Luke 21:28

The Parable of the Fig-tree, Luk_21:28-33.

28. These things.—The these things of the apostles’ question, Mat_24:3, namely, the destruction of the temple and city.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Luk 21:28. Ἀρχομένων, when these things are beginning) Comp. the expression, “the beginning,” in Mat 24:8. For this reason refer these things to Luk 21:8-10, et seqq.: and in this passage He is treating of the preparation for nearer events; but (δὲ) in Luk 21:34-35, He is treating of the preparation for the last events of all.—ἀνακύψατε καὶ ἐπάρατε, look up, and lift up your heads) in order that as soon as possible ye may perceive the event answering to your expectation, and may with joy embrace it (welcome it). Comp. ch. Luk 24:5 [Not as the disciples after the resurrection, who, with “faces bowed down to the earth,” “sought the living among the dead”]; Job 10:15 [If I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head]. In the LXX. Version ἀνακύψαι is used to express, “to lift up the head;” also ἆραι κεφαλὴν, Jdg 8:28.—ἀπολύτρωσις, deliverance [redemption) from many miseries, Luk 21:12; Luk 21:16-17. Deliverance from the miseries which befell the Jews. [So long, to wit, as the shadows of the Levitical law, along with the City and Temple, were standing, the kingdom of GOD, or the free exercise of the Christian religion, did not as yet enjoy unrestricted scope. This is compared to the loveliness of the summer, Luk 21:30-31: but old things must first be taken away,—V. g.]

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 28-36. The Application.—“When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. 29. And He spake to them a parable: Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees; 30. When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. 31. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. 32. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. 33. Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away. 34, But take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. 35. For as a snare it shall come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36. Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

Jesus draws practical conclusions from the whole of the preceding discourse: 1. In respect of hope, Luk 21:28-33; Luke 2. In respect of watchfulness, Luk 21:34-36.

Vers. 28-33. It might be thought that after this saying relative to the Parousia (Luk 21:26-27), which is strictly speaking a digression, Jesus returns to the principal topic of this discourse, the destruction of Jerusalem. The expression: your deliverance, would then denote the emancipation of the Judeo-Christian Church by the destruction of the persecuting Jewish power. The coming of the kingdom of God, Luk 21:31, would refer to the propagation of the gospel among the Gentiles; and Luk 21:32: this generation shall not pass away, would thus indicate quite naturally the date of the destruction of Jerusalem. Yet the fact of the Parousia, once mentioned, is too solemn to be treated as a purely accessory idea. The kingdom of God seems, therefore, necessarily to denote here rather the final establishment of the Messianic kingdom; and the deliverance (Luk 21:28) should be applied to the definitive emancipation of the Church by the return of the Lord (the deliverance of the widow, Luk 18:1-8). Of yourselves, Luk 21:30: “It is not necessary that an official proclamation announce to the inhabitants of the world that summer is near!” It is about the middle of March that fruits begin to show themselves on the old branches of the spring fig-tree; they reach maturity before the shooting of the leaves. The first harvest is gathered in June (Keim, iii. p. 206).

