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Matthew 24

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And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

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And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

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And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

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And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

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For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

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And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

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For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

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All these are the beginning of sorrows.

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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.

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And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

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And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

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And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

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But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

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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.

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When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

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Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:

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Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

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Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

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And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

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But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

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For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

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And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

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Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

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For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

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Behold, I have told you before.

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Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

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For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

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For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

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Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

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And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

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And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

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Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

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So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

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Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

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Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

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But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

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But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

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For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,

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And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

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Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

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Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

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Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

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But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

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Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

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Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

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Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

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Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

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But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

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And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

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The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

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And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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Matthew 24

The Olivet Discourse responds to the disciples' question about when the temple will be destroyed and what will be the sign of Jesus' coming and the end of the age. Jesus distinguishes between the two events: birth pains (wars, famines, earthquakes), the abomination of desolation in the holy place (Daniel's sign for the temple's imminent destruction), and the immediate need for flight from Judea — which refer to the 70 CE destruction — and the cosmic Son of Man coming after those days of distress, when the powers of heaven will be shaken and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. The timing of the first event (this generation will not pass away) is distinguished from the timing of the second (no one knows the day or hour, not the angels, not the Son, only the Father). The chapter's second half is dominated by the call to watch and be ready: as in the days of Noah, as the master who returned unexpectedly, the faithful and wise servant who gives the household food at the proper time versus the wicked servant who begins to beat his fellow servants.

Matthew 24:19

And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! The woe for pregnant and nursing women communicates the extreme difficulty of flight for those whose physical condition makes rapid movement impossible. The woe is not a condemnation but a compassionate lament over those who are most vulnerable in the moment of urgent flight.

Matthew 24:35

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. The permanence of Jesus' words contrasted with the impermanence of heaven and earth: the creation that seems most permanent will pass away; the words of Jesus will not. The permanence of Jesus' words is the foundation for the certainty of all the predictions in the Olivet Discourse.

Matthew 24:1

Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. The departure from the temple — the final departure, never to return as a teacher — is the occasion for the disciples' admiration of the temple buildings. The disciples who have just heard the temple declared desolate (Matthew 23:38) are pointing to the magnificent Herodian stones as if the judgment had not just been announced. The contrast between the disciples' awe and Jesus' impending announcement sets the tone for the Olivet Discourse.

Matthew 24:2

But he answered them: you see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. The prediction of the temple's total destruction — not one stone upon another — is the historical prophecy that the Olivet Discourse will elaborate. The prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD when the Roman general Titus destroyed the temple and left the foundation stones bare. The disciples' question in verse 3 reveals that they connected the temple's destruction with the end of the age.

Matthew 24:3

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying: tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? The disciples' three-part question — when, what sign of your coming, and what sign of the end of the age — may conflate two or three events that Jesus will treat with some distinction. The private setting on the Mount of Olives (east of the temple, with a direct view of its eastern face) is the classic prophetic vantage point.

Matthew 24:4

And Jesus answered them: see that no one leads you astray. The opening warning — the primary command of the entire Olivet Discourse — is see that no one leads you astray. Before describing any signs, Jesus warns against the deception that will accompany the signs. The discourse that follows is as much a warning against false interpretation as a prediction of future events.

Matthew 24:5

For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. The first deception: false messiahs who come in Jesus' name and claim the messianic identity. The many who are led astray communicates the breadth of the deception's success. The I am the Christ in Jesus' name communicates that the false messiahs will use the authority of Jesus' name to advance their claims.

Matthew 24:6

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. The wars and rumors of wars that will precede the end are paired with the command not to be alarmed — the events must take place, but they are not the end itself. The must communicates the divine sovereignty over the events: they are not accidents but part of the framework.

Matthew 24:7

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. The traditional signs of the messianic woe — wars, famines, earthquakes — are the beginning of the birth pains rather than the delivery. The various places communicates the geographical breadth of the disturbances.

Matthew 24:8

All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. The birth-pains metaphor communicates the relationship between the preliminary signs and the end: the disturbances of verses 6–7 are the early contractions, not the delivery. The birth pains metaphor also communicates the certain outcome: the painful process will produce something new.

Matthew 24:9

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. The persecution prediction: the disciples will be delivered up, killed, and hated by all nations for Jesus' name. The tribulation described in verses 9–13 is the suffering of the community of Jesus' followers — not the cosmological events of verses 4–8 but the community's experience within the events.

Matthew 24:10

And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. The internal community fracture that tribulation produces: many fall away (the same stumble language as Matthew 11:6 and 13:57), and those who fall away betray and hate those who do not. The community that maintained unity in the early chapters is tested and divided by the suffering of the latter chapters.

Matthew 24:11

And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. The false prophets who arise within the community parallel the false messiahs of verse 5 who arise outside. Both groups lead many astray — the breadth of the deception is emphasized. The false prophets are the internal version of the false messiahs' external deception.

Matthew 24:12

And because lawlessness is increased, the love of many will grow cold. The love that grows cold is the agape that defines the community's identity — the love of neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:39) and the love that distinguishes the community from the world. The lawlessness (anomia — the violation of God's standards) that produces the cold love is the moral deterioration that persecution and deception together generate.

