Translation
For many will come in my name
Go to footnote numbersaying, ‘I am
THE CHRIST,’
Go to footnote numberand they will cause many to wander from the true path.
Paraphrase
For many will come on the scene claiming they were sent by me and claiming to have my authority; they will say, ‘I am THE ANOINTED ONE, THE MESSIAH,’ and they will cause many to abandon the right way to live.
Footnotes
1
“in my name” meant standing in for that person, as if they were that person for a specific task and a limited time. A person sent in someone’s name would have that person’s authority for the task given them. It is obvious that Jesus is referring here to people who are pretending to come in His name, but are not.
2
“Christ” is a Greek title and means “anointed one;” Messiah is a Hebrew title that also means “anointed one.” Thus Christ is the Greek equivalent for Messiah in Hebrew.
The first thing Jesus talked about in His response to the disciples was that many false Messiahs would come claiming to be the liberators of Israel (24:5, & 23-28). We know that many had done so prior to the arrival of Jesus and others did the same after Jesus returned to Heaven. The socio-political climate was ripe for men to rise up and call people to follow them in a joint effort to expel Roman control from their land. The life and ministry of Jesus had not been what the Jews expected, so the trend of people claiming to be the liberators of Israel continued. Despite the fact that Jesus did not act as they expected a Messiah to act, they should not keep looking for another one to come who would fit their expectations better than He did. It required faith and commitment to set their assumptions aside and believe in Jesus as the true Messiah.