43 And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.
44 Now His betrayer had given them a signal, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely.”
45 As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, “Rabbi, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
46 Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.
47 And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.
48 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?
49 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”
50 Then they all forsook Him and fled.
51 Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body. And the young men laid hold of him,
52 and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.
great multitude (v.43) — These were not the Temple crowds, but some who came from the Sanhedrin, members of the Temple police, and some of the regular Roman soldiers. There were also some personal servants of the High Priest, and members of the Sanhedrin. — Wuest, page 268.
as soon as he [Judas] had come (v.45) — Judas walked immediately to Jesus and gave Him a kiss to indicate to the mob which one they were to arrest. A kiss was a common form of greeting among friends, so Judas’ choice of that as a signal was hypocritical. He called Jesus “Rabbi” (teacher) rather than Lord.
kissed (v.45) — An emphatic form of the verb (kissed him much) is used, as though to suggest more than usual fervor and affection. — Guthrie, page 882.
one of those who stood by (v.47) — Peter (John 18:10)
servant of the high priest (v.47) — Malchus (John 18:10)
Peter’s intent was not to cut off the servant’s ear but to split his head open (v.47).
Jesus did not protest the fact of His arrest, but the manner (v.48). They were treating Him like they would a violent criminal.
Jesus had, in fact, spoke in the Temple three times that very week (v.49). They didn’t arrest Him then. But Judas’ betrayal and the secrecy of the proceedings occurred as they did to fulfill prophecy.
They all … fled (v.50) — fulfills the prophecy of Mark 14:27. “All” is emphatic in the Greek. Jesus was completely abandoned by His followers.
The account of the young man in vs.51-52 appears only in Mark, which means that the young man probably was Mark himself. If so, it’s the only place where Mark writes himself into the story, and it isn’t a very flattering portrait.
linen cloth (v.51) — This suggests that the youth, on hearing some sudden report, rose out of his bed and rushed out in his night-shirt, or being absolutely naked, hurriedly threw about his body, a loose cotton or linen sheet. — Wuest, page 270.
At least he probably didn’t have far to run naked.
The Bible doesn’t say why the Jews brought so many armed troops, so the reason isn’t important, but as a matter of conjecture …
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The Jews had attempted to arrest and kill Him before (Luke 4:29-30; John 10:39), and He had easily escaped. Perhaps they believed more people could handle Him.
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Perhaps they were afraid that His disciples would resist (as Peter attempted to do.
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Maybe they intended their show of force to convince Pilate that Jesus was indeed a threat.
32 Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
33 And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.
34 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”
35 He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.
36 And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
37 Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?
38 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
39 Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.
40 And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.
41 Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
Also found in Matthew 26:36-46 and Luke 22:40-46.
Sit here (v.32) — addressed to the eight apostles who did not accompany Him into the garden.
Began to be sore amazed and to be very heavy. The Lord was overwhelmed with sorrow, but His first feeling was one of terrified surprise. Long as He had foreseen the Passion, when it came clearly into view, its terrors exceeded His anticipations. His human soul received new experience—He learned upon the basis of the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8), and the last lesson of obedience began with a sensation of inconceivable awe. With this there came another, that of overpowering mental distress (He began to be distressed)—the distress which follows a great shock, the confused, restless, half-distracted state which may be worse than the sharp pain of a fully realized sorrow. The three disciples are placed so that they can be witnesses of the agony. “Sore amazed … to throw into amazement or terror, to alarm thoroughly, to terrify, to be struck with terror. “To be heavy” … uncomfortable, as one not at home. It speaks of an experience of which one is not familiar, in which one does not feel at home, that is, at rest, and which distressed him. “Exceedingly sorrowful” … encompassed with grief, very sad. Grief enveloped Him, surrounded, saturated His consciousness. “Unto death” … “so that I almost died.” — Wuest, page 264.
a little farther (v.35) — about a stone’s throw (Luke 22:41). They could probably see Him and may have been able to hear Him.
fell on the ground and prayed (v.35) — imperfect tense. Kept on falling to the ground, kept on praying.
hour (v.35) — the cross
Abba (v.36) = Aramaic for “Father”
this cup (v.36) — There were two things in the cup from which our Lord naturally and sinlessly shrank. If He had not offered this petition, He would not have been who and what He was. One of them was to be made sin, to be charged by the High Court of Heaven with the guilt of all human sin. From that the holy Son of God drew back with all the infinite hatred of sin that was His. The other was the agony of being deprived of the fellowship of the Father for the time from nine o’clock in the morning to three in the afternoon (Psalm 22:1-2). The fellowship between Father and Son had had no beginning. For a sinner who has never known the bliss of the Father’s fellowship, to be deprived of it all through eternity, is bad enough. But for the holy Son of God who knew nothing else up to that moment, the loss of that fellowship meant infinite suffering. — Wuest, page 265.
