Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 24:13
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
13. he that shall endure ] Cp. “In your patience possess ye your souls,” (rather, “by patience ye shall win your lives,”) Luk 21:19.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved – The word end, here, has by some been thought to mean the destruction of Jerusalem, or the end of the Jewish economy, and the meaning has been supposed to be he that perseveres in bearing these persecutions to the end of the wars shall be safe. God will protect his people from harm, so that not a hair of the head shall perish. Others, with more probability, have referred this to final salvation, and refer the end to the close of life. He that bears afflictions and persecutions faithfully that constantly adheres to his religion, and does not shrink until death shall be saved, or shall enter heaven. So Luke Luk 21:18 says, there shall not an hair of your head perish – that is, they would be saved. An hair of the head, or the smallest part or portion, is a proverbial expression, denoting the certainty and completeness of their salvation. Luke Luk 21:19 adds further: In your patience possess ye your souls – that is, keep your souls patient; keep proper possession of patience as your own. It is a part of religion to teach it, and in these trying times let it not depart from you.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 13. But he that shall endure] The persecutions that shall come – unto the end; to the destruction of the Jewish polity, without growing cold or apostatizing – shall be saved, shall be delivered in all imminent dangers, and have his soul at last brought to an eternal glory. It is very remarkable that not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem, though there were many there when Cestius Gallus invested the city; and, had he persevered in the siege, he would soon have rendered himself master of it; but, when he unexpectedly and unaccountably raised the siege, the Christians took that opportunity to escape. See Eusebius, Hist. Eccles lib. iii. c. 5, and Mr. Reading’s note there; and see the note here on Mt 24:20.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We have the same Mar 13:13. We also met with it before, Mat 10:22. It is a promise to perseverance, especially to such perseverance as is joined with fortitude. He that shall not be tempted to apostasy through the afflictions of the gospel, but shall patiently and courageously endure all the sufferings which shall follow the profession of the gospel, shall be saved; if not preserved, and so saved with a temporal salvation, yet he shall be eternally saved.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
But he that shall endure to the end,…. In the profession of faith in Christ, notwithstanding the violent persecutions of wicked men; and in the pure and incorrupt doctrines of the Gospel, whilst many are deceived by the false teachers that shall arise; and in holiness of life and conversation, amidst all the impurities of the age; and shall patiently bear all afflictions, to the end of his life, or to the end of sorrows, of which the above mentioned were the beginning:
the same shall be saved; with a temporal salvation, when Jerusalem, and the unbelieving inhabitants of it shall be destroyed: for those that believed in Christ, many of them, through persecution, were obliged to remove from thence; and others, by a voice from heaven, were bid to go out of it, as they did; and removed to Pella, a village a little beyond Jordan u, and so were preserved from the general calamity; and also with an everlasting salvation, which is the case of all that persevere to the end, as all true believers in Christ will.
u Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 5.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(13) He that shall endure unto the end . . .The words have at once a higher and lower sense. Endurance to the end of life is in every case the condition of salvation, in the full meaning of the word. But the context rather leads us to see in the end the close of the period of which our Lord speaks, i.e., the destruction of Jerusalem; and so the words shall be saved at least include deliverance from the doom of those who were involved in that destruction.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Shall endure unto the end This is essentially the same end as is specified in the inquiry, namely, the end of the world. For he who endures through the day of his probation endures to the judgment day. Shall be saved Not from the destruction of Jerusalem, but from the condemnation at the judgment. This is giving the words precisely the same meaning as in Mat 10:22, where see note. Luke here adds, in view of the persecutions described in this paragraph: “But there shall not a hair of your head perish.” This cannot mean that none of them should be slain, for it is expressly said in Mat 24:9, “They shall kill you.” But the dying martyr, under the express guidance of God, and with the certainty that heaven sees it good, is not perishing. And the reason why the martyr does not perish, and why he may possess his soul in patience, even in the midst of martyrdom, is given in the following verse, namely, his death is the source of triumph to the cause for which he chooses to die.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.”
