RSV ~ Matthew 24 Notes
Mt 24:1-25 | ISB Notes
The Olivet Discourse is the final sermon of Jesus featured in Matthew (see outline for Matthew). Its purpose is to reveal events of the near and distant future. (1) Prophetically: Jesus foretells the Roman conquest of Jerusalem and the Temple that occurred in A.D. 70. His predictions about this catastrophe and the tribulations leading up to it are expressed in the apocalyptic language of the OT prophets, which is often cryptic and symbolic. The effect is to show that Jerusalem’s doom will be an event of world-shaking consequence in the divine plan of salvation. (2) Typologically: the devastation of the Temple, which stood as an architectural symbol of creation, anticipates the fiery dissolution of heaven and earth. This will occur at the end of time when Jesus comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead (2 Pet 3:10-13; Rev 20:11-15; CCC 585-86).
Mt 24:3 | ISB Notes
Mount of Olives: Rises directly east of Jerusalem. when …
what: The disciples’ question determines the focus of the Olivet Discourse, which all acknowledge is difficult to interpret. (1) Some read it as a double question about two distinct events: the fall of the Temple and the future return of Jesus. Several proponents contend that Jesus speaks of the first event in 24:4-35 and of the second in 24:36-25:46. (2) Others read it as a single question about a single event and the circumstances surrounding it. For some, the entire discourse concerns the demise of Jerusalem and the Temple; for others, its principle topic is the Second Coming. Either way, the whole of Matthew 24-25 is read as a unified exposition, with 24:36 marking a shift in emphasis rather than a change of subject. In favor of the single-question view, Luke records many of the same statements that span the two parts of Mt 24 (housetop, 24:17; lightning, 24:27; body and eagles, 24:28; Noah, 24:37; women grinding, 24:41) but rearranges them into a different sequence, all referring to a single time of fulfillment (see Lk 17:22-37). Luke’s presentation thus undermines a division of the discourse into two halves dealing with two different subjects. For the main subject being the Temple’s destruction, see essay: End of the World? close of the age: Jewish theology distinguished between “this age” and “the age to come” heralded by the Messiah. Christian theology transposed this traditional schema of the two ages to cover the present age of history, still dominated by sin and evil (2 Cor 4:4; Gal 1:4), and the coming age of eternal life in the resurrected state (Mk 10:30; Lk 20:34-36). Jesus may be said to address the closing of the age at both levels in the following discourse. Not only does he speak of the demolition of the Temple (24:2), which marks the end of the pre-messianic order of worship (cf. Jn 4:21; Heb 9:26), but he also foretells that heaven and earth will pass away (24:35), thus addressing the end of history as well (as in 28:20).
Mt 24:8 | ISB Notes
the sufferings: Literally, “the birth pangs.”
• An OT prophetic image for grief, which overcomes sinners when God comes as Judge (Is 26:17-18; Jer 6:24; Hos 13:13).
Mt 24:14 | ISB Notes
throughout the whole world: This language is elsewhere used to denote the scope of Christianity’s presence in the Roman Empire (Rom 1:8; Col 1:6, 23). The gospel was substantially spread throughout the Roman world by the middle of the first century A.D. (cf. 1 Thess 1:8).
Mt 24:15 | ISB Notes
the desolating sacrilege: Recalls Dan 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11.
• In context, Daniel foresees the desecration of the Jerusalem Temple by the Gentile ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV (167 B.C.). Antiochus burned Jerusalem, plundered the Temple of its sacred articles, and erected an idol to the Greek god Zeus within its precincts (1 Mac 1:31, 37, 54). Jesus draws from this episode and projects it forward to announce the Temple’s ultimate destruction and desecration by the Roman army in A.D. 70 (cf. Lk 21:20).
Mt 24:16 | ISB Notes
flee to the mountains: A warning for early Christians to escape Jerusalem before its judgment and to resist temptations to defend the city. According to the Church Father Eusebius (A.D. 340), Christians living in the city fled to Pella, east of the Jordan River.
• Jesus’ command evokes Zech 14. In context, Zechariah envisions a day of judgment for Jerusalem, when the faithful are beckoned to “flee” the city (Zech 14:5; cf. Joel 2:32; Obad 17). Similarly, in 1 Mac 1:37-39 and 2:27-28, the righteous had to evacuate the sinful cities of Jerusalem and Modein in times of crisis.
Mt 24:27 | ISB Notes
lightning: Points to the swiftness of God’s judgment on the city.
• The OT similarly depicts God’s presence and frightful punishment as a raging storm (Ps 97:4; Is 29:5-6; Zech 9:14).
the coming: See word study: Coming at Mt 24:3.
Mt 24:28 | ISB Notes
the eagles: Scavengers (Romans) who eat the remains of a carcass (Jerusalem). It is noteworthy that Roman military standards featured eagles as symbols of the empire.
• In the OT, the eagle (also translated “vulture”) symbolized pagan nations who brought suffering upon Israel (Deut 28:49; Hab 1:8; cf. Hos 8:1).
Mt 24:29 | ISB Notes
sun … moon … stars: Images of cosmic catastrophe underscore the magnitude of Jerusalem’s coming doom.
