Background: Jesus’ teaching on the coming judgment on the Jews of that wicked generation, and that the Kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to others (Matthew 21:43)

 

Matthew 24:1-2 – clearly is concerning the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD

 

Matthew 24:3 – three questions are asked:

• when will this happen?

• what will be the sign of your coming? (from 10:23, 16:28) – note also 26:64 at Jesus’ trial, from Daniel 7:13-14

• ...and of the “end of the age”? – the Jews contrasted their times then (the Old Covenant age) with the coming age of the Messiah’s reign (New Covenant) – cf. Matthew 12:32, 13:39-40, 49

 

Are these 3 questions or 3 aspects of one question? Note that the disciples link these 3 events together. Compare with same passage in Mark and Luke – “these things…they are about…” = one sign for all.

 

Matthew 24:4-8 – Note that all is directed to “you” (Jesus’ closest disciples) throughout Matthew 24.

– “false Christs” – cf. Simon Magus of Acts 8:9-10, Thuedas of Acts 5:36, Judas of Galilee in Acts 5:37; Josephus and Eusebius also mention the Egyptian of Acts 21:38, and a Dositheus the Samaritan.

– “wars and rumors of wars” – the general “Pax Romana” since Augustus' reign would end with Nero’s death, but there was some turmoil even before (at Passover in 40 AD 10,000+ Jews died in rioting in Jerusalem), and as a result of the Jewish revolt: Josephus says that 50,000 died in riots in Mesopotamia, 20,000 Jews died in Caesarea in contentions with non-Jews, 50,000 Jews were killed in Alexandria, 20,000 by the Syrians, 13,000 at Scythopolis, 10,000 in Damascus.

– “nation vs. nation, kingdom vs. kingdom” – civil war throughout Roman Empire when Nero dies without an heir, with armies from Spain, Gaul, Germany, Illyricum and Syria fighting each other.

– “famines” – cf. Acts 11:27-29 – also mentioned by Josephus and Eusebius, with famines in Claudius’ 1styear and also in his 10th or 11th year, and in 68 AD after Nero’s death during the Jewish revolt.

– “earthquakes” – cf. Acts 16:26, others recorded as happening in that era in Crete, and at many other places: Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Asmos, Apamea, Laodicea, Hierapolis, Colossae, Rome, and Judea.

– Luke 21:11 adds “pestilences” – recorded by secular accounts as happening in 40 AD in Babylon; 60 AD in Rome.

– Luke also adds “great signs from heaven” – there were “blood moon” eclipses in 33 and 59; Caesar’s Comet in 44; Halley’s Comet in 66; a solar eclipse in 49. Also, Josephus mentions angelic armies in the sky surrounding Jewish cities, a comet seen in 62 for a year, and a star/sword in the sky over Jerusalem.

Matthew 24:9-14 – persecution, apostasy, false prophets, people deceived, love of many grows cold – all seen in New Testament writings.

– “he who stands firm to the end will be saved” – end of their life? of the age? saved physically? eternally?

– “this gospel will be preached in the whole world [Greek, oikoumene = Roman world] as a testimony to all nations [Greek, ethnoi = the various ethnic entities of the Roman Empire]” – consider how the hearers then would have understood Him – see Colossians 1:5-6, 23; Romans 1:8, 16:25-26 in the more literal NASB translation (“Now to Him who is able… but now is manifested, and… has been made known to all the nations”), and Acts 2:5. Also note the parallel in Mark 13:9-13 as clearly referring to their lifetime – “and the gospel must first be preached to all nations 

– “and then the end will come” – end of the Old Covenant age.

Matthew 24:15-22 –

– “you” (them then) would “see”… (Matthew uses 2 main words for “see”: Greek, blepo = physically see, as in 24:2 and horao = comprehend, as here and throughout Matthew 24-26).

– “abomination that causes desolation” (remember Jesus' statement just before this in 23:38); see Jeremiah 7:30, 32:34; Daniel 8:13, 9:27, 12:11; also 11:31 (regarding Antiochus Epiphanes desecrating the Temple by offering a pig on the altar).

– Note the parallel passage in Luke 21:20-24 – “Jerusalem being surrounded by armies”; “wrath against this people.” (Luke, writing to Gentiles, deletes the specific reference to Daniel and an “abomination of desolation.”) Note that Luke also states in Luke 21:22 – “this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.”

– “in Judea,” “on the roof of house,” and “cloak” fit with ancient times; Luke adds a focus to stay away from Jerusalem.

– v.20- “your flight”

– “great distress/tribulation, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again” – see similar comments by Josephus and Eusebius; also the parallel passage in Luke 21:20-26; Luke 23:28-30, 19:41-44; 1 Thessalonians 2:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:6

 

Matthew 24:23-28 – “you” throughout

– “false Christs and false prophets” – see above

– The “coming of the Son of Man” will be like lightening in what way? ‘Lightning’ lights up everything = revealing/making readily apparent/making obvious what had been hidden; as in Luke 17:24.

