Matthew 24:32-51 – Fig Trees and Faithfulness

One of the best moments during the late stages of winter is when small buds begin to appear on a tree branch. For months, naked twigs bristled in the cold breeze of winter reminding us of death, but there always comes a day when small buds appear and they begin opening, revealing delicate edges of a fresh green leaf. That is the day we know the winter has passed and the summer, with its delightful afternoons, long weekends, and cloudless mornings, is just around the corner. This is a sign we all recognize, and it is the image Jesus places in our heads when he says the following,

32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.

Matthew 24:32-33

Jesus had just finished revealing the specific signs that would precede the destruction of the temple, his second coming, and the end of the age: first, there will be political unrest, famines, and earthquakes, then will come persecution and trials, betrayal, hate, false prophets, and increased lawlessness during which time the “gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations,” and finally, after an indeterminate period of time, something called “the abomination of desolation.” Jesus wants his disciples to know that when such signs appear, Jesus’s return is imminent. But that wasn’t all he had to say, Jesus added these words:

34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Matthew 24:34-35

Before we jump to any conclusions regarding how this statement may or may not apply to the return of Jesus, we must remember that the disciples asked three questions: 1) when would the temple be destroyed, 2) when would Jesus return, and 3) when is the end of the age? With these questions in mind and from where we sit some 2,000 years later, it makes sense to conclude that the generation about which Jesus spoke was the one that saw the destruction of the temple, the other two questions, however, — his return, and the end of the age — were not addressed with that phrase. For Jesus’s coming and the end of the age we are still waiting, but we wait in confidence knowing that Jesus has it all well in hand: his words will not pass away. Furthermore, Jesus added one more sentence so that we are not tempted to study his words so as to predict Jesus’s return. Jesus said,

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Matthew 24:36

We are kept in the dark regarding the final day and hour, not because God wants to be mysterious nor because he takes pleasure in hiding things from us, but because God desires that we live a life of constant readiness. Our life’s focus should not be on the specific day or hour of his return; our focus should be on loving God and sharing the gospel of the kingdom throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations — that is how we remain prepared for Jesus’s return and the coming of the end of the age, and, quite possibly, it is the reason why Jesus even chose to answer the disciples in the first place. He didn’t reveal the events leading up to his coming just so his disciples could know when to camp out on a mountaintop and look for them. Jesus told his disciples about the coming events so they would remain constantly devoted to God and continue doing his work even while the world falls further and further away from God. As a way to emphasize this reason for answering his disciples, Jesus turns his attention to Noah. Jesus said,

37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Matthew 24:37-44

When I was a child, there was a popular movie our church played titled A Thief in the Night. It was a story about the rapture and it relied heavily on this passage saying one person would be taken and one person would be left behind. The movie was used, (I think) as a scare tactic to emphasize the rapture and get people saved. But now that I’m older and have studied this passage a bit more, I’m not so sure that was what Jesus had in mind when he first spoke these words. I think Jesus was more concerned with how prepared we are than about the specific details of how his coming might play out. This is why Jesus brought up Noah. The world was going about its normal business but Noah remained faithful to God’s calling and built the ark. I suppose it is possible that Noah may have had some doubts about his work while the weather was nice and everyone else was having a good time but, even if he did have those thoughts, they did not persist long enough to truly challenge his faithfulness. He did the will of the Father and completed the task set before him.

Jesus wanted his disciples, both then and now, to know that they lived, and we live, in a time much like the time of Noah. It may be tempting to question why we are remaining faithful to the work of the kingdom when we see how much fun the world seems to be having, but we must not allow our faithfulness to be challenged. Like Noah, who continued the work to which he was called, so also must Jesus’s disciples continue the work to which they are called. The world may look like it is having a ball, but there will come a day — maybe in our lifetime, maybe not — when the first drop of rain will fall, and we must be prepared by remaining faithful to Jesus and the work he has assigned to us.

But there is also something else we can learn from Noah. Noah was called to build an ark, and he did it. Noah was told to enter the ark with his family and all the animals, and he did it. But then Noah waited for seven days before God rained down water upon the earth (Gen. 7:4). Noah sat in the ark for a week awaiting the coming rain. I have to imagine that those outside of the ark thought he was a bit crazy, if not while he was building it, at least in those seven days after he closed the door. But still, Noah was faithful and he waited. Noah had completed the task assigned to him and then he waited for God’s final judgment.

