Matthew 24:32

Mat 24:32-35. Now learn a parable of the fig-tree — Our Lord proceeds to declare that the signs which he had given would be as certain an indication of the time of his coming, as the fig-tree’s putting forth its leaves is of the approach of summer; and that the time of his coming was at no great distance. For he adds, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled, — Hereby evidently showing that he had been speaking all this while only of the calamities coming on the Jews, and the destruction of Jerusalem. “It is to me a wonder,” says Bishop Newton, “how any man can refer part of the foregoing discourse to the destruction of Jerusalem, and part to the end of the world, or any other distant event, when it is said so positively here in the conclusion, All these things shall be fulfilled in this generation. And it seems as if our Lord had been aware of some such misapplication of his words, by adding yet greater force and emphasis to his affirmation, Mat 24:35, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away — That is, heaven and earth shall sooner, or more easily pass away than my words; the frame of the universe shall sooner, or more easily pass away than my words shall not be fulfilled. In another place, (Mat 16:28,) he says, There are some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see, the Son of man coming in his kingdom, intimating that the event would not take place immediately, and yet not at such a distance of time but that some then living would be spectators of the calamities coming upon the nation. In like manner, he says to the women who bewailed him as he was going to be crucified, Luk 23:28, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children; which words sufficiently implied that the days of distress and misery were coming, and would fall on them and their children. But at that time there was not any appearance of such an immediate ruin. The wisest politician could not have inferred any such thing from the then present state of affairs. Nothing less than divine prescience could have foreseen and foretold it.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

V. — THE CALCULABILITY OF THE DESTRUCTION AND DOWNFALL CONTRASTED WITH THE INCALCULABLE SUDDENNESS OF THE END, Mat_24:32-41.

This paragraph is divisible into two halves, namely, 32-35 and 36-41, which lie in contrast against each other. The two subjects in antithesis are THESE THINGS, on one side, and THAT DAY AND HOUR, on the other. The matter of contrast is that the former is a slow and graduated process, in which one step presages the other to the close; the latter is a sudden, unwarned event, of which the subjects knew not until it came. The former is illustrated mainly by the fig-tree, slowly maturing into its summer ripeness; the latter by the flood instantly descending upon its unsuspecting victims.

The former half paragraph is historically true of the destruction of Jerusalem. It was forewarned and indicated at every step; and so gradual was the process that no particular day or hour can be assigned to it. The latter half paragraph is as distinctively in accordance with all prophecy of the judgment day. It hardly seems necessary for us to prove here that suddenness, like a thief in the night, is the uniform attribute ascribed to that event. We should suppose it equally unnecessary to show how opposite is the illustration drawn from the fig tree.

32. A parable of the fig tree — More literally, Learn the parable from the fig tree. The fig is a native product of the East, and grows in spontaneous plenty in Palestine. In a warm climate fruit forms a very large proportion of customary food, and hence the fruit tree is a favourite source for illustration. Our Lord spoke this upon the Mount of Olives, where fig trees were growing all round him. He was near to Bethphage, (or Fig-ville,) so called, probably, from the abundance of this product. It was now about the twenty-third day of March, and though the time of figs was not yet, the trees were doubtless beginning to verify the words by opening signs of the season. Dr. Thomson, on sight of a fig tree leafing forth March 21, explains its maturity from the fact that it was in a sheltered spot, where summer comes early. Branch is yet tender — By the rising of the sap from the roots, rendering the branch succulent. Putteth forth leaves — The fig tree puts forth no visible blossom; the fruit should accompany the mature leaf.

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

CRITICAL NOTES

Mat_24:34. Be fulfilled.—The words do not necessarily imply more than the commencement of a process, the first unrolling of the scroll of the coming ages (Plumptre).

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Mat_24:32-35

The certainty of the end.—The more wonderful the character of any announcement, the greater the demand it makes on our faith; and the greater the degree, therefore, to which our faith in it stands in need of support. Our Saviour seems to recognise this in the passage before us. Wonderful is that great consummation of change of which He had just spoken. All things are to become different from what they are now (Mat_24:30-31). This is difficult to believe—the more difficult because of the length of time in which they have gone on as they are (cf. 2Pe_3:4). To meet this thought the Saviour speaks the parable now before us—in which He will be found to draw our attention, after the manner of parables, first, to certain familiar natural facts; and, secondly, to certain important spiritual verities which are illustrated thereby.

