Matthew 24:23 Komentář

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple,.... He not only went out of it for that time, but took his final leave of it, never to return more to it; having foretold its desolation, which he, in part, by so doing, immediately fulfilled: this the disciples observing, and being intent on the outward splendour, and worldly grandeur of it, were concerned that so beautiful a structure should be deserted; and almost thought it incredible, that so strong, and firm a building could be destroyed. And his disciples came unto him: as he went, and as soon as he was come out of the temple, and whilst in view of it: for to show him the buildings of the temple; the walls of it, and courts adjoining to it, how beautiful and firm they were: whether this was done by them to raise in him admiration or commiseration, in hopes he might change the sentence he had passed upon it, is not easy to say; or whether this did not express their incredulity about the desolation of it; which Christ's answer, in the next verse, seems to imply. Mark says, it was "one of the disciples" that observed these to him, who might be accompanied with the rest, and in their name address him; and who, probably, might be Peter, since he was generally their mouth; and that he should speak to him in this manner: "master, see what manner of stones, and what buildings are here!" Luke says, "how it was adorned with goodly stones, and gifts." The Jews give very great encomiums of the second temple, as repaired by Herod; and it was undoubtedly a very fine structure. They say (p), that he built the house of the sanctuary, "an exceeding beautiful building"; and that he repaired the temple, in beauty "greatly exceeding" that of Solomon's (q). They moreover observe (r), that "he who has not seen the building of Herod, has never seen, , "a beautiful building." With what is it built? says Rabbah, with stones of green and white marble. And there are others say, that it was built with stones of spotted green and white marble.'' These, very likely, were the very stones the disciples pointed to, and admired; and were of a prodigious size, as well as worth. Some of the stones were, as Josephus (s) says, "forty five cubits long, five high, and six broad.'' Others of them, as he elsewhere affirm (t), "were twenty five cubits long, eight high, and twelve broad.'' And he also tells us, in the same place, that there were, "in the porches, four rows of pillars: the thickness of each pillar was as much as three men, with their arms stretched out, and joined together, could grasp; the length twenty seven feet, and the number of them an hundred and sixty two, and beautiful to a miracle.'' At the size of those stones, and the beauty of the work, it is said (u), Titus was astonished, when he destroyed the temple; at which time his soldiers plundered it, and took away "the gifts", with which it is also said to be adorned. These were rich and valuable things which were dedicated to it, and either laid up in it, or hung upon the walls and pillars of it, as it was usual in other temples (w). These may, intend the golden table given by Pompey, and the spoils which Herod dedicated; and particularly the golden vine, which was a gift of his (x); besides multitudes of other valuable things, which were greatly enriching and ornamental to it. Now the disciples suggest, by observing these, what a pity it was such a grand edifice should be destroyed; or how unaccountable it was; that a place of so much strength, could easily be demolished. (p) Juchasin, fol. 139. 1. (q) Ganz Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 24. 2. (r) T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 4. 1. & Succa, fol. 51. 2. (s) De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 5. (t) Antiq. Jud. l. 15. c. 14. (u) Egesippus, l. 5. c. 43. (w) Vid. Ryckium de Capitol. Rom. c. 21, &c. (x) Joseph. Antiq. l. 15.

Then if any man shall say unto you,.... Either at the time when the siege shall be begun, and the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place; or during the days of tribulation, whilst the siege lasted; or after those days were shortened, and the city destroyed, and the Roman army was gone with their captives: when some, that were scattered up and down in the country, would insinuate to their countrymen, that the Messiah was in such a place: saying, lo! here is Christ, or there, believe it not; for both during the time of the siege, there were such that sprung up, and pretended to be Messiahs, and deliverers of them from the Roman power, and had their several abettors; one saying he was in such place, and another that he was in such a place; and so spirited up the people not to fly, nor to deliver up the city; and also, after the city was taken and destroyed, one and another set up for the Messiah. Very quickly after, one Jonathan, a very wicked man, led many into the desert of Cyrene, promising to show them signs and wonders, and was overthrown by Catullius, the Roman governor (q); and after that, in the times of Adrian, the famous Barcochab set up for the Messiah, and was encouraged by R. Akiba, and a multitude of Jews (r). (q) Joseph. Antiq. l. 7. c. 12. (r) Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 28. 2.

