NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 156
Matthew 24:35 | 1749
24:17 v 1Sa 9:25;
Mt 10:27; Lk 12:3;
Ac 10:9
24:19 w Lk 23:29
24:21 x Da 12:1;
Joel 2:2
24:22 y ver 24, 31
z
24:23 Lk 17:23; 21:8
24:24 a 2Th 2:9-11;
Rev 13:13
24:27 b Lk 17:24
c Mt 8:20
24:28 d Lk 17:37
24:29 e Isa 13:10;
34:4; Eze 32:7;
Joel 2:10, 31; Zep 1:15;
Rev 6:12, 13; 8:12
24:30 f Da 7:13;
Rev 1:7
24:31 g Mt 13:41
h Isa 27:13; Zec 9:14;
1Co 15:52; 1Th 4:16;
Rev 8:2; 10:7; 11:15
24:33 i Jas 5:9
24:34 j Mt 16:28;
23:36
24:35 k Mt 5:18
are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop v go down to take anything
out of the house. 18 Let no one in the f ield go back to get t heir cloak. 19 How dreadful it will
be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! w 20 Pray that your flight will
not take p
lace in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then t here will be g
reat distress, unequaled
from the beginning of the world until now — and never to be equaled again. x
22 “If t hose days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the
elect y those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the
Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. z 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will
appear and perform great signs and wonders a to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See,
I have told you ahead of time.
26 “So if anyone t ells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he
is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning b that comes from the east is
visi b
le even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. c 28 Wherever there is a
carcass, there the vultures will gather. d
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.’ a e
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of
the earth b will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, f
with power and great glory. c 31 And he will send his angels g with a loud trumpet call, h 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 t wigs get tender and its l eaves
come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all t hese things, you
know that it d is near, r ight at the door. i 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not
pass away until all these things have happened. j 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but
my words will never pass away. k
a 29 Isaiah 13:10;
34:4 b 30 Or the tribes of the land c 30 See Daniel 7:13-14. d 33 Or he
24:17 housetop. Roofs were flat so that indi-
viduals could work, socialize, and even sleep
there.
24:19 pregnant women and nursing moth-
ers. They would find it much harder to travel
rapidly.
24:20 in winter. Dirt roads would be muddied
by rains and harder to traverse. on the Sab-
bath. There would be travel restrictions.
24:21 great distress. Most think Jesus is fore-
shadowing the “great distress” (or “tribula-
tion”) that will surround his second coming,
not talking just of the events of AD 70. But
to say that at the end of the age, just before
God redeems his creation fully, such misery is
never to be equaled again seems so obvious
as to be almost pointless. But if Jesus has in
mind an event in the “middle” of human his-
tory, then the statement makes good sense.
The suffering and eventual extinction of the
Jews in Jerusalem and the total destruction
of the city are well-known. Alternately, the
verse is idiomatic for great destruction (cf.
Ezek 5:9) or it means that if allowed to con-
tinue, such distress would destroy everyone.
24:22 those days. Refers to the time of un-
equaled distress just described. no one
would survive. Apparently refers to physical
life. the elect. Means Jesus’ followers.
24:24 false messiahs and false prophets. Re-
peats the warnings of vv. 4 – 5,11. if possible.
Suggests th at the deception perpetrated by
these individuals is so severe that, were it
possible “to deceive” Christ’s true followers,
even they would be led into apostasy.
24:26 – 28 The reason not to believe claims
that the Messiah has reappeared in one par-
ticular place, outdoors or indoors, is that “the
coming of the Son of man” (v. 27) will be as
universally, publicly, and instantaneously dis-
closed as “lightning that comes from the east
is visible even in the west” (v. 27). Verse 28 is
unusually difficult to decipher but appears to
be a metaphor about the inevitability of two
events following one another. An animal or
human “carcass” left in the wild will invari-
ably become carrion for birds of prey. Perhaps
Jesus’ point is that so too his return will put
an end to all this unparalleled wickedness
and deception. However, “vultures” (v. 28)
could also be “eagles,” a symbol for the Ro-
man Empire. So maybe Jesus is recapitulating
the inevitability of the destruction of Jerusa-
lem by Rome (as in v. 15; see note there).
24:29 – 51 These verses describe the return of
Christ. “Immediately” in v. 29 could mean that
“the distress of those days” (v. 29) surrounding
the destruction of the temple in some sense
continues all the way until Jesus’ second com-
ing (cf. 2 Tim 3:12). Or perhaps the “abomina-
tion that causes desolation” (v. 15) will be
reenacted on a more awful scale just before
Christ’s return (cf. Rev 7:14 on those in the last
days who will “come out of the great tribu-
lation”). Either way, Jesus now moves ahead
to the events surrounding his return in glory.
These are signs of the end (vv. 29 – 35), but the
day and hour remain unknown (vv. 36 – 51).
24:29 This is apocalyptic language taken from
texts like Isa 13:10; 34:4. The point is probably
not that there are literal cosmic upheavals
as depicted or that the universe comes to
an end instantly. Rather, the significance of
what is about to happen is so great that life
as it has been previously experienced cannot
continue. A new age is dawning.
24:30 sign. This is the only place where Jesus
refers to the “sign” the disciples requested in
v. 3, and he does not tell them what it is. What-
ever it is — perhaps a “banner” or “standard”
(see Isa 11:12; 18:3; 49:22; Jer 4:21; 51:27) — it is
part and parcel of Christ’s coming so that it
is not something that can enable believers
to predict in advance when the second com-
ing will occur. the Son of Man coming on the
clouds of heaven. Partially recalls Dan 7:13 – 14,
in which a privileged human is ushered into
the very presence of God to be given univer-
sal authority over the kingdoms of the earth.
Here, though, the clouds usher Christ from
heaven to earth. It is not clear if “the peoples
of the earth will mourn” in repentance or in
grief because it is now too late to repent.
24:31 angels . . . will gather. Christ’s followers
will be gathered together from wherever they
reside on earth for protection and reward.
24:32 – 33 The Parable of the Fig Tree. The bud-
ding “fig tree” (v. 32) was a crucial barometer
for the coming of summer in ancient Israel.
Likewise, all of the events Jesus has sketched
in this sermon will enable his disciples to
know that his return and the fullness of God’s
kingdom that it brings are getting close.
24:34 all these things. Must refer to the same
events as “all these things” in v. 33, which
occur before the second coming. So Jesus
cannot be predicting his return within “this
generation,” i.e., the lifetime of his followers.
Instead, he must be promising that all of the
preliminary events, including the destruction
of Jerusalem — which must take place before
he can return — will take place within about
a 40-year period of time. From AD 70 on, the
church has consistently believed that Christ
could return in its day. The events that still
remain to be fulfilled can unfold so quickly
that believers must be prepared for the end
in every generation.
24:35 Jesus’ “words,” especially on the top-
ics of this sermon, are more permanent and