In the Fulness of Time/Part 60

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The Disruption of the Messengers: Division of Families. Matthew 10:21

Matthew 10:21 “And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.”

As this account of opposition proceeds, it becomes increasingly more evident that it is referring to something future, some things exceeding any opposition, which has already occurred. While it has always been true that orthodox Jewish families hold funerals for a family member who has converted to Christianity, this is not the hatred described in our verse. When the Old Testament Scriptures are compared, it does follow that such extreme hatred will be experienced during the period known as the Great Tribulation, preceding the coming of the Son of Man. Jesus actually quoted from Micah 7:6 in Matthew 10:36: “A man’s foes shall be they of his own household.” Of course, this could conceivably happen at any time, but when this is stated in Zechariah 13:3 with regard to parents killing false prophets in their own families “in the last days,” then it makes sense not only to compare this with Matthew 10:21, but in turn, to compare Matthew 10:21 with the parallel passages in Mark 13:9-26 and Matthew 24:9-14, which are definitely in the prophetic context of the Great Tribulation.

The Rejection of the Messengers: Endurance Through Hatred. Matthew 10:22

Matthew 10:22 “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”

Some of those who reject the future aspect of this prophecy, relegate this verse to an expression of the perseverance of the saints, comparing it with Hebrews 3:6, 14; 2 Peter 1:10 and other pas­sages which show the proof of salvation by endurance. However, the context of this passage, linked with the others previously mentioned would rather seem to refer to a specific time of endurance (through to the end of the Great Tribulation) and a specific application of the word “saved” (sodzo).

In the New Testament this word sodzo is used in various ways other than salvation from sin (Matthew 1:21). For example, in Acts 7:25 Moses supposed that the Jews would understand that “God by his hand would deliver (sodzo) them,” referring to physical deliverance from Egypt. In Acts 27:34 Paul admonished those aboard ship to take food, “for this is for your health” (sodzo), refer­ring to physical sustenance. In Mark 5:23 Jairus asked Jesus to lay hands on his daughter, “that she may be healed (sodzo) and she shall live,” referring to physical life. It is not unthinkable, therefore, that the endurance and being saved in Matthew 10:22 are physical endurance through, and physical deliverance at the end of, the Great Tribulation, awaiting the “coming of the Son of Man” from heaven.

The Expectation of the Messengers: The Coming of Christ. Matthew 10:23

Matthew 10:23 “But when they persecute you in this city, flee into another; for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of Man be come.”

From that which has already been stated, this concluding verse of the section refers to the future ministry of those messengers of Christ, enduring persecution through the years of the Great Tribula­tion, who will be reaching out to the cities of Israel. Daniel 12:1 describes it as “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time, and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” This deliverance will come when “there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer” (Romans 11:25, the expected Messiah, when “the Son of Man be come.” Christ in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25 will give details of events connected with this expectation. Meanwhile, He has some words of comfort and challenge for His disciples present with Him, as well as for us who are waiting for the “fulness of time.”

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