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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
24:1-25:46 The Delay, Return, and Judgment of Messiah. These two chapters are often called the "Olivet Discourse" because Jesus "sat on the Mount of Olives" (24:3) when he spoke these words. It is the fifth of Jesus' five major discourses recorded in the Gospel of Matthew (see Introduction: Key Themes; Literary Features). Addressed to his disciples, it is intended to give them a prophetic overview of the events to transpire in both the near and distant future.
24:1-14 The Beginning of Birth Pains. Jesus previews the general conditions of the earth, which in some sense characterize the entire age, before he returns: sufferings throughout the world (vv. 4-8), the suffering of his disciples (vv. 9-13), and the preaching of the gospel to all nations (v. 14).
24:1 left the temple. The road from Jerusalem to Bethany, where Jesus and his disciples stay each evening, takes one alongside the Mount of Olives, which affords a spectacular view of the temple in the distance.
24:2 Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in when the Roman army under Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. Not . . . one stone upon another may be intended as a metaphor for total destruction, or it may be understood as something that was literally fulfilled in the destruction of the temple building itself (but not the entire Temple Mount, some of which remains to this day).
24:3 The disciples ask two questions:
24:5 saying, "I am the Christ." Throughout the history of the church, and even today, many have made claims to messianic identity. Jesus' disciples must be on their guard against such people.
24:6-7 wars . . . famines and earthquakes. Such cataclysmic events will be a regular part of this age until the return of Jesus to redeem all of creation.
24:8 Birth pains indicates that there will be a time of suffering prior to the messianic age (cf. Rom. 8:22-23). OT prophets use the metaphor to depict terrible suffering in general (cf. Isa. 13:8; 21:3; 42:14; Jer. 30:5-7; Hos. 13:13) as well as suffering that Israel will endure prior to her deliverance (cf. Isa. 26:17-19; 66:7-11; Jer. 22:23; Mic. 4:9-10).
24:11 false prophets. Deception both from the world and from within the church will be prevalent (1 John 2:18-27; 4:1-6). Disciples must "test the spirits" to determine whether or not they acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah (1 John 2:22; 4:2-3).
