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 280, Matthew 24:19-20a — The End Times: Perilous Times Matthew 24:19-20a (NASB1995) “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter.” Context Matthew 24 contains Jesus’ detailed discourse about the end times and His second coming, answering the disciples’ questions about when the end will come and what sign to look for regarding the end and His coming. Many confuse the events mentioned in vs. 3-13, thinking these are signs of the end. In reality, these events are not signs but merely birthing pangs (v. 8). However, the end has now come with the sign of the abomination of desolation. Review Yesterday, we continued Jesus’ end times discourse and His warnings to flee at the sign of the abomination of desolation. Jesus is again presenting an image of heightened urgency. An immediate, hasty response takes priority over even the most basic possessions and necessities. He gives an example of those lounging on their rooftops and working in the fields who do not have even a second to spare to retrieve the most basic necessities. Many used their flat top roofs as communal spaces with easy access to the inside of their homes, while field laborers rested their cloaks along the field’s edges during their shifts. This might seem like they would have a few moments to gather their things when trouble arose. However, Jesus implies the only practical response to such a tribulation is to heed His words and literally run for your life. Life-threatening danger is coming and the only way to survive is to flee without regard for your possessions and basic needs. Discussion Today, we continue Jesus’ end times discourse and His warnings to flee at the sign of the abomination of desolation. Jesus has been describing the dangers of the coming tribulation and emphasizing the immediate need for His people to flee at the sign of its coming. Along with urgently warning people to flee, He laments for pregnant women, saying, “19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!” In circumstances that require immediate action against tribulation and fleeing from it, the heightened risks to women who are pregnant, nursing, or with small children are evident. Escaping a city’s coming doom by crossing a river and climbing up a mountain into caves is difficult enough on its own. Thus, Jesus compassionately ‘woes’ mothers who will face such difficulties. Notably, this woe varies from His woes against the Pharisees (Mt. 23:13-33), providing a deep sense of sympathy with the women suffering here rather than condemning them like the Pharisees.[1] Furthermore, during Jesus’ trek to Golgotha with the cross in Luke 23:28-29, Jesus says to women lamenting for His life, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’” In that passage, Jesus is speaking about the future calamities that will come upon Jerusalem and the world. These calamities and difficulties do not end with fleeing them, though, as hundreds of thousands of people died from the ensuing famine. Josephus reported many women could not bear the loss of their children during the famine from 66 to 70 A.D., so they either killed them or ate them to survive.[2] It is known that severe famine makes nursing extremely difficult and almost certainly leads to death for the mother and child.[3] As mentioned in vs. 17-18, the need to abandon everything in a moment poses impossible hardship for pregnant women and nursing mothers.[4] Thus, Jesus shares a deep sympathy for the women who will face such difficulty. Jesus then adds another warning, saying, “20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter.” Like the difficulties for a woman traveling with a child, those who must flee during the winter will face similar challenges, as winter provides restricted traveling conditions. Bible scholar R.T. France says, “A refugee’s lot is hard enough without extra impediments. In winter, roads in Palestine were practically impassable with mud.”[5] These winter conditions immobilized the largest armies and made passing small creeks and rivers nearly impossible.[6] Keener notes that “in spring 68 some Jewish fugitives from another city did try to escape the Roman army during the war and, delayed by Jordan’s flooded waters, were mostly slaughtered.”[7] Furthermore, fleeing in the winter without one’s cloak (v. 18) would leave one to suffer the bitter cold without added protection. Thus, many would either freeze to death or starve because of food scarcity.[8] These added warnings reveal just how important it is for Jesus’ followers to heed them. If not, they will face extreme tribulation. Jesus cares for His people and understands the evil horrors that will arise in the end. Thus, He gives us these warnings so that we will know how to avoid and endure them if we can. We will continue Jesus’ end times discourse tomorrow. Application When I first outlined this chapter, I planned to write verses 16-20 as a single post. Well, now these verses will end up being four posts. But I am glad we are diving into each verse in such detail because it is providing such amazing context. While many of us will not face this time of tribulation as it may yet be far into the future, it is still worth remembering Jesus’ warnings in case we do find ourselves facing it. One takeaway from this specific passage is seeing how much sympathy Jesus has for His people. While He does not want to see us endure such terrible atrocities, they are coming. Thankfully, we have our hope in Him that He will deliver us one day from all evil. May we actively look forward to that hopeful redemption and remain vigilant of the times so that we can know to heed Jesus’ words. 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 24:20b. 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] Ibid. [4] O’Donnell, “New International Greek Testament Commentary.” [5] R. T. France, “Tyndale Commentaries.” [6] Keener, “IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Second Edition.” [7] Ibid. [8] O’Donnell, “New International Greek Testament Commentary.”
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