Other than the book of Revelation, the largest and most important prophetic portion of the New Testament is Matthew 24–25, known as the Olivet discourse.

It is Christ’s longest prophetic sermon recorded in Scripture. And although it is famous now, it was originally a private message delivered to the disciples in Jerusalem near the end of Christ’s earthly ministry. Our Lord spoke these words while seated directly across from the Temple on the Mount of Olives, or as it is sometimes known, Mount Olivet (cf. Matthew 24:3).

From where they sat, Christ and the disciples could see the magnificent Temple buildings. The Temple was the most glorious of many grand building projects ordered by Herod the Great. The main Temple edifice was a splendid structure: gleaming white marble with spectacular decorations made of pure gold. Its eastern front (the side that faced where Jesus was sitting) was covered with gold plating that shone like a mirror in the morning sun. All of that gold cast a brilliant glow that illuminated the whole western slope of the Mount of Olives and was visible for miles. It was, by all accounts, one of the most stunning buildings in the world.

In fact, the opulence of the Temple complex was what prompted the conversation that led to the Olivet discourse. As Jesus left the Temple mount on the way to the Mount of Olives, the disciples had expressed amazement at the Temple’s grandeur. The parallel account in Luke 21:5 suggests they were marveling at the incredible wealth represented by its fabulous decorations, which included many precious stones and other priceless ornaments, most of them donated by wealthy worshipers.

Jesus responded with a chilling prophecy: “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down” (Matthew 24:2). That prophecy echoed something else Christ had said to the Jewish leaders within the Temple itself, probably just moments before: “Your house is being left to you desolate!” (Matthew 23:38).

The disciples must have wondered how anything as spectacular as the Temple could be left “desolate.” Christ’s solemn prediction that not one stone of this glorious structure would be left standing amazed them even more. It undoubtedly confused them too. What He was now telling them was diametrically opposed to their messianic expectations. They were sure He was the promised Messiah (Matthew 16:16), and they fully expected Him to lead the nation to greater glory than ever—not to oversee its destruction.

Therefore, a short time later, as they sat across the Kidron Valley in clear view of the gleaming Temple front with the panorama of the whole Temple mount stretched out before them, “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?’” (Matthew 24:3).

Jesus’ reply was the longest answer He ever gave to any question recorded in the New Testament—the Olivet discourse covers two long chapters in Matthew’s gospel. And everything in this prophetic message progresses toward a climactic judgment.

Motifs of judgment involving the separation of believers from unbelievers run straight through this sermon. And the great overriding theme of the whole thing—the sudden appearing of Jesus Christ—is continually portrayed as the ultimate event that will precipitate and signal the arrival of a massive, catastrophic judgment. Near the end of the discourse, Christ gives a powerful description of that judgment:

When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. (Matthew 25:31–33)

No one in Scripture had more to say about judgment than Jesus. He repeatedly warned about impending doom for the unrepentant (Luke 13:3, 5). He spoke of hell far more than of heaven, and always in the most vivid and disturbing terms. Most of what we know about the everlasting doom of sinners came from the lips of the Savior. And none of the biblical descriptions of judgment are more severe or more intense than those given by Jesus.

Yet He always spoke of such things in the most tender and compassionate tones. He pleaded with sinners to turn from their sins, to be reconciled to God, and to take refuge in Him from the coming judgment. He, better than anyone, knew the high cost of sin and the severity of divine wrath against the sinner, for He would bear the full force of that wrath on behalf of those He redeemed. Therefore when He spoke of such things, He always spoke with the utmost empathy and not the least hostility. He even wept as He looked over Jerusalem, knowing that the city and the entire nation of Israel would reject Him as their Messiah and would soon suffer complete destruction.

He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41–44)

In an important sense, the entire Olivet discourse is simply an expansion of that compassionate plea. Beginning from the same starting point—a lament about the imminent destruction of Jerusalem—Christ simply broadens His perspective and gives the disciples an extended appeal that encompasses the whole eschatalogical future, right up to His return and the judgment that ensues. The same spirit that prompted Christ’s weeping over the city of Jerusalem therefore permeates and colors the entire Olivet discourse. And Matthew, who was there to hear it all firsthand, recorded it in His gospel, where it stands as a beacon to all sinners throughout the entire age. It is the Lord’s final, tender plea for repentance before it is too late.

Looking back over the passage, we see that all His various urgings to be faithful (Matthew 25:14–30) and all His admonitions to be prepared (Matthew 25:1–13) boil down to this: They are a compassionate call to repentance and faith in Him. He is warning us to be prepared for His coming because when He returns, He will bring final judgment. And as He concludes His discourse, He describes that judgment in detail.

This final piece of the Olivet discourse is one of the most severe and sobering warnings about judgment in all of Scripture. Christ the Great Shepherd is the Judge, and He separates His sheep from the goats. These words of Christ are not recorded in any of the other gospels. But Matthew, intent on portraying Christ as King, here shows Him seated on His earthly throne. In fact, this judgment is His first act following His glorious return to earth, suggesting that judgment is His first order of business as earthly ruler (cf. Psalm 2:8–12).

Here, Christ is judging those alive at His return, separating the sheep (true believers) from the goats (unbelievers). In the next few blog posts, we’ll look closely at the details of this epic judgment described by Christ in the Olivet discourse to see how Christ’s warnings apply to us as believers

(Adapted from The Second Coming.)