³And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” ⁴And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. ⁵For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many people.    (Matthew 24:3-5; NASB)

“‘As he was sitting’ puts Jesus in the authoritative posture of a teacher (compare 5:1-2). ‘Privately’ excludes non-disciples, so that the disciples will gain more knowledge than they already have (see 13:11-12). They’ve just learned about the coming destruction of the temple buildings. The plural in ‘these things’ treats the tearing down of each stone and building as an event in and of itself.” 

¹Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ²And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,    (Matthew 5:1-2; NASB)

¹¹And Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. ¹²For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.   
(Matthew 13:11-12; NASB)

“These things” don’t refer to each individual stone. How ridiculous is that. This is what standing on you head looks like when you’re trying to fit the Scriptures into what you already believe.

“Since Jesus hasn’t yet predicted the events to be described in 24:4-28, the disciples don’t yet know about them and therefore can’t be asking when those events will occur. From his earlier teaching in 10:23; 16:28; 20:21, however, they do know about his future coming, which they correctly associate with ‘the consummation of the age’ (compare 13:39; Daniel 12:4, 13). 

But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.   
(Matthew 10:23; NASB)

“Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”     (Matthew 16:28; NASB)

And He said to her, “What do you desire?” She said to Him, “Say that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine shall sit, one at Your right, and one at Your left.”    (Matthew 20:21; NASB)

and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.  
(Matthew 13:39; NASB)

⁴But as for you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal up the book until the end of time; many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.”…¹³But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will rest and rise for your allotted portion at the end of the age.”  
(Daniel 12:4,13; NASB)

Jesus had been speaking about the coming of His Kingdom, so to say that “these things” couldn’t refer to what He had to say about the future is disingenuous. The day before going into Jerusalem, the mother of James and John asked to have her sons sit on either side of Him “in His Kingdom”, and this was right after Jesus had laid out what was soon to become of Him (they didn’t yet truly understand that He was going to leave/die). He entered the Temple with “the sages, the priests, and the rulers of the people” and told two parables about the Kingdom (the owner of the vineyard and the king with the wedding ceremony) , the first concluding with “Therefore I say to you the kingdom of heaven will be torn from you and given to a nation producing fruit” and the second with “Many are called but few are chosen.” While still in the Temple,  He said: 

³⁸“Behold, your house is being left desolate! ³⁹For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’”  (Matthew 23:38-39; NASB)

And just before leaving the Temple Jesus quoted David on the Messiah: “The Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.” Upon leaving the Temple, He prophesied that the Temple will be destroyed. Is it any wonder that the disciples asked about “these things”?

“They use a word for his ‘coming’ that often connotes the public arrival of a dignitary (compare Jesus’ own emphasis on publicness in 24:27-30). He won’t tell them when the temple buildings will be torn down; and whereas they ask for a sign that will alert them that he’s about to come, he will tell them that the publicness of his coming will itself be the sign (24:30)…”     [from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW (COMMENTARY ON THE NEW TESTAMENT BOOK #1), by Robert H. Gundry, 1994]

²⁷For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ²⁸Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. ²⁹But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.    
(Matthew 24:27-30; NASB)

I agree that the Parousia will be very public; and the passage says that it will be preceded by “the sign of the Son of Man” (which the disciples may have recognized, but we don’t know what it is). But the “publicness” of the Parousia can hardly be a “sign”. That would be like me falling down dead as a sign that I’m going to die. I suspect that the author is trying to avoid seeing the rest of the passage as actual signs, rather than symbols.

“Although some doubt that Jesus would have spoken eschatological words, particularly in images resembling those often found in apocalyptic  literature, their skepticism probably reveals more about their presuppositions about Jesus than about the evidence, as Albert Schweitzer pointed out long ago. An eschatological Jesus pervades the tradition and in a first-century context is hardly inherently incompatible with Jesus the sage or prophet; Gentile Christians would not have introduced such Jewish imagery, and one doubts that Jewish Christians need have been more inclined to it than their teacher (cf. A. B. Bruce 1979: 288; Beasley-Murray 1954: 1-18)

This makes perfect sense. 