Matthew 24:13

But the one who endures to the end will be saved. The promise for the endurer: salvation for those who hold on through the tribulation. The endurance is the consistent call through Matthew's Gospel for the kind of faith that persists through tribulation and persecution rather than falling away (the rocky ground of Matthew 13:21 fell away; the endurer does not).

Matthew 24:14

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. The universal proclamation of the gospel as the condition preceding the end: the testimony to all nations must be complete before the end comes. The mission to all nations that Matthew 28:19 will commission is here identified as the prerequisite for the end. The end waits for the mission's completion.

Matthew 24:15

So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place — let the reader understand — then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. The abomination of desolation from Daniel 11:31 and 12:11 — the desecration of the holy place by an abominable presence — is the signal for immediate flight from Judea. The let the reader understand is a textual aside communicating the significance of the Daniel reference and the need for careful reading.

Matthew 24:16

Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. The flight instruction: when the abomination of desolation appears, immediate flight without delay is the response. The mountains that surround Jerusalem are the destination for the fleeing community.

Matthew 24:17

Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house. The urgency of the flight: the person on the flat Palestinian rooftop should not come down to take anything from inside. The housetop-to-mountains flight without stopping communicates the extreme urgency of the departure.

Matthew 24:18

And let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. The field-worker who should not turn back for his cloak — the outer garment needed for warmth at night — is the second example of the urgency: even the most basic necessity (the cloak) should not be taken if it means delay.

Matthew 24:20

Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. The prayer for favorable flight conditions: winter (when travel is most difficult) and the Sabbath (when the distance one may travel is limited by Sabbath regulations) are the conditions to pray against. The prayer instruction communicates that the community's response to the coming tribulation includes both practical preparation and intercessory prayer.

Matthew 24:21

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. The great tribulation that follows the abomination of desolation is described as the most severe suffering in the history of the world — unprecedented before and after. The language echoes Daniel 12:1 (a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations) and communicates the climactic severity of the events.

Matthew 24:22

And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. The divine limitation of the tribulation for the sake of the elect: without the shortening, no flesh would survive. The elect's sake as the reason for the shortening communicates the sovereign protection of the chosen community within the tribulation.

Matthew 24:23

Then if anyone says to you: look, here is the Christ! or There he is! do not believe it. The repeated warning against false messiah claims during the tribulation: the extreme distress of the great tribulation is precisely the moment when false messiahs will find the most receptive audience. The do not believe communicates the absolute requirement to resist the false claims regardless of the desperation of the moment.

Matthew 24:24

For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. The false christs and false prophets of the tribulation period perform genuine miracles — great signs and wonders — that could deceive even the elect. The if possible, even the elect communicates the extreme power of the deception: the miracles are real, and only the elect's sovereign protection prevents their deception.

Matthew 24:25

See, I have told you beforehand. The pre-telling of the events: Jesus' prior announcement of the false messiahs and their signs is itself a protection against deception. Foreknowledge of the deception makes it recognizable; the one who was warned is less vulnerable than the one who is surprised. The I have told you beforehand is the assurance of Jesus' sovereignty: the events do not escape his knowledge.

Matthew 24:26

So, if they say to you: look, he is in the wilderness, do not go out. If they say: look, he is in the inner rooms, do not believe it. The two specific false messiah scenarios — the wilderness messiah and the inner-room hidden messiah — are the two characteristic models of first-century messianic expectation. The wilderness messiah echoes Moses and the Exodus; the hidden messiah echoes the Jewish tradition of the concealed deliverer. Both scenarios should be rejected.

Matthew 24:27

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. The coming of the Son of Man that is unlike the false messiahs' secret appearances: the lightning that is instantaneously visible from east to west is the image of the universally visible, undeniable character of the true coming. The Son of Man's coming does not need to be announced from the wilderness or the inner rooms — it will be as unmistakable as lightning.

Matthew 24:28

Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. The proverb about the corpse and the vultures communicates the inevitability of the gathering: just as vultures gather wherever a carcass lies, the Son of Man's coming will inevitably follow the carcass of the collapsing age. The image is stark but the logic is clear: the end will be as obvious and as irresistible as scavenging birds circling carrion.

Matthew 24:29

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. The cosmic signs that follow the tribulation — darkened sun, non-shining moon, falling stars, shaken heavens — are the prophetic imagery of divine judgment drawn from Isaiah 13:10 and 34:4. The cosmic disruption communicates the magnitude of the transition: the present age is ending.

Matthew 24:30

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. The sign of the Son of Man in heaven — the appearance that the false messiahs' secret location claims could not produce — is visible to all the tribes of the earth. The mourning of all the earth's tribes echoes Zechariah 12:10–12. The coming on the clouds with power and great glory is the Daniel 7:13–14 vision of the Son of Man given dominion over all nations.

Matthew 24:31

And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. The gathering of the elect from the four corners of the earth — the universal ingathering of the chosen — is the counterpart to the tribulation's scattering. The loud trumpet echo Isaiah 27:13 (a great trumpet will sound, and those who are perishing in Egypt will come and worship). The angels who gather the elect are the same reapers who separated the weeds from the wheat (Matthew 13:41–43).