Can Luk 21:32 refer still to the Parousia? But in that case, how are we to explain the expression: this generation? Jerome understood by it the human species, Origen and Chrysostom the Christian Church. These explanations are now regarded as forced. That of Dorner and Riggenbach, who take it to mean the Jewish people (applying to their conversion the image of the fig-tree flourishing again, Luk 21:29-30), is not much more natural. In this context, where we have to do with a chronological determination (“is nigh,” Luk 21:31), the meaning of γενεά must be temporal. Besides, we have the authentic commentary on this saying in Luk 11:50-51, where Jesus declares that it is the very generation which is to shed His blood and that of His messengers, which must suffer, besides, the punishment of all the innocent blood shed since that of Abel down to this last. It is not less false to give to this expression, with the Tübingen School, such an extension that it embraces a period of 70 years (Hilgenfeld), or even of a century (Volkmar): the duration of a man’s life. It has not this meaning among the ancients. In Herod. (2. 142, 7. 171), Heraclitus, and Thuc. (1. 14), it denotes a space of from 30 to 40 years. A century counts three generations. The saying of Irenaeus respecting the composition of the Apocalypse, wherein he declares “that this vision was seen not long before his epoch, almost within the time of our generation, towards the end of Domitian’s reign,” does not at all prove the contrary, as Volkmar alleges; for Irenaeus says expressly: σχεδόν, almost, well aware that he is extending the reach of the term generation beyond its ordinary application. An impartial exegesis, therefore, leaves no doubt that this saying fixes the date of the near destruction of Jerusalem at least the third of a century after the ministry of Jesus. The meaning is: “The generation which shall shed this blood shall not pass away till God require it” (in opposition to all the blood of the ancients which has remained so long unavenged). Πάντα, all things, refers to all those events precursive of that catastrophe which are enumerated Luk 21:8-19, and to the catastrophe itself (20-24).

The position of this saying immediately after the preceding verses relative to the Parousia, seems to be in Luke a faint evidence of the influence exercised by that confusion which reigns throughout the whole discourse as related by the other two Syn. There is nothing in that to surprise us. Would not the omission of some word of transition, or the simple displacing of some sentence, suffice to produce this effect? And how many cases of similar transpositions or omissions are to be met with in our Syn.? But if this observation is well founded, it proves that the Gospel of Luke was not composed, any more than the other two, after the destruction of Jerusalem.

Heaven and earth (Luk 21:33) are contrasted with those magnificent structures which His disciples would have Him to admire (Luk 21:5): Here is a very different overthrow from that which they had so much difficulty in believing. This universe, this temple made by the hand of God, passeth away; one thing remains: the threats and promises of the Master who is speaking to them.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

redemption--from the oppression of ecclesiastical despotism and legal bondage by the total subversion of the Jewish state and the firm establishment of the evangelical kingdom (Luk 21:31). But the words are of far wider and more precious import. Matthew (Mat 24:30) says, "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven," evidently something distinct from Himself, mentioned immediately after. What this was intended to mean, interpreters are not agreed. But as before Christ came to destroy Jerusalem, some appalling portents were seen in the air, so before His personal appearing it is likely that something analogous will be witnessed, though of what nature it is vain to conjecture.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(28) Look up.—The Greek word, literally, bend up, or turn up, meets us here and in Luk_13:11, and nowhere else in the New Testament, except in the doubtful passage of Joh_8:7; Joh_8:10.

Redemption.—The word, familiar as it is to us, is, in the special form here used, another of those characteristic of St. Paul’s phraseology (Rom_3:24; Rom_8:23; 1Co_1:30; Eph_1:7, et al.). It occurs also in Heb_9:15; Heb_11:35. In its primary meaning here it points to the complete deliverance of the disciples from Jewish persecutions in Palestine that followed on the destruction of Jerusalem. The Church of Christ was then delivered from what had been its most formidable danger.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

28. Hope for the Faithful.

28. look up] The ‘earnest expectation’ (apokaradokia—‘watching with outstretched neck’) of the creature, Rom_8:19; Rom_8:23. This verb anakuptein only occurs in Luk_13:11. Comp. Mat_24:31.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For as a snare shall it come,.... In which a bird is suddenly taken, and cannot get out again; the Persic version renders it, "as lightning and the splendour of the sun"; which break out at once, and enlighten the whole earth; so the destruction of the Jewish nation should be sudden and unavoidable, and universal; for it should come

on all them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth: or land of Judea; and so it was, for not only Jerusalem, but all Judea, and Galilee, suffered in this desolation.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Ver. 28. Look up] You that shall then be found alive shall soon be caught up, 1Th 4:14-18, and fully freed from all evils and enemies.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 28-36. Practical teaching arising the foregoing prophecy respecting the Jerusalem and the last things.

