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Signs of the End of the Age
1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came
up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2"Do you
see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth,
not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown
down."
3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came
to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will
this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the
end of the age?"
Explanation: Judgment on the Temple and the World
(24:1-31)
Jesus pronounces woes against religious leaders of his day (23:13-32)
and then hints about judgment against the temple, the ultimate symbol
of the religious establishment's power (23:38; compare 21:13). As
in many Old Testament prophets, nearer judgments foreshadow the
final judgment; Matthew recognizes in the temple's destruction in
A.D. 70 a vindication of Jesus' prophecy and an assurance that his
other prophecies will also come to pass.The Temple's Destruction
(24:1-3)
In much of Matthew 24, Jesus is warning followers who, like Peter,
want an optimistic promise of the future (16:21-23) that realism
is more important. His followers must prepare themselves to die
for his honor before the coming of the end (compare 16:24-28). The
introduction to this part of the discourse makes some crucial points.
Jesus Is Not Impressed with Splendid Monuments (24:1-2)
The temple was renowned for its beauty (ARN 28A; 48, Section 132B),
even throughout the Roman world (2 Macc 2:22; Ep. Arist. 84-91;
CIJ 1:378, Section 515); Israel had traditionally viewed the temple
as invincible (Jer 7:4; Ep. Arist. 100-101; Philo Spec. Leg. 1.76).
Jesus, however, is not impressed.
Swift Judgment to Come Against the
Temple Establishment (24:2)
The temple, as the ultimate symbol of the Judean religious establishment,
which the people took to be the symbol of God's glory (compare Jer
7:4), would be utterly destroyed.
It is difficult to deny that Jesus accurately predicted the temple's
destruction. Even on minimal historical grounds, we have good reason
to agree with Matthew that Jesus did so (see, for example, Hill
1979:62-63; Aune 1983:174-75; E. Sanders 1993:257). First, although
the later church may have forgotten the significance of some of
Jesus' words and deeds against the temple, they preserved them.
Thus we learn of a symbolic act of judgment there (Mt 21:12), testimony
of witnesses the Christians believed to be false (26:61; compare
Mk 15:29; Jn 2:19; Acts 6:14), and a tradition about its destruction
that must come from before it was destroyed (Q tradition in Mt 23:38
par. Lk 13:35). Jewish Christians who continued to worship in the
temple (Acts 2:46; 21:26-27) nevertheless remained faithful to a
saying of Jesus which they would surely not have created (compare
Hare 1967:6). Finally, someone making up Jesus' prediction after
the event would have fitted it more literally to its fulfillment,
whereas Jesus' saying retains its prophetic hyperbole (such as not
one stone . . . on another).
The End of Both the Temple and the
Age (24:3)
This chapter will address two issues: (1) the time of the temple's
destruction and (2) the sign indicating his coming and the close
of this age. Although biblical prophecy often linked events according
to the kind of event rather than their sequence (for example, a
near plague of locusts coalesces with eschatological armies in Joel),
clarity was essential for Matthew (probably writing after 70) in
a way that it was not for Mark (Mk 13:2, probably before 70; compare
F. Bruce 1972a:71; S. Brown 1979). Modern prophecy teachers who
require a restored temple and another abomination of desolation
to precede Christ's return may be missing the point of Matthew's
careful division of questions in 24:3. The final prerequisite for
Jesus' coming is the evangelization of all nations (v. 14); the
most specific prerequisite is the temple's desecration (v. 15),
but the only sign of his immediate coming mentioned in the passage
appears in the heavens when or just before Jesus appears (v. 30;
compare J. Wenham 1977:72; pace Walvoord 1971b).Jesus pronounces
woes against religious leaders of his day (23:13-32) and then hints
about judgment against the temple, the ultimate symbol of the religious
establishment's power (23:38; compare 21:13). As in many Old Testament
prophets, nearer judgments foreshadow the final judgment; Matthew
recognizes in the temple's destruction in A.D. 70 a vindication
of Jesus' prophecy and an assurance that his other prophecies will
also come to pass.
4-14
4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one
deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the
Christ,' and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors
of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must
happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes
in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to
death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At
that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and
hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive
many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of
most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be
saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the
whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will
come.
