Matthew 24:15-22

¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination that makes desolate spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place ( let the reader understand),

¹⁶ then those who are in Judea should escape to the mountains.

¹⁷ The one who is on the housetop should not go down to get what is in his house,

¹⁸ and the one who is in the field should not turn back to get his cloak.

¹⁹ And it will be regrettable for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰ Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.

²¹ Because at that time there will be great misfortune, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

²² And if those days had not been cut short, no life would be preserved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be cut short.

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great misfortune

The immediate concern the disciples had was the destruction the temple that Jesus had just predicted. When they had asked “when will these things happen,”[1] — that is what they were referring to. So Jesus told them that it would be a terrible time of danger and anyone who could would escape Jerusalem. The rest would undergo horrible suffering.

The siege of Jerusalem from AD 66-70 fulfills this prediction completely. Jesus’ lament about the pregnant women, or those nursing infants is especially relevant, since the siege cut off supplies to the city, so many of those with small children eventually resorted to cannibalism. Josephus estimated that a million people died in the siege, and the battles with the Roman soldiers that ensued.

God’s grace touched even this act of judgment. Jesus tells his disciples that those days were cut short “for the sake of the chosen ones.” Even though the inhabitants of Jerusalem would crucify him, Jesus loved them too much to prolong that punishment.

LORD, your love shines through even in your acts of judgment. May your love shine in us toward those who suffer as well.

[1] Matthew 24:3.