There have been many abominations in the history of man. But when we see this abomination in Matthew 24:15-16 “standing in the holy place”, it is time for “those in Judea” to flee. This final act will trigger a great tribulation in Matthew 24:21 “such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will happen (again)”. And it is after this that the world will see Jesus Christ coming in the clouds. Our instructions are clear in Matthew 28:19 (LEB) “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” until, in Luke 21:28 (LEB) “But when these things begin to happen, stand up straight and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!”

Destruction of Jerusalem

Mark 13:14-23
Matthew 24:15-28
Luke 21:20-24 

When You See the Abomination of Desolation

Mark 13:14–23
Many have looked for events that fulfill what Jesus said in Mark 13:14 where “The “ ‘ “abomination that causes desolation” ’ ” is a phrase taken from three cryptic references in Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 to a scandal that would defile and profane the Jerusalem temple”.¹ And because there is a historically correct reference where “The same phrase is used in 1 Macc 1:54 to describe Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), the Syrian general who outraged the Jews in 168 B.C. by erecting an altar to Zeus on the altar of burnt offering in the temple and sacrificing a sow on it”¹, some have thought it was fulfilled. You will find other explanations in commentary’s but I think it is clear that Mark 13:14 “like 2 Thessalonians 2, indicates that Jesus foresaw the rise of a terrible antagonist, an Antichrist, who at some future time will unleash a severe tribulation on the people of God, which in turn will usher in the return of the Lord”.¹

There Will Be Great Tribulation

Matthew 24:15–28
This tribulation is connected with “the abomination” in Matthew 24:15 and now in Matthew 24:21 “( … at the same time as the preceding) there will be great distress, where the term indicates very serious trouble, pressure to the point of bursting (see the note on 13:21; Phillips translates “misery”)”.² But Jesus doesn’t tell us to hide away in preparation for that day as some self proclaimed survivalists might suggest. And he also doesn’t tell us to stand our ground and let this tribulation overrun us because as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:6 (LEB) Therefore, although we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—. So, why should we flee? Lets just go to be with him. Instead, he says, when you see it, then flee. And, he goes on to say, in

Matthew 24:22 (LEB) And unless those days had been shortened, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.

The tribulation will come, we may have a time when we must flee for our lives, but God will make a way for us because he wants a witness in the earth, he wants us in the earth.

Jerusalem Will Be Trampled Down by the Gentiles

Luke 21:20–24
Even though Israel is a nation again, Jerusalem is still a divided city. The Jewish people do not have access to the temple location. Jesus Christ fulfilled the sacrificial need for blood. He paid the price, the penalty for sin when he died. His blood atoned on the altar of heaven for sin so there is no more need for animal sacrifice in the temple. But the city still belongs to God, and He said it was for the Jewish people. There is coming a time when it will be restored to them.

Christ’s Return

Mark 13:24-31
Matthew 24:29-35
Luke 21:25-38 

They Will See the Son of Man Arriving

Mark 13:24–31
There won’t be any doubt about this when it happens. There is the prophetic description in Daniel, the description Jesus himself gives, and the visions given to John about what will come to pass in the end. Here in Matthew 13:26 “the clear imagery of the return of the Son of man to judgment (Dan. 7:13), can refer only to one event in history, the second coming of Christ”.³ And this is confirmed later by John in

Revelation 1:7 (LEB) Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even every one who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Yes, amen.

Revelation 14:14–16 (LEB) And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud was seated one like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud, “Send out your sickle and reap, because the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe!” 16 And the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Learn the Parable From the Fig Tree

Matthew 24:29–35
Just as we know the seasons of the year and can see the buds ready to break out, we should know the signs of Christ’s return. In Matthew 24:29 “And immediately after the tribulation of those days”. 

Your Redemption is Drawing Near

Luke 21:25–38
When in Luke 21:26 “people are fainting from fear”, that is the time to look for His return and for us as Christians, in

Luke 21:28 (LEB) But when these things begin to happen, stand up straight and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near!”

No One Knows When

Mark 13:32-37
Matthew 24:36-51

Concerning That Day or Hour No One Knows

Mark 13:32–37
Mark 13:32 says that “no one knows … except the Father”. It seems that day, the end of the age of grace, the time of the judgement, comes in Ephesians 1:10 “the fullness of times, to bring together all things in Christ”.