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Man’s arch-enemy wrought sin and death by asserting his will against God (Isaiah 14:13-14); Jesus wrought salvation by submitting His will to God. Accepting the will of God is always victory, whereas self-will inevitably leads to defeat. — Guthrie, page 882.
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Peter is addressed as the first of the three (v.37); but the rebuke is partly personal, as Mark at least is aware. Mark has not used the personal name “Simon” since Peter’s call to the Apostolate (Mark 3:16), and its appearance here is certainly suggestive …For the time he is “Peter” no more, the new character which he owes to association with Jesus is in abeyance. He who was ready to die with the Master (Mark 14:31) has been proved not to possess the strength of will requisite for resisting sleep during the third part of a single watch. — Wuest, page 266.
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The flesh is man as belonging to the sphere of the material life, under the limitations of a corporeal nature, frail, mortal, and in fact impure (Genesis 6:12). The spirit [is] the vital force (Genesis 6:17) which in man is directly dependent on the Spirit of God (Genesis 2:7), and the organ of communication with God … In the Eleven, the human spirit was already under the influence of the Spirit of God through their intercourse with Christ (John 14:17). It was therefore willing and eager. But its willingness was not a match for the inertia of its colleague, the frail flesh. — Wuest, page 266.
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The time for watchfulness and prayer has gone by, and the injunction is not repeated: in place of it comes a permission to sleep. The permission is surely ironical; “sleep, then, since it is your will to do so; rest, if you can.” The Lord did not hesitate to use irony (compare Mark 7:9) when there was occasion for it; exhortation and reproof had in this instance failed, and no other means of rousing the three to a sense of duty remained. … On the words “It is enough”: The Lord breaks off the momentary play of irony—it is as if He would say, “This is no time for the lengthened exposure of the faults of friends; the enemy is at the gate.”
The disciples were still lying on the ground. Our Lord was standing. Judas and his party were approaching. Jesus went out to meet them. The words “let us go” meant, “let us go” to meet Judas and those with him. They did not mean that our Lord was contemplating flight. This was his hour, and He was there to meet it. — Wuest, page 267.
27 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
28 “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”
29 Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”
30 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”
31 But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all said likewise.
The quote in verses 27 is from Zechariah 13:7.
Our Lord predicts that all the disciples without exception will be offended because of Him, and He confirms His prophecy by an Old Testament prediction. The word “offended” [stumble] is skandalizo “to find occasion of stumbling” in another, “to see in another what I disapprove of and what hinders me from acknowledging his authority.” The disciples deserted the Lord and fled. This was their act of stumbling. The occasion for their stumbling was in the fact that our Lord’s arrest and treatment by Rome might involved them in the same kind of treatment. They were out to save their own skins. This announcement of the desertion by the disciples was not made as a reproach, but as a preface of better things, namely, an early reunion. The adversative particle alla (but) is used, contrasting the gloom of the immediate future with the hope of the resurrection. — Wuest, pages 262-263.
Right after Jesus told the apostles that they would stumble, deny Him, and be scattered, He said that, after He rose, He would meet with them in Galilee. In other words, “You will fail Me, but I will not fail you.”
crows twice (v.30) — The third of the four “watches” of the night (12:00 am to 3:00 am) was called “cockcrowing” (cf. Mark 13:35). The cock would crow early in this period and again toward the period’s end. In Mark’s account Jesus referred to the second crowing so as to be quite specific. Matthew records a reiteration of His prediction in more general terms, that is, he refers to only one crowing, the second, which was the more commonly known of the two. — Thomas,page 220.