Explanation: Not Yet the End (24:4-14)
Many modern readers have felt uncomfortable with the picture of
Jesus as an end-time prophet. Nevertheless, even if one starts with
historical skepticism, Jesus clearly taught on the end time. Much
of Jesus' final discourse in Matthew comes from Mark and Q, but
even where Matthew adds elements (such as the trumpet in 24:31),
we often have other evidence that Jesus spoke these words. Our earliest
extant Christian document, 1 Thessalonians, alludes to some of the
same words of Jesus ("according to the Lord's own word,"
1 Thess 4:15): clouds, gathering of the elect, angel(s), lawlessness,
apostasy, defilement of God's temple, the parousia, coming as a
thief, sudden destruction on the wicked, and so on (4:13--5:11;
compare 2 Thess 2:1-12; Waterman 1975; D. Wenham 1984). Some of
Jesus' other words, for instance about unknown times and seasons
(Acts 1:7), also appear there. But this common ground not only helps
us defend the reliability of the Gospels; it also reminds us that
Paul, unlike some Bible teachers today, saw no difference between
Jesus' coming for the saints and his coming at the end of the age
to judge the world.
Modern prophecy teachers have traditionally looked to current events
for signs of the end, to stir end-time enthusiasm among Christians.
While the goal may be worthy, the methodology runs counter to Jesus'
own teaching. After listing many of the signs (usually hardships)
that characterized the end among contemporary Jewish thinkers and
visionaries, Jesus declares that the end is still to come (v. 6;
compare Rev 6:1-8). Jewish people called such events the "birth-pangs
of the Messiah" (Morris 1972:23), but Jesus declares that these
are merely the beginning of birth pains (Mt 24:8). Besides missing
Jesus' point, modern prophecy teachers are also almost always wrong;
for one survey of missed prophecies--often reinterpreting the same
biblical texts differently from decade to decade, as headlines change--see
Wilson 1977.
While catastrophic events do not allow us to predict how soon the
Lord is coming--such events have happened throughout history (Ladd
1956:72 n. 1; pace Frost 1924:18-19)--they do remind us that such
problems characterize this age, summoning us to long for our Lord's
coming all the more fervently. Jesus warns us what kind of sufferings
we must face. His teaching presupposes important knowledge about
the end time, but its repeated exhortations show that its emphasis
is on how to live in light of that reality (see Lane 1974:446; Hill
1979:63). Thus it makes good sermon material if we catch Jesus'
point!
Christians Must Be Ready for False
Messiahs (24:4-5)
The danger of being misled is mentioned frequently (vv. 4, 11, 24),
and Matthew elsewhere has cause to report Jesus' warnings against
signs-working prophets (7:15, 22; on signs prophets, see the introduction),
a warning that is clearly part of the Jesus tradition (2 Thess 2:9).
Today we might think of Jim Jones, David Koresh and New Age Christ
figures (see Groothuis 1990). The death toll under Jones and Koresh,
incidentally, serves as a helpful rebuttal to those who claim that
all religions are the same and it matters not what one believes.
But false messianic figures abounded in the first century as well
(for example, Jos. War 2.259-63; 6.285-88; Ant. 20.97-98).
Be Ready for Both Human and Natural Disasters (24:6-8)
Jesus borrows traditional biblical language here (compare 2 Chron
15:6; Is 19:2; Jer 51:46; for rumors of wars, compare Dan 11:44).
Most of the events of Matthew 24:5-14 occurred between A.D. 30 and
70 (Blomberg 1992:356, following W. G. Thompson 1974). Some even
believe the gospel of the kingdom was proclaimed among the nations
in a representative sense (Rom 10:18; Col 1:6; Blomberg 1992:356-57).
The general character of the language prohibits us from limiting
it to any such events, however (Beasley-Murray 1957:35, 39). Such
events occurred throughout the period of 30-70 and have been occurring
ever since.
Be Ready for Persecution; Some Professing Christians Will Fall Away
(24:9-13)
So heart wrenching is this reality that the New Testament writers
had to warn Christians about it repeatedly (2 Thess 2:3; 1 Tim 4:1-3;
2 Tim 3:1-9; 2 Pet 3:3; 1 Jn 2:18-19; Rev 13:12-17). Early Christian
exhortation regularly portrayed perseverance and apostasy as the
alternatives in times of serious testing (S. Brown 1969:146). Like
Mark, Matthew connects the suffering of believers with that of Christ,
even prefacing his passion narrative with the promise of believers'
suffering (compare Feuillet 1980b; Graham 1986).
