Verse
30
Then
shall appear the sign of the Son of man - The plain
meaning of this is, that the destruction of Jerusalem will be such a
remarkable instance of Divine vengeance, such a signal manifestation
of Christ's power and glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn,
and many will, in consequence of this manifestation of God, be led to
acknowledge Christ and his religion. By της
γης, of the land, in the text, is evidently meant
here, as in several other places, the land of Judea and its tribes,
either its then inhabitants, or the Jewish people wherever found.
Verse
31
He
shall send his angels - Τους
αγγελους, his messengers, the apostles, and
their successors in the Christian ministry.
With
a great sound of a trumpet - Or, a loud-sounding
trumpet - the earnest affectionate call of the Gospel of peace, life,
and salvation.
Shall
gather together his elect - The
Gentiles, who were now chosen or elected, in place of the rebellious,
obstinate Jews, according to Our Lord's prediction, Matthew
8:11, Matthew
8:12,
and Luke
13:28, Luke
13:29.
For the children of the kingdom, (the Jews who were born with a legal
right to it, but had now finally forfeited that right by their
iniquities) should be thrust out. It is worth serious observation,
that the Christian religion spread and prevailed mightily after this
period: and nothing contributed more to the success of the Gospel
than the destruction of Jerusalem happening in the very time and
manner, and with the very circumstances, so particularly foretold by
our Lord. It was after this period that the kingdom of Christ began,
and his reign was established in almost every part of the world.
To
St. Matthew's account, St. Luke adds, Luke
21:24,
They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shalt be led away
captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the
Gentiles, till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. The number of
those who fell by the sword was very great. Eleven Hundred Thousand
perished during the siege. Many were slain at other places, and at
other times. By the commandment of Florus, the first author of the
war, there were slain at Jerusalem 3,600, Josephus. War, b. ii. c.
14. By the inhabitants of Caesarea, above 20,000. At Scythopolis,
above 13,000. At Ascalon, 2,500. At Ptolemais, 2,000. At Alexandria,
50,000. At Joppa, when taken by Cestius Gallus, 8,400. In a mountain
called Asamon, near Sepporis, above 2,000. At Damascus, 10,000. In a
battle with the Romans at Ascalon, 10,000. In an ambuscade near the
same place, 8,000. At Japha, 15,000. Of the Samaritans, on Mount
Gerizim, 11,600. At Jotapa, 40,000. At Joppa, when taken by
Vespasian, 4,200. At Tarichea, 6,500. And after the city was taken,
1,200. At Gamala, 4,000, besides 5,000 who threw themselves down a
precipice. Of those who fled with John, of Gischala, 6,000. Of the
Gadarenes, 15,000 slain, besides countless multitudes drowned. In the
village of Idumea, above 10,000 slain. At Gerasa, 1,000. At
Machaerus, 1,700. In the wood of Jardes, 3,000. In the castle of
Masada, 960. In Cyrene, by Catullus the governor, 3,000. Besides
these, many of every age, sex, and condition, were slain in the war,
who are not reckoned; but, of those who are reckoned, the number
amounts to upwards of 1,357,660, which would have appeared
incredible, if their own historian had not so particularly enumerated
them. See Josephus, War, book ii. c. 18, 20; book iii. c. 2, 7, 8, 9;
book iv. c. 1, 2, 7, 8, 9; book vii. c. 6, 9, 11; and Bp. Newton,
vol. ii. p. 288-290.
Many
also were led away captives into all nations. There were taken at
Japha, 2,130. At Jotapa, 1,200. At Tarichea, 6,000 chosen young men,
who were sent to Nero; others sold to the number of 30,400, besides
those who were given to Agrippa. Of the Gadarenes were taken 2,200.
In Idumea above 1,000. Many besides these were taken in Jerusalem; so
that, as Josephus says, the number of the captives taken in the whole
war amounted to 97,000. Those above seventeen years of age were sent
to the works in Egypt; but most were distributed through the Roman
provinces, to be destroyed in their theatres by the sword, and by the
wild beasts; and those under seventeen years of age were sold for
slaves. Eleven thousand in one place perished for want. At Caesarea,
Titus, like a thorough-paced infernal savage, murdered 2,500 Jews, in
honor of his brother's birthday; and a greater number at Berytus in
honor of his father's. See Josephus, War, b. vii. c. 3. s. 1. Some he
caused to kill each other; some were thrown to the wild beasts; and
others burnt alive. And all this was done by a man who was styled,
The darling of mankind! Thus were the Jews miserably tormented, and
distributed over the Roman provinces; and continue to be distressed
and dispersed over all the nations of the world to the present day.
Jerusalem also was, according to the prediction of our Lord, to be
trodden down by the Gentiles. Accordingly it has never since been in
the possession of the Jews. It was first in subjection to the Romans,
afterwards to the Saracens, then to the Franks, after to the
Mamalukes, and now to the Turks. Thus has the prophecy of Christ been
most literally and terribly fulfilled, on a people who are still
preserved as continued monuments of the truth of our Lord's
prediction, and of the truth of the Christian religion. See more in
Bp. Newton's Dissert. vol. ii. p. 291, etc.
