What are the kingdom parables of Matthew? Section 2
HOW DO THE KINGDOM PARABLES OF MATTHEW RELATE TO JESUS KINGDOM ON EARTH?
A STUDY OF THE PARABLES OF MATTHEW
KINGDOM PARABLE 8: FORGIVENESS; SETTLING ACCOUNTS, MATT 18:23-35
Matthew 18:23-35
The Parable of the King who wanted to Settle Accounts (separation of those who forgive others from those who do not forgive others)
23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents[a] was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.[b] He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." (NIV)
| CHARACTER, OBJECT,PLACE, EVENT, ETC. | INTERPRETATION |
| King | Jesus |
| Servants | All of those who live in the kingdom; on earth in this case. |
| The debt owed the king | In the Old Covenant, man had to pay the king to receive forgiveness for sins. Man had to offer specific sacrifices at specific times for forgiveness. |
| The insufficient payment | Man could not sufficiently pay for his sins. The debt was so high that man could not ever pay for it, (Heb 10:3-7). |
| The forgiven servant | The forgiven servant in the parable is a representative of all of the servants. He owed a debt to God that he could not possibly repay. |
| The cancelled debt | The king took pity on the servant and cancelled his debt. This represents Jesus paying the debt for all of our sins through the sacrifice of his life for us. |
| The condition placed on the payment of the debt | The servant must accept the payment and the conditions attached. The conditions placed on Jesus’ payment are to accept his sacrifice, accept him as God and savior, and become a follower of his. This includes trying to live a life like Jesus lived (I John 3:16-18). Jesus indicated that a standard that will be imposed at the judgment is, “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me,” Matt 25:40. |
| The fellow servant | A fellow servant owed the forgiven servant a small amount of money that he could not immediately repay. He begged for more time to repay the loan, but the forgiven servant refused, abused his fellow servant and had him thrown into prison until he could repay the debt. |
| Other servants | Other servants of the king saw what had happened and told the king. |
| The prison | The prison represents Hades. In the Bible Hades is a spiritual prison where the spirits of dead unbelievers are held awaiting their final judgment at the end of the millennium. This judgment of unbelievers is the great white throne judgment. |
| God’s justice | The forgiven servant turned out to be like the seed that fell on the rocky place in parable 1 in Matt 13. He had heard the word, accepted it joyously, but did not act on it and fell away. He had been forgiven, but in the end he turned out to be a wicked servant and a follower of the evil one. He was thrown into the lake of fire and punished in accordance with his works. |
Commentary Application: |
This parable describes how accounts are settled in the kingdom of heaven; how God will ultimately forgive those who belong to him and punish those who belong to the evil one. We must forgive as God has forgiven us, (Eph 4:31-32, Col 3:11-14). Those who go to heaven are rewarded according to their good deeds (1 Cor 3:8-17, 2 Cor 5:10), but are not punished for their sins since they have been forgiven (Heb 8:12). Those who go to the lake of fire face a degree of punishment that fits their own circumstance (Rom 2:5-11, Heb 10:26-31). This is another parable about who gets into the kingdom and who does not. |
KINGDOM PARABLE 9: THE VINEYARD WORKERS, MATT 20:1-16
MATT 20:1-16
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (separation of the humble from the exalted)
1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5So they went. "He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' 7" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.' 8"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.' 9"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.' 13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' 16"So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (NIV)
| CHARACTER, OBJECT,PLACE, EVENT, ETC. | INTERPRETATION |
| Landowner | God |
| Vineyard | God’s people, Israel and the place where they live and produce fruit for him, Isa 5:1-7. Jesus extended this vineyard to all nations in his great commission. |
| Workers starting at 6 am | Those who begin work first are likely to have the most experience and to therefore end up with the positions of most authority. This can easily lead to feelings of power, superiority, pride, arrogance, etc., which are all products of sin. |
| Workers starting at 9 am | Those hired second likely will end up with the first level supervisory positions, and the same feelings described above to a lesser extent. |
| Workers starting at noon | Those hired third likely will end up as second level supervisors. The comments above apply. They are more likely to be humble servants than those above them. |
| Workers starting at 6 am | Those hired last will be the servants of everyone else. They are most likely to feel humble, to lack sinful pride, to want to serve those they work for, etc. They are also most likely to be thankful for the jobs that they have. Note that all the workers are working in the vineyard, working with those who are producing fruit. |
