Matthew 24: The End as the Disciples Imagined and the End as Jesus Imagined
Matthew 24: The End as the Disciples Imagined and the End as Jesus Imagined
6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
9 "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Jesus often sighed and sometimes wept at the thought of Jerusalem, expressing his distress with harsh words. Jerusalem would pay the price for its actions, whether those consequences were visible in human history or not. The editor of Matthew experienced the downfall of Jerusalem and understood it as the cost of the hypocrisy Jesus had warned about. In times of turmoil, deceivers emerge in both politics and religion. There are those who perform miracles and claim to be the Christ. The disciples wanted to know the signs of such apocalyptic disasters, hoping to avoid them. However, knowing the signs in advance wouldn't spare them from disaster. Jesus determined their fate, saying, "You will be hated by all nations because of my name, and some of you may even be killed." Yet, Jesus insisted that this was not the end. Unlike his disciples, who were concerned with the signs and inevitability of the end, Jesus was interested in what conclusion the end would bring. While acknowledging that disasters could be signs, he firmly stated that they were not the end. The end comes when the gospel of the kingdom is preached throughout the whole world. This is the culmination of Jesus' ministry. To paraphrase the prophecy of Jeremiah, the end comes when the kingdom of heaven is engraved in people's hearts. Jesus wished for Jerusalem to witness such an end. Even if all cannot endure and the temple itself is trampled and falls, the kingdom of heaven must come upon Jerusalem for Jesus' ministry to be concluded. While the disciples were curious about the signs of the end, Jesus set his heart on the conclusion of the end. This is Jesus' determination as he weeps over the hypocritical Jerusalem. As the saying goes, "All's well that ends well," Jesus looks forward to such a miraculous conclusion. Who could endure the disasters of the end? Yet, Jesus has no intention of giving up his resolve (verse 13). This is the gospel for the descendants of Jerusalem.