The Olivet Discourse Summarized
In this post, I would like to give a summary of the Olivet Discourse, the teaching found in Matthew 24
, Mark 13, and Luke 21:5ff.
The Evangelists begin this discourse in the following way:
, “Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 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.’”
, “And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’”
, “And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, “‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’”
As we can see, what brings up the whole discourse in these three chapters is the Temple and its destruction. We must keep this in mind as we read the whole discourse, the topic at hand is the destruction of the temple.
Now follow the disciples’ questions following Jesus’ statements that the Temple will be cast down.
, “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 close of the age?’”, “And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?’”, “And they asked him, ‘Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?’”
You will note that Matthew adds a third question to the one found in Mark and Luke, “What will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” Many assume that there are three separate questions in Matthew. However, Mark and Luke make the two questions about the one event and thus imply the third question of Matthew. In other words, the two questions raised in Mark and Luke are end of the age questions being asked about the Temple’s destruction. Matthew takes this implication and makes it explicit. What was implicit in Mark and Luke is explicit in Matthew. Thus we have different aspects of the one event.
Jesus next warns the disciples of several forms of sufferings they were to endure as Christians. They are: false Christs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes. Matthew and Mark call them “the beginning of birth pains.” All of these sufferings we in large supply between Jesus’ ascension and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Josephus notes in Antiquities of the Jews 20.8.5-6 that there were many “false prophets, false messiahs” during that time. In Acts 5:35-37; 21:38 we see a list of false messiahs. History also notes the following during the reigns of Claudius and Caliglia: from Alexandria to Syria to Seleucia to Babylonia there were violent tumults, Caliglia tried to place his statue in the Jewish temple which nearly led to a war between Rome and Judea, four famines occurred in Claudius’ reign and one was extremely severe in Judea that numerous people died, earthquakes were common during this time especially in Asia Minor. Also, the term “birth pangs” spoken of by Matthew and Mark became a rabbinical term that described the events before the Messianic reign and signified God’s judgment. Hence these things, if the questions that Jesus is answering are the disciples’ about the Temple’s destruction, must occur before the Temple is destroyed.
Next Jesus speaks of the preaching of the gospel to the nations. Paul says in Colossians 1:6, 23, “which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth…if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.” Paul says that the gospel has been preached to all of the nations, to the “whole world” and “in all creation under heaven.” This would also include Judea which fulfills the state of Jesus in Matthew 10:23, “you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
The next section of Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14 refer to the “abomination of desolation.” Matthew refers back to Daniel’s usage of the phrase that speaks of Antiochus Epiphenes’ placing of an idol in the temple and offering a sacrifice to the idol as a sign of his sovereignty over the nation of Judea. This is implied by Mark’s usage of the term. It is a long practice for a nation to depose of the gods of the nation they just conquered and force their own upon the conquered. For the Roman armies, the eagle on their standards–the symbol of the Legion–was worshipped by the soldiers. For the standards to enter into the temple was to profane the temple with idols. Josephus confirms this when a war was averted during Tiberius’ reign when Vitellius tried to march into the temple grounds with his army and the Jews said that would violate their religion (Antiquities 18.5.3). This is most definitely on Luke’s mind when he writes not of an abomination of desolation but armies surrounding Jerusalem in Luke 21:20.
In Matthew 24:29-31we have the coming of the Son of Man in terms that shake the very fabric of the stars, sun, and moon. This seems to indicate an event yet to have happened, even if one were to take the previous parts of the discourse to refer to Jerusalem’s fall. The preterist will point to the oracles of Isaiah to show that these terms were used to describe the destruction of Babylon, Tyre, and Bozorah. Yet no where in history do we see the sun darkening and the moon turning blood-red. This passage, like its Old Testament counterparts, were for literary effect. However, I personally don’t think that this view adequately explains what the angel said to the disciples in Acts 1:9-11 and after watching Jesus rise to heaven he would come back in like manner, namely a visible event.
Next, Jesus gives a parable using a fig tree as the illustration. When the fig tree is “tender and puts out its leaves,” then we can all know that summer is here. From this Jesus teaches that when the signs he has just spoken of are occurring, know that the Coming of the Son of Man in judgment of Israel and Jerusalem is very near, “at the very gates.” Hence the appearance of false Messiahs, earthquakes, famines, wars are saying that the tribulation of the Jerusalem and the fall of the Temple is going to occur “immediately” or “within those days,” not in a far distant future.
The next post will begin with the highly controversial “this generation” and arguments for it meaning a literal forty-year generation.
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