| The Wage | All of the workers in this parable received the same wage no matter what time they started to work. In the kingdom of heaven everybody gets the same basic wage but the fringe benefits will vary. The basic wage that everyone who works in the kingdom receives is a free pass to heaven. It is free because it was paid for by Jesus with the sacrifice of his life; he bought us (1 Cor 6:20). The only catch is that we have to claim it by becoming a believer in and follower of Jesus. It doesn’t matter whether we claim it when we are very young, middle aged or very old; it only matters that we claim it. However, once we get to heaven we get rewards, fringe benefits, depending upon what we did while on earth, (2 Cor 5:10). |
Commentary Application: |
The bottom line of this parable seems to be that those who are the most humble, the least prideful, the least arrogant, etc. will be exalted the most in heaven. This is reflected in the discussion on rewards in 1 Cor 3:8-15. It also seems that all of those workers in this parable are in the kingdom of heaven and they all get their free pass into heaven for becoming workers in the kingdom of heaven. They got their free pass no mater what time they went to work. This parable ends with this admonition from Jesus in vs. 26, “So the last will be first and the first will be last.” This is an admonition to be humble, to serve the needs of others, to avoid sinful pride, arrogance, etc. Just as it is more difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom so too is it more difficult for those in high positions of authority to enter the kingdom. However, just as there will be rich in heaven (1 Tim 6:17-19) so too will there be those who have been in positions of high authority. It is just a much greater challenge for them. Two other passages in Matthew are critical to understanding this parable. First, Matt 20:25-28 which says, 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Second, Matt 23:1-12. Here Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and calling them hypocrites. He says they do things for men to see such as wearing fancy clothes, they love the place of honor at banquets, they love to be recognized and greeted in the marketplace as ‘Rabbi.’ He then warns the disciples against wanting to be called Rabbi, father or teacher. Finally verses 11-12 say, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” This is another parable about who gets into the kingdom. |
KINGDOM PARABLE 10: THE TWO SONS, Matt 21:28-32
MATTHEW 21:18-22 IS PRESENTED AS PARABLE 13 ALONG WITH PARABLE 14 SINCE BOTH ARE PARABLES ABOUT THE FIG TREE.
Matthew 21:28-32
The Parable of the Two Sons (separated unbelieving Jewish leaders from sinners who became believers)
28"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' 29" 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. 31"Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. (NIV)
| CHARACTER, OBJECT,PLACE, EVENT, ETC. | INTERPRETATION |
| Father | God. The father had two sons. |
| First Son | Tax collectors and prostitutes. The father said to the first son, “Son, go and work today in the vineyard.” The son said, “I will not.” However, he later changed his mind and went. Those who work in the vineyard are responsible for it producing fruit. This son was late going to work in the vineyard but he did finally go and produce fruit. |
| Second son | Scribes and Pharisees. The father said the same thing to the second son. He replied, “I will, Sir.” However he did not go; therefore he did not produce fruit. |
| Vineyard | God’s people and the place where they live and produce fruit for him, Isa 5:1-7. Jesus extended this to all nations in his great commission. |
Commentary Application: |
This parable says that since the Scribes, Pharisees, and Jews in general rejected Jesus, the capstone, that the kingdom of God would be taken away from them; that they would be rejected and not be able to enter heaven. However, others would accept Jesus and the kingdom of God would be given to them. The words of the Scribes and Pharisees are pious and religious sounding, however God is not in their hearts. They refuse to believe the truth and will not be part of the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God. On the other hand, many of those who are looked down upon as the lower class of society, the undesirables, the ungodly, may not initially know and understand the things of God, the gospel, but when it is presented to them they accept and follow it. They therefore become members of the kingdom of God. This is basically explained later in the chapter in verses 42-43. 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on the stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” Jesus came to the Jewish people and their religious leaders, the scribes and Pharisees rejected him. When they rejected him they rejected the kingdom of heaven; they rejected eternal life. When they rejected eternal life they rejected the more inclusive kingdom of God. They would not take part in the kingdom of heaven while they were on earth and they would not take part in the kingdom of God in heaven after they died. This is another parable about who gets into the kingdom and who does not. |
