The Olivet Discourse, Part 1

One of the most asked questions is this.

Are we at the end of the age?

Matthew 24 is one of the often referenced chapters in the Bible when people discuss the end of the age.

Many, however, misinterpret the prophecy found in the Olivet Discourse because they are not familiar with the purposes of each of the four gospel writers.

All of the gospel writers wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but each gospel presents a different aspect of who Christ is.

It takes all four gospels to present the fourfold aspect of Christ’s and His glorious coming to earth.

Matthew presents Jesus as King. He was born a King.

Matthew 2:2 “saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.””

Matthew is the only gospel writer that includes the lineage of Christ, and the reason is to show that Jesus is the rightful King. Even as Jesus is hanging on the cursed tree of Calvary, the Romans attest to His Kingship.

Matthew 27:29 “When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!””

Matthew 27:37 “And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS”

Jesus Christ is King. He will one day rule the world in righteousness.

Mark presents Jesus as the Suffering Servant as Jesus suffered for all of mankind.

Luke presents Jesus as the Son of Man. Dr. Luke goes out of his way to present the humanity of Christ as he makes references to Jesus, the boy, maturing into Jesus the Man. He references Jesus’s medical condition in the Garden of Gethsemane, both of which prove the humanity of Christ.

John presents Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus is Man. Jesus is God. He is not half-man and half-God. He is Man, and He is God.

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

It takes all four gospels to identify Christ. He is King. He is our Servant. He is Man, and He is God. When you read the gospels, it is important to keep in mind what each writer is trying to do.

Now, in the Olivet Discourse of Matthew Chaps. 24 & 25, Jesus is speaking of the last things and events that have to do with His Kingship. Matt. Chaps. 24 & 25 have nothing to do with the Church.

Do you remember when we discussed James Ch. 5 that it is important to know if a passage is written to us or for us? The Olivet Discourse is a passage written for the Church but not to the Church.

Since the Church age began, well-meaning Bible students have superimposed the Church into the Olivet Discourse, and the Church has no place in it at all.

Think about it logically. Who is looking for the coming King? The Jews are. Who are Christians looking for? Christians are looking for the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our Bridegroom.

As we have said many times, Jesus Christ should not have been a mystery to the Jews who had been looking for a King for thousands of years.

Did you know that Moses prophesied about the coming Messiah and King?

Deuteronomy 18:15 ““The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,”

Deuteronomy 18:18 “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.”

Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Moses.

Now, Bruce, sincerely, asked me to do a study of all the Old Testament prophecies concerning the birth of Christ or the coming of Christ the first time. Unfortunately, Bruce, I will not be able to do that because there are 333 such prophecies in the Old Testament.

Can you imagine how long it would take me to do a study of 333 prophecies?

Jesus Christ fulfilled the prophecy of Moses, and Matthew Chs. 24 & 25 contain the prophecy of Jesus Christ.

If you read Matt. Ch. 23, you will see that Jesus denounced the Pharisees, and then He went and wept over Jerusalem.

Matthew 23:37–39 ““O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ””

The King’s heart was broken as He wept over Jerusalem. Immediately after saying these words, the questions precipitating the Olivet Discourse are asked by the disciples-questions which arise from what Jesus said in verses 37-39 of Chap. 23.

In Matthew Ch. 23, Jesus pronounces 8 woes to the Scribes and Pharisees, and He closes the chapter by weeping over the city.

What Jesus said and how He confronted the Pharisees caused His disciples to ask Him three serious questions.

The questions are found in the opening verses of Matthew Ch. 24.

Matthew 24:1–3 “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

The disciples’ three questions are:

When SHALL these things be?

When one stone would not be left upon another (Verse 3)

What SHALL be the sign of your coming? (Verses 23-51)

What SHALL be the sign of the end of the age? (Verses 9-22)

There are two important indicators in these questions.

(1) SHALL

Shall indicates a determined outcome.

(2) SIGNS

In the Bible, who requires signs? THE JEWS.

1 Corinthians 1:22 “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:”

TO understand the Jews and signs, read Exodus Chap. 4.

If Jews require signs and Jesus specifically mentions signs, to whom is Jesus addressing the Olivet Discourse? JEWS.

Can I ask you a question?

Are you saved?

Are you a Jew?

If you are saved and you are not a Jew, you are not to be looking for signs, you are to be looking for Jesus.

Too many Christians waste valuable time trying to decipher current events to determine if those events are a sign of anything. Christians are to spend their time living Christlike lives, sharing the Gospel, praying, and loving their fellow man. Christians are not to be looking for signs. Christians are to be looking for Jesus.

Looking for Jesus should cause Christians to live more like the One who is coming for us.

1 John 4:17 “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.”

You and I can have boldness on Judgment Day when we are like Jesus in this world. We will have a confidence that comes from Christ and not from ourselves. We can have confidence in what Christ has done for us. It is a confidence that comes from us letting Christ’s light shine through us, and that light is not shining through when we are too busy looking for signs instead of looking to Christ.

That concludes the building of the front porch, but that front porch was necessary for the understanding of the Olivet Discourse. Next week, we will begin looking at the disciples three questions.