Gospel according to Saint Matthew, commented on verse by verse

Chapter 24

Eschatological discourse, 24, 1-25, 46

This discourse, which forms the sublime conclusion of the doctrinal activity of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the first three Gospels, contains important instructions on the destruction of Jerusalem, the second coming of Christ, and the end of the world, intended to enlighten the Apostles and the future Church. The name "Eschatological Discourse," by which it is usually given, is therefore derived from its subject matter. St. Matthew reproduces it in the most complete form: St. Mark and St. Luke abridged the first part and even almost entirely omitted the second. – Olshausen claims that the first evangelist's redaction considerably amplified the Savior's original instruction. Here again, St. Matthew is said to have stitched together disparate passages, juxtaposing Gospel sayings from different periods; cf. Bibl. Commentar über sæmmtl. Schrift. des N. Testam. 3rd ed. t. 1. p. 858. We believe that this discourse was delivered by Jesus as we read it here. The amalgamations of which Olshausen speaks are entirely opposed to the straightforward style and perfect veracity of the historians of Christ. See Stier, Reden Jesu, in hl.

Part 1, 24, 1-35

In his work on Gospel history, p. 697, Mr. Reuss very rightly calls this passage "one of the most famous" in the life of Jesus Christ.

Mt 24, vv. 1-3. Parallel. Mark. 13, 1-4; Luke. 21, 5-7.

Mt24.¹ As Jesus was leaving the temple, his disciples approached him to point out its buildings. – At that moment, Jesus left the temple in Jerusalem forever; he was never to cross its threshold again. The prophecy of the previous chapter, 23:38, was thus beginning to be fulfilled. To point it out to him. Why then did the Apostles think of drawing their Master's attention to the temple buildings? Origen had already addressed this question: "One naturally wonders why they showed him the temple buildings as if he had never seen them before. The reason is that Our Lord, having earlier predicted the destruction of the temple, the disciples who heard him were astonished that a building of such grandeur and magnificence should be entirely destroyed, and they showed him its beauty in order to sway him in favor of this building and persuade him not to carry out the threats he had made," D. Thomae Catena in Matth. 11. Perhaps it would be true to say that they wished to have him explain his thought, which they had insufficiently understood. The buildings ; Consequently, the gigantic complex of buildings that comprised the temple, whose single site occupies one-fifth of the land on which Jerusalem is built, was so vast that its magnificence and richness had become proverbial. "He who has not seen Herod's temple," it was said, "has not seen a beautiful building." Herod's temple formed one of the most splendid architectural combinations of the ancient world. Its admirable and extremely picturesque location above the Kidron Valley, with the city built like an amphitheater on the surrounding hills, vast terraces superimposed and surrounded by galleries with a thousand columns, buildings of varied forms, elegantly grouped, adorned with gold and precious stones—all combined to form a harmonious mass that the eye never tired of contemplating. See the descriptions in Josephus, The Jewish War 5.5.6.

Mt24.² But he answered them, «Do you see all these buildings? Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.» – Do you see? In turn, Jesus draws their attention to these magnificent buildings, in order to better highlight the sentence that will follow. Under the seal of the oath, I tell you the truth. , He announced in the clearest and most explicit terms that of this marvelous temple, not one stone upon another would remain: everything would be ruthlessly overthrown. The oracle was fulfilled to the letter, as we know from history. After seizing Jerusalem, Titus had his soldiers demolish, albeit reluctantly, the walls of the city and the burned temple. What remained of the foundations was completely destroyed during the impious restoration attempted by Julian the Apostate. The account left to us on this latter event by the pagan Ammianus Marcellinus (23, 1; cf. Theodoret, 3, 17; Sozom, 5, 31) will undoubtedly be read with interest: «He wanted to rebuild… this magnificent temple of Jerusalem, which, after a series of deadly battles waged by Vespasian, Titus had finally taken by force.» He entrusted this task to Alypius of Antioch… Alypius, ably assisted by the provincial corrector, was consequently pursuing the work vigorously; when suddenly a tremendous eruption of fireballs, which leapt almost one after another from the very foundations of the building, rendered the site inaccessible to the workers, after having been fatal to several of them.« »During the night,« adds the historian Socrates, Ecclesiastical History 3.20, »a violent earthquake shattered the stones of the ancient foundations of the temple and hurled them far away along with the neighboring houses.” Where is now that mass of white marble which, according to contemporaries, resembled a mountain of snow? Where are those stones of varied colors that represented the waves of the ocean? Jesus spoke truly: not two stones remained joined. He prophesied the most complete destruction, and the most complete destruction has come to pass. “Even the ruins perished”: Cf. Lightfoot, Hebrew Horace. In 2011, archaeologists working for the Israel Antiquities Authority announced that excavations beneath the stone foundations of the Western Wall had unearthed coins minted by a Roman procurator of Judea 20 years after Herod's death. This indicates that Herod did not build the Western Wall. The bronze coins were minted around 17 AD by Valerius Gratus, who preceded Pontius Pilate as Rome's representative in Jerusalem, according to Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa, one of the two archaeologists in charge of the excavation. These coins were discovered in a ritual bath that predates the construction of Herod's Temple complex and had been filled in at the time to support the new walls, Reich explained. While Herod did initiate the expansion of the Second Temple, the artifacts show that the construction of the Western Wall had not even begun before his death and was likely completed only generations later. The discovery confirms an account by Flavius Josephus, a 1st-century Roman historian, who, after the destruction of the Second Temple by Rome in 70 AD, recounted that the work on the Temple Mount was not finished until the reign of King Agrippa II, Herod's great-grandson. Josephus also explains that the completion of the project left 18,000 workers unemployed, which some believe is linked to the outbreak of the Great Jewish Revolt in the province of Judea against the Roman Empire in 66 AD. After four years of fighting, Titus's Roman legionaries quelled the uprising in 70 AD and completely destroyed the Temple.

Mt24.³ When he sat down on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him, and they were alone with him. They asked, «Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?» – He was sitting… A picturesque detail. The preceding scene took place as the Savior was leaving the Temple; this one occurs half an hour later. Our Lord silently ascended the Mount of Olives. Reaching the summit, he sat down opposite the Temple (cf. Mark 13:3), at the very spot from which the Roman armies were soon to rush upon the city. He gazed sadly at the building whose destruction he had just foretold, and which, from this elevated vantage point, appeared even richer and more beautiful than up close. The apostolic company stood at some distance. Four of the disciples (cf. Mark 11:1) then approached the divine Master, especially, that is, without other witnesses being present to question him about the When and How of the events he prophesied. To fully understand their question, it is necessary to remember that, according to Jewish Christology, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, the coming of the Messiah, and the end of the world were to be three almost simultaneous events; cf. Stier, Reden des Herrn, in hl; Reuss, Histoire évangélique, p. 597 ff. «The disciples,» writes the latter, “saw in the ruin of the Temple, which their Master offered them the prospect of, only one of the incidents of a much greater revolution: the very one that St. Matthew points to when speaking of the end times.” Far from protesting against a threat that should have alarmed their religious patriotism, they see it as an indirect confirmation of their messianic hopes, and far from giving in to a feeling of sadness that would otherwise be so natural, it is the curiosity of self-interested expectation that dictates their question. When these things happen. «These things» relate to the prophecy of Jesus, and therefore to the destruction of the Temple. What will the sign be?. The Greek word usually used in the New Testament to designate the appearance of Christ (cf. verses 27, 37, 39; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:1, etc.; Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 20, 2, 2) means presence. It is synonymous with the nouns Epiphany (Manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ) in 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1, 8, and Apocalypse (Revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ), 1 Corinthians 1:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:7, 13; like them, it designates a solemn advent, destined to openly and definitively establish the Messianic kingdom. And the end of the world. In Latin: the end of the age. The apostles thus named what we call in almost identical terms the end of the world, Cf. Genesis 49, 1; ; Isaiah 2, 2; Micah 4:1, Daniel 12:13; St. Peter, 1 Peter 1:5; "the last hour" of St. John, 1 John 218, not to mention several other equivalent expressions cited in our Holy Scriptures. See Olshausen, Biblical Commentary, vol. 1, p. 871, 3rd ed. – There are three parts to the disciples' question: they want to know 1) when the particular catastrophe prophesied by Jesus will occur; 2) by what sign they will be able to recognize the approach of his glorious coming; and 3) what the sign of the end times will be. By studying Our Lord's answer, we will see that he provides much clarification on these three points.

Mt 24, 4-35. Parallel. Mark. 13, 5-31; Luke. 21, 8-33.