Wickedness, or more literally and specifically "lawlessness,"
could characterize especially the outwardly religious (Mt 23:28;
compare Jude 4) but probably applies to the society as a whole,
including wicked rulers (2 Thess 2:3, 7-8). Nevertheless, as a consequence
even the hearts of most (literally, "the many," perhaps
denoting disciples--compare Mt 20:28) will become loveless (compare
22:37-39), hence capable of betrayal. Although the promise that
one who stands firm to the end will be saved (24:13; compare v.
22) could refer to survival (as in 4 Ezra 6:25), the context of
apostasy suggests that enduring to salvation here may refer to the
same demand that phrase implies in most New Testament passages:
that only those who continue in the faith will receive salvation
at the final day (compare 7:13-14; Marshall 1974:73).
True Christians Will Spread the Gospel
Among All Nations (24:14)
Whereas Jesus says that other phenomena do not mark the end (v.
6), here he explicitly declares that the spread of the gospel does
mark the end. The world controls many other factors, but this is
the one factor the church itself determines: we must complete the
commission of discipling all nations before this age will come to
a close (28:19-20; compare Acts 1:6-11; Rom 11:25-26; 2 Pet 3:9-15).
This prerequisite for the end does not imply that all peoples will
be converted, but that the kingdom will not come in its fullness
until all peoples have had the opportunity to embrace or reject
the King who will be their judge (Mt 25:31-32). Jesus' early followers
recognized that he would rule a remnant with representatives from
all peoples (Rev 5:9; 7:9), just as the world system would (Rev
13:7).
Perhaps just as Israel, because of disobedience, ruled the land
promised to Abraham only twice in its history (Gen 15:18; 1 Kings
4:21; 2 Chron 34:5-7), so the Lord's return has been delayed and
the world's suffering prolonged by the church's disobedience to
the Great Commission (see 2 Pet 3:9-15; Ford 1979:76). While some
generations have come much closer than others, the Lord will not
return until he has found a generation of servants devoted enough
to fulfill the worldwide missions task he has commanded.Whereas
Matthew 28:18-20 is a commission, 24:14 is also a promise that some
generation will succeed in finishing the task others have begun.
African, Asian and Latin American Christians are in the forefront
of world evangelism today; Christ's followers among many peoples
must labor together for the harvest. But this mission cannot be
done in human strength. The first generation of the church experienced
the most rapid exponential growth while lacking all the resources
Western Christians think necessary to accomplish the task today,
such as money, literature, mass transportation and communication.
But they had what much of the Western church today lacks: a faithful
dependence on the Holy Spirit (compare 10:20; Mk 13:11; Acts 1:8).
With a world population five times what it was a mere century and
a half ago, the stakes have never been as high as they are now.
Let us pray for laborers for the Lord's harvest (Mt 9:38), that
we may become that promised generation.
We should note the context in which this worldwide evangelism occurs:
suffering (24:9-13; more explicitly in Mk 13:9-11, earlier applied
by Matthew to his fuller discourse on evangelism). Many early Christians
recognized suffering as a prerequisite for the end (Col 1:24; Rev
6:10-11; compare 4 Ezra 4:3-37), because Christians' suffering is
inseparable from our witness. It is when we are least comfortable
with the world that we most dramatically proclaim the kingdom of
our Lord. Further, just as most mission fields in history were opened
through the blood of martyrs, many peoples will not be reached today
without Christians who are prepared to lay down their lives for
the gospel Jesus has called us to proclaim.
15-28
15"So when you see standing in the holy
place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through
the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- 16then let those
who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the roof
of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no
one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will
be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray
that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.
21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning
of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. 22If those
days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake
of the elect those days will be shortened. 23At that time if anyone
says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not
believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and
perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that
were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.
26"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,'
do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe
it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even
in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever
there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Explanation: The Tribulation in History (24:15-28)
Various New Testament passages seem to have reapplied Daniel's image
of tribulation in different ways; but all agree in warning Christians
to be vigilant when they face such testing. In contrast to the false
prophets who till the end exhorted Jerusalemites to stand firm and
expect sudden deliverance (Jos. War 6.285-86), Jesus warns his followers
to accept the perils of this age and escape them when possible.
