Matthew 24:19-20

Matthew 24:19-20
As we study Jesus’ predictions of the Roman attack on Jerusalem, keep in mind that Jesus is not simply referring to the fall of the city itself. The Romans would attack and destroy all the fortified cities of Judea over a period of two years with Masada being the last to fall. Therefore, when we read the words of this text where Jesus speaks of escaping the hardships to come, He is not just talking about escaping Jerusalem.
Normally, a person living in the first century would find refuge in a walled city. There, they would be more secure from the attacks of robbers and more easily find shelter and even work. But Jesus encouraged His followers to “flee to the mountains.” If they fled to another fortified Judean city, the Romans would be there next. With that understanding, we can see why Jesus pronounces a woe on those women who would be pregnant or nursing. How difficult it would be to live in the hills under such conditions!
Jesus adds that His disciples should pray that their flight be not in winter or on the Sabbath. The fact that Jesus urges them to pray for this indicates that God is in control of this attack. After all, it is God who is literally directing the attack in order to punish Israel. Therefore, pray that the Lord will make it so it is not during the hardships of winter.
But why pray that their flight not be on the Sabbath? Seventh Day Adventists and others, who teach that Christians are to observe the Sabbath today, use this verse to argue if the attack came on the Sabbath a Christian would not be allowed to travel without violating the Sabbath. But such a position is contradictory to Jesus’ teaching about the Sabbath. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Again, Jesus said, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Mt. 12:11-12). Therefore, nothing in the law would have precluded a person fleeing the Roman army on the Sabbath. The problem with the flight coming on the Sabbath was that orthodox Jews would close the city gates and forbid anyone to leave on that day lest the Sabbath be violated.
Berry Kercheville