We are in the homestretch of Matthew, here, and once again two question- by Jesus and by the Disciples- frame for us a simple message. In order, they are:
Mat 24:2 But he answered them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down."
Mat 24:3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?"
Mat 24:45 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?
Question one from Jesus in v2 was in reference of the awe and impression the Disciples held the buildings of the Temple. Jesus answered with a prophecy, and it's one we KNOW was perfectly fulfilled within 40 years- when the Jewish rebellion against Rome was crushed, and the Temple was torn down brick by brick to find the gold they heard was hidden within. Now, the Disciples on hearing this, gathered that Jesus meant that this would happen at the end of the world, because of the Jews' imperfect understanding of passages like in Zechariah 9...
Zec 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zec 9:10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
...where it is shown that the Jesus they knew was going to have 2 different ministries, and the second, conquering one would be at some future date. Or Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy, in which
Dan 9:26 And after sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. And the people of the ruler who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And the end of it shall be with the flood, and ruins are determined, until the end shall be war.
So then, Jesus begins to describe a future time which sounded a lot like their current time. Which was absolutely right, because then Jesus said, "All these are the beginning of sorrows." False Messiahs, wars, plagues, and earthquakes would hit that seemed like the end of the world- but they were going to be the NORM for the world. And they would pass through all this- just as we are- including many times that "iniquity shall abound, the love of many will become cold..." (v12). But two more things would have to happen. First, the Gospel would have to be preached to ALL the world (v14)- an ongoing task- and the Temple would have to be rebuilt after its destruction...
Mat 24:15 Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand).
Mat 24:16 Then let those in Judea flee into the mountains.
Mat 24:17 Let him on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house;
Mat 24:18 nor let him in the field turn back to take his clothes.
Mat 24:19 And woe to those who are with child, and to those who give suck in those days!
Mat 24:20 But pray that your flight is not in the winter, nor on the sabbath day;
Mat 24:21 for then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And unless those days should be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened.
You cannot have the 'abomination that makes desolate'- which had happened once before, when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed to Zeus on the altar- without a Temple in which it has to occur. Thus, we know that day hasn't come yet.
However, we HAVE seen the day of that first prophecy- the seemingly (to the Disciples) contradictory one about the Temple being destroyed- so we know, if He got that one right, all the terrible things of the Tribulation will as well. This is when Jesus asked that second question, and then answers it:
Mat 24:44 Therefore you also be ready, for in that hour you think not, the Son of Man comes.
Mat 24:45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord has made ruler over His household, to give them food in due season?
Mat 24:46 Blessed is that servant whom his Lord shall find him doing so when He comes.
Mat 24:47 Truly I say to you that He shall make him ruler over all His goods.
Mat 24:48 But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delays His coming,
Mat 24:49 and shall begin to strike his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken,
Mat 24:50 the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he does not look for Him, and in an hour which he does not know.
So now, in our times, we look at a Church that has done very well at vv49-50, maybe not so well at vv 44-46. And that is another point- "Church" is not a 'club' you belong to, it is not a ritual you observe, it is a LIFE YOU LEAD. Therefore, be ready!
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