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UPDV Updated Bible Version

Matthew Chapter 24 — The Olivet Discourse

Overview

UPDV chapter 24 covers the prediction of the temple's destruction (24:1-2), the disciples' question (24:3), the beginning of sorrows (24:4-8), the persecution of the disciples (24:9-14), the abomination of desolation and flight from Jerusalem (24:15-22), warnings about false Christs (24:23-25), the cosmic signs and the coming of the Son of Man (24:26-28), and the fig tree parable with the "this generation" saying (24:29-32). This material comes from Matt 24:1-8, 16-22, 24, 29, 32-35, Matt 10:17-22, Mark 13:14, 18, 21, 23, 26-27, and Luke 20:40.

The Olivet Discourse is the last major block of teaching in the UPDV's Matthew before the passion narrative. The UPDV's editorial work here is shaped by two principles. First, the compiler split Mark 13:9-13 (the persecution sayings) between two locations — using most of it directly in the Mission Discourse (Matt 10:17-22) and rewriting the remainder as a substitute for the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24:9-14). D&A confirm: "Because Matthew has already used Mk 13:9-13 in 10:17-21, he here summarizes its gist and adds new material." The UPDV reverses this split by placing the Matt 10:17-22 versions — which are closer to Mark 13:9-13 — back into the eschatological discourse where Mark originally had them. Second, the compiler inserted Q material from Luke 17 and Luke 12 (the lightning saying, the Noah comparison, the thief parable, the faithful servant) into the Markan framework of the Olivet Discourse. The UPDV removes these Q insertions and places them in their Lukan positions at earlier chapters.

The result is a shorter, more focused discourse: temple destruction, persecution, abomination, flight, cosmic upheaval, the Son of Man, and then the fig tree parable. The chapter ends with "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" (24:32). Everything after Matt 24:35 in canonical Matthew — the unknown day, the days of Noah, the thief in the night, the faithful and unfaithful servant — has been relocated to its Q position.

The Temple and the Beginning of Sorrows (24:1-8)

"And Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way; and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. But he answered and said to them, Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, There will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down." The opening (24:1-8) follows Matt 24:1-8, which closely reproduces Mark 13:1-8. The compiler's version requires minimal correction here.

The prediction of the temple's destruction sets the terms for the entire discourse. The disciples' question at 24:3 — "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the very end of the age?" — reflects the compiler's distinctive vocabulary. Mark 13:4 has simply "when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?" The compiler added "your coming" (τῆς σῆς παρουσίας, tēs sēs parousias) and "the very end of the age" (συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος, synteleias tou aiōnos) — both characteristic Matthean terms. The UPDV retains the compiler's form here, since the question frames the discourse that follows.

The beginning of sorrows (24:4-8) — false messiahs, wars, famines, earthquakes — tracks Mark 13:5-8 with minor verbal differences. Lane reads these as "the commonplaces of history which have no special significance as signs of the end." France agrees: these are explicitly not the end but "the beginning of travail" — birth pangs that indicate a process has started, not that the climax has arrived.

The Persecution Sayings (24:9-14)

"But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to Sanhedrins, and in their synagogues they will scourge you; yes and before governors and kings you will be brought for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles." The persecution sayings (24:9-14) are the chapter's most consequential editorial decision. The UPDV replaces the compiler's Matt 24:9-14 with Matt 10:17-22, restoring the sayings that the compiler relocated from Mark 13:9-13 to the Mission Discourse.

The compiler's procedure is well documented by D&A. Having already used Mark 13:9-13 almost verbatim in Matt 10:17-21, the compiler needed substitute material for the Olivet Discourse. His solution was to rewrite the persecution theme in more abstract, generalized terms: "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and will kill you: and you will be hated of all the nations for my name's sake" (Matt 24:9). This replaces Mark's concrete specifics — Sanhedrins, synagogue floggings, governors and kings — with a broader statement about tribulation and hatred. The compiler then filled the gap with new material at Matt 24:10-12: scandals, mutual betrayal, false prophets, multiplied lawlessness, and love growing cold. D&A assign this material not to the compiler's own invention but to a pre-Matthean apocalyptic source paralleled in Didache 16:3-6: "Our own guess is that, in composing chapter 24, Matthew drew upon a small apocalypse akin to what appears in Did. 16:3-6."

