Was Jesus foretelling the extent of the worldwide preaching work?
When they persecute you in one city, flee to another; for truly I say to you, you will by no means complete the circuit of the cities of Israel until the Son of man arrives. (Matthew 10:23)
Regarding this verse the Watchtower society explains:
“It is true that Jesus gave this instruction, warning, and encouragement to his 12 apostles, but it was also meant for those who would share in the worldwide preaching after his death and resurrection. This is shown by the fact that he said his disciples would be ‘hated by all people,’ not just by the Israelites to whom the apostles were sent to preach. Further, the apostles evidently were not haled before governors and kings when Jesus sent them out on their short preaching campaign. Moreover, believers were not then delivered up to death by family members.
So when saying that his disciples would not complete their circuit of preaching “until the Son of man arrives,” Jesus was prophetically telling us that his disciples would not complete the circuit of the entire inhabited earth with the preaching about God’s established Kingdom before the glorified King Jesus Christ would arrive as Jehovah’s executional officer at Armageddon. (The Watchtower August 1, 1987 pgs. 8-9)
I believe this interpretation relies upon the belief that Jesus Christ was enthroned as king in 1914. This would place his coming as Jehovah’s executional officer at Armageddon. However, there is no biblical support for 1914 being the date of Jesus enthronement. Numerous statements show that his enthronement took place shortly after his resurrection in 33 CE. (Matthew 28:17, 18; Ephesians 1:17-23; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Peter 3:22;Heb. 7:26)
Furthermore, the Watchtower society’s explanation is out of harmony with the fact that Jesus actually said these words to his disciples, about a work assignment that he was giving them specifically to the Jews in the cities of Israel, not to the entire inhabited earth.
Scholars are divided over how these words are to be understood. According to the New International Commentary on the New Testament, one possibility is that Jesus referred to his coming on the clouds before the Ancient of Days to receive kingly authority:
“It is widely agreed that the wording of these passages is based on Dan_7:13, “one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven.” The vision of the “one like a son of man” in Dan_7:13-14 was probably the major source of Jesus’ chosen self-designation, “the Son of Man,” and the language of that vision recurs several times in the synoptic tradition, but especially in seven passages in Matthew (Mat_10:23; Mat_16:27-28; Mat_19:28; Mat_24:30; Mat_25:31; Mat_26:64; Mat_28:18). Daniel’s vision is of one who is brought before God’s throne in heaven and there given an everlasting kingship over all peoples. It is thus a vision of the granting of the ultimate authority to the people of God, who are symbolized by the “human figure” in contrast to the beasts which represent the preceding empires (Dan_7:3-8, Dan_7:17), and who are thus vindicated after their oppression by the last of those empires (Dan_7:19-22). In this individual representation of the corporate experience of the “holy people” Jesus found a foreshadowing of his own experience on behalf of his people. In Dan_7:13-14 this “son of man” comes before God to be enthroned as king. There is nothing in the imagery of Daniel to suggest a coming to earth, as Christian interpretation has traditionally found in these passages; he comes in the clouds of heaven to God. The verb used both in Daniel and in the NT allusions is the very ordinary verb “come,” which is not related to the more technical NT term for Jesus’ eschatological return, parousia. The term parousia in fact occurs only four times in the gospels, all in Matthew 24, where we shall see that that future parousia is carefully distinguished from the “coming in the clouds of heaven” described in Mat_24:30. This means that, despite centuries of later Christian interpretive tradition, when the gospels speak of “the Son of Man coming” the presumption must be that they are speaking not of an eschatological parousia but of a heavenly enthronement, the vindication and empowering of the Son of Man after his earthly rejection and suffering, when God will turn the tables on those who thought they had him in their power. This emphasis will emerge clearly in several of the passages listed above where the vision of Dan_7:13-14 has molded Matthew’s language, perhaps most clearly in Mat_26:64, where Jesus stands before his supposed judges and predicts that instead God will make him “from now on” the judge over them. (NICNT)
Another possibility is his coming in judgment on Jerusalem in 70 CE.
Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel … – That is, in fleeing from persecutors from one city to another, you shall not have gone to every city in Judea until the end of the Jewish economy shall occur. See the notes at Matthew 24:28-30. By “the coming of the Son of Man,” that is, of “Christ,” is probably meant the destruction of Jerusalem, which happened about thirty years after this was spoken. The words are often used in this sense. See Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27, Luke 21:32.
Matthew 10:23 until the Son of man shall come — To destroy their capital city, temple, and nation. The destruction of Jerusalem by Titus is often called the coming of the Son of man. See Matthew 24:27; Matthew 24:37; Matthew 24:39; Matthew 24:44; Luke 18:5.
Till the Son of man be come. There is a wonderful variety of interpreters’ senses of this text, founded upon the various comings of Christ mentioned in holy writ. He was already come in the flesh, so as it, speaking of a time to come, could not be meant of that: nor can it be understood of his second coming to judgment, for they have gone through the cities of Israel long ago. Christ is therefore said in Scripture to come, when he appeareth in some great work of providence, whether of judgment or mercy. This makes some interpret it of the destruction of Jerusalem; in which sense some think the coming of Christ is mentioned, Matthew 24:1-51. Some, of the resurrection of Christ, from whence they say Christ’s epocha commenced. Others understand it of the effusion of the Spirit in the day of Pentecost; this they ground on John 14:17,18, where they think Christ’s coming, promised John 14:18, is the coming of the Spirit, promised John 14:17. Undoubtedly, in the general, our Saviour means, till the time be accomplished when you must leave preaching to the Jews and go to the Gentiles, and my kingdom shall be further extended than it is at present; which dispensation of God may for aught I know be called the coming of Christ, being an eminent act of God’s providence, by which Christ was more showed to the world, and his kingdom further extended.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
till the Son of man be come] The passage in Luke 21, which is to a great extent parallel to this, treats of the destruction of Jerusalem; and no one who carefully weighs our Lord’s words can fail to see that in a real sense He came in the destruction of Jerusalem. That event was in truth the judgment of Christ falling on the unrepentant nation. In this sense the Gospel had not been preached to all the cities of Israel before Christ came. But all these words point to a more distant future. The work of Christian missions is going on, and will still continue until Christ comes again to a final judgment.
These commentaries point to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE as the coming of Christ. That being the case, the three objections of the Watchtower society to a first century fulfillment of Jesus words can be laid aside, since the fact that he said his disciples would be ‘hated by all people,’ not just by the Israelites to whom the apostles were sent to preach did occur as the preaching was later opened up to the gentiles in 36 CE. (Acts 28:22) The apostles may not have been haled before governors and kings and delivered up to death by family members when Jesus sent them out on their short preaching campaign, but Peter, Paul, Stephen, James and others were prior to 70 CE. (Acts 6:9-15; 9:15; 12:1-5)