Be On the Alert

Matthew 24:36–51
Noah and his family were prepared as God had instructed them. But no one else listened. No one else was ready.

Matthew 24:38–39 (LEB) For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark. 39 And they did not know anything until the deluge came and swept them all away. So also the coming of the Son of Man will be.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

Matthew 25:1–13
Five were ready. Are you ready?

Study Verses

• Mark 13:14–23 When You See the Abomination of Desolation
• Mark 13:24–31 They Will See the Son of Man Arriving
• Luke 21:25–38 Your Redemption is Drawing Near

Today’s Reading

• Matthew 24:15-51
• Matthew 25:1-13
• Mark 13:14-37
• Luke 21:20-38

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The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ – The Gospels

This series follows the order of readings from the Tyndale One Year Chronological Bible. Covering these events chronologically as they happened, gives a much different context and helps us understand the move of God as He is introducing the Saviour, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. This series begins with Return To Me And I Will Return To You at the end of Malachi and introduces the “Witnesses” writing the Gospels.

Operation Exodus

is helping Jewish people return to their homeland. You might fund one that desires to go home. http://operationexodususa.org/Overview

References

• 1. Edwards, J. R. (2002). The Gospel according to Mark (pp. 395–396). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.
• 2. Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (p. 605). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
• 3. Cole, R. A. (1989). Mark: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 2, p. 286). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Israel, Jerusalem, the temple, were established by God in Deuteronomy 7:6 (LEB) “a holy people for Yahweh your God” yet they didn’t accept Jesus as the Christ. Jesus honors what God established through Moses, but warns the people of the false nature of those that are abusing in the name of God. They put on a good show, they seem impressive, but where is “justice and mercy and faithfulness”? Jesus tells his disciples the temple will be torn down and nation will war against nation and famines and earthquakes and signs in the heavens, and in Luke 21:9 says “but the end will not be at once”. He is preparing us for this present age.

Warning Against False Religious Leaders

Matthew 23:1-36
Mark 12:38-40
Luke 20:45-47 

The Scribes and the Pharisees Sit on the Seat of Moses

Matthew 23:1–12
Jesus honors the position, in Matthew 23:2, “the seat of Moses”. Moses heard from God. Moses led the people out of bondage. Moses taught the people and established principles for Godly living. Moses was a judge for the people. Moses established them as a nation whose Lord was God. There was no earthly king over them. And in these things, Jesus was saying to the crowd, in Matthew 23:3 “do and observe everything that they tell you”. It is these other things that they were to avoid, in Matthew 23:5 “they do all their deeds in order to be seen by people”. Their intent is not in serving God, but in promoting themselves.

But this was not only an issue in Jesus day, this warning recognizes the sinful nature of man and “Here are five characteristics for which the Pharisees were rebuked. They are ever-present dangers for Christian leaders. First, they may not practise what they preach (3).5 Secondly, they may be unwilling to undertake themselves what they prescribe for others (4). Thirdly, they may love to show off (5).6 Fourthly, they may revel in honorific titles and in being paid respect (6–10)7 Finally, they may misunderstand ministry (11–12). They may see it less as an opportunity for service than as a sphere of management or a chance to gain recognition”.¹

You Shut the Kingdom of Heaven Before People

Matthew 23:13–24
These, the scribes and Pharisees who should be the ones leading people to God are instead the ones preventing people from entry. They are proselytizing, but not for servants of God. They want those that will bring money into the temple. They want those with connections to raise their political stature. In Matthew 23:19-22 Jesus explains that everything comes from the one who sits on the throne in heaven. It isn’t the throne he sits on. It isn’t the temple or the gold or the gifts in it, it is the one that resides in the temple. 

Full of Greed and Self-Indulgence

Matthew 23:25–36
Seven times here in Matthew 23 Jesus says “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees” (actually, one time he says blind guides rather than naming the scribes and Pharisees but his intent is clear). In Matthew 23:23 they tithe the simplest spices but neglect “justice and mercy and faithfulness”. In Matthew 23:25 he says they are clean on the outside but “full of greed and self-indulgence”. And in Matthew 23:27 he says “appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead”. And in Matthew 23:29 they “build the tombs of the prophets” who their fathers killed.