KINGDOM PARABLE 11: THE LANDOWNER AND THE RENTED VINEYARD, MATT 21:33-40
Matthew 21:33-40
The Parable of the Tenants; the landowner and the rented vineyard (separation of the Jews from their land)
33"Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. 35"The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said. 38"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' 39So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40"Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" (NIV)
| CHARACTER, OBJECT,PLACE, EVENT, ETC. | INTERPRETATION |
| Landowner | God, the Father |
| Vineyard | God’s people, Israel in this case, and the place where they live and produce fruit for him. God planted Israel as his vineyard on earth and they were supposed to yield fruit for him. They were to lead others to a saving knowledge of him. They failed to do this, Isa 26:16-18. Isa 5:1-7 uses the same figures of speech to describe Israel and its history as does this parable. Jesus extended this to all nations in his great commission. |
| Wall around the vineyard | The landowner put a wall around the vineyard to protect the farmers from others who might want to overrun and take the vineyard from them. God did provide supernatural protection to the Jews many times while they were in their land. |
| Winepress | The winepress was used to convert the grapes to juice and wine. God uses this as a figure of speech for the things that he does to pressure his people to return to him and to provide a harvest for him. He allowed them to be carried into exile two times to try to get them to turn from their idol worship and sinful behavior. God figuratively put Israel through his winepress. |
| Watchtower | An elevated structure manned by someone who could see great distances in order to be able to warn the people of impending danger. God was keeping a close eye on his people from a distance. He did this through his Holy Spirit. When he saw the coming dangers, idol worship, sexual impurity, etc. he warned them of the consequences through his prophets. |
| Farmers, tenants | The people of Israel, the Jews. God loaned the land of Israel to his people for a while. When they did not produce fruit he took the vineyard away from them. He promised to give it to them permanently one day in the future when they did finally accept the landowner’s son as their messiah. |
| Servants sent to collect fruit | The Old Testament prophets. They attempted to get the Jews to produce a fruit for God but they were rejected. This was repeated over and over. |
| Son of the landowner | Jesus, the Messiah of the Jews. The Jews recognized the son as the heir to the vineyard. They plotted to kill him so that they could steal his inheritance. In fact they did kill him. |
| The landowners response | After the landowner returned and saw that the tenants had killed his son he literally and physically threw them out of the vineyard. They were removed from the land where the vineyard had been planted. The Jews were punished severely between 70 AD and 135 AD when they were finally removed from the land. The landowner brought the wretched farmers to a wretched end. The vineyard was given to other tenants who would produce fruit for the landowner, and present it to him at harvest time. |
Commentary Application: |
Jesus was using this parable as a warning to the Scribes and Pharisees about what was going to happen to them and the Jews if they rejected and killed him; they would lose their inheritance in the kingdom of God, they would lose it and it would be given to another people. This parable is both historical and prophetic. It represents the history of Israel from Abraham until the rejection and death of Jesus, and the ultimate removal of Israel from her land as punishment. It also represents a prophecy of the landowner giving the kingdom to the gentiles. Again, we understand that the Jewish people who did not become believers would not take part in the kingdom of heaven while they were on earth and the kingdom of God in heaven after they died. This is another parable about who gets into the kingdom and who does not. |
KINGDOM PARABLE 12: THE WEDDING BANQUET, MATT 22:1-14
Matthew 22:1-14
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet (separation of the invited from the uninvited wedding banquet guests)
1Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2"The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. 4"Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.' 5"But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' 10So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. 13"Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' 14"For many are invited, but few are chosen." (NIV)
| CHARACTER, OBJECT,PLACE, EVENT, ETC. | INTERPRETATION |
| King | God the Father |
| Son of the King | Jesus, the Son of God |
