Then let them who are in Judea flee into the mountains:
All Commentaries on Matthew 24:16 Go To Matthew 24
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Having spoken of the ills that were to overtake the city, and of the trials of the apostles, and that they should remain unsubdued, and that they will overcome the whole world, he turns again to the calamities of the Jews. While the gospel dispensation will be gloriously fulfilled, the others will be faced with deepening adversities. He shows how intolerable the war will be, even in every detail. “Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” When does he mean by “then”? These things will take place, he says, “when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place.” He seems to me to be speaking of armies and wars. So flee. There is no hope of safety for you in the cities.Yet some will say that it has happened again and again that the people of Judah have recovered from terrible times. Think of the conditions under Sennacherib. Remember Antiochus. Remember the time when the armies had come upon them and the temple had been seized and the Maccabees rallied to give their affairs an opposite turn! But Jesus forbids them thinking of any such rescue. He does not want to feed them false hopes. For this is different. It is the end time. The Gospel of Matthew, Homily
