John Calvin Commentary Matthew 24:26

"If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe [it] not." — Matthew 24:26 (ASV)

Lo, he is in the desert. Luke connects this discourse with another reply of Christ. For, having been questioned by the Pharisees about the coming of the kingdom of God, He replied that it would not come with observation. Then, in Luke’s narrative, it follows that, turning to His disciples, He informed them that the days would come when they would no longer see a day of the Son of man. By these words, He intended to urge them to walk in the light before the darkness of the night overtook them (John 12:35).

For this should have been a very powerful motivation to strive to make progress as long as they enjoyed the presence of Christ, when they learned that very serious disturbances were near. Whether or not Christ admonished His disciples twice on this subject is uncertain, but I think it probable that Luke, while he was speaking of the coming of the kingdom of God, introduced sentences taken from a different occasion, which he frequently does, as we have seen in other instances.

But as this passage has been, through ignorance, distorted in various ways, so that the reader may ascertain the true meaning, the reader must pay attention to the contrast between a state of concealment and that extension of Christ's kingdom far and wide, which would be sudden and unexpected, as the lightning dashes from the east to the west.

For we know that the false Christs—in accordance with the crude and foolish hope of that nation—gathered as many men as they could into the recesses of the desert, or into caverns, or other secluded places, in order to throw off the yoke of the Roman government by force and by arms.

The meaning, therefore, is that everyone who gathers forces into a secret place to regain the nation's freedom by arms falsely pretends to be the Christ; for the Redeemer is sent to spread His grace suddenly and unexpectedly throughout the world. These two things are quite contrary: to confine redemption to some corner and to spread it through the whole world.

The disciples were thus reminded that they must no longer seek a Redeemer within the small enclosure of Judea, because He will suddenly extend the limits of His kingdom to the uttermost ends of the world.

Indeed, this astonishing speed with which the gospel spread through every part of the world was a clear testimony of divine power. For it could not be the result of human effort that the light of the gospel, as soon as it appeared, darted from one side of the world to the opposite side like lightning; therefore, it is with good reason that Christ introduces this circumstance to demonstrate and magnify His heavenly glory.

Besides, by emphasizing this vast extent of His kingdom, He intended to show that the desolation of Judea would not prevent Him from reigning.