But those who would finally be saved must persevere. Endurance is required of His followers. This does not mean that all who grow cold are lost, for at times all, even the best, grow cold. It is those who remain cold because the work of the Spirit is not taking place within their hearts (Php 2:13; Eph 3:16-19) who will be lost. For in the end if a man belongs to Christ it is He Who will seek him until He finds him (Luk 15:4), so that He may restore him to the fold. We must recognise that such endurance as is described here is only possible through the continual work of the Saviour in our hearts (1Co 1:8-9; Php 2:13; Jud 1:24). It will occur because of His saving power and faithfulness as a shepherd (Joh 10:27-29). A wise Christian was once asked whether he believed in the perseverance of the saints, and after thinking a little he replied, ‘No, I believe in the perseverance of the Saviour’. And in that, and in only that, lies our hope and certainty.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 24:13. But he that shall endure “He who shall not be terrified by these trials and persecutions; he who shall neither apostatize from the faith of himself, nor be seduced by others; he who shall not be ashamed to profess his faith in Christ, and his love to the brethren; the same shall be saved, both here and hereafter.” And indeed it is very remarkable, and was certainly a most signal act of Providence, that none of the Christians perished in the destruction of Jerusalem. See Luk 21:18. 2Pe 2:9 and Bishop Newton.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 24:13 . ] contrast to what in the . of Mat 24:10 and the . of Mat 24:12 is described as apostasy, partly from the faith generally, and partly (Mat 24:12 ) from the true Christian faith and life. Comp. Mat 10:22 . According to Fritzsche, it is only the persevering in love that is meant, so that the contrast has reference merely to , . . . But according to our interpretation, the contrast is more thorough and better suited to the terms of the passage.
] not perpetuo (Fritzsche), which, as the connection shows (Mat 24:6 ), is too indefinite; but: unto the end, till the last , until the troubles will have come to an end, which, as appears from the context ( ), will, in point of fact, be coincident with the second advent. Comp. Mat 24:30-31 ; Mat 10:22 . The context forbids such interpretations as: unto death (Elsner, Kuinoel, Ebrard), until the destruction of Jerusalem (Krebs, Rosenmller, R. Hofmann), being referred in the latter case to the flight of the Christians to Pella (Eusebius, H. E . iii. 5). Of course Mat 24:13 describes the “sanam hominis Christiani dispositionem spiritualem ad eschatologiam pertinentem” (Dorner), always on the understanding, however, that the second advent is at hand , and that the “homo Christianus” will live to see it .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Ver. 13. But he that endureth ] It is but a he, a single man, that holdeth out; when many lose their love, and therewith their reward, 2Jn 1:8 . Ecebolus, Aeneas, Sylvius, Baldwin, Pendleton, Shaxton, and many others, set forth gallantly, but tired ere they came to their journey’s end. Of them that verse was verified, Principium fervet, medium tepet, exitus alget. Beginning hot, middle warm, the end cold. Like the Galli Insubres, they showed all their valour in the first encounter. Like Charles VIII of France, of whom Guicciarden noteth, that in his expedition to Naples he came into the field like thunder and lightning, but went out like a snuff. Like Mandrobulus in Lucian, who the first year offered gold to his gods, the second year silver, the third nothing. Or, lastly, like the lions of Syria, which, as Aristotle reporteth, bring forth first five whelps, next time four, next three, and so on, till at length they become barren. So apostates come at last to nothing, and therefore must look for nothing better than to be cast off for ever; when they that hold out and hold on their way, passing from strength to strength, from faith to faith, &c., shall be as the sun when he goeth forth in his strength; yea, they shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, Mat 13:43 . Caleb was not discouraged by the giants, and therefore had Hebron, the place of the giants; so those that hold out in the way of heaven shall be sure to have heaven. Thomas San Paulins, at Paris, a young man of eighteen years, being in the fire, was plucked up again upon the gibbet, and asked whether he would turn. To whom he said that he was in his way toward God, and therefore desired them to let him go. That merchant of Paris, his case was nothing so comfortable, who, for jesting at the friars, was by them condemned to be hanged; but he, to save his life, was content to recant, and so he did. The friars, hearing of his recantation, commended him, saying, If he continued so he should be saved; and so, calling upon the officers, caused them to make haste to the gallows to hang him up, while he was yet in a good way, said they, lest he fall again.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
13. ] The primary meaning of this seems to be, that whosoever remained faithful till the destruction of Jerusalem, should be preserved from it. No Christian, that we know of, perished in the siege or after it: see below. But it has ulterior meanings, according to which will signify, to an individual, the day of his death (see Rev 2:10 ), his martyrdom, as in the case of some of those here addressed, to the Church, endurance in the faith to the end of all things . See Luk 21:19 , and note.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 24:13 . , he that endureth; the verb used absolutely without object. The noun is another of the great words of the N. T. Love and Patience, primary virtues of the Christian: doing good, bearing ill. The endurance called for is not merely in love (Fritzsche), but in the faith and life of a Christian in face of all the evils enumerated. , to the end, i.e. , of the , as long as there are trials to endure. , shall be saved in the sense of Mat 16:25 . The implied truth underlying this test is that there will be ample time for a full curriculum of trial testing character and sifting the true from the false or temporary Christian.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
shall endure = shall have endured.