– “coming of the Son of Man” – “Coming” (Greek, parousia) can have the sense of coming in judgment, as in Isaiah 19:1; see the parallel passage in Luke 17:30 with “Son of Man is revealed” as in the enthronement “coming” of Daniel 7:13.

– “wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather”? why does Jesus say this here? – See Luke 17:30-37 – “Vultures” can also be translated as “eagles” – they were the symbol of the Roman army (Roman armies had eagles on the tops of their standards, and worshiped them as representative of the gods of Rome). 

 

Matthew 24:29-31 –

– verse 29 – quote from Isaiah 13:10 and 34:4; also see the celestial imagery of Genesis 37:9-11; Daniel 8:10; Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10-31 as quoted in Acts 2; Jeremiah 4:11-28; Hebrews 12:26, and 2 Peter 3, all of which suggests this should be understood as representing the end of the Old Covenant world, and the arrival of the radical “new heavens and new earth” reality in which both Jew and Gentile people relate to God through Jesus.

– “at that time the sign of Son of Man in the sky/heaven will appear” (a literal translation from the Greek)(i.e. 'the sign that the Son of Man is in heaven') – see Acts 2:19-20 regarding “signs on earth below” of “blood and fire and billows of smoke.”

– “and all the tribes (Greek, phule-always translated elsewhere as ‘tribes’) of the ‘land’ (Greek, gey, as in Zechariah 12:10-14; Jeremiah 4:13-28) will mourn.”

– “they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of the sky/heaven” – “see” (Greek, horao = comprehend, as in 26:64, also in Isaiah 30:30-31 regarding Assyria ‘seeing and hearing’) – they would perceive that Jesus was enthroned in Heaven and bringing this upon them.

– “coming on the clouds of heaven” – see Daniel 8:10; Isaiah 19:1, Psalm 104:3

– “angels/messengers” – referring to angels or evangelism?

– “a loud trumpet call” – a trumpet proclaimed the completed redemption on the Day of Atonement and at the beginning of the Year of Jubilee (Numbers 25:8-10).

– “gather his elect” – cf. John 11:52; ‘gather’ as in proclaiming the gospel, or as in gathering all the dead for final judgment (focusing here on the elect/believers)? 

 

Matthew 24:32-35 –

– Lesson of the fig tree: “when you see all these things, you know that it (or he) is near.”

– Luke 21:31 has “the kingdom of God is near”; Luke adds “and all the trees,” a more generic illustration.

– “this generation” = that generation then (as in Jeremiah 7:29, Matthew 12:39, 23:36), rather than some future generation in which all these things will take place? 

– “heaven and earth will pass away” – How can heaven “pass away”?! The Old Covenant form connecting heaven and earth would pass away.

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Matthew 24:36-41 –

– “that day” – Is this suggesting the focus now changes to a later, still-future, Coming? Perhaps, but apparently not.

Note that this section is not in Mark’s gospel, but the parallel in Luke 17:26-37 brings together teachings from the earlier section of Matthew 24:17-18 (fleeing in haste) and 28 (vultures are gathered), as well as the “later” section of 39-41 (analogy of Noah’s time, two with one taken), suggesting the focus is still on the same “coming.”

Vs. 24:37-39 – “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” – Luke 17:30 has when “the Son of Man is revealed”

– Contrary to the common understanding that this passage refers to a still-future “Rapture” event in which Christians are removed from earth before the Great Tribulation, note that the ones being ‘taken’ in Noah’s day were those being destroyed by the Flood, not Noah and his family.

 

Matthew 24:42-51 –

– “keep watch” – Jesus refers back to His teaching “when you see…” in verses 15 and 33. 

– “you” continues to refer to the disciples then. 

– “the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?” This could readily be seen to refer to the Apostles and their role of leadership in the early church.

– Verses 48-51 – Someone becoming a wicked, abusive leader would be dealt with like “the hypocrites” – This seems to point to the Jewish leaders of Matthew 23 who are repeatedly labeled as “hypocrites” and who rejected Jesus.

 

Matthew 25:1-13 – again “you” in verse 13; again the command to “keep watch”

 

Matthew 25:14-30 – a 3rd parable about being responsible servants. This teaching is similar to the parable of the Ten Minas in Luke 19:11-27, which He told “because he was near Jerusalem,” immediately before entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. To correct the false hope that the Kingdom of God would be established in its fullness immediately, Jesus tells this parable about the judgment (in their lifetime!) of those who refuse Him as king (verse 27).

– “after a long time,” but in their lifetime!

 

Matthew 25:31-46 – the Sheep and the Goats Judgment

– The final judgment of Israel had already been mentioned in Matthew 19:28-29. Here those judged are “the nations/Gentiles.” Note the background of Ezekiel 34 (particularly verse 17), the similarity of judgment criteria to Romans 2:12-16, and Jesus’ teaching about the essence of the Law in Matthew 22:36-40 (particularly relevant, it would seem, in light of God overlooking the idolatry of the Gentiles- cf. Acts 14:16 and 17:30). Once the Old Covenant era had formally ended with the destruction of the Jewish Temple and end of animal sacrifices,  all those of that era could be judged.

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