Then
they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake. Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another.
Matthew 24:9-10
Matthew 24 [3.] As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Matthew 24 [4.] Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginning of birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake. Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another. Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray. Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24 [15.] “When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out things that are in his house. Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days! Pray that your flight will not be in the winter, nor on a Sabbath, for then there will be great oppression, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be. Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.
Meaning:
On the Mount of Olives the disciples asked Jesus when the temple would be destroyed and what the sign of his coming would be. He first warned them against deceivers and told them not to be alarmed by wars, famines and earthquakes, which are only “the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:6-8). In these two verses he turns from world events to what will happen to his own followers. Mark and Luke record the same warning in more detail (Mark 13:9-10; Mark 13:12-13).
- “Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you”
Jesus did not promise his disciples an easy road. He had already told the twelve that they would be handed over to councils and flogged in synagogues (Matthew 10:21-22). Now he says plainly that some would be killed. The book of Acts shows how quickly this came true. Stephen was stoned in Jerusalem, and later King Herod “killed James, the brother of John, with the sword” (Acts 12:2). According to early Christian tradition, most of the apostles died as martyrs, and in AD 64 the emperor Nero blamed the Christians of Rome for a great fire and put many of them to death.
- “You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake”
The reason for this hatred is the name of Jesus. Believers would not be hated for wrongdoing but for belonging to him. On the night before his death Jesus explained, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). He added that the time would come when “whoever kills you will think that he offers service to God” (John 16:2).
- “Then many will stumble”
The Greek word for stumbling describes something that trips a person up and makes him fall. Under pressure, many who had professed faith would give it up. Jesus had taught in the parable of the sower that some receive the word with joy, but “When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles” (Matthew 13:21). Even the twelve would stumble on the night of his arrest. Jesus told them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of me tonight” (Matthew 26:31), and they all fled (Matthew 26:56).
- “and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another”
The saddest part of the prophecy is betrayal from within. Those who stumble would turn on fellow believers and hand them over to the authorities. Jesus had said, “Brother will deliver up brother to death” (Matthew 10:21). Judas, one of the twelve, was the first. The next verses describe false prophets and love growing cold (Matthew 24:11-13).
The Significance of Matthew 24:9-10
- Persecution is not a sign that God has failed
Jesus told his followers in advance so that they would not be shaken. Paul wrote, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). Jesus called those who are persecuted for his sake blessed (Matthew 5:11-12).
- Guarding our love for one another
Jesus warned that believers would hate and betray one another. Pressure brings out what is in the heart. We need to hold on to Jesus and to each other, so that hardship draws us closer rather than driving us apart.
- Faithfulness to the end
The passage leads to the promise, “But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved” (Matthew 24:13). The risen Jesus later told a suffering church, “Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).
Cross-References:
John 15:18: "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you." The world’s hatred of Jesus and his followers.
Matthew 10:22: "You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved." Jesus’ earlier warning to the twelve.
2 Timothy 3:12: "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution." Persecution is to be expected.
Revelation 2:10: "Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life." The reward for those who endure.
Conclusion: In Matthew 24:9-10 Jesus warns his disciples that they will be handed over, killed and hated by all nations because of his name. Under that pressure many will stumble, betray one another and hate one another. Jesus tells us this in advance so that persecution will not destroy our faith, and he calls us to stay faithful to him and loving to each other until the end.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible