CHAPTER 24. THE APOCALYPTIC DISCOURSE. This chapter and its synoptical parallels (Mark 13; Luke 21) present, in many respects, the most difficult problem in the evangelic records. Many questions may be, have been, asked concerning this discourse on things to come. Which of the three versions comes... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐξελθὼν, going out from the temple, within whose precincts the foregoing anti-Pharisaic manifesto had been spoken. The position assigned to ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ before the verb, ἐπορ. in the best MSS., suggests connection with ἐξελθὼν. Some, however (Weiss, Schanz, etc.), insist that the words must be take... [ Continue Reading ]
_Introduction_ (_cf._ Mark 13:1-4; Luke 21:5-7).... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ δὲ ἀποκ., _but_, adversatively. He answered, in a mood entirely different from theirs. οὐ βλέπετε; do you not see all these things? = you ask me to look at them, let me ask you in turn to take a good look at them. ταῦτα : these _things_, not buildings, implying indifference to the splendours admir... [ Continue Reading ]
n interval of silence would naturally follow so stern a speech. This verse accordingly shows us Jesus with His disciples now on the other side of the Kidron, and sitting on the slope of Olivet, with face turned towards Jerusalem; Master and disciples sitting apart, and thinking their own thoughts. S... [ Continue Reading ]
_Signs prelusive of the end_. (Mark 13:5-13; Luke 21:8-19). Matthew 24:4. βλέπετε : again (_vide_ Matthew 24:2), but here = see to it, take heed. _Cf._ Hebrews 3:12. πλανήσῃ, lest any one _deceive_ you; striking the practical ethical keynote of the whole discourse: its aim not to gratify curiosity,... [ Continue Reading ]
πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐλεύσονται, etc., the _first_ omen the advent of _pseudo-Messiahs_. This first mentioned, quite naturally. Ruin of Jerusalem and the nation will come through revolt against Rome, and the deepest cause of revolt will be the _Messianic hope_ as popularly understood. Volcanic outbursts of Me... [ Continue Reading ]
_econd sign: wars_. πολέμους καὶ ἀκοὰς π.: vague phrase suitable to the prophetic style, not _ex eventu_; well rendered in A. V [132] “wars and rumours of wars” = wars near and remote (Bengel, Meyer), or better: “actual and threatened” (Speaker's _Com._). The reference is not to wars anywhere in the... [ Continue Reading ]
urther development of the war-portent, possibly here the prophetic range of vision widens beyond the bounds of Palestine, yet not necessarily. In support of limiting the reference to Palestine Kypke quotes from Josephus words describing the zealots as causing strife between people and people, city a... [ Continue Reading ]
πάντα δὲ : yet all these but a beginning of pains. It is not necessary to find here an allusion to the Rabbinical idea of the birth pangs of Messiah, but simply the use of a natural and frequent Biblical emblem for distress of any sort. As to the date of the Rabbinical idea _vide_ Keil. The _beginni... [ Continue Reading ]
θλίψιν, from θλίβω, originally pressure (στένωσις, Hesychius), in N. T. tropical, pressure from the evils of life, affliction. Again in Matthew 24:29, in reference to the Jewish people. The apostles also are to have their _thlipsis_. ἀποκτενοῦσιν ὑμᾶς, they will kill you. Luke 21:16 has “some of you... [ Continue Reading ]
_Third sign_, drawn from apostolic experiences. This passage Weiss regards as an interpolation into the prophetic discourse by Matthew following Mark. It certainly resembles Matthew 10:17-22 (much less, however, than the corresponding passage in Mk.), and individual phrases may be interpolations: bu... [ Continue Reading ]
σκανδαλισθήσονται : natural sequel of apostolic tribulation, many weak Christians made to stumble (_vide_ Matthew 13:21); this followed in turn by mutual treachery and hatred (καὶ ἀλλήλους, etc.).... [ Continue Reading ]
ψευδοπροφῆται, false prophets. The connection requires that these should be within the Christian community (otherwise in Matthew 24:24), giving false presentations of the faith with corrupt motives. A common feature in connection with new religious movements (_vide_ on Matthew 7:15).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀνομίαν. Weiss and Holtzmann (H. C.) take this in the specific sense of antinomianism, a libertine type of Christianity preached by the false prophets or apostles, the word in that sense of course to be credited to the evangelist. The word as used by Christ would naturally bear the general sense of... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ ὑπομείνας, he that endureth; the verb used absolutely without object. The noun ὑπομονή is another of the great words of the N. T. Love and Patience, primary virtues of the Christian: doing good, bearing ill. The endurance called for is not merely in love (Fritzsche), but in the faith and life of a... [ Continue Reading ]