I. The natural facts.—These are found in the general region of vegetable life and development. “Behold the fig-tree and all the trees” (Luk_21:29). See how things are among them. These are exemplified, next, in the region in question, in one particular instance. “From the fig-tree learn her parable” (Mat_24:32, R.V.). Few trees are better known or more valued than this. In this, therefore, you may see, as well with ease as with especial significance, what I ask you to note. Also, in this example, see, next, the special phenomena which I ask you to note—how the fig-tree, as the seasons come round, changes in appearance and condition, and puts forth its leaves and its buds, and then produces its pleasant fruits. Also, how she begins to do this—when summer is near—even before we see other indications of summer’s approach, and so proves, to those who observe this, that the breath of summer is already stirring within her; and that summer itself, therefore, is on its way to us already, and will be fully amongst us before very long. And this we argue, be it observed yet further, because of what we know of the year and its seasons, and of the unvarying order and regularity with which God has long ago appointed—and still brings about—the successions of day and night, and summer and winter, and seed-time and harvest (Gen_8:22). On this same order, indeed, we rely with such certainty, that we speak with certainty of all it implies—of the speedy coming of summer; of its effects on the trees; of the sequence of these effects; of those to come first; of those to succeed; of the whole procession of events, in a word. Insomuch that when we see the first of them, we feel as sure of the rest of them as though we saw them as well. Also, sure of them, yet further and finally, within a very brief time. “We know that summer is nigh.”

II. The spiritual verities to which these familiar facts are applied. First of all, in the direction of sphere. The God of nature is the God of history too. As He does in the one case, so in the other as well. As He orders the fields and the gardens, so He administers nations and churches. As with the fig-tree, so with higher growths also. Next, in the direction of the causes at work. These are as secret to us in the one case as they are in the other. We cannot see the influences which are operating in the trees, in the spring-time, to alter their condition and look. Neither can we see the forces at work, in certain stages of the history of communities of mankind, to change their condition and look. We see the results only, not their origins; what is external only, not what is working within. At the same time, in these external consequences we see, in both cases, on this very account, what are tokens and signs. Such a change, for example, in the one case, as the appearance of buds on a fig-tree is a sign that forces are at work there which will bring about other like changes of greater magnitude before long. In other words, they are the results of the agitation of nature at the nearer approach of the sun. So with those changes in the appearance of human societies at certain critical seasons in their experience of those things of which the Saviour had spoken above (Mat_24:29-30). That obscuring of the bright, and displacing of the high, and unsettling of what had long been stable, of which He there speaks, are things which, when they come to pass, mean much more than themselves. They are evidences of forces at work which will produce greater results in their turn. In one word, they are the unconscious agitations of society at the approach of its Maker. Consequently, as before, they are not only assurances of certainty, but of swiftness as well. The season that sees the “bud” sees also the “fruit.” The “generation” that sees the beginning sees also the “end” (Mat_24:33-34). When the Son of man is thus “at the doors,” He will soon be inside them. When once inside them He will soon finish His work. Cf. Rom_9:28; 1Sa_3:12; Pro_29:1, etc., etc.

We see from these things, in conclusion, and that in an eminently cogent and striking manner:—

1. How to look on this world.—The present condition of things around us is a mere interregnum—a period of transition—having the seeds in it of its own passing away—something as “mortal” as we ourselves. That very feature in it which leads some to think otherwise is the strongest proof of this truth. “All things” for the present “continue as they were” (2Pe_3:4), because the “season” for changing them has not arrived. As it were, it is “winter” with them at present; the Sun is away. There could not be a better proof that they will begin to be altered the moment the Sun begins to approach; and that they will be altered indeed then, and altered swiftly; and altered finally too.

2. How to look on Christ’s word.—As the only stable thing we know of; stable indeed; stable for ever, immovable itself, and therefore moving everything else. See Isa_40:6-8; 1Pe_1:23-25. Hence also the derived stability of those who are conformed to that will (1Jn_2:17).

HOMILIES ON THE VERSES

Mat_24:32-33. Signs in the kingdoms of nature and grace.—

I. One God who is King of both.

II. He sends signs of natural changes and of moral events.

III. At signs in nature men prepare; much more should they make spiritual preparation for the greater event.

IV. The natural sign speaks of the faithfulness of the God of nature; so the moral sign speaks of His faithfulness as God of grace and King of glory.—J. C. Gray.

Mat_24:35. The perpetuity of the words of Christ.—

I. Here we have a fair and bold comparison of two things: one which seems the slightest and most evanescent you can think of; another which seems the very ideal of all that is substantial and durable. Here are on the one side a few words, and on the other side the great solid world. Yet the Saviour dares the comparison. He invites the comparison between the endurance of the words He utters and the endurance of the stars, the earth, and the ocean.

II. It is approaching towards two thousand years since the days of Christ’s three years’ ministry on earth.—Though no magic was impressed on the syllables which flowed from the lips of the Redeemer to arrest their natural passing away, still it is true and certain that they have not passed away, and cannot pass away while the world stands. For one thing, they have not passed away, in this sense—that when they were spoken the simple narrative of the Evangelists took and perpetuated them; and in these four Gospels we have the words of Christ preserved.

III. But it is a little thing to say that Christ’s words were perpetuated on paper.—We should not set much store by the fact that upon printed pages by millions and millions the words of our Redeemer have outlived the storms and the wear of ages; we should not mind much about that if it stood by itself; but take it with this, that these words are so marvellously adapted to the needs of our immortal nature that those who have once felt their power would feel it was parting with life to part with them. Earthquakes, deluges, might sweep this world, but you must unpeople it before the words of Christ could pass away from it.

IV. Though the last Bible perished, as perish it may in the wreck and ruin of this world, though the blessed words of Jesus were to do what they never can—fade away utterly from the remembrance of the glorified soul—even then these words would live on in the effects they had produced.—A. Boyd, D.D.

CRITICAL NOTES

Mat_24:36. But of that day and hour, etc.—“Neither the Son” is introduced in the R.V. Dr. Morison says, that though not in the great body of the MSS., these words were probably in the autograph of Matthew. They are found in the three oldest MSS., the Sinaitic, the Vatican, and Cambridge, and in many copies of the Old Latin Version; as also in the Harclean Syriac, and the Æthiopic and Armenian Versions. “The eternal Word in becoming flesh ‘emptied Himself’ (Php_2:7) of the infinity which belongs to the Divine attributes, and took upon Him the limitations necessarily incidental to man’s nature, even when untainted by evil and in fullest fellowship, through the Eternal Spirit, with the Father” (Plumptre).

Mat_24:40. The one shall be taken, etc.—See R.V. The day of judgment will be, as by an inevitable law, a day of separation, according to the diversity of character which may exist in the midst of the closest fellowship in outward life (Plumptre).

Mat_24:41. Grinding at a mill.—Two women sit at the mill facing each other; both having hold of the handle by which the upper is turned round on the nether millstone (Thomson).

Mat_24:43. Broken up.—Broken through (R.V.). The houses were built largely of mud.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 24:32. Ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς συκῆς, but from the fig-tree) An obvious matter.—τὴν, the) sc. following.—παραβολὴν, parable) a most beautiful one.

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

Mat_24:32 f. Cheering prospect for the disciples in the midst of those final convulsionsa prospect depicted by means of a pleasing scene taken from nature. The understanding of this passage depends on the correct interpretation (1) of τὸ θέρος, (2) of πάντα ταῦτα, and also (3) on our taking care not to supply anything we choose as the subject of ἐγγύς ἐστιν ἐπὶ θύραις.

δέ is simply μεταβατικόν.

ἀπὸ τῆς συκῆς] the article is generic; for ἀπό, comp. on Mat_11:29. From the fig-tree, i.e. in the case of the fig-tree, see the parable (τὴν παρ.) that is intended for your instruction in the circumstances referred to. For the article conveys the idea of your similitude; here, however, παραβολή means simply a comparison, παράδειγμα. Comp. on Mat_13:3.

καὶ τὰ φύλλα ἐκφύῃ] and puts forth the leaves (the subject being ὁ κλάδος). Matthaei, Fritzsche, Lachmann, Bleek, on the authority of E F G H K M V Δ, Vulg. It., write ἐκφυῇ, taking it as an aorist, i.e. et folia edita fuerint (see, in general, Kühner, I. p. 930 f.). But in that case what would be the meaning of the allusion to the branches recovering their sap? Further, it is only by taking κ. τ. φ. ἐκφύῃ as present that the strictly definite element is brought out, namely: when the κλάδος is in the act of budding.

τὸ θέρος] is usually taken in the sense of aestas, after the Vulgate. But, according to the correct interpretation of πάντα ταῦτα, summer would be too late in the present instance, and too indefinite; nor would it be sufficiently near to accord with ἐγγύς ἐστιν ἐπὶ θύραις. Hence it is better to understand the harvest (equivalent to θερισμός, Photius, p. 86, 18) as referred to, as in Pro_26:1; Dem. 1253. 15, and frequently in classical writers; Jacobs, ad Anthol. VIII. p. 357. Comp. also Ebrard, Keim. It is not, however, the fig-harvest (which does not occur till August) that is meant, but the fruit-harvest, the formal commencement of which took place as early as the second day of the Passover season.

