The Gospel of Matthew
When? Mt 24,15-31
Verse 15 begins with "when therefore..." with "therefore" added by Matthew. The reference to the abomination of desolation comes from Daniel 9,27. It refers to the desecration of the Temple, originally by the Greek Emperor. In Matthew's time, this may have been the Emperor Caligula wanting to place a statue of Zeus in the Jerusalem Temple.
The advice of Jesus is to flee when this happens. This advice runs through verses 16-22.
The background story would be the flight of Lot in Genesis (Gen 19,16-22) while the not turning back in verse 18 is a reminder of Lot's wife turning into a pillar of salt (Gen 19,26).
The mention of winter and the sabbath in verse 20 shows just how urgent the flight will be when the time comes.
The earlier warnings about rumours and false advice are then echoed in verses 23 to 27.
Thus the "when" of the Son of Man will be sudden and unexpected. Verse 27 with its reference to lightening recalls the great Exodus experience of God on Mount Sinai (Ex 19,16).
The coming of the Son of Man
The language in verse 29 is typical for the time of judgement as in the prophecy of Joel.
Whereas verse 30 is one of many references to the coming of the Son of Man in the book of Daniel (Dn 7,13-14).
In 1st Thessalonians Paul speaks of the trumpet sounding (1 Thess 4,16).
The Fig Tree: 24,32-36
This section ends with a reminder that leaves on the fig tree are a sign of summer means that we must be able to read the evidence all stated in the discourse.
Song of Songs 2,11-13 is a poetic background.
That he is near is a reminder of the nearness of the day of the Lord, a frequent theme in the OT. The two references from Joel are typical.
The reference to this generation in verse 24 though lacks a clear explanation. Nor must it be explained away.
The second part of Isaiah, Is 40,8 and 55,11, is bracketed by references to the permanence of the word of God. This authority is now that of Jesus in verse 35.
Verse 36 therefore says there will be no answer to the disciples question about when in verse 3. From verse 15, plenty of signs of "when" have been given in the standard language of the time. But there can be no definite timetable.
What this means in practice is the theme which Matthew will now develop.
Return to the main page.