Matthew 24:10 Commentary: Stumbling, Betrayal, and the Cost of Discipleship

Jesus spoke these words on the Mount of Olives, responding to the disciples’ questions about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age (Matthew 24:3). The immediate horizon was the Jewish-Roman War (AD 66, 70), when Jerusalem fell to Titus’s armies. Within that trauma, many Jewish Christians faced intense pressure to renounce their faith. Betrayal by family and friends is echoed in cross-references like Matthew 10:21 (“Brother will deliver up brother to death”) and Micah 7:5, 6, where trust crumbles even within households.

The same pattern repeated in later Roman persecutions. Clarke cites Tacitus’s Annals describing how, under Nero, those arrested “confessed, and then by their discovery a great multitude of others were convicted and executed.” Informants acted to save themselves, just as Jesus warned. The Greek word paradōsousin (“they will betray”) is the same verb used for Judas’s betrayal of Jesus, it implies handing someone over to authorities. For early Christians, this was a literal, life-or-death reality.

Literarily, Matthew 24:10 sits within the Olivet Discourse as the third in a series of “birth pains” (v.8). War, famine, and earthquakes are the first pains; persecution of the apostles is the second (v.9); now comes internal collapse, apostasy within the church itself. This internal fracture is more dangerous than external attack. The verse also anticipates the later warning that “because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold” (v.12). Stumbling, betrayal, and hatred are the fruits of that cooling love.

The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Matthew 24:10. The Greek text is stable across the major manuscript families. The verb forms (future indicative) are consistent; the presence of kai (“and”) introducing each clause is also uniform.

From the early church through the Reformation, this verse was consistently read as a warning about apostasy during persecution. Origen and Cyprian both referenced it in the context of those who had denied Christ under torture. In the medieval period, the verse was cited in monastic discourses on perseverance. Reformers like Calvin and Luther used it to argue for the perseverance of the saints, noting that only those with shallow roots fall away. Wesley, on the other hand, made it a call to active vigilance, warning that even those who “love God” can leave their first love (Revelation 2:4). In modern times, the verse has comforted martyrs and challenged comfortable churches: it cuts through assumptions and asks what your faith is worth when tested.

Three-point outline

1. Stumbling under pressure. The passive verb skandalisthēsontai points to an external cause, persecution, false prophets, the offense of the cross. Many who appeared strong will collapse when tested.
2. Betrayal within the community. Apostates do not just fall away silently; they turn on former brothers. The verb paradōsousin echoes Judas. Persecution exposes where loyalty actually lies.
3. Hatred replacing love. The greatest tragedy is that hatred fills the space love once held. Jesus does not say outsiders hate, he says “one another.” The church’s deepest wounds are self-inflicted.

Five-point outline

1. The setting: Jesus predicts a time of great tribulation, immediately after warning that disciples will be hated and killed (v.9).
2. Who stumbles: The “many” are professed believers, not outsiders. Their stumble is moral and spiritual, they abandon the faith.
3. Why they stumble: The cost of discipleship becomes too high. As Matthew 13:21 says, when trouble comes, the shallow-rooted “immediately stumbles.”
4. What they do: They betray. This is not passive falling; it is active complicity with the persecutors. They hand over the faithful to save themselves.
5. The result: Hatred poisons relationships. The community that should be known by love (John 13:35) becomes a place of mutual betrayal.

Illustration hooks

• A workplace scandal where a long-time Christian employee, to protect a promotion, lies about a colleague and destroys a friendship. The cost of integrity becomes visible.
• A church split after a moral failure. Former friends choose sides, spread rumors, and refuse reconciliation. Love cools into suspicion and resentment.
• Historical example: during the Diocletian persecution, some Christians betrayed the location of Scripture copies to avoid torture. The pressure was real, and the fallout divided communities for years.

Questions your congregation is asking

• “If I’m really saved, is it possible for me to fall away permanently?”
• “How do I know whether my faith will hold up when life gets hard?”
• “What should I do when someone I trusted in the church turns against me?”

This verse lands like a warning bell in the middle of Jesus’ teaching about the end. It names three things that will happen when persecution comes: stumbling, betrayal, and hatred. The Greek verb for stumbling is passive, something causes it. The betraying and hating are active. Notice that all three happen inside the community of professed believers. This passage asks us to consider what our faith is made of, and what it will look like when tested.

Discussion questions

1. Read Matthew 24:10 slowly. Which of the three actions, stumbling, betraying, hating, seems worst to you? Why?
2. The word “stumble” comes from skandalizō, used elsewhere for the offense of the cross (Matthew 11:6). What kinds of things cause people to be offended at Christ today?
3. Barnes writes that those who fall away had no “real attachment” to Christ. Others say genuine believers can stumble badly but still be restored. Which view do you lean toward, and why?
4. Jesus predicts betrayal “one another.” How does knowing that such betrayal happened in the first generation of Christians affect how you view church conflicts today?
5. Verse 10 talks about hate replacing love. What are some practical warning signs that your love for others in the church is growing cold?
6. The cross-reference Matthew 10:21 mentions family betrayal. Why do you think family relationships are particularly vulnerable when faith is costly?
7. This is a hard verse. What would it look like for your small group to prepare together for a time when following Jesus might cost you something significant?