Sermon Tone Analysis

Keeping Watch

New Year - 2023

Matthew 24:1–3 (NIV84)

1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.

2“Do you see all these things?” he asked.

“I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

(See Temple Slide.)

The temple took 46 years to build.

The smallest stones weighed between 2 to 5 tons, the larger one 567 to 628 tons.

Some of the stones were 6.6 x 39.8 x 26 feet long.

One stone measured 45.6 feet long.

Jesus said that not one stone would be left on another, every stone would be thrown down.

Amazing!

3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately.

“Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

There are several interpretations for this chapter.

Some say that it is all historical; everything took place and was fulfilled when Jerusalem fell.

These folks view the whole of Matthew 24 as saying nothing about the return of Christ or the events of the last days of history.

To them Jesus here predicts what will happen from the time of his resurrection to the time of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70.

Some say that it is partially historical, and partially related to the end times.

There will be two judgments at two different times in history.

There will be a local judgment in AD 70, and then (after an unspecified period of time) there will be another judgment, a final worldwide judgment on the last day.

Some say that it is all prophetic and related totally to the end times.

To them this text, combined with a few others, depicts the following scenario: “The nation of Israel will be back in the land of Palestine with a rebuilt temple, only to suffer great persecution from the antichrist after the secret rapture and the removal of Gentile believers.”

With each interpretation, respective “scholars” have their Bible verses to support their view.

We’ll not delve into each interpretation at this time but will concentrate on how we are to relate to the coming of Jesus and the end of the age.

The temple was destroyed less than forty years later in 70 ad.

The Romans sacked Jerusalem and massacred most of its citizens.

The only stones left intact were the huge foundation stones, which were not part of the Temple edifice proper.

Josephus commented that a person visiting the site after the destruction could not believe that anyone had ever inhabited the place, much less that one of the most magnificent structures of the ancient world had stood there only a short while before.

Matthew 24:4-51 (NIV84)

4Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.

Watch out = βλέπω blepō = to take heed; to discern, to understand.

To notice carefully, to be ready to learn about future dangers or needs, with the implication of preparedness to respond appropriately—‘to beware of, to watch out for, to pay attention to.’

The present tense means that believers should constantly watch for signals in the prophetic future.

Jesus did not directly answer the disciples’ question, “When?” because the emphasis lies not on when but on what to look for.

When false prophets fix the date of Christ’s return, they deceive believers.

They cause them to lose their commitment to the Savior in exchange for escape from the very tribulations intended to glorify Christ’s power.

5For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.

Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.

7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.

10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,

11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

These signs have been present since the 1st century.

The kind of things Jesus mentions in this section are not the things that mark specific signs of the end.

Things like false messiahs, wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes have been occurring since the time of Jesus’ Ascension—but were not specific signs of the end.

Catastrophes will happen, but these will not signal the end.

In the midst of any great war or any great famine or any great earthquake, it is natural to believe that the world is coming to an end.

But Jesus said there is a far more specific sign that would indicate His return, and He describes this later.

“One clear aim of this chapter is to prevent premature excitement about the Parousia (second coming of Christ).”

(R.T. France)

12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,

13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

The Christian must not be led astray by false teachers, nor offended by the prevalence of scandals, nor let his love be chilled, if he would gain the reward, share in Messiah’s glory, and save his soul.

14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

In the period before ad 70 the gospel was preached around much of the Mediterranean area (which is what most Greek speakers would have understood to be the whole world at that time).

The gospel will be proclaimed until the end.

15“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—

Luke 21:20-21 (NIV84) 20"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.

21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.

Verse 15 tells us that they were to expect “the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place.”

(Daniel 9:27)

The book of Daniel, as Jesus points out, forms much of the background of this phrase.

That is why Matthew says, “let the reader understand.”

In other words, let the reader grasp that what Daniel said would happen is soon to happen.

The abomination that causes desolation (Historically) refers to the gory deeds of the Zealots, who, after the war had been carried on for some years, seized the temple, put a stop to the daily sacrifice, deluged the sacred courts with blood, and were guilty of most hideous crimes and excesses, which, as Josephus testifies, were the immediate cause of the city’s ruin.

Josephus gave the tally lists of the thousands slain in various cities and villages and places the number slaughtered at the fantastic total of ELEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND!

This was more than four times the loss of life when the nuclear device destroyed Hiroshima!

Particularly pathetic was the wretched plight of 30,000 young Hebrew men crucified upon the walls and in the vicinity of Jerusalem, so many, according to Josephus, that all the green trees in the area were cut down to make crosses, and all the lumber stores exhausted.

The cry, “His blood be upon us and our children,” received an awful retribution in kind and a terrible fulfillment in such a demonic atrocity.

Fulfilled in 70 ad: Idolatrous Roman armies invade Jerusalem and fight and kill many, even in the temple.

Final Fulfillment: Final rebellion against God brings religious abomination and desolation.

16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

This prophecy and counsel strictly addressed believers living near Jerusalem before its destruction.

Its prime commands do not and cannot apply to Jesus’ return.

What possible meaning could that verse have to anyone who does not live in that region of the world?

We can allegorize “Judea” (and also “flee” and “mountains” for that matter), but that only leaves us with 100,000 possibilities and perhaps 100,000 exegetical absurdities.

It is most natural and reasonable to believe that Jesus is talking about some event that would not affect the whole world but only those who live in and around Jerusalem, only those who can flee to mountains.

When he comes, there will be no opportunity to flee to the mountains or to do anything else.

Unbelievers will wish to hide but find it impossible (Rev.

6:16), and believers will want to come to Jesus, not flee from him.

Pregnancy, motherhood, and weather will be inconsequential on the last day.

But in AD 70 it was very important for Christians to flee the wrath of Rome’s armies, and pregnancy, cold weather, and children would magnify the problems of refugees.

The second coming will be a good thing for the followers of Christ.

There will be no need to run if Jesus and his obvious and somehow universal presence is coming to town.

The phrase, “let the reader understand,” (Matt.

24:15) means that Matthew’s first readers must stand by, ready to flee whenever the Romans arrive.

Eusebius, the early church historian, says the Christians of Jerusalem did flee, preserving many lives.

When the Romans came, “the church at Jerusalem … left the city, and moved to a town called Pella.”405

The Christians seem to have taken this advice when the city was attacked by Cestius Gallus, about a.d.

66, some three or more years before the siege under Vespasian.

The Christians, bearing Christ’s warning in mind, took the opportunity of flight from the doomed city, and made their escape to Pella, a town of Decapolis, south-east of Bethshean, and the ruins of which are known now by the name of Fahil.

Eusebius: Owing to a certain revelation given to holy men among them, the whole body of the Church, before the war, removed across the Jordan to Pella, and dwelt there in safety during those troublous times.

17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house.

18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.

19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!