Mat 24:4 Take heed that no man deceive you.
Alternative: See that no one leads you astray.

Christ used the term planaô, translated as "take heed, but meaning "to see", to mean the physical perception of things and the mental perception of our thoughts, which are normally hidden. It is first used to describe a man feeling lust at seeing a woman. It was most recently used in the previous verse to point the apostle's attention at the stones, which would be thrown down.

God sees our thoughts and intentions (Mat 6:4, 6:6, and 6:18, but humans are less perceptive. We cannot see our own flaws as easily as we see the flaws of others, but Christ refers to his miracles as a visible sign of his power.

The hidden nature of people's intentions, the difference between what is inside and what is outside, is a recurring theme in Christ. Christ concern is on the inside, which is driven by the spirit, that is, our purpose. In the last chapter, the focus was how the hidden motivations of religious leaders did not match their physical exterior. This warning is an extention of that discussion but now applied to the future.

The term "deceive" is from a word that means literally, to lead astray. It is the same word Christ uses to describe the lost lamb. It is also the word used to describe the mistakes that religious leaders make in interpreting the tradition.

As is often the case, the Greek terms used to describe Christ's are consistently less malicious and malevolent than the English words used. What we translated as "evil" means literally "worthless." What we translate as "sin" means literally "mistakes."

"Take heed" is from blepô, which means "to see," "to have the power of sight," "to look," and "to behold."

"Deceive" is from planaô, which means "to cause to wander," "to lead astray," "to mislead," and "to deceive."