The disciples of Jesus have been called to share the gospel of the kingdom throughout the whole world as a testimony about God to the nations until he returns. Jesus even gave signs of his coming, and like Noah, we know when the door will be shut — when the gospel of the kingdom reaches the entire world (Matt. 24:14) — but unlike Noah, we don’t know when that first drop of water will fall. We may wait seven days after the entire world has been finally told the gospel of the kingdom, or we may wait for a much longer time. We just don’t know. This is yet another reason why Jesus tells his disciples to stay awake and alert; his return, even when every sign indicates it is imminent, will only occur when the Father is ready.

But Jesus did not stop there. He told a parable so as to further emphasize our need to remain faithful and ready. Jesus said,

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

Matthew 24:45-47

When I read these words, I am reminded of the last chapter of John’s Gospel and the interaction recorded between Jesus and Peter. Jesus was eating breakfast with the disciples on the beach when he asked Peter three times if he loved him. Each time Peter responded by saying that he did and each time Jesus told Peter to take care of his sheep. It should be obvious that Jesus didn’t really have any actual sheep of his own, but he did have a group of followers in need of protection and provision. There are some who believe this appeal to Peter was the moment Jesus appointed Peter as the first leader of his church. Perhaps that is what Jesus was doing, but I think it is possible that Jesus was also telling Peter, along with all of his disciples, that in addition to sharing the gospel of the kingdom throughout the world, they must persist in the work of protecting and providing for other believers. Certainly, there is a special role for leaders of churches but, as Peter would later write, we are all priests who make “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God” and “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (I Peter 2:5, 9). With this in mind, when I read about the “faithful and wise servants” of Jesus’s parable, I find it easy to see them as any disciple of Jesus, and to them — to us — he is saying that we must occupy ourselves with the work of the kingdom while awaiting his return.

But, to these words of encouragement, Jesus added a warning. He said,

48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 24:48-51

As Jesus already said, only the Father knows when he is coming. None of us know the date of Jesus’s return. We have been told about the signs leading up to his return, but there is no way for us to know the specific day or hour. Jesus wants his followers to be fully committed and faithful until the very end. This doesn’t mean we run around as if our hair is on fire yelling that the spiritual sky is falling, but it does mean we have no time to waste in tending the sheep of the kingdom and spreading the gospel of the kingdom throughout the entire earth. We must remain faithful until the end.

But there, sadly enough, some people who are like that teenager who decides to have a party while his parents are away and thinks he can remove all evidence of the party before his parents arrive home. Such plans rarely, if ever, work. But when it comes to Jesus’s return, they never work. The true disciple of Jesus doesn’t give themselves over to their own pleasure until that moment just before he appears; the true disciple remains steadfast and faithful. Jesus revealed the signs of his return, not so we can live it up, but so that we know, in the face of all the troubles associated with the time between his first coming and his second, he has everything under control. He revealed the signs of his coming to assure his disciples that their work is not in vain. If, however, we wish to be that selfish and childish teenager, Jesus says that terrible judgment awaits. Remaining faithful to Jesus’s work and his words is the only path available for a true follower of Jesus.

With all of this being said, we are now left with the question of how this might impact our prayers.

We must begin, I believe, by going back to the very beginning and thinking about the Father’s hallowed name. The Father knows when the winter will end, when the buds will sprout, and when the fig tree will fruit. The Father knows about the coming trials and tribulations, he knows about the political upheaval, he knows about the earthquakes, false prophets, betrayal, and hate. He knows it all, and he knows that it will pass. This passage helps us pray because it reassures us that the Father’s name is hallowed, his glory is undiminished, his word is eternal, and his power is unassailable. The Father’s glorious and powerful kingdom is coming and nothing can stop it.

With such reassurance, when we pray “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” we not only pray for the coming of a future kingdom but we pray for the presence of the Father’s kingdom during the difficult times when the signs revealed by Jesus are ongoing. Even though we might not see the Father’s kingdom fully revealed on earth, that is no reason for us to stop living as citizens of his kingdom. Our prayer “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” should be a constant reminder that we are citizens of his kingdom and, as such, we need the Father’s help to continually live according to the Father’s commands and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations.

The reassurance of the Father’s coming kingdom also helps us better pray that the Father would “deliver us from evil.” David, in Psalm 23:4, wrote, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Praying for the Father’s deliverance doesn’t always mean that he removes us from the presence of evil. But we can be assured that the Father will protect us even in the presence of evil, especially such evil that will come in the form of trials and tribulations between now and Jesus’s second coming. But that is not the only type of evil from which we need protection. We need the Father’s hand to help us remain faithful. We need the Father to protect us from the evil of living as we want until such time that we see the final signs pointing toward Jesus’s return. Good disciples don’t wait until the signs of the times are ripe, they remain faithful and persevere in the ways of the Father so they are prepared for that day, only known by the Father, when Jesus will come again and the Father’s eternally powerful and glorious kingdom is revealed once and for all.

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