The UPDV reverses this by placing the Matt 10:17-22 versions — which preserve Mark's concrete details — back into their Markan position. The Sanhedrins, the synagogue floggings, the governors and kings all return to the eschatological discourse where Mark had them. Matt 24:10-12 (the Didache-parallel material) is omitted as M — material from the compiler's special source that lacks a Synoptic coordinate. Matt 24:14 ("this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world") is replaced by its Markan equivalent, which appears within the persecution context at Matt 10:18: "for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles." D&A note that the compiler's version at 24:14 is "untypically overloaded" with Matthean additions: "'this,' 'of the kingdom,' and 'in all the inhabited earth' are all strictly unnecessary."

The Abomination and the Flight (24:15-22)

"When therefore you see the detestable thing of desolation (let him who reads understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." The abomination of desolation (24:15) follows Mark 13:14, dropping two of the compiler's additions.

First, the UPDV drops "which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet." Mark 13:14 alludes to Daniel without naming him; the compiler made the source explicit in his characteristic formula-quotation style. D&A note the addition is "without parallel" in Mark and functions like the compiler's other formula citations. The parenthetical "let him who reads understand" — present in both Mark and Matthew — remains. France reads this as the evangelist's own aside "calling on the reader of his discourse to take note of the preceding clause" and warning "that the meaning is not on the surface and will need to be thought out."

Second, the UPDV drops the compiler's specification "standing in the holy place" (ἑστός ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ, hestos en topō hagiō). To understand this change, it helps to see what the compiler was working from. Mark 13:14 has the cryptic "standing where it should not" (ἑστηκότα ὅπου οὐ δεῖ, hestēkota hopou ou dei) — with a striking grammatical anomaly: the masculine participle ἑστηκότα modifies the neuter noun βδέλυγμα (bdelygma, "abomination"). D&A note this suggests "personification of the abomination in some concrete figure." Lane identifies the masculine participle as evoking a person "usurping a position which is not his" and connects it to the investiture of the clown Phanni as high priest in the winter of 67-68 AD. Evans connects it to the antichrist tradition of 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. The compiler resolved the grammatical anomaly by making participle and noun agree (neuter ἑστός) and replaced Mark's deliberately cryptic "where it should not be" with the transparent "in the holy place." The UPDV strips both the compiler's geographic specification and the Markan locative phrase entirely, leaving the abomination without a stated location — "the detestable thing of desolation (let him who reads understand)." The parenthetical reader-address, present in both Mark and Matthew, does the work: it signals that the referent is deliberately veiled, and the UPDV lets that signal stand without any editorial clarification of where the abomination stands.

The flight instructions (24:16-19) pass through from Matt 24:16-19 with no changes — these closely reproduce Mark 13:14-17.

At 24:20, the UPDV drops the compiler's "nor on a Sabbath" (μηδέ σαββάτῳ, mēde sabbatō) from the prayer that flight not be in winter. Mark 13:18 has only "in winter." D&A confirm the Sabbath clause is absent from Mark and list five proposed explanations. They favor the view that "some members of Matthew's community still observed the Sabbath" and would be reluctant to flee on the day of rest — evidence that the compiler's community was still Torah-observant. The addition reflects the compiler's pastoral concern for his audience, not the original saying. France notes the practical dimension: "Winter weather conditions can only add to the hardship and the difficulty of quick movement" — the concern is about swollen wadis and impassable roads in the Judean hill country.

False Christs and the Coming of the Son of Man (24:23-28)

"Then if any man says to you, Look, here is the Christ, or, Look, there; don't believe it." The false Christ warnings (24:23-25) draw from both Mark and Matthew, and the Son of Man's coming (24:26-28) switches to Mark 13:26-27.

At 24:23, the UPDV follows Mark 13:21's "Look, here... or, Look, there" (ἴδε ὧδε... ἴδε ἐκεῖ, ide hōde... ide ekei) rather than the compiler's "Here... or Here" (ὧδε... ὧδε). The difference is minor but Mark's form is more vivid. Lane reads the warning as "entirely appropriate to a context dominated by the motif of flight" — the point is not to be deterred from fleeing by claims that the Messiah has appeared locally.

