In Mark 13:28-37 Jesus finishes his Olivet discourse and his discussion of the End Times. He never gives an answer to the timing of the End, but he does give insight into how we should live in light of it.
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Fig Tree
Jesus says “this generation” will not pass away until “all these things take place” – referring to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. Some critics misinterpret this passage and minimize the power of God’s word.
Mark 13:28-31 (NLT) “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that his return is very near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
- Fig tree
- New life, spring time. Hope is in the air.
- (Expositor's Bible Commentary: Abridged Edition (2 Volumes)) In Palestine most trees remain green throughout the year, but the fig tree is an exception. In the fall it loses its leaves; and when in the spring the sap rises in its branches and the tree begins to leaf out, summer cannot be far off. This parable is essentially an antidote to despair. In contrast to the sufferings and persecutions promised in the previous verses, here the prospect of the coming of the Son of Man is offered.
- This generation?
- (Expositor's Bible Commentary: Abridged Edition (2 Volumes)) The chief problem in this verse is the identification of "these things." Do they refer to the events surrounding the fall of the city of Jerusalem or to the events immediately preceding the end of the age? If (as seems likely) that phrase relates to "all these things" in v.30, then Jesus appears to be referring to the former; those listening to him would experience these signs in a special way when Jerusalem fell.
- (Pillar New Testament Commentary) The "'generation [that will not] pass away until all these things have happened'" (v. 30) has stirred no little controversy in NT theology. According to our interpretation, the generation under discussion is not that of the Second Coming, but the generation contemporary to Jesus that lived to witness the destruction of the temple and fall of Jerusalem.
- My words
- Isaiah 40:8 (NLT) The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.
- (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Here is an important key to the eschatological predictions of Mark 13, for if Jesus' words will outlive the cosmos, then the world to come is already present in them. The Word made flesh is thus inextricably related to the Son of Man who comes on the clouds of heaven. If in Mark 13 the events associated with the Incarnation are blended mysteriously with those of the Parousia – events which to our way of thinking are entirely separate – it may help to remember that in...
