Lesson for October 4, 2020
The Parables of Jesus
Lesson 6
The Fig Tree
The context of chapter 24 is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ at the end of the Tribulation. In verses 29-31, Jesus gave the disciples a summary of those events. Matthew 24:29-31, “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpetand they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”
The parable explains verses 29-31and is found in Matthew 24:32-41, “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 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. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.”
The fig tree is use often as an illustration of how the Jews will recognize that the Second Coming is near during the Tribulation. The fig tree represents Israel and the branch is Jesus Christ their Messiah. When the branch becomes tender means that it is ready to put forth new growth of leaves signifying that summer is almost there. (Isaiah 11:1; Zechariah 3:8; 6:12) So, Jesus said that when the things in verses 29-31 take place during the Tribulation the Jewish believer will know Christ is about to return. Remember that the Church will already be in Heaven with the Lord, so this does not refer to the Church since the Church Age ends at the Rapture.
The putting forth of the leaves is an illustration of Israel’s evangelism in the Tribulation, the evangelistic production of the Jews. Putting forth leaves indicates that the Jews will succeed in doing in the seven years of the Tribulation what they failed to do in the previous 483 years. Now you have to remember that this parable of the fig tree goes with the other fig tree incident and the fig tree is generally used in this sense as Israel. The phrase, “this generation will not pass away” refers to the Jewish race. The Jewish race continues pass the Second Coming into the Millennium where all the covenants to Israel will finally be fulfilled. God keeps His word to Israel and although these unconditional covenants have not been fulfilled yet, they will be.
Jesus illustrated this parable with an historical event from the Old Testament. In the days of Noah, only his family of believers (eight people) survived the Flood, as is the case when Christ comes. Only believers will remain on the earth for the Millennium. There was 120 years of negative volition during which time Noah preached the Gospel. Noah’s generation rejected God and God’s servant and continued in their lifestyle of eating, drinking, marrying and ignored the warnings from Noah that a judgment was coming. The same will be true during the Tribulation which ends with the Second Coming of Christ and the destruction of all unbelievers on earth.
Matthew 24 is called the Olivet discourse because Jesus spoke from the Mount of Olives outside of Jerusalem. In verse 42 Jesus warns believers during the Tribulation to be on the alert because the Second Coming will occur when they least expect it since only God the Father knows the exact time it will take place. The signs of Christ’s coming do not specify an exact day and time, so it will imperative for believers in the Tribulation to be faithful until they hear the trumpet of God, the angels descending and see Christ coming in the air.
The Ten Virgins
This parable is found in Matthew 25:1-13, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”
This chapter is divided about half in half. The first thirty verses take up the baptism of fire from the standpoint of the Jews. When Christ returns to the earth, He will find two kinds of Jews: believing Jews who will go into the Millennium; unbelieving Jews who will be cast off the earth. This is developed under two parables in this section. But in verses 31 through the rest of the passage we have the Gentiles. They, too, are two kinds when Christ returns: saved Gentiles who go into the Millennium; unsaved Gentiles who are cast off the earth. So, the passage deals with the baptism of fire. Verses 1-13, the parable of the ten virgins. In a marriage situation in the ancient world when two people decided to get married the father of the groom went to see the father of the bride to be, and they work out a deal. They would eventually agree on a dowry and once they did then that was the engagement. (The Jews were a little different from others. They considered the marriage to have taken place, except for its consummation, once the engagement was made. It was the same as marriage and could not be broken. So, there was an agreement and they specified a wedding date.
On the day of the wedding the groom arrives at the house of the bride. The father of the bride takes his daughter and takes the groom and joins their hands and gives her away. The groom takes the bride’s hand in his and escorts her out the door and they are married. That is the ceremony. But that is only the beginning. Over at the groom’s house there is anywhere from one to a thirty-day banquet, depending on how many friends they have, and so on. The cavalcade goes to the groom’s house and in the meantime the bride’s friends have been invited to the banquet. This isn’t a ceremony it is a banquet. The bride’s friends have to wait outside, they are not permitted in until the bride comes. This includes her girlfriends who are called here the virgins. Then the bride and the groom drive up, he escorts her into the house and then the bride’s friends come in. There is no ceremony at all. The guests may spend as much time as a week there and then the couple leave on their honeymoon.
The kingdom of heaven is like refers to the Second Coming of Christ and His Millennial reign on earth. Christ is the King He comes from heaven and that is why it is called the kingdom of heaven. The ten virgins are friends of the bride and they are waiting for the coming of the groom who is Christ. The virgins represent the population of the earth and specifically the Jewish population of the earth during the Tribulation. Since they have to wait outside, they have to provide their own light (which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom). When Christ arrives on the earth that is the same as arriving at the door of the groom’s house where the banquet will be held. This is the same picture we have in Revelation 19:7-9.
The bride is the Church and at the end of the Tribulation the bride is ready to come back with the groom, and that is the picture of coming to the groom’s house. The groom is Christ; the bride is the Church. The virgins: the population of the earth. All ten heard the gospel during the Tribulation. Half of the virgins brought lamp oil (the prudent) and represent believers. The other half did not buy oil (foolish) and represent unbelievers. Both groups show up for the coming of the groom (the Second Coming of Christ). But only the wise virgins are prepared to meet him, which means they had believed in Him for salvation. Those who were not prepared to meet him means they had not believed in Christ for salvation.
The lesson to be learned is that every person is invited to believe in Jesus Christ, but not all accept that invitation (all ten virgins were invited). Since no one knows when the Second Coming of Christ (the bridegroom) will take place, a person must be prepared by believing in Christ as Savior before He comes. The five foolish virgins therefore represent those who wait too late and lose their opportunity for salvation. II Corinthians 6:2 says now is the day of salvation.
The Talents
This parable is found in Matthew 25:14-29, “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Also, the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival, I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore, take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
This parable is a continuation of the previous lesson Jesus was teaching. In this parable a man was leaving for a journey and he gave three of his servant’s money to invest while he was gone. When he returned, he expected to have a gained interest on his investment. The first servant received five talents (about 15 years of wages), the second received two talents (about six years of wages) and the third received 1 talent (about 3 years of wages). When the man returned, he found that the first man had invested the man’s money wisely and doubled the money. The second man did the same and doubled the money. The third man buried his talent and it gained no interest. The master of these servants was pleased with the first two and rewarded them greatly. However, he was upset with the third, calling him lazy and casting him into outer darkness.
The master obviously represents Jesus Christ Who returned to Heaven with His Church at the Rapture (went on a journey). The servants are Jews who are left on earth during the Tribulation, which is the last seven years of the Age of Israel. During the Tribulation, the Jews are once again God’s representative on earth and are given the responsibility of sharing the Gospel.
At the Rapture, there will many Jews who recognize Jesus Christ as Savior and believe in Him for salvation. There will also be many Jews and Gentiles in the Tribulation who reject Jesus Christ and will need to hear a Gospel message. Then there will be some who are religious and claim to be the servants of God. This all gets sorted out when Jesus Christ returns at the end of the Tribulation (the Second Coming) and this is what this parable teaches.