Matthew 24:10

My Notes

What Does Matthew 24:10 Mean?

Jesus predicts the internal collapse of the community during the end times: many will be offended (skandalisthēsontai — stumbled, tripped, caused to fall away). They will betray one another. They will hate one another. The danger isn't from outside. It's from within.

The sequence is devastating: offense leads to betrayal, betrayal leads to hatred. The community that was supposed to be characterized by love (John 13:35) degenerates into mutual hostility. The stumbling blocks Jesus warned about (verse 7) now operate inside the fellowship.

"Many" — not a few. Not the fringe. Many. Jesus predicts that the falling away won't be marginal. It will be widespread. The pressure of persecution and false teaching produces mass offense, mass betrayal, and mass hatred within the community of believers.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Have you been offended in your faith community — and did it lead toward betrayal or toward healing?
• 2.How do you prevent offense from becoming betrayal and betrayal from becoming hatred?
• 3.Does Jesus' prediction of 'many' falling away unsettle you — and how does it affect your vigilance?
• 4.What does endurance look like in a community where internal hostility is increasing?

Devotional

Many will be offended. Many will betray each other. Many will hate each other. And Jesus said this about His own followers.

This isn't a prediction about the world's hatred of Christians. This is about Christians' hatred of each other. The offense, the betrayal, the hostility — it's internal. The community that was supposed to be known by its love becomes known by its fractures.

The progression is painfully familiar. It starts with offense — someone is stumbled, someone is hurt, someone feels betrayed by the faith. Then the offense turns outward: they betray the people who were supposed to be their siblings. And the betrayal produces hatred — the deepest, most toxic form of interpersonal hostility, because it comes from people who once shared bread.

Jesus says "many." Not some. Not a few. Many. The falling away isn't marginal. It's mass. And it happens under pressure — persecution from outside, false prophets from inside (verse 11). The combination of external attack and internal deception creates conditions where most people fall.

The question isn't whether this will happen. Jesus said it will. The question is whether you'll be among the many — or among the few who endure to the end (verse 13). Endurance isn't about avoiding offense. It's about not letting offense turn into betrayal and betrayal into hatred.

The offense will come. What you do with it determines everything.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture