SEV Biblia, Chapter 24:20
Orad, pues, que vuestra huida no sea en invierno ni en sbado de fiesta ;
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 24:20
Verse 20. But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter] For the hardness of the season, the badness of the roads, the shortness of the days, and the length of the nights, will all be great impediments to your flight. Rabbi Tanchum observes, "that the favour of God was particularly manifested in the destruction of the first temple, in not obliging the Jews to go out in the winter, but in the summer." See the place in Lightfoot.
Neither on the Sabbath-day] That you may not raise the indignation of the Jews by travelling on that day, and so suffer that death out of the city which you had endeavoured to escape from within. Besides, on the Sabbath-days the Jews not only kept within doors, but the gates of all the cities and towns in every place were kept shut and barred; so that their flight should be on a Sabbath, they could not expect admission into any place of security in the land.
Our Lord had ordered his followers to make their escape from Jerusalem when they should see it encompassed with armies; but how could this be done? God took care to provide amply for this. In the twelfth year of Nero, Cestius Gallus, the president of Syria, came against Jerusalem with a powerful army. He might, says Josephus, WAR, b. ii. c. 19, have assaulted and taken the city, and thereby put an end to the war; but without any just reason, and contrary to the expectation of all, he raised the siege and departed. Josephus remarks, that after Cestius Gallus had raised the siege, "many of the principal Jewish people, polloi twn epifanwn ioudaiwn, forsook the city, as men do a sinking ship." Vespasian was deputed in the room of Cestius Gallus, who, having subdued all the country, prepared to besiege Jerusalem, and invested it on every side. But the news of Nero's death, and soon after that of Galba, and the disturbances that followed, and the civil wars between Otho and Vitellius, held Vespasian and his son Tit. in suspense. Thus the city was not actually besieged in form till after Vespasian was confirmed in the empire, and Titus was appointed to command the forces in Judea. It was in those incidental delays that the Christians, and indeed several others, provided for their own safety, by flight. In Luke xix. 43, our Lord says of Jerusalem, Thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side. Accordingly, Titus, having made several assaults without success, resolved to surround the city with a wall, which was, with incredible speed, completed in three days! The wall was thirty-nine furlongs in length, and was strengthened with thirteen forts at proper distances, so that all hope of safety was cut off; none could make his escape from the city, and no provisions could be brought into it. See Josephus, WAR, book v. c. 12.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 20. But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter , etc.] When days are short, and unfit for long journeys, and roads are bad, and sometimes not passable, through large snows, or floods of water; and when to dwell in desert places, and lodge in mountains, must be very uncomfortable: wherefore Christ directs to pray to God, who has the disposal of all events, and of the timing of them, that he would so order things in the course of his providence, that their flight might not be in such a season of the year, when travelling would be very difficult and troublesome. Dr. Lightfoot observes, from a Jewish writer f1386 , that it is remarked as a favour of God in the destruction of the first temple, that it happened in the summer, and not in winter; whose words are these: God vouchsafed a great favour to Israel, for they ought to have gone out of the land on the tenth day of the month Tebeth; as he saith ( Ezekiel 24:2) son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: what then did the Lord, holy and blessed? If they shall now go out in the winter, (saith he,) they will all die; therefore he prolonged the time to them, and carried them away in summer.
And since therefore they received such a favour from him at the destruction of the first temple, there was encouragement to pray to him, that they might be indulged with the like favour when Jerusalem should be besieged again: neither on the sabbath day : the word day is not in the Greek text; and some have been of opinion, that the sabbatical year, or the seventh year, is meant, when no fruits would be found in the fields, and a great scarcity of provisions among people; who would not have a sufficiency, and much less any to spare to strangers fleeing from their native places; but rather the sabbath day, or day of the sabbath, as the Persic version reads it, is designed; and Beza says, four of his copies read it in the genitive case: and so four of Stephenss. And the reason why our Lord put them on praying, that their flight might not be on the sabbath day, was, because he knew not only that the Jews, who believed not in him, would not suffer them to travel on a sabbath day more than two thousand cubits; which, according to their traditions f1388 , was a sabbath days journey; and which would not be sufficient for their flight to put them out of danger; but also, that those that did believe in him, particularly the Jerusalem Jews, would be all of them fond of the law of Moses, and scrupulous of violating any part of it, and especially that of the sabbath; (see Acts 21:20). And though the Jews did allow, that the sabbath might be violated where life was in danger, and that it was lawful to defend themselves against an enemy on the sabbath day; yet this did not universally obtain; and it was made a question of, after the time of Christ, whether it was lawful to flee from danger on the sabbath day; of which take the following account f1389 . Our Rabbins teach, that he that is pursued by Gentiles, or by thieves, may profane the sabbath for the sake of saving his life: and so we find of David, when Saul sought to slay him, he fled from him, and escaped. Our Rabbins say, that it happened that evil writings (or edicts) came from the government to the great men of Tzippore; and they went, and said to R. Eleazar ben Prata, evil edicts are come to us from the government, what dost thou say? jrbn , shall we flee? and he was afraid to say to them flee; but he said to them with a nod, why do you ask me? go and ask Jacob, and Moses, and David; as it is written, of Jacob, ( Hosea 12:12) and Jacob fled; and so of Moses, ( Exodus 2:15) and Moses fled; and so of David, ( 1 Samuel 19:18) and David fled, and escaped: and he (God) says, ( Isaiah 26:20) come my people, enter into thy chambers.