Eusebius reports that the church in Jerusalem responded to true
prophets and fled the city before its destruction came (Euseb. H.E.
3.5.3); probably Jesus' words had guided the Christian prophets
to a realistic appraisal of the danger, in contrast to some other
Jerusalemites. His words likewise may instruct believers facing
peril today. They also remind us that judgments, persecution and
other sufferings characterize life in this age, summoning us to
yearn for our Lord's coming rather than to become complacent with
this world.
No Religious Symbol Provides Refuge
from Divinely Decreed Judgment (24:15)
The sanctuary, once desecrated, was doomed, as Jesus had earlier
warned (23:38). Earlier desecrations had led others to recognize
this pattern in history as well. Over two centuries earlier, a Syrian
ruler had defiled the altar, causing an "abomination"
that ruined the sanctuary with "desolation" (1 Macc 4:38).
Daniel contains three references to an abomination that causes desolation,
a sacrilege or defilement that will inevitably lead to destruction.
One or two of the passages refer to events surrounding Antiochus
Epiphanes, who claimed to be a deity and oppressed Israel (Dan 8:13;
11:31, 36-39); another text associates the same kind of "abomination"
with the cutting off of an anointed ruler, close to the time of
Jesus (Dan 9:26; compare J. Payne 1962:146; Beckwith 1981). Jewish
speculation concerning the end time regularly reapplied Daniel's
descriptions in various ways (see F. Bruce 1956:177; Russell 1964:198-201);
Revelation may even reapply Daniel's tribulation period to the period
between Jesus' first and second comings (Rev 12:1-6, 10).
Jewish people recognized that shedding innocent blood in the sanctuary
would profane it (1 Macc 1:37; Jos. Ant. 9.152; so also Mt 23:35),
and some saw this defilement as a desolation (1 Macc 1:39; 2:12).
Josephus indicated that the shedding of priestly blood in the sanctuary
(Jos. War 4.147-201; 4.343; 5.17-18) was the desecration, or abomination,
that invited the ultimate desolation of A.D. 70 (Jos. War 5.17-19).
Very close to three and a half years after this abomination, the
temple was destroyed and violated even more terribly: the Romans
erected on its site their standards, which bore the emperor's image,
then offered sacrifice to them (Jos. War 6.316). But Jesus' warning
must apply to the earlier (66) rather than the final (70) desecration,
because shortly after the Romans surrounded Jerusalem, escape (Mt
24:16-18) became increasingly difficult (as in Jos. War 5.420-23,
449).
In Matthew, the tribulation (distress) seems to begin with the sanctuary's
desecration in 66 and concludes with Jesus' return (24:29). If this
observation is correct, it requires a "tribulation" longer
than three and a half years or some other way to bridge the gap
between 66 and the end. Scholars offer several explanations for
this gap: in Matthew 24 Jesus (1) skips from this tribulation to
the next eschatologically significant event, his return (G. Fuller
1966; compare Lk 21:24); (2) regards the whole interim between the
temple's demise and his return as an extended tribulation period
("immediately"--Mt 24:29; see Carson 1984:507); (3) prophetically
blends the tribulation of 66-70 with the final one, which it prefigures
(see Bock 1994:332-33; compare Frost 1924:15-19); (4) begins the
tribulation in 66 but postpones the rest of it until the end time;
(5) intends his "return" in verses 29-31 symbolically
for the fall of Jerusalem (see Tasker 1961:224-26; J. Wenham 1977:71;
Barclay 1959; France 1985:333).
Not all these views are mutually exclusive. I currently favor option
1 or 2 with elements of 3. Although many scholars (including a number
of conservative scholars) prefer option 5, the many emphatic statements
about a personal, visible coming in the context probably rule out
a symbolic coming the way they would a "spiritual" one.
The third option may in fact deserve more attention than my current
inclination has given it: certainly the prophetic perspective naturally
viewed nearer historical events as precursors of the final events;
see Ladd 1974b:196-201 (with Old Testament examples) and 1978a:36-37;
compare Beasley-Murray 1960; Everson 1974:337; Bock 1994:332-33.
