Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 24:9
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
To be afflicted – By persecution, imprisonment, scourging, etc.
They shall deliver you up to councils (Mark). To the great council, or Sanhedrin – for this is the word in the original. See the notes at Mat 5:22. This was fulfilled when Peter and John were brought before the council, Act 4:5-7. Mark further adds Mar 13:9 that they should be delivered to synagogues and to prisons to be beaten, and should be brought before rulers and kings for his names sake. All this was remarkably fulfilled. Peter and John were imprisoned Act 4:3; Paul and Silas were imprisoned Act 16:24, and also beaten Act 16:23; Paul was brought before Gallic Act 18:12, before Felix Act 24:24, and before Agrippa Act 25:23.
And shall kill you – That is, shall kill some of you. Stephen was stoned Act 7:59; James was killed by Herod Act 12:2; and, in addition to all that the sacred writers have told us, the persecution under Nero took place before the destruction of Jerusalem, in which were put to death, with many others, Peter and Paul. Most of the apostles, it is believed, died by persecution.
When they were delivered up, Jesus told them not to premeditate what they should say, for he would give them a mouth and wisdom which all their adversaries would not be able to gainsay or resist, Luk 21:14-15. The fulfillment of this is recorded in the case of Stephen Act 6:10, and of Paul, who made Felix tremble, Act 24:25.
Ye shall be hated of all nations – This was fulfilled then, and has been in all ages. It was judged to be a crime to be a Christian. Multitudes for this, and for nothing else, were put to death.
For my names sake – On account of attachment to me, or because you bear my name as Christians.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted] Rather, Then they will deliver you up to affliction, . By a bold figure of speech, affliction is here personified. They are to be delivered into affliction’s own hand, to be harassed by all the modes of inventive torture.
Ye shall be hated of all nations] Both Jew and Gentile will unite in persecuting and tormenting you. Perhaps means all the Gentiles, as in the parallel places in Mr 13:9-11, and in Lu 21:12-15, the Jewish persecution is mentioned distinctly. Ye shall be delivered up to COUNCILS and be beaten in SYNAGOGUES, and ye shall stand before governors and kings for my name’s sake – be not anxiously careful beforehand what ye shall speak – for ye are not the speakers, but the Holy Spirit will speak by you – I will give you utterance and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to contradict or resist. We need go no farther than the Acts of the Apostles for the completion of these particulars. Some were delivered to councils, as Peter and John, Ac 4:5. Some were brought before rulers and kings, as Paul before Gallio, Ac 18:12, before Felix, Acts 24, before Festus and Agrippa, Acts 25. Some had utterance and wisdom which their adversaries were not able to resist: so Stephen, Ac 6:10, and Paul, who made even Felix himself tremble, Ac 24:25. Some were imprisoned, as Peter and John, Ac 4:3. Some were beaten, as Paul and Silas, Ac 16:23. Some were put to death, as Stephen, Ac 7:59, and James the brother of John, Ac 12:2. But if we look beyond the book of the Acts of the Apostles, to the bloody persecutions under Nero, we shall find these predictions still more amply fulfilled: in these, numberless Christians fell, besides those two champions of the faith Peter and Paul. And it was, as says Tertullian, nominis praelium, a war against the very name of Christ; for he who was called Christian had committed crime enough, in bearing the name, to be put to death. So true were our Saviour’s words, that they should be hated of all men for his NAME’S sake.
But they were not only to be hated by the Gentiles, but they were to be betrayed by apostates.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Mark hath this thus, Mar 13:9, But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. Luke saith, Luk 21:12,13, But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my names sake. And it shall turn to you for a testimony. Our Saviour, knowing that his disciples minds still ran upon a secular kingdom, here calls off their thoughts by giving them a sign of his coming, an account of those persecutions and trials which they should undergo before his coming, either in his power to the destruction of the Jews, or in his glory at the last day: the afflictions specified are, a being hated of all nations, delivered up to councils, beating in the synagogues, casting into prisons, and being killed; all which happened to the disciples of Christ before the destruction of Jerusalem. The Christians were counted a sect every where spoken against, Act 28:22. Stephen was stoned, Act 7:59. James was killed with the sword, Act 12:2. Paul and Silas were imprisoned, Act 16:23. Paul five times received of the Jews forty stripes save one; he was thrice beaten with rods, once stoned, 2Co 11:24,25. He was brought before king Agrippa and Festus. Peter and John were called before the council, Act 4:7; 5:21. So as all these things happened before the destruction of Jerusalem, and this may be interpreted as a sign of that great destruction; but not of that only, for the text saith,
ye shall be hated of all nations, which came to pass afterward, when Christianity was persecuted by heathens for three hundred years together. Mark saith, this should be done for a testimony against them, that is, the persecutors. Luke saith, it shall turn to you for a testimony. The persecutions of Christians are,
