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Not only this, but they must be prepared to be brought before local courts of justice
such as existed in every Jewish town and the synagogues also. They would be falsely
accused and even flogged (10: 17-20), but they were not to worry about preparing a
defence for the Holy Spirit would speak through them (10: 20). They would be "hated of
all men for My Name's sake" (A.V.) said the Lord. These words were probably
surprising and mystifying to the Twelve who were expecting the speedy triumph of
Messiah and the setting up of the Kingdom.
However, they must endure the persecutions to the end and then they would be saved
(10: 22). Great care needs to be taken with this aspect of salvation otherwise we shall be
contradicting holy Scripture. We shall see when we reach chapter 16:, that salvation
from sin in the evangelical sense is not in view here otherwise we should have salvation
by works and merit. We shall give this detailed consideration when this chapter is
reached. In Luke 21: 19 we have "shall win their souls" (literally) as equivalent to
salvation in Matt. 10:
Persecution and betrayal would even enter family life, a bitter experience indeed
(verse 21). When persecuted in one place they were exhorted to flee to another (10: 23).
"To stop and meet useless risks, because one is afraid of being called a coward, is one of
the subtlest forms of cowardice", and "the desire to be thought brave is not a high motive
for courageous action" (A. Plummer).
Verse 23 ends with a "verily I say unto you" (A.V.) which always introduces
something of extreme importance. This verse is not easy to interpret:
"I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the
Son of Man comes" (N.I.V.).
No.18.
10: 23 - 11: 12.
pp. 65 - 69
It is important to notice that in the original, the element of doubt is expressed. What is
this coming to which Christ refers? Some expositors refer it to the Transfiguration, or the
coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Moffatt translates it "before the Son
of Man arrives"; as if the Lord meant that He would overtake them in their tour of
Galilee. This is most unlikely when one notes carefully how Christ uses the word
"coming", and relates it in this Gospel to His Second Advent.
In the Greek we have the untranslatable particle an with the subjunctive:
"A particle indicating that something can or could occur on certain conditions, or by
the combination of certain fortuitous causes" (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the
New Testament).