οὕτω κ. ὑμεῖς] so understand ye also. For the preceding indicative, γινώσκετε, expressed what was matter of common observation, and so, in a way corresponding to the observation referred to, should (γινώσκ. imperative) the disciples also on their part understand, etc.

ὅταν ἴδητε πάντα ταῦτα] when ye will have seen all this. It is usual to seek for the reference of πάντα ταῦτα in the part of the passage before Mat_24:29, namely, in what Jesus has just foretold as to all the things that were to precede the second coming. But arbitrary as this is, it is outdone by those who go the length of merely picking out a few from the phenomena in question, in order to restrict the reference of πάντα ταῦτα to them; as, for example, the incrementa malignitatis (Ebrard), or the cooling of love among believers, the preaching to the Gentiles, and the overthrow of Jerusalem (Gess). If we are to take the words in their plain and obvious meaning (Mat_24:8), πάντα ταῦτα can only be understood to refer to what immediately precedes, therefore to what has been predicted, from that epoch-making Mat_24:29 on to Mat_24:31, respecting the σημεῖον of the Son of man, and the phenomena that were to accompany the second coming itself. When they shall have seen all that has been announced, Mat_24:29-31, they are to understand from it, etc.

ὅτι ἐγγύς ἐσὶ θύραις] To supply a subject here is purely arbitrary; the Son of man has been supposed by some to be understood (Fritzsche, de Wette, Hofmann, Bleek, Weiss, Gess); whereas the subject is τὸ θέρος, which, there being no reason to the contrary, may also be extended to Mat_24:33. This θέρος is neither the second coming (Cremer), nor the judgment (Ebrard), nor the kingdom of God generally (Olshausen, Auberlen), nor even the diffusion of Christianity (Schott), but simply the harvest, understanding it, however, in the higher Messianic sense symbolized by the natural harvest (Gal_6:9; 2Co_9:6), namely, the reception in the Messianic kingdom of that eternal reward which awaits all true workers and patient sufferers. That is the joyful (Isa_9:2) and blessed consummation which the Lord encourages His disciples to expect immediately after the phenomena and convulsions that are to accompany His second advent.

On ἐπὶ θύραις without the article, see Bornemann, ad Xen. Cyr. i. 3. 2; and for the plural, see Kühner, II. 1, p. 17.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 24:32-36 . Parabolic close (Mar 13:28-32 , Luk 21:29-33 ).

Mat 24:32 . ἀπὸ τῆς συκῆς , etc., from the fig tree learn its parable, rapid condensed speech befitting the tense state of mind; learn from that kind of tree (article generic) the lesson it can teach with regard to the moral order: Tender branch, young leaf = summer nigh. Schott, Comm. Ex. Dog ., p. 125, renders ἀπὸ τ . σ . ope ficus = ficum contemplando. On the form εκφυη vide notes on Mk.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

If God hath prescribed a certain order to nature, much more hath he done so to his eternal judgments, but the wicked understand it not, or rather make a mock at it: but the godly do mark it, and wait for it.

When his tenderness showeth that the sap which is the life of the tree, is come from the root into the bark.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 32. Learn a parable of the fig-tree] That is, These signs which I have given you will be as infallible a proof of the approaching ruin of the Jewish state as the budding of the trees is a proof of the coming summer.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(32) Now learn a parable of the fig tree.—As in so many other instances (comp. Notes on Joh_8:12; Joh_10:1), we may think of the words as illustrated by a living example. Both time and place make this probable. It was on the Mount of Olives, where then, as now, fig trees were found as well as olives (Mat_21:19), and the season was that of early spring, when “the flowers appear on the earth” and the “fig tree putteth forth her green figs” (Song Son_2:11-13). And what our Lord teaches is that as surely as the fresh green foliage of the fig tree is a sign of summer, so shall the signs of which He speaks portend the coming of the Son of Man.

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

32–35. The Parable of the Fig Tree

Mar_13:28-31; Luk_21:29-33

32. learn a parable of the fig tree] More accurately, learn from the fig-tree its parable, the lesson that the fig-tree teaches. The parable relates to the siege of Jerusalem and the ruin of the Jewish nationality, illustrating Mat_24:4-22.