1. A testimony against the persecutors, of their ingratitude, and cruelty, and hatred to the name of Christ.
2. They are a testimony to the persecuted, of their faith, and patience, and courage, &c.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted,…. Our Lord proceeds to acquaint his disciples, what should befall them in this interval; and quite contrary to their expectations, who were looking for a temporal kingdom, and worldly grandeur, assures them of afflictions, persecutions, and death; that about these times, when these various signs should appear, and this beginning of sorrows take place; whilst these will be fulfilling in Judea, and other parts of the world; the Jews continuing in their obstinacy and unbelief, would deliver them up to the civil magistrates, to be scourged and imprisoned by them; either to their own sanhedrim, as were Peter and John; or to the Roman governors, Gallio, Festus, and Felix, as was the Apostle Paul.
And shall kill you; as the two James’, Peter, Paul, and even all the apostles, excepting John, who suffered martyrdom, and that before the destruction of Jerusalem:
and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake; as the apostles and first Christians were, both by Jews and Gentiles; the latter being stirred up against them by the former, wherever they came, and for no other reason, but because they professed and preached in the name of Christ, as the Acts of the Apostles show: and their hatred proceeded so far, as to charge all their calamities upon them; as war, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, &c. as the apologies of the first Christians declare.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Ye shall be hated ( ). Periphrastic future passive to emphasize the continuous process of the linear action. For tribulation ( see 13:21), a word common in the Acts, Epistles, and Apocalypse for the oppression (pressure) that the Christians received.
For my name’s sake ( ). The most glorious name in the world today, but soon to be a byword of shame (Ac 5:41). The disciples would count it an honour to be dishonoured for the Name’s sake.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Mat 24:9
. Then will they deliver you up to be afflicted. Christ now foretells to the disciples another kind of temptation, by which, in addition to ordinary afflictions, their faith must be tried; and that is, that they will be hated and detested by the whole world. It is painful and distressing enough in itself that the children of God should be afflicted in such a manner as not to be distinguished from the reprobate and the despisers of God, and should be subjected to the same punishments which those men endure on account of their crimes; and it appears to be still more unjust that they should be severely oppressed by grievous calamities from which the ungodly are exempted. But as wheat, after having been beaten by the flail along with the chaff, is pressed down and bruised by the millstone, so God not only afflicts his children in common with the ungodly, but subdues them by the cross even beyond others, so that we might be apt to think them more unhappy than the rest of mankind.
But Christ treats here strictly of the afflictions which the disciples had to endure on account of the gospel. For, though what Paul stays is true, that those whom God hath elected are likewise appointed by him to bear the cross,
that they may be conformed to the image of his Son, (Rom 8:29,)
yet he does not distinguish all by this special Mark of enduring persecution from the enemies of the gospel. It is of this species of the cross that Christ now speaks, when it becomes necessary that believers should incur the hatred, meet the reproaches, and provoke the fury, of the ungodly for the testimony of the gospel. For he intended to warn his disciples that the doctrine of the gospel, of which they were to be witnesses and messengers, would never be pleasant or agreeable to the world, as he had formerly explained to them. He foretells not only that they will have to contend with a few enemies, but that, wherever they come, all nations will oppose them.
But it was monstrous and incredible, and was fitted to astonish and shake even the strongest minds, that the name of the Son of God should be so infamous and hateful, that all who professed it would be everywhere disliked. Accordingly, the words of Mark are, take heed to yourselves. By this expression he points out the end and use of the warning, which is, that they ought to be prepared for endurance, lest, through want of caution, they might be overwhelmed by temptation. The same Mark adds, that this will be for a testimony to kings and rulers, when the disciples of Christ shall be brought before their tribunal. Luke expresses it a little differently, this will happen to you for a testimony, but the sense is quite the same; for Christ means that his gospel will be so much the more fully attested, when they have defended it at the risk of their lives.