| Wedding Banquet | The Wedding Supper of the Lamb, involving Jesus and his new bride, the church, Rev 19:5-10. This banquet takes place either just before or just after the Second Coming of Jesus, Isa 25:6. Rev 19:6-7 reads, “Hallelujah! For the Lord God almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” |
| Servants of the King | The Old Testament prophets. They attempted to get the Jews to produce a fruit for God but they were rejected. This was repeated over and over. |
| Those originally invited to the banquet | The Jewish people, Israel. They rejected Jesus and his invitation to become his bride. Many paid no attention and went off to their everyday activities. Others seized the servants of the king, mistreated them and killed them. Matt 8:5-13 tells us that those subjects who refused the invitation were thrown into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. |
| Army of the King | In this case the army that the king used to punish those who refused the kings invitation, the Jewish people, was the Roman army in the period from 66-73 AD. |
| City that was burned | The Roman army terrorized the Jewish people and in 70 AD they held a siege around Jerusalem and eventually overtook the city, destroyed it and set it to fire. |
| Those invited when the original invitees would not attend; both the good & bad | Those invited were the gentile people of the world. From Acts 1:8 this included those in “Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the world.” This included the good and the bad because Jesus had forgiven the sins of everyone through his one time sacrifice of himself. |
| Man not wearing wedding clothes | There will be many who think that they will receive invitations to the wedding banquet who will not get them. First, those getting invitations must be believers in and followers of Jesus. They must have their names in the book of life. They must have the mark of God on their foreheads where it will say, “redeemed by the blood of the lamb, the new Jerusalem, the dwelling place of God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords and Kind of kings,” Rev 3:12-13, 14:1, 19:16, Isa 62:12. The wedding clothes may be the glorified, resurrected body. When Jesus returns for his bride at the rapture he gives them their resurrected body. Before the rapture, the redeemed had been in heaven as spirits without bodies. Now they are souls again, spirits dwelling in bodies. The man showing up at the wedding without wedding clothes may have been a spirit without a body so he would have been easily recognized. |
| Outer darkness | The man who showed up at the wedding without wedding clothes was not a true follower of Jesus. He was thus an unbeliever. All unbelievers will be first given resurrected bodies, then judged at the great white throne judgment, found guilty and thrown into the lake of fire where they will face the second death, Rev20:5-6, 11-15. Death is described in the Bible as occurring when the spirit leaves the body. When the unbeliever is thrown into the lake of fire his resurrected body is destroyed, thus the second death. He is now simply a spirit again and is sent to outer darkness forever, Jude13, 2 Pet 2:17. Also see Matt 8:5-13 for added insight. |
Commentary Application: |
Jesus gives us both a historical and a prophetic perspective about the kingdom of heaven in this parable. The people that God originally chose rejected his invitation when they rejected Jesus. Those who rejected him were punished on earth with the loss of their land, their country, and will one day be sent to outer darkness forever. The gentiles of the world were then invited to the wedding banquet. Those who accept the invitation will be there as the bride of Christ. However, Jesus ends the parable with this sober thought, “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” The gospel of Jesus is available to many, but few accept it and become followers of Jesus. No one gets into heaven unless he is a follower of Jesus. He is the only way. This is another parable about who gets into the kingdom and who does not. |
KINGDOM PARABLES 13 and 14: THE FIG TREE PARABLES, MATT 24:32-35 and 21:18-22
Matthew 21:18-22 (Parable 13)
The Fig Tree Withers (separating those who bear fruit from those who do not)
18Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. 20When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked. 21Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (NIV)
Matthew 24:32-35 (Parable 14)
The Parable of the Fig Tree (separating unbelieving Jews from believing gentiles)
32"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (NIV)
| CHARACTER, OBJECT,PLACE, EVENT, ETC. | INTERPRETATION |
| Fig trees | Fig trees are sometimes used in the Bible to represent the Jewish people, Israel, Hosea 9:10, Jer 24:1-4. How is the fig tree used in these parables? In parable 10 Jesus is prophesying the death of Israel as a nation while in parable 14 he is prophesying its future rebirth as a nation. Jesus said that one day in the future the twigs of the fig tree would become tender and the leaves would come out. Jesus was speaking prophetically about the rebirth of Israel as a nation. This rebirth of Israel was prophesied many times in the Old Testament, but most clearly in Isa 66:7-9. |
