Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34). Which generation? Which things will take place before this generation has passed?
Jesus was talking about the destruction of the temple and his return. Was he telling his disciples when to expect these two events?
Paul Carter summarized what is known as The Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24: “Jesus talks about the near and far future for the church. [...] Jesus had just prophesied the destruction of the temple, and the disciples asked when that would happen AND what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age.”
Modern Christians view Jesus’ discourse with the benefit of hindsight and say, “He is talking about a near future and a far future, and we have to understand which is which” (Ibid.).
All of the disasters, tragedies, and atrocities of the past 2,000 years have not yet brought the return of Christ, but Christ did leave some clues to watch for, which would tell us that his return was imminent, and these are found in the Olivet Discourse.
The first part — the destruction of Jerusalem — happened in AD 70. Jesus declared, “There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2).
The next part will begin immediately before Christ’s return when Christians spread the gospel (v. 14) under increasing pressure of persecution: “Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation” (vv. 19-21).
All light will disappear light from the sun, moon, and stars. Desolation will settle over the world. Many horrible things have taken place and will take place before that time, but the world will descend into an unprecedented kind of darkness: “many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another” (v. 10).
Around 600 years ago, when people in England talked about death, they might have used the term “passing away,” not merely to euphemize this sad reality, but for another reason.
“In 15th century England, people believed that when someone died, they are still on earth until after the funeral rites have been done. They believed that until then, the dead could still hear and see all that is happening. It was only after the funeral rites that the person then passed away.”
The English translation of Jesus’ original statement, from the Greek word “parerchomai,” means “I pass by, pass away, pass out of sight; I am rendered void, become vain, neglect, disregard.”
Jesus might have meant “pass away” in terms of “death,” but the translation suggests something more like “become vain.” The generation in which Christ and his disciples lived were the last people to be born before Christ had started his teaching.
Every generation following theirs would hear about the resurrected Jesus and would be faced with a choice: believe the eyewitness accounts, the testimonies, and the Spirit’s work in a small but growing fellowship of “Christians,” or reject the evidence and reject Christ.
These are the dead who can still hear and see. At their actual, mortal deaths, the message would cease to matter. It would be too late for them; the devastation of a dark eternity would soon be their reality.
Those who believed, however, would never pass away into vanity and irrelevance, disregard, and neglect. Their eternity would be glorious.
For those who wonder what “heaven and earth” signifies, and who use Jesus’ statement as proof that he could not be trusted (after all, he did not return while the apostles yet lived), Sam Storms makes the argument that Jerusalem was the center of Jewish life — their heaven and earth.
“The temple was far more than the point at which heaven and earth met. Rather, it was thought to correspond to, represent, or, in some sense, to be ‘heaven and earth’ in its totality.” When Jerusalem was lost, the Jews’ whole world seemed to fall apart around them.
What passed away? This generation would pass away, but only after their heaven and earth were crushed.
Even numerous followers of Jesus and his apostles went to the temple, and their Christian worship reflected the extent to which Jewish thought and ritual was integral to their lives.
The temple was symbolic of the old covenant and the law. From here on in, Jews could choose to be the church and worship Christ anywhere; the cross was their new symbol.
The Lord would allow Rome to destroy the temple, a symbol of the end of the old covenant, which Jesus replaced at the Last Supper. “The covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).
The disciples did not know that AD 70 would usher in this terrible tragedy for the Jewish people. As in every generation since then, Jesus’ students wanted to know exactly when they could expect to experience the horrors their teacher predicted. When would Christ return? Christ responded with a lesson about fig trees.
“As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (vv. 32-34).
Sam Storms argues that Jesus merely took advantage of what was close, in this case, a fig tree, and used it to make his illustration, but he could have used any tree close by.
The point was this: all things take place according to pre-established timing, just as the fig tree blossoms and gives fruit in its time. Everything happens according to its appointed season: there is “a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted” (Ecclesiastes 3:2).
Jesus was telling his disciples, "I want you to be alerted to the approach of Jerusalem's destruction. Here is how you can know when its fall is impending. It will as surely follow the Abomination of Desolation as summer follows the budding of figs” (Ibid.).
As for knowing the day and time of his return, Christ had nothing to share. Storms says it was as if Christ was saying, “‘But, on the other hand, when it comes to the timing and proximity of my return and the end of the age, not even I know when that day will occur.’"
Christ’s testimony is trustworthy. If it was not, then the entire discussion about Jerusalem and the Tribulation would be moot. When does Christ say the earth will pass away and He is going to return? He does not tell us.
What Christ says is, “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32).
Even though he was always one with God, “the infinite and immutable source of all knowledge,” Carlton Wynne explained that as a man, Jesus could learn things; as a man, he did not know everything. “The eternal Son of God was speaking with a human mouth, out of a human soul, with limited knowledge as a man, in perfect submission to his Father’s salvation plan.”
And yet, as mere human beings, sinners in need of grace, we somehow think we should possess knowledge that even Jesus was not privy to, or we imagine we could figure it out while Jesus could not. This is hubris.
Even if Jesus had known it, what would the grace-filled, redemptive purpose have been in sharing it? Humans always seek knowledge, but with it, they turn away from God and rely on themselves.
Not knowing may seem cruel to us impatient people, but the Lord knows what is best. We must not focus on the End Times. The ‘Now Times’ are right here, and with them, countless people who have not heard of Jesus yet.
Christians are called to fulfill the Great Commission, regardless of what will happen before this generation passes.
For further reading:
How Many Years Is a Generation?
How Do We Fulfill the Great Commission?
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