If the apostles had only given their attention to preaching the gospel, and had not stood so firmly in defending it against the furious attacks of enemies, the confirmation of it would not have been so complete. But when they did not hesitate to expose their lives, and were not driven from their purpose by any terrors of death, their unshaken constancy made it manifest, how firmly they were convinced of the goodness of their cause. It was therefore an authentic seal of the gospel, when the apostles advanced without terror to the tribunals of kings, and there made an open profession of the name of Christ. Accordingly, Peter calls himself
a witness of the sufferings of Christ, (1Pe 5:1,)
whose badges he wore; and Paul boasts that he was
placed for the defense of the gospel, (Phi 1:17.)
This is eminently worthy of attention, that those on whom God bestows so great an honor as to make them defenders of his truth, may not through base treachery fall from the faith.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9) Then shall they deliver . . .The adverb, here and in Mat. 24:10, points to synchronism rather than sequence in its connection with Mat. 24:8.
To be afflicted.Literally, unto affliction. The words repeat in substance the predictions of Mat. 10:22. (See Notes there.) Here we have hated of all the nations, i.e., heathen nations, instead of the wider hated of all men. So, when Paul reached Rome, the sect of the Christians was everywhere spoken against (Act. 28:22) as evildoers (1Pe. 2:12). So, a little later on, Tacitus describes them as hated for their crimes (Ann. xv. 44).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Then shall they deliver you up Our Lord now proceeds to describe the persecutions which they should suffer in the propagation of the Gospel previous to the downfall of the Jewish power. Hated of all nations Under the terrible slanders of their Jewish enemies, the early Christians were considered as atheists and devourers of children. Tacitus, the Roman historian, charges them with being enemies of the human race. All nations All with whom you come into contact.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Then will they deliver you up to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated of all the nations for my name’s sake.”
Meanwhile what of His own followers? They will face tribulation, they will be killed, they will be hated by all, and all for His Name’s sake, that is because they are His and testify to His Name. These are the inevitable consequences of serving Him (see Joh 15:18-19; Joh 16:2-3; Joh 16:33; Act 14:22). But even these experiences are not to be seen as signs of the end, for they will occur both prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, and will continue on after it, even during the period when the Jews are experiencing their own great tribulation (Mat 24:23-24). Compare for His disciples continuing tribulation Mat 10:16-18; Mat 10:22. The same experiences will continue to the end.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
What Will Happen To His Followers And Those Who Oppose Them At This Time (24:9-14).
But while these wars and disasters are going on, and on into the future, His followers will have their task to do. And in doing it His own followers must recognise that they must expect to suffer intensive persecution in one way or another, and that many false prophets will arise. The path to truth will not be easy. Furthermore they must not be deceived into thinking that the whole world will respond to them. Far from it. The world will become increasingly lawless and religion will in general stagnate. Nevertheless through it all the Good News of the Kingly Rule of Heaven will triumph and will reach out into the whole world as the light continues to shine in dark places (Mat 4:16; Isa 42:6; Isa 49:6). This is God’s programme for the future, during which awful times the Kingly Rule of Heaven will spread throughout the world among men (Mat 24:14), and this will prepare for the future ‘coming to birth’ of the final heavenly Kingly Rule of Heaven, and the future enjoyment of ‘eternal life’ (Mat 25:46).
We have already seen indications that Jesus was aware that after His death and resurrection there would be a period of time before His return. Given a little thought it was required by the parables of the Kingly Rule of Heaven in chapter 13, and we can compare also Luk 19:11-12. So the events described here will cover at the minimum a fairly long period of time, for they are to occur among ‘all nations’.
Analysis of Mat 24:9-14 .
a “Then will they deliver you up to tribulation, and will kill you” (Mat 24:9 a).
b “And you will be hated of all the nations for my name’s sake” (Mat 24:9 b).
c “And then will many stumble (or ‘be entrapped), and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another” (Mat 24:10).
d “And many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray” (Mat 24:11).
c “And because lawlessness will be multiplied, the love of the many will grow cold, but he who endures to the end, the same will be saved” (Mat 24:12-13).
b “And this Good News of the Kingly Rule will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations
“And then will the end come” (Mat 24:14).