Verse
32
Learn
a parable of the fig-tree - That is, These signs
which I have given you will be as infallible a proof of the
approaching ruin of the Jewish state as the budding of the trees is a
proof of the coming summer.
Verse
34
This
generation shall not pass - .... this
generation, meaning the persons who were then living, that they
should not die before these signs, etc., took place: but though this
was true, as to the calamities that fell upon the Jews, and the
destruction of their government, temple, etc., yet as our Lord
mentions Jerusalem's continuing to be under the power of the Gentiles
till the fullness of the Gentiles should come in, i.e. till all the
nations of the world should receive the Gospel of Christ, after which
the Jews themselves should be converted unto God, Romans
11:25,
etc., I think it more proper not to restrain its meaning to the few
years which preceded the destruction of Jerusalem; but to understand
it of the care taken by Divine providence to preserve them as a
distinct people, and yet to keep them out of their own land, and from
their temple service. See on Mark
13:30;
(note). But still it is literally true in reference to the
destruction of Jerusalem. John probably lived to see these things
come to pass; compare Matthew
16:28,
with John
21:22;
and there were some rabbins alive at the time when Christ spoke these
words who lived till the city was destroyed, viz. Rabban Simeon, who
perished with the city; R. Jochanan ben Zaccai, who outlived it; R.
Zadoch, R. Ismael, and others. See Lightfoot.
The
war began, as Josephus says, Ant. b. xx. c. 11. s. 1, in the second
year of the government of Gessius Florus, who succeeded Albinus,
successor of Porcius Festus, mentioned Acts
24:27,
in the month of May, in the twelfth year of Nero, and the seventeenth
of Agrippa, mentioned Acts 25 and 26, that is, in May, a.d. 66.
The
temple was burnt August 10, a.d. 70, the same day and month on which
it had been burnt by the king of Babylon: Josephus, Ant. b. xx. c.
11. s. 8.
The
city was taken September 8, in the second year of the reign of
Vespasian, or the year of Christ 70. Ant. b. vi. c. 10.
That
was the end of the siege of Jerusalem, which began, as Josephus
several times observes, about the fourteenth day of the month Nisan,
or our April. See War, b. v. c. 3. s. 1, c. 13. s. 7; b. vi. c. 9. s.
3.
Dr.
Lardner farther remarks, There is also an ancient inscription to the
honor of Titus, "who, by his father's directions and counsels,
had subdued the Jewish nation and destroyed Jerusalem, which had
never been destroyed by any generals, kings, or people, before."
The inscription may be seen in Gruter, vol. i. p. 244. It is as
follows: -
Imp.
Tito. CaesarI. DIvI. VespasianI. F Vespasiano. Aug. Pontifici. Maximo
Trib, Pot. X. Imp. XVII. Cos. VIII. P. P. Principi. Suo. S. P. Q. R
Quod.
Praeceptis. Patris. ConsiliIsque. et AuspiciIs. Gentem. Judaeorom.
domuit. et Urbem. Hierosolymam. Omnibus. ante. se Ducibus. Regibus.
Gentibusque. aut. frustra. Petitam. aut. omnino. intentatam. delevit.
For
this complete conquest of Jerusalem, Titus had a triumphal arch
erected to his honor, which still exists. It stand on the Via Sacra,
leading from the forum to the amphitheatre. On it are represented the
spoils of the temple of God, such as the golden table of the
show-bread, the golden candlestick with its seven branches, the ark
of the covenant, the two golden trumpets, etc., etc.; for a
particular account see the note on Exodus
25:31.
On this arch, a correct model of which, taken on the spot, now stands
before me, is the following inscription: -
Senatus
Populusque Romanus DIvo Tito. DIvI Vespasiani. F Vespasiano Augusto.
"The
Senate and People of Rome, to the Divine Titus, son of the Divine
Vespasian; and to Vespasian the Emperor."
On
this occasion, a medal was struck with the following inscription
round a laureated head of the emperor: - IMP.erator J.ulius CAES.ar
VESP.asianus AUG.ustus. P.ontifex M.aximus, TR.ibunitia, P.otestate
P.ater P.atrice CO.nS.ul VIII. - On the obverse are represented a
palm tree, the emblem of the land of Judaea; the emperor with a
trophy standing on the left; Judea, under the figure of a distressed
woman, sitting at the foot of the tree weeping, with her head bowed
down, supported by her left hand, with the legend Judaea Capta.
S.enatus C.onsultus. at the bottom. This is not only an extraordinary
fulfillment of our Lord's prediction, but a literal accomplishment of
a prophecy delivered about 800 years before, Isaiah
3:26,
And she, desolate, shall sit upon the ground.
