This Generation Will Not Pass Away (5)

“Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

Having dealt with the so–called problematic “tribulation” verse in Part 4, we must turn our attention to the next difficulty. These difficult passages exist due to our theme verse which states that the generation which was alive as Jesus spoke these words would not pass away until all that Jesus described happened. The important part is to understand that “all these things” that Jesus refers to in verses 4 through 34 were his response to the disciples’ adoring statement regarding the magnificence of the existing temple—a temple soon to be destroyed (Matt. 24:1; Mark 13:1).

Jesus provides a series of signs that lead up to that destruction in order to prepare the disciples. These signs would be visible, and none more so than verse 15: “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand).” The disciples were not to entertain or be lead astray by false christs and prophets who performed “great signs and wonders” (vs. 24). The distinguishing feature of Matthew 24 is that the chapter is divided into two sections. The first section (vv. 4–35) refers to the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, and the second section from verse 36 onward (through Matt. 25) refers to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. We know this for two initial reasons (to be discussed in more detail at a later time). Both reasons are time related. The first reason is verse 34 in which Jesus puts a time frame to all that he had previously said; namely, “this generation.” The second reason is the word “but” which begins verse 36 connected to the time reference “concerning that day or hour.” The word for “that” is what we call a far demonstrative. It is a “day” and “hour” far beyond the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple in A.D. 70. It is a separate time frame. The second section is also governed by the fact that the coming of Jesus is unknown (not even by angels or the Son—vs. 36) and sudden (people carrying on as they did in the days of Noah before the flood came and wiped them all away—vv. 37–39). In the first section, there are tangible visible signs, which warn the disciples, but in the second section, the coming of our Lord is at a time not known or expected—no visible signs. It is so important to keep these things in mind.

Now the difficulty before is verses 27 and 28: “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”The main difficulty is the phrase “the coming of the Son of Man.” Many commentators adopt the approach of reading back into these verses the second coming of verse 36 onwards. This is seen as an initial mention of the second coming. But is this so and if it is, does this mean that all previous statements by Jesus have also been references to the second coming and not the temple destruction? If it is a reference to the second coming, then it seems out of place in terms of location. Why here in the section regarding the destruction of the temple? One of the problems we have is that we tend not to see the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70 as a covenantal judgment from God. We tend to see it as mere consequence of history, but it is not. It is so significant because it signifies the end of the Jewish era in its entirety. There will be no more city, no more temple, no more priesthood and no more sacrifices. This is what happened in A.D. 70, and the fulfillment of all of these things that have ended is our Lord Jesus. He becomes our city, our temple, our priest and our sacrifice. The difficulty before us is compounded by the mention of these two verses from Matthew 24 in Luke 17:24 and 37. When Luke writes he seems to put everything together that we find in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. He makes no distinction because he makes no reference to “this generation” as a separating feature of his eschatology. Luke does, however, deal with the A.D. 70 destruction in Luke 21. But in Luke 17, he seems to blend both events (Luke 17:20–37). I do see verse 27 as referring to the second coming because I think Jesus is contrasting that which is false (false Christ, prophets, signs) with that which will be unmistakable (his coming like lightning flashing). Jesus will come in his parousia with visibility, yet unexpected and sudden.

It is verse 28 that I think goes back to the theme of imminent judgment upon Jerusalem. The imagery is vivid. Here is a carcass with birds of carrion feeding upon it. Wherever death in the wild occurs, the vultures gather to feast and clean it up. Rome wreaked total devastation in the final months leading up to the fall of Jerusalem. There was no restraint to their violence, according to Josephus (Jewish War, 6:4:6; 7:1:1). They ignored any pleadings for mercy. In his Jewish War 6:5:1, Josephus makes this comment: “while the holy house was on fire, everything was plundered that came to hand, and ten thousand of those that were caught were slain; nor was there a commiseration of any age, or any reverence of gravity, but children, and old men, and profane persons, and priests were all slain in the same manner; so that this war went round all sorts of men, and brought them to destruction.” When Jesus said that not one stone would be left upon another, he meant what he said (Matt. 24:2). The picture is that of a carcass picked clean. When God pronounces a covenant curse upon unbelieving Israel, he uses similar language. In Deuteronomy 28:25, 26, the Lord says:“The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away.”

In the last week of the life of our Lord, we find him confronting the Jewish leadership. He speaks of his suffering and death, but he also speaks of God’s rejection of Israel for their sin and the removal of the kingdom from them and given to a people producing fruit (Matt.21:43). In Matthew 21:42, 44, Jesus says that the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone and if any person were to fall upon the stone, he would be broken to pieces, or should the stone fall upon him, he would be crushed. This is vivid imagery of destruction which Jesus then outlines in Matthew 24. God’s wrath is displayed in the temple destruction. This is the fulfillment of all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah who was murdered between the temple and altar (Matt. 23:35). This is why Jesus says in Matthew 23:38, as he weeps over Jerusalem: “See your house is left to you desolate.” God’s covenantal curse and Israel’s covenantal rebellion are seen in the failure to even bury bodies humanely. They are simply left for the carrion.

There is another aspect to verse 27. The word vulture (ESV) is actually the word for eagle. Why does Jesus choose this word when he could have used other words to refer to the carrion–like behavior that we find displayed in verse 27? The eagle was the ensign or standard of the Roman legions. It went before them and they revered it and fought and died under it. The covenantal curse of Deuteronomy 28:49, 50 uses similar language: “The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle…a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young.” This refers to Assyria in 722 B.C., and Babylon in 586 B.C. Rome devours the corpse in A.D. 70, and Jesus’ generation would see it. (Part 6—cosmic turmoil coming.)