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Peter’s boast is turned into a prophecy of a greater downfall. … To this overconfident “certainly not I” of the disciple, the Master returns a very pointed and peremptory reply: I thee thee that thou (emphatic), today [time], on this night (more precise indication of time), shall deny Me, not once, but again, and again, and again. — Wuest, page 263.
spoke (v.31) — tense is “he kept on speaking”
more vehemently (v.31) = abundantly in matter and manner, with vehemence and iteration
Peter gets the attention, but all the other disciples, all of whom also scattered, felt the same way.
22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.
25 Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
“Take ye” is a word of absolute assurance. Christ’s Body is not only slain, and His Blood shed on our behalf; He gives Himself to us as well as for us; He is ours. And therefore whoever is convinced that he may take part in “the sacrament of so great a mystery” should realize that he there receives, conveyed to him by the Author of that wondrous feast, all that is expressed by the bread and wine.
And yet this very word “Take ye,” demands our cooperation in the sacrament. It requires that we should receive Christ, as it declares that He is ready to impart Himself, utterly, like food which is taken into the system, absorbed, assimilated, wrought into bone, into tissue and into blood. — Chadwick, page 379.
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Like the bread, this cup was part of the traditional Passover meal among the Jews. It was the third of four times that participants took the cup during the meal. Traditionally the third cup related to the third of four promises of God to Israel in Exodus 6:6-7: “I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgment.” It becomes symbolic of the shedding of Jesus’ blood for redemption. The final cup, relating to the fourth promise, that of the restoration of Israel, will not be taken by Jesus until the establishing of the Kingdom of God. — Thomas, page 213.
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The First Testament (Hebrew 8:7) refers to the system of symbolic sacrifices known as the Levitical economy. The New Testament (Hebrews 8:8) speaks of the sacrifice of our Lord on the Cross, the fulfillment of the First Testament. The words “is shed” are present tense, durative action, “which is being shed,” our Lord looking upon His sacrifice on the Cross as imminent and regarded as already present. The prediction of verse 25 will have its fulfillment in the Millennial Kingdom when the Messiah and His cleansed restored Israel will drink in a new and glorious way the fruit of the Mystical Vine (John 15:1) in the world-wide kingdom where He will reign as a king upon the throne of His father David. … The particular word for “new” in verse 25 is not “new” as to time but “new” as to quality. The wine of the future Millennial Kingdom will be new in quality, spiritual, not material. — Wuest, page 262.
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The language [is] so constructed as to force the conviction upon us that His body and blood, His humanity, is the special gift of the Lord’s Supper. As man He redeemed us, and as man He imparts Himself to man. — Chadwick, page 381.
hymn (v.26) — probably one of the Hallel Psalms which were usually included in the Passover celebration.
12 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?”
13 And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him.
14 Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’
15 Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”
16 So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.
17 In the evening He came with the twelve.
18 Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”
19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” And another said, “Is it I?”
20 He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.
21 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
Also found in Matthew 26:17-24 and Luke 22:7-16, 21-22.
These preparations came during the daylight hours on Thursday, the fourteenth of Nisan. Lambs were customarily sacrificed in the afternoon in preparation for the Passover supper, which was eaten in the evening. … The Passover meal … took place on the fifteenth of Nisan, that is, Thursday evening after sundown. — Thomas, pages 206-207.
two of His disciples (v.13) — Peter and John (Luke 22:8).
guest room (v.14) — Jesus had apparently made arrangements with this man beforehand, but he wasn’t well-enough known to Peter and John that they could be sent directly to his house. The room was furnished with the carpets and couches used for meals and had been prepared, which probably included removing of all leaven, in keeping with the Passover.
prepared the Passover (v.16) — Supposing the lamb to have been already slain, and returned to the house, there still remained much to be done; the roasting of the lamb, the provision of the unleavened cakes, the bitter herbs, the four cups of wine, and preparation of the room and the lamps; and in the preparation of the food there were many ritual niceties to be observed. For instance, there was the making of a paste to resemble the mortar which was used in the laying of bricks in Egypt. The present day Jews make this paste by grinding apples, nuts, raisins, and mixing this with wine. — Wuest, page 259.
in the evening (v.17) — Jesus probably took this precaution to avoid being arrested before His time.
one of you (v.18) — Mark and Luke do not name Judas as the betrayer, but Matthew and John (John 13:26).