And when these things begin to come to pan, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. There is no doubt that the first reference in this verse is to the earlier part of the prophecy the fate of the city and the ruin of the Jewish power. "Your redemption" would then signify "your deliverance from the constant and bitter hostility of the Jewish authority." After A.D. 70 and the fall of Jerusalem, the growth of Christianity was far more rapid than it had been the first thirty or forty years of its It had no longer to cope with the skillfully ordered, relentless opposition of its deadly Jewish foe. Yet between the lines a yet deeper meaning is discernible. In all times the earnest Christian is on the watch for the signs of the advent of his Lord, and the restless watch serves to keep hope alive, for the watcher knows that that advent will be the sure herald of his redemption from all the weariness and painfulness of this life.

The second redemption.

"Lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Jesus Christ led his disciples to think that beyond the redemption which he was working out for them, and subsequent to it in time, was another great deliverance which should prove of unspeakable value to them. This is true now of our discipleship; we look for and we sorely need a second redemption.

I ITS CHARACTER. It is not, like the first, distinctively and purely spiritual. That was; men were yearning for a political revolution and redemption. But the kingdom of heaven was not to be "of this world;" it was to be wholly inward and spiritual; it was to be our redemption from sin and restoration to the favor and the likeness of our Divine Father. But the second redemption is not distinctively and primarily that of the soul; it is to be "the redemption of our body". (Rom_8:23) It will have a gracious and beneficent effect, a redeeming and elevating influence, upon the soul; but in the first instance it is a redemption from a troublous and trying condition; it is being taken away, by the appearance of Christ, in the providence of God, from a state in which happy service is almost impossible; it is a removal from storm to calm, from hostile to friendly forces, from turbulence to serenity; from hard conflict, or tense anxiety, or painful suffering, to "the rest which remaineth for the people of God." It is a blessed and merciful change from unfavourable to favorable conditions.

II OUR HUMAN NEED OF IT. We are not of this world, we who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ and renewed by the Spirit of God. And we may be nobly, even grandly, victorious over it, being "always caused to triumph" by that Divine Spirit that dwells within us, and strengthens us with all might." Yet are we actually, and by universal experience, seriously affected by it, and we suffer many things as we pass through it. We may suffer, as the early Christians did (to whom these words were addressed), from persecution, and thereby be made "most miserable". (1Co_15:19) Our life may be made worthless, or worse than worthless, to us by the cruelties of our fellow-men. Or we may suffer so much from privation of privilege, or from the struggles of daily life, or from grief and disappointment, or from a steadily advancing decrepitude, that we may earnestly long for this second redemption, the redemption of our body. We may be in sore need of its approach, of its presence.

III ITS KINDLY SHADOW. It will then be much to us, perhaps everything; that our redemption draweth nigh.

1. It is something that at any moment we may be within a step of the heavenly sphere; for anything we know, Christ may be about to say concerning us, "This day ye shall be with me in Paradise.

2. It is more that we may be confident that a life of holy activity will rapidly pass away and bring us to the day of rest and of reward.

3. It is very much indeed that the duration of the blessed future will prove to be such that any number of years of earthly trouble will be nothing in comparison.

4. It is also a truth full of hope and healing that every day spent in faithful service or patient waiting brings us that distance nearer to the blessedness that lies beyond. "We nightly pitch our moving tent A day"s march nearer home.

Beneath the varied and heavy burdens of time we are fain to bow our heads; but we shall lift them up with strength and eager-hearted expectation as we realize that every step forward is a step onward to the heavenly horizon. C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now when these things - Mentioned ver. 8, 10, &c., begin to come to pass, look up with firm faith, and lift up your heads with joy: for your redemption out of many troubles draweth nigh, by God's destroying your implacable enemies.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

redemption

(See Scofield "Rom 3:24"), See Scofield "Rom 8:19", See Scofield "Rom 8:23"

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The comfort of the believers:

v. 28. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

v. 29. And He spake to them a parable: Behold the fig-tree and all the trees;

v. 30. when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

v. 31. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

v. 32. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled.

v. 33. Heaven and earth shall pass away; but My words shall not pass away.

