Matthew Ch 23 Nearing The Cross
In Matthew chapter 23 we are nearing the cross. Jesus has taught and done public miracles for over 3 years. The evidence was overwhelming. The scribes, and the Pharisees, had plenty of opportunity to examine Jesus and ask questions and come to their senses and see Jesus for who He really is.
But they hardened their hearts and refused Jesus. So before Jesus turns His attention to His last teachings to His disciples before the cross, and then the garden, the trial, and the crucifixion, He is going to address the Pharisees.
He is going to tell it like it really is. This address to them is harsh, because the reality of who they are is harsh. We are not going to go thru it all, we will start in verse 27.
Matt 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Matt 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Matt 23:29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
Matt 23:30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
Jesus informs us that the Pharisees were saying if we had lived back in the old days when they were killing the prophets. We would not have done it. I can almost sense some pride big time here. We are way above that. We are so much better than they were back then. We would never ever do what they did.
Jesus of course does not buy it for a moment.
Matt 23:31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
That is a way of saying you are just like them.
Matt 23:32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Matt 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Then Jesus tells them that they are going to do the same thing.
Matt 23:34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
They don’t know it yet, but they are going to cry crucify, crucify and get Rome to crucify Jesus. And after that Jesus is going to send Christians to witness to them and they are going to persecute them and kill some of them.
Matt 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Matt 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Matt 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
The majority of the Jewish people had thru centuries refused God’s will. It says, they would not. God always had a minority of Jewish people who followed Him. And there were times when a majority followed Him. The revival in Nehemiah’s day and at the dedication of Solomon’s temple are two examples. As well as the generation that followed Joshua into the land. But there were far more years when only a minority followed God.
Time and time again God would send men unto them to call them back and the reason is given. Jesus wanted to gather them together and protect them and care for them and He gives an illustration like a hen gathers her chickens under her wings.
But they refused. And so Jesus now tells them what the consequences are.
Matt 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Matt 23:39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
God deals with individuals and God deals with groups. Here He is addressing the Jewish people as a group. He referred to Jerusalem and His sending prophets to Jewish people at Jerusalem. Their capital city. He is addressing them as a group.
And He tells them that your house is left unto you desolate. Desolate from what? From Jesus. Jesus tells them that you (the Jewish people) shall not see me from this point forward until they (as a group) shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
That will not happen until the tribulation when we see that 144,000 Jews are sealed to witness for Jesus.
Until then Jesus teaches that scales will be over their eyes as far as seeing Jesus for who He is. And this explains what we see today. The Jewish people on the whole cannot see the truth of who Jesus is. What we see in the world around us lines up with what the Bible says.
Now keep in mind that Jesus also works on the individual level. Any Jewish person can get saved. And some do get saved. The lady that wrote the melody for I can stand was Jewish. I have read books written by Jewish men who got saved. It does happen, but they are in the tiny minority. Overall as a group they have scales and blinders on their eyes.
Now the disciples were there and heard all of this. And the topic of the end times had come up before this. And the prophecy of the Messiah setting up His kingdom was something important to them. After all they are currently being ruled by Rome. So they go to Jesus privately and ask Him about the end times.
Matt 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Notice they did not ask for the sign of the tribulation, but the sign of His coming and of the end of the world. There is no sign for what we call the Rapture.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Matt 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Matt 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
Matt 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Matt 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
At the beginning of the tribulation are the 7 seals and the first few of them take peace from the earth and famines start.
Matt 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Early on in the tribulation anyone getting saved is getting killed, except the 144,000 witnesses and some in Israel.
Matt 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Matt 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Matt 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Jesus says that iniquity shall abound and it sure will in the tribulation big time. And we are seeing the world moving that way today. We are sure seeing that today. And because of sin abounding Jesus says the love of many shall wax cold. The wide spread abounding of sin does have an effect upon people. It causes the love of many to wax cold.
We are also seeing the world grow colder to Jesus.
Watch the next verse closely.
Matt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Some will say that the tribulation cannot start until the gospel is preached in all the world and there are nations that are closed to the gospel now and it cannot be preached there. So they say the tribulation cannot come yet.
But that is not what Jesus said. Jesus said and then shall the end come. Jesus did not say then shall the tribulation come. And we know from our study in Revelation that during the tribulation God will send an angel who will fly over all the inhabitants of the earth and preach the Gospel.
Watch the context verse 15.
Matt 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
This happens when the beast and the false prophet are walking the earth. They show up about midway thru the tribulation. So Jesus is obviously not talking about what happens before the tribulation starts. He is talking about what happens before the tribulation ends. He is talking about what happens before He comes and sets up His 1,000 reign.
Matt 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Matt 24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Matt 24:18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Matt 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Matt 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Matt 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
From the rapture until the beast shows up is called the tribulation.
From the time the beast shows up until Jesus comes to set up His reign is called the great tribulation. And as we have seen in Revelation it is really bad.
Matt 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
So bad that Jesus says unless those days are shortened no one would live thru it.
Jump down to verse 29
Matt 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
We know from our study in Revelation that this happens late in the tribulation. So again Jesus is not talking about what happens before the tribulation. He is talking about what happens late in the tribulation before He comes to setup His 1,000 year reign.
He is answering the question of the disciples which was what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? He is telling them what they wanted to know.
Matt 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The earth at that time will be worshipping the Beast and the devil. They will hate Jesus and when they see Him coming they will mourn.
Matt 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
This is not the rapture. That already happened. Remember a few will be getting saved after the angels fly thru the air and preach. They will be scattered, and most likely running for their lives and hiding. Angels will be sent to gather them to Jesus.
And this will happen as Jesus is coming on His white horse with us following.
Now in connection with this Jesus will now teach some parables.
Matt 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
In the spring you know that summer is close when the tree starts budding out and making new leaves. The new leaves are a sign that summer is coming and soon.
Matt 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
And again Jesus has not been talking about before the tribulation, but about the signs at the end of the tribulation before He sets up His kingdom.
This was all in direct response to the question of the disciples which was about Jesus coming back to the earth and the end of the world.
Jesus has told them what they wanted to know, now Jesus is going to go further and teach them what they need to know.
He is going to teach them what they should be more concerned about. And that is there is going to be a rapture and then the start of the tribulation, and then a 1,000 year reign.
And how you should live in light of all of that.
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