To the oriental, the fellowship of a meal was specially sacred, and hostile action against one with whom one ate bread was absolutely precluded (cf. Psalm 41:9). In this case Judas not only ate with Jesus; even more intimately, the dipped with Him in the dish. The dish was probably the bowl of sauce into which pieces of unleavened bread were dipped [during the Passover meal]. Verse 21 clearly states both the divine sovereignty and human responsibility, and places the latter squarely on the shoulders of Judas. The divine necessity for [Jesus’ death] was no excuse for the free agent who brought it about. — Guthrie, page 881.
Is it I? (v.19) — In Greek, it’s “It is not I, is it?” expecting a negative answer.
The reference [to dipping in the dish in v.20] is probably to a sauce made of dates, raisins, and vinegar, into which the master of the house dipped pieces of the unleavened cake with bitter herbs between them. These were distributed to the company The sign, indicating who the traitor was, consisted of our Lord’s dipping the unleavened cake into the sauce and handing it to Judas (John 13:26). The “woe” of v.21 is not a vindictive one, or of the nature of a curse, but reveals a misery which Love itself could not prevent. — Wuest, page 260.
3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.
4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted?
5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.
6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.
7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.
8 She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.
9 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.
11 And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.
From John we learn that this feast was given six days before the Passover. The other accounts postponed the mention of it, plainly because of an incident which occurred then, but is vitally connected with a decision arrived at somewhat later by the priests. Two days before the Passover, the council finally determined that Jesus must be destroyed. They recognised all the dangers of that course. It must be done with subtlety; the people must not be aroused; and therefore they said, not on the feast-day. It is remarkable, however, that at the very time when they so determined, Jesus clearly and calmly made to His disciples exactly the opposite announcement. “After two days the Passover cometh, and the Son of Man is delivered up to be crucified” (Matthew 26:2). Thus we find at every turn of the narrative that their plans are over-ruled, and they are unconscious agents of a mysterious design, which their Victim comprehends and accepts. — Chadwick, page 360.
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The ointment is described by Mark in three words, nardos referring to a perfume which came from India, well known to the Greeks and Romans, and procured from the hills on the banks of the Ganges River, pistikos, speaking of the fact that it was genuine, not imitation or adulterated, and poluteles, telling us that it was very costly. — Wuest, page 256.
more than three hundred denarii (v.5) — A denarius was a days wage, so the cost of the perfume was roughly equivalent to a laborer’s wage for the greater part of a year. It apparently was sold in a flask that had to be broken to be opened, so it was intended for a one-time use.
some who were indignant (v. 4) — John reports that Judas raised the objection. Mark says that the other apostles “had indignation among themselves,” exchanging remarks or looks which told of their sympathy with Judas. … They murmured against the woman. The word is embrimaomai “to be very angry, sternly to charge.” The verb in the imperfect tense, as it is here, is used in another connection, of the snorting of horses. — Wuest, page 256.
good (v.6) = goodness seen on the outside as it strikes the eye, a beautiful, pleasing goodness, possessing true moral beauty.
The Lord wasn’t contrasting service to Himself with service for the poor. He was only saying that service to the poor could (and should) be done at any time, but service to Him would soon be impossible.
Mary could not comprehend our Lord’s death, but she showed sympathy for Him, a thing which the others did not do. … The fragrant unguents were used for anointing the dead body after it had been washed, but this is to be distinguished from the process of embalming, which consisted of laying myrrh and aloes in the folds of the grave clothes. Mark relates that the women came to anoint the body of Jesus, but the resurrection prevented the fulfillment of their purpose. So the only anointing which the Lord received was the anticipatory one by Mary. — Wuest, page 257.
I get the idea that Jesus was notably down, anticipating His coming ordeal. He had attempted several times to tell the disciples what was about to occur, but they didn’t ( or wouldn’t) understand. In addition, Jesus knew that Judas was about to betray Him. Mary, and only Mary, knew the Lord was sad and did the best she could to comfort Him. Nobody else in the room understood this either, but the Lord knew and honored Mary for it.
