Matthew 24:15-31

Matthew 24:15-28 A great period of tribulation and the Second Coming of Jesus

In the previous passage, Jesus warned that the Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed and described the beginnings of a time of trial that Christians would face.  In this passage, he provides more detail.

The reference in verse 15 to the “desolating sacrilege” (NRSV) or “desolating abomination” (NABRE) refers to portions of the prophetic book of Daniel (9:27; 11:31; and 12:11) that describe the event in history in which Antiochus Epiphanes, the king of Syria, profaned the Temple in Jerusalem by setting up a statue of Zeus Olympios in the Temple, in 167 BC.  That action, described in 1 Maccabees 1:54, sparked the Jewish rebellion that temporarily overthrew their oppressors.  (The abomination was removed in 1 Maccabees 6:7.)  Matthew’s readers might also recall another incident, in A.D. 40, in which the Roman Emperor Caligula sought to erect a statue of himself in the Temple but was assassinated before he could carry out the deed.

Matthew appears to be suggesting that the prophecy in Daniel was fulfilled (again) when the Romans desecrated and destroyed the Temple in AD 70.

Jesus is using figurative and metaphorical language to describe events that had not happened yet when he spoke, but that had taken place by the time Matthew wrote: namely, that the Temple would be desecrated, that the Jewish nation would be destroyed, and that the Jewish people would be dispersed.  The next passage, Matthew 24:29-36, looks further into the future to the time of the Second Coming of Jesus, but for Matthew 24:15-22, we need to stay focused on the events of AD 70.  In verses 15-21, what does Jesus tell Christians to do when the desecration of the Temple is imminent?

Here is what actually happened in the years after Jesus spoke.  Jewish rebellions against the Roman Empire became frequent in the AD 60s.  When the Romans decided that they had had enough, the emperor sent an army led by the general and future emperor Titus to end the uprisings once and for all.  Christians mostly fled away from Judea (consistent with what Jesus said they should do).  Huge numbers of Jews instead sought refuge in Jerusalem, thinking that the city, with its thick walls would protect them or that God would protect them because the Temple was there.  When the Romans armies sieged the city in AD 70 and then burned and destroyed the city, hundreds of thousands of Jews perished.  Josephus reported that more than a million people died and nearly 100,000 were enslaved.

God mostly allowed these terrible events to take place without acting to stop them, but verse 22 suggests that God stepped in at one point.  What did God do?

Does God do this in our lives sometimes?  While he allows Christians to face the same kinds of disasters, illnesses, etc. as other people suffer, does he sometimes shorten our times of suffering or lessen our suffering as he stands with us?

As you ponder times when you have endured suffering and prayed fervently for God to ease it, Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 10:13 might be relevant: “No trial has come to you but what is human.  God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” (NABRE).

In verses 23-26, Jesus is shifting the focus to his Second Coming.  That shift in focus become clear in verses 27-30.  He already warned Christians in verse 4 not to be duped, and he warns them again.  What specific danger does he warn them about this time?

He warns them not to believe it when people claim that the Messiah has popped up in some obscure place here or there.

In verses 27-28, he tells them why they should not try to find some obscure appearance of the Messiah.  When Jesus comes at his Second Coming, will it be vague, or will it be obvious?

What is the point of using a lightning bolt as a metaphor for his coming?

Jesus is not saying that there will be a literal bolt of lightning announcing his return.  He is using an analogy to say that his Second Coming will be obvious as a bolt of lightning.  You won’t be able to miss it any more than you can miss a bolt of lightning that flashes all the way from one end of the sky to the other.

Jesus uses a different metaphor in verse 28, and this metaphor often puzzles people.  The Greek word that is often translated as “corpse” can also be translated as “carcass,” and the image would be clearer to us if we used that word: Where the carcass is, the vultures gather.  Jesus is reinforcing the point in verse 27 about paying attention to clear signs.  When vultures circle in the sky, you know there is a carcass nearby – it is a clear sign.  In the same way, it will be clear when the Son of Man comes.

Some translations use the word “eagle’ in place of the word “vulture,” which leads to additional layers of meaning.  The Romans used the eagle as a symbol of the Roman Empire.  When the Romans (eagles) gather around Jerusalem (the eventual carcass), you will know that the time of the city’s end is near (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, fn. to 24:28, p. 51).

Jesus has been using the term “Son of Man” for himself throughout this Gospel, but in verse 27 he uses it in a way that connects it to ideas about the “end times,” when God will decisively intervene in human history.  Jesus draws the term “Son of Man” from the Old Testament prophet Daniel.  In Daniel 7:13, Daniel has a vision of a “son of man” who would come on the clouds of heaven and be given everlasting dominion.

In verses 27-28, Jesus refers to the “coming of the Son of Man,” so now he is talking about the Second Coming.  What do verses 27-28 tell us about efforts to study obscure signs and vague timelines in order to figure out when Jesus is coming?  Do we need to do that, or will the signs be clear when his return is near?