| Summer | Jesus goes on in parable 14 to say that as soon as Israel is reborn as a nation we will know that summer is near. What does he mean by summer in this context? Jesus had just mentioned the rebirth of Israel as a nation. Right before this parable Jesus had discussed the great tribulation and then the Second Coming. Right after the parable he discusses the rapture of the church. The whole context centers on these events. By “summer” Jesus means the end times, specifically the rapture, the tribulation and the Second Coming. |
| All these things | Jesus uses the phrase “all these things” two times in parable 14. Both times he seems to be referring to the events surrounding the rebirth of Israel. |
| This generation | Jesus goes on in parable 14 to say, “This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” What does “this generation” mean? From the New Testament Greek definition in olivetree.com it can mean the following: a group of people very like each other in endowments, pursuits and character, especially in a bad sense, i.e. a perverse nation or generation (Deut 32:20, Matt 12:39, 17:17, 23:36). This certainly seems to be saying that the Jewish people would still exist as a people and would still not be believers in Jesus when they are reborn as a nation. Restating Jesus’ statement about this generation with these understandings yields the following: This perverse people of unbelievers will certainly not pass away until they are reborn as a nation. The Jews continued to be a vast group who clung to God in a perverse way, denying his son, for 2000 years until their nation was restored in 1948. Another valid interpretation might be that some part ot that generation living to see the rebirth of Israel as a nation would still be living at Jesus return. |
Commentary Application: Kingdom of heaven Phase 1 & Phase 2 |
It seems that on the morning after Jesus’ triumphant entry he had taught a short parable about a fig tree, Matt 21:18-22. Jesus and the disciples came to a fig tree that was not bearing fruit and Jesus cursed the tree causing it to die immediately. Again this fruit tree represented Israel. They were not bearing fruit for the kingdom so Jesus would cause them to be destroyed by the Romans, taken from their land and dispersed around the world over the next century. Jesus further tells the disciples that if they believe, they can also do miraculous things like Jesus had just done. As an example he says that they could tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea and it would be done (in the kingdom). Jesus had just spoken the word and the whole country of Israel had become doomed. He was telling the disciples that they likewise could ask God to doom a country or government and it would disappear and be cast back into the great sea of humanity. Jesus said that if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. The context for this is “in that day,” in the millennial kingdom. This is clear from John 16:23-24. It may also just apply to the twelve disciples. Jesus says in Matt 19:28 that during the millennium the twelve disciples will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus makes another startling announcement in the parable about the fig tree in Matt 24:32-35. This parable was being taught during Holy Week, just a few days after Jesus’ triumphant entry. When he entered Jerusalem as recorded in Matt 21:1-11, it seems that thousands of people were pleading with Jesus to become their king, to free Israel from the terrible bonds of the Romans, to make them a free country again. Here in this parable about the fig tree Jesus makes his startling announcement to the disciples; Not only would Israel not soon become a free country again but they would totally cease to exist as a nation. This death and dispersal of Israel prophesied by Jesus in Matt 21:18-22 lasted almost 2000 years. Its end was prophesied by Jesus in the second parable about the fig tree in Matt 24:32-35. This may be one of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible. Many prophecy scholars interpret this parable to say that those who are alive when Israel is reborn as a nation will still be alive when the rapture takes place and other end time events begin. That is certainly possible. If so then there are two valid interpretations for this parable. The interpretation given above for the meaning of "this generation" has already been fulfilled. In some almost unimaginable way, the Jewish people continued to exist as a people scattered all over the world, all the while continuing the same false beliefs and maintaining the same religious heritage for 2000 years. Amazingly, that generation continued from the time of Christ until they were reunited from all over the world as a nation in 1948, thus fulfilling this prophetic kingdom parable. These are certainly both kingdom parables. In Matt 21:43 Jesus said, "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” “This generation” was the group that had the kingdom taken from them, the collective nation of Israel, the Jewish people. They are now back in the land as a nation and we are nearing the time when they will once again become part of the kingdom of God. |