Having described questions about the turbulent end of the age and his own glorious return, Jesus continued to answer the disciples’ question regarding the “sign” of his coming. When it comes to knowing the time of Jesus return, the answer is twofold. First, the signs he had already provided gave some idea of the general “season” in history in which he will return (Matthew 24:32-35). They also underscore the certainty if his return. Second, we must understand that no one but the Father knows the exact “day or hour” of Jesus coming. This uncertainty led naturally into Jesus teaching on how to be prepared at all times for his return. This weeks parable is found in Matthew 24:32 – 35.
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The second half of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:42 – 25:46) is characterized by application and heavy use of parables. Jesus brief use of the lesson from the fig tree foreshadowed the latter portion of the discourse, beginning to edge the listener toward application of the teaching Jesus had provided.
An observer could watch a fig tree begin to produce leaves (and green fruit) in late spring as a sign that summer is near. In the same way, an observer of history who knows the preceding teachings of Jesus was now equipped to know when the Messiah’s coming is near, right at the door. This implied immediacy, but still not a specific time.
Also, “All these things” refers to everything Christ just talked about: wars, famines, earthquakes (Matthew 24:4-8), persecution of Christians (Matthew 24:9-10), false prophets (Matthew 24:11), the abomination that causes desolation (Matthew 24:15), false Christs (Matthew 24:24), the need to flee because of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:16-28), and the stellar events (sun darkened, no light from the moon) of verses Matthew 24:29-31. All those things will signal the nearness of Christ’s return, just as a tree with new shoots signifies that summer is coming.
Some of these signs had actually occurred during Jesus’ lifetime and some occurred immediately afterward during the apostles’ lifetimes. Others have happened in the last 2,000 years. But still others are yet to come. And Jesus said, “this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.”
The “abomination that causes desolation” (Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11, and Matthew 24:15) means any deliberate attempt to mock and deny the reality of God’s presence by using false idols at the Temple.
The new leaves on the fig tree are analogous to the signs preceding the second coming. The phrase “this generation” clearly refers to the generation that is alive at the time those signs are fulfilled. Jesus was saying, “The generation that sees the signs of the second coming will not pass away until I return.” That was Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question of how much time would pass between the sign of His coming and His actual return. So when Jesus said, “this generation, he was not referring to the disciples, the Jewish race, or the nation of Israel.
Looking back to the previous verses, we see that once the birth pains begin (Matthew 24:8), everything else will happen in rapid succession. Elsewhere Scripture specifies that the tribulation will last for seven years (Daniel 9:27, each week in Daniel’s seventy-week prophecy is seven years long). It’s a time period known as Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). In the book of Revelation, we learn that the worst part of the tribulation will be during the last three and a half years (12:14), which is 1,260 days (11:3) or forty-two months (13:5). Jesus referred to that period as the Great Tribulation with its beginning marked by the “abomination of desolation” (Matthew 24:15-21).
Jesus underscored the faithfulness and reliability of his teachings. His words will stand even after heaven and earth. . . pass away. Jesus words are firmer than earth’s bedrock, more sound than the foundations of heaven. Jesus’ words are more certain than even the existence of the universe.
The disciples would put their lives repeatedly on the line. Jesus knew they needed strong assurance that his review of future history was accurate and that their hardship for his sake would be worth the cost.