Jesus told His disciples four parables advocating vigilance in view of the time of His return. These stories were illustrations of His main points.
This parable stresses the importance of the signs signifying Jesus' return.
24:32-33 The lesson (Gr. parabole, lit. parable) of the fig tree is quite simple. As the appearance of tender twigs and leaves on a fig tree indicate the nearness of summer, so the appearance of the signs Jesus explained would indicate that His coming is near.910
A popular interpretation of this parable equates modern Israel's presence in the Promised Land with the budding of the fig tree.911This view may be placing too much emphasis on the identification of the fig tree as an illustration of Israel (cf. Jer. 24:1-8; 29:17). On the other hand this could be what Jesus intended. Many commentators take this parable as describing the destruction of Jerusalem.912As I mentioned before, this is probably not correct.
24:34 Jesus first stressed the importance of what He would say.
What did He mean by "this generation?"Many interpreters have concluded that Jesus meant the generation of disciples to whom He spoke (cf. 23:36). Some within this group of interpreters have concluded that because these signs did not occur before that generation of disciples died Jesus made a mistake.913This solution is unacceptable in view of who Jesus was. Other interpreters in this group have concluded that since these signs did not appear during the lifetime of that generation of disciples Jesus must have been speaking metaphorically, not literally.914They say the destruction of Jerusalem fulfilled what Jesus predicted. This solution is also unacceptable because there is nothing in the text to indicate that Jesus meant that the disciples should understand the signs non-literally. Moreover many similar prophecies concerning Messiah's first coming happened literally.
Perhaps Jesus meant that the generation of disciples that saw the signs would also witness His return.915However the demonstrative pronoun "this"(Gr. aute) seems to stress the generation Jesus was addressing. This pronoun could refer to the end times rather than to that generation.916Yet this seems unnatural here.
Other interpreters have noted that "generation"(Gr. genea) can refer to a race of people, not just to one generation (cf. 16:4; Phil. 2:15).917They conclude that Jesus meant the Jewish race would not end before all these signs had attained fulfillment.918This is a possible solution, but it seems unusual that Jesus would introduce the continuing existence of the Jewish race to confirm the fulfillment of these signs.
Another view has focused attention on the words "take place"or "have happened"(Gr. genetai) that occur in all three synoptic accounts. The Greek word meant "to begin"or "to have a beginning."Advocates affirm that Jesus meant that the fulfillment of "all these things"would begin in the generation of His present disciples (cf. v. 33), but complete fulfillment would not come until later.919However, Jesus said "all"those things would begin during that generation. It is possible that "all"those things would begin during that generation if one interprets "all those things"as the signs as a whole (cf. v. 32). The earliest signs then would correspond to the branches of the fig tree becoming tender. This would be the first evidence of fulfillment shaping up. "This generation"then "represents an evil class of people who will oppose Jesus' disciples until the day He returns."920All things considered this view appeals most to me.
24:35 Jesus further stressed the certainty of what the signs anticipated with these words. He claimed that His predictions had the same authority and eternal validity as God's words (cf. Ps. 119:89-90; Isa. 40:6-8).
24:36 The certainty of fulfillment should not lead the disciples to conclude that they could predict the time of fulfillment exactly. Jesus explained that only the heavenly Father knew precisely when the Son would return (cf. Acts 1:7).
"This verse becomes the main proposition which is developed from this point to Matthew 25:30."921
Watchful preparation is necessary since no one knows the day or the hour when Jesus will return. We do not know the year or the month either. The alternative would be living life as usual without regard to the King's return. Jesus deliberately discouraged His disciples from setting dates.
Jesus' self-confessed ignorance has created a problem for some readers. How could He be God and not know everything? The answer is part of the problem of God becoming man, the Incarnation. Jesus voluntarily limited Himself, and limitation of His knowledge was part of His humiliation (Luke 2:52; Phil. 2:7).
"John's Gospel, the one of the four Gospels most clearly insisting on Jesus' deity, also insists with equal vigor on Jesus' dependence on and obedience to his Father--a dependence reaching even to his knowledge of the divine. How NT insistence on Jesus' deity is to be combined with NT insistence on his ignorance and dependence is a matter of profound importance to the church; and attempts to jettison one truth for the sake of preserving the other must be avoided."922
This parable clarifies verse 36, as the introductory "for"(Gr. gar) indicates. The previous parable stressed the signs leading up to Jesus' return, but this one stresses the responses to those signs and their consequences. Life will be progressing as usual when the King returns to judge. Similarly life was progressing as usual in Noah's day just before God broke in on humankind with judgment (cf. 1 Pet. 3:20-21). Despite upheavals people will continue their normal pursuits.
"The special point of the analogy is not that the generation that was swept away by the Flood was exceptionally wicked; none of the occupations mentioned are sinful; but that it was so absorbed in its worldly pursuits that it paid no attention to solemn warnings."923
Jesus' disciples need to maintain constant vigilance since the daily grind, including distress and persecution, will tend to lull them into dangerous complacency. It is normal for even remarkable signs of an impending change to have no effect on people.
Having explained the importance of the signs leading up to His return and the responses to those signs, Jesus next explained the respective consequences of the two responses.
Many Christians who have read these verses have assumed that they describe believers taken to heaven at the Rapture and unbelievers left behind to enter the Tribulation. However the context is dealing with the second coming of Christ, not the Rapture.924
"It will be a taking away judicially and in judgment. The ones left will enjoy the blessings of Christ's reign on earth, just as Noah and his family were left to continue life on earth. This is the opposite of the rapture, where those who are left go into the judgment of the Great Tribulation."925
"Jesus was not referring to the Rapture of the church in Matthew 24. When that event takes place, all the saved will be removed from the earth to meet Christ in the air, and all the unsaved will be left on the earth. Thus, the Rapture will occur in reverse of the order of things in the days of Noah and, therefore, the reverse of the order at Jesus' coming immediately after the Great Tribulation."926
Some interpreters have made a case for this being a reference to the Rapture because Jesus used two different words for "take"in the context. In verse 39 the Greek verb is airowhereas in verses 40 and 41 He used paralambano. The argument is that paralambanois a word that describes Jesus taking His own to Himself. However it also occurs in a bad sense (4:5, 8; John 19:16). Probably Jesus used paralambanobecause it more graphically pictures sweeping away as in a flood.927
Perhaps Jesus used two illustrations to show that neither gender nor occupation nor proximate relationship will prevent the separation for judgment (cf. 10:35-36). Typically two women--often sisters, a mother and a daughter, or two servants--sat opposite each other turning the small hand mill between them.928
This verse applies all that Jesus said beginning in verse 32. Jesus' disciples need to remain watchful because the exact time of the King's return is unknown even though signs of His coming will indicate His approach.
Jesus concluded His instructions concerning the importance of vigilance in view of His return by giving a parable advocating watchfulness.
The introductory "but"connects this illustration with the former one and identifies a contrast. Jesus is like a thief in only one respect, namely that other people will not expect His coming. The point of this parable is that if a homeowner knows the general time when a thief will break in he will prepare accordingly. The signs of the times during the Tribulation that Jesus revealed (vv. 5-22) will enable believers to know the general time He will return. Consequently believers in the Tribulation should prepare themselves.
This concludes the emphasis on vigilance that marks the first part of Jesus' instructions to His disciples anticipating His return and the end of the present age.
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