldly attachments pursuing Christ. Reformers left Catholic Church despite cost; missionaries abandoned comfort for gospel; converts from other religions forsake family, security. Discipleship costs everything—no turning back.
Questions for Reflection
- How does the command not to retrieve even necessary items (outer garment) illustrate discipleship's radical cost?
- What does 'not turning back' teach about Christian life—how does Philippians 3:13-14 apply this spiritually?
- What 'garments'—worldly securities, comforts, attachments—might Christians need to abandon without looking back to follow Christ fully?
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Analysis & Commentary
Let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment—laborers worked in fields wearing inner tunic, leaving outer cloak at field's edge (valuable garment, used as nighttime covering). Jesus commanded: don't return for it. The urgency supersedes recovering even necessary items. The Greek mē epistrepsatō (μὴ ἐπιστρεψάτω, 'let him not turn back') parallels v. 15's prohibition—no delay permitted.
This intensifies the point: value life above clothing, safety above possessions. It echoes Proverbs: 'How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?' (Proverbs 6:9)—spiritual urgency demands immediate response. Hesitation proves fatal. Philippians 3:13-14 applies spiritually: 'forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark.' Christians must pursue Christ single-mindedly, not distracted by worldly concerns. The field worker leaving his cloak pictures believers abandoning worldly attachments to follow Christ wholeheartedly.