Troublesome Topic: This Is Strong Assurance
Matthew 24:35
Translation
Paraphrase
The things you think of as solid, reliable and unmovable, be it spiritual things outside of your comprehension, or
physical things you touch every day, are less enduring than the words I have just spoken to you. Those things will be gone someday, but the words I have spoken will always remain firm.
The reason Jesus said this was because they had assumed all along that the Messiah figure would take on the Roman Empire and give Israel its political freedom. Jesus’s purpose was to give people spiritual freedom, not political freedom. So He made clear to them that the manifestation of His full power would not look like what they had in mind, but they should still trust it because it was more sure and reliable than anything they could imagine. He was also saying, “Many things will change, even some things that you would never expect to change, such as the temple, but be assured of this, what I have spoken, must be fulfilled.” And it was. Only the true Messiah could make a statement so definitive as this one and then make it come true.
A Similar Question Was Asked in Acts Chapter One
Before looking at the examples and parables Jesus used in Matthew 24 and 25 it is worthwhile to take a quick look at Acts chapter 1. There the disciples asked a question similar to the one in Mt 24:3.
In Acts 1:6 the disciples asked Jesus the following question:
“Lord, at this time are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Jesus’ answer in Acts 1:7 was, “It is not yours to know the times or seasons which the Father has established by His own authority.”
The way the disciples worded their question reveals their incorrect assumption. “Restore the kingdom to Israel” was a very political statement. Notice they were not seeking the establishment of God’s kingdom, but of the Israelite kingdom. They were saying, “We’re really glad you did not stay dead after the cross incident. You really scared us bad. But now you are alive again and that’s great. So, we are still wondering what we have always been wondering. Are you now, finally, going to get rid of those terrible Romans and establish Israel as a nation again, with a king, and with its own army that is respected by the whole world?”
Here again He tells them to stop trying to figure it all out and just do what they are supposed to be doing—being witnesses to what they have seen and experienced (v. 8). I think they understood that His answer was basically “No, I’m not going to do what you have hoped I would do and I want you to focus on something else.”
The next lesson is: EXAMPLE #1 PREPARATIONS FOR A WEDDING DAY.
Footnotes
1
The Greek says, “will no not pass away.” The use of the double negative gives it more force, but double negatives are not allowed in English, hence I have translated it “definitely not”