Matthew 24:1-35 is a pretty difficult passage to understand, but I had to get to grips with it as I was down to preach on it at church this last week. There’s a lot of debate about ‘when’ Jesus is talking about… have a read, see what you think?
I suspect your initial reaction is to say, “Jesus is talking about the end of the age”… that was my first reaction too. But, I think the answer is not that simple…
Here’s the context:
- Verse 2 – Jesus says the temple will be destroyed.
- Verse 3 – the disciples ask two questions; when will the temple be destroyed, and what will be the sign of your coming / end of the age.
My understanding is that Jesus answers the first question in verses 4-35. The rest of the chapter, and chapter 25 is devoted to answering the second question. I have 3 reasons for saying this:
- Jesus is speaking to his disciples, therefore ‘you’ means the disciples
- In 3 places Jesus speaks of false Christs, and not believing them, the point being that Jesus isn’t returning yet
- Verse 34 – Jesus says that all these things will happen in the disciples generation
HOWEVER, there are some difficult verses to deal with, which make you think that it is actually talking about the end of the age…
- Verse 30 – it sounds like the end of the world, sun darkening, stars falling, heavenly bodies shaken! But Jesus is quoting Isaiah 13 and Isaiah 34 – in this context it is not the end of the world being spoken of, but the judgement of a city by an army… this is a picture to describe a military attack.
- Verse 31 – “the Son of Man coming on the clouds in power and glory” – again, sounds like the end of the age! But this picture is from Daniel 7:13-14, it’s not Jesus coming to earth, but Jesus coming into his Father’s presence. Or look at Matthew 26:64 – Jesus says that the Sanhedrin will see this.
Check out David Field’s blog for more thoughts on this – cheers Anthony!
