Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 24:32-35

"Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh; even so ye also, when ye see all these things, know ye that he is nigh, [even] at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." — Matthew 24:32-35 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: Because He had said that these things would come to pass immediately after the tribulation of those days, they might ask how much longer it would be. He therefore gives them the example of the fig tree. ¹

St. Jerome: This is to say, when the tender shoots first show themselves on the stem of the fig tree, and the bud bursts into flower, and the bark puts forth leaves, you perceive the approach of summer and the season of spring and growth. So when you see all these things that are written, do not suppose that the end of the world is immediate, but that certain warning signs and precursors are showing its approach.

St. John Chrysostom: He shows that the interval of time will not be great, but that the coming of Christ will be soon. By the comparison of the tree, He signifies the spiritual summer and peace that the just will enjoy after their winter, while sinners, on the other hand, will have a winter after summer.

Origen of Alexandria: As the fig tree has its vital powers dormant within it through the season of winter, but when that has passed its branches become tender by those very powers and put forth leaves, so the world and all those who are saved had their vital energies dormant within them as in a season of winter before Christ's coming. Christ's Spirit, breathing upon them, makes the branches of their hearts soft and tender, and that which was dormant within burgeons into leaf and shows signs of fruit. To such people, the summer and the coming of the glory of the Word of God is near at hand.

St. John Chrysostom: This analogy also adds credibility to His preceding discourse, for whenever He speaks of what must certainly come to pass, Christ always brings forward parallel physical laws.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Who can deny that, from the evangelical and prophetic signs we see coming to pass, we ought to expect the Lord's coming to be near? For daily it draws ever nearer, but of the exact time it is said, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons (Acts 1:7).

See how long ago the Apostle said, Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed (Romans 13:11). What he spoke was not false, and yet how many years have passed! How much more can we now say that the Lord's coming is at hand, since so much more time has passed? ²

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Mystically, the Synagogue is compared to the fig tree;ⁱ its branch is Antichrist, the son of the Devil, the portion of sin, the upholder of the law. When this branch begins to swell and to put forth leaves, then summer is near; that is, the approach of the day of judgment will be perceived.

Remigius of Auxerre: Or, when this fig tree buds again, that is, when the Synagogue receives the word of holy preaching, such as the preaching of Enoch and Elijah, then we ought to understand that the day of the consummation is at hand.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Or, by the fig tree, understand the human race, because of the temptations of the flesh. "When its branch is tender," that is, when the sons of men have progressed toward spiritual fruits through faith in Christ, and the honor of their adoption as sons of God has shone forth in them. ³

St. Hilary of Poitiers: To give sure credibility to the things that would come to pass, He adds, Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away until all these things be fulfilled. By saying "Verily," He affirms the truth.

Origen of Alexandria: The uninstructed apply these words to the destruction of Jerusalem and suppose they were said about the generation that saw Christ's death—that it would not pass away before the city was destroyed. But I doubt they could succeed in explaining every word this way, from one stone shall not be left upon another, to it is even at the door. In some cases they might succeed, but in others, not entirely.

St. John Chrysostom: Therefore, "all these things" refers to what was said about the end of Jerusalem, the false prophets, and the false Christs, and all the rest that will happen up to the time of Christ's coming. When He said, "This generation," He did not mean the people then living, but the generation of the faithful; for Scripture is accustomed to speak of generations not only in terms of time, but also of place, life, and conduct, as it is said, This is the generation of them that seek the Lord (Psalm 24:6).

In this, He teaches that Jerusalem will perish and the greater part of the Jews will be destroyed, but that no trial will overthrow the generation of the faithful.

Origen of Alexandria: Yet the generation of the Church will survive this entire world, so that it may inherit the world to come; it will not pass away until all these things have come to pass. But when all these things have been fulfilled, then not only the earth but also the heavens will pass away. That is, not only the people whose life is earthly (and who are therefore called "the earth"), but also those whose citizenship is in heaven (and who are therefore called "the heaven"). These "will pass away" to things to come, so that they may arrive at better things.

But the words spoken by the Savior will not pass away, because they accomplish and will always accomplish their purpose. The perfect, and those who admit no further improvement, pass through what they are to become what they are not; and this is the meaning of, My words shall not pass away. And perhaps the words of Moses and the Prophets have passed away because all that they prophesied has been fulfilled, but the words of Christ are always complete, being fulfilled daily and yet to be fulfilled in the saints.

Or perhaps we should not say that the words of Moses and the Prophets are fulfilled once for all, seeing that they are also the words of the Son of God and are fulfilled continually.

St. Jerome: Or, by "generation" here He means the whole human race, and the Jews in particular. And He adds, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away, to confirm their faith in what has come before. It is as though He had said, "It is easier to destroy solid and immovable things than for any of my words to fail."

St. Hilary of Poitiers: For heaven and earth do not have in their constitution a necessity of existence, but Christ's words, derived from eternity, have such power in them that they must necessarily endure.

St. Jerome: The heaven and the earth will pass away by a change, not by annihilation. For how could the sun be darkened, and the moon not give her light, if the earth and heaven in which they exist were no more?

Rabanus Maurus: The heaven that will pass away is not the starryⁱ but the atmosphericⁱ heaven, which was destroyed by the deluge long ago.

St. John Chrysostom: He brings forward the elements of the earth to show that the Church is of more value than either heaven or earth, and that He is the Maker of all things.ⁱ

1. Hom. lxxvii
2. Ep. 199, 22
3. Quaest. Ev., i, 39