Matt. 24:1-2 – Jesus tells His disciples that the Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed.  This would have been a terrible thing to hear, but not unprecedented.  Just over 600 years earlier, the Babylonian Empire destroyed the Temple that had been built by Solomon.  The Temple during Jesus’ time on earth had been built by Herod.  The Temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in AD 70.

Matt. 24:3-8 – Jesus tells His disciples that there would be people who would come and claim they were the Christ, but not to believe them.  Over the years, many have claimed to be Jesus, but they have all been proven to be false Christ’s.

Matt. 24:9-14 – Jesus again tells His disciples that they will be persecuted, some would even be killed, because they were following Him.  This has happened a lot over the past two millennia.

Matt. 24:15-28 – Jesus tells them that there would come a time when absolutely horrible conditions would arise.  This is in part a reference back to what Jesus had recently mentioned about the Temple being destroyed, as it was in AD 70.  This happened when Rome destroyed not just the Temple, but all of Jerusalem.  The conditions that took place at that time were horrific, and Jesus says that those terrible times would be shortened for the sake of the elect(a reference to His followers).

Matt. 24:29-31 – There would be a time when Jesus returned(sometimes referred to as the Second Coming), and He would send His angels to gather all those faithful followers of Jesus.  This is similar to I Thess. 4:13-18, where Paul states that Jesus will return, taking the faithful to heaven to be with the Father.

Matt. 24:32-35 – Jesus tells His disciples to pay attention to the things that He had said.  Because of some of the things leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70, they would be able to see what was about to happen.  In seeing this, they could escape Jerusalem before the Roman siege, thus avoiding the horrific things that were to take place there.

Matt. 24:36-44 – Only the Father in heaven knew when these events were to take place, but Jesus wanted His followers to be ready for them.  In being ready, they would be able to escape Jerusalem(in 70 AD) and they would also be ready when Jesus returned(His Second Coming)

Matt. 24:45-51 – Jesus tells His disciples that they must remain faithful to Him.  Why?  Because if they did not remain faithful to Him until His return, when He did return, they would be put with the hypocrites, who would be cut in two, before being sent to a place where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth(a reference to hell).

Matt. 25 – This entire chapter is Jesus warning His disciples to remain faithful until His return.  He does that by telling them three important things, which are all inter-related.  First, He tells the Parable of the Ten Virgins.  The bride-groom(Jesus) was coming, but no one was sure when He would arrive.  There were ten virgins waiting for Him.  Five were wise, as they brought not just lamps, but extra oil for their lamps, as they did not know when He would arrive.  There were also five more virgins, who were foolish, because they did not bring any extra oil.  When the bride-groom arrived, the five foolish virgins did not have enough oil for their lamps(i.e. they were not prepared for His arrival).  They had to go get more oil, but the bride-groom arrived, and He entered the wedding banquet with the five wise virgins, who were prepared.  Later, the five foolish arrive, but He tells them they are not allowed to enter the wedding banquet(i.e. heaven) because He never knew them.  This is Jesus way of telling people that they need to be ready for His return.  If they are not ready, they will miss out of heaven.  The next parable He tells them deals with what His disciples should be doing “while” they are waiting for His return.  Second, Jesus tells the Parable of the Talents.  A man who is leaving(this is Jesus leaving when He ascends into heaven – Acts 1:6-11) gives some money to His servants.  Two servants made good use of the money, making more money for their master.  The third servant merely hides the money.  When the master(Jesus) returns, the first two show their master that they have made more money for Him while He was gone.  He praises them.  The third gives His master the money he had been given, but nothing else.  The master chastises the third servant for not doing anything with it to create more.  As a result, the master has him thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth(hell).  Lastly, Jesus explains what the judgment will be like when He returns.  He states that people will be sorted into two groups: sheep and goats.   The sheep enter His kingdom, but the goats are assigned to eternal fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels.  The distinguishing factor between the sheep and the goats was that the sheep had done good things to help the brothers and sisters of Jesus(a reference not to His physical siblings, but rather a reference to those who were faithful to Him).  These three parables are Jesus telling His followers to:  (1) be ready for Him to return; (2) be active doing the things He wants them to do(i.e. be productive) while they are waiting for His return; and (3) take care of their brothers and sisters(i.e. other followers of Jesus) while they are waiting for His return.  We need to be ready, but we need to be active, too.

Matt. 26:1-5 – Jesus tells His disciples again that He ig going to be killed, and He specifically states that He will be crucified.  This tells us that Jesus knew the Romans would kill Him, as the Jews did not crucify people; they stoned people to death or decapitated them.

Matt. 26:6-16 - Later, a woman pours and expensive perfume on Him, and He tells them that she is doing this for His burial, again stating that He would die soon.  Judas, one of Jesus’ closest followers, agreed to betray Jesus to the chief priests.

Matt. 26:17-30 – Jesus and His disciples ate the Passover feast, one of the annual festivals proscribed under the Law of Moses.  After they finished eating the Passover meal, Jesus gave them a different memorial feast to eat after His death, burial and resurrection.

Matt. 26:31-35 – Jesus told His disciples that they would all leave Him.  They all state that they would never leave Him, even if they had to die.  Jesus tells them that they will, and that Peter will deny Jesus three times before the rooster would crow.

Matt. 26:36-56 – Jesus and His disciples go to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prays to His Father, asking that He not have to do through what was about to happen.  It is true, Jesus did not want to die, especially not being crucified.  This happened three times, with Jesus coming back to His disciples, only to find them sleeping.  He criticized them, stating that their spirit was willing, but their flesh was weak.  Jesus was then arrested.  His disciples tried to intervene and keep Him from being arrested, but Jesus knew this needed to happen.  He willingly went with His arrestors.

Matt. 26:57-68 – Jesus was arrested and taken before the Sanhedrin, a Jewish court.  He was deemed guilty of blasphemy when He made reference to a passage from Dan. 7:13, applying it to Himself.  And this rightfully would have been blasphemy had anyone other than God stated it.  But Jesus was God, so it was not blasphemy.

Matt. 26:69-75 – Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed, just as Jesus had told him would happen.  If Jesus says something will happen, it will.  Period.

Matt. 27 – Jesus is taken to Pilate, the Roman governor who had authority in Judea.  Pilate finds no fault in Jesus, trying to release Him several times, but the crowds would not have it.  They wanted Him crucified.  Pilate protested that He was innocent, but the people did not care, so Pilate eventually gave in to their wishes.  Jesus was mocked, beaten and eventually crucified.  He died and was buried.  Some asked Pilate to put guards at the tomb where Jesus was buried, as they knew He had stated that He would be resurrected after His death.  Jesus’ predicted resurrection was not a secret; it was part of His teachings that even those who were not believers knew about.

Matt. 28 – When people went to Jesus’ tomb, He was found to be missing.  An angel told people that Jesus had been resurrected, just as He had told them He would be.  Later, Jesus met with His disciples and told them they needed to go out into the entire world and tell people about Him.  He stated that He had been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  If He has all authority, then no one else has any, because He has it all.  He told His disciples to make more disciples(followers of Jesus) from all nations, not just Jews.  He told them to baptize these new disciples, and He told them to teach them to obey everything Jesus had told them.  This is great ending point, as it shows how important obedience is.  Jesus wanted to make sure that they “commanded” these new follows to obey everything Jesus commanded.  So people are not just supposed to believe some things Jesus said.  They are not supposed to obey some of the things Jesus said.  They need to believe it all . . . they need to obey it all.  And if we do not, then we are not following Him.  And we need to follow Him.