You Will Not Finish Going Through the Towns of Israel: Matthew 10:23 and the 70 AD Judgment

You Will Not Finish Going Through the Towns of Israel: Matthew 10:23 and the 70 AD Judgment


“When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. For truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

— Matthew 10:23


This statement from Jesus has puzzled many readers. If Jesus came 2,000 years ago, how could He be saying His coming would occur before the disciples finished visiting all the towns of Israel? Some take this to refer to a still-future return. Others claim Jesus was mistaken. But a consistent preterist framework makes this verse not only clear—but deeply meaningful.



The Context: A Mission to Israel


In Matthew 10, Jesus sends His disciples on a limited mission:


“Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt. 10:5–6).



This wasn’t the Great Commission yet—it was a pre-70 AD mission focused solely on Israel. Jesus was warning them about coming persecution, and giving instructions on how to respond when it came. The command to flee from one town to another was survival advice during a time of growing hostility.



“Before the Son of Man Comes” = Judgment on Israel in 70 AD


“The coming of the Son of Man” refers not to the end of the physical world, but to Jesus’ coming in judgment—specifically against apostate Israel in 70 AD. That’s the same coming described in Matthew 24:30, where Jesus is said to come on the clouds, using Old Testament imagery for divine judgment (see Isaiah 19:1, Daniel 7:13).


Jesus is warning that the judgment of Israel—the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple—will come before the apostles finish evangelizing all the cities of Israel. And indeed, by 70 AD, many Jewish communities still hadn't heard the gospel directly. The time was cut short (cf. Matthew 24:22).



What About the Gentiles?


Here’s where the harmony comes in: the inclusion of Gentiles doesn’t contradict this verse—it fulfills it.


The gospel first had to go to the Jews (Romans 1:16). The limited commission to the cities of Israel came before the full revelation of the mystery Paul speaks of—that the Gentiles are fellow heirs in the promises of God (Eph. 3:6).


Even in Acts, we see a transitional period:


The apostles first preached to Jews in each town.


Only after rejection would they go to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46).


Paul weeps over his fellow Israelites, but turns to the Gentiles by divine commission.



So while Matthew 10:23 is about a limited mission ending in judgment, the gospel’s ultimate destiny was global—to form one new humanity in Christ (Ephesians 2:15). That new humanity was fully revealed once the old covenant system was judged and removed in 70 AD.



Conclusion 


Jesus sent the Twelve to Israel before opening the door wide to Gentiles. He warned that His coming in judgment would occur before they finished reaching every Jewish town. That judgment came in 70 AD, marking the end of the old covenant age. After that, the new covenant age—Jew and Gentile as one in Christ—fully blossomed. So Matthew 10:23 isn’t in conflict with Gentile salvation. It’s a signpost on the road from Israel’s last warning to the world's great invitation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

No One Knows the Day or Hour — Matthew 24:36, the Feast of Trumpets, and the Witness of 70 AD

 No One Knows the Day or Hour — Matthew 24:36, the Feast of Trumpets, and the Witness of 70 AD When Jesus said in Matthew 24:36, "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only," many have taken this to mean a far-future, end-of-the-world event. But what if this phrase had a much more specific meaning to Jesus’ Jewish audience—one tied to their festal calendar, their historical context, and even the events of 70 AD? Let’s unpack this verse and its connection to the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah), the idea of two witnesses, and the prophetic imagery of Revelation 11—all pointing to a first-century fulfillment. The Feast of Trumpets and the Phrase "No One Knows the Day or Hour" The phrase “no one knows the day or the hour” was commonly associated in Jewish idiom with the Feast of Trumpets—the only festival that began on a new moon (Tishri 1). Since the new moon is difficult to predict precisely, ancient I...
Read more

Ezekiel 38-39 has been fulfilled in the book of Esther-Quick Reference

Ezekiel 38-39 has been fulfilled in the book of Esther-Quick Reference ***The Jews’ victory caused 75,310 people (Esther 9:10, 15, 16). This corresponds with the enemy deaths in Ezekiel 38-39. ·          Esther 9:10 10 the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder . ·          Esther 9:15-16 15 The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men , but they did not lay their hands on the plunder . 16 Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies . They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. ·          Ezekiel 39:11 11 “‘On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, ...
Read more

Ezekiel 40

Image
INTRODUCTION Picture yourself as a Jew in the exile. You lost your home, your family, and even questioning your faith in the midst of God’s promises. You are traumatized and broken by the events that have transpired. All hope seems loss. Then Ezekiel the Priest says that you will inherit a new Temple and a new land with more responsibility added to you. More responsibility that you couldn’t fulfill the first time, which is why you are exiled in the first place. And get this, it is all invisible. This would have not gone well for Ezekiel by simply telling the Jews their inheritance was invisible. However, that’s not the case. Thankfully, our God is very descriptive about the measurements and dimensions of the Temple. We have a basis to compare the old Temple and old land to these new promises. Since the Jews were involved in the construction, they would be familiar with the size of the Temple and the land. When Ezekiel was telling the Jews about these measurements, it blew their mind...
Read more