• Depictions of heavenly chaos are used by the OT prophets to predict the downfall of pagan kingdoms (Is 13:910; 34:4; Ezek 32:7-8; Joel 2:10, 31; Amos 8:9).
Jesus redirects this language toward Jerusalem: the kingdom of Old Covenant Israel will be devastated for corrupting itself like the pagans and rejecting Jesus.
Mt 24:30 | ISB Notes
the Son of man: An allusion to Dan 7:13.
• In context, Daniel beholds “a son of man” coming to God with the clouds of heaven; he is given a royal “kingdom” and “everlasting dominion” (Dan 7:14) over all nations (cf. 28:18). Daniel’s vision takes historical shape (initially) with Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension to the Father (Mk 16:19; Acts 1:9). Jesus’ victory over his enemies will be visibly manifest with Jerusalem’s judgment and the termination of the Old Covenant.
See topical essay: Jesus the Son of Man at Lk 17.
Mt 24:31 | ISB Notes
angels: Presumably the angels of heaven, who will accompany Christ when he comes again in his kingdom (16:27; 2 Thess 1:7). Others see them as preachers of the gospel since the Greek angeloi can also refer to human “messengers” (e.g., John the Baptist in 11:10).
trumpet call: An allusion to Is 27:13.
• Isaiah envisions the messianic restoration of Israel. Summoned by the Lord’s trumpet, the tribes of Jacob will come forth from their exile among the nations to be united with God once again.
the four winds: The four points of the compass.
• The statement recalls OT passages about the ingathering of God’s people from among the nations (Deut 30:4; Is 11:12; Zech 2:6).
Mt 24:34 | ISB Notes
this generation: The expression in Greek can mean “this race” or “these contemporaries of mine”. The latter meaning best fits this context, not only because Jesus envisions his initial coming within the lifetime of his first disciples (16:28), but also because he often addresses his unbelieving contemporaries with the same term (11:16), either contrasting them with an earlier generation that responded to God’s message (12:4142) or implicitly comparing them with the faithless generation of Israel that failed to enter the Promised Land (12:39, 45; 16:4; 17:17; cf. Deut 1:35; 32:5).
Mt 24:35 | ISB Notes
Heaven and earth will pass away: A solemn prediction, not a hypothetical contrast. Jesus thus prophesies the termination of the Old Covenant order, i.e., the old creation awaiting renewal in Christ (cf. 2 Cor 5:17; Rev 21:1). As the OT era gave way to the NT age established by Christ’s powerful words, so even the NT age will give way to eternal life at the end of history.
• Jesus’ statement recalls OT oracles that describe God’s word (Is 40:8) and salvation (Is 51:6) outlasting the frail elements of the cosmos.
Mt 24:36-25 | ISB Notes
Jesus turns from revealing general prophesies to concealing specific details. Jerusalem’s doom will be preceded by proximate signs (24:5-8, 30, 33), but the precisetime of the city’s judgment will remain unknown (24:42, 44; 25:13).
Mt 24:36 | ISB Notes
nor the Son, but the Father: This saying is comparable to 20:23, where Jesus says that the Father, not the Son, makes royal appointments of rank. Here also only the Father appoints the time of the Son’s royal return in glory. Christ’s professed ignorance of this day and hour may be understood as hyperbole (overstatement), a teaching device used by Jewish rabbis and Jesus himself (5:34; 23:9; Lk 14:26).
• Tradition maintains that Jesus’ apparent ignorance is not a literal statement, but a figurative expression; for the Father and the Son share everything in common, including their divine knowledge: 11:27; Jn 3:35; 10:15; 17:25). Here Jesus does not display any human knowledge of the time when the Father will send the Son to judge all nations, because this mystery lies beyond the scope of what the Father intends the Son to reveal (CCC 472-74).
Mt 24:38 | ISB Notes
The lesson from the flood is based on unexpected catastrophe (cf. Dan 9:26). Except for Noah and his family, the rest of his generation showed no concern for God. They were distracted by the concerns of the world and were destroyed in God’s judgment.
Mt 24:40 | ISB Notes
one is taken … one is left: This scenario follows Jesus’ example of Noah and the flood (24:37). The righteous will be left, just as Noah and his family were spared (Sir 44:17); the wicked will be taken, as Noah’s generation was swept away by the flood (Mt 24:39; 2 Pet 2:4-10).
Mt 24:42 | ISB Notes
Watch therefore: A prominent theme in Jesus’ teaching (24:43; 25:13; 26:38-41). It addresses the glorious coming of Christ at three levels. (1) Past historical. The disciples were to look vigilantly for Christ’s judgment on Jerusalem A.D. 70, lest they fail to heed his words and evacuate the city before its demise (24:16). (2) Present liturgical. Disciples must look with faith to see the coming of Christ in the Eucharist. Here too Jesus’ presence must be discerned to avoid divine judgment when he comes in the sacrament (1 Cor 11:27-29). (3) Future eschatological. Disciples must watch for Christ’s Second Coming in glory at the end of history. Being vigilant in faith and good works is necessary to inherit eternal life with Christ (25:34-36). See word study Coming at Mt 24.