What Question Was Jesus Answering in Matthew 24?
The Temple, Jerusalem, “This Generation,” and the Coming of the Son of Man
Matthew 24 is one of the most frequently quoted chapters in discussions about the end times.
Wars.
Earthquakes.
Famines.
The abomination of desolation.
Great tribulation.
The sun darkened.
The Son of Man coming on the clouds.
Angels gathering the elect.
The lesson of the fig tree.
One taken and one left.
It is easy to take these statements, place them on an end-times chart, and then try to determine where we are on the chart.
But before doing that, perhaps we should ask a simpler question:
WHAT QUESTION WAS JESUS ANSWERING?
The answer begins before the disciples ever reach the Mount of Olives.
1. The Conversation Begins at the Temple
Matthew tells us:
“Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.”
— Matthew 24:1
The disciples were impressed by the Temple.
Jesus answered:
“Do you see all these things?”
Then He made a startling prediction:
“Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
— Matthew 24:2
Imagine hearing that.
This was Jerusalem.
This was the Temple.
This was the center of Jewish worship.
Jesus had just announced its destruction.
That is the conversation that produced Matthew 24.
Don't lose sight of it.
2. What Did the Disciples Ask?
Later Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives.
The disciples came privately and asked:
“Tell us... when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
— Matthew 24:3
We should not assume the disciples already understood all the distinctions that later Christians would make.
They had just heard Jesus predict the destruction of the Temple.
To them, such an event must have sounded enormous.
Perhaps they connected the destruction of the Temple, Christ's coming, and the end of the age more closely than Jesus did.
So we should allow Jesus' answer—not our assumptions—to sort out their questions.
3. Jesus Begins With a Warning
Jesus' first words are not:
“Here is how to calculate the date.”
They are:
“Watch out that no one deceives you.”
— Matthew 24:4
That should tell us something about the purpose of the chapter.
Jesus warns about:
False messiahs.
Wars and rumors of wars.
Famines.
Earthquakes.
Persecution.
False prophets.
Lawlessness.
Jesus says these things will happen.
But He also says:
“See to it that you are not alarmed.”
And:
“The end is still to come.”
— Matthew 24:6
That is almost the opposite of the way these verses are sometimes used.
A war begins.
An earthquake occurs.
A famine strikes.
Someone says:
“This proves the end is almost here!”
Jesus says:
DON'T BE ALARMED.
These things happen.
They are not, by themselves, a calendar.
4. “You” Matters
As we read the chapter, notice how often Jesus speaks directly to the disciples.
“You will hear...”
“You will be handed over...”
“You will be hated...”
“When you see...”
“Pray that your flight...”
Jesus was speaking to real people sitting in front of Him.
That doesn't mean His words have no meaning for later Christians.
But before asking what the passage means to us, we should ask:
WHAT DID IT MEAN TO THEM?
That is basic exegesis.
5. Then Jesus Becomes Very Geographical
Jesus says:
“When you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel...”
Then:
“Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
— Matthew 24:15–16
Notice the geography.
JUDEA.
He continues:
Don't go back into the house.
Don't return from the field for your cloak.
How terrible for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
And:
“Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.”
— Matthew 24:20
This sounds like people escaping a real catastrophe in a real place.
They can flee.
They can run to the mountains.
Weather can make escape more difficult.
Sabbath conditions can complicate flight.
Whatever else this prophecy may ultimately involve, we should not erase first-century Judea from Jesus' words.
6. Luke Gives Us an Important Clue
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record this discourse.
Luke's account is especially helpful.
Jesus says:
“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.”
— Luke 21:20
Then:
“Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
— Luke 21:21
Compare that with Matthew:
“When you see... ‘the abomination that causes desolation’...”
Then:
“Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
— Matthew 24:15–16
Luke's wording makes one thing very difficult to miss.
JERUSALEM'S DESTRUCTION IS PART OF THE PROPHECY.
This is not merely about events thousands of years later.
Jesus was warning His disciples about judgment coming upon Jerusalem.
7. And Jerusalem Was Destroyed
Jesus' warning was not theoretical.
Within the lifetime of that generation, Roman armies came against Jerusalem.
The city fell.
The Temple was destroyed.
The sacrificial system centered there came to an end.
The catastrophe Jesus had predicted in Matthew 24:2 actually happened.
That historical event must have a major place in our interpretation of the chapter.