At 24:25, the UPDV follows Mark 13:23: "But take heed: I have told you all things beforehand." The compiler abbreviated this to "Look, I have told you beforehand" (Matt 24:25), dropping the imperative "take heed" (βλέπετε, blepete) and "all things" (πάντα, panta). D&A note the compiler "shrinks the application of the prophetic formula." The UPDV restores Mark's fuller form.

The compiler's Matt 24:26-28 — the lightning saying ("as the lightning comes forth from the east and is seen even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man") and the carcass/eagles proverb ("wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together") — are Q material with parallels at Luke 17:23-24 and 17:37. D&A explain how the compiler inserted them: "Matthew recalled Lk 17:23-4 (Q) and moved it to its present location because of the similarity between Mk 13:21 and Lk 17:23. Both verses have to do with rumours of false Christs being here or there, and Matthew decided to continue with the Q sequel." The UPDV places these sayings in their Lukan position at UPDV 20:17-19 rather than in the Olivet Discourse.

The cosmic signs at 24:26 follow Matt 24:29: "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." This draws on Isaiah 13:10 and 34:4 via Mark 13:24-25. The commentators divide sharply on interpretation. France reads the cosmic language as standard OT prophetic imagery for political upheaval, not literal cosmic dissolution: "such 'cosmic' language conveys a powerful symbolism of political changes within world history." Evans and Lane read it as theophanic — God's appearance in judgment, whether or not it involves literal astronomical events.

For the Son of Man's coming (24:27), the UPDV switches to Mark 13:26: "And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory." The compiler's Matt 24:30 has additional material: "and then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then will all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." The UPDV omits both the "sign of the Son of Man" (24:30a) and the "tribes of the earth mourning" (24:30b). D&A assign both to the compiler's M source, paralleled in Didache 16:6 and Revelation 1:7. The "tribes mourning" allusion combines Zechariah 12:10 ("when they look upon him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn") with Zechariah 12:12-14 ("the land shall mourn, each tribe by itself"). D&A argue this confluence of Daniel 7 and Zechariah 12 is pre-Matthean — "a pre-Matthean origin for both the christological exegesis of Zech 12:10-14 and the confluence with Daniel 7 is indicated" — but it remains non-Markan, and the UPDV follows Mark's simpler form.

For the gathering of the elect (24:28), the UPDV follows Mark 13:27: "And then he will send forth the angels, and will gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven." The compiler added "with a great trumpet" (Matt 24:31), which D&A trace to Isaiah 27:13 and connect to 1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, and Didache 16:6. The UPDV omits the trumpet as a non-Markan addition.

The Fig Tree and "This Generation" (24:29-32)

"Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch has now become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that the summer is near; even so you also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, even at the doors." The fig tree parable (24:29-30) and the "this generation" saying (24:31) follow Matt 24:32-34, which closely reproduces Mark 13:28-30.

The discourse ends with two weighty declarations. First: "This generation will not pass away, until all these things are accomplished" (24:31). France reads "this generation" as straightforwardly referring to Jesus' contemporaries and sees no difficulty because he interprets the entire discourse — including the cosmic imagery and the Son of Man's coming — as describing the temple's destruction in AD 70. Lane also reads "this generation" as Jesus' contemporaries but limits "these things" to the events of Mark 13:5-23 (the temple's destruction), excluding the parousia. Evans is the most candid: Jesus expected everything within one generation, the temple's destruction was fulfilled, but "Jesus' generation did not see the coming of the 'son of man.'"

Second: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" (24:32). This is the UPDV's final verse in the Olivet Discourse — a claim that places Jesus' words above the created order. The compiler continues for another 16 verses (Matt 24:36-51) with Q material about the unknown day, the days of Noah, the thief in the night, and the faithful servant. The UPDV places all of this Q material in its Lukan positions: the Noah/one-taken-one-left material (Matt 24:37-41 = Luke 17:26-36) appears at UPDV 16:35-39, and the thief and faithful servant parables (Matt 24:43-51 = Luke 12:39-46) appear at UPDV 16:26-33.