Mt24.⁴ Jesus answered them, «Beware lest anyone deceive you. – Jesus answered them. It is here that the disagreement we have mentioned arises among exegetes. They cannot agree on the direct subject of the first part of Our Lord's discourse, nor on how each thought relates to this subject. For many, the entire instruction concerns the ruin of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Jewish state. According to others, it relates solely to the end of the world. Lightfoot, Messrs. Norton, Barnes, Brown, and A. Clarke support the first hypothesis; St. Irenaeus, St. Hilary, St. Gregory the Great, and some modern authors defend the second. Between these two opinions, which seem directly opposed to various sayings of Jesus (see verses 15-20, 29-31 with their explanation), and which, for this reason, have never found more than a small number of defenders, there exists a third, already adopted by St. Jerome and St. Augustine, and around which most commentators have always rallied. It consists in saying that, in his prophecy, Our Lord has in mind both the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of time. However, harmony is far from perfect even on this common ground. We soon encounter divisions, or at least nuances. According to a fairly widespread system, the two predictions would be expressed in parallel in each verse of the discourse, the same image being able to apply simultaneously to both the ruin of the Jewish theocracy and the end of the world. According to another conjecture, these two ideas would, on the contrary, be entirely separate; But the details relating to each of these points would have been deliberately presented with such little order that it is morally impossible to identify them all with certainty. According to the opinion that seems to us the most reasonable (see the commentaries of Schegg, Bisping, Stier, etc.), we can distinguish in the first part of the eschatological discourse several series of verses that deal alternately with the destruction of Jerusalem and with what will happen at the end of time. It would be too lengthy to discuss these various views: a careful reading of the text and the commentary will suffice to show that the one we adopt best explains Jesus' thought and eliminates most of the difficulties. – However, we should not expect perfect clarity on the mysterious points that Jesus will develop: the Savior, in fact, does not intend to satisfy the curiosity of his disciples, nor to inflame their imagination. He wants rather to prepare them for the events he describes than to provide them with an adequate description. Therefore, he will tell them nothing about the time when the great historical crises he foretells will occur, and many of his words will remain obscure until their fulfillment sheds light on them. – In verses 5-35 we find three stanzas of unequal length, similar to those found in the typically rhythmic discourses of the ancient Prophets. On three occasions, the thought takes a new direction, producing varied images. First, Jesus answers his Apostles' question in general terms, indicating what the common predictions will be regarding the ruin of Jerusalem and the end times (vv. 5-14): this is the first stanza. In the second (vv. 15-22), he returns specifically to the destruction of the Jewish empire, describing its calamities and signs. Finally, in the third (vv. On pages 23-35, he also speaks specifically about the end of the world, the misfortunes that will accompany it, and the means by which its approach can be recognized. Be careful. The disciples, as we have seen, had conflated several things in their request, things that would have to be separated by considerable intervals when they came to pass. At the beginning of his reply (first stanza), Our Lord, like them, mixes together the various points on which he intended to instruct them: he thus considers the destruction of the Jewish capital and the end of time as if they were one and the same event. He had already done so several times on other occasions; cf. 10:23; 16:28. After all, is there not the closest union between these two events, despite their real distinction? They are the beginning and the end of the same work, the initial scene and the final scene of a great and unique divine tragedy. If they thus correspond to one another, the Savior could, like the Prophets, contemplate them together at a single glance. As the years and centuries passed, they would restore the perspective that had remained invisible to the first listeners and readers. Don't get lost. This grave warning, to which the divine Master will return later (vv. 23-25), aims to make the disciples foresee the terrible dangers of the times they long to experience. "They were still little prepared for the moral impact of the disappointments that awaited their hopes and the struggles they would encounter along their path; moreover, they were very easily dazzled and led astray by the mirage of illusions that their own simplicity or the fanaticism of the zealots... could create in their minds." (Reuss, Gospel History, p. 600).

Mt24.⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will deceive many. – By describing several contemporary dangers, whether of the end times or of the last days of Jerusalem, Jesus justifies his stern exhortation: Beware. – The disciples could first be separated from their Master by deceivers who, using a thousand tricks, will pass themselves off as the Messiah. These deceivers will be numerous; they will rely on the name of the true Christ, which they will usurp with sacrilegious audacity, and unfortunately, they will succeed all too well in leading souls astray. – The Book of Acts, 5:35; 21:38, and the historian Josephus, Antiquities 20, 5, 8; 8, 6; The Jewish War (2:35, 5) speaks of several of these false Redeemers who provoked serious insurrections in Judea shortly after the death of Jesus Christ: Jews flocked to them, expecting a miraculous deliverance from Roman rule. This fanaticism intensified during the siege of Jerusalem; it will intensify especially as the end of the world approaches. See the work of Abbots Augustin and Joseph Lemann, The question of the Messiah and the Council of Vatican, p. 22 et seq., Lyon, 1869, a fairly complete list of Pseudo-Messiahs with supporting historical documents. "Not once, not ten times," the authors exclaim in sorrow, "but twenty-five times our ancestors were the playthings of this mirage: having failed to recognize the Messiah where he was, they were reduced to seeking him where he was not." The Englishman Buck, in his Theological Dictionary, counts as many as 29 false Messiahs.

Mt24.⁶ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars; do not be troubled by them, for these things must happen, but the end is not yet. – It is not only seduction that can lead the disciples astray: terror will pose the same danger to them. You will hear about wars. The sounds of fighting, the clatter of weapons, will soon be heard right next to them. These wars will take place in the vicinity. Sounds of war On the contrary, it represents distant wars, known only through fame and public rumors, but which threaten to draw near soon and whose mere prospect is enough to fill one with terror; Cf. Jeremiah 4:19. Peace the most perfect reigned throughout the Roman world at the time of Christ's birth: shortly after his death the war It rages with all its horrors, particularly in Palestine. It will rage in the same way at the time of the final catastrophe. Avoid getting upset.. St. John Chrysostom gives the verb the meaning of "to be in turmoil": he refers more to the turmoil of the soul caused by terror, a turmoil so dangerous in the circumstances described by Jesus, for it is a troublesome advisor. The true disciple will fix his heart firmly on God and remain calm during the storm. Because it is necessary… ; Cf. 18, 7. The warLike scandals, it is not absolutely necessary; but human malice makes it necessary in a relative way. Since it must exist, it must... Christians know how to bear its rigors with serenity. Moreover, Jesus continues, This will not be the end yet.The upheavals caused by the war These will not be the end, either for Jerusalem or for the world; they will only be a harbinger. Many other misfortunes will still have to occur before the final consummation.

Mt24.⁷ Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and there will be plagues, famines, and earthquakes in various places. – Because we will see a rise-up… This is the explanation of the first words of verse 6. Tacitus, at the beginning of his Histories, 1.2, seems to have written the commentary on this passage: “An age rich in catastrophes, bloodied by battles, torn apart by seditions, cruel even during peace: four princes falling by the sword; three civil wars, many foreign wars, and often foreign and civil wars all at once; successes in the East, setbacks in the West; Illyria in turmoil; Gaul tottering; Britain entirely conquered and soon abandoned; the populations of the Sarmatians and the Suebi raised up against us; Dacian made famous by his defeats and ours; Parthian himself ready to take up arms for a phantom of Nero; and in Italy new or renewed calamities after a long succession of centuries; cities destroyed or buried under their ruins, in the richest part of Campania; Rome devastated by fire, seeing its most ancient temples consumed; the Capitol itself burned by the hands of the citizens.” Jesus is therefore prophesying here violent upheavals, in particular those formidable political crises that bloodied the world, especially the Syria and Palestine, where the Jews were massacred in large numbers by their enemies. Cf. Flavius Josephus, The War Jews 2:17; 18:1-8. Plagues, famines. Next to the war And from the turmoil of nations, he also predicted other calamities no less disastrous: first plague and famine; then earthquakes that would overturn entire cities. All these misfortunes occurred between the Ascension of the Savior and the destruction of Jerusalem: sacred and secular writers tell us this very explicitly. Tacitus, Annals 16.37, and Suetonius speak of a plague that carried off 30,000 men in Rome alone in a few months. The author of the Book of Acts, 11.28, and Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 20.2.3, mention the famine that ravaged the entire Roman world during the reign of Claudius. Earthquakes were very frequent in the empire between the years 60 and 70; cf. Tacitus, Annals 14.16; Seneca, Natural History. 6, 1; Flavius Josephus, The War Jews 4:4:5. But these past misfortunes are but a faint prelude to those that will erupt toward the end of time. – The Rabbis likewise link great public anxieties to the coming of the Messiah. Sohar Shadash, fol. 8, 4: “At that time, the world will be troubled by wars, nations will oppose nations, and cities will oppose cities: Ambushes will be renewed against the state of Israel.” Bereshit Rabbah, sect. 42, fol. 41, 1: “Rabbi Eleazar, son of Abina, said: If you see kingdoms rising up against one another, then pay attention and look at the foot of the Messiah.” Pesikta Rabbah, fol. 2, 1: “Rabbi Levi said: In the time of the Messiah, the plague will come upon the world and destroy the wicked.” – The expression in various places It has received two contradictory interpretations. According to de Wette and other exegetes, it means "in all places." Wetstein, Grotius, etc., translate it as "in many places." This second meaning is the most likely.

