“Now
from the fig tree, learn this parable. When the branch has now become tender, and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near; even so you also, when you see these things coming to pass, know that it is near, at the doors. Most certainly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
Mark 13:28-31
Mark 13 [24.] But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.
Mark 13 [28.] “Now from the fig tree, learn this parable. When the branch has now become tender, and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near; even so you also, when you see these things coming to pass, know that it is near, at the doors. Most certainly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Watch, keep alert, and pray; for you don’t know when the time is.
Mark 13 [34.] “It is like a man, traveling to another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, and to each one his work, and also commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch. Watch therefore, for you don’t know when the lord of the house is coming, whether at evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly he might find you sleeping. What I tell you, I tell all: Watch.”
Meaning:
Having spoken of the destruction of the temple and of his coming in glory, Jesus now gives his disciples a short parable from nature. As the fig tree’s leaves announce summer, so the events he has described will show that the time is near. He then makes two solemn statements: “this generation” will see these things, and his words will outlast heaven and earth.
- “Now from the fig tree, learn this parable”
Most trees in the land of Israel, like the olive, keep their leaves all year. The fig tree is different: it stands bare through the winter, and its tender new shoots and leaves appear late in spring. When they come, everyone knows summer is near. The Song of Solomon celebrates the same sign: “For, behold, the winter is past… The fig tree ripens her green figs” (Song of Solomon 2:11-13).
The disciples had already learned one lesson from a fig tree that week. Jesus had found a tree covered in leaves but with “nothing but leaves”, and his word withered it (Mark 11:12-14). That tree pictured judgment on fruitless religion. This one pictures watchfulness and hope. Isaiah also used the fig tree in the passage the PIB footnote cites, describing the stars fading “as a leaf fades from off a vine or a fig tree” (Isaiah 34:4).
- “When you see these things coming to pass, know that it is near, at the doors”
“These things” are the events Jesus has just described: false messiahs, wars, persecution and, above all, the abomination of desolation. When they appear, the disciples should recognise that the promised events are at hand, “at the doors”, as close as someone about to step inside. The Greek can be read “it is near” or “he is near”; either way, the point is readiness. Just as farmers read the seasons, believers should read the times with spiritual understanding.
- “This generation will not pass away until all these things happen”
The disciples had asked when the temple would be destroyed (Mark 13:4). Jesus answers that the people of that generation would see it. Within about forty years, a common span for a generation in Scripture, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70. Some of those who heard him lived to see it, as Jesus had also said in another setting: “there are some standing here who will in no way taste death until they see God’s Kingdom come with power” (Mark 9:1).
The PIB footnote notes that the word “generation” (genea) can also mean “race”, “family” or “people”. Some therefore read it as the Jewish people, or the human race in its rebellion, which will continue until the end. But Jesus immediately goes on to distinguish “that day”, the time of his return, which no one knows (Mark 13:32), from “these things”, which would come within that generation.
- “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”
This is one of the boldest claims Jesus ever made. Isaiah had said, “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8). Jesus says the same of his own words. Heaven and earth, which seemed the most permanent things of all, will pass away; Peter writes that “the heavens will pass away with a great noise” (2 Peter 3:10). But every word of Jesus will stand. Only God could speak like this.
The Significance of Mark 13:28-31
- Read the times
Jesus wants his followers to be alert to what is happening in the world, interpreting events in the light of his word rather than with fear.
- His word proved true
The fall of Jerusalem within a generation confirmed Jesus’ prophecy, giving solid ground for trusting what he has promised about his return.
- Build on what lasts
Since Jesus’ words will never pass away, the wisest life is one built on hearing and doing them.
Cross-References:
Isaiah 40:8: "The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever." God’s word endures.
Matthew 24:35: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." The same saying in Matthew.
Luke 21:33: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away." The same saying in Luke.
Mark 11:13: "he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs." The other fig tree of that week.
Conclusion: From the fig tree, whose new leaves announce summer, Jesus taught his disciples to recognise the signs that the events he foretold were near. He declared that “this generation” would see these things, and within forty years the temple lay in ruins. Then he made a claim only God could make: heaven and earth will pass away, but his words will not. Believers can rest their whole lives on the words of Jesus, which have never failed and never will.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible