Why will the disciples not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes?

Explanation:

We need to understand what Jesus means by his reference to the coming of the Son of Man, and we can do so by looking at other passages in Matthew.⁷ For example, in Matthew 24:30 Jesus explains that all the tribes on earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and glory. In Matthew 25:31–32 we read that when the Son of Man comes he will sit on his glorious throne and the nations will be gathered and separated before him. And in Matthew 26:64, when Jesus is accused before the Jewish court, he explains that they will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Each of these instances offers compelling reasons to think that the Son of Man coming has to do with Jesus’ second coming and the final judgment. Thus, we should interpret Matthew 10:23 with this in mind.

So what does it mean that the disciples will not reach every city in Israel before Jesus’ second coming? It means that the gospel will be preached to the Jews from the time of the disciples until the end of time.⁸

Counterargument:

While it is straightforward to take it that when Jesus refers to the coming of the Son of Man this refers to Jesus second coming, we have reason to think he has something else in mind. First, he tells his disciples to go to the cities of Israel with the gospel (Matthew 10:5). Then, in Matthew 10:23a, he says that when the disciples are persecuted, they should flee to another town. Next, he says that the Son of Man will come before the task of spreading the gospel in Israel is complete. When Jesus says that the Son of Man will come before the task of preaching to Israel is complete, he uses a phrase that carries a sense of urgency: Truly I say to you.⁹ This creates a sense of urgency between the fleeing of cities while preaching and the coming of the Son of Man. Thus, the notion that the coming of the Son of Man has to do with Jesus’ second coming is ruled out because the urgency seems to apply to the disciples’ immediate mission to the Jews.¹⁰

Response to counterargument:

The fact that Jesus uses the clause for truly I say to you to create a sense of urgency does not mean that Jesus is not referring to his second coming. There is still an urgency to preach the gospel to every city of Israel, even if such preaching will continue until Jesus’ second coming. The fact is, according to Jesus, the task is so urgent that whatever efforts the disciples and their followers put into preaching to the cities of Israel, Jesus will return before the task is complete. This suggests that the task is substantial, and highly urgent, because even after many generations of effort, the gospel will still not have reached all of Israel before Jesus returns.

Explanation:

Jesus says that the disciples will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man returns. The verb normally means something like to complete or to finish. The fact that Jesus uses this verb in Matthew 10:23a is significant.¹¹ If we go with the ESV translation, we might think that Jesus means that the disciples will not have moved from one town to the next before Jesus returns. When we note the verb Jesus uses (τελέω), we see that it is more likely that he has conversion in mind. Jesus is saying, Before you have converted all of the cities of Israel, the Son of Man will return.¹² In other words, the task of spreading the gospel is never complete.

Counterargument:

The fact is, since the verb in question means to complete, we can take it in a more immediate sense. For example, before the disciples have completed bringing the gospel to all the towns, the Son of Man will come. We know from Matthew 10:5 that Jesus has commissioned the disciples to bring the gospel to the house of Israel. Thus, Jesus is likely saying that before the disciples have completed their commission to preach, Jesus will meet up with them again.¹³

Response to counterargument:

While this interpretation is possible, there are several problems to overcome. First, if Jesus is saying that he would meet up with the disciples soon after commissioning them to preach to the cities of Israel, it is strange for Matthew to include this in Matthew 10:23b.¹⁴ The simple fact is that the verse is difficult to understand, and if Jesus is referring to the notion that he would meet up with his disciples soon, it makes much more sense for Matthew to place this saying nearer to Matthew 10:5.¹⁵ Second, there is no strong evidence that the disciples were actively persecuted during their first mission.¹⁶ At worst, people did not listen to their message (Matthew 10:14), but the extent of persecution described in Matthew 10:16–23 is much worse. Jesus explains that they will be delivered over to synagogues (Matthew 10:16) and dragged before governors (Matthew 10:17). Brother will deliver brother to death and a father his child (Matthew 10:21). Clearly, Jesus describes the kind of persecution that we know the disciples endured, and missionaries around the world continue to endure, after Jesus’ ascension. Therefore, when Jesus says that before the disciples have gone through all the cities of Israel the Son of Man will return, he must have a post-ascension period in mind. And a post-ascension period fits well with the above interpretation.

Possible weaknesses:

The weakness of this interpretation is that it sounds as though the disciples, commissioned by Jesus to preach to the cities of Israel, will still be preaching to the cities of Israel by the time of his second coming. On the face of it, this implies that Jesus will return within the disciples’ lifetime, but we know this did not occur.

Explanation:

The coming of the Son of Man is a complementary term for the coming of the kingdom.¹⁷ Jesus’ kingdom comes in stages. First, he was born into the world as a king. Next, his death and resurrection give him all authority, and his kingdom will be fully realized at his final return. In the meantime, his kingdom slowly breaks into the world, and the first stages of judgment fall on the Jews. The Jews do not accept Jesus as Messiah, and the temple and sacrificial system are finally destroyed in AD 70. Thus, Jesus explains to his disciples that before they have preached the gospel to all of the cities of Jerusalem, the Son of Man comes in the sense that the judgment of the Son will fall on Jerusalem when the temple is destroyed.¹⁸

Counterargument:

It is not clear that the coming of the Son of Man is synonymous with the coming of the kingdom. We know from Matthew 4:17 that Jesus preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand when he began his ministry. So there is a sense in which the kingdom of heaven is immanent. Still, the coming of the Son of Man seems to refer exclusively to Jesus final return when the kingdom of heaven is fully inaugurated (Matthew 24:30; Matthew 25:31–32; Matthew 26:64).¹⁹ In each case the coming of the Son of Man is a future event which depicts Jesus’ final coming. The above interpretation is possible, but more work needs to be done to show that the coming of the Son of Man and the coming of the kingdom are synonymous.

Explanation:

Jesus explains to his disciples that when they preach the gospel they will be dragged in front of synagogues and governors (Matthew 10:17). They will be beaten, hated, and killed (Matthew 10:17–21). Still, Jesus explains that they should not give up their ministry but must persevere. Opposition to the gospel is only a signal to move on to the next town (Matthew 10:23).²⁰ Jesus assures them that before they have completed bringing the gospel to all the cities of Israel, his judgment will fall on Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed (Matthew 10:23).²¹

Counterargument:

It is true that if the coming of the Son of Man refers to the destroying of the temple in AD 70, this would fit in nicely with the context of Matthew 10:16–23. Jesus talks about sending his disciples to preach to the cities in Israel, and before this task is complete, the temple will be destroyed. Such an understanding is all well and good, except that one must show that the coming of the Son of Man is synonymous with the temple being destroyed in AD 70. When we think of the coming of the Son of Man, we normally think of Jesus’ final judgment (see Interpretation 1, argument a)), not the destruction of the temple. Further, this interpretation insists on the fact that Jesus judged the old temple cultus and thus ushered in a new era. Maybe that is true, but on the other hand it seems that Jesus accomplished this judgment during his earthly ministry. The kingdom of God was at hand during Jesus’ ministry, and by his righteousness he judged the religious leaders and hypocrites. It is true that the temple falls in AD 70, but Jesus has already judged Israel through his ministry, so why should we think he judges them again when the temple falls? Maybe he does judge Israel through the destruction of the temple, but we need more information to make this case.

Possible weaknesses:

There is much in favour of this view. That is because it reconciles the plain meaning of the text with Jesus’ second coming. We know that the disciples preached around Palestine after Jesus’ ascension, and Matthew 10:16–23 makes it sound like Jesus has precisely this task in mind when the Son of Man comes. The problem here is that there is no justification for interpreting Son of Man’s coming as anything other than Jesus’ final return. Still, it is possible that Matthew 10:23 is the exception to the rule.

Explanation:

In Matthew 10:5 Jesus commissions his disciples to preach the gospel to the Israelites. This is before Jesus’ death on the cross. He specifically tells them to avoid the Gentiles and preach to the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6), explaining that the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 10:7). He also gives them power to heal and tells them not to take any money for their efforts (Matthew 10:8). There is an immediacy to the disciples’ task at hand, and it is in the light of these verses that we must understand Matthew 10:23.²² There, Jesus tells his disciples that when they are persecuted, they should flee to the next town, for they will not have gone through all the towns before the Son of Man comes. What Jesus means is that, before they have completed the immediate task of preaching the gospel to the cities of Israel, Jesus will be killed and will rise from the dead.²³ Thus, the Son of Man will come before they have completed their preaching circuit.

Counterargument:

There are two problems with this view. First, when Jesus talks about the coming of the Son of Man, he often has his final return in mind when he will judge the universe (see Interpretation 1, argument a)). More work needs to be done to show that we are to understand this phrase in a more unconventional way in Matthew 10:23. Even more to the point is that it does not seem as though we should interpret Matthew 10:23 in light of Matthew 10:5.²⁴

In Matthew 10:5 Jesus commissions the disciples on an immediate preaching circuit. But by the time we reach Matthew 10:16–23 it seems as though Jesus has a future preaching task in mind. There he explains that men will drag the disciples before synagogues and flog them and bring them before governors. Jesus exhorts the disciples not to be afraid because the Spirit of the Father will speak through them in those moments of distress. He also explains that families will turn on each other and people will hate the disciples because they follow Christ. Finally, we reach Matthew 10:23 where Jesus tells them that when they are persecuted, they should flee to the next town, and that not all the cities of Israel will hear their preaching before the Son of Man comes.

We know that during Jesus’ lifetime, the disciples faced minimal persecution, but after Jesus’ death, the disciples were tried before the courts and oftentimes martyred. Thus, we are to interpret Matthew 10:23 in light of the missionary efforts that happen after Jesus’ ministry and ascension, not the efforts that happen before. And this rules out the option of interpreting Matthew 10:23 in light of Matthew 10:5.

Explanation:

When Jesus is rejected and crucified on the cross, the disciples’ hope was shattered. Three days later Jesus was raised from the dead and appeared to his disciples. Before his ascension, he commissioned them to bring the gospel to all the nations (Matthew 28:19). Jesus’ glorious resurrection was like the Son of Man coming in triumph over death.²⁵ Thus, the Son of Man came before the disciples had completed their preaching mission to the cities of Israel, and now that he has been raised, he calls them to continue in that mission.²⁶

Counterargument: This argument faces the same issues as Interpretation 3, argument a. First, there is no evidence from Scripture that the Son of Man’s coming refers to Jesus’ resurrection. Second, the context of Matthew 10:16–23 suggests the mission circuit Jesus has in mind occurs after Jesus’ ascension (see Interpretation 3 argument 1, counterargument).

Possible weaknesses:

The weakness of this view has been explained in the counterarguments. Passages must make sense in light of their immediate literary context. This means we cannot use the broad literary context to develop a meaning that does not correspond with the immediate literary context. This interpretation asks us to break these principles by overlooking Matthew 10:16–23 and instead, interpret Matthew 10:23 in light of Matthew 10:5. This is an interpretive mistake.