Matthew 24:32-35 (NIV) “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

Jesus again focuses on His main thrust in this discourse: the fall of Jerusalem. All the signs that He has given His disciples will come to pass, signaling that the day of judgment on the city is coming, and telling His obedient followers to get out of Jerusalem. They don’t’ have to worry that it will be a false alarm any more than a fig farmer can see the first shoots of leaves on his trees and wonder if it is a false sign of spring that will leave him disappointed.

That is why Jesus could so confidently assert that all of this (the signs of coming judgment and the destruction of Jerusalem) would happen before that generation was gone. He didn’t know the day and hour of His own return, but He knew that the fall of the city would happen in about 40 years. And, while most of His apostles would have laid down their lives for the gospel by that point, at least one of them, John, would live to see it. And it would all fall out before the current generation in Jerusalem had passed away.

Jesus closes with the reassurance that His words of prophecy are more sure, more solid, and more enduring than even heaven and earth. The disciples can confidently believe and follow His words, and just as confidently pass them on to the disciples that they would raise up.

A vital role of these prophecies was to keep Jesus’ followers moving forward. There was no cause to rest on one’s laurels waiting for Jesus’ return. His return would not happen at least until Jerusalem had undergone its punishment. So, even though they knew that He would definitely return to set all things right at some time in the future, it wouldn’t be that soon. They could keep their focus on expanding the kingdom by drawing more and more people into the ranks of the redeemed.

Father, it is often tempting to shift our focus to the end time, forgetting that You clearly told us that it was not for us to know the dates and times of Jesus’ return, or to even worry about them (cf. Acts 1:7). We are simply to rest in the assurance that He will return, based on His always true word. Then we are to be steadfastly about the work of the kingdom, and be ready at all times for His return by walking in Your light. If we will just do that, we can know that everything will work out according to Your plan in the end. Amen.