Signs of the End. Mark 13:28-31.
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. “So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
Dear Saints,
Jesus wants the disciples to be ready when for the Second Coming. There is no date circled on the calendar, so we have to use a different method to ascertain when this will be.
Seasons (v. 28). We have established ways of predicting natural seasons. The example Jesus gives is that of the fig tree in fresh leaf, which indicates summer’s approach. The point is not the specific example given here but the ability to read the indicators of change. In the same way that some of us get a certain kind of headache and they announce to the rest of us, “It will rain,” so also the fig tree and other natural change indicators.
Signs (v. 29-30). The tribulation (v. 19-20), false Christs and false prophets (v. 22), and cosmic disasters (v. 24-25) should be read the same way we read the weather. We may not be able to pinpoint the exact moment of change, but we can be certain that it will happen soon. It is not clear what Jesus meant by “this generation.” It is hardly possible that he meant that generation of people, living around AD 30. Most probably, he was referring to the whole period between the time of his contemporaries and the Second Coming as a generation, not in the common use of the word, but because that whole period is the generation of those who will hear the good news of salvation through Christ.
Surety (v. 31). Jesus is not guessing. He wants the disciples to know that these things will take place. He goes as far as to say that his words are more durable than all of creation. The term “heaven and earth” is applied to creation as a whole, an allusion to the first statement about creation, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). As we know, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made” (Psalm 33:6). So the word of God is more reliable than all of the creation put together.
Jesus is equating his words with the word of God, clearly claiming divinity. No reality can be more “real” than the word of Christ. That also means that we must judge all reality by his word. If a reality, a miracle, for instance, goes contrary to his word, it must be rejected. Are you willing to go that far?
Your Loving Pastor Chris.