Note that in ‘a’ a quick end will come for many of His followers, while finally in the parallel the end will come for all. In ‘b’ His disciples will be hated of all nations, and in the parallel the good news of the Kingly Rule will be proclaimed among all nations. In ‘c’ there will be failure, betrayal and hatred, and in the parallel lawlessness will multiply and love will grow cold (apart from those who are His). Central in ‘d’ will be the rise of false prophets to lead men astray.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Persecutions:
v. 9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name’s sake.
v. 10. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
v. 11. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
v. 12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
v. 13. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
v. 14. And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. It is a prophecy of the fate which was in store for the apostles and disciples during the generation preceding the fall of Jerusalem, as well as the persecutions that would fall to the lot of the confessing Christians of all times, especially that time just preceding the final dissolution of the world, the Last Judgment. Then they, the enemies, would deliver them into affliction, that the pressure of every form of hatred would encompass them. And this hatred would not hesitate at times, since this is its favorite mood, to put some of them to death, Luk 21:16; Joh 16:2. All this abundantly fell to the lot, not only of the early disciples and the Christians of the first three centuries, as in the ten persecutions, but also to the Bible Christians of the later centuries, when they became the victims of the inquisition, of religious wars, and of political machinations. The position of the followers of Christ of all times has been that of the hated ones for the sake of the Lord’s name. The mere bearing of the Christian name, in some of the early persecutions, was a crime to which was attached the death penalty. And the same hatred is abroad in the land today, intolerance and bigotry, not directed primarily against languages, but against the truth of Christianity. To the hatred of the enemies of Christ would be added betrayal by members of the Church themselves, who would finally take offense at the crosses which were laid upon the disciples. Offense, betrayal, hatred, is the natural course of events in a case of that kind, not only in the apostolic and ante-Nicene Church, where such former members of the congregations were designated by special names, but also in our days, when science, falsely so called, is causing many members to stumble and fall, and finally to become enemies of the Bible and of the Church.
These conditions would be rendered still more difficult to bear because false prophets would arise in the very midst of the congregations, Act 20:29-30; 2Ti 2:17-18, as they do today, counteracting the effect of the pure Gospel-preaching and causing further offense by leading many into error. And in the same measure and degree as godliness and iniquity increase, real love and charity among the Christians would decrease, would be chilled and killed by the winds of affliction. There the combined admonition and promise stands out like a glorious emblem. He that endures patiently, bearing all for the sake of the Lord’s name, he whose faith remains unwavering, and whose life bears witness to that faith, he shall be saved, shall finally be delivered from all evil and receive eternal glory as a reward of mercy. “This is what matters here, where we have a life full of crosses, and the devil and the world place many obstructions in the way, that the exponents of Christianity endure to the end, that is, valiantly conquer all obstructions and offenses, if thou desirest to be saved before God. For the kingdom of heaven, Christ says elsewhere, Mat 11:12, suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Therefore a Christian must not only begin in faith, hope, love, patience, and continue for a while, but also continue to the end. Otherwise, if all the good would materialize that we attempt, heaven would be on earth. “)
There is also a great deal of comfort in the second promise of the Lord, that the end of the world will come when the Gospel has been preached throughout the inhabited world. Jesus purposely does not fix exact limits, but makes His statement very general, in order to prevent the foolish reckoning of time, which has become such a fad in our days. Very extensively, throughout the heathen world, to and among all nations, to prevent false accusations as to favoritism, this Gospel, the Gospel of His grace and mercy, would be proclaimed. It is both promise and encouragement, promise of a shedding forth of His gracious message in abundant measure, encouragement to carry on the mission-work which thereby fell to their lot, with undaunted courage and willingness.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 24:9. Then shall they deliver you up, &c. Had Jesus been an impostor, he would, like all other impostors, have fed his followers with fair hopes and promises; but on the contrary, we see that he denounces persecution to be the lot of his disciples; he pointeth out to them the difficulties they must encounter, the fiery trials they must undergo, and yet they did not stagger in their faith; did not therefore, like faint-hearted soldiers, forsake their colours, and desert his service. One hardly knows whom to admire most, him for dealing so plainly, or them for adhering so steadily to him.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 24:9 . Jesus now exhibits the sequel of this universal beginning of woes in its special bearing upon the disciples and the whole Christian community . Comp. on Mat 10:17 ff.
] then , when what is said at Mat 24:7 will have begun. Differently in Luk 21:12 ( ), where, though is not in any way further defined (Cremer), we have clearly a correction in order to adapt the expression to the persecutions that in the evangelist’s time had already begun . Seeing that the expressions are distinctly different from each other. it is not enough to appeal to the “ elasticity ” of the (Hoelemann).
] spoken generally , not as intimating, nor even presupposing (Scholten), the death of all of them. After . the current of prophetic utterance flows regularly on, leaving to the hearers themselves to make the necessary distinctions.
] It is a mistake to suppose that we have here a reference to Nero’s persecution (proceeding upon an erroneous interpretation of the well-known “odio humani generis” in Tacit. Ann. xv. 44, see Orelli on the passage), because it is the disciples that are addressed; and to regard them as the representatives of Christians in general , or as the sum total of the church (Cremer), would be arbitrary in the highest degree; the discourse does not become general in its character till Mat 24:10 . Comp. 1Co 4:13 .
