Jesus took the disciples up on Jerusalem’s Mt Olivet (Matthew 24) go discuss the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. What eschatological understanding would the disciples already have understood?
Jesus would have expounded many OT scriptures that pointed to end times. Also He would have given them His own direct teachings. Matthew recorded many of these He gave them before the Olivet discourse. I was surprised how many there were. This article shows what I discovered.
The disciples would know about John the baptiser warning the Jewish leaders of the wrath to come. Mat 3:1-2, 7-10: . . . John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” . . . . . But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? . . . . And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.
The disciples would also have heard Jesus announcing the nearness of the kingdom–Mat 4:17. From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
They heard Him declare “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfil. Mat 5:17.
They heard this: I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Mat 8:10-12.
They witnessed Isaiah 53:5 fulfilled: He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: “He Himself took our illnesses and carried away our diseases.” Mat 8:16.
He warned them what to expect as he sent them out on their mission to the Jews.
“When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next. I tell you the truth, the Son of Man will return before you have reached all the towns of Israel”. Mat 10:23.
Clearly, here He gave them then a time frame when He would return. This would hasten them to finish the preaching of the coming Kingdom of God to the Jews while there was still time for them to repent. This was a very urgent mission—a race against time. There was no time to waste in towns especially where they would be persecuted. We can read in the Acts account and in the letters of Paul how they quickly went from town to town and brought results e.g., Rom 1:8, Col 1:6.
Jesus told them His coming would be “soon”, in their generation. “For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.” Mat 16:27-28.
The disciples asked Him to explain the parable of the weeds. He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Mat 9:36-43.
And to explain the Parable of the Net: . . . the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Mat 13:47-50.
He promised them: Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. He referred to the future time when God will restore creation to its original perfection. His “glorious throne” symbolizes His authority and rule over the restored creation. Mat 19:28.
They will have positions of authority and leadership in Jesus’ kingdom. This is not a literal judgement, but rather a way of expressing their role in governing and guiding God’s people.
They heard Him declare to Jewish leaders: . . Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. . . . . . When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. Mat 21:33-45.
In the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, Jesus gave more information to the disciples :
“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Mat 22:2-14.
Here they learnt about Jesus’ eschatological marriage to His assembly (Greek ekklesia – church) of believers who follow Him. The guests at the feast that are clothed in the proper wedding garments are clothed in Christ’s righteousness provided by God through faith in Jesus. The man without the proper wedding garments is about the unbelieving Jews. It symbolizes a lack of proper preparation or acceptance of the invitation on God’s terms—that is, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Finally in the week of Jesus’ passion, they heard Jesus’ final words of declaration of judgment on the whole house of Judaism: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . . Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Mat 23:37-39.
Their house is left to them ‘desolate’—solitary, lonely, uninhabited unfit for anyone especially by the Lord; replaced by the Household of faith in the Blessed One who comes in the name of the Lord.
Ian Thomson 