Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 10:23

"But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come." — Matthew 10:23 (ASV)

When they persecute you — This counsel is noteworthy, suggesting at least one form of the serpent's wisdom. The disciples were not to imagine that they were "enduring to the end" when, in their zealous eagerness, they sought out martyrdom. Instead, they were to avoid danger rather than invite it, using every opportunity to continue their work. The effect of this command can be seen throughout the great persecutions under the Roman Empire, with Polycarp and Cyprian providing perhaps the most prominent examples.

Till the Son of man be come — The idea of a future Coming—distinct from the days of His humiliation and His work as a Prophet and Healer, which was implied earlier (Matthew 7:21–23)—is now explicitly revealed. The Son of Man would come, as Daniel saw Him come (Daniel 7:13), in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory to complete the triumph of His kingdom.

It is more difficult to understand the connection of these words with the preceding time limit: You shall not have gone through the cities of Israel. The natural result of such a promise was to lead the disciples to expect that this coming would certainly occur within their own lifetimes. This became the basis for the widespread expectation of its nearness that, without a doubt, permeated the thinking of the Apostolic age.

Some explanations suggest that the destruction of Jerusalem was, in a sense, a day of the Lord, justifying its interpretation as a type of the final Advent. This view finds some support in the way the two events are closely connected in the great prophetic discourse of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. But an unavoidable question arises: Were these two events brought together with a full knowledge of the long interval that would, in fact, separate them? And if so, why was this knowledge withheld from the disciples?

Some reasons for this reticence are apparent. Such a sudden widening of their visionary horizon would have been one of the things they were not yet able to bear (John 16:12). In this, as in everything else, their training as individuals was necessarily gradual. The education of the Church they founded was also meant to unfold over many centuries, much like the education of humanity at large.

This entire question requires a fuller discussion in the notes on Matthew 24. For now, it is enough for me to humbly express my personal conviction that the boldest solution also seems to be the truest and most reverent. In His humanity, the Son of Man's thoughts may not have extended to the furthest boundary of this mysterious horizon. He Himself told them that of that day and hour, no one knows the time—not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only (Mark 13:32).