Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 24:8

"But all these things are the beginning of travail." — Matthew 24:8 (ASV)

“Birth pains” (GK 6047) stems from such OT passages as Isa 13:8; 26:17; Jeremiah 4:31; 6:24; Micah 4:9–10. By this time it was almost a special term for “the birthpangs of the Messiah,” the period of distress preceding the messianic Age. Jesus’ followers should not be alarmed by the types of events referred to here. “Such things must happen”; yet the End is still to come. Why must they happen? The reason may be hidden in God’s providence, but it may also be that during this time of inaugurated reign before the messianic Age attains its splendor, conflict is inevitable, precisely because the kingdom is only inaugurated. The conflict extends not only to families (10:34–37), but to nations and even nature (cf. Romans 8:20–21; Colossians 1:16, 20).

The effect of these verses, then, is not to curb enthusiasm for the Lord’s return but to warn against false claimants and an expectation of a premature return based on misconstrued signs.