the end. Greek. telos, the actual end. Not the sunteleia (Mat 24:3), but the same as in Mat 24:6 and Mat 24:14.
saved = delivered (1Th 1:10).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
13.] The primary meaning of this seems to be, that whosoever remained faithful till the destruction of Jerusalem, should be preserved from it. No Christian, that we know of, perished in the siege or after it: see below. But it has ulterior meanings, according to which will signify, to an individual, the day of his death (see Rev 2:10),-his martyrdom, as in the case of some of those here addressed,-to the Church, endurance in the faith to the end of all things. See Luk 21:19, and note.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 24:13. , but he that endureth) By constancy, we preserve faith, love, and hope.- , unto the end) sc. of the temptation.-, this man) i.e., he, I say, being as it were exempted from the general lot; see Mat 24:22.-, shall be saved) When the city was destroyed, the Christians were saved; see Luk 21:28; Luk 21:31.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mat 24:6, Mat 10:22, Mar 13:13, Luk 8:15, Rom 2:7, 1Co 1:8, Heb 3:6, Heb 3:14, Heb 10:39, Rev 2:10
Reciprocal: Num 6:12 – but the Jos 6:13 – went on 1Sa 15:11 – turned Psa 37:34 – keep Psa 119:33 – I shall keep Pro 16:17 – he Eze 7:2 – An end Mat 13:21 – dureth Luk 22:28 – General Joh 8:31 – If 1Co 15:24 – cometh Gal 6:9 – if Col 1:23 – ye continue Heb 6:11 – unto Heb 10:36 – ye have Heb 11:27 – endured Heb 12:1 – with patience 1Pe 4:7 – the end Rev 2:4 – because Rev 2:26 – keepeth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
HINDRANCES TO ENDURANCE
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:13
What are the causes which make endurance to the end difficult in so very many Christian lives?
I. Persecution because of the Word.There is the persecution that ariseth because of the word. In some shape or other this is inevitable. Men who have done much for Christ have sometimes given way at last under the stress of relentless persecution.
II. False teaching.And then there are the false Christs and the false prophets. Our faith is undermined by people who talk and write in the very best English, and who have so much about them that is winning and agreeable that we cannot believe what is really going on.
III. Weariness in well doing.And then there is the weariness which steals over thought and heart with the lapse of time. Human faculties, after all, are finite. They spend themselves and they fall back into lassitude and exhaustion.
IV. Trifling with conscience.And once more, there is the trifling with conscience, not necessarily in great matters, but in a number of little matters.
V. How endurance may be secured.Perseverance is likely to be secured by three things especially
(a) By a sense of constant dependence on God.
(b) By prayer for perseverance.
(c) By keeping the mind fixed as much as possible on the end of life and on that which follows it.
Canon Liddon.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
4:13
Endure unto the end first means to remain faithful to the Lord until the end of that war. It would also be true of those who might be slain in the general turmoil provided they were faithful till death.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 24:13. Unto the end. The Christians were saved from the horrors attending the destruction of Jerusalem. But the principle is a general one. For the individual, the end is the day of his death; for the Church, it is the Advent of Christ, the end of all things. The last sense is the more important one, giving character to the others. Over against the apostasy of the many (Mat 24:12) we have the faithfulness of the few, in spite of false teaching (Mat 24:11), in spite of prevailing wickedness (Mat 24:12), an endurance in love.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
24:13 {3} But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
(3) The gospel will spread abroad, angering the world and the devil ever so much: and those who continually believe will be saved.