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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 24:32 - 24:35
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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_24:32-35
32Now learn the parable of the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33So, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 34Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
Mat_24:32 "the fig tree" This parable is paralleled in Mar_13:28-32 and Luk_21:29-33. The fig tree in this proverbial passage was apparently not a symbol of Israel as in Mat_21:18-20 and Mar_11:12-14, but a way of assuring believers that although they cannot know the specific eschatological times, they can know the general time. The fig tree put out its leaves early and everyone knew spring was close.
Mat_24:32-33 "you know" When the last generation comes, the Bible's prophetic passages will fit exactly the history of that day. This knowledge will strengthen the believers'trust in God amidst end time persecution. The problem with every generation of believers is that they force the Bible into the history of their own day! All attempts have so far have been wrong!
Mat_24:33 "He" This masculine pronoun is not in the Greek text. It should be "it" (cf. Mat_24:14).
▣ "when you see all these things" This could refer to (1) the destruction of Jerusalem; (2) the transfiguration (cf. Mar_9:1; Mat_16:27); or (3) one of these specific signs of the Second Coming.
Mat_24:34 This verse referred to the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70 by the Roman legion under Titus. Jesus was merging the questions of Mat_24:3 : (1) the destruction of the temple, (2) the sign of His return at the end of the age, and (3) the end of the age.
It is also possible to link Mat_10:23; Mat_16:28; Mat_24:34 and conclude that Jesus expected to return quickly, but Matthew, writing decades later, realized the " delayed return" theme in Jesus' teachings.
Mat_24:25 What a strong statement of Jesus' self understanding. It surely relates to Mat_5:17-19 or Isa_40:8; Isa_55:11. Jesus is the full revelation of the invisible God (i.e., Col_1:15).