Matthew Study 27: 24:1-35

Dear Student of the Word,

This week we move into Matthew 24, one of the most difficult and controversial passages in Matthew.  Some believe that Jesus was talking about His Second Coming, others about the fall of Jerusalem.  I believe it's a little of the former and a lot of the latter, and I explain why in this week's study.  For one of the days in this week's study, I wrote:

24:5 – Why are there counterfeit $20 US bills in circulation? Why not counterfeit $4 bills? There are no counterfeits for what isn’t real, so no one would accept a $4 bill – well, maybe some poor soul would.  So why would there have been so many counterfeit Christs?  You got it; because there was a real One.  Even today there are many counterfeits of real spiritual things.  How do you avoid the counterfeit?  Not by refusing all spiritual things (or all $20 bills), but by learning to detect the real ones.  Here are two passages that may help.  One warns that fakes and frauds will come, but the other assures us that if we test what comes, we will know whether or not it is the real deal.

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve (2 Corinthians 11:3-5).

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false” (Revelation 2:1-2 emphasis added).

v. 6 – Jesus was referring to the fall of Jerusalem here, answering their question as to when the end He had predicted would come.  There would be rumors that armies would march against the Jews but those rumors would prove false.  Some would probably find consolation in these false alarms and therefore think the end would never come, but it would.  Jesus was warning His disciples to recognize the signs that would surround the pending doom of Jerusalem. 

It is of note that Josephus, the Jewish historian, reported that not one Christian lost his or her life in the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Why was this?  Because they took Jesus’ words to heart and did what He said in this chapter, understanding that He was not talking about the Second Coming but the fall of Jerusalem.

v. 7 – You may ask at this point, “But aren’t there calamitous things happening now that mirror what Jesus was saying in these verses?”  The answer of course is “yes,” but the context of this message from Jesus was His condemnation of the Pharisees and prediction that the kingdom was being torn away from them and given to another people.  Usually context is king in matters of interpretation, so that is why I am keeping the focus on the fall of Jerusalem and not the end of the world.

v. 8 – Jesus used the analogy of a woman in birth to help His listeners understand what he was saying.  When they would begin to see things that He described, they were an indication that the “birth” was imminent but not immediate.  They were not to misinterpret that the calamity would not happen when the birth pangs or contractions stopped. They would continue until what Jesus promised would fully come to pass.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. You can write them or find the studies to Corinthians, First Timothy and Mark's gospel on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go there to sign up to receive each week's study.

Plus a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished Faith Files, can be found on my website in the archives.  Lord willing, I hope to have the New Testament studies finished by the end of 2009.

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