Watch for your life's sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ye ready, for ye know not the hour in which our Lord cometh. But often shall ye come together, seeking the things which are befitting to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if ye be not made perfect in the last time. For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; for when lawlessness increaseth, they shall hate and persecute and betray one another, and then shall appear the world-deceiver as Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands, and he shall do iniquitous things which have never yet come to pass since the beginning. Then shall the creation of men come into the fire of trial, and many shall be made to stumble and shall perish; but they that endure in their faith shall be saved from under the curse itself. And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first, the sign of an out-spreading in heaven; then the sign of the sound of the trumpet; and the third, the resurrection of the dead; yet not of all, but as it is said: The Lord shall come and all His saints with Him. Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven.

The genus of Antichrist is one, the species many, just as all lies are of one sort. As all the holy Prophets were Prophets of the true Christ, so understand that each false Christ shall have his own false Prophets, who shall preach as true the false teachings of some Antichrist. When then one shall say, Lo, here is Christ, or lo, there, we need not look abroad out of the Scriptures, for out of the Law, the Prophets, and the Apostles, they bring the things which seem to favour their lie. Or by this, Lo, here is Christ, or lo, there, they show that it was not Christ, but some impostor under the same title, such for example as Marcion, or Valentinus, or Basilides taught.

Notwithstanding, by reason of the great tribulation in which men shall be cast, false prophets promising to show aid present from Christ, will falsely affirm that Christ is present in divers places, that they may draw into the service of Antichrist men discouraged and distracted.

Having finished what concerned Jerusalem, He passes on to His own coming, and tells the signs of it, not for their use only, but for us also, and for all that shall come after us. "Then." When? Here, as I have often said, the word, "then," relates not to the connection in order of time with the things before mentioned. At least, when He was minded to express the connection of time, He added, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days," but here not so, but, "then," not meaning what should follow straightway after these things, but what should be in the time, when these things were to be done, of which He was about to speak. Awhile He secures them by the place, mentioning the distinguishing marks of His second coming, and the indications of the deceivers. For not, as when at His former coming He appeared in Bethlehem, and in a small corner of the world, and no one knew Him at the beginning, so doth He say it shall be then too; but openly and with all circumstance, and so as not to need one to tell these things. And this is no small sign that He will not come secretly.

“If anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There is the Christ,’ do not believe him.” At the time of the Jewish captivity by Rome, many Jewish elders claimed to be the Christ. There were so many, in fact, that there were three distinct camps of them when the Romans besieged Jerusalem. This saying is better understood as referring to the end of the world, however.“False Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so that even the elect might be led into error. Behold, I told you.” As I have already noted, this passage is to be explained in one of three ways. It refers either to the Roman siege of Jerusalem or to the end of the world or to the war waged by heretics against the church and by antichrists who oppose Christ under the pretext of false knowledge. “If, therefore, they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the desert,’ do not go out. And if they say ‘Behold, he is inside,’ don’t believe it.” If anyone were to tell you that Christ dwells in the wilderness of the pagans or in the doctrine of the philosophers or within the inner chambers of heretics who promise to reveal the secrets of God, do not go out and do not believe them. And lest false prophets find an opportunity for deceiving you at a time of persecution and anxiety, you should not trust just anyone who claims to speak in the name of Christ.

(Verse 23.) Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. Many leaders arose during the time of the Jewish captivity who claimed to be the Christ, to the extent that there were three factions inside the besieged Romans. But the end of the world is better understood.