Mt24.⁸ All of this will only be the beginning of the pain. – «But this will not yet be the end,» he had said earlier, verse 6. Our Lord: he repeats this thought here. All of this, All these dreadful tribulations he has just listed are merely a preamble, the onset of pain, announcing even greater tribulations. What then will it be like in the last days? The expression used in the Greek text is literally: the beginning of the pains of childbirth. “The metaphor of women in labor is used to remind us that the first pains that announce childbirth are nevertheless very small compared to the torments that accompany the birth of the child.” St. Paul, in the letter to the Romans, 8, 22, describes the sufferings of degenerate creation using the same image: "all creation groans, it is going through the pains of childbirth which are still ongoing."

Mt24.⁹ Then they will hand you over to be tortured and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. – From the picture of misfortunes awaiting humanity as a whole, the divine Prophet moves on to that of the punishments reserved specifically for his disciples. SO ; not after, but during the great external calamities mentioned in the preceding verses. We will deliver…The world will harbor hostile sentiments toward Christians and, in its hatred, will persecute them in a thousand ways, it will brutally massacre them. Let us read the Acts of the Apostles and on every page we will see the fulfillment of these dark predictions from the very beginning of the ChristianityAnd, since that distant time, when has the Church of Christ not been persecuted? The hatred it inspires in the wicked intensifies as the end times approach. You will be filled with hatred.…A hated race, said Tacitus, speaking of the Christians. The Jews of Rome, in their interview with St. Paul, also told him: “All we know of this sect is that it is opposed everywhere.” Acts of the Apostles 28, 22.

Mt24.¹⁰ Then many will fail, they will betray and hate each other. – From this verse, Jesus points to the sad consequences that will result for many of his disciples from the persecutions directed against them by the world. Many will be outraged. Many Christians will encounter external obstacles and, lacking strength, will soon be overthrown. Without courage, they will cowardly abandon their faith when it costs them something to keep it. They will betray each other. These apostates, eager to win the favor of the pagans through monstrous zeal, will denounce their former brethren and deliver them to the courts. Here is the outcome, according to Tacitus, Annals 15, 44: «First, those who confessed their sect were seized; and, based on their revelations, countless others.» They will hate each other, although the essence of the Christianity consists precisely of love fraternal. Cf. John 15:17.

Mt24.¹¹ And many false prophets will arise and deceive a great number of people.To these disastrous dissensions, to these betrayals that will sadly break the ranks of the faithful, will soon be added another danger that always accompanies times of crisis: the danger of erroneous doctrines. False prophets, that is to say, heretics, will openly preach error, and, in the disarray into which persecutions will have thrown the faithful, they will all too easily succeed in perverting a great many. Jesus calls them false prophets because the instigators of new heresies never fail to call themselves God's messengers. From the second half of the first century onward, we see, in accordance with the Savior's prediction, heresies proliferating in the Church, threatening to overrun the entire field that the Apostles had so painstakingly sown. Compare Acts of the Apostles 20, 30; Galatians 1, 7-9; Romans 1617-18; Colossians 2:17 ff.; 1 Timothy 1:6, 7, 20; 6:3-5, 20, 21; 2 Timothy 2:18; 3:6-8; 2 Peter 2; 1 John 218, 22, 23, 26; 4, 1-3; 2 John 7; 2 Corinthians 11, 13, etc. See also the ecclesiastical history of this period in Darras, Rohrbacher, Mœhler, etc. The end of the world will cause this troublesome weed to sprout with renewed vigor. 

Mt24.¹² And because of the increasing progress of iniquity, charity a large number will cool down. – Iniquity will abound. This verb indicates a considerable increase, a kind of overflow of evil. Iniquity, direct opposition to divine law, iniquity in general, the willful distancing from the vital principles of ChristianityIniquity never ceases to exist and operate in the world; but it is especially active during the times of crisis of which Our Lord speaks. “In the days preceding the coming of the Messiah,” say the rabbis (Sotah 9:15), “impudence will increase.” This intensification of malice will produce the most deplorable result, which Jesus expresses with a beautiful image: Charity will cool down. Charity, It is love In general, it's the Christian charityof which God is the principal and direct object. The divine Master therefore does not intend to designate here in a special way love faithful to one another, as Maldonat, Arnoldi, Buchner, etc., believed. That being said, love It is a burning flame that burns ceaselessly: alas! The winds of persecution will extinguish it, will chill it in the hearts of many. From a large number, The article, along with the noun, represents the mass, the majority of Christians. Only the elite souls will not become lukewarm or indifferent under the impact of external dangers.

Mt24.¹³ But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. – Yet here is a word of powerful encouragement amidst these disheartening prophecies: salvation will be possible for the strong! He who perseveresTo persevere, to "save through," or, from the Greek, to resist. It is to maintain faith in Jesus amidst difficulties and obstacles. love For Jesus, the practice of the duties imposed by Jesus means, according to the context, not being scandalized by external evils (v. 10), not being led astray by false prophets (v. 11), and not becoming inwardly cold (v. 12). But for this perseverance to be genuine, it must not be fleeting; it must last. until the end, That is to say, as many as the prophesied dangers; in any case, for every believer until the end of their life. At this price, but only at this price, we will be saved, we will participate in the messianic salvation, a mixture of glory and happiness that will likewise last "until the end", or rather without end. 

Mt24.¹⁴ This gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. – Jesus points to one last event, an event full of importance and consolation, which must take place before the fall of Jerusalem and before the end of time. This Gospel. «The evangelist forgets himself at this point,» says de Wette foolishly, Kurzgef. exeget. Handbuch zum N. Test. t. 1, 1st part, in hl, «for he supposes that Jesus is alluding to the Gospel written later by him.» As if the pronoun “this” did not designate the oral Gospel preached by the Savior himself—The epithet of the kingdom He clarifies the nature of the good news; it is that of the kingdom par excellence, the kingdom that Christ founded. Worldwide. Even if we were to see, with St. John Chrysostom, a hyperbole in this expression, it is certain that it does not apply only to Palestine: it extends at the very least to the Roman world, probably even to the entire universe, since, a line below, there is mention of "all nations." It is best to say that the Gospel was to be proclaimed throughout the Roman Empire before the destruction of the Jewish nation, and throughout the whole earth before the end of the world. The first has been perfectly fulfilled. "This Gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole earth… before the destruction of Jerusalem." For St. Paul clearly indicates that the Gospel had already spread throughout the world even before the destruction of that city: "Their voice," he says, "has gone out into all the earth" (Romans 10:10). And elsewhere: "The Gospel that you have heard has been preached to every creature under heaven."Colossians 16.) Thus we see this apostle travel from Jerusalem to Spain to preach the Gospel. And if Saint Paul alone carried the faith to such a vast expanse of provinces, consider what all the other Apostles could have accomplished,” St. John Chrysostom, Hom. 75 in Matthew. A testimony to all nations. At once a testimony for and against nations, depending on the circumstances: a favorable testimony if they accept Christian truth, for then they will be saved by it; on the contrary, an accusatory testimony if they reject the Gospel. Scholars are divided between these two interpretations of the dative "to the nations"; we prefer to adopt both, believing that we thus obtain a truer and more complete meaning. And then. When all the previously indicated signs, and especially this last one, have appeared. The end will come.. Jesus collectively gives this name to the end of Jerusalem, then to that of the world: he contrasts the "consummation" with the beginning he had spoken of in verse 8.