. ] by all nations . What a confirmation of this, in all general respects, is furnished by the history of the apostles, so far as it is known to us! But we are not justified in saying more, and especially when we take into account the prophetic colouring given to our discourse, must we beware of straining the in order to favour the notion that the expression contains an allusion to the vast and long-continued efforts that would be made to disseminate the gospel throughout the world (Dorner); let us repeat that it is the apostles who are in question here. Comp. Mat 10:17 f., Mat 10:22 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
Ver. 9. And shall kill you ] Besides the butchcries at Jerusalem, that slaughter house of the saints, Nero orientem fidem primus Romae cruentacit, ” Nero was the first Roman persecutor,” saith Tertullian, who therefore calleth him Dedicator damnationis Christianorum, the dedicater of the condemnation of Christians. He is said to have made such a bloody decree as this, Quisquis Christianum se esse confitetur, is tanquam generis humani convictus hostis, sine ulteriori sui defensione capite plectitur, Whoso confesseth himself a Christian, let him be put to death without any more ado, as a convicted enemy of mankind.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
9 13. ] , at this time, during this period, not ‘after these things have happened.’ De Wette presses this latter meaning, that he may find a contradiction to Luk 21:12 , . These words serve only definitely to fix the time of the indefinite , here and in Mat 24:10 . The in Mat 24:14 is, from the construction of the sentence, more definite. For . . Luke has , viz. the Apostles. This sign was early given. James the brother of John was put to death, A.D. 44: Peter and Paul (traditionally, Euseb. H. E. ii. 25) and James the Lord’s brother , before the destruction of Jerusalem: and possibly others.
. ] see Act 28:22 , . : also Tacitus, Ann. xv. 44, where Nero, for the conflagration of Rome, persecutes ‘Christianos, genus hominum ob flagitia invisos:’ also see 1Pe 2:12 ; 1Pe 3:16 ; 1Pe 4:14-16 . In chap. Mat 10:22 , from which these verses are repeated, we have only here is added, giving particularity to the prophecy.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 24:9-14 . Third sign , drawn from apostolic experiences. This passage Weiss regards as an interpolation into the prophetic discourse by Matthew following Mark. It certainly resembles Mat 10:17-22 (much less, however, than the corresponding passage in Mk.), and individual phrases may be interpolations: but something of the kind was to be expected here. The disciples were not to be mere spectators of the tragedy of the Jewish nation destroying itself. They were to be active the while, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, propagating the new faith, bringing in a new world. Jesus would have them go on with their work undistracted by false enthusiasms, or warlike terrors, and to this end assures them that they will have both to do and to suffer a great deal before the final crisis of Jerusalem comes. The ground of this prophetic forecast as to their experience is faith that God will not allow the work He (Jesus) has inaugurated to perish. The gospel will be preached widely, with whatever tribulations to the preachers.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mat 24:9 . , from , originally pressure ( , Hesychius), in N. T. tropical, pressure from the evils of life, affliction. Again in Mat 24:29 , in reference to the Jewish people. The apostles also are to have their thlipsis . , they will kill you. Luk 21:16 has “some of you” ( ). Some qualification of the blunt statement is needed; such as: they will be in the mood to kill you ( cf. Joh 16:2 ). : not in Mark, universalising the statement = hated by all the nations, not Jews only.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat 24:9-14
9″Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. 11Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 12Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 13But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Mat 24:9 “Then” This term is used several times in Jesus’ end-time discussion (cf. Mat 24:9-10; Mat 24:14; Mat 24:16; Mat 24:21; Mat 24:23; Mat 24:30; Mat 24:40; Mat 25:1; Mat 25:7; Mat 25:31; Mat 25:34; Mat 25:37; Mat 25:41; Mat 25:44-45). The question is
1. Is it simply a transition marker?
2. Does it designate a temporal sequence?
3. Does it designate a context sequence (like the waw consecutive in Hebrew)?
Mar 13:9 is much more specific at this point. ” Courts and synagogues,” a phrase not found in Mat 24:9, shows both governmental and religious persecution of Christians (cf. 1Pe 4:12-16). ” Beaten” or literally “skinned,” Jews whipped offenders thirty-nine times-thirteen times on the front and twenty-six times on the back (cf. Deu 25:1-3; 2Co 11:24).