Early Jewish texts also telescope the generations of history with
the final generation (Jub. 23:11-32). As in Mark, the tribulation
of 66-70 remains somehow connected with the future parousia, if
only as a final prerequisite.
In any case, the view that the whole of Matthew 24 addresses only
a future tribulation (often assumed automatically in circles unaware
of the history of 66-70) is not tenable; Matthew understands that
"all these things" (probably referring to the question
about the temple's demise--24:2; Mk 13:4) will happen within a generation
(Mt 24:34), language that throughout Jesus' teachings in Matthew
refers to the generation then living (as in 12:39, 45; 16:4; 23:36;
compare 27:25).
Believers Must Flee Impending Judgment
with Haste (24:16-20)
Once the Romans surrounded Jerusalem, its inhabitants could still
leave the city safely until the spring of A.D. 68 (Jos. War 4.377-80,
410; Lane 1974:468). Later deserters to the Romans, suspected of
having swallowed jewels to escape with them, were often cut open
by Syrian auxiliaries (Jos. War 5.550-52). Jesus' command to flee
to the mountains (v. 16) makes good sense; Palestine's central mountain
range provided a natural refuge (as in 1 Sam 23:14; Ezek 7:15-16;
Jos. War 2.504).
The admonitions to leave the rooftop without entering the house
(v. 17) and to leave the field without returning for one's cloak
(v. 18) indicate that life matters more than even its basic necessities,
which might later be replaced (compare 1 Macc 2:28). Because outside
staircases led up to the flat rooftops, one could descend without
entering the house to retrieve possessions (Lane 1974:470). One
normally slept in one's outer garment and wore it during the cold
of morning labor in the fields, but left it at the edge of the field
as the day grew warmer (Anderson 1976:296). As essential as this
outer cloak was, Jesus declares that running at the news of impending
destruction was more urgent still.
The "woe" over the pregnant and nursing (how dreadful,
v. 19) signifies the difficulty of flight and survival (Lk 23:29),
implying the sorrow of losing infants in the trauma (compare 2 Baruch
10:13-15). Verse 20 also reveals foresight concerning the Sabbath
and winter. On the former (mentioned only by Matthew) one could
not secure animals for transport. Winter's cold limited travel;
even armies stopped traveling campaigns during this season (as in
Jos. War 4.442; Ant. 18.262). Further, winter rains could flood
the roads and bury them deep in mud (m. Ta`anit 1:3; Jeremias 1969:58);
indeed, in spring 68, because the Jordan was flowing high, Gadarene
fugitives were delayed in crossing and were slaughtered by the Romans
(Jos. War 4.433; Lane 1974:470-71).
Although Jesus' words specifically address the fall of Jerusalem,
they provide us with some important principles. Christians who remember
the nature of the time ought not to be attached to worldly possessions;
we should value our lives enough to flee immediately. Indeed, God
may judge materialistic Western and other societies at times to
turn us from our pursuit of what does not matter so we may learn
to pursue what really does. Nor ought we to believe false prophets
of peace proclaiming that judgment will never strike our own locality
(for example, Jer 6:14); rather than sparing a locality, God sometimes
warns his servants to leave (Gen 19:15-30).God Cares About His Servants
in Distress (24:21-28)
Daniel spoke of an end-time tribulation greater than any that had
preceded it (Dan 12:1); by indicating that no tribulation before
or after this one would rival it, Matthew may suggest that it is
a tribulation within history, not necessarily the final one (compare
Jos. War 1.12). In any case, he warns against believing anyone who
claims to be Christ, for when our Lord really returns even the sky
will declare it (24:23-28).
When faith is tested, patience may wane; like Abraham and Sarah,
we may be tempted to look for less difficult solutions than trusting
God to fulfill his promise literally (Gen 16:1-2). But if our allegiance
is to the Lord of the universe, we dare not settle for counterfeits.
Signs and wonders (Mt 24:24) alone are inadequate to demonstrate
a prophet's authenticity (7:21; Deut 13:1-5; 2 Thess 2:9). At what
time will Jesus return? The same day the vultures gather around
the corpses of the wicked slain in judgment (Mt 24:28).
29-44
29"Immediately after the distress of those
days
" 'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the
sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see
the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great
glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and
they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of
the heavens to the other.