The A. B. Bruce mentioned has to be Alexander Balmain Bruce (1831-1899); he wrote a book called THE TRAINING OF THE TWELVE, published originally in 1871. It was re-copyrighted in 1971, and republished numerous times, including 1979. Copies are available of the older editions as free pdfs on Internet Archive (some of the newer versions are borrowable).

The second reference is to George Raymond Beasley-Murray (1916-2000). The book of his that was published in 1954 was JESUS AND THE FUTURE: AN EXAMINATION OF THE CRITICISM OF THE ESCHATOLOGICAL DISCOURSE, MARK 13, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE LITTLE APOCALYPSE THEORY. The book is still under copyright, but there is a free pdf version provided by the author available at biblicalstudies.org.uk/book_jesus-and-the-future_beasley-murray_g.r.html (be sure to give a tip to the website!).

“Indeed, the language of the discourse, though thoroughly Palestinian Jewish, is not apocalyptic revelation in the strictest sense, but exhortation based on some end-time motifs characterizing both prophecy and apocalyptic texts (Morris 1972: 88-90). The pre-Synoptic source or sources here reflect motifs common to apocalyptic literature, but also a sober, hortatory realism. Disciples may have assembled elements of the tradition before Mark during a crisis of eschatological significance such as Caligula’s public intention to have his statue erected in the temple (e.g., Ford 1979:23; most fully, Theissen 1991: 125-65).”

I’m assuming that the term “Palestinian Jewish” is referring to Judaic customs of the Jews during the time of the Romans, because “Palestine” is the name given to the area by the Romans as a punishment after the Bar Kochba revolt. It was a derivative of “Philistine”, Israel’s biggest enemy of the past, and had been used by the Greeks to refer to the area before the Romans. Generally, the Romans didn’t change the name of a country they ruled except as punishment.

As for the “apocalyptic texts” and “motifs”, I’m suspicious that we’re being set up again for the introduction of “symbology”.

“Morris” is Leon Morris, and the book from 1972 is APOCALYPTIC. Internet Archive (IA) has a copy to borrow, it’s about apocalyptic literature, you know, with symbols.

The reference to “Ford” is ridiculous; the author has two bibliographic listings: D. Ford and J. M. Ford, and neither one is shown have page 23 used. For D. Ford I’ve found Desmond Ford (1929-2019, from Australia) who has a book, which is a published version of his second doctoral dissertation, that was published in 1979, called THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION IN BIBLICAL ESCHATOLOGY (this is good because I can’t find a J. M. Ford at all). IA has two copies of this book to borrow, they look like copies of a thesis that were done on a typewriter.

The reference to Theissen is expanded to G. Theissen in the bibliography. This appears to be Gerd Theissen (b. 1943) who has two books listed for 1991: THE GOSPELS IN CONTEXT: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL HISTORY IN THE SYNOPTIC TRADITION, and THE OPEN DOOR: VARIATIONS ON BIBLICAL THEMES (both books can be borrowed on IA).

“Jesus’ final discourse in Matthew includes Markan, Q, and special Matthean material, but even some elements of Matthew’s redaction here (such as the trumpet in 24:31) echo definite Jesus tradition, as the allusions in the earliest extant Christian document indicate (1 Thess 4:13-5:11; cf. 2 Thess. 2:1-12): clouds, gathering of the elect, angel(s), lawlessness, apostasy, defilement of God’s temple, the parousia (common to Mt 24 and the Thessalonian correspondence), coming as a thief, unknown times and seasons (Acts 1:7), sudden destruction on the wicked, and so on.”