The question is not:
“Does Matthew 24 have anything to do with Jerusalem?”
Clearly it does.
The harder question is:
HOW MUCH OF MATTHEW 24 CONCERNS JERUSALEM?
And where, if anywhere, does Jesus move from Jerusalem's destruction to His final return?
That is where careful readers disagree.
8. What About the “Great Tribulation”?
Jesus says:
“For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”
— Matthew 24:21
Many readers immediately identify this with a future seven-year Great Tribulation.
But notice what Jesus has just said.
Those in Judea should flee.
They should flee to the mountains.
They should pray their flight is not in winter or on the Sabbath.
The distress is directly connected with the catastrophe Jesus has been describing.
Before moving the passage thousands of years into the future, we should first ask what it meant in the setting Jesus gave it.
9. Where Are the Seven Years?
This is worth asking directly.
Matthew 24 is one of the primary passages used in constructing modern end-times timelines.
Yet Jesus never says:
“There will be a seven-year tribulation.”
He never divides that tribulation into two periods of three and one-half years in this chapter.
He never says the Church will be removed before it begins.
He never says a rebuilt Temple will function during those seven years.
Some of those ideas are argued from other passages.
That is a separate question.
But:
THEY ARE NOT STATED IN MATTHEW 24.
We should distinguish what Jesus says here from what we may have brought into the chapter from somewhere else.
10. Then We Reach the Difficult Part
Jesus continues:
“Immediately after the distress of those days...”
Then He describes:
The sun being darkened.
The moon not giving its light.
Stars falling.
The heavenly bodies being shaken.
Then:
“They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”
— Matthew 24:29–30
Now we have reached one of the great interpretive questions of the chapter.
Is Jesus still describing the judgment on Jerusalem using Old Testament prophetic language?
Or has He moved to His final visible return?
Or does the language deliberately bring the two together—the judgment on Jerusalem foreshadowing and pointing toward the final judgment?
We should not pretend the question is easy.
So let's look at the Bible's own language.
11. Have We Seen the Sun, Moon, and Stars Fall Before?
Yes.
The prophets frequently used cosmic language to describe God's judgment upon nations.
Isaiah described the judgment of Babylon:
“The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.”
— Isaiah 13:10
Isaiah was describing judgment upon Babylon.
He wasn't predicting the literal destruction of the universe at that moment.
Similar language appears elsewhere in the prophets.
When God brought down nations and kingdoms, the prophets could describe it as the shaking of heaven and earth.
Therefore we cannot simply assume:
“Sun, moon, stars—that must mean the end of the physical universe.”
We have to ask how prophetic language works.
12. What About “Coming on the Clouds”?
Jesus' words come from Daniel 7.
Daniel says:
“There before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.”
— Daniel 7:13
But watch the direction.
The Son of Man comes:
“and approached the Ancient of Days.”
He is given:
“authority, glory and sovereign power.”
— Daniel 7:13–14
In Daniel's vision, the Son of Man is not coming from heaven down to earth.
He is coming to the Ancient of Days to receive His kingdom.
That matters because Jesus deliberately uses Daniel's language.
So “coming on the clouds” can carry the language of royal authority, vindication, and divine judgment.
We should not automatically assume every use of that imagery describes Jesus physically descending from heaven to earth.
13. But Does Jesus Also Speak About His Final Coming?
Absolutely.
Matthew 24 does not end with Jerusalem.
Jesus eventually speaks of an event whose timing no one knows.
He says:
“But about that day or hour no one knows.”
— Matthew 24:36
He compares it to the days of Noah.
People were eating.
Drinking.
Marrying.
Life appeared normal.
Then judgment suddenly arrived.
Jesus says:
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”
— Matthew 24:42
And:
“The Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
— Matthew 24:44
The chapter certainly directs our eyes toward Christ's final coming.
The question is:
WHERE DOES THE EMPHASIS CHANGE?
14. Notice the Difference Between “Those Days” and “That Day”
There is an interesting change in the chapter.
Earlier Jesus repeatedly speaks about:
“those days.”
There are things His disciples can observe.
When they see the danger approaching, they should flee.
Then verse 36 says:
“But about THAT DAY or hour no one knows.”
Before verse 36:
Watch for these things.
When you see them, act.
Verse 36 onward:
No one knows the day.
Be ready at all times.
That makes verse 36 a very natural place to consider a change in emphasis.
