Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 24:30

"and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." — Matthew 24:30 (ASV)

With regard to the “sign of the Son of Man,” “sign” (GK 4956) commonly meant “ensign” or “standard,” a word regularly associated with the final gathering of the people of God (cf. v.31; Isaiah 11:12; Isaiah 18:3; Isaiah 27:13; Isaiah 49:22; Jeremiah 4:21; Jeremiah 6:1; Jeremiah 51:27). Therefore “sign” has two different meanings in this chapter (vv.3, 30)—a phenomenon common enough in the NT. Theologically this means that the kingdom is being consummated. The standard, the banner of the Son of Man, unfurls in the heavens, as he himself returns in splendor and power. The event will prompt “all the nations of the earth” to mourn, an allusion to Zec 12:10–12; in Zechariah the reference is to the tribes of Israel in the land, and the mourning is that of repentance.

But we must probe for a deeper link. What we discover is an implicit a fortiori argument. In Zec 12, the Lord enables the house of David and Judah to crush its enemies; and as a result the Jews weep, apparently in contrition for their past sins in light of God’s merciful deliverance and salvation. But it is the Gentile enemies who are crushed. If, then, the Jews face judgment and mourning (Matthew 24:15–21), even though not only Jerusalem but also all nations (v.9) have hated Jesus’ disciples, how much more will all the nations of the earth, to whom the Gospel has been preached (v.14), also mourn at the Parousia, when the lost opportunities and the persecution of Jesus through persecuting his disciples are seen as they truly are!

The next allusion in v.30 is to Da 7:13–14. In Daniel “one like a son of man” approaches God to receive all authority, glory, and sovereign power—“an everlasting dominion that will not pass away.” In the framework of NT eschatology, we may imagine Jesus the Son of Man receiving the kingdom through his resurrection and ascension, so that now all authority is his (28:18). Yet it is equally possible to think of him receiving the kingdom at the consummation, when his reign or kingdom becomes direct and immediate, uncontested and universal. Christ’s approaching God the Father to receive the kingdom is combined with his returning to earth to set up the consummated kingdom.

This interpretation goes well with its vivid context. The Son of Man, whose standard has been unfurled, comes “on the clouds of heaven” (cf. 26:64; Revelation 14:14–16). The clouds symbolize God’s presence : Immanuel (“God with us”) comes “with power and great glory.” The latter phrase not only ensures that the coming is universally witnessed and unmistakably plain (cf. vv.26–28, 30) but may allude to Isa 11:10: the nations will rally to “the Root of Jesse,” and his place of rest will be (lit.) “the Glory.”