Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

- Matthew 24:1-14

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His grand critique of the Pharisees and scribes. He began this critique in Monday's reading, telling His disciples not to be like the Pharisees. On Tuesday, we read of His calling them hypocrites -- who love good works for the show to other men, and are far away from the love of God. He also called them blind, saying, "Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also." Yesterday, we read His most scathing criticism, as He worked His way into their practice which in effect kept others from God. He said they are "like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." He chastised them for saying that if they had lived in the days of their fathers, they would not have partaken in the blood of the prophets. But He said they testify that they are sons of their fathers, that He would send them prophets, wise men and scribes whom they would kill and crucify, and some they would scourge in their synagogues and persecute from city to city . .. "that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." In A.D. 70 would come the destruction of the temple. My study bible says that this event "sets the tone for Jesus' discourse on the end of the age." Indeed, the stones of the temple would be leveled so because it was rumored there was gold between them. We must remember what a marvelous collection of buildings this was, as it had been expanded as one of the tremendous building projects of Herod the Great. Its stones were enormous. So, the impact of this statement on anyone familiar with the temple would have been stupendous, impossible to imagine.

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" My study bible notes, "The question about the signs and the persecutions is connected in Matthew with the sign of His coming and the end of the age. The disciples dream of the hoped-for earthly kingdom, which they expect to appear almost immediately."

And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." As Jesus begins the discourse on the end of the age, here in Matthew it begins with the beginning of sorrows. My study bible says, "In this chapter the end is described as a process with three overlapping stages" (my emphasis). I think it's important that we understand that from the New Testament we can't really get a sense of exact chronology, and this is for a very important reason, which Jesus will give. His emphasis is on watchfulness and preparation, what they will do in the meantime -- in the time in which we live now, as we await His return. These words in these particular verses fittingly apply to what awaits them in Jerusalem in the immediate future, as wars of empire would become greater and greater, along with their effects, in this time frame, and particularly focused in the Siege of Jerusalem. My study bible makes note of His warning to them not to be deceived, nor overpowered by the violence of afflictions which will come.

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." Jesus speaks of the tribulation that will befall that generation of His followers. He also warns about the betrayal by false brethren; as my study bible puts it, not to "stumble" because of them. The important thing is to be pre-warned, and to endure. Another note applies well here: "All these calamities and tribulations will not prevent the progress of the gospel; the Good News will be preached everywhere." Here is a reference to our Gospel itself: it is a witness of all these things, it is still preached, we still await the fullness of time in expectation, we endure. In so doing, we build our own witness.

My study bible points out that in this chapter in Matthew's gospel Jesus describes the end of the age "as a process with three overlapping stages: (1) the beginning of sorrows, (2) the Great Tribulation, and (3) the coming of the Son of Man." Today's reading covered the verses in what is called "the beginning of sorrows." We await the following verses in tomorrow's reading. But I cannot help but think of the stunning impact this must make on His disciples, as they sit on the Mount of Olives, looking out over Jerusalem. It seems to me to be all too much to take in. They cannot possibly make head or tail of this news. It's too stupendous -- not only because of their hopefulness there in Jerusalem despite His warnings about what is to come to Him personally, but also the destruction of the temple to come. It is an overwhelmingly extreme scenario, although we can look back in certainty and understand that indeed all was to be as He said in their immediate futures. Out of the fierce persecution of the Church, the "scourging in the synagogues and persecution from city to city" would come an apostle with the tremendous effect as one by whom "the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations" -- and that is St. Paul. Although the warnings in today's reading do indeed apply immediately to the apostles He addresses, we can of course take these lessons to heart as the founding lessons of we who follow in the Church. We endure, we watch in preparedness, we seek to be wise to those who would deceive and also not to be deceived by the appearances of violence and oppression, opposition and hardship. It sets the tone for the entire period in which we live in faith as we await in hope of the fullness of that Kingdom, and we catch glimpses of its glory in ourselves and our lives, in faith and in community, in the beauty of the world filled with the Spirit. We hope. We taste His glory in the times our minds our illumined and our hearts are filled with a love that makes us whole, even when at times our lives may feel broken. We taste and see that kingdom in ways that give us a glimpse of its fullness which we continue to await. In the experience of His light and His love, we take our refuge and we have our life. We endure, we stand our ground in His faith, with Him.