Mt24.¹⁵ «When you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (and let the reader understand), – When you see. After describing the prophecies and preludes common to the two great eras about which his disciples had questioned him, the divine Master now returns to each of them to explain them in more detail. He follows the order of time, and deals first with the catastrophe that will engulf Jerusalem along with the Jewish state. The abomination of desolation. These words are a literal translation from the Greek, and this Greek phrase, borrowed from the Septuagint, was itself modeled on the Hebrew of the prophet Daniel. They are rather obscure in all three languages. According to Maldonat, they are equivalent to "abominable and dreadful desolation," while others interpret them as "horrible abomination." At least, what is clear is that they foretell something dreadful, a terrible sacrilege. The prophet Daniel spoke of it. Jesus shows, by this aside, that he does not intend to formulate a new and unprecedented prophecy. The abomination of desolation of which he speaks had long been foretold by one of the greatest prophets of Judaism, Daniel 9:27; cf. 11:31; 12:11; his listeners therefore knew of it by hearsay, at least in general terms. Established : a picturesque expression that personifies desolation, presenting it to the eye as established and entrenched, so to speak in the holy place. – What is this sacred place? If we refer to the very text of Daniel, freely quoted by Our Lord, we see that it explicitly mentions the Temple: «On one side of the Temple there will be the Abomination of Desolation»; therefore, there is no doubt that Jesus Christ intended to express the same thought as the Prophet. If we examine the later period of Jewish history, we see scarcely anything other than the bloody scenes perpetrated in the Temple by the Zealots (cf. Josephus, The Jewish War 4:5, 10; 3:10; 3:10) that could perfectly fit with the preaching of the Savior. Several Fathers, St. Hilary in particular, considered the Antichrist; but he is not mentioned in this stanza. Other exegetes (St. John Chrysostom, Euthymius, etc.) suppose that Jesus had in mind the erection of the statues of Titus and Hadrian on the site of the Temple, or the burning of this building by the Romans: however, these events occurred after the destruction of Jerusalem, while the prophecy speaks of an event that was to precede it, for it assumes that there would still be time to flee when the abomination of desolation breaks out. (See other opinions in Maldonatus, Commentary in Book 1). The desecration of the holy place by the Zealots, on the contrary, agrees perfectly with the prophecy of Jesus. Moreover, it was all the more horrific because its perpetrators were worshippers of God. A detailed account of it can be found in the work of M. de Champagny, Rome and Judea. Let the one who reads...According to St. John Chrysostom, Euthymius, Hengstenberg, Ewald, Stier, etc., this parenthesis was inserted by the Savior himself; it was part of his original discourse and reminded readers of the Daniel's book that the calamities of Jerusalem and the Temple will soon occur. Mr. Schegg, who shares this sentiment, quotes the similar saying that frequently comes from Jesus: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” But it is more likely that these words were not spoken by Our Lord: rather, it is a reflection by the evangelist, an urgent warning he addresses to all those who, in the early days, read this passage of his narrative. “Beware,” he was telling them, “has not the hour announced by the Master arrived, and is it not time to take the precautions to which he urges you?” This interpretation is the most natural, and most commentators have adopted it.

Mt24.¹⁶ while those in Judea flee to the mountains, – This verse and the following ones, 16-20, provide some means of escaping the calamities that will soon befall Jerusalem. SO resumes the thought momentarily interrupted by the parenthesis. "When you see... then..." Those who are in Judea. Jesus is addressing himself primarily to the inhabitants of Judea because, being closer to Jerusalem, around which the fiercest battles were about to be fought, they were therefore exposed to greater dangers. – The watchword is run away We must flee as quickly as possible, like Lot from Sodom, or, in the words of Flavius Josephus, like one fleeing from a sinking ship. In the mountainsIn times of invasion, people preferably sought refuge in the mountains, which offered natural shelter from the enemy's fury. The mountains of Judea, and those on the other side of the Jordan River, abounded in caves that could serve as refuges in times of danger. It is known that Christians From Jerusalem and Judea, obedient to this recommendation of Jesus Christ, withdrew to mountainous Pella, in Perea, as soon as they saw the armies of Rome approaching and found salvation there; Cf. Euseb. Hier. Eccl. 3, 5.

Mt24.¹⁷ and let the one who is on the roof not come down to take what he has in his house, ¹⁸ and let him who is in the fields not return to get his garment. – Jesus demonstrates through two familiar examples, drawn from everyday life, that one must not delay fleeing for even a moment. – First example, v. 17: The one who will be on the roof. We have said, cf. 10, 27 and the explanation, that the roofs of oriental houses are usually flat: people like to retreat there at various times of the day. Don't get off it…Most often, in Levantine homes, two staircases lead to the rooftop: one is external and opens onto the street or the fields; the other is internal and connects to the apartments. It is this second staircase to which Jesus refers. The flight he recommends is so urgent that it doesn't even allow one to go down from the roof into the house to retrieve something one might wish to save. One must immediately rush into the street or the countryside and escape without delay. – Second example, v. 18: The one who will be in the fields, busy working in the fields. Do not return. "In his house." Take his tunic, His toga, or rather, according to the Greek, his pallium, indeed designates an outer garment serving as a cloak. This passage is full of local color. Jewish workers, like our own, would discard their outer garments to work more easily; but they needed them to present themselves properly in public. Nevertheless, the Savior does not want them to go back to their homes to retrieve them. Let them be concerned above all with saving their lives. – These warnings, given in a hyperbolic form, very effectively highlight the gravity of the perils that will befall Jerusalem.

Mt24.¹⁹ Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are breastfeeding in those days. – A logical consequence of the preceding verses. Flight, and a swift flight, will be necessary: woe therefore to those who are delayed by any obstacle! They risk falling into the hands of an enemy who will show no mercy. Pregnant or breastfeeding womenOur Lord points out two special categories of people to be pitied at the time of a hasty flight, women pregnant women and those who have children still nursing. “Woe to the women who will be pregnant, because the weight that will burden them will make them less inclined to save themselves by fleeing; woe to the women who will be nursing, because, held in the city by the affection of their newborn children, unable to save them from such great misery, they will be forced to perish with them as well.” St. John Chrysostom, Hom. 76 in Matthew.

Mt24.²⁰ Pray that your escape does not occur in winter, nor on a Sabbath day., – From this moment on, the disciples of Jesus, warned by their Master, must implore the Lord to remove any obstacles beyond their control that might hinder their escape. Here we find an indication of a new impediment; but, while the previous one stemmed from two personal circumstances, this one is deduced from two temporal circumstances. In winter This is an obstacle that comes from nature. In winter, bad weather significantly delays travel: in the East, it is the rainy season, and the roads, poor at any time of year, become impassable. – Or on the Sabbath: an obstacle that comes from a divine precept. The Jews – for it was for Christians those from the Judaism that Jesus spoke of at the time – could only travel short, strictly fixed distances on the Sabbath days; Cf. Acts of the Apostles 1, 12. According to the Rabbis, the Sabbath path was 2000 cubits, equivalent to 6 Greek stades, or 750 Roman paces. It is true that this law had exceptions, as the Talmud tells us: “If someone is being pursued by pagans or thieves, is it not permitted for him to profane the Sabbath? Our rabbis have said that it is permitted for him, to save his life,” Bammidbar RS 23, f. 231, 4. But there were also strict Doctors who never permitted them, or scrupulous disciples who refused to resort to them. Jesus, moreover, speaks in general terms, independently of any exception. Let us also note that Christians Those from Judea, by fleeing on the Sabbath day, could attract persecution from their former coreligionists, who would regard them as desecrators. 

Mt24.²¹ for then there will be such great distress as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, and never will be again. – This verse and the following one foreshadow the terrible nature of the calamities that were soon to befall Jerusalem and the Jews. – The adverb SO refers to the period mentioned in verses 15 and 16. The conjunction because Relate the description in verses 20 and 22 to the preceding idea: Jesus is telling his disciples why they must flee without delay. A great tribulation. The tribulation that accompanied the siege and capture of the Jewish capital was indeed horrific. One shudders upon reading the details preserved for us by the historian Josephus, in his *Jewish War* (passim). There were horrors and atrocities then without parallel in the history of the world. In Jerusalem alone, 1,100,000 Jews were slaughtered, and 97,000 were taken prisoner and condemned either to cruel tortures or to harsh slavery. So many were crucified that "there was not enough space for the crosses and not enough crosses for the condemned." Famine carried off "entire houses and families"; mothers ate their own children. See the accounts of M. de Champagny, *Rome and Judea*, chapters 14-17; of M. de Saulcy, *The Last Days of Jerusalem*, Paris, 1866; and of M. Renan, *The Antichrist*. Referring to Jesus' words, "there has been nothing like it," St. John Chrysostom can therefore truthfully exclaim: "This should not be taken as an exaggeration, and the story of Josephus sufficiently justifies its truth. Nor can it be said that this author, being a Christian, took pleasure in exaggerating these misfortunes to show the truth of what Jesus Christ foretold here, since Josephus was a Jew, and one of the most zealous of the Jews who came after the birth of the Savior. However, he says that these misfortunes surpassed all that one can imagine as most tragic, and he assures us that the Jews have never been reduced to such strange extremities," Hom. 76 in Matth. Flavius Josephus also concludes his gloomy description with reflections entirely identical to those of the Savior: «No other city has ever suffered so much misery… If the misfortunes of the whole world since creation were compared to those that the Jews endured then, they would be found inferior to theirs.» Since the beginning of the world, from the creation of the world; ; so far, up until the time when Our Lord made this prediction, Joel, 2, 2, and Daniel, 12, 1, use identical formulas. 