In verse 27, Jesus refers to the “coming” of the Son of Man.  The Greek word is parousia (usually pronounced pah-roo-SEE-uh), which means “coming” or “arrival.”  Matthew is the only Gospel writer who uses this word, and he uses it only in verses 1, 27, 37, and 39 of this chapter.  Paul also uses this word in reference to Jesus’s Second Coming in 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians, and James and 1 John also use it in the same way.  In this study, I have been using the term “Second Coming” of Jesus for the parousia of the Son of Man.

Why is the “coming of the Son of Man” important?

Note: Some scholars argue that the main subject of this chapter is the destruction of the Temple, and almost none of it is about the Second Coming.  At the other extreme, some scholars claim that this chapter as primarily about the Second Coming, not about the destruction of Jerusalem.  Furthermore, people in this second group reject the idea that the language is primarily metaphorical and argue that it should be read as a literal description of what will happen (reading it even more literally than they probably read many other verses of Scripture).  The more balanced approach we are taking here, in keeping with Jesus’s other figurative language, is consistent with the broad mainstream of scholars, including both Catholic scholars such as Harrington (pp. 94-97) and scholars with deep evangelical roots such as H. L. Ellison (1146-1147).  In this approach, Matthew 24:4-14 stands as warning to Christians of all time periods, Matthew 24:15-22 is about the destruction of the Temple, and then Jesus makes a shift toward the Second Coming that becomes clear in verses 27-41.

Matthew 24:29-31 The Son of Man (Jesus) will come in glory

Jesus has just told his disciples that when (referring to himself) the Son of Man comes, it will be obvious.  Now he describes what it will look like.

What does Jesus say will happen when the Son of Man appears?

As with most prophetic language and Jesus’s earlier words in this chapter, we should understand that this is metaphorical language.  It could happen literally as described – God is capable of anything – but will the sun literally be darkened or is this metaphorical language describing how it will feel to those who experience it?  There is no way we can know, but much of Jesus’s language has been metaphorical.

Recall that in verse 3, the disciples asked Jesus what will be the “sign” of his coming and the end of the age.  Now, in verse 30, he identifies the “sign,” but the sign is none other than himself.  What does Jesus say about the “sign”?

He says that “the sign of the Son of Man will appear” (NRSV and NABRE) and they will see the Son of Man coming – in other words: the Son of Man himself will be the sign.  His coming will be the sign of his coming.  This is consistent with his repeated warning not to be led astray by other “signs.”

In verse 30, Jesus says that the Son of Man is the sign.  In other words, if someone asks you what will be the sign that the Jesus has come back, the answer is: His coming will tell you, and you’ll know it when it happens.  This statement should discourage us from empty speculation about the “signs” of his coming.  He is saying clearly here that you will know.  What does this tell you about how much effort you should put into trying to figure out the “signs” of the Second Coming?

Most of the evocative language Jesus uses in this passage is language that appears in similar forms in the Old Testament in passages often described as being about “the Day of the Lord.”  Jesus uses phrases that appear in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Amos, Haggai, and Zechariah.

The things Jesus says here are best interpreted as more symbolic than literal, like the metaphors he has used in his parables and in his descriptions of the kingdom of heaven.  It is unlikely that purely naturalistic language about the sun, moon, stars, and clouds can adequately describe the supra-natural event of eternity breaking decisively into time, and Jesus clearly doesn’t want us to waste time trying to figure out what are the signs when we should be focused on what he talks about in the rest of this chapter: whether we are will be ready.

Every generation has had people who think their time is the time when Jesus is returning.  For 80 generations now, they have been wrong.  One might wonder if some people have wasted an inordinate amount of time looking for signs that weren’t there rather than giving their time to fulfilling Jesus’s clear commands in the Gospel of Matthew.

What does Jesus say the Son of Man will do when he comes?

Who do you think his “elect” are (verse 31)?  Considering the things Jesus has told his people to do through this Gospel, what do you think a person must do to be counted among the “elect”?

See Faith Versus Works: What Does the Gospel of Matthew Say for a discussion of what Jesus expects of those who wish to be counted among the “elect.”

Given that Jesus is speaking in figurative or metaphorical language rather than giving us a script for the Second Coming, what do you think are the key points he wants us to take from this passage that can be useful in our lives?

Among the key points he is making are these (and there are probably more):

1.     He is coming back, so be ready for it.

2.     It will be obvious when he comes back.

3.     He has all power and holds the future of the world in his hands, so we can take courage when life is hard.

Take a step back and consider this:

It has been 2,000 years since Jesus told us that he will return, and it could be hundreds or thousands of years more before he actually does return.  However, we all will face our own encounter with the Son of Man at our death, and that will be a moment as clear and decisive as Jesus says his Second Coming will be. 

What do you think you need to be doing to be ready for his coming, whether it is at the end of the world or at the end of your life?