CHAPTER 22

It was Tuesday afternoon and Jesus and his disciples left the temple courts and began walking to the Mount of Olives toward Bethany. As they were walking away, the disciples were talking about how the temple complex was decorated with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God.

Then the disciples came to Jesus and one of them said to him, “Teacher, look at the temple buildings! Look at the massive stones and the magnificent buildings of the temple! Jesus was distressed with his disciples and said to them, “Do you admire all these things about the temple? Do you see all these great buildings?

“I tell you the truth: A time is coming when these temple buildings will be destroyed. Every stone will be thrown down, not one stone will be left on another. When you see Jerusalem surrounded by Roman armies, you will know that its destruction is near. Jerusalem will be trampled by the Romans until the times of the non-Jews are fulfilled. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written in the Old Testament. There will be great trouble in the land and wrath against this people. They will die by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. So when you see stand- ing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes destruction,’ as it is written in Daniel 9:27, those living in Judea flee to the mountains for refuge. Let those in Jerusalem leave, and let those in the country not enter Jerusalem. Those who are on their rooftops should not go down to take anything out of their houses, and those working in their fields should not go back to their homes to get their extra clothes. Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled since God’s creation of the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. Those days will be horrifying for pregnant women and nursing mothers. If the Lord had not cut short these terrible days, no one would survive, but for the sake of the chosen those days will be kept short.”

Once again, Jesus predicted the Romans’ destruction of Jerusalem and the temple that took place in AD 70.

After walking across the Kidron Valley, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple.

His disciples—Peter, Andrew, James, and John—asked Jesus in private, “Teacher, tell us, when will all these things happen? What will be the sign that these things are about to take place? What will be the sign of your coming and the end of this age?” Jesus looked at his disciples and said, “Watch out that no one deceives you. Stay alert so that you will not be deceived and led astray, for many people will come in my name claiming that they are the Messiah and that the time is near. Do not follow them! Many false prophets will appear and lead many people to believe in things that are false. At that time if anyone declares to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look, there is the Messiah!’ do not believe them. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and do miraculous signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the chosen. So be on your guard, because I am telling you these things before they happen.

“When you hear of wars and rumors of uprisings, do not be afraid. Nations will rise up and fight against nations, and kingdoms will rise up and fight against kingdoms. There will be great earthquakes, fam- ines, and plagues in various places. And there will be terrifying events and great signs from heaven. But these things are only the beginning of the pains of childbirth. For they must happen first, but the end of the world is still to come.”

“At that time, before all these things happen, you will be persecuted, arrested, punished, and killed because you are my disciples. People from all over the world will hate you because you believe in me. You must be on your guard and be alert, for you will be handed over to the Jewish local councils, and flogged in the synagogues. You will be put in prison. Because you are my disciples, you will be brought before kings and governors as witnesses to them. But determine in your minds not to worry beforehand about how you will defend yourselves, because I will give you words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to oppose or argue against. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry about what you will say. Just say whatever words of wisdom that are given to you at that time, for it is the Holy Spirit within you speaking and not you.

“You will be betrayed by parents, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father will have his child put to death. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. At that time many believers will turn away from the faith. They will hate and betray each other. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of many people will grow cold. Everyone will hate you because you are my disciples, but those who stand strong to the end will be saved. Stand strong, and you will gain your lives. Be assured, not a hair of your head will perish.

“But in the days following the time of great tribulation, what is written in Isaiah 13:10 will come true, ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give forth its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in heaven will be shaken.’ There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On the earth, nations will experience great turmoil and anguish at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from overwhelming fear at what is coming on this world, for the elements of the heavens will be shaken.

“But the good news of the kingdom of God will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.

“The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that flashes in the sky from the east to the west. At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and brilliant glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your salvation is coming soon. For he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four winds—from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

“No one knows the day or hour of the coming of the Son of Man, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on your guard! Be alert! Pay close attention! For you do not know when that time will come. Be careful, or your hearts will be weighted down with partying, drunkenness, and the worries of life, and the day of the Lord will come upon you suddenly like a trap. For the day of the Lord will come on everyone living on the whole earth. Be always alert, and pray that you will have the strength to escape all that is about to hap- pen, and that you will be able to stand before the Son of Man.