Jesus is speaking to them in terms they recognized but sometimes are lost on us. We understand that we would not want to defile a grave, but for them, by their tradition, “anyone who touched a dead body became unclean (Numbers 19:16). Therefore, anyone who came into contact with a tomb automatically became unclean … (at the time of Passover) It was then Jewish practice in the month of Adar to whitewash all wayside tombs, so that no pilgrims might accidentally come into contact with one of them and be rendered unclean”.²

Beware of the Scribes

Mark 12:38–40
These profess to be godly in their dress. They expect special greetings and places of honor.

Who Devour the Houses of Widows

Luke 20:45–47
God included the widow, the orphan and the stranger in the land under a special provision, “The law provided for widows through a special tithe (Deut. 14:28–29; 26:12–13) and a policy of leaving gleanings during harvest (Deut. 24:19–21). The early church also had a policy of supporting its widows (Acts 6:1)”.³

But, it seems in Jesus day, even though “An expert in the law could take no pay for his teaching. He was supposed to have a trade by which he earned his daily bread. But these legal experts had managed to convey to people that there was no higher duty and privilege than to support a Rabbi in comfort; that, in fact, such support would undoubtedly entitle him or her who gave it to a high place in the heavenly academy”.⁴

Jerusalem, Who Kills the Prophets

Matthew 23:37–39
How easy it might have been for Jerusalem to accept the works of healing, the teaching of God’s love and his kingdom and say as it does in Matthew 23:39 “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” but they would not.

She Out of her Poverty Put in Everything She Had

Mark 12:41–44
See “Out of Her Poverty” from http://tellone.org/devotions/sit-at-my-right-hand/

When Will These Things Happen

Mark 13:1-8
Matthew 24:1-8
Luke 21:5-11

What Wonderful Buildings!

Mark 13:1–8
As Jesus walks through the temple courts with his disciples, one comments, as anyone visiting a major city might, in Mark 12:1 “Teacher, look! What great stones and what wonderful buildings!” and they were a great accomplishment in their day. But as with all things in the earth, moth, and rust corrupt. And even worse, the city and particularly the temple are said to represent God but don’t recognize God in their midst. 

Not One Stone Will be Left Here

Matthew 24:1–8
Jesus responds in Matthew 24:2 “Not one stone will be left here on another”. And his disciples wanted to know when? Jesus gives them an answer that is tough for us to take because we say, isn’t God all-powerful? Yes, he is. But we also must recognize that from the beginning he told us to take dominion. We have choices to make. These things that will happen in Matthew 24:7-8, “nation against nation … famines and earthquakes” these are “the beginning of birth pangs”. A new heaven and a new earth are coming but for now, we live in this world.

The End Will Not Be At Once

Luke 21:5–11
Here we see the inclusion of great signs from heaven in

Luke 21:11 (LEB) There will be great earthquakes and famines and plagues in various places. There will be terrible sights and great signs from heaven.

Persecution

Mark 13:9-13
Matthew 24:9-14
Luke 21:12-19

Study Verses

• Matthew 23:1–12 The Scribes and the Pharisees Sit on the Seat of Moses
• Matthew 23:25–36 Full of Greed and Self-Indulgence
• Matthew 24:1–8 Not One Stone Will be Left Here

Today’s Reading

• Matthew 23:1-39
• Matthew 24:1-14
• Mark 12:38-44
• Mark 13:1-13
• Luke 20:45-47
• Luke 21:5-19

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The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ – The Gospels

This series follows the order of readings from the Tyndale One Year Chronological Bible. Covering these events chronologically as they happened, gives a much different context and helps us understand the move of God as He is introducing the Saviour, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. This series begins with Return To Me And I Will Return To You at the end of Malachi and introduces the “Witnesses” writing the Gospels.

Operation Exodus

is helping Jewish people return to their homeland. You might fund one that desires to go home. http://operationexodususa.org/Overview

References

• 1. Green, M. (2001). The message of Matthew: the kingdom of heaven (pp. 241–242). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
• 2. Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., p. 346). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.
• 3. Stabnow, D. K. (2003). Widow. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 1671). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
• 4. Barclay, W. (2001). The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark (p. 350). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

Most people have heard these two, the greatest commandments, Love the Lord your God and Love your neighbor as yourself. But here, Jesus makes two important points: First, he says that all the law and the prophets hang on these two, or as the scribe responded back to Jesus, that keeping “(these two commandments) is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifice” because the sacrifice is only needed after an offence is committed. Second, he clarifies for the Jews, and for all of us, that everyone is your neighbor. There are truly all God’s creatures and all of humanity is to be loved as we love ourselves. By this parable Jesus says to us, we are all in this group together, we are all neighbors one of another.

