While teaching the disciples about what the signs of the end of the world would be, Jesus inserts a short parable illustration to emphasize that we should be prepared and not surprised when the end of the world happens. While this parable is not the most profound illustration Jesus uses, it does serve a purpose that prompts us to remember God.
Let’s read this parable, with some verses before and after it to give a little bit of context. Our parable and passage are found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 21, and we will read from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 25, as Jesus is speaking to His followers, He tells them:
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
When reading this short passage, we jumped in during Jesus sharing with the disciples what it will be like when Jesus returns, and this sets up Jesus sharing this short parable about a fig tree sprouting leaves.
In many ways, this parable is not like most of Jesus’ other parables, because this short illustration simply has the disciples watching for the seasons and how the trees react to the weather changing. However, just because this isn’t a long or drawn out parable with a storyline does not make this parable any less significant.
Instead of being less significant, this parable actually may be more significant. When compared with the broad collection of Jesus’ parables, this short parable of the fig tree sprouting leaves is probably the clearest parable with the least likely chance of being misunderstood. In this parable, just like we can see that the fig tree changes and gets ready for summer by sprouting leaves, when we see the things that Jesus described in the earlier verses, we can be assured that the date of Jesus’ return is coming closer.
Jesus never gave us the date of His return, but He did give us what may be the biggest reminder of His promise to return in the simple act of the changing of the seasons.
Every change of seasons is a subtle reminder of Jesus’ parable here. Since Jesus shared this message during the week leading up to the cross, we know that this message was shared in the spring. This makes sense that Jesus would point forward to the next season, which was the summer. But the focus of Jesus’ words isn’t on a specific season as much as it draws our attention onto the seasons changing.
Each time the seasons change, we can see God’s creation preparing for and responding to the change. Nature is like a clock we can use when determining what season we are in and what season is right around the corner. This means too that every time a season changes, and every time nature prepares for this change, we are reminded to pay attention to the events of this world, because we are moving closer and closer to the time of Jesus’ return.
In the few minutes we have left, I want to draw attention to the last two verses of what we read, because in these verses we see a challenge to the detail that Jesus has not returned yet. Verses 32 and 33 record Jesus saying: “Truly I tell you, 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.”
When we read these two verses, we are challenged by the idea that 2,000 years later, Jesus still has not returned. When Jesus talks about that generation not passing away until everything He described as happened, which includes His returning in the clouds, I can understand why this prompts some people to believe that Jesus did return secretly for a brief period of time but at that time, He didn’t end history.
However, while I can understand why some people might think this, I don’t believe this is what actually happened, because Jesus makes it very clear that His return will disrupt both heaven and earth, causing people to faint from terror. There is nothing secret about Jesus’ return. Jesus’ return will be the most public, visible event this world has ever seen.
Instead, I see Jesus’ closing remarks linking the passing away of this generation with the passing away of heaven and earth, and contrasting that with the eternal nature of His words. In another part of Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells those present that God is the God of the living, and God sees people as alive. This means that until the point that this world’s history is wrapped up, the generation of Jesus’ disciples will not pass away because God sees and knows everything about that generation, including all the good and the bad that generation has to offer.
From God’s perspective, Jesus’ words make complete sense. Only when we try to make this promise fit our perspective do we run into trouble. This is because we only have a tiny sliver of a perspective when compared to what God is capable of seeing. When we talk about the kingdom of God, we are talking about God’s perspective of time and of history, and we would be better served by letting God’s perspective help us reconcile challenging passages.
The two biggest truths in this passage are that Jesus will return in a very public way, and that Jesus’ words will last forever, which is longer than this sin-filled heaven and earth will last. God has promised that His people will be welcomed into eternity and we will avoid passing away with this sin-stained heaven and earth. Let’s keep our focus on Jesus, on accepting what He accomplished for us, and our eyes focused on eternity. With eternity as our perspective, our present circumstances don’t seem all that significant.
As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:
As always, continue seeking God first in your life and ask Him give you His perspective. When seasons change, remember that every season that changes is one season closer to Jesus’ return and the end of history.
Also, keep praying and studying the Bible for yourself to intentionally grow your personal relationship with God. Don’t drift through life leaning on others for your spiritual growth. Choose to prioritize your own growth by praying and studying the Bible for yourself and let other people help you on your journey. When we depend on others for our spiritual growth, we can only grow as far as they have grown, and we only are able to learn what they have learned. God wants to teach you so much more, and when we focus on personally growing closer to Him, He is able to teach us exactly what He wants us to know.
And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or drift away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!