Keeping The Mission in Context

When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

The mission of the twelve disciples would take them through cities in the land of Israel. As they preached, they would encounter resistance and persecution. Jesus tells them to flee from the persecution and to find refuge in another city, implying within Israel.

Many examples of the apostles flight from one city to another are recorded in Acts. Jesus gave the apostles reassurance that they would always find a place of refuge during those persecutions. They would not have gone through all the cities of Israel before His return, --a clear promise that the event would occur in their lifetime.

Keeping "Audience Relevance" Relevant

Essential to a correct application of these verses is the matter of audience relevance. That term means that we must scripturally identify the people to whom an event was originally spoken. That is a basic principle of proper biblical interpretation. From an interpretive standpoint, it addresses the people who lived in the first century.

Keeping Proper Perspective

When Jesus addressed his apostles with you, it is important that we do not read a modern day twenty first century audience into that text. The apostles were gifted with the Holy Spirit. They worked signs and wonders. They went before the Sanhedrin council. They were brought before kings and governors, i.e., Felix, Festus, Agrippa and Caesar. Jesus spoke directly to them, --in their lifetime, --in their generation, about His coming which He said would happen before they completely exhausted all the cities of refuge in Israel.

Keeping It Real

Ask yourself whether you were present with Jesus on the occasion the message was spoken? Were you in Israel? Were you persecuted from city to city? (Acts 8:1). If not, then the message wasnt spoken to you. You would be the remote or secondary audience separated in time by centuries from the original recipients. According to Scripture, we cannot expect the return of Christ to be in our lifetime as it was in theirs.

We conclude that Jesus promised to return in the lifetime of His disciples. He returned before their flight from persecution exhausted all the cities of Israel in which they fled for refuge. Jesus return as the Son of man gave them relief from their persecutions. (2 Thessalonians 1:6)