Matthew 24: 1-14
For years I was challenged as I tried to discern how Matthew 24:15-29 fits with Matthew 24:30-31. When perplexed, it is all the more of an occasion to apply a key Biblical interpretation method: We need to take a verse in the context of the passage, and the passage in the context of the chapter, and the chapter in the context of the book, and the book within the context of all Scriptures.
Thus what I needed to do was start from the beginning of the interaction.
Understandably, I would jump into that extraordinary teaching by Jesus, trying to chronologically piece it together. Yet in order to fully understand what He was teaching, I needed to go back to the questions which sparked this response! They are found in this passage of Matthew 24:1-14.
A turning point for me was realizing the discourse of Jesus in this chapter fits the order of the two questions, thus those two questions establish context for Christ's big response.
The two questions:
1.) When will this happen?
2.) What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?
And remember that the questions were sparked by the prophecy from Jesus that the grand buildings of the temple complex would all be demolished.
Jesus gives an opening, on the line of a preface, to His answers to the two questions. This is not surprising for an ancient Jewish style of discourse. The Ancient Near East involved an “oriental” style of discourse. Different than a Greek style, the style often involved long statements, where you needed to focus in on key points. A chronological manner was not an emphasis.
Yet notice how direct Jesus was in this preface, more of a Greek style, which included letting His disciples know there would be horrible persecution, even personally for them.
As I am eager to get into the following passages, since I am eager to discuss the rapture, I take a deep breath for a moment. There are three important points which I must make here.
First, Jesus was giving prophecies with intricate details, and He was doing so as the Christ.
Jesus said: “For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ…’ (Matthew 24:5).
Jesus stated “in my name!” In that ANE style, Jesus is stating He is the Christ. Thus we appropriately address Him as Jesus Christ. He is Jesus the Messiah. (Messiah is Hebrew and Christ is Greek, and both mean Anointed One.)
Second, Jesus was willing to give terrible news along with the great news.
Here he is talking with His disciples, bluntly telling them that they, as a body of believers, are going to be persecuted.
This happened.
In the year 2006 and 2007, I read most of Ecclesiastical History, written by Eusebius. He was the first person to write a comprehensive church history, most of it written in the early 300’s apparently. His writing style was utterly awkward! And as a man with access to an excellent library in Caesarea, he sometimes refrained from citing his materials, compiling a history unlike any modern Western scholar.
Yet his history is a crucial piece in Christian literature, because his well researched and recorded history showed the influence of Christianity in the first three centuries after the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.
And that history involved horrible persecution against Christians. Encouragement came for me simply by the fact that Christians continued to flourish through the terrible waves of sick persecution. It was a miracle from God that Christianity was not extinguished.
Third, Jesus concludes this opening statement by stating: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14 NIV).
I think Jesus was telling this to encourage followers of Jesus when circumstances were so bad that it seemed like Christianity could be ended.
I note that in American in the 20th century, sending out missionaries to foreign countries was supported by many evangelical Christians. I have read Christian history material where this passage was the motivation for Christians to focus on missionary work to “unreached” areas of the world. They felt like this was needed before Christ could return. But again, I think the point of Jesus was to encourage, rather than set a mark for His return.
And our motivation should simply be the love of Jesus.
And now with the Internet, the Gospel has reached people even in countries which were previously difficult to access. The computer revolution has been far and wide. The number of people worldwide with access to a cell phone, which is in essence a pocket computer, is astronomical.
In my early Christian days, I felt my calling was to be a “missionary” in the United States of America, a country where I realized the Gospel was being increasingly neglected. (And tragically, this neglect has increased at a disastrous rate ever since.)
I have only physically been in a foreign country once. Yet years ago, I looked at the monthly statistics for Scripture Love Blog. It was so encouraging for me to learn there are people in countries other than my own who read my writings about the Bible. I never expected my writings to be worldwide, yet I am honored and thrilled that this blog is read by people in an array of countries.
Now there are still certain governments of certain countries which restrict Internet access among the citizens of their specific country. Some governments engage in religious censorship. There are still people out there who do not have access to a Bible in print or online. And there are always people out there who need to hear the Gospel!
And in my opinion, there is nothing which can replace the interaction of a loving Christian in person.
Over the centuries, there have been countless unrecorded saints who have preached the Gospel throughout the world. And today there are sermons by small town American preachers posted online which are reaching people even thousands of miles away.
This prophecy of Jesus is taking place in our own time.
Hunter Irvine