It was spring time, and the fig tree was putting forth its leaf-buds; no more certainly does that natural sign foretell the coming harvest than the signs of Christ shall foretell the fall of the Holy City. The sequence of historical events is as certain as the sequence of natural events. And the first, at least to some extent, is within the range of the same human intelligence that discerns the promise of summer. Thus Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for not discerning the signs of the times as they discerned the face of the sky.

When his branch is yet tender] Translate, as soon as its branch becomes tender, i. e. ready to sprout. Observe his for the modern its.

ye know] Rather, recognise; as also in the following verse; in Mat_24:36 a different Greek word is rightly translated knoweth.

that summer is nigh] Or, “that harvest time is nigh,” i. e. the cornharvest, not the fig-harvest (Meyer). This is a probable rendering, because the sprouting of the fig-tree would coincide with the barley harvest, rather than with the summer; it gives force to our Lord’s words, when it is remembered that the barley harvest was actually nigh; the omer, or first sheaf, being offered on the day following the Passover. Again, the siege of Jerusalem prefigured by this “parable” took place at the time of harvest (see note, Mat_24:21).

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.

So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things,.... That are mentioned above, relating to the signs of the destruction of the temple and city, and the destruction itself, with all those several things that should directly take place upon it; this is an accommodation of the above parable, similitude, or comparison:

know that it is near, even at the doors; meaning, either that "he is near", as the Ethiopic version reads it, the son of man is near, even at the doors; or as the Vulgate Latin renders it, "in the gates", or "doors", and so does Munster's Hebrew Gospel; and signifies, that he was already come; for to be in the doors, or within the gates, is more than to be at the doors, or at the gates: and thus the fig tree putting forth its leaves, is a sign that summer is not only nigh, but is already come, even that part of it we call spring; for the Scripture divides the whole year only into two parts, summer and winter; so these calamities and desolations on the Jews, were a sign that the son of man was come, was in the gates, displaying his power and his glory: or the redemption and deliverance of the people of God was at hand, from the persecutions of the Jews; for till the destruction of Jerusalem, the persecutions of the Christians were chiefly from the Jews, or occasioned by them; but now, they being destroyed, the summer of deliverance was at hand: or else the kingdom of God, or a more enlarged state of the Gospel dispensation was near; the winter of the legal dispensation was over, the spring of the Gospel dispensation was come, through the preaching of John the Baptist, Christ and his apostles; and now the summer of it was at hand, through the general spread of it, all over the Gentile world. So the second coming of Christ, will be a summer of joy and comfort to the saints: Christ will appear most lovely and amiable to them, he will be glorified by them, and admired in them; great grace will be brought unto them, and great glory will be put upon them; they will then enjoy full redemption and salvation: the winter of sorrows, afflictions, and persecutions, and of coldness, darkness, and desertion, will be over; the sun shall no more go down, nor the moon withdraw itself, but the Lord will be the everlasting light of his people.

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

32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

Ver. 32. Ye know that summer is nigh] Which is so much the sweeter, because brought in and let out by winter: so will eternal life be to the saints, here tossed and turmoiled with variety of sufferings. Many sharp showers they must here pass through; "Light is sown for the righteous," &c., sown only; and seedtime we know is usually wet and showery. Howbeit, it is fair weather often times with God’s children when it is foulest with the wicked; as the sun rose upon Zoar when the fire fell upon Sodom. But if they should have never a good day in this world, yet heaven will make amends for all. And what is it for one to have a rainy day, who is going to take possession of a kingdom?

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.

Now learn a parable - See the notes at Mat 13:3. The word here means, rather, “an illustration” make a “comparison,” or judge of this as you do respecting a fig-tree.

Fig-tree - This was spoken on the Mount of Olives, which produced not only olives, but figs. Possibly one was near when he spoke this.

When his branch ... - When the juices return from the roots into the branches, and the buds swell and burst, “as if tender,” and too feeble to contain the pressing and expanding leaves when you see that, you judge that spring and summer are near.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Mark hath the very same, Mar 13:28-31. So hath Luke, Luk 21:29-33, only he saith, the fig tree, and all the trees, when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily, &c. By this similitude of the fig tree (called therefore by Luke a parable) our Saviour doth not only design to inform them that these things which he had told them should be as certain signs of the approaching of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the coming of his kingdom, as the fig trees and other trees putting forth of leaves is a sign of the approaching summer, as Son 2:13; but that as the frosts, and snow, and cold of the winter, doth not hinder the trees from bringing forth fruit in the summer, so these tribulations and troubles should be so far from hindering and destroying Christ’s kingdom, that they should prepare the world for it, and promote it: so that as they might know from these tribulations in Judea that the kingdom of grace was at hand, and began; so from the following tribulations upon the world they might know that his kingdom of glory was also hastening.

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. There are several notions men have of that term, this generation, some by it understanding mankind; others, the generation of Christians; others, the whole generation of the Jews: but doubtless our Saviour mean’s the set of men that were at that time in the world: those who were at that time living should not all die until all these things shall be fulfilled, all that he had spoken with reference to the destruction of Jerusalem; and indeed the most of those signs which our Saviour gave, were signs common both to the destruction of Jerusalem and the last judgment, abating only Christ’s personal coming in the clouds with power and glory. So that, considering that the destruction of Jerusalem was within less than forty years after our Saviour’s speaking these words, so many as lived to the expiration of that number of years must see the far greater part of these things actually fulfilled, as signs of the destruction of Jerusalem; and fulfilling, as signs of the end of the world.

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. By this expression our Saviour confirmeth the truth of what he had said, assuring those to whom he spake, that although there should be a change of the heavens and the earth, 2Pe 3:10,12,13, which then commonly look upon as the most stable and abiding things, yet the truth of what he had said should not fail.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Learn a parable (thn) of (apo) the fig tree; bettor, from the fig tree learns its parable. Learn ye the lesson which this tree can teach you; though, indeed, it might teach other lessons than the one which Christ would enforce. When his (its), branch is yet tender (hdh ... genhtai apalov , is now become tender). This refers to the new shoots of unripened wood. Putteth forth leaves (te fulla , its leaves). Copyists and editors vary between ekfuh , subj. aor. passive, and ekfuh , active. The Vulgate has the passive, et folia nata. Summer is nigh. The fruit of the fig tree appears before the leaves, as we learned in the story of the withered fig tree, (Mat_21:19) which the Lord may have had in mind when he gave this illustration. Did he intend to symbolize the revival of the life of the withered Jewish race in the time of the end?

Vers. 32-42. The event and the time.

Having unfolded to the disciples the manner and circumstances of the two great events respecting which they had inquired, our Lord now proceeds to speak more particularly of their certainty and of the time of their occurrence.

I THE EVENT OF THE JUDGMENT IS CERTAIN.

1. This is asserted under a simile. (Vers. 32-35)

(1) The fig tree was a symbol of the Jewish nation. (cf. Joe_1:7 Mat_22:19) To the literal Israel these things were primarily spoken. They have relevance also to the spiritual Israel, viz. in a future fulfilment. The outside world give no heed to sacred signs. "None of the wicked shall understand". (see Dan_12:10)

(2) The teaching is that as the budding of the fig tree, then probably visible before them, (cf. Mat_21:19 Luk_21:29) was a sure presage of summer, so must the signs indicated in the preceding discourse be taken to pledge the near approach of the sequel, glorious to the righteous, disastrous to the wicked. (cf. Mat_16:3 Luk_21:31 Rev_1:1)

(3) "The summer is nigh." When the trees of righteousness put forth the leaf of faithful promise, it is a happy presage of good times. But that which to the good is an enlivening light is to the wicked a scorching and consuming fire.

2. The assertion is repeated in the comment.

(1) The generation that witnesses the signs will also witness the sequel. This was literally so in regard to the destruction of Jerusalem. (cf. Mat_16:28 Mat_23:36) There is a distinction between "these things," which refer to the events of the destruction of Jerusalem, and "that day" (ver. 36), which indicates the season of the final judgment. Yet was the judgment upon Jerusalem a type of the judgment of the last day.

(2) The "generation" destined to see the end of "all things" in the wider sense, is the Jewish race (see A. Clarke, Steir, and Alford). Therefore the preservation of that race amidst untoward circumstances pledges the certainty of the sequel.

(3) It is easier for the heavens and the earth to pass away than for the word of Christ to fail. (see Luk_16:17) The creation had a beginning, so may have an end; but Christ"s truth is from eternity, and cannot but abide. The failure of the truth of God would be, in other words, the failure of his existence, which is a supposition superlatively absurd.

II THE TIME OF THAT EVENT IS NOT WHOLLY UNCERTAIN.

1. It is particularly known to God alone.

(1) To him it is known. It is therefore distinguished as "the day of the Lord." Christ, as God, therefore, knew it. "It is necessary to distinguish between the knowledge of Christ as a Divine Person and that which he possesses as the Prophet of his Church. As Divine he knows all things; but as a Prophet he receives his messages from the Father, and makes them known to us. In this sense he knew not the day of judgment; that is, it was no part of the revelation which God gave to him to make known to men" (A. Fuller). "To know" has the idiomatic sense of "make known". (cf. 1Co_2:2 Act_1:6, 7 1Ti_6:15)

(2) As it was not given to the Son to make it known, so neither was it given to the angels. They have great capacities for knowledge, and, dwelling at the fountain of light, have also great opportunities; but their prescience is limited, or at least it is not given to them to make it known.