Mt24.²² And if those days were not shortened, no one would escape; but for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened. – Our Lord, like the Prophets, speaks as if the events he announces had already been fulfilled: hence the use of the pluperfect tense. What he says here is a glimmer of hope in the midst of the storm. God, who is Father even when he punishes, will therefore remember his mercy; that is why he will shorten the number of these terrible days: otherwise, all the Jews would have perished. No flesh (Hebraism for "every man"; Cf. Genesis 6:12 ff.); Acts of the Apostles (2:16) must indeed be restricted to the Jewish people. We readily admit, however, with Mr. Schegg, that Jesus' prophetic gaze was also directed, as he uttered these words, toward the final catastrophes and the anxieties of the end times that will bring them to their full extent. But these words directly concern the Savior's compatriots and contemporaries. Alford points out in his commentary several providential combinations that significantly shortened the siege and consequently the suffering of Jerusalem. 1. Herod Agrippa had undertaken to repair the city's fortifications, making it impregnable; but his undertaking was soon halted by the Emperor Claudius; cf. Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 19, 7, 2. 2. The Jews, plagued by internal divisions, had neglected to prepare for a serious siege. 3. Their grain stores were burned down shortly before Titus's approach; according to Josephus, they contained provisions for several years. 4. Titus suddenly launched his attack, and the besieged voluntarily abandoned part of the fortifications. Cf. Flavius Josephus, The War Jews 6, 8, 4. Moreover, the Roman general himself recognized the hand of God in the incidents of the siege: "God fought for us, and it was he who deprived the Jews of their fortifications: for what could human arms or machines have done against these towers?" Because of the elected officials. Surely, it was not on the guilty that the divine heart took pity; but it wanted to save the good, the chosen, who would have shared, without the measures taken by his Providence, the unfortunate fate of the wicked; Cf. Genesis 28, 29 and following.

Mt24.²³ So if someone tells you, 'Here is the Christ,' or 'There he is,' do not believe it. This "then" is far from parallel to those of verses 16 and 21. According to the general consensus of exegetes, it suddenly leaps across long periods of time, leading us from the final days of Jerusalem to the end of the world. Cf. St. John Chrysostom, Hom. 76 in Matthew. Similarly, Maldonatus states: "Christ thus passes from the end and ruin of the Jews to the end of the world; the devastation of Jerusalem is indeed a figure and an image of the devastation and end of the world." This abrupt change of subject matter is, however, indicated only by the context; but it is clearly indicated, for the new prophecies we are about to hear can only apply to the second coming of Christ, and therefore to the end times considered either in themselves or in their period of preparation. This is how the Prophets of the Old Testament moved quickly from one thing to another, from the beginning of an era to its end. – Christ's first instructions concerning the end times, vv. 23-27, are limited to developing the idea contained in v. 5 and already partially applied to the end of the world. They warn the Church of the future against the dangers that will befall it from false prophets and false messiahs. Christ is here... The narrative describes a rumor that spreads from mouth to mouth and soon becomes public. Don't believe it. A precious warning by which Jesus Christ preserved his Church from dangerous enthusiasm in the last days.

Mt24.²⁴ For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. – In this verse and those that follow, we find the reasons for the wise disbelief recommended by Jesus. First, there is the appearance of a multitude of imposters who will pass themselves off as the Messiah himself, others as his forerunners or companions. The danger of believing them and being led astray by them will be all the greater because they will perform satanic wonders, which one risks confusing with divine miracles performed in support of their mission. Who will They will provide, they will operate. Big signsSt. Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, speaking of the Antichrist, also highlights the splendor of his wonders: “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use great power with signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing because they did not welcome love of the truth, which would have saved them. And wonders. The words "signs" and "wonders" are quite often associated in the Bible; they represent roughly the same idea. However, there is a slight difference between them: "wonder" refers primarily to the external aspect of the miracle, its extraordinary, marvelous nature, which astonishes the mind; "sign" is the appropriate term insofar as it supports and confirms something external to itself. To the point of being seductive..The same thought is expressed with a nuance in the account of St. Mark 13:22. While Jesus Christ, according to the first Gospel, points out a disastrous consequence that the work of diabolical miracle workers could have without special divine intervention, he simply indicates, according to the second, the goal these agents of iniquity intend for themselves. Moreover, the text of St. Matthew can be reduced to the same meaning as that of St. Mark. If it were possible"That is to say: if it were possible for created force to prevail over the Creator's decree, over His good pleasure, and over the forces that protect them. Which means that if the said elect were left to their own devices and their own strength, they would inevitably fall. It is therefore with good reason that Saint Augustine Written in *Correction and Grace*, chapter 7: “If any of them perish, it is God who would be at fault. But none of them perishes, for God does not fail himself. If any of them perishes, God is overcome by human vice. But none of them perishes, because God is overcome by nothing. It is Christ himself who says of these sheep: ‘No one will snatch them out of my hand.’” This beautiful explanation is by Jansenius.

Mt24.²⁵ There you have it, I predicted it!. – Cf. St. Mark, 13, 23, which is a little more explicit. Christians They are therefore well warned, and it will be their own fault if they allow themselves to be seduced by false Messiahs. Thanks to the light that Jesus Christ gave them several centuries in advance (the divine Master places himself in the perspective of the faithful who will later remember his warnings), they will be able to patiently await his coming without any deceitful brilliance succeeding in leading them astray.

Mt24.²⁶ So if they tell you, 'Here he is in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is in the innermost part of the house,' do not believe it. This point is so important; it will sometimes be so difficult in the final days to distinguish truth from falsehood, that the divine Master returns to the same thought again for our greater benefit. So Now that you have been warned, verses 26 and 27 contain a consequence of the preceding one. In the desert. Here it is: it is Christ. We have here a specification and development of the adverbs "here" and "there" in verse 23. Therefore, people will hear it said around them, as the final events approach, that he has manifested himself in the vicinity, but in a secret way, in the secluded place. This noun, in contrast to the desert, refers to the most secluded rooms of a house, a private but secret and mysterious retreat. In the first instance, Jesus forbade his disciples any outward activity ((Don't go out), In the second, even simple faith. These rumors are absurd lies that don't deserve our attention.

Mt24.²⁷ For as lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. – The true Christ, when he makes his second coming, will appear simultaneously to all people; therefore, there will be no need to seek him in any particular place. The image that expresses this idea is full of power and beauty. The lightning, localized at the first instant of his birth, immediately fills the entire horizon; everyone sees him at the same time. «You know, my brothers, how lightning appears. It needs neither a forerunner nor a herald to announce its coming. It appears in an instant to everyone without any doubt. It is in this way that the Savior will appear all at once throughout the earth in the splendor of the glory with which he will be accompanied,» St. John Chrysostom, Hom. 76 in Matthew.

Mt24.²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. – Judging by the numerous interpretations this verse has received, it must contain a true enigma; exegetes cannot agree on it. It is certainly a proverb, reminiscent of similar sayings in Job 39:30, Hosea 8:1, and Habakkuk 1:8. Moreover, it is a prophetic proverb, already quoted by Our Lord on another occasion. Cf. Luke 17:37. But what is its significance? What is it meant to prophesy? – Let us first examine the two main expressions: “corpse” and “vultures.” Eagles do not feed on corpses and are scarcely found in Palestine, so Jesus uses the word in its common usage. That being said, the entire sentence recalls a well-known fact. “If there is a vulture, expect to find a corpse,” Seneca similarly said. Birds of prey flock quickly to places where corpses are found. Let us now turn to the application. Those who believe that here again the text refers to Jerusalem and its ruin say that the corpse represents this corrupt city, while the eagles represent the armies of Rome launched against it (Lightfoot, Wettstein, etc.). Those who hold this view [which should be translated as “eagles” and not “vultures”] are quick to point out that Roman standards were indeed surmounted by an eagle. But the context proves them wrong, since Jesus’ teaching now concerns only the end of the world. Following other writers, among whom we will mention Bisping, Hengstenberg, de Wette, Kistemaker, and Abbott, both corpses and vultures must be taken in a moral sense, symbolizing on the one hand spiritual death and sin, and on the other hand the terrible judgments of God against the fishermenThe meaning would be: As corpses attract vultures, so moral corruption attracts punishments from heaven. According to Messrs. Schegg and Crosby, vultures are the emblem of false Christs and false prophets; the corpse, the figure of the perverse world of the last days. Consequently, imposters gather where the derangement of the heart's intellect reigns. It is easy to see that these two interpretations are no less contrary to the context than the first. Why not simply adopt the traditional explanation, according to which this verse is entirely parallel in meaning to the preceding one, and expresses in figurative terms what the other had expressed literally and directly? This is the opinion of St. John Chrysostom, St. Jerome, Bede the Venerable, Euthymius, to name but a few ancient figures, and of most Catholic commentators. "This means that all men will be gathered at the place where he himself will be, to be judged there, as vultures gather around corpses," Maldonat. Cf. Jansenius, Van Steenkiste, Arnoldi, etc. 