asserts the same thing with regard to the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom: time for preaching it in the whole world, o all nations, before the end. Assuming that the terminus is the same this statement seems inconsistent with that in Matthew 10:23. But the aim is different in the two cases. O... [ Continue Reading ]
_The end at last_ (Mark 13:14-20; Luke 21:20-24). ὅταν οὖν, when _therefore_, referring partly to the preceding mention of the end, partly to the effect of the whole preceding statement: “This I have said to prevent premature alarm, not, however, as if the end will never come; it will, when therefor... [ Continue Reading ]
οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἰ., those in Judaea who have no part in the struggle, with special reference to disciples of Jesus. There would naturally be some in the city, therefore the counsel to fly must refer to a point of time antecedent to the commencement of the siege. ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη, to the mountains outside of Juda... [ Continue Reading ]
ividly express the urgency of the flight. ὁ ἐπὶ τ. δ., etc., the man on the house top must fly without stopping to get articles of value in the house down the outside stair and off. τὰ ἐκ τ. οἰκ., elliptical = the things in his house, from his house. ὁ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, let the man in the field, on hearin... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:19-20 describe the pathos of the situation: woe to women with child, hey cannot get rid of their burden; and to women nursing, they cannot abandon their children as men can their money or their clothes (διὰ τὸν δεσμὸν τῆς φύσεως, Euthy. _Cf._ Chrys. and Theophy.). A touch this worthy of J... [ Continue Reading ]
προσεύχεσθε, etc. (ἵνα μὴ with subjunctive instead of infinitive as often in N. T. after verbs of exhorting, etc.), pray that your flight be not in winter (χειμῶνος, gen. time in wh.) or on the _Sabbath_ (σαββάτῷ, dat., pt. of time). The Sabbatarianism of this sentence is a sure sign that it was not... [ Continue Reading ]
represents it as unparalleled before or after, n terms recalling those of Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:22 as intolerable but for the shortness of the agony. ἐκολοβώθησαν (from κολοβός, κόλος, mutilated) literally to cut off, _e.g._, hands or feet, as in 2 Samuel 4:12; here figuratively to cut short the t... [ Continue Reading ]
_he extremity of the distress_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_False Christs again_ (Mark 13:21-23; Luke 17:23-24; Luke 17:37).... [ Continue Reading ]
ψευδόχριστοι, in the same sense as in Matthew 24:5; there referred to as the cause of all the trouble, here as promising deliverance from the trouble they, or their like, have created. What would one not give for a Deliverer, a Messiah at such a dire crisis! The demand would create the supply, men o... [ Continue Reading ]
ἰδοὺ π. ὑ., emphatic _nota bene_, showing that there will be real danger of misplaced fatal confidences. Hence further expatiation on the topic in Matthew 24:26-28 in graphic, pithy, laconic speech.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, a likely place for a Christ to be (Moses, Israel's first deliverer). μὴ ἐξέλθητε, go not out (_cf._ Matthew 11:7-9). ἐν τοῖς ταμείοις (_vide_ Matthew 6:6), in the secret chambers, the plural indicating the kind of place, not any particular place. Both expressions in the desert, in the s... [ Continue Reading ]
ὥσπερ γὰρ, etc.: the coming of the true Messiah, identified with the Son of Man, compared to the lightning, to suggest a contrast between Him and the false Christs as to _visibility_, and enforce the counsel to pay no heed to those who say: He is here, or He is there.... [ Continue Reading ]
πτῶμα, carcase, as in Matthew 14:12, _q.v._ ἀετοί, eagles, doubtless the carrion vultures are meant. The reference of this proverbial saying, as old as the book of Job (Job 39:30), in this place is not clear. In the best text it comes in without connecting particle, the γὰρ of T. R. being wanting. I... [ Continue Reading ]
εὐθέως. Each evangelist expresses himself here in his own way, Lk. most obviously adapting his words to suit the fact of a _delayed parusia_. Mt.'s word naturally means: immediately, following close on the events going before, the _thlipsis_ of Jerusalem. One of the ways by which those to whom εὐθέω... [ Continue Reading ]
_The coming of the Son of Man_ (Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-28). Thus far the eschatological discourse has been found to bear on the predicted tragic end of Jerusalem. At this point the παρουσία, which, according to the evangelist, was one of the subjects on which the disciples desired information, be... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ τότε. Amid the general crash what longing would arise in Christian hearts for the presence of the Christ! To this longing the announcement introduced by these words “and _then_ ” responds. τὸ σημεῖον τ. υἱ. τ. ἀ. The question what is this sign has greatly perplexed commentators, who make becomin... [ Continue Reading ]
