The Olivet Discourse (Introduction)
Matthew Chapter 24
The Olivet Discourse: Future for the Jews, Jerusalem, World
and the Future Coming of Jesus Christ.
If we look at the map of the world, Israel is located in a
strategic position at the crossroads of three continents: Europe, Asia, and
Africa. When Israel was a United Kingdom during the time of King David and
Solomon (1047–930 BCE), “the whole world sought the presence of Solomon to hear
his wisdom, which God has put into his mind” (1 Kings 10:24, ESV).
The prophet Ezekiel says: “Thus says the LORD God: This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the centre of the nations, with countries all around her.” (Eze. 5:5, ESV). In order to understand Matthew chapter 24, we need to read it within the context and interpret it with Jewish lens. In doing so, we observe the following about the city of Jerusalem:
1.
On
this map we can confidently agree that Jerusalem is the geographic centre of
the earth.
2.
Secondly,
it is from Jerusalem that the LORD God brings salvation to the world. It is the
spiritual centre for the whole of human race. It was in Jerusalem that the LORD
God purchased the salvation for all mankind with the righteous blood of His
only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus told the Samaritan woman: “You worship
what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.”
(John 4:22, ESV)
3.
Prophetically,
Jerusalem is the storm centre of the earth. The LORD God told the prophet
Zachariah: “On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the
peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of
the earth will gather against it.” (Zech. 12:3-4, ESV). We are living in an age
when the world think that Israel is the roadblock for peace. And they will
raise against Israel and antisemitism is rampant, but the LORD God says: “He
who touches Israel touches the apple of God’s eye” (Zech. 2:8). In other words,
anyone who touches Israel is harming God.
4.
Ultimately,
Jerusalem will be the glory centre of the earth, as prophetically narrated by
prophet Isaiah, “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of
the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and
shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and
many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the
LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that
we may walk in his path.” (Isa. 2:2-3, ESV).
Therefore, it is fair to say that the full counsel of God
informs us that Israel plays a central piece in God’s economy. Jerusalem is at
the centre of Israel and the temple is at the centre of Jerusalem. When we
start our reading of chapter 24 of the gospel of Matthew, we see Yeshua pronouncing a solemn warning on that very temple to his disciples.
In the previous chapter Yeshua closed His public ministry. He
proclaimed that His return depended upon Israel, as a nation, collectively
believe that He is their Messiah:
Matt. 23:39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until
you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.”
That section also marks the end of Yeshua’s prophetic ministry.
The Messiah holds three offices:
- 1.
Prophet
- 2.
Priest
- 3.
King
He holds the office sequentially. During His first coming,
Jesus held the office of prophet. As the Prophet of the Most High God, He
received direct revelation from God, His Father, and proclaimed God’s will for
his own generation, and predicted future events. In the Sermon of the Mount,
Yeshua proclaimed God’s will for the people of Israel and He expounded on the
righteousness of the Law.
In this last discourse, the Olivet Discourse, Yeshua predicts
future events, both near and far.
With His ascension, Yeshua’s office changed to that of a
priest. He is presently the High Priest in heaven, making intercession for
believers.
So, Yeshua was a priest, He is now a priest, and He will be a
king in a future event, specifically the King of the Jews and of the world,
beginning at His second coming.
The Olivet Discourse deals with the circumstances that will
bring about the functions of the third office of Yeshua, the office of King.
The Historical setting for the Olivet Discourse
It is still Tuesday; Yeshua has publicly denounced the
scribes and pharisees for leading the nation to reject Him as their Messiah and
He spelled out the precondition for His Second Coming.
As He left the Temple compound for the last time, His
disciples pointed out the beauty of the buildings.
Check my post on the Herodian Temple https://www.biblefootprint.com/2025/01/the-temple-of-herod.html
The stones the disciples pointed out are called “Herodian
blocks” and were the largest stones used in construction in Israel in those
days. They averaged about ten to twelve
feet and weighted eight to ten tons and many were much larger and weighing up
to four hundred tons. Today in Israel many of these impressive stones are still
visible, especially on the south and west walls.
Matt. 24:1 Yeshua left the temple and was going away, when his disciples
came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.
To which Yeshua prophesied:
Matt. 24:2 But he answers them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I
say to you, there will not be left there one stone upon another that will not
be thrown down.”
The prophecy was fulfilled literally in forty years from that
day. Yeshua gave the nation of Israel 40 years to repent from rejecting Him as
their Messiah. Yet the nation did no such thing.
The destruction of the temple was so complete that the
Historian Flavius Josephus says that somebody visiting Jerusalem after 70AD
would never have guessed that the city was ever inhabited or that there was a
temple there even though there are archaeological artifacts there today that
proves the presence of the temple at the Temple Mount.
Continue on with our exposition of chapter 24 of Matthew in my next blog. where we see how Yeshua answers the questions of the anxious and oblivious disciples.
Matt. 24:3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives (overlooking the temple
from the east), 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 end
of the age?”
The questions:
1.
When
will these things be?
2.
What
is the sign of your coming?
3.
What
is the sign of the end of the age?
The Greek word for coming in this context is “Parousia” which means “the personal appearance of Yeshua” and we understand that this is referring to the second coming of Yeshua.
The disciples, somehow, they
were so anxious for a physical glory to take place in Israel that they thought Yeshua would take the title of Son of David and claim His Kingship in Jerusalem
at the Passover and thought that the answer to “when” would be in couple of
days during the feast.
The disciples had a different interpretation of the
eschatology, which is the events that will lead up to the culmination of the
end of everything that will lead to the glory of the Kingdom of God on earth. The
signs have been checked and Jesus is now the new King of Israel:
- ü Turmoil had taken place with the
Roman occupation.
- ü A forerunner that will herald the
coming of the King – John the Baptist came.
- ü The Messiah will appear to defeat the
enemies
- ü The scattered Jews from around the
world will return to Israel
- ü Jerusalem will be set-up, and the
kingdom will be brought in geocentrically from the city of Jerusalem.
When Yeshua, their Rabbi, tells them that the temple will be destroyed, the disciples
are now puzzled because the temple in the centre of Jewish worship. Yeshua has
spoken to them three times already in the Gospel of Mathew regarding His death
and His resurrection.
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