(3) The day on which Titus was to invest Jerusalem was not known to the disciples when our Lord advised them to pray that their flight might not be on the sabbath. The hour or season was not known to them when he advised them to pray that it might not be in winter (ver. 20). So are we without knowledge of the day and season of the great event of which the judgment upon the Jews was but a figure. Wisdom withholds particular revelations of the future to encourage prayer.

2. Yet is it generally made known to the wise.

(1) Many ancient prophecies contain approximate anticipations of the time. Light upon this subject was progressively increasing. Daniel gave intimation of the destruction of Jerusalem to the year in his period of four hundred and ninety years, though not the day or season.

(2) Our Lord himself speaks of great political revolutions that should happen before his return; and his language plainly implies that the event was then remote (see ver. 48; Mat_25:5, Mat_25:19).

(3) Paul declares that before that great event there should occur a gradual development and subsequent gradual wasting of a great apostasy, the germs of which were already working in his day. (see 2Th 2)

(4) Proceeding further, we find Peter using language evidently designed to prepare the Church for a long delay. (see 2Pe 3)

(5) The series of intervening events is wonderfully disclosed in the course of the revelations given to John. The wise who study this series cannot be ignorant as to the approaching time.

3. But to the wicked it will come as a surprise.

(1) So the Flood came upon the men of that generation. "They knew not." They were warned, but did not heed. "Death never comes without a warrant, but often without a warning" (Anon.). Not knowing, i.e. acknowledging, is joined with eating and drinking and marrying. They were sensual because secure; but the ignorance of wickedness is an imaginary security. "The flood came." Those who will not know by faith shall be made to know by feeling. The evil day is never further off for men"s putting it off. Judgments are most terrible to those who make a jest of them.

(2) "As in the days of Noah." The design here is to show that the desolation will be as general as it will be unexpected. The miserable Jews neglected the advice of Jesus to watch, and were destroyed, it is for us to learn wisdom by the things which they have suffered. The general neglect of religion is a more dangerous symptom to a people than particular instances of irreligion.

(3) The siege of Jerusalem surprised the Jews in the midst of their festivity at the Passover. (cf. Jud_1:18:7, 27 1Th_5:3) Man"s unbelief shall not make the truth of God"s threatenings of none effect. (cf. Isa_47:7-9 Rev_18:7) "The uncertainty of the time of Christ"s coming is to those who are watchful a savour of life unto life, and makes them more watchful; but to those who are careless it is a savour of death unto death, and makes them more careless" (Henry).

4. It will be a time of separation.

(1) "Then shall two men be in the field," etc. (ver. 40). Many who have been united in the closest earthly relations will then be found separated in their spiritual condition and eternal allotment.

(2) Those "taken" correspond to Noah and his family, who were taken into the ark, and to the disciples of Jesus, who removed to Pella. Those "left" correspond to the people shut out of the ark, and those shut into Jerusalem when it was devoted to destruction. In the last day the elect will be gathered out of the devoted world into the cloud of Christ"s protecting presence.

(3) Here our Lord enjoins upon his disciples to watch, and that too in reference to his coming an event so far remote that when it occurs they will be found among the dead. In like manner, we find the apostles exhorting their brethren to watchfulness, and urging the same reason, while they certainly knew that event to be remote. The lesson, then, is that it is manifestly the Divine purpose that the thoughts of the people of God should be carried forward to and fixed upon that momentous time when Christ shall come to judge the world.

Observe, then:

1. That to live in a state of preparation for this event is also to live prepared for death.

2. That every exhortation of Scripture to watch for the former is alike applicable to the latter.

3. That in a most important respect the hour of death is to every man the hour of judgment. J.A.M.

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

Learn a parable - Our Lord having spoke of the signs preceding the two grand events, concerning which the apostles had inquired, begins here to speak of the time of them. And to the question proposed, ver. 3, concerning the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, he answers ver. 34. Concerning the time of the end of the world, he answers chap. xxiv, 36. Mark xiii, 28; Luke xxi, 29.

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

The lesson of the fig-tree:

v. 32. Now learn a parable of the fig-tree: When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

v. 33. so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

v. 34. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.

v. 35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.

Even as the person with ordinary common sense and powers of observation needs no further evidence for the fact that summer is near when he sees the fig-tree’s branches become soft with the swelling sap and the young leaves pushing forth from the buds, so the disciple of Christ who sees the signs of which Christ speaks in the whole chapter, including the destruction of Jerusalem, understands and knows that the final judgment is upon him, at his very door. And here is another sign, a further proof for the truth of His saying, for the soundness of His prophecy: This generation will not pass away till all this will come to pass. He means to say, either: The Jewish nation will remain on earth as a race, with all the racial characteristics, till the Day of Judgment; or: The generation of children which I have chosen, My Church, will not pass away, it will stand against all attempts to overthrow it, to all eternity. Amid the crash of worlds, when heaven and earth turn back into chaos and are destroyed, the Word of the Lord abideth forever.

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

Here our blessed Saviour declares two things with reference to his coming.

1. The certainty of the thing itself. 2. The uncertainty of the time.

The certainty of his coming he sets forth by the similitude of the fig-tree, whose beginning to bud declares the summer at hand. Thus when they should see the fore-mentioned signs, they might conclude the destruction of their city and temple to be nigh at hand, and that some then living should see all these predictions certainly fulfilled. What Christ foretells, shall certainly be fulfilled, his word being more firm than the fabric of heaven and earth.

Observe, 2. The uncertainty, as to the precise time, when this judgment should come. No angel in heaven nor creature on earth could determine the time, only the glorious persons in the Godhead; the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Learn, 1. That all things are not revealed to the angels themselves, but such things only as it concerns them to know, and the wisdom of God thinks fit to reveal.

2. That the precise time of the day of judgment is kept by God as a secret ot himself. He will not have us know that hour, to the intent that we may be upon our watch every hour.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32, 33. Learn a parable from the fig tree. The putting forth of the leaves is the sign that summer is near. It puts forth leaves usually in April. So “all these things” show when the Lord is at hand.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

he is near

Jesus is speaking about himself in the third person. AT: "the time for me to come is near" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

at the very gates

"close to the gates." Jesus uses the imagery of a king or important official getting close to the gates of a walled city. It is a metaphor meaning the time for Jesus to come is soon. (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

fig

gate

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

32–35. THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE

Mar 13:28-31; Luk 21:29-33

32. ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς συκῆς μάθετε τὴν παραβολήν. Learn from the fig-tree its parable, the lesson that the fig-tree teaches. The parable relates to the siege of Jerusalem and the ruin of the Jewish nationality, illustrating Mat 24:4-22.

It was spring time, and the fig-tree was putting forth its leaf-buds; no more certainly does that natural sign foretell the coming harvest than the signs of Christ shall foretell the fall of the Holy City. The sequence of historical events is as certain as the sequence of natural events. And the first, at least to some extent, is within the range of the same human intelligence that discerns the promise of summer. Thus Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for not discerning the signs of the times as they discerned the face of the sky.

The facts of botany throw fresh light on our Lord’s illustration. The season of spring is described by botanists as one of the greatest stir and vital activity throughout the plant organism, a general but secret internal movement preceding the outburst of vegetation. A true figure of political movement. See Thomé’s Struct. and Phys. Botany (translation), pp. 196–208.

ὅταν ἤδη ὁ κλάδος αὐτῆς γένηται ἀπαλός. ‘As soon as its branch becomes tender,’ i.e. ready to sprout.

γινώσκετε, ‘ye recognise;’ as also in the following verse.

ἐγγὺς τὸ θέρος, ‘that harvest time is nigh,’ i.e. the corn-harvest, not the fig-harvest (Meyer). This is a probable rendering, because the sprouting of the fig-tree would coincide with the barley harvest, rather than with the summer; it gives force to our Lord’s words, when it is remembered that the barley harvest was actually nigh; the omer, or first sheaf, being offered on the day following the Passover. Again, the siege of Jerusalem, prefigured by this ‘parable,’ took place at the time of harvest (see note, Mat 24:21).

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.

(M) 32. And from the fig-tree learn its parable. So soon as its branch becomes soft, and it puts forth leaves, ye perceive that the summer is near.] So Mk., with ἐστίν and two variations in order.

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

A parable [την παραβολην] . More strictly, the parable which she has to teach. Rightly, therefore, Rev., her parable.

Branch [κλαδος] . From klaw, to break. Hence a young slip or shoot, such as is broken off for grafting. Such were the "branches" which were cut down and strewed in the Lord 's path by the multitudes (Mt 21:8).

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