When there is a beginning of all these things, when these tokens begin to be fulfilled. The events upon which the children of the world will gaze with helpless terror should be for the believers a voice awakening in their hearts the most joyful hope and expectation. The heads which have so often been bowed under all manner of misery and persecution should now be lifted up in happy anticipation of the final, glorious deliverance. This admonition Jesus tries to impress by means of a parable. No matter what tree may be chosen for an example, for instance, the fig-tree, the same truth holds good of all of them. When they put forth their leaves, all ordinary people that are acquainted with trees at all immediately known, without further demonstration, that summer must be near. In the same way the believers, seeing these signs which are to precede the coming of Christ to judgment fulfilled, conclude and know at once that the kingdom of God is near, that the final revelation of the Church of Christ in the glories of heaven will take place, that the believers in Him will enter, from the trials and tribulations of the Church Militant into the everlasting bliss of the Church Triumphant. "Therefore let us also learn this art and new language and become accustomed to it, that we may be able to picture these signs before us in such a comforting way, and look upon them and judge them according to the Word. For if we follow our reason and wisdom, we can do nothing but become terrified and flee before them. For our reason does not like to see things appear dark and unpleasant, that it lightens and thunders, that it roars and is noisy, as though everything would be turned topsy-turvy. But a Christian should pay no attention to that, but take hold of the Word, with which He wants to open our eyes and explain how He means it, as though we were approaching the beautiful summer-time, and as though there were nothing but beautiful roses and lilies that bloom to delight the eye, and that nothing but joy and delight will come after this abominably evil way and misfortune in which we now are " And He gives them a further sign, namely, that this generation, the race of the Jews, will not pass away, will not lose its identity as a separate race, but retain its characteristics among the nations and in their very midst, in spite of all persecutions, until the end of time, until the great Day of Judgment. And so far as the whole discourse is concerned, with its threats and warnings, as well as with its comforting promises, it is true what, the Lord claims for His Word as a whole: Heaven and earth will pass away rather than that a single word of the Lord remain unfulfilled or fall to the ground. In the midst of the return of primeval chaos, in the midst of the destruction of worlds and the very universe itself, the Word of the Lord will stand in eternity as a rock of trust and confidence for all believers.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

28. HOPE FOR THE FAITHFUL

28. ἀνακύψατε. The ‘earnest expectation’ (ἀποκαραδοκία—‘watching with outstretched neck’) of the creature, Rom 8:19; Rom 8:23. This verb ἀνακύπτειν only occurs in Luk 13:11; Joh 8:7; Joh 8:10. Comp. Mat 24:31.

ἡ ἀπολύτρωσις ὑμῶν. This will follow Christ’s Parousia. Comp. Luk 18:7.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

28.] ἀπολ., i.e. the completion of it by My appearing.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

28. This word of comfort is given by Lk. alone. Only here in N.T. is ἀνακύπτειν used of being elated after sorrow. Comp. Job 10:15, and contrast Luk 13:2; [Jn.] 8:7, 10. The disciples present are regarded as representatives of believers generally, Only those who witness the signs can actually fulfil this injunction.

ἀπολύρωσις. At the Second Advent. Here the word means little more than “release” or “deliverance,” without any idea of “ransom” (λύτρον). See Sanday on Rom 3:24, Abbott on Eph 1:7, and Wsctt. Heb. pp. 295-297. Comp. Enoch, 51:2.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Look up. See on ch. Luk 13:11. Graphic, as implying being previously bowed down with sorrow.

Redemption [απολυτρωσις] . See on lettest depart, ch. 2 29.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.