Matthew 24:32-35

Matthew 24:32-35
When Jesus told the apostles that the temple would be torn down to the extent that not one stone would be left on top of another, they rightly concluded that the prophecies concerning the end of the Jewish nation were now going to be fulfilled. They asked three questions which became the basis for Jesus’ discourse in this chapter: (1) “When will these things take place?” (2) “What will be the sign of your coming [to destroy Jerusalem, BK], and (3) the end of the age [end of the Jewish nation, BK]?”
The primary sign Jesus gave for the coming destruction was Jerusalem being surrounded by armies (Luke 21:20), which Matthew’s account refers to as the “abomination of desolation standing in the holy place” (Mt. 24:15).
In verses 32-33, Jesus teaches His disciples that if they are observant, they will be able to know when the destruction is about to come just as they know when summer is near by observing the fig tree.
Verse 34 is the most critical statement in the whole text. “This generation” refers directly to the generation of people who were alive at the time Jesus is speaking. That generation would not pass away until all that Jesus had just said came to pass. Therefore, Matthew 24 is not referring to the end of time. It is not referring some “tribulation” period that has not yet taken place. As the context demands, it is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem and the fall of the Israel nation, which took place in 70 A.D. Jesus could not have been plainer. Whatever interpretation given to verses 1-33 must have its fulfillment in the first century because Jesus said that it would happen before that generation passed away.
In verse 35, Jesus affirms the surety of His words and specifically His prophecy concerning the fall of the nation: heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus’ words will never pass away.
This statement is also reassuring concerning all the other words of Jesus delivered to us in the New Testament through the apostles. Man has repeatedly tried to destroy the Bible from the face of the earth, but men have fallen and the word of God endures.
Berry Kercheville