Outbreaks of a fig tree in summer
THE FIG TREE TELLING IT’S EXPERIENCE
Jesus saw the shoots of me….. He realised that the summer was at door. I had the privilege of Jesus comparing me to the coming of His Kingdom. I was so happy that of all the trees, He talked about me. Happiness knew no bounds. Why did He take me as a parable to explain? Nobody knew. All I knew was that I was the hero of the parable. Thanks be to the Lord.
WHY DOES JESUS USE THE FIG TREE AS THE COMPARISON?
Jesus compares the coming of the Son of man with the approach of the summer. Jesus uses fig tree in His comparison because many other trees in Palestine are evergreen. But the fig tree loses its leaves in winter, and the reappearance of leaves is a sign of summer.
Similarly , the signs Jesus has been describing are certain to lead His return.
WHAT SHALL BE THE HEAVENLY AND EARTHLY SIGNS OF HIS COMING?
∗ There shall be strange signs in the sun, moon and the stars.
∗ There shall be roar of the sea and the raging tides.
∗ The powers of heaven shall be shaken.
∗ Man shall come in His name and deceive the people.
∗ There shall be wars and rumours of wars.
∗ Nations will rise against nations; kingdoms against kingdoms.
∗ There will be hatred and enmity within the families.
∗ There shall be earthquakes, famines and troubles.
∗ The believers will be beaten and brought before the rulers and kings for His name sake.
∗ The Gospel will be rejected and the message of Jesus will be silenced.
BUT……
∗ None of these signs can silence the Gospel.
∗ Even in the midst of horrendous times and catastrophic events, God’s Word will continue to be preached and His Kingdom will advance.
WHO WOULD BE THE WITNESSES OF THESE DESTRUCTION?
∗ The contemporaries of Jesus would be the witnesses.
∗ Some of them, including some of his disciples will not die until the events (mentioned above)have taken place,including the destruction of the Jerusalem temple.
∗ It’s only a limited time that Jesus has answered on the earth.
BUT……
∗ No one except God knows the exact time of the coming of the Christ.
∗ When Jesus mentions as ‘that day’ taps into the richness of the Old Testament writings about the day of the Lord – a day of judgement for both Israel and surrounding nations. (Amos 5 :18 – 20; Zephaniah 1 : 7,14 -16)
∗ The day marks the end of the present evil age and the beginning of the coming age of righteousness.
∗ In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus speaks about the days of Noah. Jesus says about the wickedness and the evils of the people before the flood and their wickedness continued until the day Noah entered the ark.
∗ Till then they didn’t give heed to God’s commandments through Noah.
SO…….
THE MEN OF THE WORLD……
…..will be distressed with perplexity.
……..men’s hearts will fail with fear.
THE SON OF MAN……..
…….comes in a cloud with power and great glory.
WE SHOULD……..
….look up.
…..lift up our heads.
FOR ……
…..our salvation is near.
∗ We as believers should believe His Word, be ready, watchful and be alert, for we do not know on what day the Lord will come.
∗ As the thief does not announce in advance his arrival, so the Son of man will come unexpectedly.
∗ Therefore the disciples must be always ready to receive Him.
∗ Jesus highlights that the unfaithful and the foolish are hypocrites who will be punished. The believers and the righteous will be saved.
Let’s pray……
Lord, give us the strength to know and cling on to Your Word till we breathe last.
Lord, let’s us keep ourselves awake, pray and wait upon Your coming.
Lord, let’s present ourselves with all Your righteousness in us at Your feet for Your judgement during Your second coming. Amen.
Glory be to God.
REFERENCE TO THE FIG TREE FROM THE BIBLE
∗ The fig tree is the third tree to be mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. The first is the Tree of life and the second is the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve used the leaves of the fig tree to sew garments for themselves after the Fall, when they realised that they were naked (Genesis 3:7).
∗ In Deuteronomy, the Promised Land is described as “a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything;” (Deuteronomy 8:8-10).
∗ During Solomon’s reign Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man “under his own vine and fig tree” (1 Kings 4:25), an indicator of national wealth and prosperity.
∗ 2 Kings 18 states that Hezekiah rebelled against the King of Assyria, of whom he had become a vassal. In response, the Assyrian commander attempted to sway the army of Jerusalem by offering deserters each his own vine and fig tree.
∗ Proverbs 27:18 likens tending a fig tree to looking after one’s master. There was a fig tree in the garden of the Song of Solomon, and in the year of love the tree formed its fruit early (Song 2:13).
∗ The fig tree and figs are featured in the Book of Jeremiah, and mentioned briefly in the Book of Micah.
∗ Another species of ficus, the Egyptian sycamore fig is occasionally mentioned as well, for example 1 Kings 10:27.
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