“you will be hated by all nations” Jesus prepared His disciples for the world’s hatred (cf. Mat 10:22; Mat 21:35-36; Mat 23:37; Mar 13:13; Luk 21:17; Joh 15:18-19; 1Jn 3:13). The level of opposition to the gospel is surprising (cf. Eph 6:10-18). The implication of this phrase is that Christianity has spread into all the world (cf. Mat 24:14) which means Jesus is referring to a future time.
“because My name” Not for their own wickedness or civil crimes will believers be persecuted, but because they are Christians (cf. Mat 5:10-16; Mar 13:9; 1Pe 4:12-16).
Mat 24:10 “many will fall away” Under persecution and spiritual delusion many followers of Jesus will “fall away” (lit. “be caused to stumble,” cf. Mat 11:6). These are the ones spoken of in the parable of the soils in Mat 13:21 (cf. Mar 4:17; Mar 8:13). They are the ones who “do not abide” in Joh 15:6. They are the ones who leave the fellowship in 1Jn 2:18-19. They are the ones described in Hebrews and 2Pe 2:20-22. See SPECIAL TOPIC: APOSTASY (APHISTMI) at Mat 7:21.
Mat 24:10-11 This implies organized opposition (cf. Mar 13:12). Families will be split over Christ (cf. Mat 10:35-37). Those who should have been changed by the gospel act like the unsaved (cf. Tit 3:2-3).
Mat 24:11 “many false prophets” This is a frightful thought. These people are wolves in sheep’s clothing (cf. Mat 7:15-23). Believers must have a grasp of the gospel, a yieldedness to the Spirit, and a godly lifestyle to protect themselves from these pretenders (cf. 2 Peter 2; 1Jn 2:18-19; Revelation 13).
Mat 24:12 Persecution will reveal the true spiritual nature of the pretenders (cf. Mat 13:20-22) or the weak (cf. 1Ti 6:9-10).
Mat 24:13 “but whoever endures to the end, he will be saved” This is an aorist active participle (endure) followed by a future passive indicative (saved cf. Mat 10:22. See Special Topic: the Need to Persevere at Mat 10:22). This is the doctrine of perseverance (Rev 2:2; Rev 2:11-12; Rev 2:26; Rev 3:5; Rev 3:12; Rev 3:21) and it must be held in a dialectical tension with the doctrine of the security of the believer. Both are true! Both are gifts of God. The term “saved” can be understood in its OT sense of physical deliverance and its NT sense of spiritual eternal deliverance.
Endurance is an evidence of a life changing encounter with Jesus (be sure to read the Special Topic on perseverance at Mat 10:22). It does not imply sinlessness, but it does contrast the actions of Mat 24:10-12!
Mat 24:14 “this gospel of the kingdom” This was mentioned earlier in Mat 4:23; Mat 9:35. It is synonymous with “the gospel.” It referred to the content of Jesus’ preaching.
“shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations” This is the goal of Mat 28:18-20; Luk 24:46-47; Act 1:8! It marks a major shift away from the “Israel only” policy. This is one of the things that must occur before the Second Coming. It is impossible to know how specific to interpret this phrase. Does it mean every single tribe or people in racial groupings or possibly everyone in the Roman world of Paul’s day? This second option is possible because the phrase “the whole world” is literally “the inhabited earth.”
SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH’s ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
to be afflicted = unto tribulation.
to = unto. Greek. eis.
of = by.
for = on account of. Greek. dia.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
9-13.] , at this time,-during this period, not after these things have happened. De Wette presses this latter meaning, that he may find a contradiction to Luk 21:12, . These words serve only definitely to fix the time of the indefinite , here and in Mat 24:10. The in Mat 24:14 is, from the construction of the sentence, more definite. For . . Luke has , viz. the Apostles. This sign was early given. James the brother of John was put to death, A.D. 44: Peter and Paul (traditionally, Euseb. H. E. ii. 25) and James the Lords brother, before the destruction of Jerusalem: and possibly others.