32"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its
twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is
near. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it
is near, right at the door. 34I tell you the truth, this generation
will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass
away.
The Day and Hour Unknown
36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels
in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37As it was in the
days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For
in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying
and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and
they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and
took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the
Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and
the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one
will be taken and the other left.
42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day
your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the
house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would
have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at
an hour when you do not expect him.
Explanation: Jesus' Return (24:29-31)
Compare Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-28. Immediately ties the tribulation
of those days to the unidentified final tribulation, a tribulation
that, on our reading, can be clearly identified as the final one
only by the fact that the parousia (Jesus' return) concludes it.
Like the day of the Lord in the Old Testament (Amos 5:18-20), Jesus'
return is not good news for everyone.
The Effects of Jesus' Revelation Will
Be Cosmic (24:29)
End-time events explicitly reported in the Bible include no secretive
coming as in some popular current eschatology (pace Strombeck 1982:151-53);
as Leon Morris notes of the only return of Christ of which Scripture
speaks, "It is difficult to see how he could more plainly describe
something that is open and public" (1959:145).
The Nations Will Respond with Terror
(24:30)
The nations have good reason to fear. When applied to a king or
other prominent dignitary, the term for Jesus' coming (parousia)
was a quasi-technical expression that implied considerable demands
for preparation on the part of the local populace (Ladd 1967:92).
That the Son of Man has authority to dispatch his angels to gather
his elect (v. 31; Mk 13:27) portrays Jesus as divine (Meier 1980:288).
As in Mark 13:26, the language of the Son of Man coming with the
clouds alludes to Daniel 7:13, but Matthew includes an additional
allusion to Zechariah 12:10, in which the nations mourn.
The Church Will Ultimately Be Delivered
(24:31)
Paul likewise observes that deliverance from tribulation in this
age arrives when Jesus comes as King and judges the wicked (2 Thess
1:6-7). From one end of the heavens to the other means the whole
earth (Mk 13:27; compare Is 11:12; 1 Enoch 57:2).
The figure of the trumpet is appropriate, and is one feature noted
by Matthew but missing in Mark, yet earlier cited also by Paul (1
Thess 4:17). Paul refers to the "last trumpet" at the
resurrection of the righteous (1 Cor 15:52), when the final enemy,
death, is subdued (1 Cor 15:24-26). Most often trumpets assembled
God's people for war or alerted them to an attack (as in Num 10:9;
Judg 3:27; Is 18:3; Jer 4:19; Ezek 33:3-6; Joel 2:1; Zeph 1:16);
such a trumpet blast often came with a shout (Jos. War 3.265; 1
Thess 4:16) and could symbolize the final battle (compare 1QM 8.9-12).
Parables of the Future Kingdom
(24:32--25:46)
In Matthew 13 Jesus used seven or eight parables to illustrate how
God's kingdom could be present in a hidden way until the day of
judgment. Now he closes his final sermon in this Gospel with a roughly
equal number of parables about the consummation of his kingdom at
the end of the age.Neither the Day Nor the Hour (24:32-44)
Many popular prophecy teachers have created an end-time scenario
very different from, and far more complex than, the one taught by
Jesus. At the same time, they have rightly reminded many in the
body of Christ that we should be ready for Christ's unexpected return.
Since the Temple's Desolation, the End Has Been Imminent (24:32-35)
This passage probably suggests that the temple's desolation constitutes
the final visible prerequisite for the kingdom before the cosmic
signs of Jesus' return. Because fig trees, unlike most trees in
Palestine, lost their leaves seasonally, their fruit indicated the
season (Jeremias 1971:106; Song 2:13). The temple establishment
was like fig trees with the veneer of maturity yet without fruit
(Mt 21:19; compare Mk 11:12-25). Though some wish to take generation
(genea) as "race," Matthew 23:35-36 leaves no doubt that
Jesus uses the term normally and, as elsewhere in Matthew, refers
to the climactic generation. Jerusalem fell about forty years after
Jesus' warning. Once God had judged the fruitless authorities who
dominate the temple, Jesus could return at any time.
Jesus' Coming Will Catch Most People Unawares (24:36-44)
The day in this passage may well refer to the day of the Lord (as
in 1 Thess 5:2; see Cullmann 1950:43). Such a warning prevents suffering
believers from building up undue expectations that would set them
up for exploitation (Mt 24:23-27); this sort of warning was especially
critical in view of the tendency of many of Jesus' contemporaries
to predict signs of the end (see comment on 24:6-8).
