The Gospel of Matthew
What sign? Mt 24,3-14
The beginning of the discourse recalls 5,1, the opening of the Sermon on the Mount which like this final discourse is set on a mountain. 18,1 is the beginning of the fourth discourse which like this one opened with the disciples asking Jesus a question.
The Mount of Olives is the traditional place where the Messiah was expected to appear, Zech 14,1-5.
Matthew widens the audience to all the disciples; Mark restricts the audience to just the four key disciples.
The disciples' questions of "what?" and "when?" speak first of the coming of Jesus, the parousia being the accepted word for this. In the Gospels, the word occurs only in this chapter of Matthew .
The disciples then also ask about the end of the age as in 28,20. Some translations may speak incorrectly of the end of the world. "Fulfillment" might be a better translation than "end" which is the word used in verses 6 and 14.
Jesus begins his answer in 24,4 as a lengthy monologue. His first emphasis is on not being led astray. Here there is a specfic reference to the Messiah.
Verses 6 to 8 then describe a variety of earthly calamaties. The language is stereotypical with some OT echoes.
Verses 9 to 13 have been written from Mark (Mk 13,9,-13) so as to show opposition and hatred arising within the Christian community as a consequence of persecution. "Handed over" means sharing the fate of Jesus (20,18).
Verse 10 speaks of a stumbling block as in 18,6-7.
"Love going cold" in verse 12 echoes the "loss of the love you had at first" found in the letter to Ephesus in the Apocalypse (Ap 2,4).
Verse 14 anticipates the final scene on the mountain (28,19) where the Gospel is to be preached to all the nations.
And then the end will come.
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