Matthew 10:23

Matthew 10:23. This city the next. General expressions, though in particular form.

Flee ye. Here the wisdom of the serpent was to be exercised. Flight in persecution, from selfish regard to personal safety and comfort, is cowardice and sin; but flight from conscientious conviction of duty to God and to the Church, is commanded by Christ, and sanctioned by the conduct of the Apostles and martyrs (as Polycarp and Cyprian). It often transfers to a wider field of usefulness.

Ye shall not have gone, etc. The Son of man shall overtake you while performing this duty. Before they finished their labors in Judea, the judgment impending over Jerusalem should come, and the old economy be entirely set aside. This prophecy has, however, a typical or symbolical reference (as chap. 24). The literal fulfilment foreshadowed what is yet to take place. In general, there will always be a new sphere of labor for Christ's people when excluded from the old one; this succession of opportunities will not cease until the end comes; the missionary work of the Church shall continue till the second coming of Christ.

Till the Son of man be come, refers first of all to the destruction of Jerusalem, since the last verse pointed to that event. The more remote reference, however, is not excluded.