.] see Act 28:22, . : also Tacitus, Ann. xv. 44, where Nero, for the conflagration of Rome, persecutes Christianos, genus hominum ob flagitia invisos: also see 1Pe 2:12; 1Pe 3:16; 1Pe 4:14-16. In chap. Mat 10:22, from which these verses are repeated, we have only -here is added, giving particularity to the prophecy.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 24:9. , they shall kill you) sc. some of you; see Luk 21:16. The Lord does not point these out, in order that all may watch. Before the destruction of Jerusalem, James the Greater was slain by Herod, as St Luke mentions; Peter, by Nero, as ecclesiastical history hands down. You: as if you were in fault, and were the authors of the misery of the human race. This is the last consolation of the world. Judgment begins with the house of God.-, hated) The Christian religion has something peculiar, hateful to the corrupt world, which tolerates all other denominations.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
shall they: Mat 10:17-22, Mat 22:6, Mat 23:34, Mar 13:9-13, Luk 11:49, Luk 21:12, Luk 21:16, Luk 21:17, Joh 15:19, Joh 15:20, Joh 16:2, Act 4:2, Act 4:3, Act 5:40, Act 5:41, Act 7:59, Act 12:1, Act 12:2-5, Act 21:31, Act 21:32, Act 22:19-22, Act 28:22, 1Th 2:14-16, 1Pe 4:16, Rev 2:10, Rev 2:13, Rev 6:9-11, Rev 7:14
Reciprocal: 1Sa 22:23 – he that seeketh Psa 119:157 – Many Jer 15:10 – a man Dan 11:33 – yet Mat 5:11 – for Mat 10:22 – shall be hated Mat 13:21 – is Mat 26:31 – All Mar 4:17 – when Mar 13:13 – ye Luk 18:8 – when Joh 15:18 – General Joh 15:21 – all Act 5:33 – took Act 9:16 – for Act 12:4 – he put Act 16:19 – they 1Co 4:10 – for 1Co 15:19 – of all 1Th 3:3 – we are Heb 12:4 – General 1Pe 4:6 – that they 1Jo 3:13 – if
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
24:9
The preceding verse deals with the conditions a short time prior to the actual suffering in Judea, and the present one brings their history down upon the area itself. Deliver you up means the persecutions that were to be imposed upon the Jewish citizens by the Romans, especially those who had become Christians.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
[Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted.] To this relate those words of 1Pe 4:17; “The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God”; that is, the time foretold by our Saviour is now at hand, in which we are to be delivered up to persecution, etc. These words denote that persecution which the Jews, now near their ruin, stirred up almost everywhere against the professors of the gospel. They had indeed oppressed them hitherto on all sides, as far as they could, with slanders, rapines, whippings, stripes, etc. Which these and such like places testify; 1Th 2:14-15; Heb 10:33; etc. But there was something that put a rub in their way, that, as yet, they could not proceed to the utmost cruelty; “And now ye know what withholdeth”; which, I suppose, is to be understood of Claudius enraged at and curbing in the Jews. Who being taken out of the way, and Nero, after his first five years, suffering all things to be turned topsy turvy, the Jews now breathing their last (and Satan therefore breathing his last effects in them, because their time was short), they broke out into slaughter beyond measure, and into a most bloody persecution: which I wonder is not set in the front of the ten persecutions by ecclesiastical writers. This is called by Peter (who himself also at last suffered in it) a fiery trial; by Christ, dictating the epistles to the seven churches, tribulation for ten days; and the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world of Christians. And this is “the revelation of that wicked one” St. Paul speaks of, now in lively, that is, in bloody colours, openly declaring himself Antichrist, the enemy of Christ. In that persecution James suffered at Jerusalem, Peter in Babylon, and Antipas at Pergamus, and others, as it is probable, in not a few other places. Hence, Rev 6:11-12; (where the state of the Jewish nation is delivered under the type of six seals), they are slain, who were to be slain for the testimony of the gospel under the fifth seal; and immediately under the sixth followed the ruin of the nation.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mat 24:9. Then, i.e., during this time, not after this. See Luk 21:12.
They shall deliver you up, etc. Soon literally fulfilled. But it may now be referred to the spirit of persecution, always latent in the world and to break out in the last times.
Hated of all the nations. (Mark and Luke: of all men; comp. chap. Mat 10:22). The Roman historian Tacitus speaks of the early Christians as a hated race of men. But to be universally abhorred is not a proof of being a Christian. It must be for my names sake. This hatred has not ceased; it will probably manifest itself anew in startling form.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Our Saviour here goes on in giving farther signs of the destruction of Jerusalem.
1. He declares the sharp persecutions which should fall upon the apostles themselves; They shall kill you.
Thence learn, That the keenest and sharpest edge of persecution is usually turned against the ambassadors of Christ, and falls heaviest on the ministers of God. You shall be hated and killed.
The next sign is the apostasy of professors upon the account of those persecutions: Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and hate one another.
Learn hence, that times of persecution for Christianity are constantly times of apostasy from the Christian profession.