The Greatest Commandment

Mark 12:28-34
Matthew 22:34-40
Luke 10:25-28 

You Are Not Far From the Kingdom of God

Mark 12:28–34
The greatest commandment is to love God in Mark 12:30. Jesus and the scribe agreed this was so. And, in Mark 12:31 the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. And again they agreed. Then in Mark 12:33 the scribe added something, “(these two commandments) is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifice”. At this, in Mark 12:34, Jesus answered this by saying, “you are not far from the kingdom of God”. This scribe understood that is was far better to love first and avoid offense altogether rather than committing an offense and offering a sacrifice to atone for your wrong. Here though, “He needed only the experience of another eminent scribe who at a later period said, “We know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin”: who exclaimed, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me?” but who added, “I thank God through Jesus Christ!” (Romans 7:14, 24, 25)”.¹ 

Which Commandment is Greatest

Matthew 22:34–40
In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus responds with Love God and love your neighbor as yourself which is what we expect to see, and it agrees with the other gospel records. Then Matthew adds this comment, in

Matthew 22:40 (LEB) On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

With these two, love God and love your neighbor, why is there any need for

Exodus 20:13 (LEB) “You shall not murder.”

because, “when anyone loves in the way Jesus says, there is no need for a host of hair-splitting definitions of when an obligation has been discharged and when it has not”.²

Do This and You Will Live

Luke 10:25–28
This account is very straightforward as we find in Matthew but with one additional comment, in Luke 10:28 “Do this and you will live”. God will judge according to our deeds. The problem is, as Romans 3:9-20 says, none are righteous or can be made righteous under the law. In the end, we can’t do it and live. We can only accept the gift, the atonement, the blood of Jesus Christ given for us. 

And Who is My Neighbor?

Luke 10:29–37
People often feel the need to justify themselves, to prove they are right, and this legal expert that was talking with Jesus felt the pressure of pride. So, in Luke 10:29 “wanting to justify himself”. Jesus had just given a very clear and simple answer that anyone could understand, love God and love your neighbor as yourself. But this legal expert asks “who is my neighbor” or he might have asked, “how do I know if someone is my neighbor?” or he might have asked it this way, “you don’t really mean that everyone is my neighbor do you?”. You can almost hear the wheels turning in his mind, wondering, do I need to love the Samaritans (who the Jews have nothing to do with)? He can’t mean that we should love the Gentiles those pagan barbarian people. What we find here, is some confusion brought about by the religious concept, the definition of the day of neighbor, and “There were different ideas among the Jews on this point, but they all seem to be confined to the nation Israel; the idea of love towards mankind had not reached them.2 As we approach the parable we must bear in mind that it is told to the lawyer in answer to the question, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ not, ‘What must I do to be saved?’”³

Religious Leaders Cannot Answer

Mark 12:35-37
Matthew 22:41-46
Luke 20:41-44

David Himself Said by the Holy Spirit

Mark 12:35–37
Mark 12:37 (LEB) David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ and how is he his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him gladly.

What Do You Think About the Christ?

Matthew 22:41–46
Jesus asked a question in Matthew 22:42 “Whose son is he?” They said to him, “David’s.”. And, they were correct, Jesus, the Christ was born through the natural family line that included David. But it isn’t the DNA of David that mattered. It isn’t the bloodline to David that makes Jesus the Christ because if that is all there is, why would David call him Lord?

Sit at My Right Hand

Luke 20:41–44
Jesus is presenting the Christ as Lord, not just as another on the throne of David, but as Lord at the right hand of the Father, “Really what Jesus was saying here was, ‘You think of the coming Messiah as Son of David; so he is; but he is far more. He is Lord.’ He was telling people that they must revise their ideas of what Son of David meant”.⁴

Study Verses

• Mark 12:28–34 You Are Not Far From the Kingdom of God
• Matthew 22:34–40 Which Commandment is Greatest
• Luke 10:29–37 And Who is My Neighbor?

Today’s Reading

• Matthew 22:34-46
• Mark 12:28-49
• Luke 10:25-37
• Luke 20:41-44

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The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ – The Gospels

This series follows the order of readings from the Tyndale One Year Chronological Bible. Covering these events chronologically as they happened, gives a much different context and helps us understand the move of God as He is introducing the Saviour, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. This series begins with Return To Me And I Will Return To You at the end of Malachi and introduces the “Witnesses” writing the Gospels.

