When their buds burst open,
you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near;
in the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that the Kingdom of God is near.
We might do well to ask what to which things specifically was Jesus referring? He had just spoken of "signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves", things that would cause individuals to "die of fright in anticipation" since "the powers of the heavens will be shaken". Yet finally "they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory".
It was as though Jesus was telling his disciples that signs that seemed terrible, even horrific, ought to be interpreted by them in a different and positive sense, as the coming of summer. The fig tree in particular was often a symbol of the age of the messiah, and the budding of that fig tree was an indication that the Kingdom of God was near. Yet who among us has learned to interpret the difficulty and distress in the world around us as the natural outworking of the inevitable and inexorable coming of the Kingdom? Even the four immense beasts witnesses by Daniel were only a temporary prelude to the one like a son of man receiving dominion, glory, and kingship from the Ancient One.
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
There was much the shook the world in during Jesus' generation. The disciples were called to see all of those things in the light of the perspective of the Kingdom of God. Yes, the earth would be shaken at the death of Jesus, but he would return in his resurrection. Yes, Jerusalem would be destroyed and not one stone of the temple would be left on another. But a remnant of Christian disciples would be protected by the presence of the Lord in their midst. That generation experienced an extreme rehearsal of what will await the final generation at the end of time. But the lesson applies to all of us whenever we experience the unsettling difficulties of life. They are merely a sign that our redemption is at hand.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.
No mere teacher could say this. Not even a great prophet such as Moses would claim that his words had more staying power than God's creation. But Jesus was more than a mortal man, greater than Abraham, Moses, Solomon, or Elijah. He himself was the eternal word of God. And his words were a manifestation of his own eternity. Therefore Jesus and his words can be for us a rock solid anchor amidst the storms of this life. There is nothing that can happen, to us or around us, that will make his words outdated or irrelevant. And they, unlike all other words, are powerful, able to achieve the promises contained within. Let us put our trust more and more, not in the passing realities of Heaven and earth, but in the words of Christ.
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