Hey everybody! Thank you for joining me in daily Bible reading as we seek to glorify Jesus, know Him more, and interpret the truth of His Word.
If this is your first time going through the Bible, I am incredibly excited to have you here. If this is your 5000th time, I am humbled that you are here and hope you grow in your relationship with Jesus along with me. May we all seek to know Him more and apply what we learn to further our mission of spreading the gospel. If you missed a day and want to catch up, visit the archives page HERE! But there is no shame if you start today! Day 269, Matthew 24:9 — The End Times: Second Coming Signs Matthew 24:9 (NASB1995) “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.” Context Matthew 24 contains Jesus’ lengthy, detailed discourse about the end times and His second coming. It comes just after a debate with the religious leaders (21:23-22:46) and His seven woes of judgment against them for their unbelief and hypocrisy (23:1-33). Following a final lament over Jerusalem that includes God’s abandonment and judgment for their rejection of Christ (23:37-39), Jesus leaves the temple with the twelve. They then ask Him when the end will come and what sign to look for regarding the end and His coming, leading to His lengthy reply. Review Yesterday, we continued Jesus’ end times discourse and read about global calamities that have ravaged the world since the beginning of creation. These calamities include wars, rumors of wars, and various natural disasters that Jesus calls ‘birthing pangs.’ Violence and death will unfold around the world and lead many to believe the end of the age and His coming near. However, these wars and catastrophes are not signs the end is near. In reality, Jesus says the opposite is true. While this unrest can make one believe the end is coming, Jesus tells us not to be frightened by such talk and events and that the end has not yet come. Those who propose such events and calamities as apocalyptic signs disobey Jesus and potentially lead people astray. Thus, they become the very people Jesus warns about. From the very beginning of creation, the earth suffers these birthing pangs as we await our Messianic redemption and the world to come. The reality of these words shows us that birthing pangs do not represent 'closeness' to birth, especially in this eschatological context. Thus, these global calamities are not signs of the end. Instead, they are the earth's groaning for the new world to come. Discussion Today, we continue Jesus’ end times discourse and read about the severe persecution that comes against followers of Jesus. Notably, Mark’s account of Jesus’ discourse orders this section of verses (Mk. 13:9-13) differently than Matthew does (Mt. 24:9-14). Matthew provides more of a general outline regarding these persecutions, while Mark gives more detailed examples. Matthew writes, “9 Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.” Jesus warned the twelve about the persecution they would face for following Him during His missional instructions in Matthew 10:16-23. In that passage, Jesus describes their persecution nearly verbatim to how Mark 13:9 does. In this passage, Matthew mentions they will be handed over but does not provide specific details about who will hand them over or what the persecution will involve, other than death. However, Matthew 10:17 and Mark 13:9 both suggest that fellow members of the Jewish community will probably be the ones to deliver them over.[1] Mark 13:9 says, “But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.” We detailed floggings on Day 109. We learned synagogues were commonplace for public assembly and provided a natural location for judicial hearings and punishment, which included floggings. Normally, floggings included thirteen lashings across the breast and twenty-six on the back with a strap of calf leather, leaving the defendant agonizingly pained and brutally injured.[2] Notably, when Matthew mentions “tribulation” in v. 9, he is speaking of the various physical persecutions and oppression they will face—similar to what we just read in Mark. There is some confusion surrounding the use of tribulation in this verse, as some argue that Matthew is already speaking about The Great Tribulation. However, one cannot interpret it this way when Matthew separates this tribulation from the “great tribulation” described in v. 21. While the Greek word used for tribulation is the same in each reference, Matthew clearly distinguishes them. We will see this difference when we discuss The Great Tribulation further in the coming days. The “tribulation” in today’s verse entails the various persecutions from the ruling Jewish authorities who hunted down and executed many Christians throughout the first few centuries following Jesus’ death and resurrection. It especially includes the first few decades of the early church that Paul and other New Testament authors write about as well. Every one of the twelve disciples will face severe persecution and die torturous, brutal deaths for their devout faith in Jesus. Notably, ancient records report that Matthew himself died while evangelizing in Ethiopia. However, conflicting records exist regarding how he was executed exactly.[3] Most sources suggest he was dragged through the streets by horses and then impaled by a sword through the stomach.[4] Regardless, his fate was just as Jesus prophesied. The rest of this verse speaks about the scope of persecution toward Christ's followers as “all nations” will seek to destroy them. Notably, we find this exact verbiage word-for-word in Matthew 10:22. However, Matthew’s addition of “all nations” reveals that this hatred will not come from just Jews, but from Gentiles and others wherever they go for their bold profession of Christ.[5] The Romans rained severe terror upon those who remained faithful to Jesus, which some argue was the great tribulation in 70 A.D. when they destroyed Jerusalem. However, Matthew intends this persecution here to come on a global scale, not just from Roman oppression. Thus, Jesus’ point is that those who decide to put their faith in Him will face such troubles until He returns. However, these troubles do not signify the end is near—they simply reveal the normal danger and tribulation that comes with following Him. We will continue Jesus’ end times discourse tomorrow. Application There is no sugarcoating the hate that Christians receive throughout the world. While we do not see it in the U.S., there are millions of Christ followers around the world suffering for their faith. It is difficult to fathom barbaric persecution as we find in Scripture and other ancient writings, but these threats are real and happening daily. The thought of facing such persecution sounds terrifying, but Jesus tells us to not fear such things. While man may kill the body, God provides either eternal life or death to the soul. We must always focus on Christ and the hope we have in Him, regardless of the severity of our circumstances. I have recently recognized how soft many Christians are in evangelism. We do not like to be uncomfortable or to step on people’s toes. We care too much about what people think and being liked. However, that is exactly the opposite of how Jesus tells us the world should react to us. This does not mean showing the love and grace of Christ should always result in hate, but that a faithful life in submission to Christ should often ruffle feathers, especially among the unbelieving and unrepentant. May we remain faithful to Christ despite any pushback of hate we receive from the world. May we respond with love and loyalty to Christ when people hate us because of Him. May we focus on our hope in Him rather than our circumstances. May we repent for failing to endure such trials in submission to Jesus. May we faithfully endure to the end. May we praise, worship, honor, and glorify Jesus every day in all that we do while continually pursuing righteousness, holiness, and forgiveness as He forgave us. Looking Ahead Thank you for joining today’s daily Bible reading! Next, we read Matthew 24:10. I hope you join me! I have made commenting available, so please feel free to discuss the reading and ask questions. If you do not want to discuss publicly, you can reach out to me privately. We are on this journey together. References [1] Doug O’Donnell, “New International Greek Testament Commentary.” [2] Craig Keener, “IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition.” [3] Dave Guill, “The Life and Death of Matthew the Tax Collector.” June 28, 2023. https://learningfromchrist.com/the-life-and-death-of-matthew-the-apostle/. [4] Ibid. [5] O’Donnell, “New International Greek Testament Commentary.”
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