Jesus’ promise that those who endure to the end will be saved
(Matthew 10:22) applies first to the twelve apostles. They must persevere as they testify and preach (while being innocent as doves). The Shepherd will never abandon them as they continue to confess him before all people.
The end referred to here refers to the end of the lives of those who persevere (some of whom will die as martyrs for the gospel: see Luke 21:16; Matthew 10:21), to the end of the persecution, or the end of the world—the second coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 10:23). When Jesus says that they will be saved,
he does not mean that they will not die. In a sense all three of these possibilities happen simultaneously for the believer, for when we die not only the persecution ends, but also earthly life, from our perspective. The end referred to here indicates fullness or fulfilment, to when we come to blessedly partake in the promised deliverance—which comforts us in confirming that the persecution does indeed end at some stage. The general tone of these verses allows them to be applied not only to the preachers, but also the hearers, of the gospel. Their ultimate end is salvation. The Greek word sóizein (here translated as saved
) has a deeper meaning (see Matthew 10:28–33, Matthew 10:38–39; Mark 8:35): that we come to share in eternal life.
When Jesus says that those who endure to the end will be saved
(Matthew 10:22), it is a promise that, in this particular context, pertains to the twelve apostles first and foremost. They have a duty to persevere as they testify and preach (while being innocent as doves). The Shepherd will then proceed to save them from all mortal danger, never abandoning them as they continue to confess him before people in accordance with their commission.1
The end referred to here refers to the end of the lives of those who persevere (some of whom will die as martyrs for the gospel: see Luke 21:16; see also Matthew 10:21), or it refers to the second coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 10:23). When Jesus says that they will be saved,
he does not mean that they will not die.2
The end here refers to either the end of the life of a believer, or to the end of the persecution, or if one considers the general nature of the statement, the end of the world as such. In a certain sense all three of these possibilities happen simultaneously for the believer, for when we die not only the persecution ends but also earthly life if viewed from our perspective. Regardless of how we understand this, the end referred to here indicates fullness or fulfilment. It refers to when we come to blessedly partake in the promised deliverance. This does not mean that we will escape from the struggle of dying in the struggle (Matthew 10:21), but it does comfort us in confirming that the persecution does indeed end at some stage. The general tone of these verses allows them to be taken as applying not only to the preachers themselves, but also the hearers of the gospel. Their ultimate end is salvation.3 The Greek word sóizein (here translated as saved
) indeed has a deeper meaning (see Matthew 10:28–33, Matthew 10:38–39; Mark 8:35, Mark 10:26), namely that we come to share in eternal life.4
21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,