Mt24.²⁹ Immediately after the days of their affliction, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. – The details that follow describe the different scenes that will make up the great drama of Christ's second coming at the end of time. We find there the same images as in the similar depictions drawn by the Prophets; cf. Isaiah 13:10; 24:18 ff.; 34:4; Ezekiel 32:7; Joel 2:10, 28; Haggai 2:21 ff. After the ordeal…These terrible days are those of the Antichrist: Our Lord deliberately leaves their number and duration in the shadows. Moreover, the tribulation they will bring should not be confused with the specific calamities in Jerusalem and Palestine, which were mentioned earlier, verse 21. The sun will darken.A whole category of terrifying signs will appear in the sky, inaugurated by extraordinary eclipses of the sun and moon. We must ask ourselves here what to make of the intrinsic value of these images. Are they poetic embellishments? Mere metaphors to depict the end of the world in brighter colors? This has been suggested, but without sufficient evidence. St. Augustine, Letter 80, Grotius, Lightfoot, and others fall back on allegorical and mystical meanings. For example, “St. Augustine… thinks that the sun represents Christ, and the moon the Church; they will be obscured because, due to the severity of the persecution, they will be less visible to humanity. The falling stars are the saints who will abandon their faith. The powers of heaven are Christians who will be shaken in their faith,” Van Steenkiste, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1, p. 428. It is easy to see that these interpretations have no basis whatsoever; moreover, they are refuted by the contradiction that exists between their authors regarding the explanation of the details. What remains, then, is the strict and literal meaning, which is generally accepted and whose truth seems to us indisputable. It is indeed the universal doctrine of the Bible that at the end of the world there will be strange upheavals in the physical world. Let us simply cite 2 Peter 3:5-7 as a summary of this teaching. The literal meaning presents no difficulty whatsoever, provided one takes care not to exaggerate the specific details. The stars will fall… Jesus borrowed this expression from the popular ideas of his time. The ancients believed the stars were attached to the solid vault of the firmament. The stars would therefore fall and collide in a terrifying way to announce the end of the present world. The powers of heaven. Though the angels Although they are referred to several times in the Old Testament, most often, and particularly in this passage, it is the entirety of the celestial bodies, independent of the sun and moon, that is called "the power of heaven" (compare Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kings 17:16; 23:5; Isaiah 34:4; Daniel 8:10, etc. See M. Schegg's note in volume 3, p. 565, of his commentary). It is also possible, according to some exegetes, that the Savior intended to represent by these words the laws or forces that are active in heaven to support the celestial edifice and maintain its various parts in balance.

Mt24.³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the tribes of the earth will beat their breasts, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with great power and great majesty. - HASduring… A solemn adverb that has already resounded many times since the opening sentences of the Eschatological Discourse; cf. vv. 9, 10, 14, 16, 21, 23: it marks, so to speak, the principal scenes of the great acts prophesied by Our Lord. Here it falls upon the catastrophes of v. 29, and prepares the grand incident that will immediately precede the appearance of the Sovereign Judge. The sign of the Son of Man. What will this sign be? The Greek text suggests that it will be a well-known sign, the sign that preeminently characterizes the Son of Man. Thus, the Fathers almost unanimously answer that it will be the Savior's cross. "The sign of the Son of Man, who made the heavenly things, those that were in heaven and those that were on earth, will then appear: in other words, the power that the Son of Man displayed when he was nailed to the cross," St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 12, p. 105. "His cross will then appear brighter than the sun… his cross will be the mark of his justification and the trophy of his innocence," St. John Chrysostom, Hom. 76 in Matthew. Likewise, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, etc. The Church confirms this sentiment in its liturgical services, where it has the following verse sung: "This sign of the cross will be in heaven when the Lord comes to judge" (Feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross). All other interpretations are arbitrary, including Olshausen's star, Meyer's luminous apparition, etc. Ewald and Fritzche even more arbitrarily confuse the sign of the Messiah with the Messiah himself. The tribes of the earth…The Greek text expresses, with a more forceful verb, the pain that will erupt among the peoples gathered for judgment at the sight of the sign of the Son of Man, simultaneously creating an alliteration that follows, «they will beat their breasts.» In a famous passage from the prophet Zechariah 12:10-14, and in an even more famous passage from Isaiah 53:1 ff., it is only the Jews who lament the terrible treatment they inflicted on Christ in their blindness: here we see all the peoples weeping, because they will all have been guilty; cf. Revelation 1:7; 6:15-17. Coming on the clouds…As in all theophanies. Cf. Psalm 17:10-12; Isaiah 19:1. Such, moreover, had been the vision of Daniel 7:13: «In the visions of the night I saw one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.» See also Matthew 16:27; 26:64. The Son of Man, appearing for the final judgment, will be like another God on another Sinai. With great power.... Strength and majesty, a dual attribute befitting the Sovereign Judge of the world, a dual emblem of the full powers he will have received from his Father. 

Mt24.³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. The nations we were shown earlier weeping at the appearance of the cross in the air undoubtedly represented the people who will still be alive on earth at the time of the end of the world. Now, Jesus Christ gives his orders to gather before him all those whom he is to judge: the angels are in charge of this ministry. With the trumpet.... With a trumpet with a resounding voice. There is no reason not to believe in the reality of the trumpet of the Last Judgment: St. Paul has very explicit words on this point (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17 and the explanation of these passages by Mr. Drach and Mr. Van Steenkiste), taken in their obvious sense by the entire tradition. They will bring together the elected officials.. Jesus mentions only the elect, because they will be called first: but the reprobate will not be forgotten. Cf. 24:41 ff. From the four windsthat is, from the four cardinal points from which the winds blow, consequently from all directions. See similar figures in 1 Chronicles 9:24; Ezekiel 37:9; Apocalypse 7, 1 etc. – From one end of the sky… This is a clarification given to the preceding image (Cf. Deuteronomy 4, 32).

Mt24.³² «"Listen to a comparison taken from the fig tree. As soon as its branches become tender, and it puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. – The Savior now cites a natural phenomenon to demonstrate the undeniable certainty of the things he has foretold. The fig tree being one of the most common trees in Palestine, any image borrowed from its culture and life was easily understood. Jesus therefore wants us to take this plant as our teacher, to seek from it an important lesson. A comparison A parable in the broadest sense, that is to say, an example, a comparison capable of highlighting a truth. Its branches are tender.. The sap rises in spring, making the young branches of trees tender and delicate; then the buds burst open and the leaves soon unfurl. Its leaves are born ;"Its branches produce leaves." Jesus is indeed pointing out something well known. Summer is near. Even in Palestine, the fig tree is a late-ripening tree, whose leaves commonly only sprout in May. See our explanation of 21:9.

Mt24.³³ So when you see all these things, you will know that the Son of Man is near, that he is at the door. Jesus now applies his analogy. Since the laws governing plant life are invariable, it is easy to calculate the various seasons of the year based on the appearance of specific plant phenomena. The same applies to the end of the world or the destruction of Jerusalem. When we see the fulfillment all these things, All the incidents mentioned by the divine Prophet in the first part of his discourse will indicate that the events they foreshadow will soon come to pass. Is close has no visible subject. Exegetes alternately substitute the following words: the Messiah (Grotius, Meyer, de Wette), the judgment (Ebrard and Schegg), the kingdom of God (Olshausen, JP Lange, etc.), what was predicted above, etc. We prefer this last opinion because it seems to us to better translate the thought of Jesus: the other three are too restrictive. At the gates. An easy-to-grasp metaphor that can be found in other places in the Bible; Cf. Genesis 4:7; James 5:9. Something that is already on the threshold is something inevitable, which will instantly appear.

Mt24.³⁴ I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. – In truth... This is the customary oath of the Savior. It is intended to reinforce here a most serious and positive assertion. This generation will not pass away.. To fully grasp the precise meaning of this statement, it is essential first to determine the meaning of the words "this generation." Like the expressions of the Greeks, the Hebrews, or similar expressions in all languages, it is not always used to represent the people living at a given time in history; this word also means race, nation. But what people was Jesus thinking of when he spoke these weighty words? St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory, St. Thomas Aquinas, and others believe that he meant the Christian nation in general, which is indeed to persist until the end of the world. St. Jerome goes even further and applies the expression to the entire human race. Several authors restrict it to the Jewish people, who were to be miraculously preserved until the second coming of Christ, despite their misfortunes and dispersion, to be, they say, like a living and perpetual proof of the truth of the divine Master's prophecies. We believe, along with other exegetes (especially Reischl and Bisping), that it is better to make a distinction here. A close examination of verses 34 and 35 reveals that they form the peroration and recapitulation of the entire first part of the Eschatological Discourse. Now, from verse 4 onward, two distinct events have been discussed: the destruction of Jerusalem and the end times. It therefore seems to us that the words "this generation" have a double meaning depending on whether they refer to one or the other of these events. Insofar as Jesus was alluding to the sufferings of Jerusalem, they represent the Jews then existing; insofar as he wished to describe the end of the world, they designate the entire Jewish people who will persevere, as expressed above, until the last days, to pay homage to the truthfulness of Jesus. Thus, there would be in verse 34... 34 One of those prophecies with a dual perspective that one so often encounters in the Holy Scriptures. – The meaning of all these things is determined by what we have just said: everything that the Savior has prophesied since verse 4.