This which Mary did shall be told while the world stands, as being among the few human actions which refreshed the lonely One, the purest, the most graceful, and perhaps the last. — Chadwick, page 363.
one of the twelve (v.10) — lit. “the one of the twelve.” The one who betrayed the Lord.
betray (v.10) = to hand over or alongside
glad (v.11) = an audible or visible expression of joy
1 After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death.
2 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people.”
Also found in Matthew 26:1-5 and Luke 22:1-2.
Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (v.1) — instituted in Exodus 12:1-20.
The Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread … was one feast. The word “passover” is the translation of pascha which means “a passing over.” The paschal lamb was the lamb for sacrifice which the Israelites were bidden to kill, the blood of which they were to sprinkle on the door-posts of their dwellings in Egypt so that the destroying-angel might pass over their homes without entering and taking the life of the first-born. The paschal lamb therefore was the slain lamb, the death of which was accepted in lieu of the life of the first-born child. Our Lord is the Paschal Lamb in the sense that His death was accepted by the High Court of Heaven as a payment for our sin. As the symbolic Passover was about to be celebrated in Israel, the actual Passover Lamb was entering Jerusalem to fulfill the type by dying on the Cross.
Representatives of each order of the Sanhedrin were gathered together in council convened, chief priests, scribes, elders, to discuss ways and means of putting Jesus to death. They were assembled in the house of Caiaphas, who had for some time been advocating the policy of sacrificing Jesus to the Roman power (John 11:49). There was no division of opinion now as to principle of as to the means to be employed. The point under consideration was the strategic, opportune, safe time to give Jesus over to the Roman authorities. He was too popular with the people, for the Jewish leaders to hand Him over to Rome on the feast of the Passover, they reasoned. — Wuest, page 255.
28 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
29 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors!
30 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.
34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.
35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—
36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.
37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
Also found in Matthew 24:32-42 and Luke 21:28-36.
these things (v.29) — The things mentioned earlier in the chapter — persecution (v.9), abomination of desolation (v.14).
generation (v.30) — Some commentaries believe that this word, in this context, refers to the Jewish race. Here is a quote from Gaebelein from my notes in Matthew:
The word gena means not necessarily the same persons living, but it has also the meaning of race. The English word “generation” has this meaning of “family or a race of a certain class of people.” And so has the Greek. It is used in that sense in Luke 16:8. “This generation” is the race sprung from Abraham, God’s chosen earthly people. Well have they been called “the everlasting nation;” better still we could call them “the nation of destiny.” God has kept this race, and is keeping them, for the fulfillment of His own great, revealed purpose. The verse, however, has also the meaning that the people living, when the end of the Jewish age sets in, will behold its termination; it will all be accomplished in a small space of time.
Walvoord also holds the second view — that the Lord was saying that the generation that experiences the Tribulation will also witness the second coming of Christ.
In verse 32, the Lord Jesus, speaking in the capacity of the Son of Man under the self-imposed limitations of the incarnation, says that even He Himself did not at that time know the hour of the second Advent, and of the time of the fulfillment of these other things grouped around that event. Our Lord’s discourse here, looks through the needs of that generation in which He lived, to the future generation in Israel alive when He comes back to set up His kingdom. The words “it is nigh” of verse 29 refer back to the word “summer.” That does not make sense. A wider context refers them back to the word “Son,” which is the true meaning. He is nigh. — Wuest, page 253.
The parable in verses 34-36 is found only in Mark.
man going to a far country (v.34) — In Greek, the tense indicates that the man is already away from home, “a man gone abroad.”
The man abroad is the Son of Man who leaves this earth to go back to the Father, leaving His servants, the douloi (bondslaves), namely, disciples in general, and the porter, the thuroros (the doorkeeper), namely the [apostles] to whom belongs the responsibility of guarding the house and of being ready to open the door to the Master at His return. — Wuest, pages 253-254.
