The Olivet Discourse--Part 1

Matthew 24:1-14

24 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, 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?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Few chapters of the Bible have called forth more disagreement among interpreters than Matthew 24 and its parallels in Mark 13 and Luke 21. The history of the interpretation of this chapter is immensely complex." -D.A. Carson 

"The 'Olivet Discourse' is arguably the most difficult and controversial section of the Synoptic Gospels.”  -N.T. Wright 

Interpretation Principles: 

The original audience and historical context come first in determining meaning.

Let Scripture interpret Scripture, allowing clearer passages to help us understand more difficult ones.

Recognize that apocalyptic literature regularly uses symbolic and dramatic language that is not always meant to be taken literally.

Three Major Views: 

      1.) The Preterist View (All past, fulfilled in 70 AD) 

       2.) The Futurist View (All future, won't be fulfilled until 2nd coming)

       3.) The Both/And View (Multiple variations, but see Jesus addressing both events)

 1.) The Solemn Departure (v. 1)

 2.) The Stunning Prediction (v. 2)

 3.) The Searching Question ( v. 3)

 4.) The Steadying Response (vv 4-14) 

The Solemn Departure (v. 1)

Ezekiel 11:23-- “The glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city.”

“Jesus turns his back on the temple whose leadership turned its back on him. The Holiest of Holies leaves. As ‘the glory of the Lord’ left the temple once before and ‘went east’ to the Mount of Olives, so it does now for a final time.” -Dale Bruner 

The Stunning Prediction (v. 2)

Mark 13:1b-- “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings.”

The Searching Question ( v. 3)

Mark 13:4-- “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?”

"Matthew makes explicit what was implicit and what Jesus recognized as implicit in their question." -D.A. Carson 

The Steadying Response (vv 4-14) 

“Apart from The Sign in verse 30, almost all Jesus’ sermonic signs are simply what we know as tempted and persecuted Christian life itself. The signs of the end are not so much decipherable political events, with the signal exception of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, as they are warnings to be level headed, clear thinking, and warmly loving Christians in difficult times. Jesus does not so much charge the air with signs as he charges disciples with sobriety. Jesus’ sermon does not intend to create apocalyptic seers but to create spiritual long distance runners. It does not so much give disciples supernatural knowledge of coming events as it supplies disciples with supernatural endurance for any coming events. Thus in a striking way, Jesus’ signs of the end turn out to be mainly anti signs.” -Dale Bruner 

Don’t be deceived (vv 4-5)

Don’t be afraid (vv 6-8)

Don’t give up (vv 9-13)

“Jesus analogy teaches disciples to join joy to fear. It is going to get worse before it gets better, our Commander-in-Chief tells us, but it is going to get better! A whole new world’s a coming! The worst of times will transmute quickly into the very best of times.” -Dale Bruner 

Don’t stop preaching (v 14) 

Application: Spend some time studying this passage for yourself.