Operation Exodus

is helping Jewish people return to their homeland. You might fund one that desires to go home. http://operationexodususa.org/Overview

References

• 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 85). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
• 2. Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (p. 564). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
• 3. Morris, L. (1988). Luke: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 3, p. 207). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
• 4. Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Luke (p. 299). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.

These last parables that Jesus is teaching the chief priests and the scribes and the elders in Jerusalem are easily understood and it is clear that Jesus is talking directly to them. When he finishes the parable of the two sons, he says to them, “when you saw it”. They could have changed their course of action but refused. Then Jesus gives them the parable of the tenants in the vineyard and they judge the evil tenants correctly, but can’t recognize the application to themselves and continue on their path to destroy Jesus, the heir of God’s vineyard. So, finally, Jesus says to them, “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a people who produce its fruits”. Still, they seek to kill him. 

The Two Sons Parable

Matthew 21:28–32
Both sons in this parable acted contrary to their words but one of them did the right thing in the end. Isn’t this the point of the parable that it is the end result that matters. The son in Matthew 21:29 first said “I don’t want to”. How many of us have had that reaction when asked to do something? But he did it, he did his fathers will. We don’t need to like doing the right thing, we just need to do it. But the other son, said in Matthew 21:20 “I will, sir” but didn’t.There are many people that want to please you or are afraid to speak the truth to you, or for any other reason don’t do what was asked. It is these people, in Matthew 21:23 “the Chief priests and the elders”, that Jesus is talking about in Matthew 21:32 when he says “when you saw it, you did not even change your minds later”.

Tenants in the Vineyard Parable

Mark 12:1-12
Matthew 21:33-46
Luke 20:9-19 

The Stone Which the Builders Rejected

Mark 12:1–12
Jesus was clearly still talking to, and about, the chief priests and the scribes from Mark 11:18 and they knew he was talking about them in Mark 12:12. There are some key points that Jesus made here:

• The owner was only asking for “some of the fruit of the harvest” in Mark 12:2. Isn’t that how tenant farming works? But in Mark 12:3 the tenants “sent him away empty”. They weren’t willing to pay anything for using the land.
• As the owner sends other emissaries, the tenants get bolder. Now, in Mark 12:7 they say, “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours!” It isn’t enough for them that they have been there rent free, now they want the land for themselves.
• But they have no right to the land. The owner will not lose his right to the land because of their evil actions. He will displace them, “destroy them”, and rightly so. Even their agreement together, even their numbers of tenants, will not help them escape the right judgement to come.

 

The Kingdom of God Will be Taken Away From You

Matthew 21:33–46
The chief priests and the elders answered the parable in Matthew 21:33-41 correctly. They knew what the master of the vineyard must do in Matthew 21:41 “destroy those evil men completely and lease the vineyard to other tenant farmers”. Jesus then uses this understanding to explain why they have lost their position and the nation would be razed and the people scattered in

Matthew 21:43 (LEB) For this reason, I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a people who produce its fruits.

May This Never Happen!

Luke 20:9–19
Luke 20:16 gives an insight, as the chief priests and elders recognize that this parable is about them, they react saying “May this never happen!”, but it is happening as they are speaking. They are finished because they hear the truth and respond with anger instead of repentance and in Luke 20:16 “sought to lay their hands on him at that same hour”.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

Mark 12:13-17
Matthew 22:15-22
Luke 20:20-26

Study Verses

• Matthew 21:28–32 The Two Sons Parable
• Mark 12:1–12 The Stone Which the Builders Rejected
• Matthew 21:33–46 The Kingdom of God Will be Taken Away From You

Today’s Reading

• Matthew 21:28-46
• Matthew 22:1-22
• Mark 12:1-17
• Luke 20:9-26

---

The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ – The Gospels

This series follows the order of readings from the Tyndale One Year Chronological Bible. Covering these events chronologically as they happened, gives a much different context and helps us understand the move of God as He is introducing the Saviour, the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. This series begins with Return To Me And I Will Return To You at the end of Malachi and introduces the “Witnesses” writing the Gospels.

Operation Exodus

is helping Jewish people return to their homeland. You might fund one that desires to go home. http://operationexodususa.org/Overview