It may be that Jesus has moved from a judgment His disciples could recognize approaching to His final coming, whose time cannot be known.
We should at least take that possibility seriously.
15. Now Read Verse 34
Jesus says:
“Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”
— Matthew 24:34
This verse has caused enormous difficulty for interpretations that place everything before it thousands of years in the future.
What does “this generation” normally mean?
Some have suggested:
The Jewish race.
The generation alive when the final signs begin.
A future generation.
But throughout Matthew, Jesus repeatedly uses “this generation” for the people living in His own time.
For example:
“To what can I compare this generation?”
— Matthew 11:16
“The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation...”
— Matthew 12:41
“All this will come on this generation.”
— Matthew 23:36
And notice that last statement.
It comes immediately before Matthew 24.
16. Don't Let the Chapter Number Hide the Context
Chapter numbers were added long after Matthew wrote his Gospel.
Matthew 23 flows directly into Matthew 24.
Jesus tells Jerusalem:
“Your house is left to you desolate.”
— Matthew 23:38
Then He leaves the Temple.
His disciples point out its buildings.
Jesus says:
Not one stone will be left upon another.
That is one continuous scene.
And just before leaving the Temple Jesus had said:
“All this will come on this generation.”
— Matthew 23:36
Then in the Olivet discourse He says:
“This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”
— Matthew 24:34
That connection deserves enormous weight.
17. So What Does “This Generation” Mean?
The simplest reading is the ordinary one.
THE GENERATION JESUS WAS SPEAKING TO.
That does not mean every statement in Matthew 24 must be exhausted by A.D. 70.
But it does mean we should be very cautious about taking everything through verse 34 and moving it thousands of years beyond Jesus' listeners.
Jesus said something would happen within this generation.
And Jerusalem and its Temple were in fact destroyed within that generation.
That cannot be incidental.
18. The Fig Tree Is Not a Secret Prophecy About Modern Israel
Jesus says:
“Learn this lesson from the fig tree.”
— Matthew 24:32
When its branches become tender and leaves appear, you know summer is near.
The point is simple.
When you see the signs Jesus has described, you know the event is near.
But the fig tree is sometimes turned into a prophecy about the modern nation of Israel.
Israel becomes the fig tree.
The leaves become the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.
Then a “generation” is calculated from 1948 to predict the approximate time of Christ's return.
But Jesus doesn't say any of that.
He says:
“When its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.”
The fig tree is an illustration about recognizing nearness.
Mark even says:
“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree.”
Luke broadens it further:
“Look at the fig tree and all the trees.”
— Luke 21:29
“All the trees” makes it particularly difficult to turn this parable into a coded prediction of the modern State of Israel.
19. Then Something Changes
Verse 36 begins:
“But about that day or hour no one knows.”
Now there are no instructions to flee Judea.
No mountains.
No winter.
No Sabbath.
No armies surrounding Jerusalem.
Instead Jesus says His coming will be like the days of Noah.
People will be carrying on ordinary life.
Then suddenly judgment comes.
The emphasis changes from:
RECOGNIZE AND FLEE
to:
YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN—SO ALWAYS BE READY.
That is a significant change.
20. What About “One Taken and the Other Left”?
Jesus says:
“Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.”
— Matthew 24:40
This is often used as a description of the rapture.
Believers are taken away to heaven.
Unbelievers are left behind.
But read the comparison immediately before it.
Jesus has just described Noah's day.
People were living ordinary lives:
“until the flood came and took them all away.”
— Matthew 24:39
Who was “taken away” in Noah's flood?
The wicked.
Who remained?
Noah and his family.
So we should be cautious about automatically assuming:
Taken = saved.
The immediate comparison may point in exactly the opposite direction.
At minimum, Matthew 24 does not explain a secret removal of Christians to heaven here.
21. Is Jesus Describing a Secret Coming?
Look at the language.
Jesus says:
“As lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
— Matthew 24:27
Whatever else we conclude, lightning across the sky is not an image of secrecy.
And later:
“They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”
— Matthew 24:30
Then angels gather the elect with:
“a loud trumpet call.”
— Matthew 24:31
That sounds remarkably similar to what Paul later writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:
The Lord descends.
A loud command.
The voice of the archangel.
The trumpet of God.
The dead rise.
God's people are gathered to Christ.
We should at least ask whether Jesus and Paul are describing the same great coming rather than separate arrivals of Christ.
