Who Are The Elect In Matthew 24:22-24?

In Matthew 24, Jesus is answering the disciples’ question about the destruction of the buildings on the temple mount in Jerusalem and the question about the end of the age.

They wanted to know when the destruction would happen and what would be the sign of his coming at the end of the age.

In Jesus’ answer, he states in Matthew 24:22-24,

“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”

Notice the two uses of the word elect.

Many people have asked, “Who are the elect Jesus is referring to?”

Some believe the elect is the church, the body of Christ, consisting of those who have individually and freely trusted in Jesus for salvation.

Those who hold this view believe it is the church God has elected, and anyone can be part of the church (God’s family) through faith in Jesus.

Others believe the elect is Jesus, meaning it is the work of Jesus for the salvation of people that God has elected, and anyone can believe and be saved.

Still others believe the elect are individuals God has preselected or chosen to be saved before the foundation of the world. God’s choosing of who will be saved is upon God’s grace (God’s unconditional choice of who will be saved).

Those who hold this view are called Calvinists, since they hold to this teaching of John Calvin.

So which view is it?

When we seek to interpret a verse in the Bible, we want to understand the context of the verse, the time the verse was written or spoken, who wrote or spoke, who was being spoken or written to, and how did those written or spoken to understand what they read or heard.

Additionally, when we seek to interpret a verse, we must consider the book and the testament the verse is in.

The old testament is the law of Moses and was in place until Jesus died on the cross.

The new testament is the blood of Jesus shed for our sins.

So when we seek to interpret a verse, we must pay attention the testament the verse is in, which may impact how the verse is interpreted and applied.

There are also certain principles to follow when studying the Bible, such as the principle of first mention.

The principle of first mention means has the writer or speaker of the verse or word being studied used the verse or word already, and if so, when is the first time it is used.

For example, Luke is the writer of Acts.

He first mentions the word tongues in Acts 2, explaining tongues in the context.

He then mentions tongues in Acts 8, 10, and 19, without defining tongues.

The reason he does not define tongues in Acts 8, 10, and 19 is because he already defined tongues in Acts 2.

In Acts 2, Luke writes that tongues was the ability of some to speak in a known earthly language for the purpose of telling others about Jesus.

Since Luke defines tongues in Acts 2, he does not need to define it again in Acts 8, 10, or 19.

It is the same with the word elect in Matthew 24:22-24.

The word elect is not defined in Matthew 24:22-24, but it is defined in Matthew 22:1-14 when Jesus told the parable of the wedding banquet.

This is the first mention of the elect by Jesus in Matthew.

Jesus defines the elect in Matthew 22:1-14.

By following the principle of first mention with the word elect, we can determine who the elect are.

Jesus first mentioned the word elect when he said in Matthew 22:14 the following words: Many are invited, but few are chosen or elected.

If we want to determine who the elect are in Matthew 24:22-24, we must determine who the elect are in Matthew 22:14, the first time Jesus used the word elect as recorded by Matthew.

The word chosen or elected in Matthew 22:14 is the same Greek word used in Matthew 24:22-24 for the elect.

The Greek word can be translated chosen or elected.

Remember, the context of a verse or word will many times provide the information we need to determine the meaning of the verse or word.

The context of the word elect in Matthew 22:14 originates in Matthew 22:1-13.

So let’s take a look at the context.

Jesus is teaching about the kingdom of heaven in the parable of the wedding banquet.

The kingdom of heaven was a popular topic among the Jewish people.

The kingdom was prophesied about in the Jewish scriptures (Isaiah 9:6-7) and was synonymous with eternal life (read Jesus’ conversation with the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-30 and with Nicodemus in John 3).

The Jewish people understood righteousness was required to live eternally in the kingdom.

In this parable, Jesus reveals the righteous ones chosen or elected to live in the kingdom.

The kingdom (eternal life) and the wedding banquet are synonymous in this parable.

The parable is about a king who sent out invitations two times to two groups of people.

The first invitations sent out were to a preselected group of people the king chose (elected) to invite to his son’s wedding banquet.

Those receiving these invitations either ignored the invitations or rejected them.

Some of those who rejected the invitations had the servants of the king murdered.

Following the killing of the servants, the king then sent other servants to invite everyone.

These were non-preselected people who his servants invited, meaning the king did not preselect who would receive these invitations.

It was a public invitation to anybody and everybody.

So the first invitations were sent to a preselected group who ignored or rejected the invitations.

The second invitations were sent to a non-preselected group.

A few in the non-preselected group accepted the invitation and, because they accepted the invitation, were chosen (elected) to enter the wedding hall to celebrate the wedding banquet of the king’s son.

