Matthew 24:9-13

Persecution of Disciples

24:9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations ¹  because of my name. ²  24:10 Then many will be led into sin, ³  and they will betray one another and hate one another. 24:11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive ⁴  many, 24:12 and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. 24:13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved. ⁵ 

Matthew 24:24

24:24 For false messiahs ⁶  and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Matthew 24:1

The Destruction of the Temple

24:1 Now ⁷  as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings. ⁸ 

Matthew 5:1-3

The Beatitudes

5:1 When ⁹  he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. ¹⁰  After he sat down his disciples came to him. 5:2 Then ¹¹  he began to teach ¹²  them by saying:

5:3 “Blessed ¹³  are the poor in spirit, ¹⁴  for the kingdom of heaven belongs ¹⁵  to them.

Hebrews 10:23-26

10:23 And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy. 10:24 And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, ¹⁶  10:25 not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day ¹⁷  drawing near. ¹⁸ 

10:26 For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, ¹⁹ 

James 5:1-8

Warning to the Rich

5:1 Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud ²⁰  over the miseries that are coming on you. 5:2 Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten. 5:3 Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure! ²¹  5:4 Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ²²  5:6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you. ²³ 

Patience in Suffering

5:7 So be patient, brothers and sisters, ²⁴  until the Lord’s return. ²⁵  Think of how the farmer waits ²⁶  for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient ²⁷  for it until it receives the early and late rains. 5:8 You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near.

[24:9]  ¹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).

[24:9]  ² sn See Matt 5:10-12; 1 Cor 1:25-31.

[24:10]  ³ tn Or “many will fall away.” This could also refer to apostasy.

[24:11]  ⁴ tn Or “and lead many astray.”

[24:13]  ⁵ sn But the person who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works. He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.

[24:24]  ⁶ tn Or “false christs”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:1]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[24:1]  ⁸ sn The Jerusalem temple was widely admired around the world. See Josephus, Ant. 15.11 [15.380-425]; J. W. 5.5 [5.184-227] and Tacitus, History 5.8, who called it “immensely opulent.” Josephus compared it to a beautiful snowcapped mountain.

[5:1]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[5:1]  ¹⁰ tn Or “up a mountain” (εἰς τὸ ὄρος, eis to oro").

[5:2]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:2]  ¹² tn Grk “And opening his mouth he taught them, saying.” The imperfect verb ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) has been translated ingressively.

[5:3]  ¹³ sn The term Blessed introduces the first of several beatitudes promising blessing to those whom God cares for. They serve as an invitation to come into the grace God offers.

[5:3]  ¹⁴ sn The poor in spirit is a reference to the “pious poor” for whom God especially cares. See Ps 14:6; 22:24; 25:16; 34:6; 40:17; 69:29.

[5:3]  ¹⁵ sn The present tense (belongs) here is significant. Jesus makes the kingdom and its blessings currently available. This phrase is unlike the others in the list with the possessive pronoun being emphasized.

[10:24]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “let us consider one another for provoking of love and good deeds.”

[10:25]  ¹⁷ sn The day refers to that well-known time of Christ’s coming and judgment in the future; see a similar use of “day” in 1 Cor 3:13.

[10:25]  ¹⁸ tn This paragraph (vv. 19-25) is actually a single, skillfully composed sentence in Greek, but it must be broken into shorter segments for English idiom. It begins with several subordinate phrases (since we have confidence and a great priest), has three parallel exhortations as its main verbs (let us draw near, hold, and take thought), and concludes with several subordinate phrases related to the final exhortation (not abandoning but encouraging).

[10:26]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “is left,” with “for us” implied by the first half of the verse.

[5:1]  ²⁰ tn Or “wail”; Grk “crying aloud.”

[5:3]  ²¹ tn Or “hoarded up treasure for the last days”; Grk “in the last days.”

[5:5]  ²² sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).

[5:6]  ²³ tn Literally a series of verbs without connectives, “you have condemned, you have murdered…he does not resist.”

[5:7]  ²⁴ tn Grk “brothers”; this phrase occurs again three times in the paragraph. See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[5:7]  ²⁵ tn Or “advent”; or “coming” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Behold! The farmer waits.”

[5:7]  ²⁷ tn Grk “being patient.”