22. What Did Jesus Want His Disciples to Do?
This may be more important than solving every chronological difficulty.
Jesus repeatedly says:
Don't be deceived.
Don't be alarmed.
Endure.
Flee when the warning comes.
Don't follow false messiahs.
Keep watch.
Be ready.
Be faithful.
The purpose of Matthew 24 is not to produce expert date-setters.
It is to produce:
FAITHFUL DISCIPLES.
That becomes even clearer when we continue into Matthew 25.
Remember again:
Matthew did not put a chapter break there.
23. Keep Reading Into Matthew 25
Jesus immediately tells the parable of the ten virgins.
What is the lesson?
Be ready.
Then He tells the parable of the talents.
What is the lesson?
Be faithful while the master is away.
Then He describes the Son of Man coming in glory and judging the nations.
What is the lesson?
How we live while waiting matters.
Matthew 24–25 is not primarily an invitation to calculate.
It is an invitation to:
WATCH.
ENDURE.
SERVE.
BE READY.
24. So Is Matthew 24 About A.D. 70 or the Second Coming?
Perhaps that question is too simple.
The chapter begins unmistakably with the destruction of the Temple.
Jesus gives warnings that make sense in first-century Judea.
Luke explicitly connects the coming desolation with Jerusalem surrounded by armies.
Jesus says “this generation” will not pass until “all these things” occur.
Then the discourse also directs us toward the final coming of Christ—an event whose day and hour no one knows.
The real interpretive question is how those two horizons relate.
Some understand verses 4–35 primarily as the events surrounding Jerusalem's destruction and verse 36 onward as Christ's final coming.
Others see the transition earlier.
Others understand Jerusalem's fall as a historical judgment that also foreshadows the final judgment.
Those differences deserve careful study.
But one conclusion is difficult to escape:
WE CANNOT REMOVE A.D. 70 FROM MATTHEW 24.
Jesus began by predicting the destruction of the Temple.
And that Temple was destroyed.
25. Now Make Two Lists Again
Just as we did with Revelation 20, let's separate what the text says from what is sometimes added to it.
MATTHEW 24 DOES SAY:
The Temple will be destroyed.
False messiahs will arise.
Wars and disturbances will occur.
Christians will face persecution.
The gospel will go to the nations.
People in Judea will need to flee.
Jerusalem will face desolation.
There will be great distress.
The Son of Man will come with power and glory.
The elect will be gathered.
“This generation” will not pass until “all these things” happen.
No one knows the day or hour of Christ's final coming.
His disciples must remain ready.
Now consider what the chapter does not say.
MATTHEW 24 DOES NOT SAY:
The modern State of Israel is the fig tree.
The budding fig tree occurred in 1948.
A generation should be calculated from 1948.
There will be a seven-year tribulation.
The Church will be secretly raptured before that tribulation.
The Temple must be rebuilt in modern Jerusalem before Jesus returns.
“One taken” means a Christian is raptured to heaven.
Jesus will come once secretly and then again visibly seven years later.
Some of those ideas may be argued from other passages.
But:
THEY ARE NOT STATED IN MATTHEW 24.
26. Read the Question Before Building the Timeline
Return to the beginning.
The disciples pointed to the Temple.
Jesus said it would be destroyed.
They asked:
“When will this happen?”
Everything that follows grows out of that conversation.
So before turning wars, earthquakes, the fig tree, tribulation, or “one taken and one left” into pieces of a modern prophecy chart, read the chapter in its own setting.
Read Matthew 23.
Read Matthew 24.
Keep reading into Matthew 25.
Then compare Mark 13.
And especially compare Luke 21.
Let Scripture help interpret Scripture.
And ask:
WHAT QUESTION WAS JESUS ANSWERING?
That question may change the way we read the entire chapter.
One Last Question
Suppose you had never seen an end-times chart.
Suppose no one had ever explained the rapture, a seven-year tribulation, a rebuilt Temple, or a modern Israeli timetable to you.
Suppose you simply opened Matthew and read chapters 23, 24, and 25 straight through.
Would you construct that timeline from Jesus' words?
Or would you first see:
Judgment coming upon Jerusalem.
A Temple about to disappear.
Disciples warned not to be deceived.
A generation that would see those events.
A final coming whose date no one knows.
And one repeated command:
BE READY.
Don't begin with the chart and then fit Jesus into it.
Begin with Jesus.
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.