Their being chosen or elected to enter was not based upon preselection, because the preselected group either ignored or rejected the invitation.

Rather, those chosen or elected to enter were from the non-preselected group who responded to the invitation sent out to all people.

So how does this apply to the elect of Matthew 24:22-24?

Staying with the principle of first mention of the word elect, the elect of Matthew 24:22-24 are the elect of Matthew 22:14.

The disciples understood who the elect were of Matthew 24:22-24 because they previously heard Jesus teach about the elect as written by Matthew in Matthew 22:1-14.

The elect are those who were not preselected to enter the kingdom of God but are those who personally chose to enter the kingdom by responding to the public invitation to believe in Jesus.

The invitation to believe, or place one’s faith in Jesus, is sent to everyone.

It is the non-elect who have responded to the invitation to enter the kingdom of heaven by believing in Jesus.

Those who believe, or place their faith in Jesus, are given the gift of righteousness (the wedding clothes) needed to live in the kingdom.

Calvinism is the belief that those who have faith in Jesus have been preselected (elected) before the foundation of the earth to have faith in Jesus and, therefore, will believe.

It is only the preselected who will place their faith in Jesus, according to Calvinism.

Those who embrace Calvinism believe the elect are the ones preselected by God to be saved, and unless someone is elected by God to be saved, then he can’t believe in Jesus for salvation.

This view is in total contrast to the parable of the wedding banquet as told by Jesus.

Those who were not chosen (elected) to enter the wedding banquet were the preselected ones.

Those who were chosen to enter the wedding banquet were individuals from the non-preselected group.

Again, it was individuals from the non-preselected group who were chosen to enter.

In the parable, the preselected group represents the Jewish people who rejected the prophets God sent to Israel (2 Chronicles 30:10; 36:15-16; Jeremiah 38:6; Nehemiah 9:26; Matthew 5:12).

The preselected group also represents some of the Jewish people who rejected Jesus, Israel’s Messiah, and had Jesus killed.

Peter and Stephen both testify to the prophets and Jesus being killed (Acts 3:14-15; Acts 7:51-53).

In the parable, the king sends an army to destroy the city, which represents the destruction of Jerusalem as taught by Jesus in Matthew 24.

The non-preshelected people represent all Gentiles all over the world.

Invitations to trust in Jesus for eternal life is currently being sent out all over the world so all people have the opportunity to trust in Jesus for salvation.

Some of the Gentiles, and individual Jews as well, have responded to the message about Jesus by trusting in him for salvation and eternal life.

Because they have trusted in Jesus, they have been given the righteousness needed to live eternally.

This is the gospel of grace we learn in Romans.

In Romans, we learn all have sinned.

We see that Jesus died for all, taking our sinfulness upon himself and offering us his righteousness as a gift that is received by faith in Jesus.

Calvinists agree righteousness is a gift from God; however, they also believe faith is a gift from God, but it is given only to the elect.

Calvinists teach that only those God elects to give the gift of faith will believe in Jesus for salvation.

Those who he has preselected to believe cannot reject the invitation to place their faith in Jesus.

In Calvinism, this is called unconditional election and irresistible grace.

According to Calvinism, the non-preselected cannot believe because they have not been elected to believe, and, therefore, have not been given the gift of faith to believe.

Again, this is in total contrast to the parable of the wedding banquet.

Calvinists interpret the few in Matthew 22:14 chosen to enter the wedding banquet as the elect God has preselected (predestined) to believe and be saved.

However, the few who are chosen in Mathew 22:14 are those who were not preselected (predestined).

Those who were elected to enter the wedding banquet were a few individuals who were unknown to the king and not preselected by the king.

These individuals were chosen to enter because they personally accepted the invitation through faith in Jesus, not because they were preselected to be given faith and accept the invitation.

Faith is accepting God’s invitation to trust in Jesus for salvation.

Everyone has been given by God the ability to have faith.

People exercise faith all over the world in many different ways.

In Romans, the gift is not faith. The gift is righteousness (Romans 3:21-25; 5:17).

Anyone can have faith in Jesus.

God has not preselected everyone he will give faith to so they can believe in Jesus and be saved.

But according to Calvinism, he has.

Calvinists will use Matthew 22:14 and 24:22-24 as a proof-texts for their theology of election.

Yet when we follow proper Bible study methods for interpreting verses and words, Matthew 22:14 and 24:22-24 do not support Calvinists' theology of election, because the chosen are the non-preselected or non-predestined ones.

To read more about who the elect are in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, CLICK HERE.