Matthew 24:32

From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. The fig-tree parable applied to the signs of the end: just as the fig tree's tender branch communicates the arrival of summer, the signs described in the previous verses communicate the nearness of the end. The parable communicates the relationship between signs and the event they signify.

Matthew 24:33

So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. The application of the fig-tree lesson to the signs: when you see all these things (the signs of verses 4–31), you know that the coming is near, at the gates. The at the very gates communicates extreme proximity — the one who will enter is already at the threshold.

Matthew 24:34

Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. The most debated verse in the Olivet Discourse: this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. The this generation is most naturally read as the generation contemporary with Jesus, and the all these things includes the tribulation, the false messiahs, and some form of the Son of Man's coming — with 70 AD as the historical fulfillment of at least the temple's destruction and the community's tribulation.

Matthew 24:36

But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. The ignorance of the day and hour — even the Son's ignorance in his earthly, kenotic state — is the decisive limit on all attempts to predict the timing of the end. The Father only knows the day and hour: the disciples' when question (verse 3) will not receive a date-answer because the date is not available to anyone except the Father.

Matthew 24:37

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. The Noah analogy: the coming of the Son of Man will be like the days of Noah — life proceeding normally, no recognition of the coming judgment, until the flood came. The analogy communicates the characteristic of the end: the ordinariness of the period immediately preceding the extraordinary event.

Matthew 24:38

For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark. The ordinariness of the pre-flood days — eating, drinking, marrying — is not a moral condemnation of those activities but an observation of the normalcy that characterized the period before the catastrophic interruption. The ordinary life that continued right up to the day Noah entered the ark is the parallel to the ordinary life that will characterize the period before the Son of Man's coming.

Matthew 24:39

And they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. The unaware until the flood came is the characteristic of those who did not take Noah's warning seriously: the flood swept them all away at the moment they had decided to be unconcerned. The so will be the coming of the Son of Man: the same sudden, sweeping, unexpected character.

Matthew 24:40

Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. The taken-and-left image: two in the same field, two at the same mill — one taken, one left. The parallel images communicate the individual character of the judgment within the universality of the event: neighbors, colleagues, family members will be separated by the coming.

Matthew 24:41

Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. The second taken-and-left image: women at the mill, doing identical work in identical proximity. The distinction between those taken and those left is not observable in their outward circumstances but in their inner relationship to the one who comes.

Matthew 24:42

Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. The watchfulness command that follows from the ignorance of the day: stay awake because you do not know when. The stay awake is the Olivet Discourse's primary practical instruction — the appropriate response to the unknown timing is not calculation but constant readiness.

Matthew 24:43

But know this, if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. The thief-in-the-night image for the coming: the householder who knew when the thief was coming would have stayed awake and been prepared. But the thief comes when the householder does not know — precisely the condition that makes constant watchfulness necessary.

Matthew 24:44

Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. The you must be ready conclusion from the thief analogy: the unexpected hour of the coming makes constant readiness the only rational response. The hour you do not expect is the specification that makes all hour-calculation futile: the very act of calculating and deciding I expect it at that hour makes that hour the wrong prediction.

Matthew 24:45

Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? The faithful and wise servant parable — the third illustration of the watchfulness theme — addresses those in positions of responsibility within the community. The servant set over the household to distribute food is the leader or teacher given responsibility for the community's wellbeing during the master's absence.

Matthew 24:46

Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. The beatitude for the servant who is faithfully doing his work when the master returns: the blessing falls on the one who was faithfully busy rather than the one who had calculated the timing and adjusted his behavior accordingly.

Matthew 24:47

Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. The reward for the faithful servant: authority over all the master's possessions. The servant who was trusted with the household's food distribution receives expanded authority at the master's return. The principle of Matthew 25:21 (faithful over a little, set over much) is here applied to the faithful household servant.

Matthew 24:48

But if that wicked servant says to himself: my master is delayed. The wicked servant's assumption — the master is delayed — is the assumption that the unknown timing creates leisure for irresponsible behavior. The says to himself communicates the private reasoning that is not voiced publicly but governs behavior.

Matthew 24:49

And begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards. The wicked servant's behavior in the assumed absence: beating the other servants and carousing with drunkards. The abuse of authority over the servants and the indulgence in drunkenness are the behavioral consequences of the assumption that the master will not return soon. The wicked servant has not left his position — he has stayed while behaving as if the master has gone indefinitely.

Matthew 24:50

The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. The master's coming on the unexpected day and unknown hour is the Olivet Discourse's central warning applied directly to the wicked servant: the very assumption that the master is delayed is the assumption that will be disproven by the master's unexpected return.

Matthew 24:51

And will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The severe judgment on the wicked servant — cut in pieces, placed with the hypocrites, weeping and gnashing of teeth — communicates the eschatological consequence of the unfaithful use of the time before the master's return. The hypocrites who are the wicked servant's companions in judgment are the same hypocrites of Matthew 23: those whose outward religious profession does not correspond to inner faithfulness.