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[The servants and doorkeepers] are exhorted to watch. The word here is … a different word from the one translated “watch in verse 33… The former speaks of a sleeping man arousing himself, while the latter merely conveys the idea of wakefulness. The latter adds to the idea of wakefulness, the notion of alertness … The apostles are thus compared with the doorkeepers, verse 34; and the night season is in keeping with the figure. In the temple, during the night, the captain of the temple made his rounds, and the guards had to rise at his approach and salute him in a particular manner. Any guard found asleep on duty was beaten, or his garments set on fire. Compare Revelation 16:15, “Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments.” The preparations for the morning service required all to be early astir. The superintending priest might knock at the door at any moment. The Rabbis use almost the very words in which scripture describes the unexpected coming of the Master. Sometimes he comes a the cockcrowing, sometimes a little earlier, sometimes a little later. He came and knocked and they opened to him … The words “when the time is” of verse 33 are defined in their context as the time of the return of the Master, namely, the second Advent of the Messiah to Israel. — Wuest, page 254.
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.
Also found in Matthew 24:29-31 and Luke 21:25-27.
The functional disturbances in the sun, moon, and stars occur at the close of the Great Tribulation period, and are literal. These are spoken of in the sixth seal judgment (Revelation 6:12-14). There is no definite article before the word “clouds.” The Son of Man will come in clouds, clouds of glorified saints and angels. The Revelation speaks of this in 19:11-16. The word nephele (clouds) is used of a multitude of individuals in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, where the saints will be caught up in clouds (no article) at the Rapture, and in Hebrews 12:1, where the writer visualizes the crowds that pack the Greek stadium. The word was used in classical Greek of an army of soldiers. The second advent of Messiah is spoken of here. He comes at the close of the Great Tribulation to defeat Antichrist and set up the Millennial Kingdom. The gathering of the elect refers here to the regathering of all of Israel at the second advent of Messiah. Israel will be saved in sovereign grace, and restored to fellowship with and service to God for the Millennial Kingdom. — Wuest, pages 251-252.
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Throughout the Old Testament this national deliverance [of Israel] is a recurring theme of Jewish eschatological hope (Deuteronomy 30:3-4; Isaiah 11:12; 27:13; 56:8; Jeremiah 23:3; 31:8; Ezekiel 11:17; 20:34, 41; 28:25; 34:13; cf. Romans 11:26) — Thomas, page 200.
14 “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
15 Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house.
16 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
17 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
18 And pray that your flight may not be in winter.
19 For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be.
20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.
21 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it.
22 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
23 But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.
Also found in Matthew 24:15-28 and Luke 21:20-24.
Our Lord’s words … reach forward to the Great Tribulation and to Antichrist, the Abomination of Desolation, who will violate the Holy of Holies of the Temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15 standing in the holy place), also Paul (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). When that occurs, let Israel take that as the signal to flee. Antichrist will make a treaty of friendship and religious toleration with the Jewish nation for a period of seven years (Daniel 9:27, confirm covenant … for one week). After 3½ years, he will violate that covenant by stopping the Temple worship and will enter the Holy of Holies. He will then show himself to be, not the reputed friend and protector of Israel but its bitter enemy. — Wuest, page 249.
woe (v.17) — an interjection of grief
in those days there will be tribulation (v.19) — should read “Those days will be a tribulation.”
These will be tribulation days. The judgments of God which will fall upon unbelieving Israel and the Gentile nations will have no precedent in all past history, and no counterpart in all succeeding history. God, in mercy will shorten the period of the Great Tribulation so that Israel, the nation, might not cease to exist. In Revelation 7:4-8, we have 144,000 of Israel, the preaching remnant in the Great Tribulation period. These announce the coming of the Messiah, and lose their lives during that period by reason of the persecution of Antichrist. In Revelation 14 we see them in the Glory. The period of divine judgment will be shortened in order that the lives of God’s chosen out ones, namely, Israel, might be spared. — Wuest, page 250.
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Christ (v.21) — The Messiah, the promised and coming King of Israel who comes in the dynasty of David to rule over Israel in the Messianic Kingdom. Thus, our Lord was speaking of false Messiahs. This false Christ does not deny the being of a Christ. He builds on the world’s expectation of such a person. He appropriates to himself the title and identity, and affirms that he is the foretold one. These false Messiahs and prophets will show signs and wonders in an attempt to prove their claims to be true. … Our Lord warns Israel against accepting the claims of one who performs miracles solely upon the basis of the fact that he performs miracles. The character of the person and his message must also be taken into consideration. — Wuest, pages 250-251
if possible (v.22) — Whether it is possible or not isn’t determined here.