Mt24.³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. – Finally, Jesus affirms that his words have nothing to fear from being contradicted; everything will come to pass as he predicted. – An unexpected connection strengthens his assertion. Heaven and earth.... Heaven and earth, those parts of creation that seem so robust, so stable (cf. Jeremiah 31:35-36), will nevertheless pass away; they will be completely transformed, if not entirely destroyed (cf. 2 Peter 3:7; 1 Corinthians 7:31). But the pronouncements of Christ will remain. It is true that there is nothing more transient, more fleeting than a word. However, when the word utters an immutable truth, supported by a divine decree, it remains until its full and perfect fulfillment. – Verse 35 is missing from the Codex Sinaiticus, and Tischendorf omits it in his editions; nevertheless, its authenticity is sufficiently guaranteed by its presence in the two other Synoptic Gospels, Mark 13:31, Luke 21:33, and in all the ordinary witnesses.

Mt24.³⁶ As for the day and the hour, no one knows them, not even the angels from heaven, but the Father alone. – Today, at this hour : the day and hour of Christ's appearance for the Last Judgment, to which almost all the details relate exclusively until the end of the discourse. These two expressions together reinforce the idea and designate a very precise, exact time; the minute, as we would say in French. Today, the day par excellence that will conclude the countless series of all the others; Cf. Luke 10:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:4; 2 Timothy 1:12, 18; 4:8. Nobody knows them : this knowledge has not been communicated to any creature. The angels They themselves, these enlightened minds, these close friends to whom God usually shares his plans, do not possess it. According to the wording of Mark 13:32, after the words "not even the angels "from heaven," Jesus Christ added, "not even the Son." In the official acts of the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church, we find the Constitution "Inter innumeras sollicitudines" on the "Three Chapters," addressed to Emperor Justinian and dated May 14, 553, which condemns errors of Nestorianism concerning the humanity of Christ, and in particular the one relevant to our verse: If anyone says that the one and only Jesus Christ, true Son of God and true Son of Man, was ignorant of the future or of the Last Judgment, and that he could only know what the divinity dwelling in him, as in someone else, revealed to him, let him be anathema. [To be anathema means to be physically and spiritually expelled from the Holy Roman Catholic Church] cf. Denzinger, Symbols and Definitions of the Catholic Faith, Paris, Éditions du Cerf, No. 419. Another document from the Magisterium of the Church: the letter "Sicut aqua" to Patriarch Eulogius of Alexandria, August 600, on the science of Christ (against the Agnoetes), Denzinger No. 474: "As for… the passage of Scripture according to which 'neither the Son nor the angels "They do not know the day or the hour" (see Mark 13:32), Your Holiness very rightly thinks that it is not to be referred to this same Son considered as head, but considered in his body which we are… On this subject Augustine makes use of this meaning in many places. He also says something else, which we can hear from this same Son, namely, that Almighty God sometimes speaks in a human way, for example, when he says to Abraham, “Now I know that you fear God” (Genesis 22:12). This is not because God then learned that he was feared, but because, through him, Abraham recognized that he feared God. Just as we speak of a happy day, not because the day itself is happy, but because it makes us happy, so too the Almighty Son says that he does not know the day that he himself makes unknown, not because he is unaware of it, but because he absolutely does not allow it to be known. Thus, we see that the Church Fathers indicated the true meaning of this verse, namely, that Jesus knew this day of the end of the world because of his divinity and not because of his humanity. Let us quote some of their words: “How can the Son not "Not knowing what the Father knows, since the Son is in the Father? But elsewhere he shows why he doesn't want to say it" (Acts of the Apostles Chapter 1, verse 7: “(…) it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” Saint Ambrose of Milan, In Luke 17:31. Likewise Saint AugustineDiscourse on the Psalms, 36, 1: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, sent to instruct us, said that the Son of Man himself does not know this day, because it was not within his authority to make it known to us. For the Father knows nothing that the Son does not also know, since the Father’s knowledge is identical to his wisdom, and his wisdom is his Son, his Word [Therefore, all that the Father knows, the Son knows, and all that the Son knows, the Father knows, for they are ONE in divinity]. But since it was not useful for us to know what he who came to instruct us knew so well, without teaching us what it was not advantageous for us to know: then, not only did he give us certain teachings in his capacity as teacher, but also in his capacity as teacher, he withheld others from us.” Cf. Saint Augustine, of the Trinity, 12, 3, Saint Hilary of Poitiers, of the Trinity, 9; and the commentaries of Jansenius, Maldonatus, Patrizi, etc. We will quote again this excellent interpretation: «He says that it is the Son of Man, that is to say, himself as man, who does not know, not absolutely speaking, but in a way that is proper to him… God reveals to no creature this day, which it is impossible for any creature to discover. But the soul of Christ, although it is a creature, sees it in the nature of God to which it is united. For, that Christ, the Son of Man, is also the Son of God, is something proper to him, and which is not the share of any creature. And it is from the sole fact that the Son of Man is united to the Son of God that he knows that he will be ignorant, like other creatures, of certain things, even the most subtle… It is in this sense that Gregory the Great says that Christ knew this day In human nature, but not by human nature» [for Christ knew this day by his divine nature] Franciscus Lucas Brugensis, Commentarius in Sacro-sancta Quatuor Iesu Christi Evangelia, h. l. See also Bossuet, Meditation on the Gospel, Last Week, 77th and 78th day. But the Father alone. God alone knows the precise time of the end of the world: it is his secret; consequently, it would be both foolish and, to a certain extent, impious to try to determine it. Moreover, the Church has forbidden it under severe penalties.

Mt24.³⁷ As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. – In the days of Noah, That is, at the time of the flood. Our Lord will establish, over the course of three verses, 37-39, a comparison between the flood and his second coming, to make Christians understand the unexpected nature, the sudden arrival of the Last Judgment and consequently the necessity of preparing for it. Will also arrive… The flood suddenly fell upon an unbelieving world, although warned by various obvious signs; likewise the last day, which will surprise most men despite the symptoms indicated by Jesus.

Mt24.³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark, – Picturesque development of the words “as in the days of Noah”, very much in keeping with the narrative of Genesis. – The men were eating : in Greek, an energetic word that sometimes means to eat greedily, like wild beasts, and sometimes to eat at one's leisure, with relish. The phrasing of the text emphasizes habit, something done regularly. Drinking, eating, and marrying thus constituted the entirety of human life around the time of the Flood: they existed, in a way, only for material pleasure. For them, the secondary had become the primary. We can now understand the reflection of Genesis, 6:12: «On earth, every living creature acted corruptly,» and God’s hatred for such a dissolute race. They were getting married is said of men who take women in marriage; the verb that follows, married their children, This applies to the parents of the brides, in accordance with the Eastern custom whereby young girls are given in marriage by their relatives, without regard to their personal feelings. Until the day..The construction of the ark, which they witnessed daily, and even Noah's entry into the ark, did not restrain this depraved race from its pleasures. Solely attentive to the desires of the flesh, it neglected, to its own destruction, all the warnings from heaven; cf. 1 Peter 3:19. 

Mt24.³⁹ And they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away: so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. – They knew nothing, They understood nothing, or at least they refused to believe anything until the very last moment. But the divine threats carried on nonetheless. The flood broke and would soon have swept away, carried, swept away to the last of these pleasure-seekers. «When people say, «Peace and security,» then disaster will suddenly come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape.» 1 Thessalonians 5:3.

Mt24.⁴⁰ So, of two men who will be in a field, one will be taken, the other left, – Two familiar examples show how sudden the arrival of the Sovereign Judge will be, and how many men will be caught by it in a state of sin, so as to deserve severe condemnation. SO, when the coming of the Son of Man takes place; Cf. v. 39. – Two men will be in a field. Jesus imagines two workers laboring together in the same field. Despite the identical nature of their occupation at the crucial moment, what a difference in their final fate! One will be taken ; in large part. It will be taken by the angels, v. 31, and placed among the elect, Cf. John 143. On the contrary, the other one left. Left out by the blessed spirits whom Christ had charged with gathering all his saints for eternal reward, he will be among the damned, whom the demons will later come to claim. It seems as if Jesus Christ is already seated on his throne, contemplating events as they will one day unfold.