Matt 24:36 — "But of that day and hour knows no one, not even the angels of heaven nor even the Son, but the Father only" — is omitted. This verse comes from Mark 13:32, and its theological significance is considerable: it is the only place in the Synoptic tradition where Jesus explicitly claims ignorance. The UPDV's compare file marks it {Ouc} — omitted, context uncertain. The {Ouc} code is unusual here: Mark 13:32 and Matt 24:36 share identical placement in the discourse sequence (immediately after "heaven and earth will pass away"), so the context is not genuinely uncertain in the way that code normally implies. The saying presents a genuine editorial difficulty: it follows Mark's sequence, is widely regarded as authentic (no early Christian would invent Jesus claiming ignorance), yet it introduces a temporal disclaimer ("that day and hour") that opens a new topic — the unknown timing of the end — which the UPDV handles through the Q material placed elsewhere. The {Ouc} code is best read as the UPDV's most transparent acknowledgment of an unresolved difficulty — a verse that the methodology would normally retain but that the editors could not place to their satisfaction. The omission is the chapter's most debatable decision.

What the UPDV Removes from This Section

  • Matt 24:9-14 — revised: the compiler's generalized persecution summary replaced by Matt 10:17-22, which preserves Mark 13:9-13's concrete details (Sanhedrins, synagogue floggings, governors and kings). D&A: "Because Matthew has already used Mk 13:9-13 in 10:17-21, he here summarizes its gist and adds new material."
  • Matt 24:10-12 (scandals, false prophets, lawlessness multiplied, love grown cold): Omitted. D&A assign to a pre-Matthean source paralleled in Didache 16:3-6. No Synoptic parallel.
  • Matt 24:14 ("this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world"): Replaced by the Markan equivalent at Matt 10:18 ("for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles"). D&A: the compiler's version is "untypically overloaded" with Matthean additions.
  • Matt 24:15 — revised: "which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet" dropped (compiler's formula-quotation addition); "standing in the holy place" dropped entirely (the UPDV does not restore Mark 13:14's "standing where it should not" either — the abomination is left without a stated location, with only the parenthetical "let him who reads understand" signaling the deliberate veil).
  • Matt 24:20 — revised: "nor on a Sabbath" dropped. D&A: absent from Mark; reflects the compiler's Torah-observant community.
  • Matt 24:23 — revised: follows Mark 13:21's "Look, here... or, Look, there" rather than the compiler's less vivid form.
  • Matt 24:25 — revised: Mark 13:23's fuller "But take heed: I have told you all things beforehand" restores the imperative and "all things" that the compiler dropped.
  • Matt 24:26-28 (lightning from east to west; carcass and eagles): Q material (= Luke 17:23-24, 37) placed in Lukan position at UPDV 20:17-19. D&A: the compiler inserted these because the Q saying about false localized messiahs matched Mark 13:21.
  • Matt 24:30a ("then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven"): Omitted. D&A: M source, paralleled in Didache 16:6. No Markan parallel.
  • Matt 24:30b ("then will all the tribes of the earth mourn"): Omitted. D&A: M source combining Zechariah 12:10-14 with Daniel 7, paralleled in Revelation 1:7. No Markan parallel.
  • Matt 24:31 — revised: "with a great trumpet" dropped (compiler's addition from Isaiah 27:13). Mark 13:27's form used for the gathering of the elect.
  • Matt 24:36 ("of that day and hour knows no one, not even the Son"): Omitted {Ouc}. From Mark 13:32. The UPDV's most debatable omission in this chapter — widely regarded as authentic, but introduces a topic handled through Q material placed elsewhere.
  • Matt 24:37-41 (days of Noah, one taken one left): Q material (= Luke 17:26-36) placed at UPDV 16:35-39.
  • Matt 24:42 ("Watch therefore"): Omitted. Compiler's abbreviation of Mark 13:35-36.
  • Matt 24:43-51 (thief in the night, faithful and unfaithful servant): Q material (= Luke 12:39-46) placed at UPDV 16:26-33.

References

  • Davies, W. D. and Dale C. Allison Jr. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew. 3 vols. International Critical Commentary. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1988–1997.
  • Lane, William L. The Gospel according to Mark. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.
  • Evans, Craig A. Mark 8:27–16:20. Word Biblical Commentary 34B. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001.
  • France, R. T. The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text. New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.