For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied, and such as corrupt the word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves, and love into hatred: for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold. For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another. And then shall appear the deceiver of the world, the enemy of the truth, the prince of lies, [2 Thessalonians 2:3-12] whom the Lord Jesus "shall destroy with the spirit of His mouth, who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be offended at Him. But they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven;" [Isaiah 11:4; Matthew 24:1-51] and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the archangel; and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep. And then shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him, with a great concussion above the clouds, with the angels of His power, [Matthew 16:27] in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. "Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal," [Matthew 25:46] to inherit those things "which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, such things as God has prepared for them that love Him;" [1 Corinthians 2:9] and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus.

The demons, wanting to tempt a hermit, said to him, ‘Would you like to see Christ?’ He said, ‘A curse be upon you and him by whom you speak. I believe my Christ when He said, “If anyone says to you, ‘Lo, here is Christ,’ or ‘Lo, there,’ do not believe him” (Matt. 24:23).’ They vanished at the words.

Since the disciples had brought two questions to Him, one concerning the captivity of Jerusalem, and the other, the Lord's second coming, having already spoken of the captivity of Jerusalem, here He begins to speak of His own coming, and of the end of the world. When He says, "Then if any man shall say unto you," "then" does not mean immediately after the capture of Jerusalem, but rather at that time when this shall occur. So it means, "Then," that is, when the Antichrist is about to come, there will be many false christs and false prophets who, by means of the apparitions of demons who, in order to deceive, will play tricks with the eyes of those who see the apparitions. So that if the righteous were not sober minded, even they would be deceived. But, behold, I have foretold these things to you; you have no excuse, for it is within your power not to be deceived.

After the Lord answered the disciples' question about the destruction of the city, here he begins to answer those things that pertain to the second coming. Now this coming is the coming for judgment; therefore it is divided, because first he sets forth the signs and manner of his coming; secondly, he treats of the judgment, below at 25:1, the kingdom of heaven shall be like ten virgins. Regarding the first he does two things. First, he sets forth the signs preceding the coming of Christ; secondly, he treats of the coming itself, at and they shall see the Son of man etc. Regarding the first there are two parts, because two things will precede: first, on the part of men and the elect; secondly, on the part of the elements, at and immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened etc. Regarding the first he does two things. First, he sets forth a certain warning; secondly, the reason for this warning, at for there shall arise false Christs and false prophets. He says therefore, then if any man shall say to you: lo, here is Christ etc. It should be noted that the word then does not indicate a determinate time, but a vague time, because this did not happen immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem, but is expected to happen in the end. Something similar is found above in chapter 2, where it says that the Lord dwelt in Nazareth, whence he is called a Nazarene, and there follows: then came John the Baptist preaching in the desert of Judea; not that he came at that time, because there were perhaps twenty years between the two events; hence it is taken as a vague time. So also here. For it will happen that many deceivers will come, and will say that the Antichrist is God. Then if any man shall say to you: lo, here is Christ, or there, do not believe him. 2 Thessalonians 2:2: Be not terrified, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by epistle, as sent from us, as if the day of the Lord were at hand.

PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS. (Mat 25:1-13) Then--at the time referred to at the close of the preceding chapter, the time of the Lord's Second Coming to reward His faithful servants and take vengeance on the faithless. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom--This supplies a key to the parable, whose object is, in the main, the same as that of the last parable--to illustrate the vigilant and expectant attitude of faith, in respect of which believers are described as "they that look for Him" (Heb 9:28), and "love His appearing" (Ti2 4:8). In the last parable it was that of servants waiting for their absent Lord; in this it is that of virgin attendants on a Bride, whose duty it was to go forth at night with lamps, and be ready on the appearance of the Bridegroom to conduct the Bride to his house, and go in with him to the marriage. This entire and beautiful change of figure brings out the lesson of the former parable in quite a new light. But let it be observed that, just as in the parable of the Marriage Supper, so in this--the Bride does not come into view at all in this parable; the Virgins and the Bridegroom holding forth all the intended instruction: nor could believers be represented both as Bride and Bridal Attendants without incongruity.