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be the same at the com- ing of the Son of Man. For in those days before the great flood, people were living normal lives—eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage—up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they did not know what would happen until the great flood came and washed them away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

“It’s like a man who goes away on a trip: He leaves his servants in charge of his house and gives each one a job, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore, keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will return—it could be in the evening, or at midnight, or at dawn when the rooster crows. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I declare to everyone: Keep watch! But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night a thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let the thief break into his house. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory along with all the angels, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right side and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; receive your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the universe. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you took care of me, and I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will ask him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth: Whatever you did for one of the least of my followers, you did for me.’

“Then the King will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me; I was sick and in prison and you did not take care of me.’ They also will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ The Lord will say ‘I tell you the truth: Whatever you did not do for the least of my followers, you did not do for me.’ Then the wicked will go away to eternal punishment, and the righteous to eternal life.”

Then Jesus told his disciples the story of the faithful servant. He said, “Who is the faithful and wise servant? Who is the servant that the master put in charge of his servants to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is the servant whose master finds him faithful and doing what he was told to do. I tell you the truth: The master will put that wise and faithful servant in charge of all his possessions, over everything he owns. But if that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time.’ He then beats his fellow ser- vants, and lives the life of a drunkard. The master of that wicked servant will come on a day and at a time when he does not expect him. And then the master will send him to the place with the religious hypocrites and unbelievers, where people will be weeping and grinding their teeth.”

Then Jesus said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be required.”

Then Jesus told them these stories about the kingdom of God.

“At that time the kingdom of God will be like ten young girls who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

“Now five of the young girls were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish girls took their lamps, but did not take any oil with them. However, the wise girls took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was delayed a long time in coming, so they all became tired and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out, ‘Here comes the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all the young girls woke up and lit their lamps. The foolish girls said to the wise girls, ‘Give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’ The wise girls said, ‘No! There is not enough oil for both of us. Go and buy your own oil.’ But while they were away buying oil, the bridegroom arrived. The wise girls went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the foolish young girls came and said, ‘Sir! Sir! Open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth: I don’t know you.’ Therefore, keep watch, for you do not know the day or the hour of the coming of the Son of Man.

“The kingdom of God will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his riches to them. To one servant he gave five bags of money, to another two bags of money, and to another one bag of money, each according to his ability. Then the man went on his journey. The servant who received five bags of money immediately went and invested the money and earned another five bags of money. So also, the servant with the two bags of money earned another two bags. But the servant who was given one bag of money went and dug a hole in the ground and buried it. After a long time the master of the servants returned and settled the accounts with them. The servant who had been given five bags of money brought the other five bags that he earned. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of money, and I now have 10 bags of money to give to you.’

“His master said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; so I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.’

“The servant who was given two bags of money also came and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of money, and now I have four bags of money to give to you.’ His master said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; so I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your master’s happiness!’

“Then the servant who was given one bag of money came and said, ‘Master, because I knew that you are a hard man, I was afraid and went out and buried the bag of money in the ground. So, here is the bag of money that you gave me.’ In anger, his master said, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! You should have put my bag of money in the bank, so when I returned I would have received it back with interest. So he took the one bag of money from him and gave it to the servant who had ten bags of money. And the worthless servant will be thrown outside into the darkness—where people will be weeping and grinding their teeth.”

Jesus said, “For whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever has very little, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

After Jesus finished teaching all these things, he said to his disciples, “The Passover is coming soon. It is only two days away. At that time, the Son of Man will be handed over to the Romans to be crucified.”

Then Jesus and his disciples spent the night in Bethany.

It was Wednesday and many Jews who had come to visit Mary believed in Jesus after they saw him raise Lazarus from the dead, but other Jews went and told the Jewish religious leaders what Jesus had done. Hearing what Jesus was teaching, the religious leaders met together in the palace of Caiaphas the high priest. They asked each other, “What are we going to do? For this man Jesus is doing many miracles. If we do not stop him, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and destroy our temple and our nation.” Then Caiaphas shouted, “You know nothing at all! You don’t realize that it is better that Jesus should die than our whole nation be destroyed.”

From that day forward the Jewish religious council made plans to deceive Jesus, arrest him in private, and kill him. But because the religious leaders were afraid of the people, they said to one another, “We can’t arrest Jesus during the Passover because the people will riot.

Then Satan entered the heart of Judas Iscariot. He went to the religious leaders and the officers of the temple guard, and talked to them about how he could betray Jesus. Judas asked them, “How much money will you give me to turn Jesus over to you?” The religious leaders were thrilled to hear that Judas would betray Jesus, and agreed to give him money. So they paid Judas 30 silver coins, worth about $5,000.

From then on Judas looked for an opportune time to betray Jesus and have him arrested when people were not present.