If you've been reading along with Matthew's gospel to this point you know that Jesus is saying all these things in the last couple days before the crucifixion. Jesus and his rag tag bunch of countryside followers have come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Some, perhaps many, of those who had come with Jesus had never seen Jerusalem before. To their inexperienced eyes the city must have been enormous and magnificent. By today's standards Jerusalem was laughably small. Estimates of Jerusalem's population in Jesus' day vary widely. Probably close to accurate is archaeologist Hillel Geva who puts the population around 20,000. While many people lived outside the walls, the walled city itself covered on 220 acres. To put that into perspective, that's less than 1/10th the size of Canandaigua. Nevertheless, to people from the countryside Jerusalem was gigantic. Jesus' followers probably gawked like tourists seeing New York City for the first time.
What was truly impressive in first century Jerusalem was the temple complex. While the temple itself wasn't much, decades of construction had made the complex around it able to rival anything in the Roman empire. Jesus' followers were certainly impressed. The temple was believed to be God's dwelling place. God's house was magnificent! It looked like it was permanent and everlasting - as it was believed to be.
What does it all look like to Jesus eyes? We discover that in 23:37-39. Jesus laments what he sees. I believe that sets the tone for all that follows in Chapter 24. Many read this chapter and see predictions for the future. Jesus predicts the destruction of the city, and ultimately the end of the world. Many people love to let their speculations and imaginations run wild with scenes like these. But such thoughts are probably not helping our faith develop or guiding our lives for the present.
If you haven't read the verses yet go ahead and read them.
I want to point out one detail before we look at the whole. 24:15 says, "So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing int he holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel..." What is this desolation sacrilege? Originally it referred to an altar to the Greek God Zeus set up in the Jerusalem temple in 167 B.C.E. by Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. But it came to refer to other things too. What Matthew is most likely referring to is the presence of Roman general Titus in the temple in 70 C.E. and his orders to destroy it and the city.
On the whole the predictions Jesus gives here refer to events that happened with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. When people insist they predict events yet to come they are missing Matthew's point. I think it is very important to note that Matthew and his original readers were certain the world would end soon - very soon. That idea flows through much of the New Testament. I see little point in trying to wiggle out of this. I think it is best to just accept that many of the New Testament's authors felt that the end of time would be soon, but their anticipation was incorrect.
Few of us live with the feeling that the end of time will be soon. But that does not mean Jesus' teachings should be ignored. Vigilance remains important. There is no room for complacency in faith. Those who seek signs so as to be a step ahead in understanding what God is doing are missing the point. Everything is in God's hands. Nothing you nor I can do is going to change that!
I find it helpful to realize that persecutions, wars, desolations, and more have happened in the past. They will continue to happen in the future. They should not frighten us overly much. Look to our faith ancestors that we meet in the Bible. Despite uncertainties and calamities they continued on in their work.
I don't believe "preparing" for the end means looking for signs, or quitting your job, or checking out of society. It means continuing the work that God is calling you to do. It means continuing to be loving even when it isn't easy. It means doing what is right even when it hurts. It means working to build up all people even when there is no reward for it.
God holds the future, and us, securely. Whenever everything seems to be falling apart know that God is still at work and still in control.
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