Olivet Discourse: The Questions (Matthew 23:37-24:3)
Jesus concludes His confrontation with the powers that be with a lament for Jerusalem. He tells His disciples of the destruction He knows is coming against the city. (It would be destroyed in about 40 years.)
His disciples in turn ask Him a series of questions. In order to understand the next address—commonly known as the Olivet Discourse, and possibly the second most well-known sermon of Jesus—we need to be clear on what is being asked. What triggers the teaching.
The questions are three, though that may not be clear even to the disciples asking the questions:
1. When will these things be? (The foretold destruction of Jerusalem.)
2. What will the signs of your coming be? (Think about this in context for a minute.)
3. What will the end of the age be like? (What age?)
As you read this, you probably think the disciples are asking about Jesus’ second coming and the end of the world. But there is no way they were thinking about those things. They are concerned with the destruction of the temple that Jesus just mentioned, and His coming in power as the Messiah. Jesus will use their questions to address more than they asked, but a lot of what Jesus is going to talk about are the things that would happen in the year 70, and also things that would happen throughout Church history to come, WITHOUT being signs of the end…
His disciples in turn ask Him a series of questions. In order to understand the next address—commonly known as the Olivet Discourse, and possibly the second most well-known sermon of Jesus—we need to be clear on what is being asked. What triggers the teaching.
The questions are three, though that may not be clear even to the disciples asking the questions:
1. When will these things be? (The foretold destruction of Jerusalem.)
2. What will the signs of your coming be? (Think about this in context for a minute.)
3. What will the end of the age be like? (What age?)
As you read this, you probably think the disciples are asking about Jesus’ second coming and the end of the world. But there is no way they were thinking about those things. They are concerned with the destruction of the temple that Jesus just mentioned, and His coming in power as the Messiah. Jesus will use their questions to address more than they asked, but a lot of what Jesus is going to talk about are the things that would happen in the year 70, and also things that would happen throughout Church history to come, WITHOUT being signs of the end…
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