μετὰ σάλπιγγος φ. μ., with a trumpet of mighty sound, another stock phrase of prophetic imagery (Isaiah 27:13). καὶ ἐπισυνάξουσι τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς α., and they (the angels or messengers) shall collect _the elect_ (as in Matthew 24:22; Matthew 24:24), showing that the advent is described in terms suited... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀπὸ τῆς συκῆς, etc., from the fig tree learn its parable, rapid condensed speech befitting the tense state of mind; learn from that kind of tree (article generic) the lesson it can teach with regard to the moral order: Tender branch, young leaf = summer nigh. Schott, _Comm. Ex. Dog_., p. 125, render... [ Continue Reading ]
_Parabolic close_ (Mark 13:28-32; Luke 21:29-33).... [ Continue Reading ]
οὕτως κ. ὑ, so do ye also when ye see all these things, recognise that it is nigh, at the doors. What are “these things”? what “it”? The former are the things mentioned in Matthew 24:15-21 (ὅταν οὖν ἴδητε, Matthew 24:15), the latter is the παρουσία.... [ Continue Reading ]
Solemn assurance that the predicted will come to pass. πάντα ταῦτα is most naturally taken to mean the same things as in Matthew 24:33, he main subject of the discourse, the impending destruction of the Jewish state. Jesus was quite certain that they would happen within the then living generation (ἡ... [ Continue Reading ]
eclaration similar to that in chap. Matthew 5:18 concerning the validity of the law.... [ Continue Reading ]
περὶ δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης καὶ τῆς ὥρας, of that day and hour. The reference is to the coming of the Son of Man, the expression throughout the N. T. having the value of an “indisputable fixed _terminus technicus_,” Weiffenbach, _Wiederkunftsgedanke_, p. 157. οὐδεὶς οἶδεν, no one knows, a statement m... [ Continue Reading ]
αἱ ἡμέραι τ. Νῶε, the history of Noah used to illustrate the uncertainty of the _Parusia_.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Watch therefore_ (_cf._ Luke 17:26-30; Luke 17:34-36).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἦσαν with the following participles is not an instance of the periphrastic imperfect. It rather stands by itself, and the particles are descriptive predicates. Some charge these with sinister meaning: τρώγοντες, hinting at gluttony because often used of beasts, though also, in the sense of eating, o... [ Continue Reading ]
οὐκ ἔγνωσαν, they did not know, scil., that the flood was coming till it was on them.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 24:40-41 graphically illustrate the suddenness of the _Parusia_. εἷς εἷς (Matthew 24:40) instead of εἷς ἑτέρος, o μία μία in Matthew 24:41. Of these idioms Herrmann in _Viger_ (p. 6) remarks: “Sapiunt Ebraismum”. παραλαμβάνεται, ἀφίεται, one is taken, one left. The reference may either be to... [ Continue Reading ]
γρηγορεῖτε, watch, a frequently recurring exhortation, implying not merely an uncertain but a delayed _Parusia_, tempting to be off guard, and so making such repeated exhortations necessary. ποίᾳ ἡμέρᾳ, on what sort of a day, early or late; so again in Matthew 24:43, at what sort of a watch, seasona... [ Continue Reading ]
γινώσκετε, observe, _nota bene_. εἰ ᾔδει : supposition contrary to fact, therefore verbs in prot. and apod. indicative. ὁ κλέπτης, admirably selected character. It is the thier's business to keep people in the dark as to the time of his coming, or as to his coming at all. οἰκοδεσπότης suggests the i... [ Continue Reading ]
_Two parables: the Thief_ and _the Two Servants_, enforcing the lesson: Watch!... [ Continue Reading ]
τίς, who, taken by Grotius, Kuinoel, Schott, etc. = εἴ τις, _si quis_, supposing a case. But, as Fritzsche points out, the article before π. δοῦλος is inconsistent with this sense. πιστὸς, φρόνιμος : two indispensable qualities in an upper servant, trusty and judicious. θεραπείας (T. R.), service =... [ Continue Reading ]
answers the question by felicitation. μακάριος, mplying that the virtue described is rare (_vide_ on chap. Matthew 5:3): a rare servant, who is not demoralised by delay, but keeps steadfastly doing his duty. ἐπὶ π. τ. ὑπάρχουσι, this one among a thousand is fit to be put in charge of the whole of hi... [ Continue Reading ]
he other side of the picture ἐὰν δὲ … ἐκεῖνος : not the same individual, but a man placed in the same _post_ (“cui eadem provincia sit demandata,” Schott). χρονίζει (again in Matthew 25:5): the servant begins to reflect on the fact that his lord is late in coming, and is demoralised. ἄρξηται, he (no... [ Continue Reading ]
ἥξει : the master comes at last, and of course he will come unexpected. The delay has been so long that the unworthy servant goes on his bad way as if the master would never come at all.... [ Continue Reading ]
διχοτομήσει, he will cut him in sunder as with a saw, an actual mode of punishment in ancient times, and many commentators think that this barbarous penalty is seriously meant here. But this can hardly be, especially as in the following clause the man is supposed to be still alive. The probable mean... [ Continue Reading ]