Like the flood, the Son of Man's coming (Dan 7:13-14) would arrive
as sudden and unexpected judgment, without explicit warning. Jesus'
followers might recognize the completion of requisite signs (compare
1 Thess 5:4-6), but for outsiders, life would be business as usual
(banquets and weddings, or grinding with a hand mill). This passage
echoes the damnable folly of outsiders repeated throughout the Gospel
tradition in general and Matthew in particular (as in 13:19; 15:10):
they do not understand (24:27, 39). If Jesus means "taken in
judgment" (Jer 6:11; 8:13; compare Ps. Sol. 13:11), the "taking"
parallels the different expression in Matthew 24:39, where the flood
took the wicked away (see Lk 17:34-37; contrast Sirach 44:16-17).
Keep watch does not mean "look for" or "anticipate
immediately," but borrows the image of a night watchman at
his post (Mt 24:42; 25:13; Ladd 1974b:208): the believer must remain
prepared for the Lord's coming, remaining alert and awake (26:38,
40-41, 43-46). That the time of Jesus' coming is unknown does not
preclude that some signs mentioned earlier in the passage will precede
it (compare Gundry 1982:491-92; Katterjohn and Fackler 1976:118-19),
any more than such ideas were incompatible in various ancient Jewish
end-time views (see, for example, Bonsirven 1964:53). The early
Christians often reused Jesus' image of a householder unprepared
for a nocturnal thief (compare Joel 2:9) for Jesus' return at the
end (1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15).
45-51
45"Who then is 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? 46It will be good for
that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47I
tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master
is staying away a long time,' 49and he then begins to beat his fellow
servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50The master of that
servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an
hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign
him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.
Explanation: Christ's Servants Judged (24:45-51)
After Jesus exhorts the disciples to "keep watch," to
stay awake, he illustrates what he means. We stay alert not by artificially
and perpetually stirring expectation that he will come at a given
time, but by living in such a manner that we would have no cause
for shame if he did come at any time, since he may in fact do so.
Paul may echo the warning against living an unexpectant, self-serving
life here (compare 1 Thess 5:3-9).
Of the one to whom much is given, much is required. Ministers have
special responsibilities to serve others (Lk 12:41-42; compare Hos
4:6-9; 1 Pet 5:1-4). This parable shows that Jesus' assault on hypocritical
leaders in Israel (Mt 23) is also applicable to those in the church
at the Second Coming who prove equally unprepared (compare 25:14-30;
Jas 3:1; see Meier 1980:293-94; Gundry 1982:497). Here the ruling
servant exploits the resources meant for others through his gluttony
and drunkenness (Mt 24:49; compare the demand for sobriety in Lk
21:34; 1 Thess 5:6-7). "You have ruled [my sheep] harshly and
brutally" (Ezek 34:4).
Some servants of Christ will be as unprepared at his Second Coming
as was much of the religious establishment at his first. Sharing
hell with the hypocrites (Mt 24:51) explicitly recalls the false
servants of 23:13-29. Like the tenants of 21:35-37 or the shepherds
failing to feed the sheep in Ezekiel 34:15 (compare Mt 24:45), these
leaders forgot their true role as servants (23:12) and acted as
if they could do as they pleased with those God had entrusted to
their care.
Ministers who exploit the flock for their own interests will be
damned. See also 2 Peter 2:3. Jesus is severe on leaders who are
responsible for crushing or misleading others, not because he does
not love these leaders but because he also loves the people they
are exploiting. Jesus calls us ministers to serve our fellow servants,
and we do ourselves a disservice by toning down Jesus' willfully
strong language about the lostness of those who do not. If we are
(for example) more concerned about getting a good "altar call"
for our own self-esteem than about building up the flock with sound
teaching or sharing Christ beyond the church's walls, we are using
church members for our own interests. Ministers who use churches
merely as stepping stones for personal ambition or who are more
interested in preserving their wages than fulfilling their calling
(see Mic 3:11-12; 1 Tim 6:5) could discover on the day of judgment
that they will not spend eternity with the Lord they proclaimed.