And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET BLAST, and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.  
(Matthew 24:31; NASB)

He will send his angels with a trumpet and with a great shout to gather his chosen from the four winds of heaven, from one end of heaven unto the other.  (Matthew 24:31; Shem Tov Hebrew Matthew)

and he will send his messengers, shouting great voices, and they will gather the chosen ones of El from the four portions of the world — from the heavens and unto the earth. 
(Matthew 24:31; THE HEBREW GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, from the Vatican (Vat. Ebr. 100^b) translated by Justin J. Van Rensberg) [This version appears to have been translated from Hebrew to Catalan and back to Hebrew]

This last early version does not seem to have the word “trumpet” in it, so perhaps this word was added later. I admit to not being educated enough to make a determination on this.

¹³But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope. ¹⁴For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. ¹⁵For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸Therefore, comfort one another with these words.
5 ¹Now as to the periods and times, brothers and sisters, you have no need of anything to be written to you. ²For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night. ³While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that the day would overtake you like a thief; ⁵for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; ⁶so then, let’s not sleep as others do, but let’s be alert and sober. ⁷For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸But since we are of the day, let’s be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. ⁹For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. ¹¹Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you also are doing. 
(2 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; NASB)

2 ¹Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, ²that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ⁴who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. ⁵Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? ⁶And you know what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time. ⁷For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed. ⁸Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; ⁹that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved. ¹¹For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, ¹²in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.   (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2; NASB)
But He said to them, “It is not for you to know periods of time or appointed times which the Father has set by His own authority;    
(Acts 1:7; NASB)

“That both Jesus’ discourse (see Gundry [Robert Gundry, MATTHEW: A COMMENTARY ON HIS LITERARY AND THEOLOGICAL ART] 1982: 478) and Paul lack many other themes of Jewish apocalyptic (e.g., mutant babies — 4 Ezra 5:8; 6:21; Sib. Or. [Sibylline Oracles] 2.154-64, following Hesiod W.D. [Hesiod, Works and Days] 181) strongly supports the view that they share a common source.” 

There shall be a confusion also in many places, and fire shall often break out, and the wild beasts shall go beyond their haunts, and menstruous women shall bring forth monsters…And the children of a year old shall speak with their voices, and women with child shall bring forth premature children of three or four months old, and they shall live, and be raised up.    (2 Ezra 5:8, 6:21)

I find these last bits to be kind of fake educated opinion. Of course they share a “common source”….Jesus Christ. It’s ridiculous that the author should be comparing Paul’s and Jesus’ discourses to Jewish apocalyptic literature. Of course they don’t have the same themes. Just because there is prophecy involved doesn’t make it “apocalyptic” (and the word “apocalyptic” means “revealed”, but that’s not how it’s being used here).

A few words about the 2 Ezra passage: it sounds like today.  “There shall be confusion also in many places”, check; “fire shall often break out”, check; “the wild beasts shall go beyond their haunts” (we have impinged on the territories of many “wild beasts” so that they wander around our housing developments), check; “menstruous women shall bring forth monsters” (that would be birth defects; there are so many now that the WHO has declared a “World Birth Defect Day”; birth defects are the leading cause of infant death in Latin America; 1 in 33 babies have a birth defect in the US, but 9 out of every 10 in the world are born in low- and middle-income countries); check;  “the children of a year old shall speak with their voices” (you mean they didn’t speak that young back then? Think of the silence in a home without TV, radio, etc; no wonder children talk early now), check; “women shall bring forth premature children of three or four months old, and they shall live, and be raised up”, check.  The author sees this quote as an example of Jewish Apocalyptics; sounds more like a prophecy to me.

“This coincidence of particular motifs and absence of others also refutes the idea that merely early Jewish-Christian scriptural embellishment rather than Jesus himself would stand behind both the extant Jesus tradition and 1 Thessalonians; the latter probably constitutes our earliest Christian document and derives from a very non-apocalyptic milieu. The same coincidence of motifs refutes the thesis that Paul and the Gospel tradition both depend on an early Christian prophecy. Given the abundance of prophecy in early Christianity (cf. 1 Thess. 5:20; 1 Cor 14:26-31) and lack of much concrete evidence for recording such prophecies or, with rare exceptions, for their wide-spread geographical circulation, why would a particular prophecy or particular set of motifs come to preeminence?