2. That apostates are usually the bitterest persecutors: Omnis apostata est osor sui ordinis. They shall betray one another, and hate one another.
A third sign is the abounding of false teachers: Many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many.
Where note, That the fair pretences and subtle practices of heretical teachers have drawn off many from the truth, whom open persecution could not drive from it.
A fourth sign is the decay and abatement of zeal for God, and love one to another: The love of many shall wax cold, that is, both towards God and towards man. When iniquity abounds, trouble waxes hot; false love waxes cold, and true love waxes warmer than it was before; the cold blasts of persecution blow up the love of a few, but blow out the love of many more.
These are the signs laid down by our Saviour foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem: and forasmuch as Jerusalem’s destruction was not only a forerunner, but a figure of Christ’s coming to judgment, these are also the signs foretelling the approach of that dreadful day. Verse 13. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.
Our Saviour closes his discourse with an exhortation to constancy and perseverance: teaching us, That there is no such way to overcome temptation and persecution, as by keeping our integrity, and persevering in our fidelity to Christ.
2. That constancy and perseverance in our integrity and fidelity towards Christ, is sometimes attended with temporal salvation and deliverance in this life, but shall certainly be rewarded with eternal salvation in the next: He that endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mat 24:9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, &c. From the calamities of the nation in general, he passes to those of the Christians in particular: and indeed the former were in a great measure the occasion of the latter; famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and the like calamities, being reckoned judgments for the sins of the Christians, and the poor Christians being often maltreated and persecuted on that account, as we learn from some of the earliest apologies for the Christian religion. Now the calamities which were to befall the Christians were cruel persecutions, and we need look no further than the Acts of the Apostles for the completion of this prediction. But if we would look further, we have still a more melancholy proof of the truth of it in the persecutions under Nero, in which, not to mention numberless other Christians, those two great champions of the Christian faith, Peter and Paul, fell. Indeed, as Tertullian calls it, it was nominis prlium, a war against the very name. For though a man was possessed of every human virtue, it was crime enough if he was a Christian; so true were our Saviours words, that they should be hated of all nations for his names sake.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
In the context all the things described in these verses will happen during the period of "birth pains," namely, during the Tribulation. However what follows seems to locate these events in the last half of the Tribulation. During the "birth pains" the disciples would experience persecution and martyrdom. The "you" extends beyond Jesus’ immediate disciples and includes disciples living in the future when these things will happen. Jesus was again speaking beyond His immediate audience.
The word "tribulation" or "persecuted" (Gr. thlipsis, or "distress") is a key word in this passage occurring three times (Mat 24:9; Mat 24:21; Mat 24:29; cf. Mat 13:21). These are all the occurrences of the word in Matthew’s Gospel. The outstanding characteristic of this time will be thlipsis. This persecution will lead many disciples to turn away from the faith (cf. Dan 11:35). [Note: For other uses of the Greek word skandalisthesontas, "to turn away from," in Matthew, see 5:29; 13:21, 57.] They will even hate one another (Mat 24:10). The deceiving influence of false prophets as well as the persecution the disciples will experience will cause many to turn from the faith (Mat 24:11; cf. Mat 7:15-23; Mat 13:21). Those disciples who hate one another will do so because wickedness will abound and the love of many of them (for the Savior, the truth, and or one another) will grow cold (Mat 24:12).
Though the term "disciple" is a broader one than "believer," it seems clear that Jesus meant some believers would be deceived, turn from the faith, and even hate other believers. There is no other revelation in Scripture that would preclude this interpretation and much that warns believers about this possibility (e.g., 1 Timothy 4; 2 Timothy 3). There is much revelation, however, that precludes the view that those who will turn from the faith will lose their salvation (e.g., Joh 10:28-29; Rom 8:31-39).
In contrast to those who prove unfaithful, those who persevere and endure the temptations of that period will experience deliverance (Mat 24:13). Their deliverance, unfortunately referred to as being "saved" by the majority of the English translations, will happen when and because Messiah will return at the end of the Tribulation. Jesus did not mean that perseverance results in eternal salvation. Only faith in Him does that. He will end the persecution of His disciples and thereby deliver them from this distress. Another view is that the end refers to the end of the faithful disciple’s life. [Note: See I. Howard Marshall, Kept by the Power of God, p. 74.] However the main subject of the promise seems to be the time of testing, not the disciple’s life.
"It is a promise that those who are faithful to the end, in the midst of the tribulation persecutions of Antichrist, will be abundantly rewarded with joint rulership with Christ in His coming kingdom." [Note: Dillow, p. 384.]