Mt24.⁴¹ of two women who will be ground at the millstone, one will be taken, the other left. – Two women, and only two, busy grinding with hand mills. Everything in this short description is perfectly accurate. Large mills have always been extremely rare in the Orient; on the other hand, almost every household owns its own small portable mill, of which womenAnd usually the female servants or slaves (cf. Exodus 11:5; Judges 16:21) would grind the wheat needed for the family's daily meals. "No sooner had we settled in," recounts the Englishman Clarkes, "in the house in Nazareth that had been assigned to us, than we saw through the window, in the neighboring courtyard, two women grinding wheat, which brought to mind the words of Jesus, Matthew 24:41… They were sitting on the ground, facing each other, and between them were two flat, rounded stones. In the middle of the upper stone was an opening into which the wheat was poured, and on the side a vertical wooden handle used to turn it. One of the women, with her right hand, pushed this handle to the other woman." seat in front of her, and she in turn pushed it forward: the millstone thus turned very rapidly under their combined impetus. At the same time, each threw a little wheat into the opening with her left hand, and the bran and flour could be seen emerging alongside the machine. – These examples signify that men will be surprised by the judgment, that as they will be then, so they will appear before the bar of the Supreme Judge, and finally, that their happy or unhappy eternity will depend on their moral state at that decisive hour.

Mt24.⁴² Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know when your Lord will come. – With this verse, which could serve as the text for the second part of the discourse, begins a long exhortation to vigilance, which we will see continue in various forms until the middle (v. 30) of the following chapter. So be careful. The consequence is quite natural, given the complete uncertainty surrounding the precise timing of the end times. Your Lord Christ, who is our Lord and Master. We know that he will come infallibly; that is enough, although the hour is uncertain. Moreover, since the hour is uncertain, it is essential for us to be constantly vigilant.

Mt24.⁴³ Know this well: if the father of the family knew what time the thief was coming, he would be vigilant and would not let his house be broken into. – You should know. The pronoun is emphasized to draw attention to something noteworthy. If the father knew ; an ordinary family man. This verse contains the summary of a very interesting parable. What time. We spoke earlier about the division of the night among the Jews into four watches of three hours each. Cf. 20:3-5, and the explanation. He would watch. Jesus suggests that the misfortune occurred due to a lack of vigilance. Drilling into your house Literally, "to be pierced through"; the dwellings of the Eastern peoples were mostly built of sun-baked bricks, mud bricks, and loose stones: it was therefore easy to make holes in the walls to gain entry. – See similar warnings in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10; 2 Peter 3:10; Apocalypse 3, 3 ; 16, 15.

Mt24.⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. – That is why, Consequently, we have been warned by this striking example. Be ready. Let us do in the spiritual realm what a wise father of a family never fails to do in the temporal realm; let us guard our homes, and the thief, whenever he comes, will not surprise us. At a time you don't know…This is true even now for each individual, just as it will be true in general for all humankind in the last days of the world, according to the thought of St. Jerome, in Joel, chapter 2. St. Augustine, in Letter 199, speaks in the same vein: «The last day will come for everyone, when the day comes that they depart from life in the same state in which the Last Judgment will find them. Every Christian must therefore be vigilant so that the coming of the Lord does not surprise them unprepared. For he who has not been found ready on the last day of his life will not be found ready on the last day of the world.».

Mt24.⁴⁵ Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them their food at the proper time? – Verses 45-51 contain a new, imperfect parable that the divine Master had already quoted, but in very different circumstances and with a clear variety of details; cf. Luke 12:42-46. What is… A formula intended to excite the attention of the listeners; Cf. St. John Chrysostom, Hom. 77 in Matthew. – The faithful and prudent servantThe context proves that this is a high-ranking servant, a household manager entrusted with very specific duties. Hence this apt reflection by Saint Hilary: “Although the Lord has generally recommended to all of us continual vigilance over ourselves, he commands the princes of the people, that is, the Apostles, bishops, and priests, to exercise particular solicitude in anticipation of his coming.” Let us note the two essential qualities that the good servant of whom Jesus speaks must possess: loyalty to his master, to his obligations, and prudence, a profound wisdom. About his people....Family in the old sense of the expression, referring to the other slaves of the household, "faithful servant." – The master who has thus entrusted a servant with the task of leading the others is God himself or Christ. To distribute them…Purpose of this preponderance. The parable alludes to the daily rations that the steward was responsible for distributing to the slaves under his care. In due time, "at the appointed time".

Mt24.⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master finds so doing when he returns. – Happy. Regularly, we should read: "This servant, whom…", "This is the servant whom his Master…", etc., since Jesus is answering the question posed in the previous verse. But this new turn given to the answer, this emphatic "Blessed," highlights the merit and reward of the good servant. By acting in this way, that is to say, fully engaged in his duties, busy distributing food to the other servants at the time set by the master.

Mt24.⁴⁷ Truly I tell you, he will establish it over all his possessions. – On all his property ; Because he who is faithful in small things will be likewise faithful in great. He who had been only a minor steward will thus become, as a reward for his good conduct, the steward of all the Master's possessions. – But it is in heaven, not on earth, that God will give this glorious reward: how then can each of the faithful and prudent pastors be charged with administering all the possessions of the divine Master? This promotion will not be like earthly promotions, where the eminence of one excludes that of the other; it will rather resemble the diffusion of love in which the more there is for each individual, the more there is for all together.

Mt24.⁴⁸ But if that servant is wicked and says to himself, “My master is taking a long time to come,”, – But yes… We still need to hear the other side of the coin; for, while there are faithful servants whom we are happy to reward, there are also bad ones whom we are obliged to punish severely. This servant is wicked. The steward had received, in anticipation (v. 45), the nicknames "prudent and faithful" in the expectation that he would behave well; he is now called "bad" in the same way, in the expectation that he will fail in his most serious duties. At its heart, That is to say, within himself. For the Hebrews, the heart is the seat of reflection; it is there that man converses with himself, devises his plans, etc. My master is late..The Master is absent, and his return, which everyone thought would be imminent, is delayed beyond the time calculated by the steward. This wretch will take advantage of this delay to blatantly abuse the trust placed in him and the authority entrusted to him. But Jesus only gives the beginning of his dreadful monologue; the rest is all too well expressed by his actions.

Mt24.⁴⁹ He began to beat his companions, and to eat and drink with people who were fond of wine., – If he starts.... No sooner said than done. Fortunately, he will only be able to begin, for the sudden arrival of his master will quickly put an end to his disgraceful behavior. To beat his companions This is the first crime, which consists of the cruel and unjust oppression of other servants. If he eats and drinks This is the second type, an orgy at the expense of the master, whose wealth is squandered. With the drunks. Naturally, the guilty party chose as companions in his debauchery those from whom he could expect nothing but flattering applause and encouraging examples. The Arabs have a proverb full of truth: Tell me who you eat with and I'll tell you who you are..

Mt24.⁵⁰ The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know.,As we have said, the sudden return of the head of the household will thwart all the plans of the faithless servant. He is forgotten, his absence is thought to last much longer, and then suddenly he appears and catches his steward in the act of cruelty and theft. It will be the same with the coming of the Son of Man for judgment.

Mt24.⁵¹ And he will have him torn with blows, and assign him his place with the hypocrites: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there.». – will assign him his share. This word certainly indicates some dreadful torture. Which one? We cannot say for certain. It is probable, however, from the Greek, that it means to saw in two, or to mutilate, to quarter. These tortures existed among the Jews as well as among the Greeks and Romans. Cf. Judges 19:29; 1 Samuel 15:33; 2 Samuel 12:31; 1 Kings 3:25, etc.; among the secular, Dioscorides Sirach 1:2; Herodotus 3:17; Livy 1:28; Horace, Satires 1:1, 99; Suetonius, Caligula c. 27. The Latin phrases "flagris tergum secare, discindere, distruncare" have led some exegetes (Paulus, de Wette, Kuinœl, etc.) to believe that "separate" here represents flagellation. According to St. Jerome, Maldonatus, Grotius, and others, this verb simply means "to dismiss." But this would be a very mild punishment in this instance. His share A Hebraic term that also signifies fate, destiny. With the hypocrites. This man behaved like a true hypocrite, taking advantage of his master's absence to do evil; it is only right that he be treated as such. There, That is to say, in the special place reserved for the punishment of hypocrites. – The formula There will be tears…obviously refers in this passage, as in all the others where we have already encountered it (cf. 7, 12; 13, 42-50; 22, 12 and parallels), to eternal damnation and the torments of hell. The Rabbis agree in placing hypocrites in Gehenna, and Dante, in Inferno, 23, 58, relegates to the sixth hell those whom he ironically calls «the multitude of Shades.».