From whence, it is plain, it was a question with the doctors in Tzippore, which was a town in Galilee, where there was an university, whether it was lawful to flee on the sabbath day or not; and though the Rabbi they applied to was of opinion it was lawful, yet he was fearful of speaking out his sense plainly, and therefore delivered it by signs and hints. Now our Lords meaning, in putting them on this petition, was, not to prevent the violation of the seventh day sabbath, or on account of the sacredness of it, which he knew would be abolished, and was abolished before this time; but he says this with respect to the opinion of the Jews, and Judaizing Christians, who, taking that day to be sacred, and fleeing on it unlawful, would find a difficulty with themselves, and others, to make their escape; otherwise it was as lawful to flee and travel on that day, as in the winter season; though both, for different reasons, incommodious.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 4-28 - The disciples had asked concerning the times, When these things shoul be? Christ gave them no answer to that; but they had also asked, What shall be the sign? This question he answers fully. The prophecy firs respects events near at hand, the destruction of Jerusalem, the end of the Jewish church and state, the calling of the Gentiles, and the setting up of Christ's kingdom in the world; but it also looks to the general judgment; and toward the close, points more particularly to the latter. What Christ here said to his disciples, tended more to promot caution than to satisfy their curiosity; more to prepare them for the events that should happen, than to give a distinct idea of the events This is that good understanding of the times which all should covet thence to infer what Israel ought to do. Our Saviour cautions his disciples to stand on their guard against false teachers. And he foretells wars and great commotions among nations. From the time tha the Jews rejected Christ, and he left their house desolate, the swor never departed from them. See what comes of refusing the gospel. Thos who will not hear the messengers of peace, shall be made to hear the messengers of war. But where the heart is fixed, trusting in God, it is kept in peace, and is not afraid. It is against the mind of Christ that his people should have troubled hearts, even in troublous times When we looked forward to the eternity of misery that is before the obstinate refusers of Christ and his gospel, we may truly say, The greatest earthly judgments are but the beginning of sorrows. It is comforting that some shall endure even to the end. Our Lord foretell the preaching of the gospel in all the world. The end of the worl shall not be till the gospel has done its work. Christ foretells the ruin coming upon the people of the Jews; and what he said here, woul be of use to his disciples, for their conduct and for their comfort. I God opens a door of escape, we ought to make our escape, otherwise we do not trust God, but tempt him. It becomes Christ's disciples, i times of public trouble, to be much in prayer: that is never out of season, but in a special manner seasonable when we are distressed of every side. Though we must take what God sends, yet we may pray agains sufferings; and it is very trying to a good man, to be taken by an work of necessity from the solemn service and worship of God on the sabbath day. But here is one word of comfort, that for the elect's sak these days shall be made shorter than their enemies designed, who woul have cut all off, if God, who used these foes to serve his own purpose had not set bounds to their wrath. Christ foretells the rapid spreadin of the gospel in the world. It is plainly seen as the lightning. Chris preached his gospel openly. The Romans were like an eagle, and the ensign of their armies was an eagle. When a people, by their sin, make themselves as loathsome carcasses, nothing can be expected but that God should send enemies to destroy them. It is very applicable to the da of judgment, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in that day, 2Th 2:1 Let us give diligence to make our calling and election sure; then ma we know that no enemy or deceiver shall ever prevail against us.
Greek Textus Receptus
προσευχεσθε 4336 5737 V-PNM-2P δε 1161 CONJ ινα 2443 CONJ μη 3361 PRT-N γενηται 1096 5638 V-2ADS-3S η 3588 T-NSF φυγη 5437 N-NSF υμων 5216 P-2GP χειμωνος 5494 N-GSM μηδε 3366 CONJ εν 1722 PREP σαββατω 4521 N-DSN
Robertson's NT Word Studies
24:20 {In winter nor on a sabbath} (cheim"nos, genitive of time, mede sabbat"i, locative of time). In winter because of the rough weather. On a sabbath because some would hesitate to make such a journey on the sabbath. Josephus in his _Wars_ gives the best illustration of the horrors foretold by Jesus in verse #21.
