On This Day: The Divine Authority of Jesus’ Words

“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. 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. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:32-35)

 

   I will summarize the above Scripture as Jesus giving a double answer to two parts of the disciples’ question, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

   First, Jesus summarizes everything he just taught them with a very short parable to illustrate that the signs he just spoke about will be clearly seen. And then he comforts his Jewish disciples in a way us Gentile Christians may not even know was needed.

   What Jesus has told them about the destruction of the temple, including the whole of Jerusalem, would have stretched these Jewish minds beyond their capacity. He was telling them things that sounded totally opposite to everything they believed about the Messiah’s coming. The destruction of Jerusalem was IMPOSSIBLE in their understanding of the Messiah sitting on David’s throne IN Jerusalem. But here was their Messiah telling them it would happen, and giving instructions about what to do when it was time.

   When Jesus says, “when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates”, he is preparing them for the most catastrophic thing they could ever imagine. He wants them to be prepared. It will not be a contradiction to the prophecies and promises of God. It is coming by Jesus’ own word.

   In the second part of his answer, he addresses how “…this generation will not pass away until all these things take place”. The best understanding of “generation” is the Jewish people. He is assuring his disciples that even though they will lose their homeland, they will not pass away as a people. God still has plans for them even though what he is telling the disciples makes no sense whatsoever.

   Paul elaborates on this in Romans 11 as he explains how the Jewish remnant will be brought to salvation in the end times. We have already seen the Jewish people come back to their homeland of Israel. We will also see God bring salvation back to Israel after it has spread throughout the world to all the nations.

   I clarify those two things because they are important, but what I shared about how the words of Jesus Christ will never pass away is what stood out the most because it assures us that whatever he said will take place the way he meant it (even if we don’t “get it”). And it ministers to me as I write my concluding blog-posts regarding the book of false teachings I have been trudging through for over four months. Even such blatant attacks on the authority of God’s words (called “the word of Christ” in the New Testament) will not succeed. God will always have a people who live “by every word that comes from the mouth of God”, and I invite you to join me in being one of them!

 

© 2024 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)