²⁰do not utterly reject prophecies,   
(1 Thessalonians 5:20; NASB)

²⁶What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification. ²⁷If anyone speaks in a tongue, it must be by two or at the most three, and each one in turn, and one is to interpret; ²⁸but if there is no interpreter, he is to keep silent in church; and have him speak to himself and to God. ²⁹Have two or three prophets speak, and have the others pass judgment. ³⁰But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, then the first one is to keep silent. ³¹For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;               
  (1 Corinthians 14:26-31; NASB)

“The best explanation for the coincidence and the ‘you, yourselves already know’ (1 Thess 5:1-2), hence the meaning of Paul’s ‘word of the Lord’ (1 Thess 4:15) and ‘traditions delivered to you’ (2 Thess 2:15), is that the earliest dominical tradition stands behind both.

¹Now as to the periods and times, brothers and sisters, you have no need of anything to be written to you. ²For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night.    (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2; NASB)

For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 
(1 Thessalonians 4:15; NASB)

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold on to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.   
(2 Thessalonians 2:15; NASB)

“Jesus does not simply seek to stir disciples to short-term eschatological enthusiasm, like some popular modern teachers of prophecy (on whose usual inaccuracy see, e.g., Wilson 1977; Kyle 1998).” 

“Wilson” is another ridiculous name to put out as a source. The author lists 4 “Wilsons” in the bibliography: D. Wilson, Marvin Wilson, Monica Wilson, and S. G. Wilson. I was able to find Douglas Wilson (b. 1953), first book in 1989; and Marvin Wilson (b. 1935), first book in 1978. I finally found Stephen G. Wilson on encyclopedia.com via Amazon (nothing on Wikipedia or internet searches!) but his first book was listed as 1973 and his second as 1979.  I couldn’t find a hint about Monica Wilson.

“Kyle” is listed as “R. Kyle”, but this person wasn’t traceable either.

“Jesus’ hortatory tone is clear in his ‘Watch out’ (24:4). One obstacle for which Christians must prepare themselves is false messiahs (24:4-5). The danger of being misled recurs frequently in this discourse (24:4; 11, 24; cf. Mk 13:5-6, 22), and Matthew elsewhere has cause to report Jesus’ warnings against signs-working prophets (7:15,22; on signs-prophets…), a warning clearly part of the Jesus tradition (2 Thess 2:9).” 

¹¹And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people…²⁴For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.  (Matthew 24:11,24; NASB)

⁵And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. ⁶Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and they will mislead many…²²for false christs and false prophets will arise, and will provide signs and wonders, in order to mislead, if possible, the elect.  
(Mark 13:5,6,22; NASB)

¹⁵“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves…²²Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’   (Matthew 7:15,22; NASB)

that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders    (2 Thessalonians 2:9; NASB)

“Advance warning (24:25) could help them to distinguish truth from error (for the principle, cf., e.g. Jn 14:29; Is 48:5). 

Behold, I have told you in advance.  
(Matthew 24:25; NASB)

And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.   (John 14:29; NASB)

Therefore I declared them to you long ago, Before they took place I proclaimed them to you, So that you would not say, ‘My idol had done them, And my carved image and cast metal image have commanded them.’    (Isaiah 48:5; NASB)

“But false messianic figures abounded in the first century (e.g., Jos. War [Josephus, The Jewish War] 2.259-63; 6.285-88; Ant. [Antiquities of the Jews] 20.97-98); their attempts at signs, usually failing, may have been attempts ‘to activate God’s eschatological salvation’ (Barnett 1981: 693. (Roughly a half-century after this Gospel’s publication, Jewish Christians rejected the messianic pretensions of Bar Kochba.)”     [from A COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, by Craig S. Keener, 1999]

There’s a Paul William Barnett, a bishop in Australia who wrote a number of books, but the oldest is 1986. He wrote several books on the early Church, so it could be him who was intended. Otherwise, there is no other P. Barnett who fills the bill that I can find.

As for what Keener is saying, I find it very unChristian in thought. No Christian I know of would be talking about “the Jesus tradition”, “the Thessalonian correspondence”, “short-term eschatological enthusiasm”,or, “God’s eschatological salvation”, much less hinting at some earlier, unknown Christian prophecies that Jesus and Paul were drawing from.  

“The Mount of Olives is an appropriate site for a discourse dealing with the Parousia (cf. Zec 14:4). Mark specifies that Peter, James, John, and Andrew (the first four in Mt 10:2) asked the question privately. 

On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west forming a very large valley. Half the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half toward the south.   (Zechariah 14:4; NASB)

Now the name of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;   
(Matthew 10:2; NASB)

“Whether this means that they were the only disciples present or that they were the ones who raised the question is uncertain, since ‘privately’ in both Matthew and Mark sets the disciples apart from the crowds, not some disciples from others. The form of the question varies from gospel to gospel, with Matthew showing the greatest independence. Yet if we make the reasonable assumption that in the disciples’ minds their question as to the temple’s destruction and the signs that will presage it are linked to the end of the age and Jesus’ return (cf. 16:27-28; 23:39; Lk 19:11-27 [the parable of the 10 minas]), there is little problem. Matthew makes explicit what was implicit and what Jesus recognized as implicit in their question.

For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.  (Matthew 16:27-28; NASB)

For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say ‘BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’” 
(Matthew 23:39; NASB)

“‘The end of the age’ is used six times in the NT (13:39, 40, 49; 24:3; 28:20; Heb 9:26), five of which are in Matthew and look to final judgment and the consummation of all things. 

³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age…⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous  
(Matthew 13:39,40,49; NASB)

teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  
(Matthew 28:20; NASB)

Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 
(Hebrews 9:26; NIV)

“(Heb 9:26 sees the cross as introducing the coming age and thereby marking out ‘the end of the ages’ {NIV}.)  Parousia (‘coming,’ GK 4242) is found twenty-four times in the NT, four of which are in Matthew 24 (vv.3, 27, 37, 39). The term can refer to ‘presence,’ ‘arrival,’ or ‘coming’ — the first stage of ‘presence’ — and need not have eschatological overtones (2Co 7:6; 10:10). Yet parousia is closely tied with Jesus’ glorious ‘appearing’ or ‘coming’ at the end of human history.”

²⁷For just as the lightening comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be…³⁷For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah…³⁹and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.   (Matthew 24:27,37,39; NASB)

“4-5 One of the greatest temptations in times of difficulty is to follow blindly any self-proclaimed savior who promises help. It is the temptation to repose confidence (v.4) in false christs. Those who ‘come in my name’ (v.5) may refer to those who come as Jesus’ representatives, but because of the words that follow, we must assume that their claim goes further. They claim to be Messiah, Christ himself.  They come ‘in his name,’ as if they were he. Would-be deliverers have appeared in every age, not least the first century (Ac 5:36; Josephus, Ant. [THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS] 20.97-99 {5.1}, 160-72 {8.56}, 188 {8-10}; J.W. [THE JEWISH WAR] 2.259 {8.5}, 433-56 {17.910}; 6.285-87 {5.2}).”      [from MATTHEW (THE EXPOSITOR’S BIBLE COMMENTARY), by D. A. Carson, 2017]

After this man, Judas of Galilee appeared in the days of the census and drew away some people after him; he also perished, and all those who followed him were scattered.     (Acts 5:37; NASB)

Carson writes this last paragraph as if Matthew 24:5 ends with “come in my name.” It doesn’t; we don’t have to “assume that their claim goes further” because the passage says it does. Otherwise, I find this quote very refreshing.

The next post will start a new verse. I haven’t really mapped out how far I’m going to take this rabbit hole, so I think I will take some time to do that.