Matthew 19:4

19:4 He answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female, ¹ 

Matthew 19:8

19:8 Jesus ²  said to them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hard hearts, ³  but from the beginning it was not this way.

Matthew 24:21

24:21 For then there will be great suffering ⁴  unlike anything that has happened ⁵  from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen.

¹ sn A quotation from Gen 1:27; 5:2.

² tc A few important mss (א Φ pc) have the name “Jesus” here, but it is probably not original. Nevertheless, this translation routinely specifies the referents of pronouns to improve clarity, so that has been done here.

³ tn Grk “heart” (a collective singular).

³ tn Traditionally, “great tribulation.”

⁴ sn Suffering unlike anything that has happened. Some refer this event to the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. While the events of a.d. 70 may reflect somewhat the comments Jesus makes here, the reference to the scope and severity of this judgment strongly suggest that much more is in view. Most likely Jesus is referring to the great end-time judgment on Jerusalem in the great tribulation.