Section 139e
The olivet Discourse - Signs of nearness but unknown time
The Mount of Olives
Matthew 24:32-41
Mark 13:28-32
Luke 21:28-33
28So when these things begin to take place, stand tall and lift up your heads, for your redemption is near.”
32“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and put out leaves, you know that summer is near. 33So also, when you see all these things, know that he is near, at the very gates. 34Truly I say to you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have taken place. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.
28“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and put out leaves, you know that summer is near. 29So also, when you see these things taking place, know that he is near, at the very gates. 30Truly I say to you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.
29Then he told them a parable: “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. 30As soon as they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31So also, when you see these things taking place, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly I say to you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all things have taken place. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.
36“No one knows about that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but only my Father. 37As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah went into the ark. 39They knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding grain at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
32“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven or the Son, but only the Father.
Notes
Mount of Olives
The mountainous ridge called the Mount of Olives stretches totay from the Hebrew University Mount Scopus campus in the north to the Jewish cemetery and beyond, to the village of Silwan in the south. Between these two ends of the mountain are the olive trees from which the mountain takes its name. The area at the bottom of the mountain would have been the place for the olive gardens and an olive press, “Gat shemen” in Hebrew, from which the name “Gethsemane” comes.
The gospels record on more than one occasion Jesus’ sorrow for Jerusalem as he made his way down the slopes of the Mount of Olives. It was a path he would have known from childhood from His many visits to Jerusalem.
Down the road from Bethphage He came riding on a donkey colt with palm branches symbolic of Judaea strewn along the way. “Hosanna!” (“save now!”) was the cry upon the lips of the people (Matthew 21:1-9). This prayer from Psalm 118:25 was a request for salvation. Yet Jesus knew that these cries would be changed within a week to “Crucify him!” He wept again for Jerusalem, for He knew what would befall the people in less than one generation as the city would be besieged and taken.
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The Mount of Olives
Footnotes
Matthew 24,38
Genesis 7:7