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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Luke 21:28 - 21:33
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The comfort of the believers:
v. 28. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
v. 29. And He spake to them a parable: Behold the fig-tree and all the trees;
v. 30. when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
v. 31. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
v. 32. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled.
v. 33. Heaven and earth shall pass away; but My words shall not pass away.
When there is a beginning of all these things, when these tokens begin to be fulfilled. The events upon which the children of the world will gaze with helpless terror should be for the believers a voice awakening in their hearts the most joyful hope and expectation. The heads which have so often been bowed under all manner of misery and persecution should now be lifted up in happy anticipation of the final, glorious deliverance. This admonition Jesus tries to impress by means of a parable. No matter what tree may be chosen for an example, for instance, the fig-tree, the same truth holds good of all of them. When they put forth their leaves, all ordinary people that are acquainted with trees at all immediately known, without further demonstration, that summer must be near. In the same way the believers, seeing these signs which are to precede the coming of Christ to judgment fulfilled, conclude and know at once that the kingdom of God is near, that the final revelation of the Church of Christ in the glories of heaven will take place, that the believers in Him will enter, from the trials and tribulations of the Church Militant into the everlasting bliss of the Church Triumphant. "Therefore let us also learn this art and new language and become accustomed to it, that we may be able to picture these signs before us in such a comforting way, and look upon them and judge them according to the Word. For if we follow our reason and wisdom, we can do nothing but become terrified and flee before them. For our reason does not like to see things appear dark and unpleasant, that it lightens and thunders, that it roars and is noisy, as though everything would be turned topsy-turvy. But a Christian should pay no attention to that, but take hold of the Word, with which He wants to open our eyes and explain how He means it, as though we were approaching the beautiful summer-time, and as though there were nothing but beautiful roses and lilies that bloom to delight the eye, and that nothing but joy and delight will come after this abominably evil way and misfortune in which we now are " And He gives them a further sign, namely, that this generation, the race of the Jews, will not pass away, will not lose its identity as a separate race, but retain its characteristics among the nations and in their very midst, in spite of all persecutions, until the end of time, until the great Day of Judgment. And so far as the whole discourse is concerned, with its threats and warnings, as well as with its comforting promises, it is true what, the Lord claims for His Word as a whole: Heaven and earth will pass away rather than that a single word of the Lord remain unfulfilled or fall to the ground. In the midst of the return of primeval chaos, in the midst of the destruction of worlds and the very universe itself, the Word of the Lord will stand in eternity as a rock of trust and confidence for all believers.